India, April 25 -- From temple-dotted cities to island-fringed seas and night markets that hum well past midnight, Thailand offers the sort of allure that makes sticking to your plan to explore somewhere entirely new surprisingly difficult. It's why that internet saying 'the one where you're supposed to be exploring the world but somehow find yourself back in Thailand for the nth time', lands a little too close to home. But what's even more relatable is those first-visit jitters and the head-scratching moments that come with it, especially when local customs and everyday travel norms aren't immediately obvious.

Whether you plan to stay put in Bangkok, the cultured capital, or set out to complete a circuit of the country's famed regions,...