13 Beautiful and Delicious Reasons You Should Visit Thailand ASAP

As you probably expect, travelers and photographers who point their cameras at the scenery in Thailand show us impossibly perfect beaches, the intricate architecture of temples, bustling Bangkok, and delicious food. Oh, the food! Here’s some visual inspiration to help you plan your trip to Thailand.

You might want to visit the Nan province in northern Thailand. It’s a bit outside the usual tourist zone of Chiang Mai and is a beautiful place to get a sense of more typical Thai countryside. Dense forests, grass-green rice fields, and bamboo bridges surround colorful temples decorated with murals, gilded spires, and golden statues, including the one above, standing at the Wat Phra That Khao Noi temple (circa 1487), overlooking the city center of Nan. Then, after you’ve fed your mind and spirit with nature and art, you can get down to the (delicious) business of feeding your body at the Nan Night Market.

Here are more reasons to visit Thailand, including the requisite turquoise blue water, charming longtail boats, twisting temple spires, and ALL THE FOOD.

1. Pristine beaches that look like something straight out of a fantasy novel. This one is Ya Noi Island, near Phuket.

2. The thrilling Mae Klong Railway Market in Samut Songkhram. When the train signal chimes, vendors close their parasols and move their goods out of the way for the train to pass through.

3. The Thailand Lights Festival (Loy Krathong Festival). It’s celebrated on the night of the full moon of the 12th month of the Thai calendar to give thanks to the Goddess of Water (and celebrate the end of the rainy season).

4. Skewers of satay, grilled to order at a Thai market.

5. The dragon sculpture and Buddha at the Wat Roi Phra Phutthabat Phu Manorom temple in southern Thailand.

6. The coconut sticky rice known as Thai Khao Lam. The rice is mixed with sugar, sweet red beans, and coconut cream, then slow roasted in bamboo tubes for an only-in-Thailand dessert.

6. The dazzling lights in the capital city of Bangkok.

7. A peaceful boat ride among the rock formations of Koh Hong in Krabi.

8. A refreshing drink from a fresh coconut in paradise.

9. The majesty of Wat Arun Buddhist temple in Bangkok. Its name honors the Hindu god Aruna, often personified as the radiations of the rising sun.

10. A morning boat ride among the magical-looking flowers that grow in Red Lotus Lake (Talay Bua Daeng).

11. The three-headed elephant statue. It’s perched atop the Erawan Museum which houses priceless antiquities. (Don’t miss the stunning spiral staircase inside.)

12. Two words: Monkey Beach!

13. Pad Thai cooked and eaten where the iconic dish originated.

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Top image courtesy of Boudewijn Huysmans/Unsplash.