Interesting facts about Thailand

Each country has its own secrets and interesting pages of its own history. The Asian state of Thailand is no exception. This phenomenal tourist center in its popularity has a store of interesting and surprising facts. They provide an opportunity to look into the most distant corners of history, to plunge even more into the world of unique culture and traditions. Let's dwell on the most significant and amazing facts from the history of the country of Thailand.

How to plan an independent trip to Thailand – read our guide.

Thai calendar

Almost everyone who is at least a little interested in history or who was lucky enough to visit Thailand knows that the indigenous population professes Buddhism. Therefore, the calculation of years is not tied to the birth of Christ, as is the case with other peoples, but to the death of the main deity of the Buddha. To draw an analogy, the Thais began a new era 543 years earlier than all of us. So it turns out that in the yard for the indigenous Thais today is 2558. It is interesting that many other Asian states adhere to the same system of chronology, although they often differ somewhat.

Thailand – the land of monks

According to official information, at least 370,000 monks and their followers live in this Asian country. They are housed in 32,700 temples and temple complexes, preaching their ancient religion daily. Thai monks are considered the largest religious community. If we correlate these figures with the total population, then for every 170 indigenous Thais there will be one monk. No other country in the world can boast of such an amazing and even phenomenal ratio. Here is such an amazing and unusual fact!

And so it remained unconquered

Not everyone knows, but Thailand has never been a colony of anyone in its history. By the way, this is the only state formation in the Asian part of the continent that has never been conquered, either by neighbors or by nomadic tribes. Throughout their conscious lives, the indigenous people did not know any such thing as “tribute”, nor experienced all the hardships of economic or political dependence.

Paradise for plastic surgeons

But many people know that Thailand is one of the main centers of plastic surgery. Thousands of tourists from all over the world who have made the decision to change their gender rush to surgical clinics located on the territory of this Asian state. Walking through the streets of Thai towns, remember that many of the pretty-looking girls, in the past, quite possibly, wore far from women's clothes and in the mornings were forced to shave off their thick stubble in front of the mirror. Thailand is a kind of paradise for transsexuals, to whom there is one of the most loyal relations in the world.

His Majesty the King

Many interesting facts concern the life of the main monarch. King Bhumibol Adulyadej, according to the results of studies conducted in the country, is the most popular citizen of the country and even the most beloved monarch in the whole world. This is evidenced by the mass festivities on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the king, which took place in 2006 and was attended by at least 1 million people.

In addition, the monarch has American citizenship, because he was born back in 1946 in Massachusetts. Therefore, it is not surprising that he was among the few who were honored with a personal meeting with such celebrities as Elvis Presley and Walt Disney.

But that's not all. The king is one of the three richest people in America. According to some reports, his fortune exceeds 35 billion dollars.

Architecture: from antiquity to our times

Everyone who goes on a tourist visit to Thailand should definitely visit the ancient settlement of Muang Boran, which has officially received the status of the largest open-air museum. It is located south of the capital.

The modern architecture of the country is dominated by low buildings. According to local canons, it is forbidden to build higher than palm trees. Where this taboo came from is still a mystery.

However, this does not prevent the Thais from building serious facilities. For example, Suvarnabhumi Airport is built on a swamp. He set several records at once – for the height of the observation tower and the area of ​​the passenger terminal.