Where the road started

ThailandThailand Travel Guide: Top Attractions, Trip Budget & Insider Tips

Filmed: 2013 and 2018
Position: 13.7563° N, 100.5018° E
Status: Archived film, tips checked October 2026

My advice has not changed in ten years: if it is your first time in Asia, land in Bangkok. It will shake you a bit, and then you will be fine anywhere.

Bangkok does not seem to have a closing time. Shops open late, traffic jammed under the Skytrain at Ratchaprasong, food smoking on every corner. That is the opening of the Thailand film, and honestly the camera just had to stay pointed at the street.

After that the film goes looking for silence: up north towards Chiang Mai, then down to the sea, to the long-tail boats and the cliffs of Phi Phi. In 2018 I went back for two short extras, the local train to Ayutthaya and the old house of Tiziano Terzani.

Further down: the places, what has changed since I filmed them, rough costs, the seasons, and a box of practical rules I went through again in October 2026.

Pins switch on while you scroll.

AsiaVIDEO, Thailand. Plays from YouTube in privacy-enhanced mode, only after you press play. Watch on YouTube

The places I would not skip

One week buys you Bangkok plus a beach. With two weeks, add the north and stop rushing.

Bangkok

Gold roofs, brown river, cold malls

Do the Grand Palace early, before the heat and the tour groups, and keep some energy for Wat Pho next door: the reclining Buddha there is 46 metres long and somehow still bigger than you imagine. Then take the little ferry across the river for Wat Arun, which I like most when the sun goes down behind it.

Evenings belong to Yaowarat, the Chinatown street, where dinner is whatever the queue is longest for. On a weekend, lose a morning at Chatuchak market; when the heat wins, the air-conditioned malls around Siam are the city’s unofficial refuge.

The Skytrain, the metro and the river boats beat the traffic every time. For door to door, Grab or Bolt. A tuk-tuk is a nice memory once: settle the fare before you sit down.

Ayutthaya

Ruins at the end of a slow train

Before Bangkok, this was the capital, and for a while one of the biggest cities on the planet. What is left today is a field of red-brick temples, listed by UNESCO, about an hour and a half up the line from the capital. Everyone photographs the stone Buddha face wrapped in tree roots at Wat Mahathat; I would add sunset at Wat Chaiwatthanaram.

Skip the minivan and take the train: cheap, windows open, a bit under two hours most of the time. At the other end, rent a bicycle, because the sites are far apart.

Plays from YouTube in privacy-enhanced mode, only after you press play. Watch on YouTube

Chiang Mai and the north

Cooler air, slower days

Chiang Mai is where people go to breathe after Bangkok. You can fly there in about an hour or sleep on the night train. Go up to Doi Suthep for the temple and the view, walk the old town without a plan, take a cooking class if you want to bring something home that is not a T-shirt. Come in November and you may catch Yi Peng, when the sky fills with paper lanterns.

A few hours further, Chiang Rai has two strange and beautiful modern temples, one white and one blue, and the spot on the Mekong where Thailand looks across at Laos and Myanmar.

A long-tail boat on a calm turquoise sea

Gulf of Thailand

Ko Tao, Ko Pha Ngan, Ko Samui

Three islands, three moods: Ko Tao if you want to learn to dive without spending much, Ko Pha Ngan for quiet bays (or the full-moon party, your call), Ko Samui if you prefer a proper hotel and a good dinner.

Worth knowing: this side of the country gets its rain at a different time. It is often fine in July and August and wetter from October to December, the opposite of the Andaman side.

Limestone cliffs over a turquoise bay at Ko Phi Phi

Andaman Sea

Phuket, Krabi and the Phi Phi cliffs

Phuket and Krabi are a short flight from Bangkok, and from both you can hop on boats to the Phi Phi islands, to Railay (no road, you arrive by boat) or into Phang Nga Bay with a kayak.

Maya Bay, the beach from the film “The Beach”, was shut for years so the coral could come back. You can visit again, but you look and you do not swim, and it closes for a couple of months every monsoon.

Travelling with kids, or just tired of crowds? Ko Lanta, further south, is the calmer choice.

If you have extra days

Less obvious, just as good

Kanchanaburi, west of Bangkok. The railway bridge and the war cemeteries are a heavy morning; the waterfalls of Erawan are the reward in the afternoon.
Khao Yai. A national park within driving distance of the capital, with jungle trails and a real chance of meeting wild elephants on the road.
Pai and the Mae Hong Son road. Endless bends through the mountains in the far north-west. Do not try it in a hurry.
Ko Kood. Near the Cambodian border, few resorts, very clear water, nothing to do in the evening, which is the point.
Uthai Thani. A province where you will hardly see another foreigner: a glittering mirror temple, river boats, ordinary Thai life.

