Travel In Thailand
HomeThailand Travel Blog
Travel Information
Border Travel
Thai Rail Services
Thai Railway History
Source Materials
Useful Links
Timetables & Fares
Death RailwayEastern Line
Northern Line
North Eastern Line
Southern Line
Mini Guides
Temple GuideAround Bangkok
Ayutthaya
Koh Kret Excursion
Chiang Mai
Lamphun
Lopburi
Mahachai Railway
Pattaya
River Kwai
Sources and Further Reading
Travel Guides
Historical Background
Thai Buddhism
Thai Arts and Architecture Thai Language Cultural Background Thai Food
Thai Arts and Architecture Thai Language Cultural Background Thai Food
News Media
The Bangkok Post
www.bangkokpost.com
www.bangkokpost.com
Good source of news on Thailand and South East Asia. The Internet edition is updated daily
and is pretty comprehensive. The on-line Archives, which go back to 1997, are an excellent
source of information.
An equally good newspaper, also with an excellent Archive section.
Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand
www.fccthai.com
www.fccthai.com
The FCCT weekly bulletin is available on line from the website, and includes details of
events at the club, most of which concern current issues in Thailand and South East Asia.
The Chiang Mai Mail
www.chiangmai-mail.com
www.chiangmai-mail.com
Weekly news, travel and culture of Northern Thailand with good Archive section.
The Pattaya Mail
www.pattayamail.com
www.pattayamail.com
Pattaya news for tourists and ex-pats.
The Phuket Gazette
www.phuketgazette.net
www.phuketgazette.net
Phuket news for tourists and ex-pats.
Travel Guides
The Rough Guide to Thailand
Well up to the normal standard of this famous series; full of practical information
and well researched historical detail.
Lonely Planet: Thailand
Another excellent guide from another well known series.
Thailand
Not as detailed as Rough Guides, or Lonely Planet, the Doring Kindersley series is
noteworthy for its copious use of high quality illustrations and photographs.
A Guide to THAILAND
One of my favorite guide books on Thailand, though not currently
in print, I believe. I especially like the author's use of excerpts from early writers on Thailand.
Three Pagodas:
A Journey down the Thai-Burmese Border
Contemporary adventure travel; lots of background and historical detail on the Karen, the Shan, the Wa, and other ethnic groups who flit across the borders of the golden triangle.
Contemporary adventure travel; lots of background and historical detail on the Karen, the Shan, the Wa, and other ethnic groups who flit across the borders of the golden triangle.
Around Lan-Na:
A Guide to Thailand's Northern Border Region
Similar style to "Three Pagodas", but covering the Laos border area. Originally I put both books in the history Section because of their wealth of historical detail.
Similar style to "Three Pagodas", but covering the Laos border area. Originally I put both books in the history Section because of their wealth of historical detail.
Historical Background
Journals of the Siam Society
www.siam-society.org
www.siam-society.org
Many authoritative writers on Thailand have published
articles in the society journal, an excellent source of historical and cultural material.
A History of Thailand
This most recent English language history of Thailand, though it covers earlier periods, concentrates on the modern period, from the fall of Ayutthaya to the present day; especially strong on the Vietnam War era.
Thailand a short history
Probably the best known English language general history of Thailand from
early times through to the present, now in a second edition.
"Documents sur l'Histoire Politique
et Religieuse du Laos Occidental
et Religieuse du Laos Occidental
French translations of extended extracts from the Pali Chronicles
Jinakalamalini and Camadevivamsa, which detail the history of the
Mon kingdom of Haripunchaya.
A composite English translation of the Royal Chronicles of Ayutthaya, showing
variant readings from the many source documents.
The Chiang Mai Chronicle
English translation of the Chiang Mai Chronicle from Palm Leaf Manuscripts.
Description of the Kingdom of Siam 1638
Van Vliet was an employee of the Dutch East India Company in the early 17th century. His 4 works
on Siam are among the earliest European accounts of the kingdom.
Siamese White
An enthralling biography of Samuel White, a British adventurer and pirate, protégé of Constantine Phaulcon, another
adventurer who rose to prominence at the court of King Narai of Ayutthaya.
A Thousand Miles on an Elephant in the Shan States.
The Shan States were the Thai speaking states of Burma, North Thailnd and Laos in the late 19th Century. Hallett was
tasked with a survey for a railway connecting British Burma with Southern Yunnan, and this book is an account of his
travels. Full of cultural and ethnic detail, it is my personal favorite among the early travel writings on Thailand.
Surveying and Exploring in Siam
McCarthy spent many years, in the late nineteenth century, surveying the borders of Siam, as it was then known, on
behalf of the Thai Government. His book contains much historical detail on the border areas of the kingdom.
