Richard Barrow

🇹🇭 Writer of online Thai travel guides and travel news for 30 years. I tweet tips on where to go and what to do. I’m also on @ThaiTrainGuide.

[TAT Newsroom @Tatnews_Org]

🛂 🇹🇭Thailand will introduce updated visa exemption rules from 15 September 2026, ending the 60-day measure and applying new 30-day, 15-day, or Visa on Arrival arrangements by nationality.

👉 PRESS RELEASE: https://t.co/iw6ZlasCHa

#Thailand #TATNews #ThaiTravelNews #ThailandEntry #TravelAdvisory #VisitThailand

[Richard Barrow @RichardBarrow]

@ThosMajor Have you tried this 👇

Thailand Province Tracker — https://t.co/E6CXlcWLFn https://t.co/vJBAttDfWg

[Thai Train Guide @ThaiTrainGuide]

🇮🇳 Coming this week on the @AsianTrainGuide YouTube channel - everything you need to know about Indian Sleeper Trains in ten minutes.

Subscribe and turn on notifications in order not to miss any of our Asian train guides: https://t.co/uM4rQeI8mg #IndianTrains #AsianTrainGuide

[Richard Barrow @RichardBarrow]

@BirdieBangkok Is this at the Department of Corrections in Nonthaburi or back at its old home?

[Richard Barrow @RichardBarrow]

I’m excited to announce the launch of the first video on our new @AsianTrainGuide YouTube channel. This is a collaboration between @nonstopeurotrip and @thaitrainguide.

🎥 Watch: https://t.co/Y7mZKjAsep

#AsianTrainGuide #AsiaByRail #DiscoverAsiaByRail #RailTourism #Thailand

[Richard Barrow @RichardBarrow]

@richcleaver That’s usually at the discretion of the immigration officer. I haven’t seen anything official.

[Richard Barrow @RichardBarrow]

Asian Train Guide Now on YouTube!

I am excited to announce the launch of the @AsianTrainGuide YouTube channel which is a collaboration between @nonstopeurotrip and myself. We'll be guiding you through all aspects of Asia's railways & exploring the most incredible train journeys this vast continent has to offer!

👉 Intro video: https://t.co/WN9IypcOQU

The first video will come out next week and is about Exploring the Death Railway.

Don't forget to click like, share and subscribe. Please tell your friends about this new partnership and new channel. Thanks! 🙏

#AsianTrainGuide #NonstopEurotrip #ThaiTrainGuide #AsiaByRail

[Richard Barrow @RichardBarrow]

🇹🇭 Please note that all government offices in Thailand, including Thai Immigration offices, will be closed on Wednesday 13 May 2026 for the Royal Ploughing Ceremony.

This holiday mainly applies to government offices and some state enterprises. For most private businesses, foreign embassies, shopping malls, restaurants, and transport services, it will be a normal working day.

If you are planning a visa extension, 90-day report, or other immigration-related visit, it’s best to arrange this before or after the holiday.

#Thailand #ThaiImmigration #RoyalPloughingCeremony #ThailandTravel #ThaiHoliday #Bangkok #TravelThailand #VisaThailand #ThaiNews #RichardBarrow #AmazingThailand

[Richard Barrow @RichardBarrow]

🍜 013/100 Thai Street Food Flashcards

Rice Balls in Coconut Milk (Bua Loi บัวลอย). This is one of those simple Thai desserts that’s easy to like. The small colorful balls are made from glutinous rice flour, usually mixed with natural colors like pandan for green or pumpkin for yellow. They’re boiled until soft and slightly chewy, then served in lightly sweet coconut milk.

The texture is what makes this dish stand out. The rice balls are soft but a bit chewy. Some versions add taro, black beans, or even an egg cracked into the hot coconut milk for extra richness.

❤️ Click like and share if you want to vote for this to be in the Top 10 of #ThaiStreetFood 2026. Follow me for 100 different #ThaiFood flashcards for #Thailand.

