THAILAND
Information About Thailand
SHORT HISTORY OF THAILAND
Thailand was the only country in southeast Asia not completely colonized by Europeans, though the French colony of Indochina did control the northeastern province of Nong Khai. Thailand was also known as Siam. After the Japanese invasion in WWII, Thailand sided with the Japs but when the Japs started losing, Thailand switched sides to the Allies. In 2017 the very popular, long reigning King of Thailand, Bhumibol Adulyadej died. The current King Rama IV, Maha Vajiralongkorn trained at the Australian military college of Duntroon, Canberra. He served for a year in the crack SAS regiment based in Perth. It's an elite fighting regiment of only the best of the best Australian soldiers. The King often lives in Germany.
In 2024 we stayed in Bangkok Chinatown near Chulalongkorn University which was named after King Rama V. He was educated in English and brought European innovation to independent Siam.
During WWII Siamese warships clashed with French warships at the Battle of Ko Chang, near Koh Kood.
I remember watching the "King and I" featuring actor "Yul Brynner" in Perth in the 1950's
THAILAND POLITICS
On 22 May 2014, the Royal Thai Armed Forces, led by General Prayut Chan-o-cha, Commander of the Royal Thai Army, launched a coup d'état, the 12th since the Thailand's first coup in 1932, against the government of Thailand, following six months of political crisis. More of the Thai coup on Wikipedia
In 2024 Tuksin's daughter became the prime minister of Thailand in a move towards more democracy.
THAI ETHNIC MAP OF THAILAND
THAI CULTURE
Thailand has a mix of cultural influences. In the of northern Thailand the Hmong hill tribes originated over the mountains from China. Coastal areas of southern Thailand were settled by Chinese sailors and Muslims.
At Phang Nga there is a whole floating village of Muslim, Thai citizens which settled there from Indonesia.
The Isan people of northeast Thailand (and around Vientiane, Lao) make up the majority of the Thai population. Their first language and delicious cuisine is a lot different to the Thai's and culture of southern Thailand.
Phu Thai Tai spoken in Laos and Thailand is different from the Isan and the Lao languages. It is spoken in areas where these languages are predominant and has been influenced by them. The Phu Thai are in the majority, hard working rural Thais of north east Thailand. They are skilled farmers and hunter gatherers. More about Phu Thai from Wikipedia
Khmer culture is prominent in the east of Thailand.
Link to the Google Map of Thailand: www.mapthailand.asia or open the map of Thailand in full screen.
Suree and Ben of SEO Perth created this map of Thailand.