Thailand's climate is tropical, high both in temperature and humidity, and dominated by monsoons. April and May are the hottest months of the year, when even the locals are moved to complain about the heat. June sees the beginning of the South West Monsoon, and brings with it the rainy season, which continues intermittently until the end of October. From November to the end of February the climate is much less trying with a cooling North East breeze and a reduction in the humidity level. This is also the main tourist season, and the best time to visit Thailand.The north and north-east are generally cooler than Bangkok in winter, and hotter in summer. In the far north, around Mae Hong Son temperatures can occasionally drop as low as 2oC.
Thailand currency is called Baht. One Baht equals 100 satang. While the denomination of the notes varies from Bt10, 20, 50, 100, 500, 1000, the coins are in the denomination of Bt 10, 5 and 1, 50 and 25 satang. Coins are mostly made of silver and brass and may be of different sizes for the same value. Only the very recent coins are denoted by Arabic numerals. Though the paper money has both Arabic and Thai numerals, they still vary in sizes (that is different denominations have different sizes and the size increases with increase in denomination) and are color coded.
Color Code of the Thai Currency:
- 10 - Brown
- 20 - Green
- 50 - Blue
- 100 - Red
- 500 - Purple
- 1000 - Grey
Though the exchange rate varies from day to day, it approximately remains at 1$ equaling to 37 Baht. Foreign currency can be exchanged at various places, the best among them being Banks which have the best rates and are operational from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm from Monday to Friday, but you can also get currency exchanged at big hotels, outside tourist areas and also from bureaux de change.
Debit and credit cards, like MasterCard, Visa and American Express card are widely accepted in Thailand. One must check with their card company for acceptability of their cards and also to avail various other facilities accorded to them. Travelers cheques are preferable options for all, as additional exchange rates charges can be avoided and they are greatly accepted in all major establishments like banks, shops and hotels. It's advisable for all travelers to carry travellers cheques in Euros, US Dollars or Pounds Sterling.
Thailand has many restrictions as far as the import and export of currency is concerned. While there is no limitation on the import and export of foreign currency, the local currency witnesses a lot of restrictions on its import and export. An individual cannot import and export local currency more than 50,000 Baht and for a family it should not go beyond 100,000 Baht, this is applicable for people holding only one passport.
Situated in Southeast Asia, Thailand is predominantly a Buddhist kingdom almost equidistant from India and China. Known by outsiders as Siam for centuries, Thailand (the land of smiles), has been something of a Southeast Asian migratory, cultural, and religious crossroads.
Approximately the size of France, Thailand covers and area of 510,000 sq. km and has a population of 60 million growing at a rate of 1.5% each year. Thailand shares its border with Myanmar in the west and north, Laos in the northeast, Cambodia in the east and Malaysia in the south.
Administratively, the country is divided into 7 regions: The North, Northeast, Central Plains, East, West, and the Bangkok Metropolitan Region. Each of which has its own distinctive geographical character.
The central region, encompassing the Bangkok metropolitan region and the central plains, is affectionately known as "Thailand's Rice Bowl". One of the world's most fertile rice and fruit growing areas, this is the economic and cultural heartland of the Thai nation.
The mountainous north is Thailand's largest region. Here, elephants work the forest and winter temperatures are sufficiently cool to permit cultivation of temperate fruits such as strawberries and peaches.
The second largest and poorest region is the sprawling northeast. Better known as "Isan" or the "Khorat Plateau", it is largely bordered by the Mekong River, where the world's oldest Bronze Age civilization flourished some 5,000 years ago.
Just south of the northeast lies the eastern region. Sandwiched between the sea and the Damrek range, this is where pristine beaches support the growth of summer resorts such as Pattaya.
Despite recent development efforts undertaken by the government in the west, its beautiful mountains, which rise up towards the Burmese border and its lush valleys remain relatively unspoiled. The towns here have a frontier atmosphere.
Last but not least, the peninsular south. Here, arresting scenic beauty complements the economically vital activities of tin mining, rubber cultivation, and fishing.
The region known today as Thailand has been inhabited by humans since the paleolithic period (about 10,000 years ago). Prior to the fall of the Khmer Empire in the 13th century, various states thrived there, such as the various Tai, Mon, Khmer and Malay kingdoms, as seen through the numerous archaeological sites and artifacts that are scattered throughout the Siamese landscape. Prior to the 12th century however, the first Thai or Siamese state is traditionally considered to be the Buddhist kingdom of Sukhothai, which was founded in 1238.
Following the decline and fall of the Khmer empire in the 13th - 14th century, various Buddhist Tai Kingdoms of Sukhothai, Lanna and Lan chang were on the ascendancy. However, a century later, Sukhothai's power was overshadowed by the new kingdom of Ayutthaya, established in the mid-14th century.
After Ayutthaya fell in 1767 to the Burmese, Thonburi was the capital of Thailand for a brief period under King Taksin the Great. The current (Rattanakosin) era of Thai history began in 1782 following the establishment of Bangkok as capital of the Chakri dynasty under King Rama I the Great.
