For many, the idea of staying in a hostel conjures up thoughts of rickety bunks, draughty corridors and snoring strangers.

They expect chaotic shared kitchens, long looted of their best utensils, and decor which is anything but stylish.

But now the hostel has evolved into something new and altogether more pleasing. The “poshtel” is set to make dodgy lodgings a thing of the past.

Travellers’ bible Lonely Planet has already noted the “irresistible rise” of the phenomenon.

So what’s it all about?

The poshtel combines the hostel’s cohabiting concept and affordable |prices with exciting design and special |amenities.

“Guests encounter features which you wouldn’t normally associate with a hostel, like a pool, roof terrace, bar, restaurant and free breakfast,” says Paul Halpenny from Hostelworld.com.

Rather than simply the cheapest place to sleep, poshtels aim to provide an attractive atmosphere where you’ll actually enjoy spending time. And the price per night is still significantly cheaper than at a hotel.

Halpenny says a “hostel revolution” has taken place in recent years.

Nowadays, 90 per cent of places also offer some private rooms and it is hard to find one without free WiFi, he says.

Travellers’ expectations have increased, and the facilities and ambience of hostels have improved as a result.

“Hostels used to offer a cheap bed for the night,” says Tobias Warnecke of the German Hotel Association (IHA).

“Nowadays, travellers are increasingly placing importance on the design and aesthetics of their temporary home, without wanting to give up the cheap price or the sociable and informal atmosphere of a hostel.”

“Poshtels are experiencing strong demand throughout Europe and worldwide,” confirms Gillian Tans, chief executive of the Booking.com online accommodation platform.

This hasn’t been too obvious so far, because the term “poshtel” is not that widespread yet. The locations are often marketed as design hostels or boutique hostels.

Some hotel chains have tried to offer rooms with contemporary design at affordable prices in capital cities. But they have been unable to come close to matching hostel prices.

More and more poshtels are opening, especially in the popular European metropolises.

Halpenny cites the Wallyard Concept Hostel in Berlin, Sunset Destination in Lisbon and the TOC Hostel in Barcelona as examples. Fancy, affordable city hostels have also sprouted up in cities like Chicago and Sydney.

The mainstream hotel industry is also trying to occupy this niche with design hotels, boutique hotels and lifestyle hotels, with locations from 25hours, Prizeotel and CitizenM making their mark.

And the major hotel chains are launching fresh, new, design-oriented brands to appeal to younger guests and compete with Airbnb.

Vice versa, a guest at a hostel with a single room and private bathroom can feel just like they would in a hotel.

“Clear distinctions between individual segments of the market are increasingly difficult to make and are becoming ever more blurred,” says Tobias Warnecke.

For example, AccorHotels has just launched the brand JO&JOE, aimed at millennials – with 50 locations around the world planned by 2020.

Are these more like a hotel or a hostel? When asked, a spokeswoman preferred to speak instead of an “open house”.

Watching the weather forecast on the television in my hotel room in Haiphong, Vietnam’s third largest city, I discover that my trip to Halong Bay has literally gone with the wind. A storm is forecast to hit coastal Haiphong tomorrow, the weatherman says almost cheerfully, and bang goes my much-anticipated four-hour tour of Halong Bay.

The disappointment hits hard, not least because we have come from Bangkok to Haiphong especially to cruise in scenic Halong Bay, a Unesco World Heritage Site that’s known the world over from its dramatic scenery dotted with islets.

“Tomorrow we will visit Cat Ba Island, the largest of the 367 islands making up the Cat Ba Archipelago, and if the weather isn’t too bad, we might have a chance to cruise in Halong Bay,” says Tien, our Vietnamese guide before dinner.

Looking at his rather grim face, I know that the chances are close |to zero.

I console myself with what John Steinbeck wrote in his memoir “Travels with Charley: In Search of America”. “A journey is like marriage,” he opined. “The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it.”

So I take a deep breath and bid farewell to Halong Bay, turning my attention instead to planning how to spend the rest of our time in Vietnam.

Waking the next morning to light rain and low clouds, we board a speedboat for a two-hour trip to Cat Ba Island then hop on an electric bus for a sightseeing tour. We visit beaches Cat Co1 and Cat Co 2 and enjoy the laid-back town. The highlight of the half-day trip is Cannon Fort, which is less than 15 minutes away from Cat Ba town by bus or motorcycle.

