- our bestselling guide updated by a specialist four-author team
- expert coverage of Thailand's fascinating culture, arts & lip-smacking cuisine
- tips on the best island retreats & national parks
- new 12-page colour section on Thailand's Highlights
- all place names transcribed into Thai script for easy navigation

Joe Cummings Born in the subtropical port of New Orleans, Joe began travelling in Southeast Asia shortly after finishing university. Before writing became a full-time job, he played guitar in a succession of bands, volunteered for the Peace Corps, worked as a movie extra and taught English in Thailand, Malaysia, Taiwan and the USA. Along the way he earned an MA degree in Thai language and art history. For Lonely Planet he has authored the Thai and Lao phrase-books as well as Bangkok, Thailand's Islands and Beaches, Laos and Myanmar, and the pictorial book Buddhist Stupas in Asia. As a freelance journalist he has published articles in dozens of periodicals, including the Ambassador, International Herald Tribune, Geographical, Guardian, Los Angeles Times, Observer, Outside, San Francisco Examiner, South China Morning Post and the Asian Wall Street Journal. Sandra Bao Born to Chinese parents and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Sandra reluctantly moved to the USA when she was nine. Despite her introduction to the country being a winter in Toledo, Ohio, she became a naturalised citizen and eventually wound up with a BA in psychology from UC Santa Cruz. Sandra has travelled extensively around the world, both before and after joining up with Lonely Planet, and now despairs at having to give up a healthy vegetable garden and promising rock-climbing career for her peripatetic lifestyle. She currently lives in Oakland with her husband, fellow Lonely Planet writer Ben Greensfelder. The two hope to someday acquire a Siamese cat. Steven Martin A native of southern California, Steven Martin has been living and travelling in Southeast Asia since 1981, and has written articles about the region for the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Time. Steven has also worked on Lonely Planet's Thailand's Islands and Beaches guidebook. He is currently based in Bangkok. China Williams Thailand doesn't know it, but China Williams is a kindred citizen. She adopted the country while teaching English in Surin, the northeast's elephant capital. Only her freckles and childlike speech marked her as a foreigner. Officially, she is a full-blooded American, having grown up in South Carolina and migrated from one coast to another. She is now temporarily stationed in the vacationlands of Maine with her husband, Matt. China has contributed to Lonely Planet's Georgia and the Carolinas and New Orleans Condensed.