DESTINATION OF THE YEAR Thailand

Full disclosure: I didn't like Bangkok at first. I didn't get it—the chaos, the traffic, the fact that everything was hard to find. But like all good love affairs, my relationship with Thailand—which deepened when I moved from Vietnam 12 years ago to work at Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia, where I'm now editor in chief—took time to blossom.

- JENINNE LEE-ST. JOHN

Once you understand the place, it's impossible not to fall for it. Maybe it's the Thai concept of kreng jai, which puts high value on respecting all people; maybe it's the fact that I can arrange a seamless commute via motorbike taxi, tuk-tuk, subway, and Skytrain for maximum efficiency; or maybe that I get to eat pad krapow gai, a stir-fried chicken dish topped with an egg, for breakfast every day. I also get a thrill from observing the constant evolution of a country where stark contrasts are the norm. Take the fact that this majority-Buddhist and often traditional society recently legalized marijuana and same-sex marriage. Or that Thailand has some of the best luxury hotels in the world—many at unbeatable prices—yet you'll find the same warm hospitality and attention to detail in the humblest of homes.

Bangkok's restaurant scene, the most dynamic in Southeast Asia, is home to chefs who experiment with sour, fiery, and fermented ingredients pulled directly from rural regions like Isan and Nakhon Si Thammarat.

Thailand also has 1,430 islands—from the diving haven of Koh Lipe, where you can find a private stretch of ocean, to the resort-packed Koh Samui, one of the settings for the soon-to-launch third season of The White Lotus. Whether you visit the mountainous north or the southern shores along the Andaman Sea, the country reveals its treasures gradually, and usually by word of mouth. There's so much creativity in the art, food, and hospitality scenes that it can be hard to decide where to go and what to do.

In the following pages, you'll find stories that will make those decisions a bit easier. No doubt you can thoroughly enjoy Thailand by winging it, but follow the advice of our trusted editorrs and contributors, and I promise you'll fall forever in love.

Bangkok CITY of LIGHT