The Kingdom of Thailand

by Michael Hoppe

Why are so many people fascinated from this kingdom? Maybe because it was never colonized by the Europeans and therefore remained original and unique without the dominating influence of European culture or language (colonialism). Speaking in geographical terms Thailand's surface area makes a large part of South East Asia. Its territory extends from the Himalaya foothill to the Malayan peninsula, also embracing the Golf of Thailand. If people see this on a map Thailand's territory often reminds them of an elephant's feature. Altogether Thailand has a surface are of about 513.000 square kilometers.

But surely it is not the elephant's shape on the map which influences so many people to travel to Thailand. The northern part of the kingdom is very hilly. There you have a very dry climate in summer and people who live there a very poor since agriculture is nearly impossible due to the lack of rain. But the central part and south east coast of Thailand are completely different. Here you have a humid climate because of the Golf of Thailand which surrounds this part of the country. The average temperature is about 18° Celsius.

When tourists decide to travel to Thailand they will not think about the seasons of the year but check how many rain there is for example from June to September when it's monsoon time. In the months before monsoon there are the highest temperatures of the year - quite often around 40° Celsius. So when you like cooler temperatures and not so many rain you should decide to travel between November and February.

Now what can you see in Thailand? It's a very colorful country. First of all you have the impressive capital Bangkok (the Thais call it Krung Trep) with its fascinating mixture of tradition and modernism. No problem to walk the streets of Bangkok and see a Buddhist monk talking with his mobile.