| 2Bangkok.com
| An excellent Thai daily news site. One of the things I really like about this site is the emphasis on nostalgia. There are lots of old photos, as well as old hotel brochures, menus, maps, train timetables, etc. I thrive on this stuff because it's the only chance we have now of imagining what Thailand used to be like. To have visited Thailand well before mass tourism arrived, and before America's assault on Southeast Asia, must have been amazing. If only I had a time machine ....
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| AsiaRecipe.com
| A selection of basic information which will possibly be useful for Thailand newbies.
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| Asia Sentinel
| This site has some of the most intelligent and best written articles about Asia on the Internet. That includes, of course, Thailand.
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| Asia Trading Post Online - Thailand Visas
| Good visa and border information that appears to be kept very up to date. Immigration rules in Thailand and policies at Thai Embassies and Consulates outside of Thailand change so frequently that it is difficult to keep up to date.
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| BBC Thailand Page
| Facts and figures from the BBC.
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| Department of City Planning, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration
| You mean, this mess was planned?
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| Current Royal News
| Collection of links relating to stories and articles about the Thai royal family.
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| Driving in Thailand
| General advice on driving in Thailand and information regarding driving licences.
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| EscapeArtist.com
| Information about moving to, living in and buying property in Thailand.
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| Farang Affairs | An informative and amusing site which, among other things, gives Thai politicians the treatment they deserve.
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| Father of the Land | A site dedicated to the life and work of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
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| Fes Cannady photos
| I love old photos of Thailand from the days when it wasn't swarming with package tourists. Fes Cannady was a GI stationed in Korat during 1966/1967 who took photos of his time in Thailand. While London was swinging and England was winning World Cups, this is how Thailand looked at the same time.
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| General Prem Tinsulanonda
| Official web site of the second most influential man in Thailand.
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| The Golden Jubilee Network | An online mass-educational project
initiated by Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn.
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| Hasecamp.net
| At times I have thought about collating a news digest of events in Thailand but so much happens - especially on the political scene - it is more work than I want to take on. I came across this site where somebody else is doing just this.
It appears that the author reads the same kind of news stories as I do every day from various news sources. He then adds them to his site, sometimes with comments. It's a convenient way to see what is going on in the country without looking at lots of different sources.
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| Immigration Bureau
| General information regarding visas and other immigration matters.
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| LearningThai.com
| A useful resource for students of the Thai language. There are useful phrases but the advantage of this site over many others is that the phrases are written in both English and Thai and you can hear them. Because of the tonal nature of Thai and because transliteration is so completely useless these two factors are very important. The site provides lots of links to other resources.
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| Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Thailand
| General information.
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| Royal Thai Consulate-General, Chicago
| Specific information about this Thai Consulate and general information about visas, etc. Links to other Thai government related sites in the US.
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| Royal Thai Consulate of Hull
| The Hull Consulate is recognised as being one of the most 'friendly' in the world for information and visas. Certain other Consulates do not have a reputation for being particularly friendly - especially those in countries bordering Thailand.
"You want a one-year, multiple-entry non-O visa? When do you want it and what colour would you like?" An e-mail correspondent from the UK told me the man in charge there talks to you as if you are an old mate. I wonder if they could trasfer him to the Penang Consulate?
The site contains lots of excellent information, including downloadable forms to apply for visas, etc. Everything is explained in a helpful and matter-of-fact way. If only government departments in Thailand could operate in the same was as the Hull Consulate. Dream on ....
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| Royal Thai Government
| Official information regarding visiting, studying in, working in, doing business in, and relocating to Thailand.
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| Sounds of Thailand
| This is a really nice site. Elsewhere on the Internet you can read lots about Thailand and look at images but here you can listen to what Thailand actually sounds like. It's a great idea and top marks to the site owner. Not only are the sounds well chosen and evocative of Thailand but the audio quality is very good too.
You can hear Thais speaking, temple bells ringing, monks chanting, birds singing and even that most famous symbol of Thai life - a tuk-tuk revving up and roaring off into the distance. The site has a northern Thailand theme and features a number of hill tribes.
