From warm, exotic beaches to exquisite, spicy cuisine, from hill trekking to river rafting and elephant riding, from massage to wholistic Ayurveda health treatments - Thailand is a long-haul travel destination that continues to present a multitude of choices for excitement and relaxation.
While many traditionally travel over the Christmas and New Year holidays, more are now opting for the less-crowded season from February to April when the weather is still dry and sunny, travel and accommodation prices are lower and there is less waiting time at palaces, museum entrances, cabaret shows and fine restaurants.
World Itineraries took the opportunity to experience the nation's renowned hospitality, flying Austrian airline's Bucharest-Vienna-Bangkok route. The route has good connections, with a short waiting time in Vienna before the nine-plus hour onward flight. Service is efficient, seating is comfortable and food is well-presented, though considering it is such a long flight, on-board entertainment could be more varied, with more up-to-date movies and music.

BANGKOK: WHERE TO STAY - While most of the world's best-known corporate chains - including the Hilton, J.W. Marriott and the Weston and Sheraton Grandes - have operations in the capital city of Bangkok, often hugging the River Chao Phraya, World Itineraries chose an independently-owned and operated five-star hotel, offering competitive prices and equal, if not superior, service and ambiance.
Located a short walk from modern high-speed city BTS train stop, the 17-year-old, 500-room Siam City Hotel is well-placed, providing easy transport to the city's main attractions, as well as having a luxury spa and several enticing dining options, including
the award-winning, Kamon Japanese Restaurant and the Lin-Fa Chinese Restaurant.
For working business leaders, an expansive 21st floor suite provides all-day juices and snacks and an internet service, with a panoramic view over the city.
While corporate chain hotels sometimes lack personality, often struggling to unwrap themselves from the heavy bureaucratic system that encompasses their daily work, the Siam City Hotel wears the vibrant colors and style of its dynamic leaders, the result being warm, personalized and not overly formal service that gives a stay here a welcome touch of spontaneity.
Credit for this goes first and foremost to the hotel's founder and president, Kamala Sukosol, one of Thailand's leading singers as well as entrepreneurs. At an age when many other people are easing themselves out of their busy schedules, Sukosol, born in 1941 and mother of four, grandmother to five, remains an involved, exuberant and straight-talking woman.
Speaking to us over a leisurely dinner one evening, the well-known jazz performer and socialite described succinctly her views on the hospitality industry in Thailand and of her own success. "Tourism is, of course, a thriving business here, in part due to the fact that Thai people are service-minded. They like to be friendly and that is our biggest asset. It is inherent in their nature to serve people pleasantly. It is obvious why this country is called the Land of Smiles."
She added, however, that while Thailand had many fascinating natural and cultural resources supporting tourism, leaders must be aware of the importance of sustainable development as the key to the future. "We must maintain an open-mind toward new trends and always look for ways to offer something different, new activities, new destinations, without harming the environment. Look what has happened to the River Kwai area. There are so many visitors there that it has become a noise polluted area. The greatest danger to tourism development is greed, so we must move forward sensibly and sensitively."
On the reasons for her own success in the hotel field, she added, "I look at everything in my hotels on a very personal level - the decorations, the uniforms, the organization of events. I become deeply involved in the concepts and the final products. I feel many chain hotels lack soul, lack character. That's why I remain independent. It gives us an edge because we have kept that all-important personal touch."
Proudly announcing that she "is, at heart, an entertainer," her small stature belies a strong singing voice. She has recorded in eight languages and has performed in venues ranging from the intimate and the exclusive to audiences in the thousands in major stadiums. Aside from the Siam City Hotel, she is also owner of the Siam Bayview Hotel and the Siam Bayshore Resort & Spa in Pattaya, as well as being managing director of Kamol Sukosol Electric Company, a distributor of medical, sound and industrial kitchen equipment. Daughter of a successful businessman, Kamol Sukosol, she is also a very active member of the diplomatic scene in Thailand, her interest emerging from completing a Masters degree in international affairs from New York's Columbia University some years ago.
Sukosol is ably assisted in her role as a leading hotelier by an equally-energetic international communications manager, Cheryl Treleaven, from England. Mother of two grown children, Sarah and Scott, Treleaven, has enjoyed a varied background in several countries, including Canada where she lived for a number of years. Among the many positions she has held have been teacher, script-writer, caterer, cooking instructor, community service administrator and legal clerk. It is thus little surprise that the cumulative result of all these experiences is a high-octane, creative individual who obviously enjoys the constant social interaction inherent in the hotel and hospitality field. There seems very little that Treleaven cannot arrange or help with, whether that be invaluable shopping tips to advice on other parts of Thailand to visit.
"I love mixing with people of all kinds, and hearing their stories," she told World Itineraries, beaming an impish smile. "Part of my role is to find out what guests' needs are, where their interests lie, and try to meet them. It is always challenging, always stimulating, and there is a great professional satisfaction in it."
She is enthusiastically clear about the many benefits of her hotel, "We are not a chain hotel. We are an independent Thai family owned and operated hotel offering guests personable, traditional Thai service and courteous attention. A welcoming feeling pervades. Every guest is special and we are centrally situated to major attractions, shopping and airport expressway."
For more details on this hotel, its services and pricing, check www.siamhotels.com

