Ancient capital of Thailand’s ancient ‘Land of Smiles’, Bangkok is a modern-day metropolis of soaring skyscrapers and traffic-choked streets improbably mingled with dazzling temples and palaces of serene, almost ethereal beauty. Its world-class hotels, seductive shops, restaurants for every mood and palate, and legendary ‘after-dark’ neon-lit world all offer inexhaustible interest and entertainment!

Phuket is edged by the Indian Ocean's Andaman Sea and lies just an hour's flight south-west of Bangkok. Though increasingly developed in parts, it still provides delightful sanctuary in a choice of stylish hotel hideaways ensconced beside white-sand beaches. Beyond, wide blue horizons, tropical plantations, soaring rainforests and dramatic limestone sea cliffs offer a perfect setting for daily unwinding. The resort’s main season is November - April, when the weather tends to be at its best.

Koh Samui is an unspoilt little island oasis afloat in the Gulf of Siam, 90 minutes by air from the capital. Dense coconut plantations (its name means 'Coconut Island') and green rice paddies, tiny fishing villages and dazzling white beaches, Buddhist shrines and an almost South Seas languor . . . these are the backdrop to daily life in this wonderfully romantic world where escapism is, quite literally, just outside your door. The main season and time of the most settled weather is March - October.

Memorable though Thailand's capital and beach resorts are, the country's true magic is perhaps to be found at its most authentic amid the less developed interior, where a traditional way of life and unspoilt scenery yield rewards of a different kind. Northern Thailand has endless appeal, and is the setting of the homelands of colourful hilltribes, brooding peaks, tumbling streams, dense jungles, rushing rivers and a million rice-paddies.