The Best Offbeat Travel Experiences

Manhora Song (Bangkok): Few things capture the allure of old Bangkok like this old renovated rice barge turned luxury cruiser. Let your imagination run wild as you gaze out at life along the Chao Phraya River -- if you can pull your eyes ctix from the beauty of the boat itself.

Northern Thailand by Motorcycle: Exercise great caution on motorbikes in Thailand (riding a bike is statistically the most dangerous thing going in the kingdom), but travel by motorbike is a great way to see the countryside. With good paved roads, plenty of gasoline stations and rest stops, and friendly folks along the way to lend a hand, touring the kingdom by motorcycle is as uncomplicated as it is exhilarating. Some of the most adventurous trips are in the northern mountains, especially along the Mekong River on the Mae Hong Son Loop northwest of Chiang Mai. Mountain passes, wandering rivers, small villages and towns, the rural roads of the Thai north pass by natural wonders and temples glorious and pedestrian, and the beauty of riding a motorbike is that you can make your own itinerary, stop and smell the flowers or hit the accelerator and get bugs in your teeth. Get your motor running.

Novice monk and meditation programs: Almost every Thai man enters the sangha, or monkhood, for some period of time, usually just a few weeks as a young man and again later, during marriage. Since the first Western spiritual seekers started coming in droves to Thailand in the 1970s and '80s, many monasteries opened their doors to foreign laypeople interested in practicing meditation. Opportunities abound in Thailand for joining meditation courses of varying length and intensity, most in the Theravada Buddhist tradition of Vipassana, or "Insight" meditation. In the south, try Wat Suan Mohk (near Surat Thani) or Wat Kow Thom (on Ko Phangan). In the north, try Wat Rampoeng (near Chiang Mai). In Bangkok, try Wat Mahathat.

Become an Elephant Mahout: (Lampang, near Chiang Mai) Sign-up for a homestay or longer trek with the Young Elephant Training Center and you get to get down and dirty with pachyderms; this is not picnic nor pony ride. You'll be given a set of baggy elephant-trainer togs and taught the language of the elephants (a mix of Thai and Karen language). Participants spend the better part of the day caring for the animals, feeding and washing them as well as learning all that you need to hop on the neck (no basket ride here) and steer your own two tons of elephant. On multi-day treks, you'll be assigned your own animal and ride alone.

• Australia
• China
• Japan
• New Zealand
• Thailand