Thailand Trivia
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98 free Thailand trivia questions with answers — geography quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
42 free Thailand trivia questions with answers. Thailand trivia for travellers, expats and quiz nights. The 98 questions open with the basics (Siam, the borders, the elephant, the wai) and go on to the things that make the country unusual: the only Southeast Asian nation never colonised, the capital with the world's longest name, the king born in Massachusetts who reigned for 70 years, and the temple named after a Hindu god of dawn. Food gets a proper round: pad thai's surprisingly modern origins, tom yum's three aromatics, mango sticky rice, the fruit banned on Bangkok's trains and the CNN poll Thailand dominated. So do festivals (Songkran, Loy Krathong, the Full Moon Party), history (Sukhothai, Ayutthaya, Chulalongkorn, the Death Railway) and exports to the world: Muay Thai, Siamese cats, Siamese twins and the drink that became Red Bull. Every answer has been checked against a reference source, shown under each question once you answer.
30 of 98 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Before 1939, Thailand was known to the outside world by what name?
Siam
Siam was the kingdom's name until 24 June 1939, when the government renamed it Thailand; the name reverted to Siam from 1945 to 1949 before Thailand became permanent.
Q 02Thailand is the only country in Southeast Asia never to have been what?
Colonised by a European power
Thailand was never colonised by a European power: its 19th-century kings ceded outlying territory to the neighbouring colonial empires and kept the heartland as an independent buffer state.
Q 03Which of these countries does NOT share a land border with Thailand?
Vietnam
Malaysia is the fourth land neighbour; Vietnam is only a maritime neighbour across the Gulf of Thailand.
Q 04How many letters long is Bangkok's full ceremonial name, listed by Guinness as the world's longest place name?
168
Bangkok's ceremonial name, beginning Krung Thep Maha Nakhon Amon Rattanakosin, runs to 168 letters, the Guinness record for a place name; Thais shorten it to Krung Thep, 'city of angels'.
Q 05King Rama I, founder of the Chakri dynasty, moved the capital to Bangkok in which year?
1782
Rama I founded Bangkok as the Chakri capital in 1782, moving the court across the Chao Phraya from Thonburi, where King Taksin had ruled after the old capital's fall.
Q 06Siam became a constitutional monarchy after a revolution led by the People's Party in which year?
1932
The People's Party seized power on 24 June 1932, ending absolute monarchy; King Prajadhipok (Rama VII) granted a permanent constitution that December.
Q 07Songkran, the traditional Thai New Year famous for its water fights, begins on which date?
13 April
Songkran begins on 13 April, the traditional solar New Year, and runs for three days; the water fights grew out of pouring scented water over Buddha images and elders' hands as a blessing.
Q 08Muay Thai is nicknamed the 'Art of Eight Limbs' because it uses fists, elbows, knees and what else?
Shins
Muay Thai's eight limbs are the two fists, two elbows, two knees and two shins; fighters condition their shins to kick and block, making the shin strike the sport's signature weapon.
Q 09Which Thai dish placed fourth in CNN's 2011 readers' poll of the world's best foods?
Tom yum kung
Tom yum kung, the hot-and-sour prawn soup, placed fourth in CNN's 2011 readers' poll, ahead of pad thai (fifth), som tam (sixth) and massaman curry (tenth).
Q 10Which three aromatics are the signature base of tom yum soup?
Lemongrass, galangal and kaffir lime leaves
Lemongrass, galangal and kaffir lime leaves are bruised and simmered in the broth to give tom yum its citrus-and-ginger aroma; they stay in the bowl but are not eaten.
Q 11Thailand's beloved dessert of glutinous rice, fresh fruit and coconut milk is made with which fruit?
Mango
Mango sticky rice (khao niao mamuang) pairs ripe nam dok mai mango with glutinous rice sweetened in coconut milk and palm sugar, and peaks in the hot season from March to May when mangoes ripen.
Q 12Which strong-smelling fruit is banned on public transport in Bangkok?
Durian
Durian, the spiky 'king of fruits', is barred from Bangkok's BTS Skytrain and MRT and from many hotels because its sulphurous smell lingers for days; its seeds are edible when cooked.
Q 13What share of Thailand's population identified as Buddhist in the 2018 national statistics?
About 93%
Q 21Chiang Mai, whose name means 'new city', was founded in 1296 as the capital of which northern kingdom?