CHIANG MAI - NORTHERN REGION
While Bangkok is worth a stay of several days to visit the museums, the Royal Palace and the Emerald Buddha, enjoy a boat tour of the river and local neighborhoods around the khlongs (canals) and see a cabaret show such as Calypso, travel to Thailand is not complete without a visit to both the mountainous north and the sandy beaches of the south.
The second largest city in Thailand, less than a hour's flight directly north from the capital, Chiang Mai is much less dense and slower in pace than Bangkok. It is wrapped in history, becoming, in 1296, capital of a vast Lanna kingdom that stretched into Laos, eastern Myanmar and southern China. The city offers wonderful day and night shopping bazaars, a plethora of wats (temples) and an intriguing mix of Chinese, Burmese and Thai influences. It is also an easy launching point for outdoor trekking to see the nearby hill tribes or chao khao, for elephant riding and river rafting. Not to mention the intriguing alternative healing treatments offered by Thai, Indian and Chinese practitioners and wellness centers. The Thai Tourism Authority (TAT) northern office directed by Junnapong Saranak was very helpful and efficient.

WHERE TO STAY - While much has been said about the plush Oriental Hotel in Bangkok, its opulence is overshadowed by its recently-opened sister property, the Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi in Chiang Mai. Built on 60 acres on the outskirts of the city, the hotel is a modern architectural creation of a medieval Lanna village, complete with wooden moat, outer walls, rice fields, delicate artworks and replica wooden structures. It offers twenty styles of accommodation, from colonial suites beside a large open-air swimming pool and Jacuzzi, to clusters of villas, whose interiors are furnished with sumptious textiles, Persian silk rugs and Asian artifacts. Around the whole property are lily ponds and avenues of tall kapok trees.
"We wanted to create the ultimate hideaway concept," said Chaleenuch Visith, director of public relations, and a native of Chiang Mai, who is glad to be back home after a career that has spanned several decades including stints at Le Meridien Thailand Resorts and the Sheraton Grand Laguna in Phuket. "Around 100 million dollars has been spent on this project, on the tiniest of details for the sake of authenticity, including village shops and local people farming the rice fields daily. This hotel is as close as one can get to a living historic monument."
In addition to Chinese, French Mediterranean and Thai restaurants and an open-air performance venue, the hotel, whose name 'Dhara Dhevi' means 'star Goddess' in Sanskrit, is also home to a 3,100 sqm spa and holistic center, a teakwood design inspired by the Burmese royal palace of Mandalay, in Myanmar.
Closely following the ancient Ayurveda tradition, which is based on the concept that body, mind and environment are all directly interrelated, the center's director, Rajeev Marwah, and his wife, Suchada, offer a variety of treatments meant to maintain the proper balance by utilizing the natural energy flows within the body's physical and nervous systems. These treatments range from 'abhyanga,' a light form of massage, to hydrotherapy, lymphatic drainage, yoga and reflexology. www.mandarinoriental.com

