Thailand

New Year between the temples of Bangkok and the beaches of southern Thailand.

Bangkok is chaotic and hits every sense. I visited the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha), a complex of golden spires, mosaics and statues of demon guardians. Across the Chao Phraya river, I saw Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn), with its central tower decorated in Chinese porcelain, reflecting in the water at sunset. Temples alternate with markets: the floating market with boats loaded with tropical fruit, and the night market, where the streets smell of pad thai, mango sticky rice and satay. Bangkok's street food is considered the best in Asia.

From Bangkok I flew to Krabi, on the Andaman coast. The landscape changes: limestone karst towers rise out of the emerald-green sea. Railay Beach, reachable only by boat because cliffs cut it off from the mainland, is one of the most photographed beaches in the world, with white sand, clear water and overhanging limestone walls, ideal for climbing. The longtail boat trip to the nearby islands (Koh Poda, Chicken Island) has coral reefs, tropical fish and empty beaches.

The last stop was Koh Lanta, the least touristy island in the area. The white sand beaches are very long and almost empty, the pace is slow, and every evening the sky turns pink and orange. The beach bars serve ice-cold Chang beer and grilled fish as the sun sinks into the ocean. Mu Ko Lanta National Park, at the southern tip of the island, has jungle trails leading to hidden coves with coral cliffs.

It was my second visit to Thailand after 2014, this time focused more on the southern coasts.