[Richard Barrow @RichardBarrow]

🇹🇭 Bun Bang Fai Rocket Festival
📍Yasothon
🗓️ 8-10 May 2026

Yasothon’s famous Bun Bang Fai Rocket Festival returns for three days, with parades, concerts, Isaan cultural performances, OTOP products, local food, and rocket-launching competitions at Phaya Thaen Public Park.

This traditional festival marks the start of the rainy season, with rockets launched as an offering to Phaya Thaen, the rain deity, to ask for seasonal rain and a good harvest.

Admission is free.

📍MAP: https://t.co/krHmTmT8f8

#Thailand #Yasothon #BunBangFai #RocketFestival #Isaan #AmazingThailand #ThailandFestival #TourismThailand

[Richard Barrow @RichardBarrow]

🍜 012/100 Thai Street Food Flashcards

Laab Moo (ลาบหมู) is one of those dishes you’ll see everywhere in Thailand, and for good reason. It’s a spicy pork salad that hits that mix of fresh, sour, and a bit salty all in one bite. The minced pork is usually lightly cooked, then tossed with lime juice, fish sauce, chili flakes, and toasted rice powder which gives it that slightly nutty texture.

What stands out here is how fresh it looks. You’ve got sliced red onions, spring onions, and a good handful of mint on top. The broth at the bottom is normal for this style, especially in central Thailand, making it a bit juicier compared to the drier Isaan version.

It’s usually eaten with sticky rice and some raw greens on the side, which helps balance the heat. Simple dish, but when it’s done right, it’s hard to stop eating.

❤️ Click like and share if you want to vote for this to be in the Top 10 of #ThaiStreetFood 2026. Follow me for 100 different #ThaiFood flashcards for #Thailand.

[Richard Barrow @RichardBarrow]

🚂 For photographers wanting to capture trains on the Bridge on the River Kwai (สะพานแควใหญ่) and the Tham Krasae wooden trestle bridge (สะพานถ้ำกระแซ), these are all the times you can expect to see trains.

Please note that excursion trains only run at weekends.

#DeathRailway

[Richard Barrow @RichardBarrow]

🍜 011/100 Thai Street Food Flashcards

Roti Mataba with Beef (โรตีมะตะบะเนื้อ) is one of those dishes that feels like a mix between a stuffed pancake and a savory pie. The roti is pan-fried until the outside turns crispy and golden, while inside you get a soft filling of minced beef cooked with curry spices and onion.

It’s similar to Indian-style stuffed paratha, but thinner and crispier on the outside. What makes it stand out is the side of fresh cucumber relish. The cucumbers are lightly pickled with vinegar, sugar, and chili, so you get that fresh, slightly sweet and tangy bite to balance the rich beef filling.

❤️ Click like and share if you want to vote for this to be in the Top 10 of #ThaiStreetFood 2026. Follow me for 100 different #ThaiFood flashcards for #Thailand.

[Richard Barrow @RichardBarrow]

@silva1561 @ThaiTrainGuide Thank you for inviting me.

[Richard Barrow @RichardBarrow]

🚉 Good morning from the Bridge on the River Kwai. I’m here in Kanchanaburi for the annual memorial service for the estimated 100,000 Asian labourers that died building the Thai-Burma Railway during the last war.

Everyone talks about the Allied Prisoners of War all the time but hardly anything is mentioned about the Asians that died. So I felt it was important for me to come here and shine a light on what happened to them.

#DeathRailway #Thailand

[Richard Barrow @RichardBarrow]

This morning on Labor Day, I took part in a small ceremony in Kanchanaburi. It did not draw crowds like the famous bridge or war cemetery. But it carried a weight that is easy to miss.

This was a service of remembrance for Asian forced laborers who died building the Thai-Burma Railway. An estimated 100,000 of them perished under brutal conditions. Many were Tamil workers from Malaya, promised good pay, then trapped in a system that turned them into slave labor for the Japanese war effort.

Most people know the suffering of Allied prisoners of war. That history is visible. It has books, films, memorials. But the Asian laborers, often called Romusha, remain largely unknown. Even their families never learned what happened. Many waited for years, hoping for a return that never came.

