Reagan+&+Violet

Day 1: Flight (Delta Airlines 6833, leave USA on April 12 @ 2:15 pm and arrive in Tokyo @ 4:15 pm. Layover is 2 hrs, 35min. Leave Tokyo at 7:10 and arrive in Bangkok at 11:50. The hotel is in Bangkok. It is forty minutes away from the airport and is called the Swissotel Nai Lert Park of Bangkok. It is really nice!!! Day 2: Go on a Temple tour Day 3: Go shopping and tour Bangkok Day 4: Go to the Tha Themes marketplace and buy Thai foods Day 5: Go to the beach and relax Day 6: Go scuba diving in the Gulf of Thailand Day 7: Go on an elephant ride in Thailand Day 8: Go on a wilderness walk/tour Day 9: Flight (Depart from Bangkok is at 5:45 am and we will arrive in Tokyo at 2:15pm. We will leave Tokyo at 3:25 pm and arrive back in Portland at 8:30 am.) Add or change what you wish, I have all the pictures on voice threads for these activities and they are all in order of the day I planned

THAILAND!!!! Covers 198,455sq miles. About the size of Utah and Arizona combined. Capital: Bangkok Central region is agricultural land Northeastern part of the country is the Khorat Plateau Northwestern quarter covered with forested mountains and fertile, steep valleys. The warm southern peninsula is covered with rain forests Also covered with rubber and coconut plantations. Climate: mostly tropical Cooler temperatures are in the north from November to February, the rest of the year is hot. Rain falls from June to October

  **VIOLET** __***Religion**__-Most Thailand citizens are Theravada Buddhists, 4 percent of the population are Muslims, and very little Christians live there. There are many Buddhist temples. After birth you take your baby to the local temple and cut of a lock of its hair, it's like getting baptised. __***Geography-landmass**__**__-__** Covers 198,455sq miles country comparison to the world: 50 land: 510,890 sq km water: __2,230 sq km __ Thailand is a little more than twice the size of Wyoming. Central region is agricultural land. Northeastern part of the country is the Khorat Plateau. Northwestern quarter covered with forested mountains and fertile, steep valleys.The warm southern peninsula is covered with rain forests. Also covered with rubber and coconut plantations.
 * __wildlife__-**These are some native Thai animals, leopard cat, asian golden cat, asian elephant, Brahminy blind snake, javan rhinoceros, saltwater crocodile, pantropical spotted dolphin, and many more! There are a lot of exotic animals in Thailand because of the tropical climate.
 * __arts__-**Thailand art consists of very religious Buddhist temple paintings, and mosaics, rooftops, and carvings of mythical creatures. They do a lot of dancing and plays called "khon" where everyone is masked.
 * __Attractions-fun,temples, landmarks-__** temples are very big tourist attractions, they are beautiful masterpieces of tile and paint people from all around to marvel at their size and beauty. Many people in Thailand are martial arts practicers and there are always competions to go and view, a traditional Thai sport is "takro" it is playing with a wicker ball without using your hands. Flying kites is also a fun thing to see when in Thailand, it's very popular there.
 * __Food-__** Dinner is the main meal for families, they hols the spoon in the right hand and the fork in the left.

Thailand's history has been divided into five time periods Nanchao 650 AD to 1250 AD The Thai people founded their country in the southern part of China. People who migrated farther into the Central Plain were under the power of the Khmer Empire. They founded the independent state of Sukhothia in 1238 AD which began the Sukhothia period.
 * REAGAN**
 * __*History-check__ Thailand is the only Southeastern Asia country that has never been colonized.**

Sukhothia 1238-1378 AD The Thia rose and became a dominant force. Called this period the golden era of Thai's history. Good Kings and rulers governed and one of the famous kings was Ramkhamhaeng the Great. . In 1350 the state of Ayutthaya started to overpower Sukhothia

Ayutthaya 1359-1767 The new rulers changed and went back to the ways of the Khmer Empire. The soveriengs were absolute monarchs and were god-kings. They soon extended soveriengs to other Thai principalities and soon became enemies with their neighboring countries. In the year of 1767, the Burmese captured Ayutthaya. Siam soon started to make diplomatic and comercial relations to countries in the West. The Burmese did not get control over Siam though. A young general named Phya Taksin escaped from the Burmese forces and went to Chantaburi. Seven months after the fall of Ayutthaya, Taksin came back with his forces and stopped the Burmese occupation garrison.

Thon Buri 1767-1772 Taksin moved Ayatthaya to a city near the sea to start trade, ensure procement of arms, and be able to fight or withdrawl easier if their was a new Burmese attack. The new capital was called Thon Buri and was established on the west bank of the Chao Praya. Sadly Taksin rule was short and he spent most of his time reuniting provinences. Their was little authority which caused the fall.

