Thailand: Hot Spot

POLICE CUSTODY "Look at that view," marvels Sombat Panarong. We're at his Umphang Hill Resort, tel: (66-55) 5610630, peering at the river in the late afternoon mist. "This was something worth fighting for," he says, taking a deep swig of his Scotch and ice. The police captain turned hotelier knows a thing or two about fighting—his previous career was spent battling communist guerrillas who once roved the hills fomenting revolution. His stories lend color to a stay at this cheap and cheerful resort, with its 54 bracingly basic rooms. "Some people say there are still guerrillas out there who never surrendered," he says, and I'm suddenly glad to be safe behind the hotel fence. We call for more whisky, and drink to his fallen comrades.