About & in the Press

This IndoChina Peninsula website is a springboard for iBooks that help to guide the intrepid visitor to finding activities which meet their interests and support sustainable tourism on this IndoChina Peninsula.

IndoChina Peninsula's home is on Phra PraDaeng, a mangrove in central Bangkok!
 Phra PraDaeng is often called Bangkok's Green Lung and our next book will delve into life on this island.

IndoChina Peninsula also serves as a link in the network of websites dedicated to eco-tourism and grass-roots organizations throughout the IndoChina Peninsula.

• Bangkok FreeStyle is full of suggestions so that the reader can spend more time enjoying the tropical nature of this megalopolis.
  
  
• Frontier Towns on the Mekong takes you on a journey along the Mekong in Isaan.  Throughout the book the reader is reminded to “leave a sustainable legacy.” Reference and access to major organizations working for sustainable tourism are found throughout Frontier Towns.
  
  
• Thriving – LifeStyles with Love  gives the reader a peek into the lives of Thai people in many different situations and a wide variety of activities. The golden thread running through the book is how everyone contributes to a sustainable lifestyle.
  

In her newest book, author Sheba Suphannahong shares inspirational and poignant stories of Thai people from bustling Bangkok to the remote mountains in the northern province of Chiang Rai.

Through her photographs and conversational narrative, Suphannahong offers a unique journey through the daily lives of ordinary people with not-so-ordinary stories. She weaves together their personal details, significant historical facts, and compelling tales of struggle and perseverance. What stands out the most is the incredible and enduring spirit of these people. In addition to their drive to nurture their families and communities, they are equally driven to protect their culture, their arts, and their livelihoods. Somehow they’ve managed to adapt—and thrive—despite the constant creep of large corporations that threaten the integrity of their ecosystems and the environment.

The portraits that Suphannahong paint in her book include Thai people from many regions and all walks of life. She examines the lives of the hill tribes in the northern region of Chiang Rai, as well as the urban dwellers who make their living as food vendors and transportation providers. Artisans, professors, and an arborist (known as the Bangkok Tree Surgeon), among others, are also profiled in ‘Thriving,’ proving that the people of Thailand are a varied and interesting lot with a strong work ethic and a deep respect for the place they all call ‘home.’

Whatever hardships they have endured, the people in Suphannahong’s book have embraced their lives and their pasts, and have found a place within themselves where happiness is possible and where appreciation for the important things—family, love, hard work, and respect for the environment—is what matter most. “I wrote this book to honor the many wonderful people that fill my life every day,” says Suphannahong. “These people must contend with the modern world to earn their living, but they have not let the desire for fortune or fame distort their values in life. I wanted to show that ‘decency’ is a subject that should not be forgotten in today’s world and I hope that readers will see that one can have a good and happy life with less.”

‘Thriving – LifeStyles with Love!’ is published in eBook format by eBookIt.com and is now available at popular online retailers including Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com and Apple’s iBookstore.

Review copies of ‘Thriving – LifeStyles with Love!’ are available to media contacts upon request. Author Sheba Suphannahong is available for interviews.

CONTACT:
Sheba Suphannahong
Sheba.Suphannahong(at)gmail(dot)com
+66 (0) 86 007 1078

About Sheba Suphannahong

Sheba Suphannahong moved to Bangkok in 2006 to become involved in grassroots projects relating to environment and sustainable development. She has created her travel books as a way to share all of the wonderful things that she has discovered about this part of Southeast Asia, as well as to deliver her message about the importance of striving for a sustainable world. Suphannahong currently makes her home in a mangrove located in central Bangkok. For more information about her books, visit her website at www.indochinapeninsula.org.

About eBookIt.com

Since 2010, eBookIt.com (based in Sudbury, Massachusetts) has helped thousands of authors and publishers get their books converted to ebook format, and distributed to all the major ebook retailers, including Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com, Apple iBookstore, Kobo, Sony Readerstore, Ingram Digital, and Google eBookstore.

Sheba Suphannahong’s ‘Frontier Towns’ is for modern travelers who want to shape their own experience while exploring Thailand’s remote destinations along the Mekong River and beyond.

