Thailand Practical Guides

Flat illustration of a massage table in a wooden room with a folded towel and incense, deep teal and gold

Practicalities

Thai Massage Is Not a Spa. Here Is What to Ask For.

Two hours, 600 baht, and a person trained in a technique several hundred years old that has nothing to do with relaxing. Getting this wrong is a wasted hour.

Flat illustration of a brightly lit convenience store counter with ready meals, fruit cups and a coffee machine, deep teal and gold

Street Food

Why the 7-Eleven in Thailand Is the Best Chain in the World

In most countries the convenience store is a place you stop because you have no choice. In Thailand it is a genuinely good restaurant, it is everywhere, and it is open when nothing else is.

Flat illustration of a tuk-tuk driver talking to a traveller near a temple gate, with a shop window behind, deep teal and gold

Practicalities

The Grand Palace Tour Scam, and the Four Words That End It

A man in a white uniform tells you the Grand Palace is closed this morning. He is a driver, working with a jewellery shop, and the script is good.

Flat illustration of a long distance coach bus at a terminal with a ladder of coloured seat tiers, deep teal and gold

Practicalities

Intercity Buses: How to Travel Thailand for 500 Baht a Day

The overnight VIP coach is 500 baht and gives you a bed, a blanket, a film you will not watch, and a city centre arrival at 7am.

Flat illustration of a Bangkok canal with longtail boats and a riverside temple skyline in the background, deep teal and gold

Slow Travel

Where to Stay in Bangkok, by What You Can Afford

There are six parts of this city that a visitor should consider and one of them, Rattanakosin, is the one that almost everybody books for the wrong reason and then regrets.

Flat illustration of an immigration desk with an officer, a passport and a boarding pass, deep teal and gold

Visas & Immigration

The Questions They Ask at Immigration, and How to Answer Them

How long are you staying, where are you staying, how did you get here, and what do you do. Four questions, asked by everyone, and the wrong answer to any of them is a longer queue.

Flat illustration of an overnight coach parked at a pier beside a ferry ramp, with palm trees, deep teal and gold

Islands & Beaches

Getting to Koh Samui Without Flying, and Why You Might

Twelve hours in a car and a boat, a night in Surat Thani, and the good news is the air-conditioned bus has reclining seats and a working toilet. The bad news is that it is still twelve hours.

Flat illustration of an airport terminal with a taxi rank, a rail link sign and a departure board, deep teal and gold

Practicalities

Suvarnabhumi in 2026: How Long It Actually Takes

The airport has got better in almost every measurable way, and the thing that has not changed is that a visitor leaving needs two hours more than one arriving.

Flat illustration of a tattoo machine outline, a design sketch and a healed traditional Sak Yant style design, deep teal and gold

Practicalities

Getting a Tattoo in Thailand, and the Part That Hurts Afterwards

Anyone can do a good outline in this country. The difference between a tattoo you will still like in ten years and one you will regret is the healed line.

Flat illustration of a driving licence card, a helmet and a set of car keys on a road map, deep teal and gold

Practicalities

The Fine Is 500 Baht and the Bill Is 400,000

Nobody in Thailand cares whether you have an international driving permit. Your insurance company cares enormously, and they are the one who pays or does not.

Flat illustration of a train carriage window with a berth curtain and a folded ticket, deep teal and gold

Practicalities

Bangkok's Long Distance Trains Moved, and Nobody Wrote It Down Anywhere Useful

The expresses no longer leave from Hua Lamphong, the booking window is not one number, and lower berths on a Friday night train to Chiang Mai sell out in hours.

Flat illustration of a songthaew truck with a roof rack and bench seats on a roadside, deep teal and gold

Practicalities

The Red Truck Outside 7-Eleven Is Not a Taxi and Is Not a Bus

Half the transport in Thailand is a converted pickup with a roof rack, and the entire system runs on one question: is this one going where you are going?