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 Thailand is a country of scenic diversity
and ancient traditions, of tranquil temples and modern urban
excitement. With and independent history going back more than
seven centuries, it has managed to absorb a variety of cultural
influences and blend them into something uniquely and memorably
Thai.
Each of its four major region offers a distinctive experience
for the traveler in search of discovery. Misty mountains in the
north shelter verdant valleys and exotic hill tribes, while in
centers like Chiang Mai traditional customs and crafts have been
preserved over generations. Along the picturesque coastlines
of the east and south lie some of the world's most beautiful
beaches and off-shore islands, each with its own beauty. Scattered
over the northeastern plateau are superb khamer monuments from
the time of Angkor Wat and natural parks teeming with wild life.
In the Central Region can be found the evocative ruins of ancient
Thai capitals and bustling Bangkok with its dynamic and countless
pleasures.
The fertile Central Plains region, watered by the winding Chao
Phraya River, has long been Thailand's cultural and economic
heart. "Kin khao", the Thai expression for "to eat", translates
literally as "to eat rice" ; and the vast checkerboard of paddy
fields on either side of the river has traditionally provided
the kingdom with its staple grain. When the annual monsoon rains
sweep across the plains, the fields are transformed into a sea
of vivid green dotted here and there with farming villages and
the occasional gleaming spire of a Buddhist temple.
In the early 13th century, the first independent Thai capital
was born at Sukhothai, thus ushering in a Golden Age of Buddhist
art and architecture, The impressive remains of Sukhothai have
been preserved as part of a historical park, a major attraction
for visitors to the region.
 When Sukhothai's
power waned, a new capital rose further south on the banks of
the Chao Phraya. Known as Ayutthaya, it ruled the kingdom for
more than four centuries and became one of the largest, most
cosmopolitan cities in Southeast Asia. Traders came not only
from China, Japan and other Asian countries but also from distant
Europe, bringing with them a wide range of new cultural influences.
Ayutthaya was destroyed by an invading enemy in 1767 and today
its extensive remains also attract numerous sightseers, many
of whom come up from Bangkok by the traditional river route.
Bangkok became the capital in 1782 with the founding of the
Chakri Dynasty that still occupies the Thai throne. Its early
rulers sought to recreate the glories of Ayutthaya and many of
the city's landmarks date from this period, among them the magnificent
Grand Palace and its adjacent Wat Phra Keo (Temple of the Emerald
Buddha),Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn), and Wat Pho (Temple of the
Reclining Buddha). The flavor of the capital's past can be captured
by a boat ride along the Chao Phraya River that flows through
its traditional heart or an exploration of the picturesque klongs,
or canals of Thonburi.
The city quickly outgrew its original walled center and is today
a huge metropolis of high-rise buildings, air-conditioned shopping
centers, and world-class luxury hotels. Despite its Western facade,
however, Bangkok remains distinctively Thai, a fusion of modern
and traditional, full of fascinating things to discover. All
of Thailand's legendary bargains lustrous silks, bronze ware,
antiques, gemstones, and jewelry, to mention only a few are available
here, along with countless fine restaurants and other places
dedicated to the pursuit of what Thais call sanuk, or pleasure.
Easily accessible to Bangkok are other attractions, among them
the world's largest Buddhist monument at Nakhon Pathom, the famous
Bridge over the River Kwai built during World War II, and, on
the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand, the lively seaside resort
of Pattaya.
 Much of what
we now know as Thai cuisine also evolved in the Central Region.
Rice, fish, and vegetables, flavored with garlic, black pepper,
and nam pla, or fish sauce, along with an abundance of fresh
fruits, comprised the basic diet of Sukhothai. With the rise
of Ayutthaya, other elements were added to the increasingly complex
Thai blend. That now essential ingredient, the fiery-hot chili
pepper, was introduced at this time, along with the equally popular
coriander, lime, and tomato. These may have been brought from
their native South America by the Portuguese, who opened relations
with Ayutthaya in 1511 and also left a lasting imprint in the
form of popular Thai sweets based on egg yolks and sugar. Other
influences came from India, Japan, Persia, and especially, China,
though in almost every case their contributions were subtly altered
and transformed to suite Thai tastes.
