Driving around Chiang Mai

I like lists. Whenever I see a list of countries I check for Thailand and the USA. I was pleased to see Thailand up at #28 on U.S. News and World Report's survey of the judgement of thousands of people about "The 'Best' Countries in the World." The above link describes the methodology; a VERY broad range of criteria are considered in the assessments. That link shows only the Top 40, but all 89 countries (meeting some largeness criteria) appear if you click this link and then "Load more" several times.

Switzerland gets #1. Japan #2; the five major Anglophone countries all appear in the Top Ten. The four major Scandinavian countries are all in the Top 20, with Iceland at #22. Germany, France, Netherlands, Singapore, Italy are also all in the Top 15. No surprises so far. Five other prosperous Western European countries make the Top 27. This leaves just eight countries among the Top 30 that might seem controversial. Here they are (along with USA) with the reasons for their high ranks:

* 3 * United States -- agility (#1), power (#1), entrepreneurship (#2), cultural influence (#3)
* 16 * China -- power (#2), movers (#2)
* 17 * UAE -- movers (#1)
* 18 * So Korea -- movers, power, entrepreneurship, cultural influence
* 25 * Qatar -- movers (#3)
* 26 * Greece -- heritage (#1), adventure (#3)
* 28 * Thailand -- adventure, movers, heritage
* 29 * Portugal -- adventure, heritage
* 30 * Brazil -- adventure (#1)

I was happy to see Thailand ranked high, behind only Japan, Singapore, China, South Korea among Asian countries.
But ... whatever. Have I mentioned that I just like lists?

Chiang Mai is #1 "Best City" in Asia! (And #2 in the world.)

Travel & Leisure magazine just released its 2025 Awards.

Nearly 180,000 T+L readers completed the 2025 survey. A total of more than 657,000 votes were cast across over 8,700 properties (hotels, cities, cruise lines, etc.).

Cities were specifically rated on six criteria: Sights/landmarks, Culture, Food, Friendliness,, Shopping, Value.

For each characteristic, respondents could choose a rating of excellent, above average, average, below average, or poor. The final scores are averages of these responses.

Click to expand...

Here are the Top 15 cities, along with the only U.S. city to make Top 25.
1. San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
2. Chiang Mai, Thailand
3. Tokyo
4. Bangkok
5. Jaipur, India
6. Hoi An, Vietnam
7. Mexico City
8. Kyoto
9. Ubud, Bali
10. Cuzco, Peru
11. Florence
12. Seville, Spain
13. Granada, Spain
14. Istanbul
15. Siem Reap, Cambodia
. . .
19. Santa Fe, New Mexico