21 Surprising Facts About Thailand

Thailand, with its heavenly beaches, majestic temples and delicious cuisine, attracts millions of visitors every year. But behind these postcard images lie amazing anecdotes, unusual traditions and little-known records that make it a unique country. Did you know that Bangkok holds the record for the longest city name in the world? Or that the famous Thai smile can convey a multitude of emotions?

Here are 21 surprising facts that will make you see Thailand in a whole new light!

Jumble

1- Red Bull:

The energy drink that everyone knows is from thailand ! It is locally called Krathin Daeng which means "Red Buffalo", it is the Austrian Dietrich Mateschitz, working in marketing, who made the drink known in Europe by partnering with the original creator Chaleo Yoovidhya who provided him with the recipe. In doing so, he allowed the Yoovidhya family to become the 2nd richest in Thailand with a fortune estimated at 20 billion dollars in 2020.

2- The land of smiles :

According to the World Economic Forum, Thailand has the friendliest countries in the world, even making it into the top 3 in some rankings. But did you know that this legendary smile can reflect much more than an emotion of joy? There are no fewer than 13 variations in the Thai language of smiles (known as "yim – ยิ้ม"). This gesture allows in particular to maintain the concept of "face" (or “kreng jai”, เกรงใจ), which consists of avoiding any situation that could embarrass others or oneself.

3- Hello in Thai, a modern expression:

We remain polite. Did you know that the universal Thai expression “Sawasdee” (สวัสดี), used today to say hello, is relatively recent? This word, now ubiquitous, was only introduced into everyday language in 1933, by Professor Phraya Upakit Silapasan. Inspired by Sanskrit, "Sawasdee" (pronounced Sawat-dii), means "well-being" or "good fortune" and was proposed to replace more informal traditional greetings, particularly in official and educational settings.

It was also a way to internationalize, the common formula used before being rather "have you already eaten?", classy right? Which shows us what relationship Thais have with food!

Today, this simple word, accompanied by the famous gesture of wai (hands clasped in respect), alone embodies the warm and respectful identity of Thailand.

4- The Siamese:

— Siamese was the name of the people and the language before the country changed its name to Thailand in 1939 (not counting the temporary change between 1945 and May 1949.

— This is where the name of the Siamese cat breed comes from, these beautiful felines, generally characterized by their light coat and their blue almond-shaped eyes, which are originally from Thailand!

— From this same denomination, results the term used for conjoined twins: that you know under the name of Siamese twins. Which by extension gave the expression of conjoined brothers or sisters, namely inseparable. The name was popularized by the success of the brothers Chang and Eng Bunker, fused twins from the Siam, and joined by the waist. They went to the base in Paris under the Second Empire for surgery. Although the surgery ultimately did not take place, as it was considered impossible to do at the time, the twin brothers experienced a form of glory by being exhibited by the famous circus Barnum in the whole world.

Bangkok: the capital

5- Bangkok: an unofficial name with an impressive record:

Bangkok is actually just a nickname! The official name of the Thai capital is Krung Thep Maha Nakhon, this is what is written on the license plates of vehicles registered for the capital.

Often abbreviated to "Krung Thep" by locals, this is just a simplified version: the full name, listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest city name in the world, is made up of 169 characters in Thai (it doesn't even fit on the X):

Krung Thep Maha Nakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Ayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit.

This name, which can be translated as "The city of angels, great city of the immortals, magnificent city of the nine gems, seat of the king, royal city, house of divine incarnations, erected by Vishvakarman at the request of Indra", reflects the sacred and grandiose character of the capital. I challenge you to remember it to impress the locals during your stay!

6- Bangkok was the most visited city in the world:

It generally remains in the world top 5 with more than 12 million visitors each year.

7- Bangkok is home to 8 million inhabitants:

Although there is no census, this is the estimated figure for the metropolis itself, 14 including the agglomeration. This makes 13% and 22% of the country's population living in and around the capital respectively (out of a total of 67 million).

8- The city had the nickname of “Venice of the East”:

A phenomenon that is still partially visible today, due to its many canals that ran through the city. Today, most of them are unfortunately impassable or blocked to cope with growing urbanization, cars having long since replaced boats. The canals of yesteryear have become the roads and streets of today…

A recognizable view of Wat Saket and its canals.

Monarchy and Patriotism

9- The former monarch Bhumibol Adulyadej:

Became the King Rama IX (dynastic name) in 1946, he is the one who had the longest reign, all nations combined at the date of his death (the Queen of England Elizabeth II ended up surpassing him by only 3 months shortly before disappearing in turn). Born in the United States in Cambridge (Massachusetts) on December 5, 1927 when his father was studying medicine at Harvard, he grew up in Lausanne in Switzerland, from where he returned with a degree in engineering, and a language, French, which he mastered perfectly! He was also a musician (saxophone in particular) and a seasoned composer.

10- Directly related to #8, in Thailand :

Father's and Mother's Day are celebrated on the respective birthdays of the King and Queen. (December 5 and August 12), these being considered the “parents” of the nation.

The king and queen in their youth. (wikipedia image)

11- The national flag (introduced in 1917 by King Rama VI):

If you walk past schools, government buildings, military buildings, etc., you might see the flag being raised at 8:00 AM, and lowered at 18:00 PM. At the same time, the national anthem is played in public places like parks and subway stations. If you hear it over loudspeakers, you'll see a good portion of Thais (or almost) stopping during this time.

