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Tropical Beauty
Kingdom
of Thailand
  
The Grand Palace and Temple of the Emerald Buddha
Thailand
has a population of almost 60 million people. From the 1960’s through
1990’s, large productivity growth led to substantial increases in gross
domestic product and per capita income. Notice Thailand’s
economic size is nearly equivalent to that of Russia.
 
Thai ranks as the 14th most widely
spoken language in the world. Thai
is part of the larger Tai group of languages that also includes Lao, Thai
lue, Thai nua, Shan and Zhang. The territory
in which this group of languages is used encompasses Thailand, eastern Assam in India, the Shan state in
northern Myanmar, Yunan province in
southern China, northern Vietnam, and Laos. The Thai script is unique to Thailand. Invented about 600 years ago during the
Sukhothai period, the writing system was derived from the Sanskrit writing
system and adapted to the tonal language. There are forty-four (44)
consonants used in the modern Thai alphabet (5 obsolete consonants are no
longer used), and a large number of short and long vowels as well as
diphthongs are also used. Vowels are
written before, after, below or above the consonant it is used with. Additionally, tone markers and silencers
are used to create the final word.
The Thai Coke can above is actually written with the “O” vowel
first, followed by the “KH” consonant highlighted by a tone marker above
it, and finally the last consonant “K”.
Thai is not a Chinese or Indian language, though many
words in Thai come from Sanskrit (an ancient Indo-european language used in
India),
Pali (the ancient Buddhist language), Chinese (especially from Hokien and
Techiew immigrant communities), and some borrowed English words. Sanskrit root words, prefixes and
suffixes still form the basis of much of the Thai scientific
vocabulary. Official Thai has five
tones (including flat or no tone), but regional dialects vary.
 
Bangkok
is a very densely populated city.
Unofficial population figures estimate there to be about 10 million
inhabitants. Bangkok
is the world’s largest primate city – roughly 45 times larger than the
second largest city in the country.
During the economic boom of the 1980’s, there were roughly 400
high-rises and skyscrapers being built a year – or more than one day! The entire horizon was filled with
buildings and cranes. The tall
building in the right picture would have been the tallest building in the
world if it were completed. After
the Asian economic crisis of 1997, many projects were stopped. Many buildings, towns, and satellite
cities were left partially completed or abandoned all together.
 
Bangkok
is the tourist capital of Asia and serves as a major
regional and transcontinental air hub for major airlines from Europe,
Australia,
the Far East, and Southeast Asia.
 
 
At street-level, it is very common to see food
venders cooking along the sidewalks, streets and alleyways. Food is everywhere and inexpensive. After a few days in Bangkok
however, a bit of relaxation may be needed.
Even Bangkokians leave town for the weekend to spend a few days
relaxing at the beaches.
 
Thailand
has some of the largest hotels and resorts in the world. Located throughout the country, 5-star
resort hotels to budget-priced bungalows dot the beach towns, islands, and
mountain top destinations.
 
Upcountry, jungle
trekking is very popular. Just don’t
run into any wild elephants, angry rhinoceroses, or hungry tigers.
Other:
Recommended book: “Thailand: A Short History,” by
David K. Wyatt, Yale University Press, ISBN 0-300-03582-9
Writing Systems of the
World
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