Unlike the north and northeast, where glutinous rice is popular,
Central Thais like the fragrant plain variety, most commonly
steamed but sometimes fried or boiled. In addition to fresh-water
fish, there is seafood from the nearby gulf as well as a wide
range of fresh vegetables and such fruits as mangos, durians,
custard apples, guavas, and pomeloes. Sino-Thai food is popular
in cities like Bangkok, particularly in the form of numerous
noodle dishes.
Until the early years of the present century, northern Thailand
was effectively isolated from the rest of the country, a region
of wild, densely forested mountains where elephants worked in
the teak industry along the Burmese and Laotian borders and old
temple-filled town like Chiang Mai, founded in 1297, that were
part of the ancient Lanna Thai Kingdom. The first railway linking
Chiang Mai with Bangkok only opened in 1921, and good roads did
not come until several decades later.
This long isolation helps explain many of the characteristics
that make the north so appealing to visitors today : a sense
of traditions not merely preserved but vitally alive, gentle
customs that reveal themselves in countless ways, distinctive
differences of scenery, architecture, language and food.
 Tourists can
explore the charms of Chiang Mai, where life moves at a different
pace from Bangkok, ornate temples rise on almost every street,
and the shops are filled with handicrafts native to the region
and still made by traditional methods handed down over generations.
There are woodcarvers who produce and endless variety of decorative
figures, panels, and furniture, as well as other artisans who
create fine lacquer bowls, silverware, homespun cotton and silk,
delicate embroidery, and hand-painted umbrellas. All these crafts,
along with many others, can be found at the famous Night Bazaar
in the center of town.
Chiang Mai is also noted for its frequent festivals such as
the Winter Fair at the end of December, the Flower Festival in
February, Songkran (the old Thai New Year) in April, and Loy
Krathong in November. Most regular activities cease during these
gala events, which attract people from all over Thailand as well
as from abroad.
Other notable northern towns include Lamphun, once known as
Haripunchai and founded by Mons in the 7th century; Lampang,
where picturesque horse-drawn carriages still ply the streets;
Mae Hong Sorn, nestled in a secret valley of exceptional beauty;
Chiang Rai, a popular base for treks into the hills; and Chiang
Saen, at the tip of the so-called "Golden Triangle" where Thailand's
borders meet those of Laos and Myanmar.
Lovers of adventure can take an elephant ride through the jungle
or watch the great animals being trained at one of several camps,
go for a boat ride along the scenic Kok River from Chiang Rai,
climb Doi Inthanon, the highest mountain in Thailand which is
now surrounded by a national park, or go on treks to remote hill
tribe villages. There are seven principal tribal groups and they
are among the most exotic attractions of the far north, each
with its own special culture and spectacular costumes that include
a profusion of silver jewelry and magnificent embroidery.
The food of the north is as distinctive as its culture. Instead
of the soft rice of the central region, a steamed glutinous variety
is preferred, traditionally kneaded into small balls with the
fingers and used to scoop up more liquid dishes. Northern curries
are generally milder than those of central and northeastern Thailand.
The influence of neighboring Myanmar is evident in such popular
dishes as gaeng hang lay,a pork curry that relies on ginger,
tamarind, and turmeric for its flavor, and khao soil, a curry
broth with egg noodles and meat, topped with spring onions, pickled
onions, and slices of lime. A favorite regional specialty is
a spicy pork sausage called naem, eaten in a variety of ways
and probably the delicacy northerners miss most when the move
to another part of the country.
The traditional form of meal in the north, especially when guests
are being entertained, is called a khantoke dinner khan meaning
bowl and toke a low round table. Diners sit on the floor around
the table and help themselves to assorted dishes which, besides
glutinous rice, may include one or two local curries, a minced-meat
dish seasoned with chillies, a salad, fried pork rind, and various
sauces and condiments. If it is in season, dessert is likely
to be lamyai, or longan, a delicious Iycheelike fruit for which
the north is famous.
