Welcome to the Land of Smiles. A heady mix of big city bustle, Buddhist temples, tourist resorts and sylvan countryside that begs to be explored.

Thailand is a country of fun-loving, happy-go-lucky folk who seem to be perpetually smiling. A world that seems to be making up its mind as to whether it should leap into the 21^st Century or slink back into its Buddhism-oriented past. Where chaos is a way of life in city while temples, ruins, and deserted cities repose in solitary splendour on the outskirts. A world where beach resorts bustle with activity while tiny islands around them beg to be explored. Welcome to Tourist Heaven.

The best way to get a feel of the country and all its attractions is to visit Bangkok, explore the cities around it and round off your trip with a relaxing stay at the ever popular beach resort of Pattaya. Bangkok is a city that has so many facets to it, that it simply defies description. The Chao Phraya River divides the city down the centre, with a North-South railway line separating the charming old city from the new concrete and glass

monstrosities. Bangkok is a people-friendly city, which offers its denizens a wide range of transport options from waterbuses to the inimitable tuk-tuks, which are tiny three wheeled rickshaws that zip around like roaches on a kitchen floor! However, there are few cities in the world where the old and the new blend with such effortlessness, that neither seems out of place next to its counterpart.

Incense curls in a Thai Temple

Our tour of Bangkok begins at its most famous landmark, The Grand Palace. This 210 year-old complex consists of a huge, high-walled compound, housing several building built using typical Thai architectural styles. The Palace also houses The Royal Chapel, Wat Phra Kaeo or Temple of the Emerald Buddha, which happens to be the most sacred Buddha image in Thailand. From the Grand Palace, we move to another wonder of Thai architecture, The Vimanmek Mansion. At first glance, the mansion looks both imposing and ornate, but its real claim to fame lies in the fact that it is the world's largest building made entirely of golden teak. The mansion complex is a storehouse of artefacts and objects of Thai origin, and well worth a visit

Bangkok is full of temples dedicated to Buddha in various positions or statues of Buddha crafted in gold or other precious materials. Among the many temples in the city, Wat Pho or Temple of the Reclining Buddha, has to be the most awe-inspiring. Built by King Rama 1 nearly 200 years ago, it is one of the oldest and largest temples in Bangkok and houses the gigantic gold plated 46 metre long "Reclining Buddha". The temple also has an impressive collection of panels, bas-relief and chedis (stupas), many of which appear in traditional Temple Rubbings, in markets across the country. In the olden days, temple rubbings were made by rubbing charcoal on rice paper placed against the relief, to transfer the image onto the paper. It was a painstaking process, requiring much dexterity on the part of the artist, but the results were spectacular, making original rubbings into priceless collector's items. Nowadays, of course, the rubbings are made from plaster moulds of the reliefs and are perfect as souvenirs.

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