Thailand

Today, the longest-reigning monarch of Thailand had his 86th birthday and by chance, it was Father’s Day as well. In Bangkok, where the king lived, there were giant celebrations. Thailand is a fascinating country with beautiful beaches, interesting religion, cool history, and scrumptious food. I love Thailand and I’m excited to share a little of what I’ve learned about it.

Thai people are very kind and have a higher standard of living than people from Vietnam. The minimum wage is 300 baht a day or $10 a day. They speak Thai and the capital is Bangkok. In Thailand, there are many hill tribes. Hill tribes are the Thai equivalent of Native Americans. They are very basic and follow a different religion than most Thais. The main ones are the Akha, the Lahu, the Mein, the Karen, and the Hmong.

The people of Thailand are mostly Buddhist and the rest are Muslims. I heard that men here have to become a monk for at least three days! I have seen kids of my age in the orange robes!

Did you know that Thailand used to be called Siam, and its language was called Siamese?

Thailand is a touristy place. Chiang Mai is a developed and bustling city in Northern Thailand. Phuket is a smaller city-island with beaches and a lot of other things to do. Ko Samui is a beautiful, yet tourist overrun island on the east side of Thailand. It has some pretty beaches but it gets really crowded. The biggest city is Bangkok and even though a lot of tourists go there, you don’t see very many because it is a GIANT city.

In 2006, the Thai people kicked out the Prime Minister and after that his sister, the first woman Prime Minister, was elected to the position. Then he moved to France. He was kicked out because he was thought to do something bad, though now his sister is trying to get him a pardon.

In Thailand, they have a King. The King here has no political power and is mainly a figure of respect and tradition. All the main political power goes to the Prime Minister. Today, the King had his birthday and there was a colossal celebration through all of Thailand. We did not pay much attention to any parties that happened.

Here in Thailand, the food is wonderful if it is not too spicy. All “Thai” restaurants in the U.S.A. have no spice at ALL compared to what you have here. The main dish here is called Pad Thai, meaning simply Thai noodles. It is never spicy and it’s one of my favorite dishes. A good 30% of every street vendor who sell food sells Pad Thai. Many of the food vendors sell Pad See Wu, a good if not too spicy noodle dish. One of my favorite desserts and an easy-to-find and cheap one are sweet mangoes and coconut rice. Another dessert that is not as easy to find is coconut ice cream which is always good.