Thailand

Thailand

            Who hasn’t heard of Thailand? Thailand is such a popular Asian country and when I think of Thailand I think of the food stands  in Bangkok at night with vendors waving fans at themselves to  make the heat a little less irritating, but the people who live there are used to it. There is so much to do when visiting Thailand, you can go to the temples, go to the food stands any time of the day and take boat river rides. In Thailand they speak Thai and use the currency Baht.

 (temple 

Wat Benchamabophit  Photo  Darko Pevec.)

            There are thousands of Temples in Thailand visiting every single one in a short period of time would be very difficult so visit the most popular ones. One temple is  Wat Chedi Luang in  Chiang Mai, Thailand One of the best times to see this  is during the wian tian ceremony  that takes place in June one of the main Buddhist festival days, so many tourist come here to visit (Stig Albeck).  Wat Benchamabophit the marble temple is located in Bangkok it is the most visited temple Thialands capital, its style is Thai but inspiration from European neo-classicism can also be seen. The lovely proportions of this temple make it one of the most beautiful  (Stig Albeck).  Wat Mahathat is another and it is located in the historic Sukothai’s Royal City. It is the oldest building in the area. Visiting these beautiful places is an eye opener you see the hard dedication to these temples.

 

One day I was watching Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations and he was visiting Thailand and he showed the food stands Bangkok, the amount of food that was being sold is unexplainable. The Thai papaya salad looked so amazing, what it is a dish that combines sour lime, hot chili, salty, savoryfish sauce, sweetness added by palm sugar and lastly the papaya. Most people eat the papaya salad with a small cup of tea. Another dish is Khao man gai (chicken and rice) served mostly during the daytime he chicken is gently boiled until it is tender then the water is used in boiling the rice. This means that khao man gai – apart from being delicious – its high in cholesterol. Served with a chicken broth and delicious sweet and spicy sauces, it’s the perfect midday snack (Stig Albeck). I can’t imagine drinking soup in the heat of Thailand but when I see Thai soup I have to drink it, my favorite is  Thai Pumpkin Soup with Shrimp & Cucumber sounds kind of odd but it is very delicious when I have it here in the States, I can’t imagine how good it is in Thailand.

 

Take a boat trip on the Chao Phraya River, in Thai it means “the river of the Kings”.  Not only can you use it to see the city of Bangkok but you can use it as a “bus” to get from one point to another. There are boats you can chose from like the really nice fancy ones or the not so fancy but neither will cost you more than $8 US dollars or even less that is amazing for a boat ride. In Thailand they  have many large and small rivers, the small rivers they use as rice paddies.

I hope to go to Thailand one day and see all cultural aspects this country has to offer. This country takes in so many tourists you’ll never feel alone. From what I have seen and read the people of Thailand are very respectful and caring. That’s the kind of hospitality I want when going to another country because that’s what I would give to a traveler from another country when here in the United States.

Work Cited

Stig Albeck. Thailand: Travel to Thailand. 2008. Print.