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Structure
Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 30 general entries.
Special Topics
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Thailand
t. A small area of Thailand extends southwards down the Malay Peninsula. In one part it is only ten miles from the Myanmar border to the Gulf of Thailand.
Mekong. The Mekong forms part of the border between Thailand and Laos. It later flows through Cambodia and enters the South China Sea.
Sea of Andaman. The southernmost area of Thailand stretches across the Malay Peninsula with the Sea of Andaman on the west and the Gulf of Thailand on the east.
rice. Other important exports are tin, diamonds and shrimp.
f. Thailand is the only country in south-east Asia that has never been under a European power. Its neighbors Myanmar, then Burma, and Malaysia were part of the British Empire. Other neighbors, Laos and Cambodia were under French control.
monsoon. From April to October the monsoon blows from the southwest, bringing heavy rains. The rest of the year it is a dry wind blowing from the northeast.
Chao Phraya. Chao Meng--fu was a Chinese painter. The Irrawaddy is the main river of Myanmar. The Brahmaputra is a tributary of the Ganges.
Tin. Diamonds and tungsten are also mined and there are large crude oil resources. There is some coal and copper, but they are not of any importance.
Siam. Sri Lanka was formerly known as Ceylon. Taiwan was formerly known as Formosa. Ghana was the Gold Coast
Mekong. The Mekong is the third longest river in Asia. The rare Asian river dolphin makes its home in it.
| What was the approximate population of the capital city of Thailand at the beginning of the 21st century? | Facts about Thailand
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10 million. The capital Bangkok is over ten times bigger than Chiang Mai, the second largest city.
Ping. Chang Mai is a popular tourist destination. Day trips to the rain forest, rafting, and elephant trekking are popular.
Buddhism. 95% of Thais are Buddhists. One teaching of Buddhism is as follows, "The only thing that it is good to kill, is anger."
Samui. It's in the north-eastern part of Koh Samui and famous for its dominating Buddha statue. It is slightly off the beaten track from the more popular Chaweng and Lamai beaches.
| What is the English translation of "khruang bin"? | Thailand
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Aeroplane. "Khruang bin" literally means "engine fly". If you listened carefully to the Thai announcement on your flight into Thailand you would have heard "gaan bin" and then your airline. That could of course have given you a clue. A motorcycle is a "motorsi". A bus is a "rot may" and a car is a "rot yon".
| What is the name of the popular tourist attraction weekend market in Bangkok, near the northern bus terminal on Paholyothin Road? | Thailand
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Chatuchak. Chatuchak market has many sections selling anything from live animals to oil paintings and is only open on weekends. The oil paintings are worth a look as some of the artists are quite good. The floating market requires a hairy boat ride and I made up the other two answers!
| Thai is a tonal language. This means that one word can have multiple meanings, depending on the way it's pronounced. How many tones are there in the Thai language? | Thailand
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five. So for example the phrase "New silk does not burn, right?" can be created from the word that, to an English speaker, looks like "mai" and has to be pronounced with different tones. Of course to a Thai national it would be differentiated by spelling and tone markers but to a non Thai it can be confusing and amusing. Problems exist with pronunciation of vowels too, one of the most common being the confusion caused by "khwaay", which means "buffalo", and "khuay", which means "male member". Thai people are often amused/embarrassed by the foreigners' pronunciation of "Bridge over the River Kwai"...but that's another story.
| The Mekong river flows along one of Thailand's borders. Which country does it NOT border or flow through? | Thailand
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Malaysia. The golden triangle is perhaps more accurately reserved as a moniker for the area known for producing opium. It is, however, also used as the name for a tourist attraction at the side of the Mekong river (with a quasi tacky sign), where it is possible to see Thailand, Myanmar and Laos with the naked eye from the top of a hill. And capture all three with a decent camera. Malaysia borders Thailand but the Mekong exits land in Vietnam, even though Vietnam does not share a land border with Thailand.
| What would I be doing if I "ab det" on the "hat"? | Thailand
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sunbathing on the beach. A "hat" is a beach and "ab det" means to sunbathe. The other three activities are much more in tune with the exotic Thai holiday...but I still find playing Funtrivia via wi-fi while "ab det" on the "hat" a pleasurable experience. Try it too!
| What would I be if I "thaan khao thii raan aahaan"? | Thailand
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eating at a restaurant. "Thaan khao" literally means "to eat rice" but it is used for any form of food. A "raan ahaan" is a restaurant.
Buying a present at a market is "suu khong khwan thii dtalaat". Taking a taxi to the airport is "chaw roth taxsii pay sanaam bin" and buying a bus ticket is "suu tua roth may". Apologies to all Thai teachers for the transliteration capability of this website!
| To which southern town does the King of Thailand often go for rest and recreation at his palace there? | Thailand
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Hua Hin. Hua Hin is a place on the Gulf of Thailand that is popular with Thai nationals for weekend breaks. It's located 180 km from Bangkok - only a three hour drive. Surat Thani is south of Hua Hin on the Gulf of Thailand and Krabi and Phuket are both on the other coast of the southern part of Thailand, at the Andaman Sea.
| What is the Thai name for the new year festival held in April, where people enjoy drenching each other with water? | Thailand
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Songkran. Saengthip is a brand of Thai whiskey. Mae Hong Son is a town in northern Thailand. Song san means to pity.
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