Of all the region of Thailand, the northeast is perhaps the
least known among foreign visitors, in spite of the fact that
it covers almost a third of the country's total area and includes
the second largest Thai city, Khon Kaen. This neglect is changing,
however, more and more tourists are beginning to discover the
northeast's many unique attractions, both natural and historical.
 In the 1960s, near the small village
of Ban Chiang in Udon Thani province, one of the most exciting
chapters in modern archeology began with the accidental discovery
of a prehistoric burial site. Subsequent exploration revealed
a culture going back to nearly 4,000 B.C. and numbering among
its achievements the use of sophisticated bronze metallurgy as
well as rice cultivation and beautiful painted pottery. Some
of the remarkable Ban Chiang finds are displayed in a museum
near the site, and one of the excavations has been preserved
to show its different levels.
In historical times, between the 9th and 14th centuries A.D.,
the northeast was part of the great Khmer empire ruled from Angkor,
and as a result it contains some of the finest classical Khmer
ruins to be seen outside of Cambodia itself. Among the most beautiful
are Prasat Hin Phimai, near the provincial capital of Nakhon
Ratchasima, which was once linked by a direct road to Angkor,
and Phanom Ruang in Buriram province, recently restored by the
Fine Arts Department. In all, there are more than 30 Khmer ruins
scattered about the region, all of unusual architectural interest.
Besides such archaeological sites, the northeast also has a
number of spacious national parks and wildlife preserves sure
to be on interest to any nature lover. The best known, because
of its easy accessibility to Bangkok, is Khao Yai, which covers
more than 2,000 square kilometers of forest, grassland, and rolling
hills in four provinces and provides shelter for some 200 species
of I wildlife, including elephants, tigers, deer, and a wide
selection of birds. Phu Kadung, in Loei province, is centered
on a mountain topped by a 60_square-kilometer plateau of exceptional
natural beauty, while the Phu Khieo Wildlife Preservation Zone
in Chaiyaphum province is a royally-initiated sanctuary for a
variety of endangered I species. The great Mekong River that
forms the border between Thailand and Laos is another notable
scenic attraction.
One of the northeast's greatest assets is its hospitable people,
who make visitors feel welcome at several memorable festivals
during the year. The Elephant Roundup, held every November in
Surin province, brings together nearly two hundred of the animals
to take part in a display of their skills, with special trains
bringing guests from Bangkok for the events. Rocket Festivals,
or Boon Bang Fais, are held in a number of provinces, the most
famous being in Yasothon in May; enormous home-made rockets are
fired at the peak of the lively celebration in the hope of ensuring
a plentiful supply of rain for the coming crop. The beautiful
Candle Festival, which marks the start of Buddhist Lent in July,
attracts people from all over the country to Ubon Ratchathani,
where huge, imaginative candles are paraded through the streets
of the provincial capital.
Northeastern food reflects the influence of neighboring Laos
in a number of dishes. As in Laos (and also northern Thailand)
glutinous rice is the staple, eaten both as a base for other
dishes or as a sweet when steamed in a piece of bamboo with coconut
milk and black beans; and such Laotian herbs as dill (called
pak chee Lao, or Lao coriander in Thai) turn up as seasoning.
A popular regional dish of Lao origin is khanom buang, a thin
crispy egg crepe stuffed with shrimp, bean sprouts, and other
ingredients.
Northeasterners like their food highly seasoned, and regional
specialties like laab, made with spicy minced meat or chicken,
som tam (green papaya salad), and gal yang. (bar B-Q Chicken)
Meat is often scarce in villages and freshwater fish and shrimp
are the principal source of protein, sometimes cooked with herbs
and spices and sometimes fermented. Thanks to the large numbers
of north-eastern who have come to work in Bangkok, food of the
region is widely available in the capital.
 Southern Thailand
consists of a long peninsula, reaching all the way down to Malaysia.
