Chee Wit Dee

Thailand-The land of smiles

Hi everyone,

I have been telling you about the time that I grew up in Thailand.  It sounds so terrible like the third world country.  That was yesterday, today Thailand is very modern and has one of the strongest economies in Asia.  Bangkok is the capital city and used to be called Venice of the East,  because Bangkok used to have a lot of canals ( Klong in Thai language).  They traveled by boats in canals and rivers like in Venice, Italy,  but today they have to fill them in to make more roads to accommodate heavy traffic.  Thailand is trying to improve the traffic congestion by building more roads, more freeways, sky trains and subways.  Even though they are doing this,  they still have an active floating market.  It is one of the must see tourist attractions ( I highly recommend it).  Floating Market is an open-market where the merchants bring their products to sell on their boats.  They sell just about anything.  You can buy all kind of fruits, vegetables, chickens, clothing, etc.  If you are hungry, you can order a dish of stir fry noodles to eat.  It is a very enjoyable place.  The floating market is located at Damnorn Saduak, just outside of  Bangkok.  You can get there by boat or by car.  I recommend that you ride the boat there.  This way, you can see both sides of Chao Phaya River of Bangkok and also you can go shopping easier once you get there.

Thai people are friendly people, nice and polite.  They are always smiling, maybe that is why they call Thailand-The Land of Smiles.  Tourists love to visit Thailand because they feel welcome.  It is easy to communicate with Thai people because the majority of them speak English.  Thai people love to speak to them too because they want to practice their English also.  There are many interesting places to see and visit.  I recommend two places to see.  One of them is Wat Pha Klew ( Wat means Temple ).  This temple has an Emerald Buddha and has a good history behind it.  The temple is one of the most fascinating architectural sights.  The temple wall is full of a Thai Epic mural.  The painting is so good in detail. This painting on the wall has been repainted since it was constructed about 200-300 years ago ( older than U.S.A.).  The other place to visit is the Royal Grand Palace which is located next to Wat Pha Klew.  This Royal Grand Palace is the welcome place for the high rank foreign visitor nowadays.  When you visit Bangkok, you should take a dinner cruise along Chao Phaya River.  The food on the cruise is excellent and  has a reasonable price.  The shrimps are as big as the lobsters.  There is a tour guide on the cruise to tell you the history of each building or temple in English.  It is a very enjoyable cruise.  There are many things to see and do in Bangkok.  What I just told you are only a few suggestions.

Next you should make a trip to the northern part of Thailand-Chiengmai.  Chiengmai is one of the provinces that has a lot of Thai hand crafted products.  They have many hand crafted teak wood pieces of  furniture.  It is a very detailed hand craft, very delicate and beautiful. Teak wood is a very hard wood and heavy.  This hand crafted teak wood furniture  will last for many generations to come.  By the way the price of the furniture is very reasonable compared to American or European prices.  The most beautiful Thai silk is from Chiengmai also.  You should visit a Thai silk factory when you go there.  They do have men tailor made suits  and women tailor made dresses at the Thai silk factory.  What ever you want to purchase, you need to bargain the price.  Don’t buy the merchandise at the price they tell you on the first quote.  Always bargain and start at half of what they ask for.  For instance, if they start asking for a price of $10, bargain them for $5.  It is the way that Thai people buy and sell.  Wow! I did not realize how long this article was.  Well let me tell you some more next time.

Mana