In the early 1950s, as roads were widened and new buildings went up, workers began to uncover graves. Not marked. Not recorded. Sometimes five or six bodies in a single pit. During the war, this area had been remote. The town itself sat further away.

The land belonged largely to Wat Thaworn Wararam. Monks at the temple took responsibility. They gathered the remains and carried out cremations in three large batches. In the end, they collected what was believed to be the remains of around 10,000 people.

In 1957, they built a monument for what was then called “the unknown people”. It was a place for those with no names, no records, no identity. Beneath it sits a simple crypt, holding the remains of those lives.

Only later did historians begin to piece the truth together. This had been a labor camp zone. The dead were not strangers to history. While their individual names remain lost, their identity is now understood. They were the Romusha, the Asian laborers who built the railway and died here.

On 1 May 2025, a Nadukal, or Hero Stone, was installed in front of the monument. It stands as a marker of recognition, a way to give form to memory that was denied for decades. The site has now become a place not just of mourning, but of acknowledgment.

The ceremony I attended this morning marked the second anniversary of that effort. Among those present were the Ambassadors of Malaysia and Sri Lanka, alongside local officials and community leaders. Representatives from across Asia and Europe gathered. Prayers were offered in different faiths. Wreaths were laid. Silence filled the space where names should have been.

The message was clear. These people mattered. Their suffering mattered. Their story must be told.

This is no longer a one time event. The service will now take place every year on 1 May. A fixed moment to remember the forgotten workforce behind one of World War II’s most brutal railways.

I hope to see you there next year.

#ThaiTrainGuide #ThaiTracks #ThailandByRail #RailTourism #ThaiTrans #Thailand #DeathRailway #Kanchanaburi #Romusha #LaborDay #WWIIHistory

[Thai Train Guide @ThaiTrainGuide]

Video clip of Ordinary No. 260 (Nam Tok to Thonburi) crossing the bridge this morning at 6:58am. This is the return journey that I took from Thonburi yesterday afternoon. It stays in Nam Tok overnight. It leaves there before sunrise and so the first part of their journey is in the dark.

#รถไฟไทย #thaitrain #trains #RailTourism #railway #railfan #railfans #railwayphotography #trainphotography #DeathRailway #Thailand

[Richard Barrow @RichardBarrow]

@Chutintorn_Sam @foundationthai Thank you.

[Richard Barrow @RichardBarrow]

This morning I had the honor of being invited again by @foundationthai to speak at the Expatriate Orientation for members of the diplomatic corp, business leaders, and other people new to Thailand. My session was called “Discovering the Four Regions of Thailand by Rail”. The words on the last slide of the presentation nicely summed it up:

“Travelling by train in Thailand is about more than just getting from point A to point B. It's about watching the changing landscapes, tasting regional specialties, and feeling connected to the people and places that make up this beautiful country.

“Whether you're heading north to the misty mountains of Chiang Mai or south to the tropical warmth of Hat Yai, the views from the train window are a reminder of Thailand's incredible diversity, in geography, culture, and spirit.”

Judging by the feedback at the end, I think I got quite a few converts to rail travel in Thailand.

#ThailandByRail #RailTourism #Thailand

[Richard Barrow @RichardBarrow]

@thainet123 @foundationthai Thank you! It’s not often I wear a suit these days.

[Richard Barrow @RichardBarrow]

🍜 010/100 Thai Street Food Flashcards

Kuay Teow Gaeng (ก๋วยเตี๋ยวแกง) is one of those dishes you don’t see everywhere, but once you try it, it sticks with you. It’s basically noodles served in a rich curry broth, usually beef-based, with a mix of soft textures and bold spices.

There are chunks of beef, boiled egg, tofu, plus a sprinkle of chopped herbs on top. It’s a bit like combining a Thai curry with noodle soup, somewhere between khao soi and regular guay tiew, but heavier and more intense in flavor.

If you like curry and noodles, this is a solid pick, especially when you want something filling.

❤️ Click like and share if you want to vote for this to be in the Top 10 of #ThaiStreetFood 2026. Follow me for 100 different #ThaiFood flashcards for #Thailand.