The Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew, the enormous reclining Buddha at Wat Pho, and Wat Arun across the river — best at sunset from the Thonburi side. Do all three in one morning by river boat, and cover your shoulders and knees.

Bangkok’s Chinatown after dark is the best street food in the country and possibly the world. Grilled seafood, boat noodles, mango sticky rice. A guided food walk on your first night is the fastest way to learn what to order.

The old Siamese capital, sacked in the eighteenth century and left as brick towers and headless Buddhas. A UNESCO site an easy hour and a half north of Bangkok — hire a bicycle and take your time, or come by river cruise.

Feeding and walking with rescued elephants near Chiang Mai is one of the great days out in Thailand — but only at a real sanctuary. No riding, no bathing circus, no performances. If a place offers those, book elsewhere.

Damnoen Saduak is the famous one and the busiest; Amphawa runs in the late afternoon and feels more like a market than a photo set. Either way, go at opening — by mid-morning the canal is more tour boat than trade.

The old walled city holds hundreds of temples in a few square kilometres, and the golden chedi at Doi Suthep sits up the mountain above it with the whole valley below. Cooler, slower and greener than the south.

Usually a market tour first, then four or five dishes you will actually cook again. Chiang Mai does the best ones and they cost very little. The single most useful souvenir you can bring home from Thailand.

Wat Rong Khun is a contemporary artwork rather than an ancient temple — all mirrored white plaster, reaching hands and unexpected pop-culture murals. Strange, spectacular and an easy day trip from Chiang Mai.

Limestone cliffs dropping straight into the sea, reachable only by longtail boat. World-class rock climbing for the confident, and one of the best beaches in the country for everyone else. Base in Ao Nang and cross by boat.

The beach from the film, and still extraordinary despite the crowds. Maya Bay closes each year to let the reef recover, and swimming there is restricted — check the current dates before you build a day around it.

Rainforest older than the Amazon, and a jade-green reservoir studded with limestone karsts. Sleep in a floating raft house on Cheow Lan Lake and wake up to gibbons. The huts are limited, so this one does need booking ahead.

One of the cheapest and most popular places in the world to get certified, with warm shallow water and dozens of schools. Even if you only snorkel, the Gulf islands — Tao, Phangan, Samui — are the calm-water alternative to the Andaman coast.