Stories, culture and travel
Browse practical travel guides, cultural stories, art history and the ideas behind our prints.
I love durian as an art subject because it gives you so much before you have even drawn the thing. That spiked shell. The creamy...
If you are planning a trip around durian, June is the month that keeps coming up. Eastern Thailand can still be going strong, Malaysia's main...
Put a Thai Monthong beside a Malaysian Musang King and you can get two very different durian experiences. The easy explanation is the country. The...
Here is the first thing that makes durian much more interesting: durian is not one standard eating experience. Musang King, Monthong, D24 and Black Thorn...
Durian gets called the King of Fruits all the time. I always assumed it was one of those grand food nicknames that nobody could really...
Sweet. Creamy. Fruity. Onion-like. Even a little bitter. The odd thing about durian is that all of those descriptions can make sense. The flavour changes...
Durian is not banned across Southeast Asia. That gets repeated a lot online, but it is not really true. You can buy and eat durian...
Portuguese azulejo prints have a slightly awkward job. They are taking an art form built from glazed ceramic, architecture and hundreds of separate tiles and...
Here is the bit people skip: choose the wall before you choose the print. I know. Not exactly the exciting part. But it saves you...
A Portuguese kitchen does not need blue tiles on every wall, a ceramic cockerel on the shelf and a row of souvenir sardines to prove...
If you want a wall to feel connected to Portugal, you do not need to fill it with every famous Portuguese symbol you can think...
You can decorate with Portuguese tiles without putting a single ceramic tile on the wall. The part worth borrowing is the visual language: repeated pattern,...
If you look at one azulejo on its own, it is easy to think of it as a decorated ceramic square. Look at what Portugal...
Lisbon is one of the best places to understand Portuguese azulejos because you can see several centuries of tile art without leaving the city. A...
Once you stop looking at Portuguese azulejos as one big blue-and-white pattern, you start noticing all the individual things inside them. Flowers. Birds. Fruit. Ships....
Portuguese tile patterns can look a bit like a secret code when you first start paying attention to them. You start spotting stars, flowers, vines,...
Blue and white has become so closely connected with Portuguese azulejos that it is really easy to assume they have always looked like that. They...
What are azulejos, where did they come from, and why are they so important in Portugal? This guide looks at the meaning, history, colours, patterns...
Portuguese azulejos have been around for hundreds of years, but they have never really stayed the same. The early tiles used in Portugal look completely...
A white monkey dives into the sea because somebody keeps stealing his rocks. He finds an underwater army doing it. Their leader is a mermaid...
If you have seen a white monkey with a wide open mouth in Thai murals, masks or classical performance, there is a very good chance...
Calling the Ramakien "Thailand's Ramayana" is a useful way to explain it quickly. Phra Ram is Rama. Nang Sida is Sita. Thotsakan is Ravana. The...
If you have travelled around Thailand, there is a good chance you have already seen the Ramakien before anyone explained the name to you. That...
You can smell a durian before you see it. I am not exaggerating. Open one and the smell can fill a room fast. Some people...
How many temples are there in Thailand? Explore official 2025 statistics, province rankings, regional totals, royal temples and abandoned temple data.
How many people visit Thailand each year? See the latest annual tourist arrival figures, 2015-2025 data, top markets, revenue and COVID recovery trends.
10 Culturally Interesting Facts About Thailand’s White Elephants Written by Jack Cyphus | Founder of CITTRA Collective Travel Enthusiast & Cultural Lover There are many...
Where is Thailand and why do so many backpackers start there? Discover Thailand’s location, why it’s so popular, and what makes it such an exciting...
Discover how Pad Thai rose from wartime street food to Thailand’s national dish — politics, rice shortages, propaganda, and culture behind the plate.
Go beyond the architecture. Uncover how trade scraps became sacred art and why Wat Arun remains the spiritual anchor of the Chao Phraya. Experience a...
Learn about Thailand’s sacred white elephants and why the Chang Phueak is such a powerful symbol of royal history, Buddhist tradition, and Thai culture.
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