The country and its people
- Until 1939 “Siam”, has existed since approx. 13th century (Sukhothai Kingdom)
- Area 513,115 km2 (approx. 1.5 times the size of Germany)
- Population approx. 70 million
- Parliamentary monarchy with king as head of state
- Religion predominantly Buddhism (over 90% of the population)
- Capital: Bangkok (in Thai: “Kreungthep”) It is the longest city name in the world in Thai:
กรุงเทพมหานคร อมรรัตนโกสินทร์ มหินทรายุธยา มหาดิลกภพ นพรัตนราชธานีบูรีรมย์ อุดมราชนิเวศน์มหาสถาน อมรพิมานอวตารสถิต สักกะทัตติยวิษณุกรรมประสิทธิ์
and means "city of angels, great city of immortals, splendid city of nine gems, residence of the king, city of royal palaces, home of the incarnate gods, built by Vishvakarman at the behest of Indra."
- The Thai language is derived from Sanskrit, the sacred language of Hinduism. It is phonetic and contains 44 consonants, 33 vowels and 5 different stress marks.
National flag
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Important folk festivals
Songkran (Thai New Year) April 13 to 15
- The word “Songkran” comes from ancient Sanskrit and means “to enter”, “to step in” or “to pass through”
- Food is donated to monks
- Water is poured over Buddha statues, elderly and young people
- Meaning: to wash away sin and misfortune
Loi Kratong (Festival of Lights) in November
- “Loi” means ‘to swim’ or ”to float”
- “Krathong” is a small raft decorated with flowers, candles and incense sticks
- Meaning: Letting go of anger, resentment and impurities of the Soul
Food - typical dishes
- Pad Thai: invented by the then King of Siam to evoke Thai nationalism
- Pad Kaprow Khai Dao
- Som Tum
- Kao Neuw Mamuang
It's nice that many tourists make an effort to eat with chopsticks, but most Thais would never eat without a spoon and fork.
Fun Fact
“Singha” used to have the beer monopoly (Singha protects the temple from harm), brewed at Boon Rawd Brewery. The founding family originally learned the art of brewing in Bavaria in 1929.