If you have been to Thailand, when you hear some of these sounds you will want to be on the next plane back. Some of the sounds made me miss Thailand and I was listening while in Thailand! I wanted to get out of my room and on to the streets so I could absorb everything for real.
All that's missing with the Internet experience now is smell. I think there was a 'Smellivision' experiment years ago but Bill Gates needs to come up with something similar for the Internet. We will then be able to take in the aroma of Thai drains, naam phrik, som tum bplaa-raa and fresh durian from the comfort of our homes.
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| Sunbelt Legal Advisers
| A Bangkok based law firm providing various services to expats in Thailand. Their web site has good information on the subjects foreigners always want to know about - working in Thailand, getting different kinds of visa, getting married to your perfect girl, getting divorced from your perfect girl six months later, retiring to Thailand, buying property and vehicles, opening bank accounts, etc. Sunbelt can help with all of these - for a fee, of course. I have had no personal experience with them but everything looks to be above board.
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| ThailandLife.com
| This site is written by a young Thai man called Panrit "Gor" Daoruang, who used to write a column for the Bangkok Post. It's an interesting look at the culture and way of life in Thailand through the eyes of a Thai teenager. There isn't much about his life that he doesn't cover, from pictures of his house to how he dealt with drug addiction.
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| thai-language.com
| This site is hard to fault at any level. The design is excellent, as is the UI, making the site easy to get around. The content is equally as good with masses of excellent and relevant information. The main subject is the Thai language but other aspects of living in and visiting Thailand are covered. It has obviously taken thousands of man-hours of work and is a real labour of love.
The forums contain interesting topics posted by people who have a genuine interest in Thailand and who are knowledgeable about the country, the language and the Thai people. It was so refreshing to see a farang created web site about Thailand that isn't devoted to prostitution and beer bars in Pattaya and the Sukhumvit Road.
What's more, it was quite heartwarming to see people posting forum replies who really wanted to help. So many Thailand forums I have seen just contain the bickerings of sad, bitter sex tourists or sexpats who are completely ignorant about the country.
Glenn Slayden, the creator of thai-language.com, should feel very proud of his achievement as he has done a wonderful job creating a site that is useful to many people.
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| Thaipro.com
| News stories and general information.
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| Thai Start-Up
| Information and assistance about starting a company in Thailand along with immigration information.
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| Thailand - UK
| A nice site which is primarily aimed at Thais living in the UK but has plenty of useful information.
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| Thai Visa
| I could have written more in these pages about getting different visas for Thailand but it is hardly worth it with resources like ThaiVisa.com available. Lots of visa and other information both on the main site and in the forums.
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| The Nation Jobs Page
| A selection of jobs in Thailand advertised in The Nation newspaper.
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| Tom Vater - Writer, Photographer | Interesting and very well written articles by a professional writer living and working in Southeast Asia.
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| TourismThailand.org
| The Official Website for Tourism in Thailand.
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| Travel in Thailand
| This is the Internet arm of Bangkok-based Sun Far Travel. They are not the cheapest travel agent in Thailand but differentiate themselves by offering excellent service to more 'upmarket' clientele. It's not the place to go if you are looking for a backpacker guesthouse on the Khaosan Road but if you want a fabulous hotel in Bangkok for the price of a Travelodge in Reading, Sun Far Travel may be worth getting in touch with. They can handle all aspects of travel arrangements and are thoroughly reputable.
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| UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office | Official information and travel advisories from the UK government.
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| Universal Currency Converter
| If you have seen a cost referred to in Baht and want to find out how much it is in your currency this is a good currency converter.
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| VirtualTourist
| This site started off as a great concept. People add travel tips about places they have visited and share travel experiences. Unfortunately the site has been rather taken over by a hard core of obsessives who are more concerned about their own ranking at the site than adding good information. Finding what you need at VT can be hit and miss but some members have provided good information.
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