Kingdom of Thailand.

The national flag of Thailand,

Map of Thailand.

My 1'st visit to Thailand was in 1990, for holiday in Bangkok and Chiang Mai. Later on I have been in Puket, Hat Yai, Songkhla and Pataya as well, but gladly admit that I prefer the North of Thailand.

The further away from tourist's the better.....

My most unique experience was a trip by train from Bangkok, going all the way up to Chiang Mai. A 20 hour train ride but a fantastic experience up through the mountains & villages along the way.

In some of these small villages ( and most of Thailand.) you have some very friendly people, who have a hospitality which put most of the world on the 3'rd row in comparison.

Historic brief.

The first know people in the area of present days Thailand, are believed to have been close / under the rule of the Khmer in Cambodia. In 1250 BC the people of Thailand moved away from the Khmers, and the 1'st Kingdom of Thailand was established. Had several wars with China & Cambodia and on several occasions was under the rule of the Burmese.

From the 14'th century the capital of the Thai Kingdom was Ayuthia, north of Bangkok. The disagreements with the Burmese continued and in 1767 the Burmese concurred & destroyed the capital city of Ayuthia. The Thai King how ever managed to maintain the Kingdom, and a new capital was build in Bangkok.

In the early 19'th century the Kingdom was quite closed to the outside world, but this changed with the King Rama 4, who was educated in Europe, in 1851. Thailand now started to open up, created friendship agreements with many European countries & USA. A reform of government was started modeled after the new revolutionary governments in Europe ( inclusive of the new Danish constitution from 1849) and the Thai Kingdom managed to be the only country of South East Asia, never colonized by any western power.

The Thai rule over Laos & Cambodia was ended due to French pressure in 1897, and the northern part of the Melacca peninsular to the British in 1909. During the 1'st world war Thailand was allied with the British & French. Under the 2'nd world war were Thailand was on the Japanese side, without major damage to the country.

After the 2'nd ww, Thailand have had some turbulent political times with military intervention several times. Under the Vietnam war Thailand was on the American side, allowing troops to be based in Thailand, and have since opposed the Vietnamese involvement in Laos & Cambodia. As this have created huge refugee problems for Thailand.

The present King of Thailand, are how ever one of the most admired rulers in South East Asia, and he had his 50'tiest anniversary in 1996.

Some detail info on Thailand, see here

Some pictures from Thailand, the land of the lotus.

Sorry, photo's will only be up by September

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