13.75100.4666671曼谷 (กรุงเทพมหานคร) — Thailand's bustling, frenetic capital, known among the Thai as Krung Thep
14.347778100.5605562大城 (พระนครศรีอยุธยา) — a historical city, UNESCO World Heritage Site and old capital of Siam (full name is Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya)
18.79527898.9986113清迈 (เชียงใหม่) — de facto capital of Northern Thailand and the heart of Lanna culture
19.90944499.82754清莱 (เมืองเชียงราย) — gateway to the Golden Triangle, ethnic minorities and mountain treks
7.016667100.4666675合艾 (หาดใหญ่) — the largest city in Southern Thailand, near the Malaysian border, and home to an eclectic mix of Southern Thais, Thai-Chinese and Malay Muslims
14.01944499.5311116北碧 (กาญจนบุรี) — home of the Bridge over the River Kwai and numerous World War II museums
14.975102.17呵叻 (นครราชสีมา) — largest city of the Isaan region, also known as Khorat.
12.9275100.8752788芭提雅 (พัทยา) — one of the main tourist destinations, known for its wild nightlife
1799.8166679素可泰 (สุโขทัย) — Thailand's first capital, still with amazing ruins
The earliest identifiable Thai kingdom was founded in 素可泰 in 1238, reaching its zenith under King Ramkhamhaeng in the 14th century before falling under the control of the kingdom of 大城, which ruled most of present-day Thailand and much of today's Laos and Cambodia as well, eventually also absorbing the northern kingdom of 兰纳. Ayutthaya was sacked in 1767 by the Burmese, but King Taksin regrouped and founded a new capital at 吞武里. His successor, General Chakri, moved across the river to 曼谷 and became King Rama I, the founding father of the 却克里王朝 that still rules as a constitutional monarchy.
Known as 暹罗 until 1939, Thailand is Southeast Asia's oldest independent country and the only one never to have been colonised by a foreign power, and the country's inhabitants are fiercely proud of that fact. A bloodless revolution in 1932 led to a constitutional monarchy. During World War II, while Japan conquered the rest of Southeast Asia (see Pacific War), only Thailand was not conquered by the Japanese due to smart political moves. Allied with Japan during World War II, Thailand became a U.S. ally following the conflict. Thailand was a base of U.S. air operations during the 越南战争, and was also a popular place for American soldiers fighting in Vietnam to have their R&R, thus kickstarting Thailand's world famous tourism industry. There was a communist insurgency, with little success, that only ended in 1983. After a string of military dictatorships and quickly toppled civilian prime ministers, Thailand stabilized into a fair approximation of a democracy and the economy boomed through tourism and industry.
Thailand lies north of the equator and comprises an area of 513,120 km², making it slightly larger than 西班牙. The country features a landscape of varied topography including mountain ranges, fertile river plains and plateaus. Mountains cover much of northern Thailand and extend along the Myanmar border down through the Kra Isthmus and the Malay Peninsula. The central plain, comprising about ⅓ of the country, is a lowland area drained by the Chao Phraya River and its tributaries, the country's main river system, which drains into the sea at the Bay of Bangkok. In the northeast, the Khorat Plateau is a region of gently rolling hills and shallow lakes. The Mekong river forms much of the border between Thailand and Laos. These river systems provide the water for farming Thailand's staple crop: rice. Of note for tourists, the country has a 3,219 km long coastline featuring 1,430 offshore islands. Of these, it is estimated that less than 50 are inhabited.
一种仍然存在的佛教前传统是神龛（ศาลพระภูมิ saan phraphuum），通常在任何房屋或企业的角落都能找到，它供奉着神灵，以防止它们进入房屋并制造麻烦。建筑越宏伟，神龛就越大，放置在特别不幸位置的建筑可能拥有非常大的神龛。也许泰国最著名的神龛是曼谷的曼谷的四面佛（埃拉万神祠），它保护着 1956 年建在原刑场上的埃拉万酒店（现为君悦埃拉万酒店），现在是该市最繁忙、最受欢迎的神祠之一。它和其他几个受欢迎的神祠都供奉着印度教神祇。印度教曾是泰国佛教传播前的占主导地位的宗教，许多传统的泰国艺术继续从印度神话中汲取灵感。
In addition to the mainland Thai culture, there are many other cultures in Thailand including those of the "hill tribes" in the northern mountainous regions of Thailand (e.g., Hmong, Karen, Lisu, Lahu, Akha), the southern Muslims, and indigenous island peoples of the Andaman Sea. The ethnic Chinese population has been largely assimilated into Thai culture, though vestiges of their Chinese heritage can still be found in Bangkok's Chinatown. The Chinese have, however, left a huge impact on Thailand's culinary scene, and many dishes of Chinese origin, such as noodles, roast pork and steamed buns, have been widely adopted and are now seen as an integral part of Thai cuisine. The Thai-Chinese can generally be divided into two groups: those that migrated to Thailand as traders and labourers during the 19th and early 20th centuries, who mainly came from 福建, 广东 or 海南 and settled in the larger cities like 曼谷, 合艾 and 普吉镇; and some groups of Kuomintang soldiers who fled China in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War, who mainly came from 云南 and settled in remote mountain villages along the Burmese border like 美斯乐 and 班瑞泰.
