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Most of Thailand runs on a 6 hour clock that resets 4 times a day. Throw in the 12 hour clock and the 24 hour clock and you can see why Thais are so confused about what time they are supposed to show up for an arranged date.

Most of Thailand runs on a 6 hour clock that resets 4 times a day. Throw in the 12 hour clock and the 24 hour clock and you can see why Thais are so confused about what time they are supposed to show up for an arranged date.

Thailand’s name in the Thai language is Prathet Thai, which means “Land of the Free.”

Thailand set the world record of the longest line of washed plates in May 2010 when 10,488 plates were lined up. India smashed that record less than a year later with a count of 15,295 washed plates – which is equal to 2.36 miles of plates licked clean, and of which I wish I knew when my parents used to tell me about the starving kids in India when attempting to get me to eat liver and lima beans.

Thailand is home to the world’s largest crocodile farm. And no it’s not called Sunee Plaza.

Thailand is home to the world’s hairiest child, Supatra “Nat” Sasuphan. And 1 million Pattaya punters just shuddered in horror.

Opium smoking in the hill-tribe villages in north Thailand is quite common. It is legal for the villagers to possess and use opium, but it is illegal for them to sell it. Too bad the same can’t be said of those damn wooden frogs.

Thailand is the only country in the world where kite string is still made by hand.

Most historians agree that Rama VI was probably gay. He liked to wear dresses when he was at home at the palace. That’s a statue of him outside Lumpini Park overlooking the Saladaeng junction. No. It’s because he was the monarch who donated the land for the park.

Most historians agree that Rama VI was probably gay. He liked to wear dresses when he was at home at the palace. That’s a statue of him outside Lumpini Park overlooking the Saladaeng junction. No. It’s because he was the monarch who donated the land for the park.

The King and I, in all of its various formats and productions is banned in Thailand. But the royal couple went to see the play on Broadway in 1985.

Gertrude Lawrence, the original Anna in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s production of The King and I on Broadway, was buried in the ball gown she wore during Act 2. Following a matinee performance in late August 1952, she fainted, was rushed to the hospital, slipped into a coma, and died on September 6.

Puckering up and blowing to alleviate your fear as suggested in I Whistle A Happy Tune, one of the songs from The King and I, might seem like good advice. Unless you are Thai and it’s dark out. Locals believe whistling at night calls ghosts to you.

The real-life Anna Leonowens was the maternal aunt of Boris Karloff.

HRM King Bhumibol once met America’s King, Elvis Presley.

The first Thai ladyboy to ever get legally married did so in New Zealand.

Over 300,000 Thai have settled in North America with the largest communities along the West Coast in cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Vancouver. Today, over 10,000 Americans live in Thailand.

More than 1,500 species of orchids grow wild in Thai forests. Thailand is the world’s number one orchid exporter, Meet Orchid.

More than 1,500 species of orchids grow wild in Thai forests. Thailand is the world’s number one orchid exporter. Meet Orchid.

It is considered bad luck for pregnant women to fish in Thailand.

Bangkok’s Boys In Brown are equipped with special clippers that they can use to cut an umbilical cord thanks to the numerous back-seat births that occur in the city’s notoriously congested traffic.

What Alan didn’t tell you was that the average annual number of traffic fatalities in Thailand is less than it is in Brazil. Or Mexico. Or the British Virgin Islands. (Per 100,000 inhabitants).

Nineteen Thai soldiers were killed in World War I.

One Thai bank estimated that Bangkok’s pollution woes cost the nation $2.3 billion annually in lost production, wasted energy, and health costs

In 1785, the sisters Chan and Muk safeguarded Phuket island against a Burmese invasion by ordering all women to cut their hair, dress in male clothes and beat drums loudly, which gave the Burmese commander the impression he was facing a superior number of troops so he called off the invasion. Or he could have just been familiar with the danger of facing a bunch of pissed off ladyboys.

Chiang Mai has the highest number of cockroach species recorded.

Thailand has the second-highest rate of forest loss in Southeast Asia.

It is illegal in Thailand for women to visit night-time entertainment venues without a male escort.

The Thai greeting ‘Sawatdee’ is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Svasti’, which means ‘well-being’. Its English translation is ‘Swastika’.

The Thai greeting ‘Sawatdee’ is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Svasti’, which means ‘well-being’. Its English translation is ‘Swastika’.

There were once 23 types of Siamese cats in Thailand; today only six breeds are left. Giving a pair of the sought-after Si Sawat breed to a bride is supposed to bring good luck to the marriage.

Thailand’s most expensive pure-breed of dog, the Bangkaew, sell for around $1,300. There is currently one in Phitsanulok that is watched by a security guard as it is valued at $54,000.

Swiftlet nests are made from strands of saliva from the male swiftlet bird. Swiftlet nests collected from Thai caves can fetch more than $900 per pound. It is one of the world’s most coveted and expensive food items.

At 545.67 carats, the largest faceted diamond in the world is the Golden Jubilee, bought by Henry Ho, owner of the Jewelry Trade Center building in Bangkok and given to HRM in 1997 for his Golden Jubilee – the 50th anniversary of his coronation.

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