“Cat Ba Island means ‘Women’s Island’ and it was here that our women helped the Vietnamese army fight against the enemies. At the heart of Cat Ba Island, we also have the visually stunning and ecologically diverse Cat Ba National Park, a World Heritage Site designated as a biosphere reserve in northern Vietnam,” Tien explains.

Located on the top of the mountain, Cannon Fort offers astounding panoramas of Cat Ba Island’s dense jungle hills, the fishing boats floating in the harbour and the sea surrounded by a karst landscape.

“The fort was used in the naval defence of Hai Phong during the Vietnam War. The tunnels and guns here were first installed by the Japanese in WWII, but later used |by the French and Vietnamese,” |Tien says.

Some visitors are enjoying the scenic view from the terrace of the small café close to the observatory, while others explore a tiny war museum, underground tunnels, and inspect two well-preserved gun emplacements.

The dark clouds are building up and the wind is starting to gust so Tien rushes us to get back in the boat before the weather closes in and it becomes impossible to leave the island. Our so-called private bus is now packed with tourists and locals who want to board the boat at another pier where the wind is tamer.

We make it safely back to Haiphong where we stay overnight before heading back to Hanoi.

“No trip to Hanoi is complete without seeing our Water Puppet show. That’s the first thing we’ll do when we reach Hanoi,” Tien says with a smile.

Water puppetry or Mua Roi Nuoc is all about making puppets dance on water. Its origins can be traced back to the villages of the Red River Delta of northern Vietnam where, back in the 11th century, villagers used water puppetry to entertain each other in the flooded rice fields.

In front of Thang Long Water Puppet theatre, tour guides with different groups compete with the sound of horns and traffic to let their charges know where to meet after the show.

Tien is right about this being a spectacle not to miss. The water puppet performance shows a series of glimpses into the daily life of Vietnamese farmers, Vietnamese traditions and legends. One minute we see the lively puppets working in the rice fields, tending their buffaloes and ducks and catching fish. The next minute Emperor Le Loi of Annam, founder of the Le dynasty, is returning the magic sword to the tortoise, echoing the legend of nearby Hoan Kiem Lake. And even though the show is in Vietnamese, it’s easy to understand and appreciate.

After the show, Tien has us travelling by Xich Lo – cyclo – the traditional transport of the French and Vietnamese nobles during the French colonial period.

Seated in front of the driver, the busy streets of Hanoi are literally within arm’s reach. It’s a terrifying and deafening experience but still the best way to explore the busy streets of Hanoi.

I want to scream every time I see locals stroll across the street. Sometimes the motorcycles are only a few centimetres from hitting them but they don’t seem to care. Then Tien’s voice comes to my mind:

“When you see a car or a motorcycles coming towards you, don’t run, stop or take a different direction. Keep walking at your own pace and everybody is safe. Otherwise, the drivers would surely hit you.”

And I thought the Bangkok streets were dangerous.

IF YOU GO

http://www.VietJetair.com.

Winter flowers have long delighted tourists and photographers alike and once again it’s time for the Mexican sunflower, cherry blossom, poinsettia and tulips to bring a spring to the step and a smile to the face.

The combination of glorious sunshine, blue skies and cooler nights makes this a perfect time to explore a countryside carpeted with reds, oranges, yellows and magenta and this week we recommend the best places to enjoy the winter’s flower power. Do try and avoid long weekends though, as that’s when everyone else will be going.

A trip to tehran, we’re told, is not complete without a visit to Sa’ad Abad Palace Complex in Shemiran on the outskirts of the Iranian capital. Looking round at the vast 300-hectare site, I ask our guide Mahdi Ghasemian what on earth the Iranian Shahs did to amass such a fortune. Mahdi replies with an expression that’s half smile and half grimace. Like many kings of the early days, he explains, the Shah didn’t work for a living. “He was a king, he lived on our taxes,” he says.

But fortune – and fortunes – don’t last forever and the wealth of the Pahlavi dynasty in Iran came to an abrupt halt in 1979 where the Islamic Revolution put an end to the 2,500-year-old absolute monarchy. The new leader, Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, turned the Imperial State of Iran into the Islamic Republic of Iran. The last shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, was forced to leave quickly, without too many of his spoils, and ended up in Panama.

His legacy – as well as that of his ancestors – remains on the slopes of Alborz Mountain – the richest district in Northern Tehran – and includes a pair of ivory tusks from Thailand as well as the world’s largest pink diamond, the Darya-ye Nur.

