Thailand

Thailand is situated in the heart of Southeast Asia. It has a surface area of approximately 513,000 km2, as around the size of France, with approximately 65 million people.

The regions in Thailand

Thailand is divided divided into 6 regions. There are Northern Thailand, Northeastern Thailand, Western Thailand, Central Thailand, Eastern Thailand, and Southern Thailand. Each region has different characteristics and cultures.

Northern Thailand

The borders in the northern Thailand are connected with Myanmar and Laos. Much of the area is mountainous, which makes the weather there cooler than in the rest of the country. Northern people are famous for their courtesy and hospitality. They also are known for being calm, gentle and unhurried. They speak in their own dialect called Kham Meaung. However, standard Thai is widely understood.

Northeastern Thailand

Northeastern Thailand or Isan is Thailands poorest region. Agriculture is the main economic activity, but due to the hot and dry climate in that area, the output is behind that of other parts of the country. People in the region speak Isan dialect. Standard Thai is also spoken, but with regional accent. They have unique form of folk music, called Mor Lam. Isan food is mixture of the Lao and Thai cuisine.

Western Thailand

The border of western Thailand is connected with Myanmar. The geography there is characterised by high mountains and steep river valleys. The region has many countrys major dams. The famous city in western Thailand is Kanchanaburi, as it is known internationally for historic scene of World War II. There is the famous bridge over River Kwai. The bridge was built during World War II by prisoner-of-war labour under the command of Japanese soldiers as part of the Death Railway linking Thailand with Myanmar.

Central Thailand

Central Thailand is the most populated region of Thailand . It covers the low plain of Chao Phraya river, a major river of Thailand. It has most fertile soil of the country. The Central region has a dramatic history and heritage of ancient temples.

Eastern Thailand

Fruit is a major component of agriculture in the area, and tourism plays a strong part in the economy. The region's coastal location has helped promote the tourism in the region.

Southern Thailand

Southern Thailand is internationally famous for its beautiful sea and islands. The famous cities for tourist destinations are Phuket and Krabi.

Thailand in the old days

Thailand is the only Southeast Asian nation that never has been colonized by European powers. It is a constitutional monarchy whose current head of state is HM Bhumibol Adulyadej. A unified Thai kingdom has existed since the mid-14th century, and Thailand was known as Siam until 1939 when it officially became the Kingdom of Thailand.

Fun Facts
Bangkok has the longest city name in the world. Its full name is

Bangkok

"Krung Thep

Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Ayuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit"

Bangkok is the capital city of Thailand. It is the name known by the western world, while Thai people call it Krueng Tep (which means The City of Angels).

Bangkok is the center of business and culture of the nation. It is the most populated city in Thailand.

There are modern supermarkets with a large selection of western food and other products, big shopping malls with all the most modern products and clothing styles that can be found anywhere in the world and numbers of movie theaters showing all the latest movies.

Politic

The Thailand government is based a constitutional monarchy, in which a Prime Minister serves as head of a parliamentary government and a hereditary Thai king functions as head of state. The current Prime Minister of Thailand is Abhisit Vejjajiva.

The King of Thailand

Musician, photographer, scientist, and man of the people, King Bhumibol has served as spiritual leader of his people for over six decades, acting as a symbol of stability and hope for a country often shaken by political upheaval and fostering numerous programs along with members of his royal family to bring economic prosperity to his people.

The current King of Thailand, His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) is the ninth Thai king from the House of Chakri, which has ruled Thailand since the founding of Bangkok by King Phutthayotfa Chulalok (Rama I) in 1782. While the King of Thailand has little direct power, under the constitution King Bhumibol is a symbol of national identity and unity; indeed, the Thai King commands enormous popular respect and moral authority. The king is much loved by the people.

Thailands Economy

Thailand depends on exports consisting primarily of agricultural products, particularly rice. Thailand is also a large exporter of textiles, rubber, automobiles, jewelry, and computers/electronic appliances. Tourism also makes a large contribution to Thailand's economy.

Thailand is the worlds largest exporter of rice and that Thai rice includes more than one strain, each of which has its own characteristic and flavor.

Thailand is an agricultural country. The farmers are the backbone of the country and rice is the staple diet of Thailand.

