Some information about Thailand

Thailand is one of the leading lights of Asia. It has long established film and tourist industries, it is a wonderful mixture of ancient traditions and high tech and the fact that it was never colonised gives it a unique culture.

For a little bit of background information; please read on...

History
Geography
Climate
Language
Culture
Cuisine
Facts and figures

Historical Background

Thailand was originally established as the Buddhist kingdom of Sukhothai in 1238 and had it's capital in Ayuttahya. (now a UNESCO world heritage site and wonderful place to visit).

The present era of Thai history began under King Rama I in 1782 after to fall of Ayuttahya to the Burmese in 1767 which is when the capital was moved to what is now Bangkok.

It is the only Asian country never to have been colonised by a European country although it did lose a large portion of land (now Laos) to the French in the 19th century.

Thailand was known as Siam until 1932 when a bloodless revolution resulted in a new constitutional monarchy. Since then Thailand has been ruled by various types of government ranging from military dictatorships to the democratically elected one which is in place at the moment. All the different governments have acknowledged the monarch as head of state.

King Rama V 1868-1910

The name Thailand means 'Land of the Free'.

His Majesty King Bhumibol is the longest reigning monarch in the world, having come to power in 1946, he is immensely popular with the Thai people and you must always be most respectful toward him and the rest of the royal family. You will see pictures of him and the Queen all over the country and in most people's homes.

The official calendar of Thailand begins in 543 BC, after the death of the Buddha and although the weeks and months are the same as the western calender the year is 543 ahead so that 2008 AD in the west is 2551 in Thailand.

Geography

Thailand has an area of 514,000 km² which makes it similar in size to California or France, it is naturally divided into 5 regions: The central valley, the highlands of the north and northwest, the northeast, the southeast coast, and the peninsula.

The heartland of the nation is the central valley, opening onto the Gulf of Thailand and otherwise surrounded by hills and mountains. The valley is 365 km (227 mi) from north to south. It's wide, flat, fertile soils form one of the world's most important rice and fruit-growing areas. The majority of the land is dedicated to farming although there are also industrial centres and of course the huge urban sprawl of Bangkok which is home to approximately 10 million people.

Looking out over mountains in Northern Thailand from the famous (for it's huge number of hairpin bends) 'Highway 1095'

The highlands north and west of the central valley are surrounded on three sides by Myanmar (Burma until June 1989) and Laos. The area along the border peninsula is a sparsely inhabited strip of rugged mountains, deep canyons and valleys much of which is covered in natural jungle. There are also a profusion of multi-coloured orchids. Many of the people of North Thailand live in small communities often in areas where river valleys widen out, much of the farming takes place on terraced fields and winter temperatures are sufficiently cool to permit temperate fruit such as strawberries and peaches to be grown.

The northeast (often called the Khorat) is an area of undulating hills separated from the central plateau by mountain ranges. It has some beautiful natural scenery and many historical sites including ancient Khmer ruins. Most of the inhabitants are engaged in farming or related activities, the main crop is rice but sugar cane, tapioca, corn, jute, peanuts, sesame and fruits are also grown here.

The small southeast coast region faces the Gulf of Thailand and is separated from the central valley and Cambodia by hills and mountains that rise in places to over 1,500m (5,000 ft). This area is well-watered and covered in lush, tropical vegetation. Most of the people live along the narrow coastal plain.

The southern peninsular extends almost 960 km (600 mi) from the central valley in the north to the boundary of Malaysia in the south and is anywhere from 16 to 217 km (10–135 mi) wide between the Gulf of Thailand on the east and the Andaman Sea and Burma on the west. The Peninsula, unlike most of Thailand, lies within the humid tropical forest zone, it has miles of unspoiled beaches and idyllic islands as well as economically vital tin mining, rubber cultivation and fishing industries.

Climate

Officially there are three seasons:

Cool (from November to February) with temperatures in the mid twenties to low thirties (Celsius).

Hot (from March to May) with temperatures mostly above 30^oC and sometimes above 40^oC.

Rainy (from June to October) with temperatures in the mid twenties and regular tropical rain and thunder storms.

In Bangkok and the South of Thailand it is never cold but occasionally in the North temperatures can come down in to single figures at night during the cool season.

Language

Part of the Thai alphabet

Thailand's national language is Thai, written in its own alphabet of 15 vowels, 44 consonants and 4 tones it's quite a difficult language to learn. Many ethnic and regional dialects also exist as well as areas where people speak Issan or Khmer.

Although English is widely taught in schools its use is not that widespread, however most people working in the media as well as many business people and virtually all of those working in the tourist industries speak very good English. Very many Thais (especially the younger generation) speak at least a few words.

