Thailand. Its official name is Kingdom of Thailand. It is a country in Southeast Asia and its capital is Bangkok.
Religion
The Buddhism Theravada is central to modern Thai identity and belief. However, in the southernmost areas of the country Islam prevails.
There are a large number of different ethnic groups that inhabit the country and many of them remain marginalized. Some of these groups intersect with Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Malaysia and have maintained a distinctively traditional lifestyle despite a strong Thai cultural presence.
Chinese ethnicity also forms a significant part of Thai society, particularly in and around Bangkok. His successful integration into Thai society has allowed him to maintain positions of social and political power, the case of the prime minister being the most notorious.
Traditions
Respect for ancestors forms a large part of Thai spiritual practices, as well as charity towards Buddhist Monks. Thais have a very strong sense of grace and hospitality, but also a great sense of social hierarchy. Honor is important in Thai daily speech, especially seniority titles, an important concept in Thai culture.
Thais respect their elders so much that some natives wai or krab (bow) at the feet of their parents and grandparents. They honor the first in seniority, who in any type of ceremony takes precedence in all family decisions.
The standard greeting is a prayer gesture called a wai. The Taboos include touching someone’s head or pointing with the feet, since the head is considered the most sacred and feet the dirtiest part of the body. Stepping on someone or food is considered an insult. Despite this, Thai culture like many other Asian cultures is succumbing to the influence of Westernization and some of its traditional taboos are slowly disappearing. Books and other documents are among the most revered secular objects, so one should not slide a book on a table or place it on the floor.
Kitchen room
Thai cuisine mixes five fundamental flavors: sweet, spicy, sour, bitter and salty. Some common ingredients used in Thai cuisine include garlic, chili pepper, lemongrass, and fish sauce. The staple food in Thailand is rice, which is in almost every meal.
Newspapers
Thai culture has been greatly influenced in recent years by its vibrant and free press. There are numerous English, Thai and Chinese newspapers in circulation and Thailand is the largest newspaper market in South-East Asia with an estimated circulation of 13 million copies per day in 2003.
Sports
Muay Thai, or Thai boxing, is the national sport in Thailand and is a native Martial Art. It became popular around the world during the 1990s. Although there are other similar martial arts in other East Asian countries, few enjoy the recognition that Muay Thai has received with its Full-contact rules allowing strikes with the elbows and knees, creating a new specialty, Kick Boxing.
The Football professional, however, has possibly taken the position Muay Thai as the favorite and most watched sport in contemporary society in Thailand and it is not uncommon to see Thais supporting their favorite teams in the Premier League Inglés. Another widely enjoyed hobby is flying small kites. Additionally, Thailand hosted the 1966, 1970, 1978, and 1998 Asian Games.
Bangkok
What is today the great city of Bangkok in its beginnings was a port community and small commercial center at the mouth of the Chao Phraya River that served the city of Ayutthaya, former capital of Siam, for those times the small community was called Bang Makok which means: place of olive plum trees.
In 1768 the city received the status of capital city after the burning of Ayutthaya. In 1782, King Rama I built a palace on the east bank of the Chao Phraya River and made Bangkok his capital, renaming it Krung Thep, which means “city of angels”, thus beginning the Rattanakosin Kingdom. With the passage of time the town of Bangkok ceased to exist, but its name remained in history and continues to be used universally.
In 1976 when Ayutthaya fell to Burma, the capital of Thailand was established at Thon Buri on the west side of the river. (nowadays Thon Buri is a part of Bangkok).
After the death of King Taksin. The capital of Rattanakosin is formally called “Phra Nakhon”, to which the ancient boundaries in the core of the metropolis belong and the name of Bangkok encompasses the entire urban accumulation since the 18th century, with its own public administration and governor.
Attacks in 2006
According to NEOVIDEOGAMES, Bangkok bombings in 2006 occurred between eñ 31 of December of 2006 and 1st January of 2007, during the New Years Eve celebration parties in Bangkok, Thailand. Four almost simultaneous explosions occurred in different parts of the city at 6:00 pm local time (11:00 UTC), followed by many more explosions in the 90-minute interval. After midnight there were two more explosions. On the morning of January 1, 3 people had been certified dead and 38 people had been injured. One more bomb exploded inside a theater, but it was not reported by the person in charge of the same for fear of negative publicity. On the morning of January 1, another bomb exploded in a mosque in Chiang Mai, the largest city in northern Thailand.
The wave of explosions killed three people; All of them were visiting Thai national monuments: Songkran Kanchana, 36, and Ekkachai Ruangpoom, 26, died at the Victory Monument, while Suvichai Nak-iam, 61, died at Khlong Toei. Another 34 people were injured. Of these, 8 were foreigners: two British, three Hungarians, two Serbs and one American.
