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Thailand

Thailand, from the inside.

Thailand looks different when half your family lives there. You know the tourist version and the auntie version, and they don’t always match.

Here it’s the auntie version: what to eat and where, getting around Bangkok, Chiang Mai and beyond, muay thai, and the practical side of living there.

Map of Thailand’s 77 provincesTap a province for its Thai name, region and local language →

A half-Thai family walks through a morning market in Thailand with the grandmother, choosing mangoes.

Stories and guides

We’re writing these one at a time, and we’d rather get them right than get them out fast. The newsletter tells you when each one lands.

Food

Family dishes, what to order, and how to eat with Thai relatives.

  1. Cook the Thai food you grew up with: 6 family dishes

    Tom yum, pad kra pao, khao man gai, som tam, massaman and mango sticky rice: what makes each taste like home, and how to get your family’s version.

  2. Massaman vs red vs yellow curry: Thai curries explained

    Massaman vs red vs yellow curry, plus green, panang and jungle curry: what goes in each paste, how hot they are, and the one your family actually makes.

  3. Thai desserts your family makes, and what they mean

    Thai desserts from Yai’s kitchen: mango sticky rice, bua loy, khanom chan, luk chup and golden wedding sweets: what they mean, when families make them.

  4. Thai food by region: Central, Northern, Isan, Southern

    Traditional Thai food changes by region: Central curries, Northern khao soi, Isan som tam and sticky rice, fiery Southern turmeric. What your family cooks.

  5. Thai ingredients abroad: the Asian market, and honest swaps

    What to buy at an Asian market for Thai home cooking, which swaps work and which don’t, whether fish sauce is gluten-free, and what Yai can’t pack.

Travel

Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket and the trip to the village.

  1. Landing in Bangkok when your Thai family is waiting

    Landing at Suvarnabhumi or Don Mueang with family waiting: the arrival card for foreigners, which passport, taxis, the train and what to say first.

  2. Bangkok with your Thai family: grandparents and kids

    Bangkok with Yai and the kids: a temple morning, parks, Chatuchak, the river, a rainy-day museum and family tables from the MICHELIN Guide, with sources.

  3. Chiang Mai with your Thai family: temples, food, seasons

    Chiang Mai with grandparents and kids: Doi Suthep at Yai's pace, Tha Phae Gate, the Sticky Waterfall, Doi Inthanon, khao soi and when to go.

  4. Going back to the village: an Isan family trip

    Visiting family in Isan, Northeast Thailand: flights, trains and buses from Bangkok, the best months, village life, sticky rice and festivals worth timing.

  5. Visiting family in Thailand: the practical basics

    Getting around, what to bring, and the practical basics for a family trip.

Muay Thai

The sport, the gyms, and the culture around the ring.

  1. Muay boran vs muay thai: the old styles, explained

    Muay boran is the umbrella name for Thailand’s older fighting styles: Chaiya, Korat, Lopburi and Tha Sao, how they differ from muay thai, and the revival.

  2. Muay thai for beginners: the basics and the wai kru

    A beginner’s guide to muay thai for people with Thai family: the art of eight limbs, the wai kru ram muay, the mongkhon, its origins and how to start.

Culture

Sak yant, amulets and festivals, from the family side.

  1. Sak yant rules, meaning and respect: a family guide

    Sak yant is a sacred Thai yantra tattoo, not decoration. Its meaning, the ajarn and his rules, the Wat Bang Phra wai kru, hygiene and how to show respect.

Living there

Moving back, settling in, and the practical order of things.

  1. Moving back to Thailand: why we go, and what it's like

    Why luk khrueng and the Thai diaspora move to Thailand, what research on second-generation returns finds, and the honest pros and cons of living there.

  2. Schools in Thailand when you move back with kids

    Thai government, private, English Programme and international schools compared for families moving back, plus the school year and what to ask.

  3. Moving to Thailand as a luk khrueng: the first 90 days

    Documents, work, tax and the practical order of things.