A Thai 10 baht coin next to a 2 euro coin, almost identical in size and colours — photo from the 2014 blog post

Check your change

This one comes from the old blog and it still makes me smile. Put a Thai 10 baht coin next to a 2 euro coin: same size, same silver ring around a gold centre. On the Thai one there is King Bhumibol and the temple of Wat Arun.

The difference is the value. Ten baht buys you maybe a quarter of a euro, which is why they sometimes turn up in European change, slipped in on purpose. Keep yours for the next trip.

Travelling sensibly

€50–70 a day, one person

A tidy guesthouse or a simple hotel, local food, trains and buses, a tour here and there. Four people sharing rooms and taxis get by on roughly €150 a day. With hostels and street food you can go as low as €30.

Treating yourself

€200+ a day, one person

Nice hotels, restaurants with a view, internal flights, a driver for day trips. A family of four doing it in style should count on €400–500 a day. Beach villas can start around €140 a night, a lot less than at home.

My own 2026 estimates, flights from Europe not included. Bangkok and the islands cost more than the north.

When to go to Thailand

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Best monthsVery hotRainy season

November to February

The months everyone wants: sunny, not too sticky, flat sea on the west coast. Bring a sweater for Chiang Mai nights, they can get close to 15 °C. Prices and crowds go up accordingly.

March to May

The oven months. Bangkok at 38 °C is not rare. In mid-April, Songkran, the Thai New Year, means the whole country throws water at each other; join in or stay dry indoors.

June to October

Rainy season, which mostly means a heavy shower in the afternoon and then sun again. Greener, cheaper, emptier. Some boats on the Andaman side stop; the Gulf is the better bet.

What to eat in Thailand

My old rule still works: if the name on the menu means nothing to you, order it.

Pad thaithe noodles everyone knows, better from a street wok
Tom yum goongprawn soup that is sour, hot and fragrant at once
Panang currythick red curry, gentle heat, lime leaves
Jim juma clay-pot hot pot from the north-east, cooked at the table
Som tampapaya salad pounded in a mortar; say “mai pet” if you want it mild
Khao soiChiang Mai’s curry noodle soup with a crunchy topping
Mango sticky ricethe dessert that ends every argument
Tub tim groblittle pink “rubies” in coconut milk and crushed ice

Before you go to Thailand

These notes are for travelling today, not for the year the film was made. I went through them again in October 2026. Border rules change without much warning, so please confirm on the official sites below before you book anything.

Entry and visa

Italians and most other EU citizens can now stay 30 days without a visa. The longer 60-day stay was cancelled on 15 September 2026. One extension of 30 days is possible at a local immigration office for 1,900 THB. Passport valid at least six months; the airline may want to see a ticket out.

Arriving overland? You only get two visa-free entries by land per calendar year.

Arrival card online (TDAC)

The old paper form is gone. Everyone fills in the Thailand Digital Arrival Card online, in the three days before landing, and shows the QR code at immigration. The official one costs nothing: if a website asks for money, close it.

The 300 baht fee

There has been talk for years of a 300 THB tourism fee for people arriving by air. Every time, it got pushed back. When I last checked it still was not being charged. Have a look before you leave.

Money

Each withdrawal with a foreign card costs around 220 THB in ATM fees, so take out more at once. Cash for markets and street stalls, cards for hotels and malls. If the card machine asks whether to pay in euros, say no and pay in baht.

Getting around

In Bangkok: Skytrain, metro, river boats, Grab or Bolt. Trains to Ayutthaya and the north, cheap flights to the islands. Cars drive on the left. Scooters look easy and are the top cause of tourist accidents; without an international licence for motorbikes and a helmet, your insurance will likely not pay.

Staying connected

Tourist SIMs are sold at the airport and need your passport. Easier still: set up an eSIM at home before the flight.

Health

Bottled water only. Mosquito spray every day in the rainy months, because of dengue. Get insurance that covers hospitals, and see a travel doctor a few weeks before about vaccinations. The Tourist Police number is 1155.

Manners that matter

Shoulders and knees covered in temples, shoes off, feet never pointed at a Buddha. Be very careful with jokes or comments about the royal family, online too: it is a criminal offence. Sockets are 220 V and take A, B, C and O plugs.

Official sources

One more story from Bangkok

In January 2018 I went to find the “Turtle House”, where Tiziano Terzani lived when he was a correspondent in Asia. The story and the short film are here.

Next on the route Cambodia Sunrise over Angkor, trees eating Ta Prohm, and the harder story of Phnom Penh.