Sitting in the heart of South East Asia, Thailand is home to the biggest tourist trade in the region and is an incredible country, full of many sights and sounds to tantalise the senses. Bordering Burma to the West, Laos to the North and Northeast, Cambodia to the Southeast and Malaysia in the South, the geography of the country is generally flatlands with mountainous terrain and the Khorat Plateau in the East. The country is a mainstay for the backpacker’s trip and the country is flooded with those both young and young of heart every year, as well as those looking for a more traditional break. The varied landscapes offer as many different experiences as one could expect, with grotty hostels sitting down the road from luxury resort complexes, and the water sports of the coastal regions giving way to the on foot adventures of hiking and climbing when the inland regions are reached.

The history of Thailand stretches back to the melding of a number of cultures: the Mons, the Khymer, the Nan Chao and Srivijaya cultures all melding into what soon became the state of Siam. This state stood for hundreds of years in relative peace, establishing the capital of Ayutthaya. By the 16^th century the Burmese invaded and destroyed the capital, forcing the powers that were to relocate to Thonburi, then Bangkok in 1782. The Burmese were routed and expelled from Siam soon enough, and the country again entered many years of relative peach – the encroaching European powers were kept at bay with some clever negotiations by the Siamese, who ended up playing the nations off against each other whilst retaining their independence. A bloodless coup was enacted in 1932, which lead to the country first becoming a monarchy and then being renamed Thailand in 1939, which sided with the Japanese during World War II. By the end of the war, allegiance shifted to the Americans and the military were in charge of affairs – between 1945 and 1979 there were around 20 coups or attempted coups and the balance of military power in the nation was constantly shifting. From 1979 the country entered a period of stability and saw power move out of the hands of the military, and more into those with economic clout, but 1991 saw a familiar act as another coup was attempted, succeeded, but was then overthrown by bloody protests in 1992, returning the country to civilian government. The next five years saw many elections, a fair few leaders and a lot of corruption allegations thrown around, until 1997 when a new leader was finally decided upon – this was the same year that the value of the Baht declined massively and the country’s economy went into freefall. By the beginning of the 21st century, however, the economy was back on track and the new leader, Thaksin Shinawatra, took power. Thaksin’s time in office was dogged with yet more calls of corruption, though he did deliver on his promises to the rural peoples of Thailand. His apparent restrictions on the media, amongst other allegations, lead to another bloodless coup of September 2006, when the military took advantage of Thaksin’s absence (he was away in New York). The military placed an interim leader in charge and have promised free and corruption-free elections will be held in December of 2007. December of 2004 saw one of the worst natural disasters in recorded history, when an offshore earthquake caused a giant tsunami to decimate countries in and around the South East Asian region – Thailand was affected by this and thousands died in the tragedy. Since then, the regions worst affected have been rebuilt and life has returned to normal, in the most part. Recently, there has been a spate of violence in the southern regions of the country and concerns have been raised as to the safety of this part of the country. Despite it’s ongoing problems, Thailand has a strong economy and is still a popular place for many travellers, and this at least doesn’t look to change soon.

Thailand is a country that has triumphed economically, despite all the troubles it has faced through the years. Tourism is big business in the country and with all types of traveller catered for it means this South East Asian country has the market pretty tied up, and will do for a time to come. Potential off plan investors looking for somewhere with a massive, established tourism base could do a lot worse than Thailand, recent troubles or not.

The standards of healthcare in Thailand are good in main towns and cities. Treatment will not be offered without credit/debit cards or valid health insurance, making the latter necessary.

Mobile phone coverage stretches across the country, though coverage in more rural regions cannot be guaranteed. Landlines are widely available and lines are of a very good standard in main towns and cities. Internet cafes are widespread.