Thailand Temples and Culture

Flat geometric illustration of a paper umbrella stretched over ribs, paint brushes, wood carving tools and a bolt of silk on a workshop bench, deep teal, mustard and cream

Temples & Culture

You Can Watch a Hand-Made Umbrella Being Made in Half an Hour From Chiang Mai

Paper umbrellas made from tree bark, wood carvings, silk — all within half an hour of the old city. Which craft village is worth the trip and which is now a shopping strip.

Flat geometric illustration of a long boat glowing with lamps on the Mekong at night, lit boats along the far bank and a crowd on the shore, deep teal, mustard and cream

Temples & Culture

Nakhon Phanom Illuminated Boat Procession 2026: Dates and Times

Twelve illuminated boats launch from 18:00 on 26 October 2026, longboat races run 22 to 25 October, and the country goes dry for Ok Phansa.

Flat geometric illustration of huge diamond and delta kites with long tails filling a wide sky over temple roofs and a river, deep teal, mustard and warm cream

Temples & Culture

Thailand Runs Four Kite Festivals and One Rocket Festival and Nobody Watches Them

Giant kites in Pathum Thani, kite contests in Satun and Pattaya, wax castles in Phayao, and rockets filled with gunpowder in Isan. The festival circuit, with dates.

Flat geometric illustration of a raised teak house on stilts above a canal, a gallery wall with a plain frame, a woven silk bolt and a clay pot, deep teal and gold

Temples & Culture

The Best Museum in Bangkok Costs 200 Baht and Only Ten People Will Be Inside

Bangkok has a world-class silks merchant's house, a free history museum, and an art centre in a railway station. Here is which to actually spend a morning in.

Flat geometric illustration of a small ornate shrine house on a tall post with a garland, a red bottle and fruit on its shelf, beside a doorway, deep teal, mustard and cream

Temples & Culture

You Walked Past Nine Shrines This Morning and Did Not Know What They Were

The little house on a post outside every Thai home and shop is not a temple. What it is, what goes on it, why red Fanta matters, and the seven things never to do.

Flat geometric illustration of a free-reed mouth organ, a fiddle, a two-string lute, a microphone stand and a sound system speaker on a small stage, deep teal, mustard and cream

Temples & Culture

Thai Country Music Is Not Cowboy Music and a Boxing Stadium Night in 1973 Decided What It Sounds Like

Luk thung is a third of Thailand's own music and almost nobody outside the country has heard it. Its dead king, its 1973 split, and how to find a live band tonight.

Flat illustration of a waxing moon, a temple calendar wheel, candles and a lotus flower, deep teal and gold

Temples & Culture

Why Every Thai Festival Date You Read in January Is Wrong

Most of the country's holidays follow the moon, which is why the Songkran date moves and why a guide written in 2023 is wrong about 2027.

Abstract illustration of temple spires in silhouette against a deep teal sky with gold detailing

Temples & Culture

The Temples Worth the Train, and the Ones That Are Just a Car Park

There are roughly ten thousand temples in Thailand. You are going to see four of them. Getting those four right matters more than seeing twenty badly.

Flat illustration of a temple gate with a sign and a folded sarong waiting on a bench, deep teal and gold

Temples & Culture

The Temple Rule Nobody Writes Down, and the Fine That Enforces It

The sign at the gate says shoulders and knees covered. It does not say that the enforcement is done by an uncle with a roll of tape who will absolutely wrap your knee without asking you first.

Flat illustration of a crowd with water buckets and soaked clothing at a Thai temple gate festival, deep teal and gold

Temples & Culture

Songkran in Chiang Mai, From Someone Who Has Lived Through Four

For three days the entire city turns into a water fight with 40,000 people who have all independently decided to soak strangers, and the only correct strategy is to stop trying to keep your phone dry.

Flat illustration of a conversation between two people with simple speech bubbles and a market stall between them, deep teal and gold

Practicalities

The Thai Phrases That Get You Further Than Google Translate

I have watched a tourist say 'khop khun' nineteen times in a day and still leave Thailand able to buy nothing, argue about nothing and know when a motorbike driver was being polite or sarcastic.

Flat illustration of an open-air temple courtyard with a seated monk and visitors sitting respectfully apart, deep teal and gold

Temples & Culture

You Are Allowed to Talk to a Monk. Almost Nobody Does.

There is a generation of monks in Thailand who were not ordained at twenty and have degrees, and they will happily talk to you for twenty minutes.