Lonely Planet: Thailand
China Williams, coordinating author

Tourist mecca beaches to the south, hill tribes who could be living in an earlier century to the north, and the high speed city of Bangkok in between. Add to that world nature reserves, ancient temples, historic ruins, fiery hot curries, an ethnically diverse population, a non western alphabet and language, and a currently unsettled political situation. It does sound as though a guidebook might be a good idea.

Lonely Planet: Thailand entices with an opening section of a dozen pages of color shots of Thailand’s highlights and a map with more interesting destinations pointed out. That’s followed by about ninety pages of material on topics useful in planning your trip, a quick story of the country’s history,  several suggested itineraries and top picks, and chapters on culture, the arts, food and drink, and the environment. There’s also a bit about that political situation, and a chapter called Thailand & You, which helps give you the clue about etiquette, dress, and among other things, ways to volunteer and give back. The next seven hundred plus pages go into areas of the country in detail, with descriptions of local highlights and recommendations for places to stay and places to eat. The final ninety or so pages comprise reference material on transport, a short introduction to the Thai language, a directory section which gives you basic practical points about what to expect from different levels of accommodation, customs regulations, and the like, a chapter on health information, and then short bios of the authors of the book, and an extensive index.

Will this be a good companion to Thailand? Given that any guidebook is just that, an introduction that hits the highlights and offers the authors’ perspectives on what a good guesthouse is like or where there’s a safe or not so safe neighborhood, Lonely Planet: Thailand is readable, makes its perspectives and opinion styles clear, and packs in a lot of information.

Kerry Dexter is the Music Editor for Wandering Educators.

Kerry's credits include VH1, CMT, the folk music magazine Dirty Linen,  Strings, and Ireland and the Americas. She also writes about the arts and creative practice at http://www.musicroad.blogspot.com Music Road. You may reach her at music at wanderingeducators dot com