Capital City: Bangkok
Population: 67,741,401 (July 2014 est)
Currency: Thai Baht (THB)
Land Area: 513,120 sq km. Controls only land route from Asia to Malaysia and Singapore.
Dominant Religions: Buddhist (official) 93.6%, Muslim 4.9%, Christian 1.2%, other 0.2%, none 0.1% (2010 est)
Land Boundaries: Myanmar (Burma) 1,800 km, Cambodia 803 km, Laos 1,754 km, Malaysia 506 km
Location: Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand, southeast of Burma
Climate: Tropical; rainy, warm, cloudy southwest monsoon (mid-May to September); dry, cool northeast monsoon (November to mid-March); southern isthmus always hot and humid
Terrain: Central plain; Khorat Plateau in the east; mountains elsewhere
Visa: VOA is granted to Australian passport holders at all points of arrival. Thai Immigration will issue a 14 day visa at land border crossings, or a 28 day visa at airport arrival. Penalty for overstay is THB1,000 for each day past the visa expiry date
Entry Point: Wang Prachan (from Wang Kelian, Malaysia)
Exit Point: Mae Sot (to Myawaddy, Myanmar)
Cuisine: The food alone is really reason enough for a trip to Thailand. Curries, fruit shakes, stir fries, fresh fish made a zillion ways – and that’s just the beginning. Food in Thailand can be as cheap and easy as 25 baht pad thai (Thai fried noodles) cooked at a street stall or as expensive and complicated as a $100 ten-course meal by a royal chef served in one of Bangkok’s 5 star hotels.