Thailand

Udon Thani (อุดรธานี) is a big, brash city with one of the largest expat populations in Thailand. The city was the site of a large US airbase during the Vietnam War , and it subsequently became the region's primary transport hub and commercial centre. The town itself doesn't have any must-see attractions, but there are some tremendously interesting spots around it.

Det droppar och ploppar. Luften är full av mystiska visslingar och galet surrande. Häng med till Thailands största regnskog, mäktiga nationalparken Kaeng Krachan.

Given the jaw-dropping natural beauty of Kanchanaburi Province (กาญจนบุรี), it seems paradoxical that the region is best known for the horrors of WWII's Death Railway. The provincial capital's war memorials are a mandatory stop before heading deeper into the parks and preserves that comprise the southern end of the Western Forest Complex, one of Asia's largest protected areas. Numerous waterfalls and caves can be reached with minimal effort, but hiking trails plunging into thick jungle also lure hardened adventurers to this wild terrain.

Despite its remote location and relatively small size, Mae Sot (แม่สอด) is among the most culturally diverse cities in Thailand. Walking down the town's streets you’ll see a fascinating ethnic mixture of Burmese men in their longyi (sarongs), Hmong and Karen women in traditional hill-tribe dress, bearded Muslims, Thai army rangers and foreign NGO workers. Burmese and Karen are spoken as much as Thai, shop signs along the streets are in Thai, Burmese and Chinese, and much of the temple architecture is Burmese. Mae Sot has also become the most important jade and gem centre along the border, with much of the trade controlled by Chinese and Muslim immigrants from Myanmar.

Thailand är världskänt för sina stränder, men för den som suktar efter sval luft, berg och vild natur finns bara en riktning som gäller. Norrut.

The past is never far behind in Central Thailand. Ayuthaya, Siam's former royal capital, is practically an open-air museum, with dozens of enchanting temple ruins peopled by stone Buddhas, while Kanchanaburi's WWII memorials pay tribute to the thousands of lives lost building the Death Railway.

Once the domain of sea gypsies, Lanta has morphed from a luscious Thai backwater into a getaway for both Asian and European, especially Scandinavian, visitors who come for the divine miles-long beaches (though the northern coast is alarmingly eroded) and nearby dive spots of Hin Daeng, Hin Muang and Ko Haa.

Welcome to the urban hub of southern Thailand where shopping malls mingle with wafts of Cantonese street eats and curry from the eclectic range of busy street-food stalls, as old Chinese men sit and watch the world go by on rickety chairs outside junk shops. It's a mix of busy city and laid-back tropics and the town's tourism scene is still predominantly Malaysian mixed with a few Western expats. Come evenings, Hat Yai's cosy pubs and bouncing clubs come into their own.

Phitsanulok Province (จังหวัดพิษณุโลก) is home to visit-worthy natural attractions and a pleasant provincial capital with plenty of food and accommodation options. However, most visitors regard the province more as a base for visiting the historical ruins in neighbouring provinces than a destination in itself.

Known in Thai as ‘City of Good People’, Surat Thani was once the seat of the ancient Srivijaya empire. Today, this typical Thai town is a busy transport hub moving cargo and people around the country. Travelers rarely linger here as they make their way to the popular islands of Ko Samui, Ko Pha-Ngan and Ko Tao, but it's a great stop if you enjoy real Thai working cities, good southern street food and nosing around colorful Chinese temples and shopfronts.