It is not often one gets the chance to arrive at one's hotel by boat, but that is one of the special innovations offered by the recently opened Sofitel Riverside. Located on the banks of the Ping River, the hotel is managed by Marc Dumur, a lively and enthusiastic Swiss hotelier who is happily married to a local lady and well settled into the easy rhythm of life in this northern city.
Though the five-star hotel is termed boutique, accommodation is varied, with 74 guest rooms including two riverside pool suites, 383-sqm penthouses with private balcony ad Jacuzzi with built-in LCD television; 17 110-sqm Sofitel suites; and 56 60-sqm deluxe rooms. Decor blends ancient Lanna heritage in a modern, innovative minimalist manner with a spa, gym and sauna, outdoor swimming pool with sunken bar, a banquet room and a quiet library lounge.
Speaking over dinner and fine international and Thai wines late into the night at one of the hotel's delightful riverside tables, Dumur said Chiang Mai is becoming more and more popular among discerning tourists. "It is so different here to the hustle and bustle of Bangkok and the tourist-filled islands in the south. It is more relaxing, set in the midst of a healthy environmentally-friendly region of rivers and hills and green places, a perfect natural ambiance for a stress-free vacation. To cope with an expected increase of international tourists, hotel development is well underway and we are a classic example of that." www.Sofitel-ChiangMai.com

SOUTHERN COASTLINE
Many people traveling to Thailand, go with one image in mind: sand, sea and surf.
They are spoiled for choice - the Andaman Sea or the Gulf of Thailand; the islands of Ko Samui, Ko Pha Ngan, Ko Phi Phi Don, Ko Lanta or Phuket, et al.
Many of the resorts in the south are still rebuilding post-2004 tsunamai, but the golden beaches remain attractive and tourism is almost back to its height. The military takeover in November also seems to have had little detrimental effect.

We chose Ao Nang (near the coastal town of Krabi) and Ko Phi Phi Don as its southern destinations. Ao Nang is a convenient staging point, a bustling tourism resort with a dense band of shops, stalls, massage parlors and cafes along its easily-walkable L-shaped main street. From its center, a large number of boats travel daily to most islands and beaches, so variety of land and seascape is guaranteed. The experiences of chef Umberto (34), a native of Turin and manager one of several beach restaurants, reflect the speed of tourism growth. His beach-side restaurant offers separate Thai and Italian menus but he has also opened a pasta factory, a delicatessen providing Parma ham, olives and 10 different cheeses, as well as a home bakery. "When I came here seven years ago, this was a quiet road, there was only a handful of restaurants," he said, pouring from a carafe of Italian dry white. "It has become so much busier. Now there are 15 so-called Italian restaurants in the area, though there are very few with qualifed Italian chefs. Though the high season is November to February, tourists arrive throughout the year. We are open all the time."
For accommodation, we chose a family-owned property consisting of a small cluster of two-storey villas set around a small pool. Credit goes to Kung from the Thai Tourism Authority (TAT) office in Krabi who organized our stay and provided invaluable travel advice. Contacted late, over the Chinese New Year celebrations, a very busy time for all coastal resorts, she was extremely efficient in finding us a room, setting up an island tour and sitting down over dinner with us to provide tips on what places to see and activities to enjoy.
Completed within the last few weeks, the Chawan Resort is a small, intimate villa-style property, emanating warmth and hospitality, a short walk from the buoyant center of Ao Nang. Such was the spontaneity of our welcome that we were picked up at the airport and had been given amusing Thai nicknames even before we reached our destination. Next day, a Sunday, the family owners also made a traditional southern dish especially for us at their home so we could try a sample of authentic southern home cooking. They also reserved our massage treatments and when, by simple mistake, our room was rented out prematurely the day before our departure, they kindly found us alternative accommodation at a nearby resort, and paid for our entire stay in both places with abject apologies and a special farewell cake. Such open honesty is hard to find anywhere in today's crass world and we were most suitably impressed.
For further information, telephone 075 661 230-3.

EXOTIC ISLANDS
Three days on Ko Phi Phi Don is not ample time but, lacking more time, it allowed us at least a taste of exotic island life. Ninety minutes from Krabi by ferry boat, the island is marked by tall limestone escarpments and excellent snorkeling and diving opportunities. Restaurants, cafes and souvenir stalls crowd the area close to the pier, with winding paths leading high into the hills from which there is a wonderful view down to the twin beaches of Ao Loh Dalum and Ao Ton Sai. We chose to stay in one of forty bungalows at the grassy, tree-lined Andaman Resort, a ten-minute walk from the pier and just outside earshot of some of the livelier music bars. While not particularly luxurious, the resort provides large, clean rooms with air-conditioning and enough comfort for a relaxing stay. From here one can take a day's boat ride to visit nearby Ko Phi Phi Leh, where the Leonardo di Caprio movie, The Beach, was shot; to Bamboo Island for fascinating snorkeling; and to Monkey Beach, where our ancestors provide hours of quiet amusement with their unrehearsed antics.
For more information, check www.ppandamanresort.com