泼水节(泼水节).Undoubtedly the most fun holiday, is the celebration of the Thai New Year, sometime in April (officially 13-15 Apr, but the date varies in some locations). What started off as polite ritual to wash away the sins of the prior year has evolved into the world's largest water fight, which lasts for three full days. Water pistols and Super Soakers are advised and are on sale everywhere. The best places to participate are 清迈, the 考山路 area in Bangkok, and holiday resorts like 芭提雅, 苏梅岛 and 普吉岛. You will get very wet, this is not a spectator sport. The water-throwing has been getting more and more unpleasant as people have started splashing iced water onto each other. It is advisable to wear dark clothing, as light colours may become transparent when wet.
Loy Krathong(水灯节).Falls on the first full moon day in the twelfth month of the lunar calendar, usually in November, when people head to rivers, lakes and even hotel swimming pools to float flower and candle-laden banana leaves (or, these days, Styrofoam) floats called krathong (กระทง). The krathong is meant as an offering to thank the river goddess who gives life to the people. Thais also believe that this is a good time to float away your bad luck and many will place a few strands of hair or finger nail clippings in the krathong. According to tradition, if you make a wish when you set down your krathong and it floats out of sight before the candle burns out, your wish will come true. Some provinces have their own version of Loy Krathong, such as 素可泰 where a spectacular show takes place. To the north, Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai have their own unique tradition of launching kom or hot-air lanterns. This sight can be breath-taking as the sky is suddenly filled with lights, rivalling the full moon.
国王生日(父亲节).28 July, the King's birthday is the country's National Day and also celebrated as Father's Day, when Thais pay respect to and show their love for his majesty the king. Buildings and homes are decorated with the King's flag (yellow with his insignia in the middle) and his portrait. Government buildings, as well as commercial buildings, are decorated with lights. In Old Bangkok (曼谷老城) in particular, around the royal palace, you will see lavish light displays on trees, buildings, and the roads. The Queen's Birthday (12 Aug) is Mother's Day, and is celebrated similarly if with a little less pomp.
Various dialects of Chinese are spoken by the ethnic Chinese community, with 潮州话 being the dominant dialect in Bangkok's Chinatown. Down south in 合艾, 闽南话 is also widely understood due to the large number of tourists from 槟城. Some people in villages near the Burmese border in the North are descended from Kuomintang refugees from Yunnan and hence, speak the Yunnan dialect of Mandarin. The eastern Isaan dialects are closely related to 老挝语 and there are dozens of small language groups in the tribal areas of the north, some so remote that Thai speakers are few and far between.
双语路标，显示考山路的本地拼写
公共标识通常是双语的，用泰语和英语书写。日语和中文标识也有一定的普及度。有英文的地方，通常会比较注音——例如，“Sawatdee”（意为你好）的发音就如同拼写一样：sa-wat-dee。泰语字母转写成英语没有统一的规定（尽管RTGS是一种半官方系统），因此例如考山路也常常拼写为 Kao Sarn、Kao Sahn、Khao San、Koh Saan、Khaosan 等多种变体。而ถนน可以转写为Thanon放在名称前面，或者翻译为Road或Street放在名称后面。同时显示泰语和英语名称的地图能让当地人更容易帮助你。
The main international airports in Thailand are at 曼谷 (BKKIATA) and 普吉岛 (HKTIATA), which are well-served by intercontinental flights. Practically every airline that flies to Asia also flies into Bangkok, meaning that there is plenty of competition to keep ticket prices down. Bangkok has two major airports: 素万那普机场 (BKKIATA) which is the main airport and serves most full-service carriers, and the older and smaller 廊曼国际机场 (DMKIATA) which primarily serves low-cost carriers.
