Bangkok

The food here will remind your taste buds what they are there for, the street life throbs around the clock, and Chatuchak market could turn the most hardened mall-dodger into an avid shopper in minutes.

Escape the suffocating exhaust fumes and take the Phraya Express (www.chaophrayaboat.co.th) river boat for an inexpensive tour of the city. Here you can hop off and eyeball a giant Buddha before jumping back on. If size does it for you, then the 46m-long reclining Buddha at Wat Pho (Thanon Chetuphon, +662 222 5910) is a must and is housed in the city’s oldest temple; while, around the corner, the Grand Palace (+662 222 8181) there’s a complex of assorted temples, stone statues and fascinating tableaux depicting an ancient, mythical war.

Good food is available on every street corner at every hour in Bangkok, whether it’s pad Thai noodles, satay sticks or som tum (a fiery salad made from grated green papaya). The essential shopping stop is the gargantuan Chatuchak Weekend Market (in Thanon Phahon Yothin) and in the last two years it has become a beehive for design, and a social centre with artist bars, coffee houses and sliver-sized Esarn eateries.
Qatar Airways flies from Abu Dhabi to Bangkok around Eid currently from Dhs740 (exc taxes)