Overview
The Kingdom of Thailand or Siam has Burma and Laos on the north, Laos, and Cambodia to the east, the Andaman Sea on the west and the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia to the south. Tourism is one of the leading sectors of Thailand with the country being classified as a newly industrialized economy.
Most of the natives of Siam came down from Southwestern China ages ago. It is believed that the region came to be known as Siam due to Portuguese. The area was ruled by the Mon dynasty, Khmer Empire, and kings from the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra. The native Thai states were also established alongside but they were strife with internal wars and battles. Due to King Chulalongkorn from the House of Chakri, Siam was never under any European colonial rule through the 19th and the 20th century so much so that the region was declared as neutral territory by the British. Monarchy ended in Siam in 1932 but it was followed by a military rule that existed for 60 years. It was only in the 1990s that the people of the country were able to elect their representatives to the democratic government. In recent years, there was another coup by the Royal Thai Army in 2014 and today it is being ruled by a military dictatorship.
Geography: The landscape of Thailand is marked by high mountain ranges in the north and two plateaus – one in the upland and in the centre. The Chao Phraya River is its main river that drains along with its tributaries into the Bay of Bangkok. The Khorat Plateau and the Mun River are in the northeastern part of Thailand where the river drains into the Mekong River. The famous Rice Bowl of Asia is the province of central Thailand. Southern Thailand is famous for tourist spots, rubber and palm oil plantations.
Siamese Culture and Religion: The Thai culture and traditions have been influenced to a great extent by Indian, Chinese, Burmese, Laos and Cambodian cultures. Thai people greet using the traditional Wai way where both the hands are pressed together with fingers pointed upwards and the head bowed down to make the face touch the fingertips. Youngsters are meant to greet first. It is similar to Namaste that is practiced by Indians. Thai children are taught to respect their elders and ancestors. Siamese people are highly hospitable and generous. Key decisions in the family are always taken by the elders.
Theravada Buddhism is the main religion of the people here. Almost about 93-94% of the people are following Buddhism and about 4% of the people follow Islam.
