Annette's trip to Singapore and Thailand - part two

Flying in to Chiang Mai on a Friday night, I was full of anticipation for the second part of our Thailand experience - completely different to the beaches of Phuket and Krabi, this was culture and temple central!

First stop was the Chedi - it looks weird from the outside but inside is fabulous. Here a club floor room is an excellent choice. You are ushered in to the lounge to complete your registration over your favourite cocktail and then shown to your super-swish room. We didn't hang around long before heading out to the night markets, just across the road and down a bit - forget shopping, we were there to eat! One whole fish, some seafood and a few beers were no problem for the language barrier, we just pointed at pictures, picked out the prettiest sea bass on the slab and had a fabulous supper.

Next stop was the sublime Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi - this was the highlight of the whole trip as far as I'm concerned. If you've ever stayed at a Mandarin Oriental property before, you'll know what I mean when I say that the service is beyond fantastic. If you haven't experienced it, then go, go, go! The resort is stunning and a recreation of many temples from around Thailand, faithfully recreated in the most wonderful setting. Loads to do here - a wonderful spa, go back to town visit the temples and get to grips with the history of the walled city, visit the Walking Market on a sunday night for the bargains...or just stay at the resort and soak up the atmosphere of calm and serenity. The resort was pretty quiet when we were there so it almost felt like we had the pool to ourselves - floating in the pool, you can listen to the soothing music they pipe through the water....no, really it's true! The food is fantastic, the staff can't do enough for you, and it's going to a nightmare not to compare every hotel I stay in forever more to the benchmark set by this place. Talk about ending on a high!

I flew down to Bangkok and bade farewell to the Mother - she was off back to Auckland via Singapore while I had a final night at the Sukhothai - yet another stunning executive room with a view. A bit of sunshine and a final pad thai lunch signalled the end of my holiday and I headed back home - the final bit of pleasure was the Qantas business class seat, albeit a 747 and not as snazzy as my A380 flat bed on the way out, but who's complaining?

Thailand was a revelation, and I'd go back and do the whole thing again tomorrow.....sorry Australia, I never thought I'd say this, but I've got a new favourite country!!