Every time I travel I can’t help but dream of what my perfect guidebook would look like. All I know is it would definitely include maps, so I really loved this new “mapguide” series by Knopf where each page folds out into a different map. I’m a huge fan of information sorted by neighborhood/location. Especially in big cities like Bangkok, it’s much easier to make sure you hit all the spots in one area to avoid backtracking. I’m totally a logistical planner, and in an ideal world I’d mark up a map with places I wanted to go before I leave (problem with Thailand is that address are tough and mapquest doesn’t so much work).The fact that major locations were in English AND Thai on these maps was a huge help when it came to showing taxi drivers – who have very limited English – where we wanted to go. The beauty of this guide too is that it’s really easy to throw in a bag and doesn’t weigh a ton. I was kicking myself for bringing the Lonely Planet Thailand book (= heavy) rather than the Bangkok specific guide from the library, which would have been oh so much lighter. I never found my perfect guidebook before I left, so I bought the Knopf Bangkok Mapguide (inspired by the one [the other] Anne brought on the trip) as a souvenir for myself in Bangkok. I think the hot pink will look great on my bookshelf, and these guides are just as much coffee table book as they are practical guides.

P.S. While I was gone I became a finalist of the “Best of Blogs” Travel/Leisure blogs. You can vote for me here. Thanks!