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Thailand is called a land of smiles. Though the philosophy of Buddhism teaches that life – is suffering, and the only way is in depth reflection and knowledge, there do not forget to enjoy life.

Thais repeat the word “sanuk” as a life motto, which can be translated as: “enjoy”, “had a good fun”, but generally it is the style of “life with a smile”, which every citizen of this country is seeking to master. Perhaps, therefore, their smiles do not look formally and hypocritical.

Thailand – is the land of Buddha and Buddhism is the state religion. 95 percent of the population professed its southern variant, the remaining 5% are Muslims, Christians and followers of Confucius, the vivid evidence of the Thais love to Buddha – is the endless number of temples built even in the almost uninhabited parts of the country, as well as a huge number of his images, and an army of monks.

All Thai Buddhist males from 20 years serve at least once in life “spiritual duty” and become monks for a period of two weeks to three months.

The severities of asceticism are compensated over and above by special honorary status of monks, the monks are forbidden to engage in productive labor, so they actually live on the dependency of other citizens. According to the philosophy of Buddhism, anyone who gives to a monk, this good deed will be reckoned in a future life, so that both, theone who is feeding and the one who is receiving, as a result are quits and satisfied with each other.

Thais have great respect for the spirits and are afraid of their anger and they beg for their mercy. In front of the houses, in gardens, hotels, and even the agencies they make “a house of a spirit”: in that way they lure this spirit to protect the territory, and for the guard not to sleep and was kind they bringt him food and drink, flowers and fragrant sticks.

As true Buddhists, Thais respect the elders, teachers and private property. And they extremely respect their monarch and his family. All of them are considered sacred people. Foundation Day of the ruling dynasty, the birthday of the king and queen are celebrated as national holidays. Court etiquette suggests that the monarch could not be touched, that is, it can not be physically touched.

Thais quite strongly developed self-esteem, it is manifested in appearance and in behavior (this is very noticeable in the field of service, where the majority of workers is Thais). They are helpful, but the helpfulness never comes to self-abasement. No matter what you give them – matryoshka or samovar, – be sure, sooner or later it will appear in the local market. And not for the sake of business, and by force of habit.

Homeland of Siamese twins and blue-eyed Siamese cats several times changed names. Ancient History of Thailand is wrapped up in mystery: the exact details about the origin of Thai people are unknown. According to some assumptions, one of the tribes descended to the Siamese Gulf from Chinese province Sichuan.

In a year when prairie Horde attacked Rus (1238), the first Thai capital of the kingdom – Sukhothai – was founded, it was the capital for only 150 years. She was swallowed by another Thai kingdom – Ayutayya. It lasted for more than four centuries, during which time it was ruled by 33 Kings, and the capital of the same name became one of the largest cities in the world. The first diplomatic and trade relations with the Europeans were first established in Ayutayya, first – with Portuguese seamen.

Ayutayya constantly waged war on its neighbors: on the great empire of the Khmers, on the kingdom of Burma. In 1767 Burmese troops burned down Ayutayyu. It was a rainy day of Thai history: no one could tell whether an independent state would reborn again.

But the 500 Thai soldiers had fled to Cambodia and there they were proclaiming their leaders the kings. Chaired on the throne in 1782, General Pya Chakri, named Rama I, marked the beginning of the reigning dynasty and founded the modern capital of Thailand – Bangkok.

In the XIX century it was difficult for the countries of South-East Asia to resist the rapid process of colonization. But despite the territorial concessions, Thailand (Siam in that time) has never been anyone’s colony, justifying yet its another name – Muang Thai – land of free people.

The name Siam, which was awarded by the country’s neighbors, comes from the Sanskrit “sayyama” – “dark-skinned”. However, in another writing, this word means “beautiful”, “blue-green”, the way it actually appears to the travelers. (Thailand is the country since 1949)

The current monarch, Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) inherited the throne in 1946. King of Thailand – is the symbol of the nation and the official head of state, and the symbol of the power of the monarchy is the elephant. Rama IX was known as a very multiple personality – he was an artist, musician, photographer, poet, sailor, and so forth, and his personal contribution to the country from the military dictatorship valued very highly.