Perhaps they also realize that the Land of Smiles isnt simply a destination where one sees the sites, ticks them off the list, and then returns home. This is because at some point, Thailand starts to feel like home. Traveling from place to place, making relationships, learning, living and loving it more and more each passing day, one feels less like a tourist, and more like a sort of itinerant resident.

So its no wonder that so many of these types of travelers decide to take their visits to the next level and turn them into extended stays. With the year-round warm weather, the friendly people, the affordability, convenient domestic travel, world-class spas and medical care, delicious and healthy foodand the list goes on. With all these attributes, perhaps now is the time for you to consider joining this growing group of trip-makers whove decided on a Long-stay in Thailand.

And who exactly are the long-term visitors that youd be joining? They range from backpackers to retirees, and everything in between, but first and foremost, they are lovers of Thailand. Lovers of the way its rich and unique history co-exists with modern day amenities like its luxury shopping and world-class dining, captivated by the sounds, smells and flavors of Thai cooking.

They are lovers of the countrys incredible geographic diversity, whether navigating the hectic excitement of Bangkok, or enjoying any of the numerous exquisite natural settings like the blissful beaches and idyllic islands in the south or the rugged hills and jungles, and teeming rivers and waterfalls in the north.

Many come for the top-notch spas and hospitals found in Thailand, and are beckoned by the health-and-holiday concept, drawn here to escape the harsh winters and higher cost of living back home, and to benefit from the world-renowned traditional Thai massage, herbal steam baths, healing arts, meditation, and beauty treatments. Thailand is world famous for its medical care, as evidenced by the arrival of over 1.4 million medical holiday patients in the last few years.

For retired people especially, after working so hard for so long, now is the time to reward yourselves with a safe, affordable and completely enriching Long-stay in Thailand. Take delight in recharging your batteries in comfortable extended-stay hotels all over the country, or even, especially if youre an urbanite, in an investment property like a condominium that you can truly call home. With accommodation for any budget in or out of the cities, many on long-stay choose to live near, but not in, one of Thailands larger cities, thereby enjoying the peace and tranquility of natural surroundings, but with access to everything the city has to offer.

And, as anyone whos visited Thailand knows, what really makes the Kingdom so special is the Thai people themselves. Your would-be friends and neighbors, that is, from whom you will experience kindness and caring each and every day. And on whom your long-stay or permanent residence will not be lost because, in a way, youve honored them by choosing their country above all others. And should you endeavor to learn the lilting and sweet-sounding Thai language youll experience true warmth, kindness, and generosity in your home away from home.

So, when youve weighed it all out, and confirmed that youre indeed a lover of Thailand; when you realize that one of the worlds friendliest and most accommodating places awaits and all of its true joys and wonders could be yours; when you think youre ready to take the plunge, ask yourself once and for all:

Where better to enjoy the later years of your life than in the country known simply as the Land of Smiles?

For lovers of Thailand, a Long-stay in Thailand is the trip of a lifetime.