Thailand تايلاند
Thailand is in the heart of Southeast Asia. Cambodia and Laos border the country to the east and northeast, and Myanmar lies to the northwest. To the west is the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand, southeast of Burma. The long southern region, connecting with Malaysia, is hilly and forested. The highest mountains are in northern Thailand.
| Culture & History | About 90 percent of the people are Buddhist, but about three million Muslims live in the south near the border with Malaysia. Thai children go to elementary school for six years. Then they may attend high school for another six years, but their families must pay for the education. Boys begin military training in ninth grade. Food in Thailand is influenced by Chinese and Indian cultures. Most Thai dishes are spicy and many common dishes include hot chilies, lemongrass, basil, ginger, and coconut milk. Thai farmers cultivate mulberry trees that feed silkworms. The worms create silk, which is made into beautiful silk clothing in Thailand, France, and the United States. Bangkok is called the Venice of the East because there are 83 canals. As many as 10,000 boats full of fruits, vegetables, and fish crowd the canals and create a floating market. The city of Bangkok is home to many impressive Buddhist structures featuring gold-layered spires, graceful pagodas, and giant Buddha statues. Dating back to the Neolithic civilization situated at the modern-day UNESCO World Heritage Site in Ban Chiang, the history of Thailand is long, proud, and fairly well documented. Over the early centuries of the Common Era, tribes of Mon, Khmer, and Tai peoples established realms within the borders of modern Thailand; the Mon-speaking Buddhist civilization of Dvaravati in the first millennium gave way to the Khmer empire of Angkor by the turn of the second millennium. However, the history of Thailand as we know it began when the kingdoms of Lan Na (Chiang Rai/Chiang Mai) and Sukhothai, the first truly independent Thai Kingdoms, established highly developed societies in the North and Central regions of Thailand in the 13th and 14th centuries. The Kingdom of Ayutthaya, which was heavily influenced by the Khmer’s of Angkor, eventually conquered neighboring Sukhothai and dominated the region for the next several hundred years of Thai history. Unfortunately, first Chaing Mai and then Ayutthaya were overrun by Burmese invaders, who occupied the Lan Na capital for several centuries and sacked Ayutthaya, forcing the central Thai kingdom to relocate farther south, establishing a new capital in Thon Buri near Bangkok. After the short-lived Thon Buri Period (1767-1772), the capital was moved across the Chao Phraya River, and the first of the current line of Kings, Rama I of the Chakri Dynasty, established the modern capital of Bangkok to commence the Ratanakosin Period of Thai history. The adroit diplomatic leadership of Kings Mongkut (Rama IV, 1851-1868) and Chulalongkorn (Rama V, 1868-1910) were responsible for maintaining a remarkable 700 year Thai history during which the kingdom was never officially colonized by foreign powers; a turbulent 20th century witnessed the transition to a system of constitutional monarchy, currently overseen by Head of State, King Bumibol Adulyadej (1946- present), is King Rama IX of the Chakri Dynasty and a tenuous but functional democracy has existed under the regency of this much beloved king. |
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| Languages Spoken | Thai |
| Currency Used | Baht (THB) |
| Area (km2) | 513,120 |
| Country Name | Thailand تايلاند |
| Capital | Bangkok |
| Population | 71,820.000 |
| Inter. Airports | BKK - HTD |