12- Before 1932, the royal anthem served as the national anthem:

A coup d'état putting an end to the absolute monarchy this year, a national anthem was then composed by... Peter Feit, not very Thai you might say? Well, he is in fact a "luk krung" as they call it here, literally it means "half-child", meaning a mixed race, and more precisely here, German-Thai. He adopted a more Thai sounding name in 1939, Piti Wathayakon, also known as Phra Jenduriyang, meaning "the expert in musical instruments". Why 1939? Because it is the year when Siam took the name of "Thailand" for the first time, and when its melody was adopted as the national anthem with the newly written lyrics.

13- Thailand is the only country in Southeast Asia that was not colonized:

This is what makes local pride and the reason for legislation that is particularly protective of local interests. In the region, you had the British Empire extending into Burma and Malaysia while France extended its influence throughout Indochina (Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam). This is also why the name of the country "Thailand" is interpreted as meaning "land of freedom", the land of free men, even if a contradiction persists on this meaning (the term Thai basically designating the main ethnic group and by extension, the people, a person, in general)

Festivals in Thailand

14- Thailand is home to several unique festivals:

One of them being a giant buffet served to monkeys in front of the temple of Pra Prang Sam Yot in the Lopburi province (which takes place at the end of November).

Another notable festival is the Phuket Vegetarian Festival (illustrating this article) which takes place every year during the first 9 days of the 9th lunar month of the Chinese calendar, so generally at the end of September, beginning of October. In order to invoke the gods, the Sino-Thai community of Phuket (numerous given its history) pierce themselves with swords or other sharp objects, in the mouth, flagellate themselves, etc. It is a bloody spectacle (perhaps to be avoided for children...) that is particularly atypical. More information on the Rainier's blog.

Phuket Vegetarian Festival (wikimedia image)

Besides the Yi Peng festival, a northern specialty with its thousands of lanterns (coinciding with another very popular festival, Loy Krathong), I must quote Thai New Year, Songkran, which is called here the water festival and sees an entire country letting off steam by getting copiously watered on April 13, 14 and 15.

Thailand and figures

15- Buddhas and temples :

— In assisted position and to this day, the largest statue of Buddha is located at Wat Muang in Ang Thong province, it measures 92m and its construction took 18 years! It is the 9th largest Buddha statue in the world.

— In the lying position, forget the one at Wat Pho and its “only” 45 m, the largest is located at Wat Pa Sawang Bun in the province of Saraburi (3 hours drive from Bangkok), It is 219 m long!

- HAS Nakhon Pathom it is the largest chedi in the world that you will be able to see, with these 127 meters high.

— Thailand has the largest solid gold Buddha, weighing 5,5 tonnes, it is located at Wat Traimit not far from Chinatown in Bangkok.

Great Buddha of Ang Thong.

16- In Bangkok:

— The tallest tower in Bangkok is King Power Mahanakhon, which peaks at 314 m. You will have the best view of the city from its terrace at the top!

For a long time (1997 to 2016), the tallest tower in Bangkok, at 304 meters, was the Baiyoke II Tower, it was even the tallest hotel in the world for a time (today it is no longer in the top 10, the ranking of which is dominated by China and the United Arab Emirates).

— The restaurant Royal Dragon was the largest restaurant in the world with a capacity of 5 seats (it was still 000nd behind a Syrian restaurant, before definitively closing its doors after Covid...)

17- Bangkok is the hottest capital in the world:

According to the World Meteorological Organization, the Thai capital experiences an average of 28°C.

Nature in Thailand

18- 100 elephants lived in Thailand:

This is unfortunately in the past… even if a majority were at the time domesticated (the wild population was then estimated at 20), the elephant was then very widely used in logging. Until the 000s, their number was around 50. Estimates vary but it would remain today barely 3 elephants in the wild, and just as many domesticated ones (most of them today in camps and sanctuaries for tourist purposes).

19- Remarkable animals:

— Thailand is home to the world's smallest mammal, It's almost anecdotal you might say, but here we find the Kitti pig-nosed bat, yes, that's its name... Without the wings, it measures barely 3 cm for 2 grams max, hard to make more compact! It is mainly found in the Sai Yok National Park (Kanchanaburi province).

— Conversely, The longest snake in the world is found there, the reticulated python, which can grow up to 10 m (it even once ate a Malayan sun bear for a snack!). There is also the king cobra, the longest venomous snake in the world (3 to 5 m). Overall, Thailand is a country rich in wildlife since it is home to 1/10th of all the animal species listed on Earth!

20- There are no less than 1 islands in Thailand:

What would Thailand be without its islands! Spread across the east coast of Bangkok (off Rayong and Trat), the rest of the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea, many are uninhabited but that leaves you spoilt for choice! The largest of the islands is Phuket, on the Andaman side, followed by Ko Samui and Ko Chang, both in two very distinct areas of the Gulf of Thailand. Among the best known, there is of course Ko Phi Phi Ley, immortalized by Danny Boyle's film "The Beach" but also Ko Lanta, which gave its name to the famous TF1 show.

21- The highest peak in Thailand:

I end with the highest point in the country. It is located 1 hour south of Chiang Mai and is at Doi Inthanon National Park. At 2 m, it is far from the high peaks and is much more moderate than the heights found in its neighbouring countries, but it allows you to benefit from milder temperatures all year round.