Rugged limestone mountains, covered with lush jungle, rise along
its spine, while its two coastlines-- 1,875 kilometers long on
the Gulf of Thailand and 740 kilometers on the Indian Ocean shelter
countless beaches of exceptional pristine beauty along with prosperous
fishing ports. Besides its rare natural beauty, the south also
has vast plantations of rubber, coconut, and pineapple and near
the Malaysian border, a distinctive cultural difference thanks
to a largely Muslim population.
Hua Hin, on the western coast of the gulf, became Thailand's
first popular seaside resort in the 1920s when the southern railway
line made it easily accessible to Bangkok. King Rama VII built
a summer palace there, called Klai Kangwon, "Far From Worries",
and other aristocratic families acquired property along the scenic
beach. Now the resort can boast a number of modern hotels and
has spread to include nearby Cha-am, but it still has a quieter,
more restful ambiance than vibrant Pattaya across the gulf.
Modern travelers further south, where they have discovered other
exciting destinations. The most celebrated is Phuket, a large
island in the Andaman Sea, was widely known among ancient traders
for such natural wealth as tin ore and edible birds nests harvested
from limestone caves and cliff sides. Phuket today, just an hour's
flight from Bangkok, is famous for a string of picture - postcard
beaches on its western coast, each with its own particular charms
and a wide range of accommodations
 Not far from Phuket is Phang Nga Bay, a marine
national park, where hundreds of limestone islands rise dramatically
from the sea to form a breath taking scenic spectacle, along
with the equally beautiful Phi Phi islands, where turquoise waters
lap the white sands of a dozen secret coves and daring sea gypsies
scale the walls of a vast, cathedral-like cave to collect the
birds' nests so prized by Chinese gourmets throughout the world.
More adventurous travelers in search of unspoiled natural beauty
and diving thrills can explore the Similan Islands in the Andaman
Sea, a group of nine small islands off which lie countless dazzling
coral reefs, or, southward near Malaysia, the huge Tarutao National
Park, where 51 islands cover an area of nearly 1,500 square kilometers.
Across the peninsula, off the southeast coast, lies the island
of Koh Samui, a more recent tourist discovery that also offers
memorable beaches fringed by graceful coconut palms and a number
of smaller off-shore islands.
Several southern cities such as Nakhon Si Thammarat, Chaiya,
and Songkhla can look back on an ancient history, reflected in
deep-seated traditions, the remains of splendid temples, and
elegant old houses. Others like Hat Yai, Thailand's third largest
provincial capital, have a booming modern energy fueled by the
region's prosperity, attracting large numbers of Malaysian tourists
with shops and entertainment facilities. In the southernmost
provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani, Yala, and Satun, the domed
mosque is as much a part of the landscape as the spires of a
Buddhist temple, and Malay is the second language of most people.
Southern food is as distinctive as its scenery. Not surprisingly,
the coconut, which grows so widely throughout the region, plays
a prominent role in many dishes; its milk tempers the heat of
chill-laced soups and curries, its oil is often used for flying,
and its grated meat serves as a condiment. Also only to be expected
is the abundance of fresh seafood from the surrounding waters:
marine fish, some of huge size, prawns, rock lobsters, crab,
squid, scallops, clams, and mussels. Cashew nuts from local plantations
are eaten as appetizers or stir-fried with chicken and dried
chillies, while a pungent flat bean called sataw adds an exotic,
somewhat bitter flavor much admired by southern diners. Regional
fruits include finger-sized bananas, mango-steens, durians, and
small, sweet pineapples.
Sino-Thai food is popular in most large cities; every year the
large Chinese community of Phuket stages a ten-day Vegetarian
Festival during October, with colorful parades as well as exotic
culinary treats. Other foreign influences can be found in such
dishes as gaeng massaman, a mild Indian-style curry seasoned
with cardamon, cloves, and cinnamon, several Malayan fish curries,
and Satan skewered meat with a spicy peanut sauce that originally
came from Indonesia. |
Thailand
Culture & Tradition in 4 Regions