Hello friends! Hope you’re ready for another adventure because today we’re traveling to the beautiful Asian country of Thailand!

If you want to learn more about Thailand don’t forget to download our activity package:

Click here to download our Thailand learning guide

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Click here to download our Thailand coloring pages

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Where is Thailand located and what is the official name of the country?

While Thailand’s official name is the Kingdom of Thailand, it was originally named Siam. Then back in 1939, the name was changed to Thailand, before being changed back to Siam in 1946 and then changed one last time to the Kingdom of Thailand in 1948. Talking about indecision.

Thailand is located in Southeast Asia, and it’s surrounded by Myanmar and Laos to the north, Cambodia to the east, Malaysia and the Gulf of Thailand to the south, and the Andaman Sea to the west!

The flag of Thailand

Now let’s take a look at the flag! The Thai flag shows five horizontal stripes; two red ones, two white, and a bigger blue one. It’s said that the colors stand for nation-religion-king, an unofficial motto of Thailand: red represents the land and the people, white for religions, and blue for the monarchy. It has the same colors as the French, British, Russian, and American flags!

Learning about the language spoken in Thailand

By the way, do you know what language is spoken in Thailand? Don’t worry, it’s quite easy, the language is simply known as Thai. Although over 60 more languages are spoken in Thailand, Thai or Central Thai is the country’s official language. Did you know that the Thai language has 76 letters? Yes, that’s right, it has 44 consonants and 32 vowels! Crazy!

To say “Hello” in Thai we say S̄wạs̄dī. Say it with me, Sah – wah – dee!

To answer basic questions you can say “Chai” to say Yes, and “Mai” to say No.

To be polite you can say “khop khun” which means “Thank you”, “pord” which means “please”, and “Khor thoad khrup” which means “excuse me”!

But if you think your pronunciation isn’t good, this simple question may save you a lot of trouble: “Kun pood paasaa anggrit dai mai”, which translates to “Can you speak English?”

Now, let’s count together! We’ll count up to 5. 

nùeng (1), 

saawng (2),

sâam (3), 

sìi (4), 

hâa (5).

The friendly people of Thailand

Thai people are super friendly and happy, you’ll notice right away that most Thai people will engage in friendly conversation with you. No wonder why Thailand is known as “the land of the smiles”!

There are also very respectful, patient, open-minded, and hospitable! 

By the way, did you know that Bangkok, Thailand’s capital city, has one of the longest ceremonial names in the world? 

Krungthepmahanakhon Amonrattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilokphop Noppharatratchathaniburirom Udomratchaniwetmahasathan Amonphimanawatansathit Sakkathattiyawitsanukamprasit.

Yeah, that’s a long one. And it means “City of Angels, Great City of Immortals, the Magnificent City of the Nine Gems, Seat of the King, City of Royal Palaces, Home of Gods Incarnate, Erected by Visvakarman at Indra’s Behest.” Good thing that name is no longer used, don’t you think?

Beautiful Spots in Thailand

And speaking of places, we can’t ignore some of Thailand’s most beautiful locations and temples. There are over 40, 000 temples in Thailand, and more than 30, 000 of them are still in active use! This means that if you go to Thailand, you can see temples practically everywhere. They play an essential role in Thai everyday life. 

But if we talk about more natural landscapes, we must mention the national park Doi Inthanon! It’s on top of a mountain and, at 8, 415 ft (2, 564 meters) high, it’s the highest peak in the country! It’s surrounded by beautiful jagged mountains, waterfalls, and rich flora and fauna.  Here you can admire the amazing monuments that were once built for the Kings and Queens at the peaks of the mountains!

Another great example of breathtaking Thai landscapes is the Samet Nangshe Viewpoint! It’s a stunning viewpoint where you can take a rest from the busy city lifestyle and enjoy the beautiful nature. This is a perfect place to camp out under the stars because you can even see the Milki Way sometime! 

And we can’t forget about the amazing Nang Yuan Viewpoint. You probably have seen pictures of white sandy beaches with turquoise waters, rocky beach sides, and bamboo huts before. Well, maybe a lot of those photos were taken in here! This viewpoint is located on an island called Koh Tao, which is translated into “Turtle Island”. On this island, you can enjoy fun activities like scuba diving or snorkeling, or maybe just relax in some of their guesthouses and beachside resorts.

Animals in Thailand

But if we talk about nature in Thailand, we can’t forget about the animals, can we? And what better way to start than talking about the majestic elephant? 

This huge animal is probably the most popular in all of Thailand! The Thai elephant has had such a considerable impact on Thai culture, that is considered the official national animal of Thailand!

There are also some cool animals in Thailand, like the Malaysian Sun Bear, the Gibbons, the Indochinese leopard, and Kitti’s hog-nosed bat or bumblebee bat, the smallest bat in the world! This cute little guy is about an inch long and weighs about two grams.

Thailand is not only home to the smallest bat, but also home to the biggest fish. And that’s the whale shark, which can reach up to 40 feet (12 meters) long or about the size of a school bus! Imagine!

And speaking of animals, did you know that Siamese cats are native to Thailand? That’s right, while the country is no longer called Siam, the name still can be found in many places, things, and animals, like these cute cats. There’s even a popular tradition in Thailand of gifting a pair of Siamese cats to a bride on her wedding day as a gesture of good luck.

Delicious Thailand food

Now let’s talk about delicious Thai food! Like the very famous Massaman Curry. It has both spicy and savory flavors thanks to its combination of coconut cream and tamarind paste. It’s definitely a Thailand classic that you must try!

Let’s not forget about the Pad Kra Prao and Kao Ka Moo.  If you like rice, you’re gonna love these two dishes. Both include not only rice but pork and spices. Don’t forget the soy sauce!

Buddhism

Now that we know a little bit more about Thai food, animals, and places, let’s talk about their traditions and religions. As an Asian country, Thailand’s most popular religion is Buddhism, it is in fact, so popular that the world’s largest solid gold Buddha is in Thailand!

This Buddha statue is 15 ft (4.5 meters) tall, weighs 5.5 tons, and it’s made of pure gold! It’s located in Bangkok and is worth millions of dollars.

The annual Lopburi Monkey Banquet

A very adorable tradition in Thailand is the annual Lopburi Monkey Banquet. It’s celebrated in front of the Pra Prang Sam Yot temple in Lopburi Province, local people thank the monkeys for bringing thousands of tourists to their village. The residents invite over 600 monkeys to feast on two tons of meat, fruit, salad, rice, and even ice cream! That’s awesome!

If you want to see all these hungry monkeys with your own eyes, remember to visit Thailand in November, when it takes place. But if you want to visit other parts of the country, like the capital Bangkok, keep in mind that this is the world’s hottest city!

It’s true that there are a lot of deserts and cities around the world that are hotter than Bangkok, but these places tend to get much colder at night or during winter. Bangkok, however, is always hot, even in December!

Even the World Meteorological Organization declared the capital of Thailand as the hottest city in the world! 

So if you’re planning to visit this beautiful city, remember to bring some light clothing.

And that’s a little something about Thailand! Ciao friends, or how people say it in Thailand:
“Lā k̀xn”!