Thailand

NOT YET COMPLETE
Sometime last year, I was "voted" as the Best Employee for the year 2003-04 at my office. Quite an honor, Thank you. The grand prize was an all-expenses paid trip to Thailand. The trip was kept on hold for more than 3 months (as I couldn't spare any time!!!) and was finally scheduled on the 22nd of April 2004. It was my first trip out of India.
I did my part of research on Thailand before starting off. Thailand, like India, is a land of contrasts, a melting pot for different cultures. One startling difference is that Thailand, unlike India, has been an isolated kingdom hardly influenced by Western forces. From what I have read, the origins of the Thai ppl is quite hazy. It is said that they migrated all the way from China and finally settled in the region now occupied by Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and southern part of Burma. During Emperor Ashoka's period (2-3 Century BC) Buddhist monks from India preached their religion which is now predominant in Thailand. The Hindu influence is quite clear too. They had an ancient kingdom by the name Dvaravati which in Sanskrit means City of Gates - probably a tribute to Krishna's mythical city - Dwarka. Khmer conquests brought more Sankrit derived words in the Thai langauage. In fact, the word 'Siam' has it's roots in Sanskrit 'Shyam'(Dark), which was used by the Khmer warlords to refer to their darker Thai counterparts.
Thailand (then Siam) reached its peak of prosperity between the 14th to 16th century AD, called the Ayuthaya period. Ayuthaya was the capital of Siam those days and was the most prosperous port city in the world. Western explorers were drawn to Siam like flies, but at some point, the xenophobic kingdom threw all the ambassdors out and sealed itself.
King Mongkut, who is portrayed in poor light in all Anna and the King movies, played a key role in the reconstruction of Thailand. He was educated in the west and had an open outlook. He started interacting with the Western nations and expanded trade horizons, mainly dealing with silk, rice and spices. The Indian influence is again very clearly defined here - the royal epithet or rather, general name for all kings is Rama. King Mongkut was Rama IV. This system continues even today! In the last century, after a couple of coups, the military has gained good control over the political scene in Thailand.
So much for history. Let's get back to my trip. We were put up in Bangkok at the Indra Regent Hotel at Pratunam. Bangkok is a big (7-8 million pop) city and is built along the lines of Hong Kong and singapore. With Bangkok becoming an increasingly popular tourist hub, shopping malls are springing up from every corner of the city. The traffic is as heavy as one could expect in a city this size. Bangkok is best known for its massage parlours which offer, er, additional services too. Unfortunately, since I was there for only 4 days and there was a hell lot of stuff to see and buy, I couldn't taste that flavour of city :-(
One thing which will strike any tourist is that the prices in Thailand are quite reasonable. In fact, I found it is cheaper than Bangalore! Another plus is that the people are unbelivably nice. Thais are a very tolerant race. Just remember these few points :-
DON'T touch a Thai's head, even as a light hearted gesture. The head is supposed to be sacred and touching it is considered to be defiling.
DON'T point your feet at someone/thing. Feet are considered to be the lowliest part of the body.
AVOID PDA (public display of affection).