International airports are also located at 合艾, 甲米, 苏梅岛 and 清迈, though these are largely restricted to flights from other Southeast Asian countries. 吉隆坡 and 新加坡 make excellent places to catch flights into these smaller Thai cities, meaning you can skip the ever-present touts and queues at Bangkok. During the winter high season, there are also many chartered services directly from European cities to beach destinations like Phuket and Krabi, but they can usually be booked only via travel agencies as part of a packaged tour.
柬埔寨 - six international border crossings. The main crossing is the 波贝-亚兰 border crossing on the main road between 暹粒 and 曼谷. However, the queues at Poipet are notoriously long, and the crossing is also a hotbed of corruption and scam artists; the other crossings like 戈公 / 哈特莱克 on the southern route from 西哈努克城 to 桐艾 are much quieter and less stressful. The land borders close for the night. Bus companies often charge a "service fee" for crossing the border, in which case company staff will take your passport and process you through immigration and customs, with any potential bribes already included in the service fee.
老挝 - the busiest border crossing is at the Friendship Bridge across the Mekong between 廊开 and the Lao capital 万象. It's also possible to cross the Mekong at 清孔 / 会晒, 那空帕农 / 他曲, 穆达汉 / 苏万那吉, 班蓬蒙 / 班霍克 and elsewhere.
马来西亚 and 新加坡 - driving up is entirely possible, although not with a rented vehicle. The main crossing is the 黑木山-沙道 border crossing at the northern end of Malaysia's North-South Expressway, connecting to the main road to 合艾 on the Thai side. Other crossings (with the name of the town on Malaysian side in brackets) are at Wang Prachan (旺克连) in 沙敦府, 巴东勿刹 (巴东勿刹) in 宋卡府, Betong (Pengkalan Hulu) in 惹拉府, and 哥乐河 (Rantau Panjang) in 陶都 Province. There are regular buses from 新加坡 to the southern hub of 合艾 and vice versa. Thai immigration at the Malaysian border has long been known to demand a bribe of 20 baht/RM2 per person to stamp you in or out, though there has been a crackdown on this. Instead, there is now an official fee if you are crossing the border at peak times (05:00-08:30, 12:00-13:00 or 16:30-21:00 on weekdays, and all day on weekends and both Malaysian and Thai public holidays); this is 25 baht for the driver and 5 baht for each passenger if crossing the border by car, and 10 baht for the rider and 3 baht for the pillion if crossing by motorcycle. No fee is payable if you are walking across the border.
缅甸 - Four border crossings with Myanmar open to foreigners are located at 湄赛/大其力, 湄索/妙瓦底, the 三塔山口 (桑卡拉武里/帕亚通祖) and Ban Phunamron/Htee Kee. Just make sure that both your Thai (if required) and Burmese visas are in order, as no visa-on-arrival is available at the border. Land travel to or from 仰光 may or may not be possible depending on the security situation.
马来西亚: Overnight trains to Bangkok run from the Malaysian border town of 巴东勿刹, where you can connect from Malaysian services from 北海 (for 槟城), 怡保 and 吉隆坡. There are two Padang Besar stations, one in Malaysia and one in Thailand; both Malaysian and Thai immigration are located at the Malaysian station, which is also where transfers between Malaysian and Thai trains take place. Tickets are cheap even in first class sleepers, but it can be a slow ride. What is a 2-hour flight from Singapore will take you close to 48 hours by rail, as you have to change trains three times. The luxury option is to take the 东方快车, a refurbished super-luxury train that runs from Singapore to Bangkok once per week, with gourmet dining, personal butler service, and every other colonial perk you can think of. However, at around USD1,000 one-way just from Bangkok to Butterworth, it is approximately 30 times more expensive than an ordinary first-class sleeper!
Pan-ASEAN low-cost carrier AirAsia has great coverage of international and domestic routes in Thailand and offers steeply discounted tickets if booked well in advance; however, prices rise steadily as planes fill up. It's often the cheapest option, sometimes even cheaper than bus or train, if booked at least a week or two in advance. They fly their A320s from 曼谷 to a number of places domestically, and to 柬埔寨, 中国, 澳门, 香港, 台湾, 马来西亚, 缅甸, 新加坡, 越南 and 印度尼西亚. Their website displays "all-inclusive" prices during booking (which, however, still do not include optional surcharges such as baggage fees). On-line booking is straightforward and can be done even using the mobile phone, but must be done at least 24 hours in advance; ticket sales at the check-in desk close one hour before the departure time.
