Animals Archives - Poplar Travels

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Nov 18 2014

A-Star Phulare Valley: Chiang Rai Countryside Resort

Reviews

by Eric and Evanne

A-Star Phulare Valley Resort in the hills of Chiang Rai, Thailand, is a unique resort with a variety of Chalets and spacious Pool Villas. The expansive grounds spread over the top of a large hill, and the resort is laid out so that all the rooms and villas have beautiful views of the trees and countryside. The paths within the resort are well manicured and the large infinity pool in the center adds a breathtaking viewpoint to the relaxing scene. We enjoyed our time away from the busy streets of Chiang Mai...

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Don’t Look Up

Inspiration

by Evanne

Thailand is a country very in touch with nature. It is ingrained in their culture and made apparent through the presence and acceptance of strays in the streets, the number of restaurants that are essentially outdoors and even in traditional Thai architecture which allows many critters to come in and share the home. An occasional cat will wind its way through our legs while out at dinner and no one bats an eye. That being said, the Thais are incredibly clean. They remove shoes before entering homes, temples and some...

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Nov 01 2014

Thavorn Beach Village and Spa

Reviews, Top Hotels

by Eric and Evanne

As you wander the grounds of Thavorn Beach Village and Spa in Phuket the resort’s history and legends about the area unfold. Statues of mythical and earthly creatures alike emerge from the dense tropical plants and fountains that are incorporated around the resort’s focal point, the lagoon pool. When Mr. Thavornwongwongse built the resort, the land was given to him by an elderly couple who used to farm the area. This couple told Mr. Thavornwongwongse that this property is the place where Naka the dragon-snake fell in love with a woman...

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Oct 08 2014

Flight of the Gibbon: Zipline Through the Jungle in Thailand

Adventure, Reviews

by Eric and Evanne

If you have ever visited Chiang Mai, you've probably seen the brochures and banners promoting the zipline company Flight of the Gibbon around Old City, on tuk-tuks and in Cafes. We knew we needed to give this popular tourist activity a try, and we were not disappointed. We were pretty excited to fly through the jungle and spend a day eye-to-eye with the treetops of Thailand. Flight of the Gibbon picked us up from our apartment and drove us in a van with other adventurers about 45 minutes to the zipline...

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Sep 13 2014

Elephant Nature Park: Chiang Mai

Responsible Tourism, Reviews

by Eric and Evanne

Long before we decided to travel to Chiang Mai, we had a strong desire to see and interact with elephants and always knew we wanted to do it in a responsible manner. Wildlife tourism is something that should always be approached with skepticism and plenty of caution. Elephants, especially, are mistreated in Thailand. Elephants in Thailand Historically, elephants in Thailand were used in the logging industry. When the Thai government banned all logging in protected areas in 1989, thousands of elephants were left homeless. Mahouts, the elephant handlers, resorted to using their...

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Aug 12 2014

The Aquarium of the Pacific: Los Angeles

Reviews, Travel

by Evanne

We kicked off this year’s Shark Week with Fin Fest at Manhattan Beach and continued the party with a visit to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Los Angeles. Take advantage of their discounted late night hours to see the entire space for half the price. Late night hours are from 5-8:30 p.m. which ended up being the perfect amount of time. We didn’t stop at a few of the touch tanks, and since it was at night there weren’t any demonstrations or movies during that time, but we were able...

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Jun 10 2014

Turks and Caicos: Consider the Conch

Responsible Tourism

by Evanne

One day during our Turks and Caicos vacation, we decided to take a kayak tour of the mangroves near Leeward Marina. We opted for a group tour with a guide from Big Blue Unlimited instead of taking the kayaks out ourselves so we could learn more about the area.

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Mar 23 2014

Turks and Caicos: What’s a Potcake?

Responsible Tourism

by Evanne

I recently traveled to the amazingly beautiful Providenciales, one of 40 islands that makes up the nation of Turks and Caicos and home to Grace Bay, Trip Advisor‘s second best beach in world. But the poundcake-like sand wasn’t the only thing that caught my eye. As a currently dog-less animal lover I tend to get overly excited about puppies and vacation makes no exception. So it should come as no surprise that animal rescue and foster organization Potcake Place may have been my favorite place on the island.

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