Rattanakosin 1782- When Taksin died, General Chakri became the king. He was the first king in the Chakri Dynasty, Rama 1 ruling from 1782 to 1809. The first thing he did was move the the capital from Thon Buri to Bangkok. He built the Grand Palace there. Rama 2 continued in building the city. Rama 3 opened relations with the western countries and made trade with China. Rama 4 made treaties with European countries, avoided colinization and established most of recent Thailand. Rama 5 continued in his fathers work and destroyed slavery and improved administrative system and public welfare. The idea of Compulsory education was pronounced by Rama 6. While Prajadhipok reigned, the absolute monarchy was changed to the constitutional monarchy. Prajadhipok adbicated in 1933 and his nephew (Mahidol) took the throne in 1935. Siam was changed to Thailand when they changed to the democratic goverment in 1939. The king today is Bhunibol Adulyajeg Rama 7 of the Chakri Dynasty

Money- the money in Thailand is called Baht (pronounced to rhyme with hot) Coins are one two five and ten Baht pieces. One, two, and five pieces are sliver while the ten piece has a silver ring around a brass center. The bills have a range of numbers and colors: a 20 baht bill is green, a 50 baht bill is blue, a 100 baht is red, a 500 baht is purple and a 1000 baht is white. 10 bahts are hard to find, and they are brown. All of the bills and coins have a picture of Thailand King on them.

http://www.sawadee.com/thailand/info/tat01.html#History http://www.thaibuddhist.com/temples.htm

Thai people greet each other with a wai. Here is how it is done. One places the palms of their hands together and has them at chest level while the fingers are extended then bows. Women must curtsy. When greeting people of different ages, the younger would greet first and the older person would respond with a lower wai. Very pronounced bows, curtsies, and hands placed at a higher position show greater respect. When reverencing Buddha or Royalty that is the only time your fingertips can go above your eyebrows. It is an insult to not respond to a waiunless if there is a great social age distance between the two. An adult does not return a wai when a small child does it to them. Buddhist monks will never return a wai.
 * __Traditions-Customs-check__**

Thai people think that the head is very sacred. No one should touch a person's head or pass something over a head. If a person is in contact with a person who has a higher social status than them, they must try to keep their head lower than theirs. The most least sacred part of the body is the bottom of the feet. Feet should never be pointed at someone. Thai people avoid stamping their feet, pointing at objects with them, or tounching people with them. Feet should never be pointed at a monk or Buddha. Women are not allowed to touch an image of Buddha or a Buddhist monk. No one should stand directly in front of a Buddhist monk.

It is very offensive if you were to cross your ankle while sitting in a chair in Thailand. It is even more distrespectful if you are in the presence of an older person. If you are sitting, you are not allowed to put you arm over the back of a chair that has a person sitting in it. Men and women usually so not show affection or touch one another in public. Good friends of the same gender sometimes hold hands. In Thialand, if you recieve a gift from someone, you would need to grab it with your right hand, not your left.

When visiting in Thailand, people commonly go to resturaunts and other public settings, home visits are less common. People remove their shoes before entering a home. In the home, people sit on the floor. Men will sit crosslegged while women tuck their legs to the side.

Diiner is the main meal in a household and is eaten as a family. Breakfast and lunch are probably eaten seperatly because of the households schedules. Thai hold the fork in the left and hold their spoon on the right, sliding food with their fork onto the spoon. Knives are not necessary because food is served bite sized. In northern Thailand, people eat sticky rice without any utensils. Guest in Thailand homes are encouraged to eat as much as they can and are served second helpings. Thai people are allowed to drink water but cannot drink it during the meal. They must drink their water after the meal.

Several generations in a family may all live together. Parents have usually two or three childeren. Children must respect their parents and obey their wishes even when they are adults. Parents pay for all the childrens expenses even for college. When the children get older, they must pay for their parents expenses. If you are the eldest son in a Thailand family, you probably give some of your paycheck to your parents. The youngest daughter inherits the home but she and her husband must take care or the elderly parents when they grow old.

Except when young people go to school, there is little contact with members of the opposte sex until they are grown up. The tradition in marriage is this: when a man wants to marry a women, he must get to know the family very well and the family must think he is agreeable. Then, the man would send his parents to the parents of the women to tell them what he wants. If both families approve, a date for the wedding is set. The groom will give the brides parents money as a gift for raising their daughter. Pink is the traditional color of the wedding dresses. The groom wears a Western styled suit or pants with a high necked jacket. Rural newlyweds often live with the grooms parents until they have their first child. Money-checkMoney- the money in Thailand is called Baht (pronounced to rhyme with hot) Coins are one two five and ten Baht pieces. One, two, and five pieces are sliver while the ten piece has a silver ring around a brass center. The bills have a range of numbers and colors: a 20 baht bill is green, a 50 baht bill is blue, a 100 baht is red, a 500 baht is purple and a 1000 baht is white. 10 bahts are hard to find, and they are brown. All of the bills and coins have a picture of Thailand King on them.http://thailandforvisitors.com/general/money.html Holidays- Some official Holidays include: New Year's Day, Chinese New Year, Chakri Day (6 April) Labor Day (1 May), Coronation Day (5 May) Royal Ploughing Ceremony (11 May) the Queens Birthday (12 August). Chulalongkorn Day (23 October) honors the "beloved monarch" who got rid of slavery and introduced many new reforms; the Kings Birthday (5 December) Constitution Day (10 December) and New Years Eve. Religious Holidays include- Makha Bucha, Asalaha Bucha, and Visakha Bucha. These holidays mark important Buddhism events that happened in their history. Songkhram is the Thai New Year. People celebrate by throwing buckets of water on each other and going to many festivals.
 * __Holidays-check__**
 * __Schools-Education-check__** Education/Schooling- Education is important in Thailand. Free, Universal, and Compulsory school lasts for nine years. Almost all primary-age children go the school but enrollment drops over fifty percent by the tenth grade. Getting into universities is by an examination but there is a lot of competition for the few spaces that there are. Most people who attend college in Thailand study in Bangkok. Boys from distance provinces have a greater chance to go to school than girls because boys can live in a wat but girls must live in a boarding school of hostels which is expensive. Marriage is discouraged until education is complete.
 * __*Government-president-__** Government- Thailand Old name, Siam. The government is the Constitutional Monarchy. Capital is Thailand. It is twelve hours ahead of Washington DC Standard Time. 76 provinces.