Thailand [antikvár]

Introduction Thailand, or Siam as it was called until the 1940s, has never been colonised by a foreign power, while all of its South-East Asian neighbours have undergone European imperialism (or more recently, ideological domination by Communism - which originated in Europe) at one time or another. True, it has suffered periodic invasions on the part of the Burmese and the Khmers and was briefly occupied by the Japanese in WW n, but the kingdom was never externally controlled long enough to dampen the Thais' serious individualism. Although the Thais are often depicted as fun-loving, happy-go-lucky folk (which they often are), they are also very strong-minded and have struggled for centuries to preserve their independence of spirit. Tliis is not to say that Thailand has not experienced any Western influence. Like other Asian countries it has both suffered and benefited from contact with foreign cultures. But the ever-changing spirit of Thai culture has remained dominant, even in modern city life. The end result is that Thailand has much to interest the traveller: historic culture, lively arts, exotic islands, nightlife, a tradition of friendliness and hospitality to strangers, and one of the world's most exciting cuisines. Travel in this tropical country is fairly comfortable and down-to-earth. The rail, bus and air travel network is extensive and every place worth visiting is easily accessible. There are many places worth visiting, many sights to see, a multi-faceted culture to experience and it is all quite affordable by today's international travel standards. Travellers will, from time to time, notice that the spelling of place names in this book is at variance with other sources. This is because Thai uses a totally different script from our own 'Roman' script. Any Thai name has to be transliterated for those of us who don't read Thai, and transliteration is very often a matter of opinion. For more information on Thai spellings, see the Language section in the Facts about the Country chapter.