For many years now Thailand has been one of the top tourist destinations in the world. The reason for it is simple, it is the people. Its nickname is (LOS) which stands for the "Land of Smiles" because the vast majority of the people are very friendly and are always smiling. If you have lived all of your life in North America or Europe and have never visited Thailand you will be in for quite a pleasant surprise at the differences in the cultures on your first visit.
More than likely the first thing you will notice is that virtually every store or business establishment you visit you will be greeted with a "Wai." A "Wai" is a local custom that you might have seen in the movies or on TV and consists of a slight bow, with the palms pressed together in a prayer-like fashion. It is very similar to the Indian Anjali MudrÄA/namaste and the Cambodian sampeah. The higher the hands are held in relation to the face and the lower the bow, the more respect or reverence the giver of the "Wai" is showing. The word often spoken with the "Wai" as a greeting is sawatdee which means hello.
The vast majority of Thai citizens are Buddhist and you will immediately notice a difference in their attitude as compared to what you are used to back home. They believe everybody should be able to do whatever makes them happy as long as it does not hurt anybody else. In addition, you will find a central principle of their culture is to "Get Along" and find a way for everybody to "Save Face" whenever a dispute occurs.
Virtually everywhere you will go there will be either Buddhist temples or statues where the people will make daily offerings praying to Buda for "Good Luck" that day. The offerings could be in the form of lighting incense or leaving something at the temple for Buda to drink or eat.
Thailand itself is mostly a farming society but it does have a few major cities with the largest being Bangkok which has over 12 million inhabitants. There are many other modestly sized cities that are very popular with tourist, such as Pattaya, Phuket, Chiang Mai, and Koh Samui.
As long as you visit one of the cities listed above you will find accommodations and food that will meet what you are used to in your home country. You will quickly discover a wide variety of restaurants from virtually every country on earth. Thai food for the most part is extremely spicy and hot. If you do not like this type of food you really need to get your point across when placing your order or you will be in for an unforgettable moment once it arrives.
If you are attempting to decide where to go on your next vacation or holiday you can be sure that Thailand will provide you a remarkable experience that you leave you longing to return to as soon as you depart this truly fascinating country.
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