It's never too often to remember how beneficial and inspiring it is to read a good book, even if you're not a big reader. And knowing the best books to read while traveling to get the wanderlust going is awesome!
Last year I was determined to read one book per month, but started to actually stick to that plan close to the end of the year.
But as I started, reading always felt so satisfying so I've been trying to stick to it, even if I feel too busy to do that. And really, what can be better to pass the time while traveling, than entertaining yourself with a book?
I'm currently into the books involving different travel destinations that I'm going to next of have been recently.
It's so interesting to get inspired about a new place of reading about and picture the places, that I have already been to. What a way to enrich your imagination.
So here I'm sharing a list of my favorite books about Thailand. These are no Lonely Planet type guides, but inspirational, wanderlust fuelling stories from this magical country.
ANNA AND THE KING OF SIAM by Margaret Landon
Anna and the King of Siam apparently is a real life story of a women who decided to leave her regular life behind to go teach English to the King of Siam’s many children. The book takes you through exciting and strange events on this adventure of her life. You will discover a lot of interesting sides of culture and history of Siam through Anna's story.
If you're wondering what's Siam, note that Thailand was established at the 13th century. The Kingdom of Thailand have kept its independence almost throughout the whole time, but until 1949 it was called Siam.
This book is another awesome piece that will feel relatable to expats who have spent time in Thailand, as it's written by an expat Jerry Hopkins who has lived, seen, and done it all in Thailand. For other visitors of Thailand, it's a great insight into what to expect from Thailand.
Jerry paints a vivid portrait of way of life in Thailand. Reading this allows to learn a lot about the culture, put in a fun and sometimes humoristic way. The book takes everyone on an educational tour around the land of smiles, bars, beer wars, spirits, amulets, body snatchers, sex change operations, aphrodisiacs, sticky rice and fiery soups. What a fun way to learn about many faces of Thailand.
If Thai food is one of the things you love or are simply interested in, this book is for you. Pok Pok offers a true master course in Thai cooking by one of the most passionate cooking authorities Andy Ricker. He's an American cook with a speciality to Northern Thai cuisine, as he spent a lot of time there to study Thai cooking.
The book reveals fundamentals of Thai cooking techniques and skills, shows how to source ingredients and teaches how to understand the unique flavor combinations that are one of a kind in the Southeast Asian cuisine. As soon as I heard about this book, my foodie heart started to race. What an awesome way how to learn something new about Thai culture and food. And the best part is trying your new skills out and cooking for your family and friends.
SACRED TATTOOS OF THAILAND: Exploring the Magic, Masters and Mystery of Sak Yan
Have you ever thought how cool it would be to get a meaningful tattoo while you're on your trip? Thailand is a great destination to make this desire come true and this book seems like a perfect source of info and inspiration. “Sacred Tattoos of Thailand” goes behind the scenes describing the meanings of Thai traditional tattoos, mantras and even names the best tattoo artists in Thailand.
Thailand is well know in the world for their tattoo art and this book introduces you to the history and origins of the Tai hand-inked tattoo tradition. These tattoos are tapped in by monks while chanting sacred blessings empowering the tattoo. You get an insight to the daily lives of Sak Yan monks, learning this special art of tattoo. The book explains the preparations and rituals that give the tattoos their power, and the deep relationships that are formed between master and disciple.
TOUCH THE DRAGON: A Thai Journal
This book, Touch the Dragon, is a travel journal by a 17-year-old Karen Connelly. It was written during her one year exchange program in Thailand. This is a very relatable book to anyone, who have had a change to spend some time living abroad and adjusting to new culture, new norms and the unknown.
In addition to that, the book gives an excellent glimpse on life in Thailand and lets you experience what it would be like living in Thailand, if you haven't had such chance so far in your life. This is a very captivating read with colourful images, maps and afterwords by the author.
Have you seen the iconic Leonardo di Caprio movie “The Beach”? I'm sure you've seen it or at least heard of it. This is the story, that has inspired many to travel to Thailand right after seeing it. And as they say, books are usually better than movies. So here's your chance to test it out once again and let the story come to life in front of your eyes. And just a heads up, I feel like the book is so much better than the movie!
This book is an awesome inspiration if you plan to visit Thai islands, especially the parts that are mentioned in the book. Also, The Beach awesomely showcases the difference of being a tourist and being a traveller with a wanderlust and passion for going off the beaten path. The book is so relatable for the world travelers and everyone with a true passion for travel, as the behaviours of characters perfectly embrace this kind of lifestyle.
There are 3 words that describes this book perfectly - helpful, funny & entertaining! I feel like there's no other book like this one, that portrays a humorous story of an American housewife and her difficulties in adjusting to the conditions and culture of Thailand. She comes to Thailand with her husband, who is stationed here in the foreign service.
This book feels like a quick and easy read, so it's perfect to keep you entertained on your flight here. The book dives deep into the mindset of the Thai nation and works as an easy introduction of Thailand.
FIELD GUIDE TO THE BIRDS OF THAILAND (Helm Field Guides)
Did you know that Thailand is the hotspot of birding in Southeast Asia? This country is a home of countless bird species, that you possibly have never heard about before. So why not to go bird watching the next time you're in Thailand or at least learning to be able to recognize birds that you'll naturally see during your trip? If you love to learn about the things you'll see before you see then, this book is for you.
Our suggestion is to get familiar with the rich bird variety in Thailand through the great book by ornithologist Craig Robson. He created this book together with fourteen leading illustrators give us the most up-to-date, comprehensive, and concise field guide to this magnificent country's rich avifauna heritage in recent years. In this book you get images of the bird species accompanied by maps for each, illustrating precise distribution within Thailand. The accurate text covers identification, voice, habitat, behavior, range, status, and breeding for all species and subspecies.
A beautifully written and evocative novel of 2019. This novel drifts and revisits the past, present and imagined future of Bangkok with seemingly unrelated characters and stories gradually weaving together.
A missionary doctor pines for his native New England even as he succumbs to the vibrant chaos of nineteenth-century Siam. A post-World War II society woman marries, mothers, and holds court, little suspecting her solitary fate. A jazz pianist in the age of rock, haunted by his own ghosts, is summoned to appease the house's resident spirits. In the present, a young woman tries to outpace the long shadow of her political past. And in a New Krungthep yet to come, savvy teenagers row tourists past landmarks of the drowned old city they themselves do not remember.
Calling all Eat, Pray, Love fans. This is the kind of book that will be enjoyed by anyone who loves The Curvy Girls Club and the Shopaholic series. Reading this book I kept having the “Bridget Jones goes backpacking” kind of vibe. One Bridget in this book is named Georgina.
The story line centers around this girls backpacking trip to Thailand after a bad breakup back home. She's armed with an awesome bucketlist of things she wants to see and do in Thailand. It's a very interesting, relatable and light read, that will lift you up in any situation.
4 comments
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Nice list. The Beach is a great read. Another three of my favourites (books set in Thailand) that are well worth reading are Private Dancer by Stephen Leather, Triad by Colin Falconer (Triad is out of print now but it’s a great read if you can find a copy), and Only Raising Dust On The Road by Raymond Carroll.
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