The country and its regions
Thailand is a constitutional monarchy in mainland Southeast Asia, bordered by Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Malaysia, with coasts on the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea. It has about 66 million people and is divided into 76 provinces plus Bangkok, which is governed as a special administrative area. The capital’s Thai name is Krung Thep Maha Nakhon; Thais call it Krung Thep. The country is on Indochina Time (UTC+7) all year, and the currency is the baht.
In everyday talk Thais divide the country into four regions. The north is mountainous, cooler in winter and centred on Chiang Mai, the old capital of the Lanna kingdom. The northeast, Isan, is a broad plateau and the most populous region, with its own food and its own language. The central plain around the Chao Phraya river holds Bangkok and the rice bowl of the country. The south runs down the Malay peninsula between two seas. Official statistics often add the east and the west as regions of their own.
Language and script
The national language is Thai, in its standard central form, written in the Thai script: 44 consonants, vowel signs placed around them, four tone marks, and no spaces between words. Most Thais also speak a regional language at home, such as Northern Thai (kham mueang), Isan or Southern Thai, and Pattani Malay is the main language of the far south. The languages of Thailand describes them, and the alphabet is the place to start reading.
The calendar and holidays
Thailand counts years in the Buddhist Era, which runs 543 years ahead of the Western count, so 2026 is 2569 and 2027 is 2570. The civil year starts on 1 January, but the great Buddhist holidays follow the lunar calendar and move each year, and Songkran, the traditional new year, fills the middle of April. The public holidays guide lists this year’s and next year’s dates, and the Buddhist calendar explains how the lunar dates are set.
The two anthems
You will hear both anthems often. The national anthem plays in public places at 8:00 and 18:00 every day, and people stop and stand still while it lasts. The royal anthem plays before every film in a cinema and at royal occasions, and the audience stands for it. The anthems page has their history, the etiquette and the full words with a romanisation and an English gloss.
Using this site
The site began as a reference for Thai fonts and the Thai script, and the guides grew from there. Thai culture covers the holidays, Buddhism, food and festivals. Living in Thailand covers visas, paperwork, work, schools and Chiang Mai. Language and script covers reading, writing, tones and typing. Pages that give dates, fees or rules say when they were last checked and link their official sources.