Tourism in Thailand (Day and Night)

TOURISM IN THAILAND

        It is estimated that Thailand makes about 9% of their GDP through Tourism, if you include it's indirect effects that number jumps to around 20.2%. Needless to say, Tourism plays a huge role in this country. In 2013, Bangkok was identified as the most visited city in the world by Time Magazine. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) uses the slogan "Amazing Thailand" to promote Thailand internationally. But, not everything about Tourism in this country is amazing. This post is meant to address the many sides of tourism in Thailand. I would like to consider it Day and Night.

DAY

Elephant Trekking in Ayutthaya, Thailand. Photo from GaryCycles

From the extraordinary, like the ruins of Ayuthaya to the controversial elephant trekking throughout the country Thailand has a lot to offer. It's a beautiful country with breath taking landscapes that include numerous

Sights & Attractions:

Photo & Description Courtesy of Miguel Juan

The Grand Palace-  The Grand Palace is a complex of buildings at the heart of Bangkok, Thailand. The palace has been the official residence of the Kings of Siam (and later Thailand) since 1782. The king, his court and his royal government were based on the grounds of the palace until 1925. The present monarch, King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX), currently resides at Chitralada Palace, but the Grand Palace is still used for official events. Several royal ceremonies and state functions are held within the walls of the palace every year.

Photo Courtesy of Dennis Jarvis

Chiang Mai Zoo - Chiang Mai Zoo is a beautiful and fertile attraction in cool climate all year round. Fertility of forest, flowers and rare Northern orchids in Chiang Mai Zoo.

The wildlife attraction and learning center of all kinds of animal from all over the world and features activities such as,
Giant pandas the goodwill ambassador of Thailand and the People Republic of China

Events & Festivals: 

Photo courtesy of Takeaway

Yi Peng Lantern Festival- The Festival of Lights is celebrated all around Thailand with Loi Krathongs (lotus-shaped receptacles) released on water to bring luck and fulfill wishes. In Chiang Mai, the observation of the festival of lights, called Yi Peng, is uniquely different. Instead of water vessel, Chiang Mai people release thousand of lighted lanterns in the sky while making a wish. The sky transforms itself in a wonderful and surreal sea of little lanterns floating away. The spectacle is mesmerizing.

Photo Courtesy of Robert Pratt

Phi Ta Khon Festival- The Phi Ta Khon festival is the biggest attraction to the otherwise sleepy farming village of Dan Sai, nestled in the mountains of Loei province of northeastern Thailand. The event is peculiar to Dan Sai, but does combine elements of other Isaan festivals, such as the rocket festivals to bring rain. Although pinning down the dates of Phi Ta Khon was once an issue, with the village elders only naming the dates a few weeks beforehand, the festival is now fixed at the first weekend after the sixth full moon.

*Note: For a more in depth list of what Thailand has to offer visit this site here. 

NIGHT 

Night time tourism in Thailand has a completely different feel than tourism during various other times. If tourism during the day is family oriented then night time tourism is more for the partying man. In other words don't bring your kids, unless you are that kind of parent to each there own. 

Clubs & Sex Tourism:

My purpose with this section is not to pass judgement. I specifically want to shed light on the different things that happen within this country. I feel if we are not able to address all sides of a topic then what is the use of talking about it. Some people may find this to be just like the elephant trekking very controversial. Others may think that unlike the elephant trekking these people are forced into doing what they do so there is where there is a difference. You can be the judge for yourself.

Photo courtesy of Sobri

        Partying and sex tourism is a huge deal in this country. Almost every major city has a district where you are able to meet and pick up what is known as "Bar Girls". This is what most single men who come to this country attend to do. It doesn't help that women promote this behavior by flocking to these type of men. But, can you really blame them when the temptation of money and a better life is one "Farang" away? 

        Each bar has a "bar fine" which is the price it costs to get one of the girls from the bar or the go-go club to leave with you. The price for this fine can range anywhere from 300-400 Baht (10-12 USD). The women themselves can have a price anywhere from 1000-4000 Baht, which is no more than 12o USD. This side of tourism is technically illegal, but is often overlooked due to the amount of money that is able to be made from it. 

