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Ornamental street signs of Thailand

January 26, 2011 By James Clark 11 Comments

Ornamental street signs of Thailand

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 street sign

Patong Beach in Phuket with a dolphin street sign.

Krabi Town

Krabi street sign

Krabi Town with a sword-wielding elephant. Of course.

Maeklong

Maeklong street sign

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 street signs

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 street sign

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 street sign

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 street sign

Ubon Ratchathani in the Isaan region is best known for its annual Candle Festival.

Songkhla

Songkhla street sign

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 - 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

Ranong street sign

Another town, another temple. This is Ranong, near the border of Myanmar.

Pattaya

Pattaya street sign

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

Mahachai street sign

Nothing fancy here. I’ve just added this one to illustrate what an every day street sign looks like in Thailand.

Kanchanaburi

Kanchanaburi street sign

Fish signs in Kanchanaburi.

Nakhon Pathom

Nakhon Pathom street sign

Nakhon Pathom street signs feature the Phra Pathom Chedi (the tallest stupa in the world).

Hua Hin

Hua Hin street sign

A boat-themed sign for the coastal resort city of Hua Hin.

Pai

Pai street sign

Just an ordinary gold sign for Pai.

Mae Hong Son

Mae Hong Son  street sign

Mae Hong Son in remote northern Thailand.

Filed Under: Travel Blog Tagged With: chiang khong, chiang mai, chiang rai, form and function, koh phuket, krabi, maeklong, mahachai, patong beach, pattaya, signs, songkhla, thailand, ubon ratchathani

Comments

  1. Eurotrip Tips says

    January 27, 2011 at 2:15 am

    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.

    Reply
  2. Ricefield Radio says

    January 27, 2011 at 3:12 am

    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.

    Reply
  3. Jill - Jack and Jill Travel The World says

    January 27, 2011 at 2:09 am

    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.

    Reply
  4. James Clark says

    January 28, 2011 at 12:21 am

    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.

    Reply
  5. Gray says

    January 29, 2011 at 3:58 am

    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. 🙁

    Reply
  6. Kirsty says

    January 30, 2011 at 12:59 am

    Cool photos, I haven’t even noticed these in CM will def go looking for some of them now 🙂

    Reply
  7. lakwatsera de primera says

    February 3, 2011 at 7:29 pm

    beautiful street signs, so much culture and history everywhere, not just in its temples and statues

    Reply
  8. villa javea says

    February 14, 2011 at 2:57 pm

    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…

    Reply
  9. Barb Doyle says

    January 4, 2013 at 5:39 am

    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.

    Reply
  10. Neetu Chandra says

    January 20, 2017 at 2:11 am

    This is such a good idea and I wish every country would makes signs so interesting.

    Reply
  11. Grover says

    August 9, 2019 at 1:06 am

    Way cool!

    Reply

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James Clark from Nomadic Notes

Hi, I’m James Clark, and I've been travelling the world since 2003 while running a location independent travel business. Nomadic Notes is a travel blog featuring travel guides and notes from my travels.

I’m currently based in Vietnam, writing about transport and infrastructure in Southeast Asia.

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