Thailand is a very tropical country that is typified by tropical plants growing wildly and in some parts, densely. Most Thai roads will have some form of yellow central line as well as continuous white edge lines. Thailand has unique looking posts that hold almost all of its signs. These wooden posts are painted white and have a black base. Thailand also has unique looking utility poles that have a number of small holes drilled in a vertical formation. Thailand has many similarities to its neighbouring countries including Cambodia. To distinguish Thailand from Cambodia, the easiest way is to look at what side of the road the cars are travelling on. Unlike Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and the Philippines, Thailand drives on the left. Thai houses are less likely to be elevated on stilts than Cambodian houses. Cambodia has many more dirt roads than Thailand. Sometimes you will see ‘grid roads’ in Thailand too. The Thai language is unique in the world and stands out for having small circles on the ends of many of its letters. The Laos language looks similar but has virtually no straight lines comprising its letters whist Thai has straight lines in many characters. Many Thai roads have some form of yellow centre line as well as continuous, white edge lines. There are often houses and villages littered alongside the roads in Thailand. Major Thai roads will likely have a yellow line in the centre of the road and white lines on the sides of the road.. Although dirt roads do exist in Thailand, they are far more common in Cambodia. This type of road that is divided like a grid appears sometimes in residential Thailand, although it is more common in the Philippines. After the Philippines, it probably appears second most in Thailand. Thailand has a very tropical feel. Palm trees, thick green vegetation and visible dirt are features found throughout the country. Thailand has a very similar landscape to Cambodia. Rice fields are common throughout South-East Asia, especially in Thailand. One of the easiest ways to distinguish Thailand from Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and the Philippines is to look at what side of the road the cars are driving on. Out of all these countries, only Thailand drives on the left. The southern part of Thailand that stretches down along the peninsula is even more tropical than the remainder of Thailand. Oil palms are particularly common here. Utility poles in Thailand comes in all shapes and sizes. Fortunately, they can be easily recognised as they virtually all have small holes in them, running vertically. They look like someone has drilled into them. This small hole facet of the poles is rarely seen in utility poles across the rest of the world. Thai bollards have an obelisk shape. They have alternating black and white sections. Thai warning signs have the yellow diamond that is used across much of South-East Asia. Note the yellow outline on the warning sign which distinguishes it from Cambodia’s warning signs which have a white outline. Posts that hold all types of Thai signs are unique in the world as they are wooden, painted white and importantly they have a section painted black on their base. The above yellow and black sign denotes a corner in Thailand. Thai streetlights often have black stripes towards their base. Thai streetlights also stretch well onto the road. Directional information can often be ascertained from blue signs in Thailand. Thai roads are grouped by their first digit. The markers have 3 sides with information on them. The side facing the road features a bird enclosing a number. This is the road number we are on. The Thai script below the bird means ‘kilometre’. The number below the Thai word for kilometre is the distance we are from the start of the road. Thai kilometre markers also house information on their sides so motorists travelling towards and away from the marker can read the information. The sides of Thai markers feature the next noteworthy sized town name and distance. Beneath this is the next noteworthy sized town name and distance. Always be sure to look at both sides of Thai road markers and remember that Thai drivers drive on the left when they see the marker information. Thai houses and buildings come in a huge range of styles. They often have corrugated iron roofs or roofs made from tiles. Thai houses can best be distinguished from Cambodian houses as Thai houses are much less likely to be elevated on stilts. Many Thai houses can also look quite affluent and be two-storey and fairly large. Affluent houses seem rarer in Cambodia. The topography of Thailand. Note that most of Thailand is flat and that the mountainous region runs down the western side of the country. The Thai language can be easily recognised thanks to the small circles found on the ends of many of their letters, as seen above. The Laos written language also has small circles on the ends of letters however almost every part of every Laos letter is curved. In contrast, most Thai letters have a straight section.

Thailand uses large, white licence plates on passenger vehicles, and yellow ones on commercial vehicles.

Within Southeast Asia, yellow commercial plates are only found in Thailand. Be careful, however, as Laos uses yellow licence plates for regular vehicles.

Thailand drives on the left hand side of the road.

Cambodia and Laos drive on the right hand side.

The Thai bollard is square shaped with a pointed top, and has black-and-white stripes.

In Southeast Asia, these bollards are also found in Cambodia, Laos and Indonesia.

Signposts in Thailand are square and bulky in shape, usually white, and often have the bottom painted black.

In Southeast Asia, this design is unique to Thailand.

Concrete roads are common in Thailand. They often have a large square shaped pattern.

In Southeast Asia, these can also be found commonly in the Philippines, and less commonly in Indonesia.

Thai poles are square and have small holes running vertically up the pole. 

Thai script is compact and in many fonts has tiny circles within most letters.

The Cambodian (Khmer) script often has longer lines and more accents underneath the lettering, as opposed to the Thai script. The Lao script looks similar to the Thai script.

Thailand has yellow middle lines. These middle lines are either solid or dashed lines.

Malaysia only has white middle lines.

Street light poles have red-and-black or black-and-white stripes on the bottom.

Thailand has very distinct long, thin lamp posts that hang over the side of the road.

Directional signs on smaller roads are white, and are composed of two signs: one with an arrow at the bottom, and one with the information at the top. These can have place names. When they do not, you will see them as just the road number with a Garuda. Moreover, highway signs are green, and frequently feature the place names in Latin script below the Thai name.

These two road markers are generally found in Thailand. They will either have a white or a black Garuda on them.

White Garudas are found on country roads and black ones are found on province roads.

Thailand often has many flags lining the side of its streets. Aside from the national flag, you can often see royal flags, which are usually yellow.

These distinctive green signs can be found all around Thailand, often in small villages.

You will not find this sign in any other country.

Bollard:

Thai bollards use black and white stripes.

Road Lines:

Thailand uses a mix of tarmacked roads with white lines outside with a yellow central line, concrete, and dirt roads.

Road Signs:

Thailand uses blue/green backed location signs.

Thai signs use white poles, with black bases.

Thailand uses yellow diamond warning signs.

Road numbering system:

Thailand has national and provincial roads.
National roads follow a numbering scheme depending on the region. The roads starting with 1 are in the northwest of the country, 2 in the northeast, 3 in the central region and 4 in the south. They are marked with a white bird (Garuda) on the bollard containing the road number.

Provincial roads are unique to each province and are marked with a black bird on the bollard. The road number is written below the bird and also the abbreviation of the province in Thai.

Electricity poles:

Thai poles are concrete and feature these small holes.

License plates:

Thailand uses a wide variety of number plates however the most common are white, with yellow commercial plates.

Vegetation/Landscape:

Thailand is a well forested country containing a fair few mountains often in the north.

Thailand can often feature red dirt.

Architecture:

More regal Thai buildings have unique roofing.