Travels in Siam Cambodia, Laos, and Annam
First published in 1862, the book has much interesting detail on
Indo China in the middle of the 19th Century. His descriptions of
the ruins at Angkor Wat caused a sensation in London and Paris.
Description of the Thai kingdom or Siam
Originally published in Paris in 1854, Monseigneur Pallegoix
describes a Thailand and Bangkok in the earlier part of the 19th century. Taken with Antonio's book
of 50 years later, it provides an illuminating
glimpse into the evolution of Thailand under the early Chakri
Dynasty.
The 1904 Traveller's Guide to Bangkok and Siam.
Antonio was a professional photographer and the book has many
interesting photographs of Thailand at the beginning of
the 20th century.
The Tai Race:
Elder Brother of the Chinese
Elder Brother of the Chinese
Operating as a missionary in Indo-China in the early part of the 20th Century,
William Clifton Dodd was neither a linguist nor a historian, though
he aspired to be both. Despite the missionary fervor, historical
and linguistic inaccuracy, the book has some interesting
photographs and background material.
The English Governess and the Siamese Court
Not much admired in Thailand as it was perceived as disrespectful
towards King Rama IV, but interesting for historical background.
Her writing is rather flowery for modern taste, but her mind was
sharp enough, and her observation sometimes illuminating. Her mind
was surprisingly sensitive to Buddhist thought and practice.
Thai Buddhism
The Buddha in the Jungle
Buddhism as people lived it in villages far remote from Bangkok, just before the modern
era. Full of fascinating detail of Thailand before the Vietnam war and the destruction
of the primaeval jungles.
Forest Recollections
Stories of the Thudong monks, ascetics who wandered the mountains and jungles of
Thailand, Burma, Cambodia and Laos. This superb
book describes a way of life that has almost vanished in the short period
since the Vietnam war.
Sons of the Buddha
In her latest book, Kamala Thiyavanich brings to life rural southern Thailand
in the first half of the twentieth century, through the early lives of three
Buddhist masters: Ajahn Buddhadasa (often known in the west as Buddhadasa
Bhikku), Ajahn Panya, and Ajahn Jumnien.
Phra Farang: An English Monk in Thailand
The charm of this book, is the simple,
humorous and unpretentious style, in which the author describes his
own spiritual, cultural and intellectual journey, step by step.
Good Morning Buddha
A beautiful little book which presents the essential teachings of
Buddhism in a simple but not simplistic manner. Certainly the
most approachable book I have read on this topic.
One Step at a Time: Buddhist meditation for absolute beginners.
"To expect anything in meditation, to want, desire, or crave
for results, defeats the entire purpose of the practice,which is
the elimination of craving."
Heart Wood of the Bhodi Tree
The Dhammapada: The sayings of the Buddha
Buddhist Proverbs in Pali, Thai and English
Thai Arts and Architecture
Monuments of the Buddah in Siam
A classic work first written in 1926, republished by the Siam Society with new annotations to update the historical research.
This book was written for an Exhibition of Thai Architecture, Sculpture and Painting in the U.S.A.
in 1960-62.
The Arts of Thailand www.peripluspublishinggroup.com
Buddhist Arts of Thailand
Ms. Charuwan's M.A. Thesis, submitted to Maghadh University, Bodh Gaya, India in 1983. A detailed history of the development of Thai Buddhist Art.
Thai - Cambodian Culture:
Relationship through Arts
Relationship through Arts
Ms. Charuwan's Doctoral Thesis, submitted to Magadh University in 2000. Recommended as an accompaniment to the author's earlier work on Thai Buddhist Art (above).
Nine Temples of Bangkok
A study of nine of the most famous temples of Bangkok, before Bangkok was on the international travel circuit, unfortunately no longer in print.
The Journal of the Siam Society
(JSS)1904 - 1908
(JSS)1904 - 1908
A rich source of research and book reviews on Thailand, dating back over 100 years.
Thai Language
Thai for Beginners
Excellent introduction to spoken and written Thai. The tapes/discs are
good, too.
Thai for Intermediate Learners
I particularly like the structured approach to vocabulary, and also
the Thai cultural information included
The Fundamentals of the Thai Language
The classic introduction to the Thai Language, now in its
phonetically much improved 6th Edition.
New Model Thai-English Dictionary
Cultural Background
Thai Ways
The author's humorous and sympathetic account of Thai life and
culture , as experienced by a westerner living in Bangkok with his
Thai wife
More Thai Ways
More Thai Ways
Thai Food
The Taste of Thailand
Beautiful food, beautiful photos of Thailand (and Thai food), beautiful
book.