100 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 100 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 100 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Before 1939, Thailand was known to the outside world by what name?
Siam
The word 'Thai' is usually glossed as 'free man', though some scholars say it simply means 'people'.
Q 02Thailand is the only country in Southeast Asia never to have been what?
Colonised by a European power
Kings Mongkut and Chulalongkorn traded territory to Britain and France to keep the heartland independent.
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
Locals just say Krung Thep, 'city of angels', the opening words of the name inherited from Ayutthaya.
Q 05King Rama I, founder of the Chakri dynasty, moved the capital to Bangkok in which year?
1782
He replaced Thonburi, the capital King Taksin had set up after Ayutthaya fell to the Burmese.
Q 06Siam became a constitutional monarchy after a revolution led by the People's Party in which year?
1932
The country was renamed Thailand seven years later, and King Bhumibol grew up in Switzerland in the revolution's aftermath.
Q 07Songkran, the traditional Thai New Year famous for its water fights, begins on which date?
13 April
The water symbolises ritual cleansing, and UNESCO added the festival to its intangible heritage list in 2024.
Q 08Muay Thai is nicknamed the 'Art of Eight Limbs' because it uses fists, elbows, knees and what else?
Shins
Under a 2006 SportAccord rule that no sport may carry a country's name, its governing body officially writes it as one word, Muaythai.
Q 09Pad thai, often assumed to be ancient, was actually promoted as a national dish in which decade?
1930s
Prime Minister Plaek Phibunsongkhram pushed rice noodles to cut rice consumption during wartime shortages and to build a Thai identity.
Q 10Which Thai dish ranked highest, at number four, in CNN's 2011 'World's 50 Best Foods' poll?
Tom yum kung
Pad thai came fifth, som tam sixth and massaman curry tenth.
Q 11Which three aromatics are the signature base of tom yum soup?
Lemongrass, galangal and kaffir lime leaves
They are pounded and simmered to release flavour, and often fished out again before serving.
Q 12Thailand's beloved dessert of glutinous rice, fresh fruit and coconut milk is made with which fruit?
Mango
The rice is sweetened with palm sugar and coconut milk, and the dish is a summer staple across the region.
Q 13Which strong-smelling fruit is banned on public transport in Bangkok?
Durian
Its odour can linger for days, which is why some hotels ban it too; the seeds are edible when cooked.
Q 21Which kingdom, established in 1238, is traditionally called 'the first Thai kingdom'?
Sukhothai
Its ruins are a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and its King Ramkhamhaeng left the first recorded mention of a Thai war elephant.
Q 22Chiang Mai, whose name means 'new city', was founded in 1296 as the capital of which northern kingdom?
Lan Na
King Mangrai chose the site on the Ping River to succeed his previous capital, Chiang Rai.
Q 23Phuket, Thailand's largest island, originally built its wealth on rubber and which mineral?
Tin
Portuguese maps once called it Junk Ceylon; today tourism has taken over and more than 100,000 foreigners live there.
Q 14What share of Thailand's population identified as Buddhist in the 2018 national statistics?
About 93%
Thailand has the second-largest Buddhist population on Earth after China.
Q 15The traditional Thai greeting, a slight bow with palms pressed together, is called what?
The wai
The height at which the hands are held signals how much respect is being shown.
Q 16King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who reigned for 70 years, was born in which country?
The United States
He was born at Cambridge Hospital in Massachusetts while his father studied public health at Harvard.
Q 17Bhumibol's reign of 70 years and 126 days ended with his death in which year?
2016
His son Vajiralongkorn succeeded him as Rama X, the tenth king of the Chakri dynasty.
Q 18King Chulalongkorn (Rama V), who modernised Siam, is best remembered for abolishing what?
Slavery
He toured British colonies in India and Java in the early 1870s to study how they were run.
Q 19'The King and I' is based on the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, who taught which Siamese king's children?
Mongkut
She arrived in 1862 to educate his 39 wives and 82 children along modern Western lines.
Q 20Which Thai kingdom, founded in 1351, was destroyed by a Burmese army after a 14-month siege in 1767?
Ayutthaya
Early 16th-century Europeans ranked it alongside Vijayanagara and Ming China as one of Asia's three great powers.
Q 24Maya Bay, made famous by 'The Beach', closed to tourists in 2018 and reopened in which year?
2022
Overtourism had wrecked the cove's coral and environment; it reopened in early 2022.
Q 25Thailand'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 26Which 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 27Before 1917 Thailand's flag showed a white national animal on a background of what colour?
Red
White elephants in Thai society still represent wealth and power because of their long link to royalty.
Q 28Which Thai temple on the west bank of the Chao Phraya is named after a Hindu god of the dawn?
Wat Arun
Aruna is the charioteer of the sun god Surya, so the temple is usually translated as the Temple of Dawn.
Q 29Thailand's most sacred image, the Emerald Buddha, is actually carved from what?
Jade or jasper
Legend says lightning struck a chedi in Chiang Rai in 1434 and stucco flaked from the nose to reveal the green stone beneath.
Q 30Loy Krathong falls on the full moon of which month of the Thai lunar calendar?
The 12th
In the Western calendar that usually means November; in Chiang Mai the festival runs three days.