泰国国家铁路局[死链] (SRT) has a 4,000-km network covering most of the country, from 清迈 in the north all the way to (and beyond) the 马来西亚 border in the south. Compared to buses, most trains are relatively slow and prone to delays, but safer. You can pick up fruit, snacks and cooked food from vendors at most stations. With the arrival of new carriages, the railway's premier intercity and sleeper trains are the most comfortable way to travel around Thailand if time is not an issue; First Class accommodation is in high demand at least between Bangkok and Chiang Mai, and must be booked well in advance.
Tickets may be purchased on-line from the official SRT ticketing site D-Ticket or various resellers such as 12go. Tickets may be purchased from 60 days in advance to two hours before departure. Within Thailand, the 24-hour SRT hotline is 1690 and they have English-speaking operators. Reserved tickets must be paid for at one of the larger train stations in Bangkok by 22:00 the next day. This service is not available outside of Bangkok. The official D-Ticket website is not easy to use: tourists report problems with incomplete translations on the English version of the website, as well as with registering an account and setting up payment methods. If you search for Bangkok on D-Ticket, no trains will be found (January 2023). This is because from 19/01/23, SRT trains leave bangkok from the new Krung Thep Aphiwat station, so use this name to search for Bangkok trains. As a result, some tourists prefer to buy from agents like 12go, that have easy-to-use websites and English-speaking customer service. Agents all charge extra fees for their services.
Minivan services are ubiquitous, although under the radar as minivans typically are anonymous grey Toyota vans with no company markings. They serve shorter routes, such as Krabi to Phuket, about 180 km or Bangkok to Hua Hin, about 200 km. The purported advantage of taking a minibus is speed, as they move quickly once they get going. Disadvantages are that they are expensive compared with standard bus travel, they can be uncomfortable as they are usually crammed full, and they offer little room for luggage. Take minivans from bus stations. Do not take minivans that offer to pick you up at your hotel. They will pick you up, but then you will spend the next hour driving to other hotels to pick up more passengers. You will then be driven to an aggregator where all the collected passengers will disembark to wait for the minivan to their respective destinations. Then you will likely be driven to a bus station to change to a third and final minivan. Better just to sleep in, then go to bus station to book your (cheaper) minivan ticket, thus saving 2 hours of pointless discomfort.
Other ride hailing apps include Bolt and inDrive[死链]. These are typically cheaper than Grab, but are available in fewer cities, and drivers often refuse fares from them as they can make more money off Grab.
也许最具泰国特色的船是长尾船（reua hang yao），一种长而窄的木船，螺旋桨位于从船延伸出的长“尾巴”的末端。这使得它们即使在浅水区也具有极佳的机动性，但对于长途旅行来说动力稍显不足，而且如果风浪稍大就会淋湿。长尾船通常作为出租车，可以包租，但价格差异很大。租用几小时的费用约为 300-400 泰铢，全天则高达 1,500 泰铢。在甲米等一些地区，长尾船沿着固定路线运行，并按乘客收取固定价格。
Modern, air-conditioned speedboat services, sometimes ferries (departure every 30 min) also run from the 素叻府 to popular islands like 苏梅岛 and 帕岸岛. Truly long-distance services (e.g., Bangkok to any other major city) have, however, effectively ceased to exist as buses, planes, and even trains are faster. Safety measures are rudimentary and ferries and speedboats do sink occasionally, so avoid overloaded ships in poor weather, and scope out the nearest life jackets when on board. As of November 2018, ferry service is available between Hua Hin and Pattaya, a 2.5-hour journey for 1,250 Thai Baht on a catamaran with a maximum capacity of 340.
The former capitals of Siam, 大城 and 素可泰, make excellent stops for those interested in Thai history. The latter could be combined with a visit to 西萨查那莱 and 甘烹碧, all of which are 联合国教科文组织世界遗产地. Khmer architecture is mostly found in Isaan, with the historical remains of 披迈 and 帕侬隆 being the most significant.
甲米府 has some beautiful spots, including 奥南海滩, 莱利海滩 and the long golden beaches of 兰塔岛. 皮皮岛, renowned as a true island paradise, has been undergoing massive development since the release of the film 《海滩》 in 2000. 帕岸岛 offers the best of both worlds, with both well-developed beaches and empty ones a short ride away. It is also where the infamous "Full Moon Party" takes place.
