Bangkok

Bangkok works best from the river. The hotels along the Chao Phraya have the views and the boats, and a private long tail at seven in the morning reaches the Grand Palace and Wat Arun before the heat and the crowds. The food, from street stalls to tasting menus, is the other reason to stay three nights rather than one. We arrange a guide who knows the canals of Thonburi, the tables at the restaurants that book out weeks ahead, and a day at the floating markets that is not the tourist version.