Thailand is a meeting place, where people of diverse backgrounds have come together to pool their culture and racial characteristics, giving rise to something new, strong and vital.
With a territory and population about the same size as France, Thailand's people are mostly ethnic Thai, with other ethnic groups mixed in: Burmese, Chinese, Lao, Khmer and hilltribes. The people are mostly Buddhist, less than 10 %believe in other faiths: Islam, Christianity, Hinduism and Brahmanism.
 

The country divides into four regions - North, Northeast, Central and South - sharing borders with Malaysia to the south, Burma to the west, Lao to the northeast and east, and Kampucha to the east.

Thai have their own language. The language spoken in the Central Plains of the Kingdom is the standard Thai taught in all schools, broadcast over radio and TV, and printed in publications.
The language has derived from many words of other languages, particularly Sanskrit and Pali from India which came to Thailand with Brahmanism and Buddhism. Words co-opted from the languages of neighbouring countries are in common use : Chinese , Khmer and Lao. Thai language is standard and used all over Thailand, however, each region has its own dialect.

Thailand has three seasons: rainy from July to October, cool and dry from November to February, and hot from March to June, with harvesting seasons spanning all three seasons of the year.
Thailand has more than three dozen kinds of attractive fruit that come in a collage of shapes, a spectrum of colours, and a melange of flavours.
Flowers and plants blossom in profusion and display a myriad of colours to delight the eyes and refresh the spirit all year round.

Festivals in Thailand serve mostly to celebrate the seasons. Some Festivals are held only in a particular region while others are held nationwide. Some festivals relate to the Buddhist religion. Festivals in Thailand are celebrated all year round. Two of which are likely to be recognized by all are Songkran and Loi Kratong.

In April, the Songkran festival comes with big celebrations. In the morning people will bathe the images of Buddha, pouring bowls of perfumed water over them. Later in the day young people will go out and play with one another by splashing water, and no one would complain of becoming soaking wet. In Bangkok the celebration may last one or two days, but in the villages, particularly in the North, the splashing of water may go on for a week.

Loi Kratong is celebrated on the full moon night in November On the night of Loi Kratong people of all ages go down to the rivers or wherever there is flowing water carrying a Kratong: a floating cup made of banana leaf or colored paper each containing a candle, incense sticks and flowers, which will float along in the water as an expression of reverence for water to which Thai people owe so much.

The birth, enlightenment and Nirvana of the Buddha are celebrated on Visakha Bucha Day, the full moon day in April - May . Around July-August is another important celebration day call Khao Phansa. This marks the beginning of the three months' rainy season retreat period for Buddhists. During this period of retreat, monks are bound to their monasteries, and the pious will spend much time in study and meditation.
Most ordinations take place at this time, particularly for young men who will spend the entire period in the monk-hood in preparation for careers and marriage. Three months later, the retreat ends with more merry making.
The cool dry weather has arrived and it is an ideal time for fairs and ceremonies, in particular the offering of new robes to monks. This joyous festival is called Kathin. Communities get together and provide funds and lay on hands for all the work that will be needed. All these festivals are celebrated nationwide.
 

Some parts of Thailand have special festivals of their own usually involving processions of one sort or another.
In September Surin, the province in northeast, holds its greatest celebration, that of the elephants, hundreds of elephants are brought together to walk in procession, as is done for centuries, and to engage in races and tests of strength. The capture of wild elephants is also enacted. Every February, the city of Chiang Mai, the largest in the northern region, celebrates the Festival of Flowers to reinstate the central role natural loveliness plays in the lives of its citizens.
Thais value their festivals highly and celebrate them in a cheerful spirit.

Thai people are friendly. The Thais have an unlimited inclination to smile, behind the smile is another smile and another and another. Thais truly welcome visitors, they sincerely enjoy being of service and getting to know people.

Thailand is an attractive country to live in, it would be difficult to forget it, once one has experienced the charm and beauty of the people and the country.