Foundation for Education and Development(原名 Grassroots Human Rights and Development),Moo 4 Khuk Khak, Takua Pa, Phang Nga 82120(在4号公路库克卡克段（拷叻）的790公里处),☏ +66 76 486351。一个由缅甸和泰国联合组成的非政府组织，致力于协助攀牙府的缅甸移民工人，该地区位于普吉岛北部，即为人熟知的拷叻地区。FED 运营学校、医疗诊所、妇女赋权项目，并为政治和经济难民提供法律援助。该组织运营成本很低，依赖于带薪员工和志愿者的奉献。不向志愿者收费。
进口啤酒：大多数旅游区的时髦酒吧都会提供一些进口啤酒，以及通常的本地品牌，无论是生啤还是瓶装。经常可以找到比利时和德国啤酒，以及爱尔兰的烈性黑啤酒和麦芽酒，如Guinness，英国比特啤酒，如John Smiths，以及清淡的墨西哥啤酒Corona正在 gaining in popularity。区域性最受欢迎的Beerlao也开始在全国各地的酒吧和酒馆出现。然而，所有进口啤酒（Beerlao除外）都非常昂贵，由于酒精进口关税，价格约为本地啤酒的两倍。
泰国米酒（สาโท sato）实际上是一种用糯米酿造的啤酒，因此与日本的清酒 sake 是近亲。虽然传统上与依善地区相关，但现在已作为 Siam Sato 品牌在全国范围内销售，在任何 7-Eleven 便利店均可购买，0.65 升瓶装售价 25 泰铢。酒精度为 8%，价格便宜且劲大，但第二天早上您可能会后悔！传统上酿造和饮用 sato 的方式是使用一种称为 hai 的陶罐，因此该饮品也有另一个名称 lao hai (เหล้าไห)。饮用时会打破陶罐的封条，加入水，然后立即与杯子一起饮用，或者传统上直接用吸管从罐中饮用。
在泰国露营会带来额外的挑战。一方面，在泰国南部发现的攻击性猴子可能会洗劫您的帐篷。切勿将食物留在帐篷里。另一个问题是找不到露营装备，如果您没有从家里带来。例如，丁烷炉在泰国很常见，而在西方国家常见的异丁烷登山炉在泰国却闻所未闻。其他露营用品只能在大型户外用品店（如 Decathlon，分布在曼谷、清迈、呵叻、芭堤雅和普吉岛）或曼谷的 Central World 商场购买。
kratom（ต้นกระท่อม ton krathom），一种当地植物，其叶子被咀嚼以产生轻微的兴奋作用，于 2021 年也完全合法化。
泰国继续对所有其他毒品保持极其强硬的立场，特别是甲基苯丙胺（ยาบ้า ya ba，“疯狂药物”），这是一个主要的社会问题。您的外国护照不足以让您摆脱法律麻烦。在其他国家可能仅被视为交通罚款违规的持有和贩运行为，在泰国可能导致终身监禁甚至死刑。警察经常突袭夜总会，尤其是在曼谷，对所有顾客进行尿液检测和全身搜查。攀牙岛臭名昭著的充斥毒品的满月派对也经常引起警方注意。
自来水在曼谷以外的泰国通常不可饮用。然而，在曼谷的许多地方，尤其是在新建筑中，饮用自来水是完全安全的。但如果你不想冒险，购买瓶装水是最显而易见的解决方案。瓶装水（น้ำเปล่า naam plao）很便宜，随处可见，每瓶价格在5-20泰铢之间，具体取决于大小和品牌，餐厅提供的饮用水总是经过煮沸（น้ำต้ม naam tom）。冰块（น้ำแข็ง naam khaeng）在泰国通常是工厂直接包装的，是安全的；只有在你被提供手工切割的冰块时才需要担心。你也可以在大多数7-Eleven便利店以7泰铢的价格购买一大包冰块。不过，腹泻病并不常见，霍乱或任何严重疾病都极其罕见，几乎只在缅甸边境地区出现。
.JPG)
.jpg)
VIP 巴士从曼谷到普吉岛
甲米岛的一等城际巴士
罗勇府的二等城际巴士
清盛的普通巴士
![](http://wikivoyage.cn/wiki/File:Thai_"che"_sign.jpg)
