More than two million Indians visit Thailand every year, and a remarkable number of them see the same two places. Bangkok for the shopping and the nightlife, Phuket or Krabi for the beach, home in five days. It is a perfectly efficient holiday and it misses almost everything that makes the country interesting.
Thailand is larger and more varied than its reputation suggests. The north is mountainous and culturally closer to Laos and Myanmar than to Bangkok. The northeast is agricultural, deeply traditional, and almost entirely unvisited by foreigners. And the islands extend far past the handful that appear in every package.
Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai
Chiang Mai sits in the northern hills and was the capital of the Lanna kingdom for centuries. The old city is a walled square filled with temples, and Doi Suthep on the mountain above it is among the most important Buddhist sites in the country.
Chiang Rai, further north, holds Wat Rong Khun, the White Temple, a contemporary work by an artist who has spent decades building it. It is unlike any traditional temple in Asia and photographs extraordinarily well. The Blue Temple nearby is a newer companion piece.
The north is also where elephant tourism has changed most. Genuine sanctuaries do not offer riding, do not have performances, and are transparent about where their animals came from. Anywhere offering a show is worth walking away from.
Isaan
The northeastern plateau is the poorest and least visited region of Thailand, and the most rewarding for anyone tired of tourist infrastructure. Phanom Rung is a Khmer temple complex on an extinct volcano, built by the same civilisation that built Angkor and older than most of what stands at Angkor today.
Isaan food is the sharpest in Thailand. Som tam, larb, grilled meats and sticky rice, eaten at roadside stalls where nobody speaks English and nobody needs to.
The quieter islands
Koh Lanta is calmer than Phuket and better for families. Koh Chang in the east is closer to Cambodia and less developed. Koh Kood, further out, is among the last genuinely quiet islands with good beaches. Koh Tao remains the cheapest place in the world to certify as a diver.
What nobody tells you
Visa rules for Indian passport holders have changed repeatedly in recent years, so confirm the current position before booking rather than relying on what a friend did last season.
Domestic flights within Thailand are cheap and frequent, which makes combining north and south realistic even on a shorter trip. Overnight trains from Bangkok to Chiang Mai are comfortable and save a hotel night.
Weather is not uniform. The Gulf coast including Koh Samui and Koh Tao runs on a different monsoon cycle from the Andaman coast including Phuket and Krabi, so one side is usually good when the other is not. Checking this before booking saves trips.