Tiger Temple in Kanchanaburi Thailand

Thailand, known as the southeast Asia's premiere holiday destination, offered a remarkable experience for tourists from all over the world. Therefore, my husband and I travelled all the way from Philippines to visit the said country.

It was midnight when we landed at Thailand Airport. As soon as we got our luggage and successfully passed all custom controls, we headed to the lobby. It was not as crowded as I thought, or maybe due to the fact that it was already midnight.

We have reserved a room at Loma Resort and Spa in Pattaya, so a taxi was all we needed. Some drivers refused because their route was just around Bangkok. Using meter was not an option and other drivers already set a fixed fare amount. The price was quite inappropriate, but we haven't had the time to bargain, as we were quite exhausted. Although we had been ripped off by the taxi driver, the most important thing was to safely reach the resort.

Pattaya, which was located 150 kilometers southeast of Bangkok, was a terrific place for families and couples who wanted to have a memorable holiday. It was famous for vibrant nightlife, especially in Walking Street, where bars, restaurants, discotheques, pubs and cabarets stood in every corner. It was probably a remarkable place for single men and women, as well as homosexual and bisexual people.

During daytime, white beaches and shopping malls would definitely be very enticing. A wide variety of local and international cuisines and entertainments also contributed to Pattaya's success as a tourist destination.

Aside from Pattaya, we also spent some days at Koh Chang - Thailand's next largest island after Phuket.

We stayed at the Grand View Resort and Paradise Resort & Spa on the third week of June, during the early rainy season. The weather was not an obstacle to experience some rain forest adventures, such as elephant trekking and motorbike riding. Scenic views of water falls and Buddhist temples were splendid, so as the beaches, restaurants, bars and resorts.

The journey would not be completed without staying in Bangkok. We stayed at the Viengtai Hotel, a two minute walk to Khaosan Road. The hotel was also near to Sunset Street, a phenomenal street surrounded with restaurants and entertainments, as well as tourists from various countries.

Some of Bangkok's attractions were The Grand Palace, Cobra Show, Tiger Temple, River Kwai Bridge and golden temples like Wat Phra Kaew, Wat Po and The Golden Mount.

Travelling with a tuk-tuk, enjoying a Thai massage, drinking Singha and Chang beers and selling fried squids, cockroaches and grasshoppers were also part of Thailand's culture and tourism.

In addition, Thailand was absolutely the "Land of Smiles" as most of the Thai people offered their great smiles.

Shopping would be very interesting, too. There were street stalls on Silom, Sukhumvit and Khaosan Road, shopping malls, Floating Market, Flower Market, Chatuchak Weekend Market, Patpong Night Market and Bangkok's China Town.

Moreover, our three-week holiday experience in Thailand was extremely spectacular.