Thai 411

Being home and now the official local expert on Thailand, I realized I have been feeling people a bunch of crap. People ask me all these questions about the date of this, and the significance of that, and HELL people, there is a lot to know! I didn't take a history and culture class on Thailand, I only know what I have learned over the past few years. People want to know which temple is this, and what year was it built, and how many accidents a year there are in Bangkok, and what the law about helmets is, and the discounts during the rainy season in resorts in the South, and the architecture style of the buildings in Phuket, and was Thailand ever colonized and how many dialects of Thai are there, and is Loas safe, and are Burmese girls easy...The list goes on for freaking ever. And so, I will answer some of these questions to the best of my ability, as I have been giving wrong answers for a week now. (This morning I told my best friend's boyfriend that the population of Bangkok is 66 million, which upon checking, is actually only 9 million. Sixty-six million is the whole population of Thailand. Slight mistake.

So, to clear a few things.

Question: "What's the population again?"

My original answer: "66 million. In Bangkok alone."

Real Answer: The population of Bangkok is about 10 million people. This is a lot. More than Vermont. The population of New York City is about 8 million (based on a 2005 estimate). The square mileage of New York city is 309 miles. The square mileage of Bangkok is 604 square miles. So I guess New York is a lot more crowded, but I find that hard to believe. Very hard to believe. In fact, I don't. The internet is crap. The population of Thailand, on the other hand, is about 61 million. (Not 66 like I said above...SEE...I am full of lies.) The population of Canada is about 32 million. Thailand is the size of Texas. Canada is the size of, well...Canada. The population of Toronto is about 2 million people. The population of the United States is over 300 million. Holy shit. That's a lot of Americans. And by the way, the population of the world is about 6.6 billion. Man, imagine if we all had blogs?


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Question: "What's the year in Thailand again?"

My original answer: 2549

Follow-up question: "Why?"

My follow-up answer: blank stare

Real Answer: The Suriyakati or Thai solar calendar (Thai: สุริยคติ) is the official and prevalent calendar in Thailand, although the Western calendar is sometimes used in business. The only difference between the western and the Thai calendar is the year counting.
The months and days of the week are the same as those used in the western Gregorian calendar, only their names differ. The year, however, is counted from the Buddhist Era (B.E.), which is 543 years earlier than the Christian Era (A.D.). For example, 2005 A.D. is equivalent to 2548 B.E. The era is based on the passing away (Parinibbana) of Gautama Buddha, which is dated to 543 BC by the Thai. (It is important to remember that only from January 1, 1941 onwards does this 543 addition/subtraction rule work perfectly. See below)
Until 1888 Thailand used a lunar calendar, in which the date of the New Year (Songkran) was between April 13 and 15. The new calendar, decreed by King Chulalongkorn (Rama V), was called Ratana Kosindra Sok, and was nearly identical with the western Gregorian calendar. Year counting, however, was in reference of the date of the founding of Bangkok (Ratana Kosindra), April 6, 1782 (the first day of Year 1 Ratana Kosindra Era). King Vajiravudh (Rama VI) changed the year counting to Buddhist Era in 1912 and fixed the start of a year to April 1.
In 1941 (2484 B.E.), per decree by Prime Minister Phibunsongkhram, January 1 became the official start of a new year (so year 2483 B.E. had only nine months). When converting a date prior to that year, one should check whether it falls between January 1 and March 31: if so the number to add or subtract is 542, not 543.
Today, both New Year's Day (January 1) and Songkran (April 13-15) are public holidays. The buddhist feasts are still calculated according to the lunar calendar, so their dates change in the solar calendar every year. Months with 30 days end with -yon (-ยน), and the months with 31 days end with -khom (-คม).

Thanks Wikipedia. You rock.

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Question: "How long ago was Ayutthaya the capital of Thailand, and why isn't it anymore?"

My original answer: "A long time ago. Because Bangkok has a River." (I made this up.)

Real answer: One of the golden eras of Thai history was during the period from 1350 to 1767 when Ayutthaya was the capital. The former capital was founded in 1350 by King Uthong, later crowned King Ramathibodi I, who led his men from U Thong where there was an outburst of cholera. The city was named for Ayutthaya, the home of Rama in the Indian epic Ramayana which means "Undefeatable". In fact, Ayutthaya was a thriving town before it was founded as the Thai capital by King Uthong. Before the arrival of the invading Thais, the area was occupied by the Khmers or Cambodians who ruled Lavo or Lopburi. The city was situated on an island which was the confluence of three rivers, the Chao Phraya, the Pa sak and the Lopburi. Thus, it was the centre of trade and communications.

Ayutthaya remained the Thai capital for 417 years and was reigned by 33 kings of five Siamese dynasties until it was conquered by the Burmese. The defeated capital was left in the jungle for over a hundred years when it was wrested out of the jungle again. Ayutthaya is 85 kms north of Bangkok and is accessible by road, river and railway. Magnificent ruins of principal temple and palaces of the old capital still remain to give a clue to the city's former glory.

Why did it move? I don't know. Closer to the gulf? Not as many lizards? Your guess is as good as mine.

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Original Question: "Are Burmese girls easy?"

My original and final answer: "I don't know. Why don't you go find out?"



And that's all the info I'm giving for today. Hey, people, want to know the ins and outs?! Come and see me and find out for yourself!