“A Visit to the Land of Smiles” The Kingdom of Thailand A Travel .pptVIP

 The red strips represent the blood spilt to maintain Thailand’s Independence. The white stands for purity and is the colour of Buddhism which is the country’s main religion. Blue is Thailand’s national colour and it represents Thai monarchy. The blue is also to honour Thailand’s World War I Allies, Great Britain, France, United States and Russia who all had red, white and blue flags.  The Thai greeting “sawatdee” was invented during the Second World War. Before that people greeting each other by asking if they had eaten yet. In Thailand both Father’s and Mother’s Day are celebrated on the birthday of their King and Queen. The current Thai year is 2553 (2010), which is based on the number of years that Buddha passed away. The most famous film about Thailand is the “King and I”. It is illegal to have a copy of the film. The film is banned in Thailand because the authorities do not approve of some of the things the film makers show in it. Most Thai people believe that if you run someone over with a car at night, it’s better to keep going as they fear that it might be a setup for a robbery. The Thai people put great respect to the Royal family particularly the King of Thailand. He is so revered that a person who even makes a passing joke about the Monarch can be put in prison. One of the rudest thing that a person can do in Thailand is to point with their feet.          * * King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand Thai food is internationally famous. Thai food mixes five fundamental tastes: sweet, spicy, sour, bitter and salty. Some common ingredients used in Thai cooking include garlic, chillies, lime juice, lemon grass, and fish sauce. The main food in Thailand is rice, particularly jasmine rice (also known as Hom Mali rice) which is included in almost every meal. Thailand is the worlds largest exporter of rice, and Thais eat over 100?kg of rice per person per year. They eat strange foods in Thailand for example fried cockroache