Thailand is a wonderful country, and has so many spectacular things to offer visitors.  There are, of course, outrageously gorgeous beaches, and all the appeal of tropical paradise.  It is the country where a lot of the myths of paradise on earth are born, and it has an enormously rich cultural fabric with a spectacular array of myths from deep in the past.  It’s a mix of different languages and religions, but the majority speak Thai and practice a form of Buddhism.  It is this rich milieu that the world traveler enters when visiting Thailand.  It’s a great place to explore urban culture, as some of the larger cities have an enormous artistic scene, and there are splendid things to see and do in the cities.  But if you’re looking for a perfect beach resort, Thailand can offer plenty for even the choosiest guest.

We’ve selected some of the best of Thailand’s resorts to offer a sumptuous accommodation experience right in the center of the most beautiful areas in the country.  They are selected based on their excellence in hospitality and style.  Hospitality is a rich tradition here, coming from centuries of contact with visitors from all over the world, and style is simply exquisite.  It’s a mix of the latest trends coming from Asia’s largest metropolitan areas with the local island mystique, forming something that is simultaneously urban and also very local.  This is certainly reflected in a lot of the visual art that’s been coming out of Thailand for a few decades now.  A particularly apt case in point here is the work of Damrong Wong-Uparaj.

Born in Chiengrai in 1936, and dying in 2002, he studied in Bangkok, London, Philadelphia, and New York, and his entire life suggests an intense curiosity with the international scene.  He travelled extensively, studying work in various countries, and also giving lectures and workshops around the world.  His work is a fantastic and curious mix of avant-garde formal techniques influenced by a deep respect for Buddhism, and aiming to bring disparate elements together in a kind of harmony that would speak and extend to the viewer.  Damrong Wong-Uparaj has a number of works that are entirely abstract, devoted to find a purity of form, and even the representational works suggest a fantastic tension between daring to reveal many worlds beneath the waking one, and also the presence of something that is so elegantly simple.

Related posts:

1. Cape Town Supernature
2. Splashy Fen, Only in South Africa
3. Fort Collins’ Pep Squad
4. The Singapore Ducks
5. The History of Hospitality

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 29th, 2009 at 2:57 pm and is filed under Music, Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.