«Thai» means «free»: Thailand is the only country in South Asia which was never colonized.

There is +7 hours difference in time between Greenwich and Bangkok (Bangkok, Phnom Penh, Hanoi, Jakarta are all in same timezone) - GMT;
+6 hours difference with Stockholm, Berlin, Paris, Madrid, Rome, Belgrade, Kinshasa;
+15 hours difference with Los Angeles (PST);
+12 hours difference with New York (EST);
-3 hours difference with Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane.

According to wikipedia, Thailand is on 49th place in the world by territory — country’s size is comparable to France. Neighboor countries are Burma, Malaysia, Laos and Cambodia. Thailand’s mild tropical climate affected by monsoons. There are about 65 millions citizens in the country. 95% of Thais are Buddists.

Local currency  — Thai Baht (THB)  can be freely exchanged for US dollars, UK pounds or euros in any bank in Thailand. At the moment exchange rates are around 33 THB for 1 US Dollar (21 euros or 30 US Dollars for 1000 Thai Baht).

Thailand’s capital (and largest city) is Bangkok. Bangkok is 22th largest city in world with oficially registered population around 7 millions (actual number is around 15 millions — up to 20 if count people who enter city during daytime for jobs).

Most popular resorts in Thailand are Phuket, Pattaya, Koh Samui, Chiang Mai.

All tourists in Thailand called «farang» which is similar to «french» according to one of versions of the word’s origin.

Women plays major role in Thiland’s economy: business in Thailand is driven mostly by them.

Thailand’s calendar count years from Budda’s death — it is 2550 year today according to this system.

Some interesting data about Thailand can be found on CIA site: 106 airports, GDP per capita 9.2k US$ (purchasing power — 600 billions) in 2006,  uneployment rate 2%, about 40 millions cellular phones users (60% of population), 8.5 millions Internet users (12%), 974 thousands Internet hosts, average life expectancy 72.5 years.

Tourism contributes 6.5% of country’s GDP (13.6 billions US Dollars, 12 millions tourists arrived in 2006) increasing by 5% annually (compare to 3.4% for whle GDP).

Posted on January 5th, 2008 under Thailand's Culture and Ethic. Tags: bangkok, exchange rates, farang, thai baht, thailand. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.