Nakhon Phanom, Thailand, 18 October 2013 – Thailand, at the center of Southeast Asia, has it’s own unique and prolific history. With Bangkok as the urban epicenter and the pulse of the region, it has become a popular tourist destination for people from all over the world. Sheba Suphannahong, in her new book ‘Frontier Towns on the Mekong,’ focuses on the more remote (and less-traveled) northeast region of Isaan along the Mekong River, and provides a unique perspective from the province of Nakhon Phanom. It is from this vantage point that Suphannahong—who currently makes her home in Nakhom Phanom—shines her own light on how modern travelers can navigate this remote area and discover the essence of Indochina.

Nakhon Phanom, Suphannahong explains, is a holiday paradise rich in history, yet still not an international tourist mecca. It remains untouched by the usual suspects (shopping malls, spa resorts, and restaurant chains) and is an ideal base from which modern travelers can explore the Mekong. ‘Frontier Towns’ aims to open the minds and eyes of potential visitors.

“This book provides information so that you can find your own way to meditation in the temples, great food, and local life—these adventures are no longer exclusive to private tours and expensive resorts,” says Suphannahong. “The modern ‘connected’ traveler can access information so that they are free to shape their holidays in accordance with their own interests, all on a modest budget.”

‘Frontier Towns’ includes well-summarized historical details that give visitors just enough understanding of how and why and when this region developed and evolved. Suphannahong further illustrates the history and intrigue of the Mekong with colorful descriptions of the region’s many attractions: river caves, ancient stone walls, Mekong boat cruises, open-air markets, peaceful temples and shrines, relics of the Buddha, and an abundance of healthy,
fresh, local food.

In addition to providing many of the usual ingredients one expects in a travel book (info for lodging, transportation, dining, guided tours, etc.) ‘Frontier Towns’ goes down a different road and offers travelers the opportunity to experience some truly unforgettable—and off the beaten path—activities, including a customized photographic expedition with a local photographer and a day in the rice paddies learning how the Thai people grow and cultivate this ubiquitous grain on one of the cleanest rivers in the world. There are other rewarding adventures too, like spending a couple of hours at a local school conversing with children who are learning English or visiting a holistic retreat where room and board—and a hands-on education in ecologically sound growing methods—are offered in exchange for labor in the form of gardening and farming.

Holistic health is an integral part of Thai history, culture and daily life. Suphannahong revisits this theme throughout her book. “My hope,” she says, “is that the visitors who are drawn to this Frontier Town will also be eco-minded travelers, or that through their visit they become more environmentally aware.” This eco-conscious thread also appears in her previous travel guide, ‘Bangkok FreeStyle’. Both books use photographs to further illustrate the beauty of the region, and the eBook versions include hyperlinks to facilitate research on subjects of interest.

Frontier towns like Nakhon Phanom are not typical tourist areas where visitor centers and “You Are Here” maps adorn each corner. Suphannahong’s book provides information beyond the basics of the usual travel guide, opening up a remote part of the world to educated travelers who want a unique experience. “I wanted to put into this book all the things that I wished I had known when I arrived. ‘Frontier Towns’ provides the information so that visitors can enjoy unique and unforgettable days.”

‘Frontier Towns on the Mekong’ is published in eBook format by eBookIt.com and is now available at popular online retailers including Amazon.com, Apple iBookstore, Google Play and Kobo.com.

About Sheba Suphannahong
Sheba Suphannahong moved to Bangkok in 2006 to become involved in grassroots projects relating to environment and sustainable development. She has created her travel books as a way to share all of the wonderful things that she has discovered about this part of Southeast Asia, as well as to deliver her message about the importance of striving for a sustainable world. Suphannahong currently makes her home in the frontier town of Nakhon Phanom.
Sheba Suphannahong
www.IndoChinaPeninsula.org
Sheba.suphannahong@gmail.com

About eBookIt.com
Since 2010, eBookIt.com (based in Sudbury, Massachusetts) has helped thousands of authors and
publishers get their books converted to ebook format, and distributed to all the major ebook retailers,
including Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com, Apple iBookstore, Kobo, Sony Readerstore, Ingram
Digital, and Google eBookstore.
November 2013

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eBookIt sales page:
https://www.ebookit.com/books/0000003357/Frontier-Towns-On-the-Mekong.html

Amazon sales page: http://www.amazon.com/Frontier-Towns-On-Mekongebook/
dp/B00FS50052

Kobo sales page: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/frontier-towns-on-the-mekong

Google Play:
https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Sheba_Suphannahong_Frontier_Towns_On_the_
Mekong?id=kUdKAQAAQBAJ

Apple sales page: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/frontier-towns-on-themekong/
id724221964