“The palaces were turned into a museum after the revolution in 1979,” says Mahdi, as we head deeper into Sa’ad Abad Palace Complex. “You would need a good week to explore the shah’s treasures in Tehran.”

“Unfortunately, we don’t have a week, only a little more than 24 hours. We’re leaving Tehran in haste too,” I tell Mahdi.

Set in spectacular mountainside parkland, the Sa’ad Abad Palace Complex was once a royal summer home. The site holds 18 heritage buildings dedicated to subjects as diverse as the royal dishware, royal automobiles and miniature paintings.

The Shahvand Palace – or the Green Palace – was built at the end of the Qajar era and extensively remodelled by the Pahlavis in a classic European style for Reza Shah. He lived here for a year before complaining that the bed was too soft. The shah, the story goes, had to sleep on the floor. Today visitors come and poke their heads around mirror stalactites. Our next stop is the White Palace where we find the pair of elephant tusks presiding over the grand dining hall.

A day in Tehran is way too short, but it’s long enough to slip back and forth between legendary Persia and modern Iran.

On the way from Sa’ad Abad Palace to Golestan Palace, we observe that Tehran has something in common with Bangkok. Tehranis, for example, appear to spend much of the day in their beloved vehicles and the traffic congestion is extreme. They love motorbikes too, contributing choking smog and manic moves to the city’s streets. A soulless mass of concrete and traffic, Tehran comes very close to Bangkok as the most hectic yet dynamic place to live.

Like Bangkokians, the Tehranis are friendly (and good-looking). Here and there, as we brave the fast-moving motorbikes and cross to the other side of the road, they beckon us to take their photos.

From the chaotic business centre, we take a long walk to Golestan Palace, home to 17 structures, including palaces, museums, and halls. Almost all of the complex was built during the 200-year rule of the Qajar kings.

The Marble Throne is interesting with a mirrored, open-fronted audience hall dominated by a magnificent throne. The throne is supported by both human and non-human figures – many of them female – and constructed from 65 pieces of yellow alabaster mined in Yazd.

“Isn’t it unkind to the women to make them carry the throne for a man?” asks Jum, my travel mate.

“Oh. Well, those are angels – not just common women,” says the guide.

A short walk from the Marble Hall is Talar-e Ayaheh, the Hall of Mirrors, an amazing edifice topped by a huge dome and covered with shiny pieces of glass in a mosaic pattern. To me it seems kind of weird to be constantly living with your own reflection but there again, the ruler probably had his reasons.

“The Shah wanted to see a reflection in every turn, so he could ensure he was in secure accommodation,” says Mahdi. “The reflective glass meant he could see the assassin behind him.”

“That’s pretty smart,” I concede. “And why does it have to be done in mosaic fashion?”

“Well, the mirrors broke into pieces while being shipped from Europe to Iran,” Mahdi replies. “The Iranian designer had to make the most out of the broken glass.”

From the palace, we walk to the marketplace. Just a two-minute walk from Golestan Palace, the air in the Toton Forosh’ha Bazaar is redolent with herbs and spices. All along the bustling walking street, vendors offer dried berries, dried rose petals, roasted pistachios and a range of other kinds of nut and leaves impossible to identify.

A mother and her chldren are amused by the bag of raw pistachio knotted roughly around my wrist. I try to ask them for the name of the dried magenta flower. The ageing mother points to her head and smiles, leaving me none the wiser. “Gol gav zaban,” says her daughter. “It’s good for your brain. It’s a cure for Alzheimer’s.”

Minutes later I found myself in a back alley at a small tea stand.

Iranian tea culture is unique. The vendor keeps his tea kettle simmering on the stove in order to keep the tea warm.

When you order a cup of tea, he will pour the tea in your cup then hand you a small jar of cubed sugar. Since the tea is extremely hot, you have to pour a small amount of tea into the small porcelain plate to cool it.

“No. No,” one Iranian man exclaims, watching me about to drop sugar into my tea. He shows me how to do it the Iranian way. It turns out you take a few slurps from the porcelain plate than a bite of the sugar cube to cut the tannin.

Our trip ends with a visit to the Treasury of the National Jewels. Better known as the jewels museum, the Treasury houses the gems confiscated from the royal families after the 1979 revolution.

There was so much talk about the treasures of the shahs – the collection dates back to the Safavid dynasty in Isfahan – that ordinary Iranians were afraid that they would fall into the wrong hands. The National Bank of Iran finally opened its cavernous vault that houses the treasure, making it Tehran’s biggest tourist destination.

