In Thailand there are many cities that decorate their street signs with icons associated with the city. Here are some that I have seen over the years in my travels in Thailand.
Patong Beach, Phuket
Patong Beach in Phuket with a dolphin street sign.
Krabi Town
Krabi Town with a sword-wielding elephant. Of course.
Maeklong
Maeklong is best known as the place where the train goes through a market. The city logo happens to be a drum, so sadly no trains decorate the street signs here.
Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai is a city full of buddhist temples, and the signs here look like they try and fit as many temples on the top of the sign as possible.
Chiang Rai
Chiang Rai, not to be confused with Chiang Mai, have broken with the Thai standard black and blue signs by going gold. Maybe they got tired of being confused with Chiang Mai.
Chiang Khong
Chiang Khong is a border town sitting on the Mekong opposite Laos. Their sign features the soon-to-be extinct Irrawaddy dolphin.
Ubon Ratchathani
Ubon Ratchathani in the Isaan region is best known for its annual Candle Festival.
Songkhla
Songkhla in the deep south of Thailand is famous for the Golden Mermaid, and she is the town logo as well.
Thong Sala – Ko Pha Ngan
Thong Sala – the administrative centre of Ko Pha Ngan – has a happy monkey under coconut trees and a dolphin by the sea, and thankfully no wasted foreign backpackers in honour of the Full Moon Party.
Ranong
Another town, another temple. This is Ranong, near the border of Myanmar.
Pattaya
If you had of asked me what I thought would be on the Pattaya street sign, I would have guessed a go-go girl pole dancing, but no, Pattaya have honoured its maritime heritage with a ship’s wheel.
Mahachai
Nothing fancy here. I’ve just added this one to illustrate what an every day street sign looks like in Thailand.
Kanchanaburi
Fish signs in Kanchanaburi.
Nakhon Pathom
Nakhon Pathom street signs feature the Phra Pathom Chedi (the tallest stupa in the world).
Hua Hin
A boat-themed sign for the coastal resort city of Hua Hin.
Pai
Just an ordinary gold sign for Pai.
Mae Hong Son
Mae Hong Son in remote northern Thailand.
Indeed, sometimes it’s the small details that make all the difference. I found that Europe was very good at hilighting things that wouldn’t be in other parts of the world, like street lights, mail boxes and such.
While the street signs in Chiang Mai are pleasing to look at, a lot of them are very hard to see especially in the rain season or at night. The ones in Chiang Rai are even worse to see in the rain or at night. They are pleasing for tourists who do not normally find themselves driving and navigating in traffic as they use other means of transport.
Those are really nice pics. I think that it shows some pride in the city that you live in if you’re willing to spend the time and money to make even the most mundane things like a street sign beautiful… and that’s a very good thing.
This is true of all the street signs in thailand, ornamental or not. The last one is what most of the signs look like in Bangkok. None of them have any reflective qualities that are the standard now around the world.
Wow, these are beautiful! I wish we displayed so much artistry in our street signs in the US….although I’m sure it would go to waste, since no doubt some vandals would either knock them over or steal them. 🙁
Cool photos, I haven’t even noticed these in CM will def go looking for some of them now 🙂
beautiful street signs, so much culture and history everywhere, not just in its temples and statues
James i like the way you thought about these little prospective’s…I have meet a very few guys in my traveling life who think like this….The street signs are giving good description about the beautiful cities in Thailand…Thanks for making us a part of your blog…
Love how you focused on these wonderful signs. Such details as these really provide a local flavor to an experience. Glad you thought to capture.
This is such a good idea and I wish every country would makes signs so interesting.
Way cool!