        It is estimated that prostitution brings in anywhere between 2.5-4 billion dollars per year and employs about 200,000 people. Eighty-nine percent of tourists that come to Bangkok are male; most travel from countries such as Japan, Germany, Western Europe, and the United States (Bishop & Robinson 1998: 67). However, the sex industry hasn’t always been so closely linked with the tourist industry. It first started to take off when the United States implemented the R&R (Rest & Recreation) program for the military after the Vietnam War. This opened the political, social, and economic markets in Bangkok. After the R&R period faded, the bars in the red-light districts, such as Pattaya, managed to survive because of other tourists. 

*Note: A very interested documentary can be seen here. It gives a look into sex tourism of Thailand.

No matter what your intentions of this country are there is a lot that can be offered. It still remains a beautiful place with lots of attractions and culture. I believe it is a place that everyone should visit at least once. And I can not wait until I am able to do exactly that. Thank you for following my blog up to this point. The next time I will post anything is when I am leaving to go to Thailand. With that said I will leave you with this. 

Words of Wisdom: "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." -Mark Twain 

...Phop Kan Mai

Thailand Culture: The Land of a Thousand Smiles

Culture in Thailand

The Land of 1000 Smiles

Gold Statue in Thailand. All rights to Club Med UK

Thailand is a country known for it's vast beautiful landscapes and its people who are extremely friendly. Located in Southeast Asia it is a neighbor to Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and shares a peninsula with Malaysia. The Thai culture is influenced by many surrounding areas including India, China, Cambodia, and other areas of southeast Asia. Yet, the culture of Thailand is one so diverse and rich that it deserves to be acknowledged.

Demographics

Population Graph 

The estimated population of thailand is expected to be somewhere around 67, 200, 000. It is also the 50th largest country in the world with an area that is roughly the same size as France.  The population of this country is mostly rural mostly concentrated in the rice growing areas of central, northeastern and northern Thailand.  The country is separated into four regions, each with their own take on Thai Culture.

Northern Thailand

 "This region is mountainous and filled with thick forests and river valleys. Its culture is heavily influenced by Burmese culture and it carries strong influences from the historical Lanna kingdom." - Culture in Thailand

"Thailand North six regions" by User:Octahedron80

Northeastern Thailand

"Northeastern Thailand, also known as Isan, is largely isolated from the rest of Thailand by a large mountain range.  A Lao-speaking majority, as well as a primarily agricultural society, characterize this culturally distinct region."

"Thailand Isan". Licensed under CC BY-SA

Central Thailand

"This region is the seat of Thailand’s modern-day capital city, Bangkok. With its fertile plains, it has also long been the economic center of the country, producing the majority of Thailand’s rice.  Central Thailand is also the area that has the greatest population density, and the greatest concentration of the ethnic Thai majority.  It is the political, economic, and cultural center of Thailand"

All rights to Trey Ratcliff

"Central Thailand six regions" by derivative work: Paul_012.

Southern Thailand

"Southern Thailand, located on the Malay peninsula, is home to many of Thailand’s pristine beaches and resorts.  With a more tropical climate, this narrow land mass is home to a many fishing communities."

"Thailand South". Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0

Religion:

All rights to Colm Britton

Buddhism is the official religion of Thailand. It has played a major factor in the shaping of the traditions and beliefs in this country. About 95% of the Thai people are practitioners of Theravada Buddhism, the official religion of the country. 

Thai law provides for the freedom of religion, and the government generally respects those rights. Throughout the country the most important values that Thai people hold to are respect, self control, and a non-confrontational attitude. 

History of Modern Muay Thai:

Photo courtesy of Matt Moore 

This is a brief description of this martial art. If you would like the full history please visit here:

Muay Thai or Thai boxing is the cultural martial art of Thailand. The origin of Muay Thai dates back several hundred years, and was, essentially, developed as a form of close-combat that used the entire body as a weapon. However, it must be added that the history of Muay Thai, and its' direct origin is a question of debate among modern scholars. Much of the history of Muay Thai was lost when the Burmese sacked Ayudhaya, the capital city of Siam (Thailand) in the 14th century. The Burmese looted the temples and depositories of knowledge held in the capital, and most written history was lost in this period. What volumes were saved are preserved and protected as national treasures for Thai culture and heritage.