A Thai Greeting
In Thailand people do not normally say 'good morning', 'good afternoon', 'good evening' or 'good night'. They greet each other with the word Sawasdee, and instead of shaking hands, they put their palms together in a prayer-like gesture and bow slightly.

It is customary for the younger or lower in status to begin the greeting. When taking leave, the same word and procedure is repeated. This gesture is called a Wai.

Religion in Thailand
Buddhism is the national religion of Thailand but there is total religious freedom and all major religions can be found in practice. Despite the fact that Buddhism is the faith of majority, both the king and the government uphold and support all the religion accepted by the people.

The vast majority of the Thai populations adheres to Theravada Buddhism. (95 percent of the population), 4 percent are Muslims, 0.5 percent and Christians, and the remainder Hindus, Sikhs and other religion.

Buddhism plays a very important role in Thai life. It has been considered an essential pillar of society for centuries. Religion in Thailand pervades many aspects of Thai life and senior monks are highly revered. In many towns and villages the neighborhood wat (temple) is the heart of social and religious life. It has huge influences on Thai society, arts, literatures, peoples beliefs and what they values.

Thai art

Thai traditional dances and performances

Thai traditional dance is one of the truly graceful aspects of the country and is quite symbolic of the Thai character itself. Thai traditional dance was influenced by Indian culture, then we developed our own style. The dancers patiently mime the ancient stories from Thai literatures, which were originally developed and performed as entertainment for the royal court.

Thai traditional clothes

Thai traditional clothes are varied. It changed with the time, and traditional clothes worn in each part of Thailand have their own characteristics.

Nowadays, traditional Thai clothes are worn only in special occasions like Songkran, Loy Krathong, or weddings.

Thai students wear uniforms to school. Men and women wear proper clothes to work. On normal day, they wear normal clothes like in other countries.

Thai food

Thai food is famous all over the world for its full of flavours and aroma. Thai are known for being spicy. It has five fundamental flavours in each dish or the overal meal hot, sour, sweet, salty and bitter (optional). It is prepared with a blend of spices and herbal ingredients. Food in each region has its own characteristics and appearances.

Eat like Thais

At Thai table, theres no dish that belongs only to one person. All dishes are shared. Eating Thai food is a communal affair involving two or more people, principally because the greater the number of diners the greater the number of dishes ordered. Then put the food to their own individual plates of steamed rice. Thai people eat with fork and spoon. Chopstick are used when they eat noodles. A knife is unnecessary as all of the food is either served in bite-sized pieces or can easily be broken up using a fork.

Whether you are in the central, southern, northern, or northeastern part of Thailand, Thai meal is not really completed without rice. Rice is the staple food for Thai people, eaten with most meals, from breakfast to dessert.

Thai dessert

Traditional Thai desserts are quite sweet, made predominately from various combinations of rice, coconut milk, and sugar.

Some egg based Thai desserts trace their history back to the influence from the Portuguese in Ayutthaya Kingdom.

Cultural influences on Thai people

Thailand is known for the name The Land of Smile. Thai people are fun-loving and peaceful. It reflects on Thai traditions and festivals that show their merry nature. They are generally shy and polite. They like to take things easy and avoid personal conflicts.

The culture of Thailand has been greatly influenced by Buddhism. Buddhism plays a big part in every step of Thai life. It is common for Thai men to go into monkhood for at least in a short period of time.

Thailand had been ruled outright by kings of various realms since the thirteenth century; it was not until 1932 that Thailand became a constitutional monarchy. The institution of monarchy is still regarded with much love and respect by Thai people.

Thai people are proud of their long history and the fact that Thailand is the only nation in Southeast Asia that has never been colonized by Western powers.

Everyone in Thailand knows and respects their place in society. A Thai will usually immediately identify whether another is of higher status than them (usually deemed by age or wealth) and initiate the wai to show respect. Even on a social level, they will refer to their elders as pii (older sibling). In fact social grace is paramount and the formal suffix kha (female) and khrap (male) is added to the end of all sentences when addressing strangers, employers/employees or elders.

Ethnic groups in Thailand

Mani people in the southern part of Thailand The Padaung, Karen Long-Necked hilltribe

An Akha woman Lahu couple

Thailand hosts a great variety of ethnic groups and hill tribe people (especially in the northern part of Thailand), each with its own customs and traditions.