Travellers to Thailand are presented with an amazing choice of destinations reflecting the
diversity of its landscapes and built environments. The streets and lanes of every village,
town and city in Thailand offer scenes of often incredible contrast between old and new, rich
and poor modern and antique. Venturing along these streets and lanes to witness this
contrast will often bring you within sight of a golden temple spire rising above the rooftops.
To enter the grounds of the temple will lead you to world of glittering mirror mosaics and
tinkling bells, an escape from the bustle outside.
Thailand’s landscapes vary incredibly also with tropical islands surrounded by azure seas in
the South, forested mountains in the North, fertile river plains in the heartland and the Isaan
plateau to the Northeast. The land is like an artists canvas changing with the seasons. During
the rainy season the whole country will be bathed in a blanket of green with rice fields being
tended by farmers, rivers brimming with life and the sky often showing natures beauty.
Thailand’s capital city Bangkok has become one of Asia’s most dynamic and exciting places
where modernity meets tradition in all aspects. It is a vibrant city which will leave its
footprint in the mind of anyone who visits.
Further afield Thailand offers ancient cities such as Chiang Mai the ancient Lanna capital
and now handicraft centre of Thailand which sits in a farming valley surrounded by forested
mountains; Hua Hin a quiet seaside fishing village which has become a popular setting for
holiday makers to visit the beach and eat fresh seafood, explore a national park or have a
round of golf on one of several local international courses; Phuket island is the ‘pearl of the
Andaman’ and is surrounded by some of Asia’s most amazing scenery and the worlds best
scuba diving sites; Samui Island offers a truly tropical scene with coconut palm lined beaches
and at times the most calm azure seas to be found anywhere and for visitors seeking laid
back rural lifestyles, Angkor period ruins or pre-historic relics, the famed North East of
Thailand (Issan) is waiting to be discovered.
There is much more to Thailand for the slightly adventurous traveler willing to ‘get off the
beaten track’ and see some of the unknown places that represent the real Thailand where
daily life goes on behind the scenes.