Thailand’s infrastructure is generally quite good, but varies greatly across the country. Cities are typically well-developed, but rural towns or more remote regions would be less so. Thailand communications infrastructure is impressive and there is currently a long-term plan to make far-reaching improvements to the national transportation infrastructure.
This nation-wide initiative will improve rail, air, road, and water transport (even reaching beyond the Kingdom’s borders to connect systems, in some cases), making travel much easier for both domestic trips and visits to neighboring countries. Within a decade, it’s hoped that city and suburb congestion will have improved considerably.
While Internet technology is widely available here, very fast, and often free, it is censored by the Thai government, making some sites inaccessible.
Infrastructure in Bangkok
Bangkok has had quite a facelift in the past decade. The Don Mueang International Airport now handles only a small percentage of the flights it once did, while the sleek new Suvarnabhumi Airport, opened in 2006, serves more than 45 million passengers per year. Bangkok is the gateway to the rest of Thailand and points beyond. If you come to Southeast Asia, there is a good chance that you’ll at least transit through the city. Indeed, Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi services more flights than any other airport on the Southeast Asian mainland, and Bangkok is also a major rail hub.
Throughout Bangkok and suburbs, there are major train and metro lines that transport a large mass of people each day. If you are trying to get out to other areas of the country, you could take small minivans to reach your destinations. One challenge of Thai infrastructure is that you might need to make several minivan connections to reach destinations to the far North or South of the country. But the benefit is that these trips are often very affordable. If you need to do a visa run to renew your visa, that often requires a cheap bus trip over the border to Burma or Laos.
