tell me a little about chinag mai--what is the most popular hotel (hi end but for good value) and what is there to see that is diff to BKK or does it involve day trips? sorry for so many ques, but thinking of last minute trip so trying to get educated quickly on what is in CM and why some love it and some find it not worth the trip. thx!

brunette, Maybe you should start a separate post on that topic. There will be lots of responses I'm sure.

I've noticed that although this forum covers all Asia, anything up to 75% of recent posts at any given time concern Thailand. This could be testimony to its unbeatable superiority as a travel destination, or - if Fodors enquiries are anywhere near representative of the overall travel market - a preference by American travellers for what's perceived as a familiar and "safe" destination.

I haven't visited Thailand, and given our list of "must sees" it's possible I won't. The closest I've been are Singapore ("Asia Lite" as one poster neatly put it, rather sterile I thought) and Vietnam, which while clearly behind Thailand in tourist infrastructure also boasts cheerful and courteous people, beautiful scenery and an excellent cuisine. From what I hear Sri Lanka qualifies for the same description. I can only conclude that in addition to its undoubted charms Thailand has a "comfort factor" in people's minds.

Love all of your varied responses! They are fascinating to read. Many thanks to those who have take the time out to write. Keep them coming!

My other questions to this thread are: where else in Southeast Asia do you feel just as enthusiastic about as you do Bangkok, and why?

How do you compare Thailand to travel in China (which we are considering in 2007)?

Neil- I'm curious what you mean by "a preference by American travellers for what's perceived as a familiar and "safe" destination. Statistics may prove me wrong, but anytime I've been in Thailand, Europeans far outnumber the Americans. Do other nationalities travel to Thailand for different reasons?

jacqui- when we were there we had Ratt for 1/2 days- usually starting out in the morning. We wanted just a 1/2 day as we wanted to come back to the hotel after lunch to rest, shower, re-charge.
However if you only have one day - then get Ratt or Julie for the entire day- its not expensive and you can do so much more that you could using boats,trains,taxis.

I am posting in response to Neil's thoughts. I think there is an element of a 'comfort factor' for Thailand - we found that compared to Laos, Cambodia, Burma and Indonesia (other than Bali) it was easy to travel in. I think Bali, Vietnam and Peninsular Malaysia also offer that ease - whilst the infrastructure may not be as developed in Vietnam, I think the tourist/traveller trail is well trod and the infrastructure to undertake this well established. But I think that comfort factor is universal not just unique to American visitors to Thailand as you have highlighted. If you were to ever visit Thailand, most tourists are not americans but Europeans, Australians, Japanese, Korean, Taiwanese.

So I think perhaps this board is unrepresentative as to the breakdown of nationalities visiting Thailand. I guess there is a predominance of US posters but I figured it was because Fodors is a US organisation? Other nationalities are represented here too though - I am British.

Bottom line, I think the reason why 75% of the questions are on Thailand is that you get good responses on Thailand if you post a question here. When first thinking of travelling to a country I will post on a number of different places and then keep posting on where I get the best and most enthusiastic responses. I wonder if others do the same? Other boards are equally good on other areas of Asia - e.g. Bali Travel Forum for Bali (most regular posters are Australian). However, the Thailand Travel Forum (run on same basis as the Bali one) is not so good so I post my questions here instead.

Sri Lanka btw is great - well worth a visit and I think you will find it quite easy and comfortable to travel around - as well as ticking all the other 'boxes' you have highlighted to make it a must see.

I will be in Tland Feb. 22-Mar. 4.

I've already arranged to stayed in BKK until the 27. I'm trying to decide the itinerary for the rest of my trip, whether I stay in BKK for the extra days, go to the beach or Chiang Mai.

I'm originally from the Caribbean and I live in Miami, so I can enjoy beautiful sunny weather and the beach pretty much all year round.

Given my situation, are the beaches in Tland worth seeing? If I go for the beach, which one should I go to? Keep in mind that I'm a 35 yr old woman going by myself.

If I decide to spend the rest of the days in CM, what can I do there?

Or would you suggest that I just stay in BKK for the entire trip?

I will highly appreciate your suggestions and I thank you for all your posts and tips, which have been pretty helpful so far!

Versus - I would post this again under a new thread to get help

By my count, you'll be in Thailand for 11 days. I would go up north to both Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. Bkk is my favorite city, but it does not convey everything about Thailand. Some people like CM better than BKK. You might be one.

Given your exposure to beaches, I would skip the beach. While they're very nice, they are not very Thai and the time would be better spent elsewhere.

If you're a ruins fan, you could fly over to Angkor Wat for 3-4 days instead of going north. It depends on whether you prefer sights (AW) or culture (CM).

Don't agonize too much, you really can't go wrong.

There are so many places to visit, sadly too many limit this to the main places, but there are just so many other places to visit, some are well off the beaten track but others are not. Last week when traveling down the coast we found although not 'hoards' of tourists there were plenty of people from Europe and Asia, some Canadians and those from down under etc, I always suggest that if you want to mix beach with temples, national parks and nature, elephants plus local life then head down the coastline south of Hua Hin and it's 'all there', and you can find a/c comfort from $25 or you can pay $400 for pool villas, a huge choice!

Although I would like to go to AW, I have to travel with visas and don't want to get a visa to go to another country. That's why I'm just thinking of Tland.

I think I'll go to CM for 4 days and then back to BKK for another 2 days.

What is the best way to get to CM, via air? Can you recommend airlines with cheap fares to CM?

Do you think I need to reserve a driver to get around or will I be fine with taxis and local transportation?

Any specific site suggestions for CM? I love culture, museums, ruins, shopping too.

I'm definately going to spend half a day at the Oasis spa I read about (and checked online) on another thread here.