Siam retains an immemorial tradition of trade with its neighboring states and the cultures of the Indian ocean and the South China sea. European trade and influence arrived to Thailand in the 16th century, beginning with the Portuguese. Despite European pressure, Thailand is the only Southeast Asian nation never to have been colonised. Two main reasons for this were that Thailand had a long succession of very able rulers in the 1800s and that it was able to exploit the rivalry and tension between the French and the British. As a result, the country remained as a buffer state between parts of Southeast Asia that were colonized by the two colonial powers. Despite this, Western influence led to many reforms in the 19th century and major concessions, most notably being the loss of large territory on the east side of the Mekong to the French and the step by step absorption by Britain of the Shan (Thai Yai) States (now in Burma) and the Malay Peninsula. The loss initially included Penang and Tumasik and eventually culminated in the loss of three predominantly ethnic-Malay southern provinces, which later became Malaysia's three northern states, under the Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909.
In 1932, a bloodless revolution resulted in a new constitutional monarchy. During World War II, Thailand became an ally of Japan while at the same time maintaining an active anti-Japanese resistance movement known as the Seri Thai. After the war, Thailand emerged as an ally of the United States. As with many of the developing nations during the Cold War, Thailand then went through decades of political transgression characterised by coups d'état as one military regime replaced another, but eventually progressed towards a stable prosperity and democracy in the 1980s.
In 1997, Thailand was hit with the Asian financial crisis and the Thai baht for a short time peaked at 56 baht to the US dollar compared to about 25 baht to the dollar before 1997. Since then, the baht has regained most of its strength and as of 23 May 2007, is valued at 32 baht to the US dollar.
The official calendar in Thailand is based on Eastern version of the Buddhist Era, which is 543 years ahead of the Gregorian (western) calendar. For example, the year AD 2008 is called 2551 BE in Thailand.
Children Day (January 11)
Teacher Day (January 16)
February
Chinese New Year (February 1) ( * For Chinese people in Thailand)
Valentine Day (February 14) ( * Nation Public Holiday)
Makha Bhucha Day (February 16)
April
Long Live Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn (April 2)
Chakri Day(April 6)
Songkran Day (April 13)
May
National Labor Day (May 1)
Coronation Day (May 5)
The Royal Ploughing Ceremony (May 8)
Visakha Puja Day (May 15)
July
Asalha Bhucha Day (July 13)
Khao Phansa Day (July 14)
HRH The Crown Prince's Birthday (July 28)
August
H.M. the Queen's Birthday (August 12)
October
End of Buddhist Lent(October 10)
Piyamaharaj Day (October 23)
Halloween Day ( October 31) ( * Nation Public Holiday)
November
Thanks Giving ( * Nation Public Holiday)
Loy Krathong Day (November 8)
December
H.M. the King's Birthday (December 5)
Thai Constitutions Day (December 10)
Christmas Day (December 25) ( * Nation Public Holiday)
The only country in South East Asia never to have been colonized, the kingdom of Siam named itself Thailand in May 11, 1949. In the Thai language, the word Thai means "freedom" and so Thailand means the "Land of the Free".
Thai is also the name of the majority ethnic group which is again part of the larger Tai ethnolinguistic community spread over Thailand and its neighbouring South-East Asian countries A multi-ethnic land, almost three-fourths of Thailand's population is made up of the Thai group and the hill tribes that live primarily in the north.
Thailand has a relatively stable culture and common language Tai or Thai.
Within the Thai group there are several broad divisions with dialects mutually accessible to each other.
Besides the 33.7% of population that is Central Thai (including Bangkok), the Northeastern Thai / Lao / Isan comprise 34.2%. The rest id made up of Southern Thai ( 13.3%) and Northern Thai ( 18.8%).
According to 2006 estimates these are the demographic figures for Thailand:
Population: 64,631,595
Population Density: 126 people per sq km
Population Growth Rate: 0.68%
Urban-Rural Population Distribution:
Thailand is a farming-dependent country making the transition from an agricultural to an industrial-based economy. Almost 68% of the people of Thailand live in villages, despite the current trend of migration from the villages to the capital of Bangkok.
More than 6 lakh people live in the capital, Bangkok, the city which has the largest population.
The other large, populated cities are Songhkla, Nonthaburi, Chiang Mai and Nakhon Ratchasima.
Capital
(and largest city) Bangkok1
13°45′N, 100°29′E
Official languages Thai
Demonym Thai
Government Parliamentary democracy and Constitutional monarchy
- King Bhumibol Adulyadej
- Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej
Formation
- Sukhothai Kingdom 1238–1368
- Ayutthaya Kingdom 1350
- Thonburi Kingdom 1767
- Rattanakosin Kingdom 6 April 1782
- Constitutional Monarchy 24 June 1932
Area
- Total 513,115 km² (49th)
198,115 sq mi
- Water (%) 0.4
Population
- December 2007 estimate 63,038,247 (20th)
- 2000 census 60,606,947[1]
- Density 122/km² (85th Independence)
317/sq mi
GDP (PPP) 2007 estimate
- Total $519.9 billion[2] (21st)
- Per capita $8,000[2] (69th)
GDP (nominal) 2006 estimate
- Total $206.338 billion (34th)
- Per capita $3,400 (92nd)
Gini (2002) 42 (medium)
HDI (2005) ▼ 0.781 (medium) (78th)
Currency Baht (฿) (THB)
Time zone (UTC+7)
Internet TLD .th
Calling code +66
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