There can be few countries more agreeable to visit than Thailand, writes Peter Rogers (1989) in A Window on Isan. The beguiling charm of its people combine to create a temptation that few can resist. Indeed it would seem to be a magic formula whereby the Thais seek to enslave the hearts of their guests, usually with consummate success. Thailand's long-established image as the 'Land of Smiles' is nowhere more in evidence than in the Northeast - in Isan. In a nation of outstandingly friendly people, those from Isan are notably gregarious, hospitable and kindly to a fault. This natural warmth of character, because there is certainly nothing spurious about it, contributes greatly to the visitor's pleasure in traveling in the Northeast, ensuring that he is everywhere welcomed and treated as an honoured guest. The urbanization of the Isan population has not greatly advanced, although it is on the rise. Isan remains overwhelmingly a land of small farms and village communities. Ethnically, Isan is an interesting transition area with its mix of Thai, Lao and Khmer people. Many writes treat the desolate landscape of Isan with disdain, writes Peter Rogers. "Perhaps the Northeast's charm reveals itself shyly to the connoisseur of Thailand's varied scenery and not to those impressed only by the visual cliches of the tourist post. The quite splendour of the Isan landscape, a landscape that can take on the serenity of the far horizons of a Sibelius symphony or a painting by Cezanne... rice fields and buffaloes, its hills and forests. These immemorial views, changing seasonally, are never far from the heart of the Northeastern rural scene, encompassing a land that today is less modified by the hand of man than any other part of Thailand."