Thailand Travel Guide
Thailand has everything you could imagine in a country, from the most visited city on Earth, right through to isolated jungles. Whatever you are looking for, you should find it in the 'The Land of Smiles'.
On our one month adventure around Thailand, we started in Bangkok and made our way north, so have yet to experience the islands of the south. However, this page gives a lot of general information about Thailand, alongside specific guides to Bangkok, Ayutthaya, Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai.
Hopefully you will find this useful if you’re planning your own trip, or will just enjoy reading about our adventure.
If you need any advice or want some help planning a trip of your own just add a comment at the bottom or send me a message through the contact page.
Places Of Interest In Thailand
Thailand Travel Guides
BANGKOK
- Bangkok Travel Guide
- Lumphini Park | Here Be Monsters!
- Sampeng Market, Bangkok | From coffee to coffins & everything inbetween
- 6 Striking Photos of The Golden Buddha at Wat Traimat
- Wat Arun: Is this the most beautiful place in Bangkok?
- Wat Pho at Night
- Sunset at Wat Arun: Discover this FREE spot to get the perfect sunset photo
- Bangkok Grand Palace: A Place to Endure rather than Adore
- Terminal 21: See the World from Inside an Air-Conditioned Mall
- Temple of the Golden Mount and Loha Prasat
AYUTTHAYA
LOPBURI
CHIANG RAI (AND SURROUNDING AREA)
- 8 Reasons Chiang Rai was our Favourite City in Thailand
- Chiang Rai Road Trip: 3 Day DIY Tour of Northern Thailand
- Phu Chi Fa | A Road Trip to Find the Ultimate Sunrise
- Is Chiang Rai Worth Visiting? 15 Reasons To Convince You It Is
- Walking Through The Treetops at Mae Fah Luang Gadens
KHAO YAI NATIONAL PARK
CHIANG MAI
Useful Thailand Information
LOCATION
Thailand is located in Southeast Asia, and is the 50th largest country by area in the world.
It has borders with Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Malaysia.
POPULATION
The population of the Thailand is around 86 million (April 2018) with around 30 million tourists visiting every year.
LANGUAGE
Thai, or more specifically, Siamese Thai, is the only official language of Thailand. It is spoken by over eighty percent of the country. Thai is closely related to Lao, the official language of Laos; Shan, which is spoken in Burma; and a number of less significant languages associated with southern China and northern Vietnam.
Thai is used in all official capacities in Thailand, including education, government and the media.
ENGLISH SPEAKERS
Around a quarter of the population speak English, and this is much higher in the main tourist areas and big cities.
The range of English speaking varies massively though, with at least half of the English speakers using it only in 'emergencies'.
TIME DIFFERENCE
Thailand is GMT +7.
THE FLAG
The flag of Thailand is made up of 5 colours, mirrored from the centre. It was adopted on 28 December 1917.
Thailand’s flag stands for nation-religion-king, an unofficial motto that Thai people live by. The red stripes represent Thailand’s blood spilt in its bid to maintain independence; the white stands for purity and Buddhism (the country’sprimary religion), and blue symbolises the Thai monarchy. The blue stripe also has a double meaning as it stands in solidarity and honours Thailand’s World War I allies, namely Great Britain, France, the United States and Russia, which all have red, white and blue flags
The flag of Thailand was also designed so it cannot be flown upside down.
The story goes that in 1917, then King of Siam, King Vajiravudh saw the flag being flown upside down during a flood. To ensure that such a thing could never happen again, the King designed a symmetrical flag that would be right side up no matter how it was flown. The previous flag for the Kingdom of Siam was of an elephant with the royal crest on it.
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