Get app
Photo: Preecha.MJ, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.New to Thailand? Start here: ten friendly questions about the country, from its busy capital to its tallest peak.
Curious Traveller 0–4 · Street Food Explorer 5–8 · Thailand Insider 9–10
Pick one
4 votes so far
The Thai elephant is Thailand's official national animal, honoured for its long role in the country's history. Rare 'white' elephants, which are really a pinkish grey, were traditionally presented to the king, and until 1917 the flag of Siam even showed a white elephant on a red background.
Pick one
5 votes so far
Thailand was known to the world as Siam until 24 June 1939, when it was officially renamed. Burma is the old name of its neighbour Myanmar, which changed its English name in 1989.
Pick one
5 votes so far
The word 'Thai' is traditionally taken to mean 'free', so Thailand is the 'land of the free'. That fits nicely: it is the only country in Southeast Asia that was never colonised by a European power. 'Land of Smiles' is just a popular nickname.
Pick one
5 votes so far
About 93 out of every 100 people in Thailand are Buddhist. Many Thai boys and young men spend a while living in a temple as monks, a big moment for their families.
Pick one
Bangkok is Thailand's capital and by far its biggest city. Thais call it Krung Thep, and its full ceremonial name is listed by Guinness World Records as the longest place name in the world, at 168 letters!
Photo: Ninara from Helsinki, Finland, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
Pick one
Tuk-tuks are motorised rickshaws, named after the putt-putt sound of their small engines. A songthaew is something else: a pick-up truck with two benches in the back, used as a shared taxi.
Photo: calflier001 , cropped by uploader Mr.choppers, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.
Pick one
Pad thai is stir-fried in a wok with rice noodles, egg, bean sprouts and peanuts, often with shrimp or tofu. Som tam is something completely different: a spicy salad of shredded green papaya.
Photo: Takeaway, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Pick one
The Mekong starts high on the Tibetan Plateau and flows through six countries on its way to the sea. The Chao Phraya stays inside Thailand: it flows right through Bangkok into the Gulf of Thailand.
Photo: Bjørn Christian Tørrissen, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Pick one
The market is built right on a railway track! Whenever a train approaches, the sellers pull back their awnings and goods, and put everything back as soon as it has passed. Thais call it the 'umbrella pull-down market'.
Photo: This Photo was taken by Supanut Arunoprayote . Feel free to use any of my images, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.
Pick one
Doi Inthanon, in Chiang Mai Province in the north, rises to about 2,565 metres. It gets surprisingly cold up there: on winter mornings the temperature can even drop below freezing. Doi Suthep, with its famous golden temple, is much lower.
Photo: Lester Mathias Andersson, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Paste the code into your page. The player fits itself in, and every vote counts in Votur.
On WordPress, Ghost or Squarespace? Just paste the link of this page into your post.
This is how it looks
Also fun
