Beaches, spicy food, temples and mountains: Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak’s Hometown tour

The first driver to stand on the top step of the podium in FIA Formula 3 from Thailand, Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak has put himself and his country on the map this season with some stellar performances.

Recently, before the Campos Racing driver went off on his summer break, we caught up with him to talk all things Bangkok, and Inthraphuvasak gave us the lowdown and what he would do if he were visiting for the first time.

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“Well, my hometown is in Bangkok, Thailand, that's where I was born, and I've spent maybe half of my life there before moving to the UK to study and race. I know it pretty well, I grew up there.

“As everyone might know it's a bit different, it's a unique place compared to everywhere else, a bit chaotic. But there are many parts of the country where you don't know unless you have been there before.

“When you think about Thailand maybe you think of temples and all those sorts of things, but there is a lot more to it.

“The food is really good, I love Thai food. When I am here in England, I have to have Thai food every once in a while, because I miss it.

“Everyone knows the traditional dishes, like Pad Thai. One of my favourite dishes is called Pad Kra Pao, which is basically rice with mincemeat, whatever you want, beef or chicken. It's one of my favourite dishes, with a fried egg on top.

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“It's one of the traditional dishes, and one my favourites. Most Thai foods are on the spicy side, so maybe on a race week I would avoid it a bit, but I really like it.

“There are a lot of activities for people to do. Thailand is one of the most convenient places in my opinion, you can find pretty much everything. I went to school back home, so I played a lot of sports with my friends.

“Also, during the breaks, I would visit the beaches down south with my friends and family quite often. Some of the beaches are quite famous, like Phuket and Koh Phi Phi, those islands are pretty good and I would say pretty good for tourism. “ust a lot of activities in general that are really fun.

“Designing the perfect day for a tourist would depend on the person. I would probably bring someone to a landmark, there is quite a famous temple in Thailand, it's quite big, it's called Wat Phra Kaew.

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“It's quite famous, it's a temple where you visit quite often to pray and to wish for good luck. I would take them there to visit, and maybe I would show them around Bangkok, whatever you want to do you can find around Bangkok.

“If we had a bit more time, I would maybe bring them to the north, which is completely different to the south. South having a lot of beaches while the north, it's a lot of mountains, and those areas, really good places for hiking. It's a very different scenery and it's nice to visit.”