The incomparable treasury is a collection of the most expensive jewels in the world, collected over centuries, among them the Peacock Throne, an elaborate diamond and emerald Aigrette set in silver and the Pahlavi Crown. The must see is the Darya-ye Nur (Sea of Light), a pink diamond weighing 182 carats.

“This is Globe of Jewel,” says Mahdi, as he drags me to a globe bigger than a basketball. “It’s made of 51,366 precious stones. Isn’t it crazy?”

I have to agree. Even the rich have bad taste it seems.

The 105-kilometer race features 87 kilometers of sheer uphill climbing. On Oct. 28, only the toughest cyclists will be able to master the mountain. With an event capacity of 600 participants, 300 domestic and 300 foreign professionals from all areas of the world can stake their claim atop Taiwan¡¦s famous Hehuan Mountain said the organizers, the Tourism Bureau and the Taiwan Cyclist Federation.

The race begins at sea level from Hualien¡¦s Qixingtan and passes through the spectacular Taroko Gorge before climbing to Taiwan¡¦s highest passable road apex atop Route 14A to reach Wuling at an altitude of 3,275 meters. Another challenge of this race is the change in temperature from 20 to 30 degrees Celsius at the start of the race to 5 to 10 degrees Celsius at the finish line. Stunning views also await cyclists along this exceptional route, which is considered one of the greatest climbs anywhere in the world by many athletes, according to the organizers.

The Serious Amateur Test

From the amateur, yet passionate cyclist, the Formosa 900 invites you to circle Taiwan on a 900-kilometer-long, nine-day and eight-night journey. You have two options — signing up individually for the race that takes place between Oct. 22 and Oct. 30 or signing up through your company for the contest scheduled from Nov. 5 to Nov. 13.

Designed to allow cyclists to set their own pace and enjoy the scenery, the Formosa 900 — which integrates the hotel and food industries, local dining areas, and combined railway and bicycle routes — will award successful participants with official certificates upon completion. Participants may travel alone or sign up to join a group, but all will experience the full range of Taiwan¡¦s culture as they pass the headquarters of Giant Bicycles, Xiluo Bridge, the Tropic of Cancer, Mudan Dam, Mr. Brown Avenue in Taitung and more, according to the organizers.

The Casual Ride

Meanwhile, the two-day Sun Moon Lake Bikeday is an event for those who want to boost their fitness, protect the planet and enjoy healthy family time. Slated for Nov. 12 to Nov. 13, the event is intended for bikers of all ability levels, meaning that children on tricycles or with training wheels are more than welcome to join in. Participants young and old can follow routes that suit them, creating a welcoming and accommodating environment for all, the organizers stated.

Sun Moon Lake is already famous both at home and abroad for its breathtaking landscapes and wonderful bicycle paths. Organizers will guide participants through the ¡§Family Route,¡¨ which is less than 10 kilometers long; the 30-kilometer ¡§Lake Cycling Route¡¨ or the 80-kilometer ¡§Self-challenging Route.¡¨

Also on Nov. 12, the ¡§Children Sliding Car Contest¡¨ will be held alongside bicycle exhibitions, performances and related activities. The young and the young at heart will be able to experience the ¡§Hundred Knights Oh Bear Cosplay¡¨ carnival on Nov. 13, during which 50 groups of parents and children will wear costumes during their cycling adventures, the organizers said.

Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the US and raised in Lausanne, Switzerland, His Majesty the King Bhumibol Adulyadej was very much a child of the world. With French as fluent as his native tongue and excellent English, the King could have enjoyed travelling around the world with his family, attending luxurious receptions and other occasions befitting the presence of a monarch.

Instead, he chose to stay close to home for most of his reign,

Crowned in 1946, he married Queen Sirikit on April 28, 1950 and the couple spent their honeymoon at Klai Kangwon Palace, the royal summer palace in Hua Hin.

For most of us, travel has many faces, varying from a short ride to the market to a grand tour to satisfy our wanderlust. For His Majesty the King, travel was always about his personal quest to improve the lives of his people. And despite only occasionally going overseas, the King covered the best part of 5,000 kilometres a year, much of it through uncharted villages across the kingdom.

Vietnam was the first country the King honoured with a State Visit in 1959. He also briefly visited Indonesia and Myanmar before taking a Grand Tour of America and Europe for six months accompanied by the Queen and his two elder children.

His Majesty was a little worried about leaving Thailand for the West.

