Introducing Thailand
Travel Alert: The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office recommends against all travel to some areas and against non-essential travel to others, please check with your relevant national government.
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Thailand’s beaches are mythical: tall palms angle over pearlescent sand, coral gardens flourish in the shallow seas and beach parties are liberally lubricated with alcohol and fun. With a long coastline (well, actually, two coastlines) and jungle-topped islands anchored in azure waters, Thailand is a tropical getaway for the hedonist and the hermit, the prince and the pauper. And in between the kissing cousins of sea and sky are dramatic limestone mountains standing sentinel. This paradise offers a varied menu of playing in the gentle surf of Bang Saphan Yai, diving with whale sharks in Ko Tao, scaling the sea cliff s of Krabi, learning to kiteboard in Hua Hin, recuperating at a health resort in Ko Samui and feasting on the beach wherever sand meets sea.
The celestial world is a close confidant in this Buddhist nation, where religious devotion is a colourful and ubiquitous spectacle. Gleaming temples and golden Buddhas frame both the rural and modern landscape with exuberance. Ancient banyan trees are ceremoniously wrapped in sacred cloth to honour the resident spirits, fortune-bringing shrines decorate humble noodle houses as well as monumental malls, while garland-festooned dashboards ward off traffic accidents. The Thai’s ongoing dialogue with the divine anchors the day-to-day chaos to a solid base of tranquillity. Visitors can join in on the conversation through meditation retreats in Chiang Mai, noisy religious festivals in northeastern Thailand, peaceful underground cave shrines in Kanchanaburi and Phetchaburi or scenic hilltop temples in northern Thailand.
No matter what draws you to the country first, a Thai meal will keep you hooked. Adored around the world, Thai cuisine expresses fundamental aspects of Thai culture: it is generous and warm, outgoing and nuanced, refreshing and relaxed. And it is much more delicious in its native setting. Each Thai dish relies on fresh and local ingredients – from pungent lemongrass and searing chillies to plump seafood and crispy fried chicken. With a tropical abundance, a varied national menu is built around the four fundamental flavours: spicy, sweet, salty and sour. And then there are the regional differences, which propel travellers on an eating tour of Bangkok noodle shacks, seafood pavilions in Phuket, Burmese market stalls in Mae Hong Son, and luscious tropical fruit everywhere. Cooking classes reveal the simplicity behind the seemingly complicated dishes and mastering the markets becomes an important skill.
Ready to go? Our recommended tours make it easy:
- Explore Northern Thailand in 8 days
Last updated: May 25, 2012
Tips & articles
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Thailand’s islands: where to escape the crowds
15 May 2012
Whether it is riding in the back of an open tuk-tuk or racing across the waves in a longtail boat,...
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Going beyond pad thai
12 May 2012
There’s an entire universe of amazing dishes once you get beyond ‘pad thai’ and green curry, and for many visitors,...
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Best adventure travel ideas
29 April 2012
If you’re after an outdoor adventure, look no further. In this excerpt from Lonely Planet’s 1000 Ultimate Experiences, we bring...
Thorn Tree forum discussion
Recent posts
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RE: 4 countries, 3 months each, for retirement : how do you organise yourself ?
by cyril_madrid 28 May 2012
The issue of switching properties is nice, but if I want for example to avoid Thailand for the rainy season, I am not sure to find a volunte…
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RE: Overland travel to Myanmar from Thailand
by oshilumbo 28 May 2012
It's been five months since this post was written and things change quickly in Burma (especially now). Does anyone know if Compadres informa…
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Thailand
Things to do
- All things to do (3,558)
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Our Top Picks For Thailand
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1 Ko Tao
Be a small fish in a big tank while diving with mighty whale sharks from this coral-fringed island, stay a while, or choose another beach paradise
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2 Sangkhlaburi
Border outpost amid a misty lake and rugged karst mountains far from the tourist trail; the bus ride here from Kanchanaburi is one of Thailand's best scenic journeys
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3 Cooking classes in Chiang Mai
Learn about Thai culinary herbs and spices, tour a local market and prepare a feast - choose from loads of classes in Chiang Mai, which is also a top ecotourism spot
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4 Khao Sok National Park
You wouldn't be surprised if a T-Rex emerged from the jungle in this amazing tangle of limestone karsts and rainforest. Home to snakes, monkeys and tigers, and the incredible Rafflesia kerrii flower, this special corner of Surat Thani Province in Thailand's south is only a ten hour bus ride form Bangkok.
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5 Mae Hong Son Province
Remote crossroads with ethnic minorities, jungle trekking and the hippie retreat of Pai
Fast Facts about Thailand
- Pick-up joint: the world’s second-largest pick-up truck market after the US
- Border countries: Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar (Burma)
- Population: 65,493,296
- Guinness World Records: longest condom chain, most couples married underwater and most Mini Coopers in a convoy (444 cars parked to spell out ‘Long Live the King’)
- Karaoke culture: every major band or singer releases video CDs (VCD) specially formatted for karaoke-style singalongs
- Religion: 95% Buddhist
- Literacy: 92.6%, though reading anything other than the newspaper or comic books is regarded as an eccentric hobby
- Currency: what's the Thai baht worth today?
- Prime Minister: Yingluck Shinawatra
- Number of 7-Elevens currently: 3912
- Highest point: Doi Inthanon 2565m
- Head of state: King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX)
Our favourite Thailand Blogs (beta)
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May 28
Blog: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Koh Chang, Thailand - 28 May 2012
The photo that probably caught your eye the most of those above was the pickled Red Muntjac deer, as it isn’t often that someone has the idea of shoehorning a forest mammal into a large jam jar and then putting it on display. The National Park are taking their remit ...
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Where to go in Hat Yai, Thailand
Blog: Malaysia Asia - 28 May 2012
Where to go in Hat Yai, Thailand - This article is created for those visiting Hat Yai and thinking of where to go around the Hat Yai district of Songkhla. As HatYai is very well known to the Malaysians and Singaporeans, there are a number of things that one can do while visiting this city.
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Thailand’s Posing Tribal Children
Blog: ContemporaryNomad - 27 May 2012
While visiting Wat Phra Tat Doi Suthep north of Chiang Mai, we discovered a relatively large number of very young Akha and Miao children who had been dressed up and strategically positioned around the monument to make some not-so-quick cash off Thais and foreigners alike. Well-intentioned tourists will often snap some cute pictures of the kids [...]