Film crew in Thailand have varying amounts of English but most at department head level speak it pretty well. Quite a few have perfect, accent-less English.

Road signs, notices, business names and labels on consumer goods are nearly always written in both Thai and English making it a little easier for non-Thai speakers. Anouncements on trains and public transport are also usually bi-lingual as are the messages and instructions on the mobile phone networks.

Culture

A young Buddhist monk

Thailand is predominantly Buddhist and there are very many elaborately decorated temples and monestaries throughout the country and even in the heart of the business districts. Most young men are monks for a short time. Most homes and many businesses have small shrines in them.

In the southern part of the country Islam is prominent and there are also a few small Christian communities dotted about.

Like most Asian cultures, respect towards ancestors and elders is important and there is a very strong social hierarchy. The traditional Thai greeting, the wai, (palms placed together over the chest and a bowing of the head), is normally performed first by the younger or less senior person at a meeting and should always be returned.

A Hill Tribe girl in traditional costume

The national sport in Thailand is Muay Thai or Thai boxing it is an immensely popular full contact sport, very exciting to watch and which has gained worldwide popularity since the 90s. Soccer is also very popular in Thailand and there's a big following of the English premier league.

In the north of Thailand hill tribes live traditional lives and many still wear traditional costume.

Taboos in Thailand include touching someone's head or pointing with the feet, as the head is considered the most sacred and the foot the dirtiest part of the body. Stepping over someone, or over food, is considered insulting. Never point with your foot and be aware that you will normally be expected to remove your shoes when entering someone's house and some business premises.

Cuisine

Stir fried curried crab

Although the staple in Thailand is rice, the cuisine is world famous for its spicy, fresh flavours and generous use of fresh herbs. Dishes vary quite a lot from region to region and one of the joys of travelling around is sampling local delicates from the little stalls that you will find everywhere.

Common dishes include some wonderful soups, a huge variety of curries, stir fried vegetable dishes, barbecued meat and fish, 'spicy' salads and masses of rice and noodle dishes. There are a lot of exotic fruit and vegetables which are not commonly available in the west, most are delicious and well worth trying.

Some of the more unusual things you may come across include chicken's feet, some very alien looking seafood like horseshoe crabs and 'gang' (which look a bit like a lobster tail with no lobster attached - they taste delicious), frogs are popular in the north as are deep fried insects (which actually make a very tasty snack if you're feeling adventurous!).

Some Issan dishes like som tum are flavored with plah lar which is made from fermented fish and is not to everyone's taste.

Deep fried waterbugs

Hygiene is very good in Thailand and as most dishes require very fresh ingredients it is usually quite safe to eat at even the simplest of roadside cafes.

Tap water is generally not suitable for drinking but bottled water is available everywhere and is very cheap. Ice in drinks (so long as it has a hole through the middle) is factory made and perfectly safe.

The locally produced beers (Chang and Singha beer) are very good and are often served with ice.

If Thai food is not to your taste it's pretty easy to find western food in any decent sized town (or hotel) and anywhere with even the tiniest tourist trade will have pizzas, burgers, fried chicken etc. available if you want them.

When arranging catering we normally supply a mix of western and Thai dishes and invariably find that the local dishes are much the most popular.

A Few Facts and Figures

Time zone: GMT +7

Currency: Thai Baht ($1 USD = 31.5 Thai Baht - March 2008)

Population: 65,068,149 (July 2007 est.)

Area: 513,115 square kilometres (198,114 square miles), It extends about 1,620 kilometres (1,007 miles) from north to south and 750 kilometres (482 miles) at its widest point from east to west.

His Majesty King Bhumibol on a 100 Baht Thai banknote

Lowest point: Gulf of Thailand 0m

Highest point: Doi Inthanon 2,576 m

Coastline: 3,219 km

Land borders: 4,863 km border countries: Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Laos and Malaysia

Ethnic groups: Thai 75%, Chinese 14%, other 11%

Religious groups: Buddhist 94.6%, Muslim 4.6%, Christian 0.7%, other 0.1% (2000 census)

Literacy (age 15 and over who can read and write): 92.6%

Natural resources: Tin, rubber, natural gas, tungsten, tantalum, timber, lead, fish, gypsum, lignite, fluorite

Major industries: Tourism, textiles and garments, agricultural processing, beverages, tobacco, cement, light manufacturing such as jewellery and electric appliances, computers and parts, integrated circuits, furniture, plastics, automobiles and automotive parts; world's second-largest tungsten producer and third-largest tin producer.