As any loving, doting mother-of-two will tell you, when you discover you are pregnant for the third time in less than three years your first instinct is to pack a bag and fly somewhere peaceful and relaxing for a week alone.

So when I was invited to join a tour group promoting Thai tourism I hesitated for exactly as long as it took me to sort out the childcare before picking out the sarongs.

But should I be worried, I pondered as I threw my straw hat and thongs into my bag. After all, I was venturing into a country that had only recently emerged from a spell of political unrest.

Just how bloodless was that bloodless coup earlier in the year, I queried as I tried on sundresses that could stretch over my growing belly.

The last time I visited a country in a state of turmoil it was Sri Lanka. We were greeted on the runway by the wreck of a burnt out plane and armoured guards escorted us to our hotel.

I played this over in my mind as we landed: was travelling to a country which only months ago was staging a sort of 21st century peasants' revolt an extraordinarily and unnecessarily risky move for a pregnant mother of two toddlers?

What sort of babymoon had I signed myself up for?

But no such greeting awaited us in Bangkok.

Instead, we were taken to the newly refurbished and very elegant Sukosol Hotel where the all-singing Sukosol family – Thailand's answer to the Family von Trapp – hosted us to a delicious four course meal as the celebrity matriarch Kamala Sukosol gave us her thoughts.

Tapping her knife against her glass to command the room's attention, as if she didn't have it already, this chignoned, fully-made up, petite – if rotund – powerhouse thundered her disapproval of the discharged government.

The government had needed to "clean house", she said, and the army had done a fantastic job since the coup to keep everything in order.

An election would be held soon to stabilise the government, she said, but in the meantime Bangkok was safe and happy and sorting itself out.

As I sank into my 42 pillows atop my comfortable king-size bed with views overlooking the city and no baby monitors, no fully-wound three-year-old human alarm clock in sight, I really, really wanted to believe her. But was it true?

During my stay the military presence was all but invisible. The occasional soldier patrols, as a policeman might near important buildings or big crowds, but otherwise there was no sign of the army.

Our tour guide told us that spotting a soldier was like spotting a celebrity and that people would go up and have selfies taken with them.

A few hours from Bangkok, in an area most frequented by Thai tourists, we stopped at the brand new Botanica Resort at Khao Yai.

Set in the foothills of the Khao Yai National Park, this luxurious and as yet undiscovered resort is what babymoon dreams are made of.

It's so quiet and peaceful it's hard to imagine anyone here could have been aware of a coup taking place in the capital, bloodless or otherwise.

It was here – lounging besides the infinity pool – sipping mocktails at the pool bar, sinking into my balcony's outdoor tub as I took in the lush bank of jungle that abuts the resort – that I felt the most peace and serenity I have felt in three years.

In fact, the most endangered I felt the entire trip was when we took a hike to the Haew Narok waterfall in Khao Yai.

Those 400 or so stairs to the bottom were steep and punishing – especially when I was already off balance – but the spectacular view at the bottom (not to mention the family of monkeys playing by the water) was well worth it.

At a gala event to promote Thai Tourism back in Bangkok, attended by about 1000 journalists from around the world, the Thai army chief and head of the National Council for Peace and Order, General Prayuth Chan-ocha said he hoped visitors would rediscover some of Thailand's "magic".

"Thailand is ready to welcome everyone here, just like one of our family members," General Chan-ocha said through an interpreter.

Returning to my own family members – armed with gifts aplenty – I felt lucky to have been so warmly embraced by the friendly Thai locals, so impressed with the cleanliness and glamour of the cities, the serenity and luxury of our resorts.

Coup? What coup?

IF YOU GO: GETTING THERE: Bangkok is a non-stop nine to nine and a half hour flight from the eastern states, and about seven hours from Perth. Many major airlines fly to Suvarnabhumi airport, including Qantas, Emirates, British Airways and the Thai national carrier, Thai Airways.

STAYING THERE: For information on the Sukosol Bangkok visit sukosol.com. For the brand new Botanica Resort at Khao Yai visit botanicakhaoyai.com.

GETTING AROUND: For more information on travel and transfers as well as tips for getting around the country, talk to Absolutely Fantastic Holidays or visitabsolutelyfantasticholidays.com.

*The writer was a guest of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT)