Thailand was before nineteen thirty nine called The Kingdom of Siam - some areas and shopping centers in downtown Bangkok still carries the name such as Siam Center, Siam Square and Siam Paragon.

The northern part of Thailand is a remote mountainous area covered in monsoon forests consisting of bamboo, teak and palm trees. Deep and fertile valleys are also plentiful in this area. To the west, this landscape is continued following the Myanmar - formerly known as Burma - border down over the Malacka peninsula. To the east, the plain-like and relatively well cultured Khorat plateau extends, which is met by branches and tributaries of the Mekong River. The heart land of Thailand consists of mainly backlands and fertile lowland plains around the river Menam (Chao Phraya). Tha plains are covered with numerous channels and canals, most of which overflow during Thailand’s summer monsoon season. The monsoon season is between May and October, and generally results in between twelve and fourteen hundred millimeters of precipitation.

The mammalian fauna of Thailand has been greatly decimated over the years. Deer and antelope are still rather common, and to the west and north east wild elephants can sometimes be seen. However, the big cats have become extremely few in numbers, and the rhino and tapir are all but extinct already. Birds, reptiles, batrachians and fish are still quite plentiful in numbers. Mentionable among the insects arte malaria mosquitoes, termites and silk butterflies, which range from both cultured to wild.

Thailand has a tropical monsoon climate with a rainy season during the hottest summer months. The yearly precipitation ranges from one thousand to two thousand millimeters per year and the average temperature averages between twenty and thirty degrees centigrade depending on the latitude.

The larger part of Thailand’s population is Thai, all of which speak closely related language variants of Thai, and share the same cultural traditions. There are, however, two larger minorities in Thailand. One of these is the Chinese minority located in large areas of Thailand’s capital of Bangkok, where the Chinese mark is very prevalent, as well as controlling a large part of the business and finance areas. There are over one million Malays on the Malacka peninsula, and on the land areas bordering Myanmar and Laos, there are some mountain tribes with their own ethnic, cultural and language identity.

Religiously, Thailand is dominated by Buddhism according to the Theravada school, which was introduced to Sri Lanka in the seventh century. This Buddhism is the state religion, and the king is obligated to follow it by law. There are many Buddhist temples - Wats - and Bangkok has over four hundred of them. The most famous temple is the one with the reclining Buddha in the center of Bangkok. In addition to Buddhism, there are also areas of different religions such as Animism and Hinduism.

The school system in Thailand is of an English influence. General compulsory education is in place since nineteen twenty one for children between seven and fifteen years of age. Of all of Thailand’s fourteen state universities, seven are located in Bangkok.