The shape of Thailand is similar to the profile of an elephant with a long trunk. We are on the west side of the ‘trunk’ and will be here for a couple more days. Thailand has a subtropical climate and although it is actually the ‘cool’ season it is still hot and muggy. However, we are enjoying some cloud cover and have seen some very heavy rain.
The Thai use the phrase "land of the free" to express pride in the fact that Thailand is the only country in Southeast Asia never colonized by a European power. It has a population of about 65 million people and is the largest exporter of rice in the world. Notwithstanding all the rice that is exported, there is still enough to serve it at every meal, including breakfast. The food is great – lots of seafood, vegetables, spices and, yes, rice! But the rice isn’t grown around here. The land is far too rugged to support rice paddies. Rubber trees dominate the country side though you are likely to see a wide variety of tropical fauna if you go for a walk through the heavily forested hills. Tourism is a big part of the economy. The resort we are staying at consists mostly of Europeans, primarily from Germany. In fact, all of the notices around here are printed in German first and then English. Thailand has been quite a change from Malaysia. The Chinese New Year celebrations were not a big deal here. In Malaysia, Islam was the dominant religion and it was common to see women wearing the niqab, the full black gown with only a slit for the eyes. It was always interesting to see a women dressed that way with her husband/boyfriend wearing shorts and a t-shirt. That seems to have disappeared now that we are in Thailand where the dominant religion is Buddhism. If you are interested in what we have been up to here, you will need to have a look at the video we have posted on the Thailand page. Comments are closed.
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AuthorIn January, 2012, Curt and Char left their jobs in Canada to spend four months travelling around the world. Archives
May 2012
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