About Thailand

The Kingdom of Thailand draws more visitors than any other country in southeast Asia with its irresistible combination of breathtaking natural beauty, inspiring temples, renowned hospitality, robust cuisine and ruins of fabulous ancient kingdoms. Few countries are so well endowed.

From the stupa-studded mountains of Mae Hong Son and the verdant limestone islands of the Andaman Sea, to the pulse-pounding dance clubs of Bangkok and the tranquil villages moored along the Mekong River, Thailand offers something for every type of traveller.

Thai (official)

Thai is a complicated language with its own unique alphabet, but it's fun to try at least a few words. The main complication with Thai is that it is tonal: the same word could be pronounced with a rising, falling, high, low or level tone and could theoretically have five meanings!

Religion

Religion and monarchy are the cornerstones of Thai culture, and they permeate everyday life. It's the custom to stand for the royal anthem before films are shown, and the national anthem is played across towns, villages and even Bangkok Skytrain stations twice daily.

For the beach-holidaymaker and Bangkok fly-by-nighter, it is often easy to overlook these cultural subtleties - the Thais are a gregarious and accepting lot - but a little bit of respect goes a long way in finding out more about Thailand's people and culture.

Weather

The best overall time for visiting most of Thailand climate-wise is between November and February when it is not too wet and not too hot. The south is best visited when the rest of Thailand is miserably hot (March to May), and the north is best from mid-November to early December or when it starts warming up again in February. If you're spending time in Bangkok, be prepared to roast in April and do some wading in October - probably most challenging two months, weather-wise, in the capital.