Thailand

Bangkok

It is believed that the name of Thailand’s capital city is derived from the phrase, “a village situated on a stream”. With 8.5 million people now living within its main region and another 14 million in its surrounding areas, the city is still “on a stream”, but the rest is ancient history.

Bangkok is the alpha-male of Thai cities, dwarfing all other urban centres.

Of course, Bangkok is the economic centre of Thailand, with flourishing wholesale and retail trade, as well as manufacturing and real estate markets. With the Thai stock exchange (SET) and all major banks and businesses based in the city, Bangkok is a colossus on the world stage, and staggering in its scope when viewed from the air.

With ornate shrines and a vibrant street life, golden Buddhas side-by-side with technology and commerce, it’s the contradictions and multi-faceted personality of Bangkok which makes it quintessential Thailand.

CHIANG MAI

Since it was built in 1296 as a walled city surrounded by a moat, Chiang Mai has gone through constant transformations, yet reflections of the earliest Thai culture still shine brightly from its heart.

Even today, the original moat, its corner ramparts and restored gates remains, fully preserved as a reminder of the city’s past.

With around 400,000 people, Chiang Mai is considered as Thailand’s second most important city, although there are others with bigger populations. Its character is what sets it apart.

Far more relaxed than Bangkok, the former seat of the Lanna kingdom, Chiang Mai is a magnet for foreigners looking for a unique Thai experience, both on a full-time or part-time basis. Around 100,000 visitors swell the city’s population ever tourist season.

Unreservedly friendly, the city remains fully Thai in its atmosphere and attitude – a slightly sleepy, relaxed place, nestled amongst forested foothills, and an ideal place to connect with locals, their traditions and customs. 

KOH SAMUI

Sitting off the eastern coast of Thailand is a sleepy island, where local fisherman and coconut farmers have sold their wares for decades, but which today is feverish tourism hub, complete with almost 18,000 hotel rooms.

Since the 1980s, bit-by-bit, Koh Samui has transformed itself into a resort island, but retaining its long stretches of shaggy coconut palms, and fishing boats bumping together in the harbour.

With a population of around 63,000, the island’s airport processes over 1.3 million visitors per year, most on the way to the huge array of accommodation sites – everything from backpackers through to the highest-end luxury resorts.

No longer a sleepy fishing village, Koh Samui is a stylish island, where you can sample everything unique about Thai culture and find relaxations at the same time.

LAMPANG

Known as “Horse Carriage City”, the river city of Lampang offers a glimpse into Thailand’s past, comparatively untouched by western influences. There’s virtually no high-rise buildings, which are so common in other northern towns such as Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, but one can bump along Lampang’s roads in one of many horse-drawn carriages – the symbol of the city.

The Wang River flows through the heart of this major hub, often used as a stopover by those travelling from Bangkok to regions further north.

With a population of over 60,000, and surrounded by rice paddies, and pineapple and sugar cane farms, such is the traditional Thai aspect of Lampang, it is often the choice of film-makers creating period dramas.

Thai cuisine blends five fundamental tastes: sweet, spicy, sour, bitter, and salty. Common ingredients used in Thai cuisine include garlic, chillies, lime juice, lemon grass, coriander, galangal, palm sugar, and fish sauce (nam pla).

The staple food in Thailand is rice, particularly jasmine variety rice which forms a part of almost every meal.