7 Things to Love About Thailand

From soft white sand beaches to an exotic culture with plenty of hospitality, this Asian country is ready for your visit

 

With stunning landscapes, dazzling beaches, mouth- watering foods, and a warm and welcoming culture, it’s not surprising that Thailand is one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations. In 2024 the country known as “The Land of Smiles” will welcome some 40 million visitors. Here are just some of the things that lure these travelers to Thailand.

A World of Flavors

Thai food is much more than the pad Thais, and the curries are familiar to most Westerners. Distinct regional cuisines draw inspiration from fields, forests, and oceans, tempered by centuries of cross-border commerce with nations across Southeast Asia. There are savory coconut stews, piquant roast meats, tart seafood, noodle yums, fiery-hot green papaya salads, and soothing fruit custards. Bangkok is home to one of the world’s most vibrant street food scenes and offers an impressive range of dining experiences reflective of the culinary traditions of many nations. Another pleasing aspect of dining in Thailand is the social nature of meals, with cooking methods such as suki pots and on-table braziers providing the focal point for meals prepared and consumed leisurely over conversation.

Supersized Shopping

While visitors seek out bustling street markets and bazaars, another side of the country’s retail scene takes the shopping to the extreme. While malls are becoming a thing of the past in much of the West, they thrive in Thailand and have grown to truly epic proportions. Most mid-sized cities across the country can boast a Central Plaza with multiple floors of specialty shops, restaurants, and cineplex theaters. Bangkok ups the ante with destination malls that are among the largest in the world. The most recent addition to this collection, Icon Siam, features more than a million square feet of indoor retail space with every luxury brand imaginable, more than 100 restaurants serving world cuisines, and even a reconstructed floating market where vendors ply their wares from long-tail boats bob in an indoor artificial lagoon.

Everyone Is Welcome

Thai culture is one of the most courteous and friendly in the world. Attitudes of tolerance, acceptance, patience, and respect are deeply rooted aspects of the Theravada Buddhist belief system embraced by 95 percent of the Thai people. These core values account for the ultimately accommodating and respectfully deferential attitudes of servers, hotel staff, taxi drivers, and guides that are hallmarks of the Thai hospitality industry. But equally important is the concept of “Sanuk,” which is an attitude and way of life that emphasizes finding enjoyment and humor in all things. Thais laugh often and are quick with a smile. Another ubiquitous social phenomenon is the “wai,” the country’s universal greeting salutation made with clasped palms held over the heart.

Sunset Is Just the Beginning

The city of Bangkok is a night owl’s dream. And while best known for a world-class club scene, there is much more to discover. Sidewalks lined with street food vendors are awash in a tempting aromatic fog of flavors. Night markets crop up in neighborhoods across the metropolis, and tourists and locals descend on festively lit walking streets lined by lively open-air restaurants and cafes. Similar scenes can be found on a smaller scale at cities and villages across Thailand, where outdoor concert stages and county fair-like festivals crop up on a seemingly weekly basis, and vendors stay open late.

Spectacular Sands

Leonardo DiCaprio’s discovery of Maya Bay in the film The Beach catapulted this strand to international stardom. This and other well-known and Instagram- worth beaches draw crowds to popular oceanfront destinations such as Phuket, Krabi, and Koh Samui, where sands are lined by laid-back beach bars and vendors hawking all manner of merchandise and food. But these best-known Thailand beaches are just the icing on the cake with many more layers. Resort destinations such as Hua Hin and Pattaya combine beach time with an upscale vibe reminiscent of Miami’s South Beach; less-developed islands such as Koh Chang, Koh Lanta, and Koh Lipe offer comfortable accommodations and relaxations without the crowds, while hundreds of islands accessible only by boat offer the promise of solitude and nature.

Temple Life

Temples have always played an essential role in Thai society. In addition to their primary role as a place of worship, temples are a cornerstone of village life, serving as social hubs, places of celebration for significant life events, meditation refuges, centers for food sharing, and focal points of community pride. Temples tend towards the ornate, and many of the more spectacular complexes become regional tourism attractions where visitors wander gilded halls, climb to elevated overlooks, and cool off in manicured gardens. To fund improvements and upkeep, many temples will stage week-long festivals that draw thousands to a carnival-like setting of foods, performances, and sporting events.

Both A Destination and A Starting Point

Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport is one of the busiest in Southeast Asia, with hundreds of flights connecting to destinations worldwide. This not only provides for convenient arrivals but also puts Thailand in a prime position for side trips to other regional destinations. Bali, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, India, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Korea, Vietnam, the Philippines, and more are just a direct flight away. The bordering states of Laos and Cambodia are easily reached by car, bus, or train, while harbors launch cruises to a range of regional seaports.