Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Land
Thailand's odd shape - bulky and wide up north, with a long pendulous arm draping to the
south - has often been compared to the head of an elephant. Roughly the size of France,
about 517,000 sq km, Thailand stretches an astounding 1650km along a north-south axis
and experiences an extremely diverse climate, including two distinct monsoons from both
the southwest and northwest. The north of the country rises into high forested mountains,
while the south consists of a long ridge of limestone hills, covered in tropical rainforest.
Both the Andaman and the Gulf Coasts have extensive coral reefs, particularly around
the granitic Surin Islands and Similan Islands in the Andaman Sea. More reefs and Thail-
and's most dramatic limestone islands sit in Ao Phang-Nga near Phuket. The west coast is
of particular interest to divers because the waters are stunningly clear and extremely rich
in marine life.
A growing number of overseas tourism companies now insist that Thailand's tourism operators have en-
vironmental policies in place before doing business with them.
