Caves of Northern Thailand [Hardcover]

Pindar Sidisunthorn (Author), Simon Gardner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2007

Brings together for the first time diverse aspects of caves in northern Thailand with chapters on geology, archaeology and much more.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Simon Gardner and Pindar Sidisunthorn are co-authors, photographers and illustrators of the renowned Field Guide to Forest Trees of Northern Thailand. Dean Smart is a cave specialist who pioneered much of the cave research in Thailand, in conjunction with the Royal Forestry Department.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 392 pages
• Publisher: River Books Press Dist A C; 1 edition (February 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9749863135
• ISBN-13: 978-9749863138
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,477,118 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Visitors' Guide to Thai Caves, June 13, 2009

By 

William Mixon (Austin, Texas, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Caves of Northern Thailand (Hardcover)

This is a very nice book, and the price is extremely reasonable, considering that it has between one and five color photos on almost every page. The first half of the book is introductory material, including nice, concise summaries of cave geology and biology. There are chapters on archaeology, especially rock art and the log-coffin sites found in the area, and Buddhist temple caves. The log coffins date from one to two thousand years ago; none of the sculptures and other shrine material in the temples are very old. There are a brief introduction to safe caving techniques and a discussion of cave photography. Human uses of caves and human impacts are covered, with a good conservation message.

The second half of the book contains brief descriptions and many photos (but no cave maps) of over one hundred caves in the eight northernmost provinces of Thailand. Forty of them are in the Pang Ma Fa area, where a research project in 1998-2000 provided the motivation for this book. Vertical caves and caves known for bad air are excluded. The cave names are given in Thai, both in Latin letters and the Thai alphabet, but not translated. Map coordinates (degrees and minutes) and directions to all the caves are given in an appendix. I hope the conservation message is taken to heart by readers, because among the caves included in this book, which is clearly meant to encourage cave tourism, are well-decorated wild caves and poorly protected archaeological sites. (Approximate locations are also shown on regional maps on the endpapers.) The photographs, generally several per cave, as well printed, but some have color-balance problems.
Glossary, bibliography, and index wrap things up. Curiously, the part of the bibliography on cave photography has not been translated into English, providing about a half a page of Thai script to admire. The publication dates there are given in the Buddhist system, in years since the Buddha's death in 543 BC.--Bill Mixon