Lying in the softest sheets imaginable, the darkness absolute, silence total and temperature unnoticeable, it took a moment to remember that we were in the heart of bustling Bangkok.
The same otherworldly holiday experience repeats itself 20 metres deep into the Andaman Sea. Swimming among a shoal of fish so large and intense in their yellows, reds and blues, it feels more Nemo film still than real life.
The feeling I've escaped reality continues to repeat itself throughout my two-week journey, where I take planes, boats and a family of five across Thailand – a country that not only never fails to deliver, but whose standards only keep going up.
Sunset off Koh Samui on Red Baron cruise, a relatively affordable family experience. Photo: Christine Harding
High-rise elegance
“Is this a first world or a developing country?” is a reasonable question for our 16-year-old to ask when spinning through the high-rise elegance and refined modern architecture of Bangkok that sits alongside stifling homes made of corrugated iron or decaying colonial masonry.
Within this struggle lies the Four Seasons Bangkok, providing an oasis of calm amid and engaging interior decor. It is pure excellence in service and with a vast buffet serving that, we all agreed, were the best breakfasts we had ever had in a hotel.
The attention to detail extends to its gym, where a fridge contains not only gratefully received cold, damp towels but healthy protein drinks to fuel the body for the intense workout that ‘Boy’, the former Thai boxer, can ad hoc impose on the unwary traveller.
View from our room of interior garden and swimming pool at Four Seasons Bangkok hotel. Photo: Christine Harding
The body’s exertion melts away under the strong showers and comforting sheets in the blacked-out room which shuts out everything from the outside world.
So muc
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