“Tomorrow I will leave Bangkok for America and 13 European countries,” the King was quoted as saying on June 13, 1960. “This is a state visit following their invitations. Every country – big or small – has to maintain a friendship with each other.

“I will leave the country and people for six months, and I am concerned about not being here. I would suggest all of you to perform your duty well in order to maintain peace and order in the country.”

The Royal Couple together with Prince Vajiralongkorn and Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya visited Disneyland on June 22, 1960. Last Friday Disneyland published photos of the visit [disneyandmore.blogspot.com] as a tribute to His Majesty. The images, both in black and white and colour, include one of the Royal Family in a boat of Story Book Land with Captain Hook’s ship in the background.

After a month in the US, the King and his family crossed the Atlantic Ocean to Europe. He went to England and spent a short time there before travelling to 12 other countries.

On return to Thailand, the King rarely travelled overseas. The last country he visited was Laos in 1994.

For more than half a century the King moved extensively around Thailand, once telling a foreign correspondent that there was too much to do at home to go overseas. With maps in his hands and a camera around his neck, the King went to every corner of Thailand. The trips, however, were not for his personal pleasure but to improve the quality of life of his people. He initiated Royal Projects in the country’s far north, introducing cash crops as alternatives to the opium poppy so that people could stand on their feet.

“In my position, I am called the King. I am the King. But my duty if you’ve noticed is not the duty of the King. It is sometimes quite different or difficult to define,” the King told the BBC’s David Lomax in 1980 while describing his work.

He rode on horseback as he made his way to remote hilltribe villages. Dressed in military uniform, he visited Thailand’s most precarious outposts. And as with any travellers, he returned with plenty of travel tales.

During one visit to a remote hilltribe village in Northern Thailand, the headman invited the King to his hamlet and served him a glass of moonshine made of his finest corn. The glass was dirty and his servant suggested the King pass the home-made drink to him so he could take care of it. “It’s alright. Nothing could survive the ferocity of moonshine – let alone disease,” the King replied.

Another classic travel tale which has been repeatedly told is centred on a private trip from Klai Kangwon Palace to Phetchaburi province, sometime in 1955. The king was scheduled to visit Kang Krachan Reservoir, but decided to see it on his own the day before the official visit. On the way to the reservoir, he found the road blocked and the locals busy building the royal arch. A poor man approached and, unaware to whom he was talking, told the King to find another way around. No man could go through the royal arch – but the king. The following day, on his official visit, the King lowered his window and spoke to the man who had stopped him a day earlier:

“Today I am the King. I can now go through the arch, can’t I?” One can only imagine how the man felt!

“The King and Queen of Thailand have always been in close contact with the people and they usually regard the King as the father of the nation. That’s why we don’t have much private time because we’re considered the father and mother of the nation,” Her Majesty Queen Sirikit explained to the BBC’s journalist.

The Royal Couple made another trip to Kaeng Krachan Reservoir in 1961. It was a trip to remember and our thanks must go to Wut Boonlert for sharing these rare photos on Facebook.

King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit travelled together to a Karen village beyond the reservoir. In a scene worthy of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”, the Queen looking young and beautiful in a blue-and-red Karen costume can be seen leaning over the railing of a bamboo pavilion on the reservoir bank as King Bhumibol, accompanied by his bandmates, happily plays trumpet to serenade her. Their obvious happiness could well have stemmed from the fact that the water from this same reservoir was used to prepare the blessing water for their royal wedding.

“I remember my grandmother telling me she was preparing food for that Royal visit,” says Thanisorn Luckchai, who still lives in Phetchaburi. “Everyone dressed in their finest Karen clothes. While they were cooking, the Queen came into the kitchen and invited everyone to plunge in the reservoir.”

Almost 5,000 kilometres a year is a great distance for one man to travel and leave behind him hundreds of stories. In the case of King Bhumibol, those stories are everywhere and will last until the end of time.

A MELODIC adhan rings through the air of Isfahan in Central Iran as we stroll into Naqsh-e Jahan Square. The sun is high and the Islamic call for worship drifts north across the old square that stretches from the sixteenth-century Shah Mosque to the old bazaar at its northern edge. The call then spreads sideways to Ali Qapu Palace and Masjed-e Sheikh Lotfollah on the eastern and western sides.

“As followers of Shia Islam, we pray three times a day,” says Farnood, our guide in Isfahan. “Unlike the Sunni – who pray five times a day – we answer the call to prayer in the morning, at noon and in the evening. This means people have time for their daily tasks.”

