A winter respite-at lightning speed in Thailand

Khao soi is a popular Thai street food. [Photo/China Daily]

The Centara Grand hotel at Central World, right in the middle of central Bangkok, is an ideal staging post for your adventure. After arriving in Bangkok late on Friday or very early on Saturday, and after a good night's rest, you can freshen up in the morning with breakfast at the World Restaurant that seems to sit on top of the clouds. Here you can get the first taste of Thai on your trip, the breakfast selection including that and Chinese and Western cuisine.

Suitably fortified, you are now about to begin your first day of shopping and dining. The first stop is the Central Embassy shopping center, just a few minutes' walk from your hotel.

Here you can take you time roaming around this retail emporium, browsing renowned luxury brands such as Chanel, Gucci, Hermes and Ottega Veneta. There is so much here that you can easily kill a couple of hours, especially if you taking a close look at all the finery on sale. As hard as it may be, resist the temptation to spend too much, because a day and a half of shopping and dining are still ahead of you.

The next stop, for lunch, is Eathai on the lower ground floor of Central Embassy. If you stuck with Chinese or Western cuisine at breakfast time you can make a foray into Thai food here.