Sending elderly relatives to a retirement home can be a tough and emotional decision. But is booking

Sybille Widener lives in Zurich and is packing her suitcase for a trip to Thailand.

But this is no ordinary holiday.

She is off to visit her mother who lives in a care home in Thailand.

"A lot of people were shocked in the beginning and said, 'How can you do this? How dare you do this? You can't visit her,'" says Wiedmer.

"And I said if I visited her here, half an hour later she didn't know any more. She had forgotten."

Sybille's mother Elisabeth is 91 and has dementia.

She has been living in a care home in Thailand with a dozen other European residents for the past four years but struggles to remember anything from the present.

"I'm not long here up to now. But it is very nice and they are very kind. How long do I stay here?" she asks.

Elisabeth is told she's been a resident for four years.

"I'm here how long already? Four and a half years? Oh! I grow old."

Care in crisis

A quick look at the figures and it's easy to see why some families are starting to look for care further afield.

The staff costs for nursing are significantly lower in Thailand, but the reputation for quality is still very high.

In Elisabeth's case, her family chose Thailand partly because she had spent time living in Asia with her late husband - so it wasn't completely unfamiliar.

But Sybille says a key factor was the type of care her mother would receive.

"The treatment is so much more individual, and, how shall I say, with love. So I wouldn't hesitate to put anyone like that there," she says.

Sending relatives to care homes abroad might be a choice that many more Europeans find themselves considering, as the gulf between cost and quality continues to widen.

The problem is partly fuelled by demand. People are simply living longer and to ages where chronic health problems are more likely.

The World Health Organization states that by 2050, the number of people who make it past their 80th birthday is expected to almost quadruple to 395 million - the age after which one in six people are estimated to have developed dementia.

Add this to the findings of a report by the Alzheimer's Society showing that around 80% of current care home residents have dementia or significant memory problems, and it's clear that the need for care is only going to increase.

But with people tightening their belts like never before, paying the bills for a good residential home is impossible for many.

In Switzerland, people are expected to contribute to costs amounting to anything between US$5,000 (£3,036) and $10,000 (£6,073) a month,

In the UK average costs range from US$3,600 (£2,186) for basic residential care to over US$5,000 (£3,036) a month with nursing care. In Thailand the figure is closer to US$3,000 (£1,000 - 1,500) a month - and that's for a care package that is likely to be more comprehensive.

And while life savings are depleted, the UK care system has been beset by shocking revelations about abuse of the elderly and people being left to die of hunger and thirst!

"There's often a strong aversion to having family members go into care," says Chris Quince, a senior policy advisor at the Alzheimer's Society.

"Our research has found that abuse is the biggest fear among the public."

A matter of culture

In contrast, Thailand has a strong culture of looking after its elderly.

Sybille Wiedmer did try caring for her mother herself but, like many relatives of people with dementia, it eventually became impossible.

"Most of the time I looked after her every day," she says.

"But if you're so close to somebody... she got very aggressive. That made the situation very very difficult, very bad."

Although many relatives experience immense guilt for going down the care home route, Chris Quince of the Alzheimer's Society says that decisions about care are often out of their hands.

"Many people would like to continue caring at home but really can't," "That choice to go to a home is often not really a choice, but happens because people can't cope in the community or have an accident or illness."

Despite the distance, Sybille speaks to Elisabeth via Skype almost every day and visits Thailand at least twice a year. Its only a 10 hour flight!

Even so, as a generation of 40- and 50-year-olds find themselves living through a financial crisis while simultaneously supporting both their children and elderly parents, it may mean that many more people like Elisabeth are being cared for away from home.

Sunshine International Care Home in Hua Hin, said that Thailand is an up and coming place to send your parents to retire to. Most Nursing Homes here are far luxurious than the average home in Europe and living in the sun always makes you feel younger and better. That alone is enough, without the huge costs savings.

Care Homes in Thailand often have their own private apartments with their own living room, kitchen, and restroom, often with their own private balcony overlooking the swimming pool, tropical gardens and coconut tree's.

There isn't so much red tape here, many things are possible in Thailand, but wouldn't be possible in Europe,

Sunshine International Care Home said that Thailand is a wonderful place to retire to, with the cost of living much cheaper than Europe, the sunshine, less red tape, and great service, it's no wonder people are flocking to Thailand to retire to. They don't call it the land of smiles for nothing!