We gaze at Shah Mosque, which is also known as Imam Mosque, impressed by both the size and richness of its massive blue dome and the colours of its mosaic designs. Turning away from it, we come face to face with the Ali Qapu Palace (the Residence of shah or the king) on our left. The six-storey palace, with slender columns and a gigantic elevated terrace, stands proudly opposite Masjed-e Sheikh Lotfollah across the maydan. At the square’s northern end, the dome and arch of the old bazaar beckons travellers to browse for Persian carpets, copper pots and trays, herbs and spices and miniature paintings.

Known as Persia in the pre-Islamic period, Iran is on the bucket list of most travellers.

Unfortunately, the violence in the Middle East and United Nation sanctions on Iran’s suspicious nuclear programme have kept the former Persian Empire off the tourist map. That ban has now been partly lifted and visitors are slowly making their way to Iran. Thai Airways International has responded to this curiosity and now operates four flights weekly between Bangkok and Tehran.

Iran has a great deal to share with visitors and Isfahan, quite aside from its magnificent culture and architecture, is reputed for its chicken kebabs.

Just 350 kilometres south of Tehran, Isfahan (sometimes spelt Esfahan) is an historic and beautiful city teeming with Persian architecture and gardens. The city was twice the capital of the Persian Kingdom and the seat of the Safavid dynasty for 138 years, from 1598 to 1736. The Safavid made Isfahan the world’s most beautiful city, leading French poet Renier, who came during its heyday in the 16th century to write “Isfahan is half the world” in honour of its unmatched beauty.

Five centuries later, Isfahan is still beautiful. At every turn, the square dazzles with Persian architecture and lush gardens. The age-old mosques, the Persian carpets, the women in chadors and the frescoes on the palace walls spell out the romance of medieval Persia.

Farnood leads us into the dome of Shah Mosque where blue, yellow and pink mosaics featuring geometric designs, floral motifs and calligraphy underline the skill of the 16th-century artists and artisans who created them. The pride of the Persian design is probably the acoustic properties and reflections at the central point under the dome.

“The Imam could speak with a subdued voice and still be heard clearly by everyone inside the building,” says Farnood, as he steps into the central point and chants “Allahu akbar allahu akbar” – Allah is greatest, God is greatest.

His resounding chant, reflected outwards from the dome, sees many visitors turn towards the sound.

We follow a group of French tourists to Masjed-e Sheikh Lotfollah. Shah Abbas I established this Mosque on the eastern side of Naqsh-e Jahan Square. The Masjed-e Sheikh Lotfollah has plenty to say about the quality of Persian architecture.

Under the dome, surrounded by a mishmash of tourists babbling away in Chinese, French, English and German, I sit on the floor and lean against the tiled wall trying to make sense of the complexity of the mosaics on the ceiling. Unlike the Shah Mosque, which was built by the king for the common man, the Masjed-e Sheikh Lotfollah was especially constructed for the royal family and is connected to the palace by an underground tunnel.

When evening falls, Naqsh-e Jahan Square is even more atmospheric.

Iranians of all ages sit on the mats and munch snacks as they watch visitors take rides in the horse-drawn carriages. Many of them greet us, thanking us for visiting their country.

A five-minute walk along Sepah Street takes us to Chehel Sotoun – the palace of 40 columns. Set in the middle of a park at the far end of a long pool, it was built by Shah Abbas II and boasts 20 slender ribbed wooden pillars that rise to a superb wooden ceiling with crossbeams and exquisite inlay work. The 20 columns are reflected in the pool, hence the “lucky forty”. The palace houses a beautiful collection of frescoes depicting both historical battles and warm welcomes.

Isfahan is split in half by the Zayandeh River and its banks are connected by six historic bridges, each a destination in its own right. The riverbed is dry most of the year, but the banks are flanked by leafy parks. In the cool morning air, the bridges come to life as residents walk or cycle back and forth. Others just sit in the gardens and watch the time going by.

At night the Si-o-Seh and Khaju bridges take on a life of their own, their illuminated walkways drawing Iranians to socialise with music, hookahs and herbal tea. For visitors from far afield, this is a visual feast.

IF YOU GO

– Thai Airways International operates direct flights between Bangkok and Tehran. Isfahan is about an hour by plane from Tehran. Visitors with Thai passports can ask for a visa upon arrival at Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport.

– Watch a video of Isfahan at http://www.NationMultimedia.com/travel.