Lan Na
Lan Na, the 'kingdom of a million rice fields', was ruled from Chiang Mai after King Mangrai founded the city on the Ping River in 1296, moving his court south from an earlier capital.
Q 22Phuket, Thailand's largest island, originally built its wealth on rubber and which mineral?
Tin
Tin mining, worked largely by Chinese migrant labour from the 19th century, made Phuket rich long before tourism; European sailors charted the island as Junk Ceylon, and old mining pits still dot its interior.
Q 23Maya Bay, made famous by 'The Beach', closed to tourists in 2018 and reopened in which year?
2022
About 93% of Thais (93.5%) told the 2018 National Statistical Office survey they were Buddhist, against 5.4% Muslim and 1.1% Christian; only China has more Buddhists.
Q 14The traditional Thai greeting, a slight bow with palms pressed together, is called what?
The wai
The wai, palms pressed together at chest, chin or brow with a slight bow, is Thailand's everyday greeting and thanks; the higher the hands are held, the more respect is shown.
Q 15King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who reigned for 70 years, was born in which country?
The United States
Bhumibol was born in the United States on 5 December 1927, at Cambridge Hospital (now Mount Auburn) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, while his father Prince Mahidol studied public health at Harvard.
Q 16Bhumibol's reign of 70 years and 126 days ended with his death in which year?
2016
Bhumibol died on 13 October 2016 at Siriraj Hospital in Bangkok, aged 88, after the longest reign of any Thai king; his son Vajiralongkorn succeeded him as Rama X.
Q 17King Chulalongkorn (Rama V), who modernised Siam, is best remembered for abolishing what?
Slavery
He abolished slavery in stages, from an 1874 decree freeing children born to slaves to the 1905 Slave Abolition Act, reforms shaped by his study of colonial administration in British India and Java.
Q 18'The King and I' is based on the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, who taught which Siamese king's children?
Mongkut
Anna Leonowens arrived in Bangkok in 1862 as governess to King Mongkut (Rama IV), teaching English to his wives and children; her memoirs inspired the 1951 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical.
Q 19Which Thai kingdom, founded in 1351, was destroyed by a Burmese army after a 14-month siege in 1767?
Ayutthaya
Ayutthaya, founded by King Ramathibodi I in 1351, fell in April 1767 after a siege of about 14 months; the invaders razed the city, and King Taksin then moved the capital downriver to Thonburi.
Q 20Which kingdom, established in 1238, is traditionally called 'the first Thai kingdom'?
Sukhothai
Sukhothai, founded around 1238, is conventionally counted as the first Thai kingdom; its ruins, with their lotus-bud chedis, form a UNESCO World Heritage Site inscribed in 1991.
Overtourism had wrecked the cove's coral and environment; it reopened in early 2022.
Q 24Thailand's currency, the baht, began life as a traditional unit of what?
Weight
Its value was originally that of silver of the same weight, cast into 'bullet coins' from the Sukhothai era.
Q 25Which animal is Thailand's official national animal?
The elephant
White elephants, prized as symbols of royal power, must by a 1921 law be presented to the king.
Q 26Before 1917, Thailand's flag showed a white elephant on a field of which colour?
Red
The pre-1917 flag was a white elephant on a plain red field; King Vajiravudh replaced it with the red-white-blue Trairanga on 28 September 1917, keeping red to stand for the nation.
Q 27Which Thai temple on the west bank of the Chao Phraya is named after a Hindu god of the dawn?
Wat Arun
Wat Arun takes its name from Aruna, charioteer of the sun god Surya, and is known as the Temple of Dawn; its porcelain-encrusted central prang rises on the Thonburi bank opposite the Grand Palace.
Q 28Thailand's most sacred image, the Emerald Buddha, is actually carved from what?
Jade or jasper
The Emerald Buddha is carved from green jade or jasper, not emerald; the 66-centimetre figure was found in 1434 when stucco flaked off a statue in a northern chedi struck by lightning, revealing the stone beneath.
Q 29Loy Krathong falls on the full moon of which month of the Thai lunar calendar?
The 12th
Loy Krathong is held on the full moon of the 12th Thai lunar month, usually in November, when people float candle-lit krathong baskets on rivers to honour the water goddess Phra Mae Khongkha.
Q 30Krating Daeng, the Thai energy drink that inspired Red Bull, is named after which animal?
The gaur
Chaleo Yoovidhya launched it in 1976 for rural labourers, and its logo shows two red gaurs charging at each other.