I like Southern California. Go to the show for a few hours and then back down to the sunshine. A little far, but no shortage of things to do. My wife and boy love it.

Jade Dragon Mountain, Lijiang, Yunnan, China.

Fly to Kunming, which is a 2 hr. flight from Bangkok. It may also be possible to fly there from Chiang Mai (a 1 hr. flight), but you need a Chinese visa, and I don't know if there is a Chinese consulate in Chiang Mai.

From Kunming, travel overnight on a "bed bus" to Lijiang, it is about a 12 hr. trip as I remember. Jade Dragon Mountain (the beginning of the Himalayas, is just outside of town.

There is a Chinese consulate in Chiang Mai and also a new one in Khon Kaen and an existing one in Songkhla, in addition to the Bangkok embassy.

I also recommend Yunnan province as the closest place to Thailand with regular snowfall, that is accessible and has a reliable amount of snowfall in winter.

Apart from the occasional snow flurries on Doi Inthanon on those rare winter days when there is precipitation, the next nearest place with regular snowfall is northern Myanmar's Kachin State (and possibly higher elevations of Shan State too). However, the problem with those parts of Myanmar are their inaccessibility for foreigners and therefore Thais wouldn't be able to go there easily. Northern Kachin State's northernmost town, Putao, regularly sees snowfall in winter and is accessible via flight, but surrounding areas need a permit.

Even then, they may not receive nearly as much reliable snowfall as neighboring Yunnan province's Shangri-la, Deqin or Lijiang counties.

The Chinese consulate in CM is on the outside of the SW section of the moat, between Chiang Mai Gate and Saeng Pung Gate.

As for journeying to northern Kachin, friends from there tell me that there is renewed fighting in the area, so travel would be either inadvisable or disallowed altogether. With the increased air links to southern China, this would appear to be a better option.

Good luck in your quest. Mrs R wanted to see snow, and two years ago she flew to Scotland...brave and yet so foolish!! Her first trip out of Thailand, and she did it all alone. At the other end, we were having a real cold spell....so she got her snow alright!