This paper examines the intellectual history of Thailand and its representations of Indochina, with particular focus on the two Republics of Vietnam as depicted in Thai literature from the 1950s to the 1970s. Despite Thailand’s longstanding historical ties with the newly independent nations of Indochina—connections that span centuries—Thai perspectives on these regions prior to 1950 were limited, fragmented, and often ambiguous. Indochina, particularly the two Republics of Vietnam, was perceived only dimly as a place simultaneously near yet distant. The advent of the global Cold War, however, significantly reshaped these perceptions by bringing the two Vietnams into the Thai public consciousness in more immediate and tangible ways. These emerging views varied greatly and revealed political schisms among Thai intellectuals. This study explores how cultural and political ideologies influenced a wide array of literary and media works—including fiction, nonfiction, and journalism—to illuminate the diverse Thai attitudes toward Indochina. It argues that the global Cold War played a significant role in shaping Thailand’s political and cultural understandings of its neighbors. Indochina, as an imagined construct, became a multifaceted site of inspiration, caution, and reflection, providing lessons and imposing limitations that, in turn, influenced Thai domestic politics. The varied portrayals of Indochina in Thai literature not only reveal the ideological dichotomies within Thai society during the Cold War but also resonate in the rhetoric surrounding key domestic events and in Thailand’s diplomatic engagements with neighboring countries throughout and beyond the Cold War period.