Thai Culture, Food and Everyday Life

Thai culture is easy to enjoy and only a little harder to get right: a few rules about temples, the royal family and personal respect matter a great deal, and almost everything else, from street food to festivals, is open to visitors who show some curiosity.

The articles in this section explain the customs you will meet on an ordinary trip, the festivals worth planning around, and how to eat well in a country where food is the center of daily life. They are written for first-time visitors and for people who live here, and they stick to what you can verify: dates with sources, rules with the month they were checked.

Respect: temples, monks and the monarchy

Most of Thailand's tens of thousands of temples are working places of worship, and visitors are welcome in nearly all of them. Covering shoulders and knees, taking off your shoes and keeping your feet away from Buddha images are the basics; our guide to temple etiquette and dress code covers the rest, including how women should give things to monks.

The monarchy is the one subject where a careless remark can lead to prison. Section 112 of the Criminal Code carries three to fifteen years per count, and it applies to foreigners and to online posts. Our page on the Thai monarchy and the lèse-majesté law sets out the facts calmly, along with the anthem and the banknotes.

Festivals and the lunar calendar

Many Thai festivals follow the lunar calendar, so their Western dates move every year. In 2026, Loy Krathong falls on Tuesday 24 November, and Chiang Mai celebrates Yi Peng from 23 to 25 November, with a request that no sky lanterns be released in the city area. The Phuket Vegetarian Festival follows the Chinese calendar and runs from 10 to 18 October 2026, and Chinese New Year falls on Saturday 6 February 2027.

The Buddhist holy days matter for practical reasons too: alcohol sales are banned on them in most places, and temples are busy. Our guide to Buddhist holy days lists the dates, and the page on alcohol sales hours explains the current rule: sales from 11:00 to midnight since the afternoon ban was abolished in May 2026.

Eating and drinking

Thai food changes from region to region, and the best of it is cheap and sold on the street. Start with our introduction to Thai dishes by region, then learn how to order and set the spice level, which also covers allergies. Vegetarian, vegan and halal travelers, including the many visitors from Malaysia and Singapore, will find practical advice in our guide to vegetarian and halal food. Fruit has its own seasons and its own etiquette, especially durian, which many hotels and public transport ban; see Thai fruit and the durian rules.

Below you will also find our older articles on everyday life in Thailand, from the wai greeting and spirit houses to 7-Eleven, night markets, beer and gold shops.