What is known is that Muay Thai uses the body to mimic the weapons of war. The hands become the sword and dagger; the shins and forearms were hardened in training to act as armor against blows, and the elbow to fell opponents like a heavy mace or hammer; the legs and knees became the axe and staff. The body operated as one unit. The knees and elbows constantly searching and testing for an opening while grappling and trying to spin an enemy to the ground for the kill.

It is regarded as one of the most brutal martial arts and is probably one of the many reasons I love this culture so much. And I hope that my brief explanation could do a wonderful place like this some sort of justice. 

Thank you for stopping bye and I would like to leave you with this.

Words of Wisdom: "Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time". -Thomas A. Edison 

...Phop Kan Mai

The Many Maps of Thailand

Thematic Maps

of Thailand

Image curtsy of Corey McDaniel

A part of my assignment for my geography class is to create a entry about thematic maps of a country of my choice. I chose Thailand as my country for many various reasons. Take a look at my first entry to get a better idea of why I picked this country. With that being said let's get into this. 

Thematic Maps:

Thematic Maps. What are they? Truthfully I don't have a clue, but hey, this is exactly what this blog is for to discover the undiscovered. To dive into depths of the human subconscious that have not yet been ventured. To reach land that no man has yet to explore. To prove the earth is No Longer Flat! Okay, maybe the blog isn't meant for that much, but on the idea of a thematic Map; what exactly are they?

"A thematic map is a type of map especially designed to show a particular theme connected with a specific geographic area. There maps "can portray physical, social, political, cultural, economic, sociological, agricultural, or any other aspects of a city, state, region, nation, or continent". (Thank you google)

Now that we have a general idea of what a thematic map consists of lets get into it.

POPULATION MAP

A population map is used to represent the overall distribution of population within a particular area.

Thailands Population is estimated to be around 67,200,000. Map from here

Ethnological Map 

Maps showing the geographic distribution of, and  spatial relationships between, the phenomena and objects of study of ethnography. 

"Thailand ethnic map" by ArnoldPlaton, .svg based on this map (from UTexas under Public Domain "Courtesy of the University of Texas Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin.") - Own work. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thailand_ethnic_map.svg#/media/File:Thailand_ethnic_map.svg

Magnetic Anomaly Map 

Magnetic Anomaly Maps show local variation in the Earth's magnetic field resulting from variations in the chemistry or magnetism of the rocks. 

All rights to hoeckmann

I hoped you learned something from todays lesson and are looking forward to my next post. Thank you for stopping by and I would like to leave you with this.

Words of Wisdom: "Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step." -Martin Luther King Jr.

Journey to the East (Thailand)

Hello & Welcome

ยินดีต้อนรับ

 A wonderful country in Southeast Asia known as

Thailand. 

Nathan O'Nions- Phang Nga

 







What I am hoping to do is separate this blog into two halves. The first half will focus on the culture and tourism, and is strictly for my project in my Geography class. The second half will be more personal and will consist of updates when I finally visit Thailand. I am aiming for the Winter of 2016 it seems like a long time but as we all know. TIME FLIES!

What is Wai Kru(Wai Khru)?

The Wai is a traditional greeting by the thai people where they put their hands together like a prayer. Kru means teacher. As a whole the wai kru is a way to pay respect to your coaches, gym, training partners and family. The wai kru is the portion of the muay thai dance where the fighter circles the ring 3 times before kneeling and bowing 3 times to show respect to God and man. More Info Here

What it means to me?

As a western thai fighter I would say it plays a huge part of my life. I have been training Muay Thai for the last year and 3 months. I have had my first fight and I won by KO in the 2nd round (video coming soon). A huge goal of mine is to train in Thailand. I believe this is the main reason I choose this country I truly enjoy Thai Culture.

Thank you for your interest in my blog. And I will leave you with this.

Words of wisdom:

"The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places"-Ernest Hemingway