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| December 3, 2007 - February 19, 2008
Thailand is surely one of the more colorful nations in Southeast Asia – their history, their culture, their food. It is one of the places we have both been looking forward to learning about and experiencing. History Thailand has a tremendously long history. Limited archeological evidence suggests that the Mekong River Valley and Khorat Plateau was inhabited 10,000 years ago by farmers and bronze workers. However, the events leading to Thailand developing in to a country probably began around 600 BC. Early empires People from southern China – called the T’ai – settled in what is now Thailand around 600 BC. Indian traders soon arrived, and they introduced Hinduism which became the principle faith of the area. Chinese traders began arriving around 230 BC, and much of Thailand was incorporated in to the kingdom of Funan. (Funan means ‘king of the mountain’, and it referred to Mt. Meru – the home of the Hindu gods.) Funan grew to include parts of Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. It peaked as a nation around 500 AD, and then it began its decline. As Funan declined, the Kingdom of Khmer rose. The Khmer were also Hindus at that time, and their regional power grew steadily. However, the Thais were also influenced by the Mon people of Burma who were Buddhist. The Mon dominated parts of western Thailand from the 3rd to 6th century, and Thailand experienced a gradual conversion to Buddhism during those years. The Khmer pushed the Mon back to Burma, but Buddhism remained. The Khmer ruled Thailand for another 500 years. The first Thai kingdom emerged in the 13th century when several Thai principalities in the Mekong Valley united and took control of central Thailand from the Khmer. This kingdom – the Sukothai Kingdom – declared independence in 1238. The Ayuthaya Kingdom emerged in the 14th century, and they expanded deep in to territory that was previously held by the Khmer. Ayuthaya became one of the greatest and wealthiest cities in Asia. Ayuthaya had an unbroken monarchical succession through 34 reigns over 400 years – King U Thong (r 1350 – 1369) through King Ekathat (r 1758 – 1767). The Burmese overran Ayuthaya in 1765, and they destroyed almost everything. More recent history Following the fall of Ayuthaya, Bangkok became the seat of power in 1782 under the rule of Chao Phaya Chakri. Thailand assumed a new hereditary title system, and the newly crowned king became Rama I. The Chakri dynasty is still the ruling family of Thailand. The present king, Bhumibol Adulyadej was appointed Rama IX in 1946 after his brother, Rama VIII, was shot and killed. . Thailand’s history from the ascension of Rama I in 1782 to today – 2008 – has been neither peaceful nor orderly. Just since 1932, there have been 19 coup attempts, and ten have been successful. Following a successful coup, the constitution was often abolished and parliament dissolved. In 1997, parliament voted in a new constitution; it was the 16th since 1932. During one of these constitutional suspensions, students in Bangkok protested and demanded that that the constitution be reinstated. The military brutally suppressed the demonstration. They killed 77 and wounded more than 800 students. The brutality had escalated to a point that the king stepped in and forced two Thai politicians to leave the country. Things were obviously out of control. History of wartime alliances Because of its geographic location, Thailand became an unwilling participant in two 20th century wars. They took different sides in the wars – against the US in World War II and with the US in the Vietnam War – but their actions were somewhat similar in both. They did what they believed they needed to do to survive the war, and then they immediately expelled the warriors when the war ended. WWII - Japanese forces attacked Thailand on December 8, 1941. Thailand quickly yielded, and they became a staging area for the campaign against Malaysia. In cooperation with the occupying Japanese forces, the Thai government made a declaration of war against the US in 1942. Sources disagree whether this was a forced declaration or the willing act of a puppet government. Regardless, that declaration was retracted when the puppet government was removed in July, 1944 Vietnam War - Thailand had been receiving US financial aid ($2 billion) since 1952. In return, they permitted US bomber bases on Thai territory as the conflict in Vietnam escalated. Thailand even sent some troops to Vietnam; however, those troops were paid by the US government. In spring of 1975, when South Vietnam and Cambodia collapsed, Thailand made a rapid and drastic change in their diplomatic posture. Thailand insisted that all US military personnel – then numbering around 23,000 – leave Thailand by March, 1976. Following the Vietnam War, refugees flooded Thailand in 1978 and 1979. Many refugees were from Vietnam and Laos; however, the majority were from Cambodia – on Thailand’s eastern border – escaping the Pol Pot regime. 21st century history The past decade has been a difficult time for Thailand. They have faced natural disasters, financial collapse, and political chaos. 2004 tsunami - On December 26, 2004, a large earthquake off the coast of Sumatra created a tsunami that devastated parts of Thailand. Six provinces on the Andaman coast reported 5,000 confirmed dead and another 3,000 missing. And the hardest hit areas were further east – the beaches of Khao Lak and the islands of Ko Phi Phi and Phuket. Although much has been rebuilt, the lost revenues from the tsunami have been estimated at 50 billion baht. Thailand has also experienced a drop in tourism since the tsunami; however, it is slowly rebuilding. Regional problems - The bombings in Bali, starting in 2003, have had a negative effect on tourism throughout this part of Asia. So have health concerns related to the SARS epidemic and the current bird flu problem. So has the violence in the south of Thailand. Violence in the south - The geographically isolated southern provinces – Yala, Narathiwat, and Patlani – have at least as much affinity with Malaysia as they do with Thailand. They are geographically close to Malaysia, and the population is predominantly Muslim. There have been separatist factions there for decades, and unrest has escalated in recent years. In 2004, two police debacles resulted in the deaths of 190 Muslims. Separatist hostilities flared. Thaksin, the then-prime-minister, told the Muslim population that they should leave Thailand if they were unhappy with how they were treated (the “love it or leave it” attitude). The Muslim population has not left, but Thaskin has. Violence in the south continues. Thailand today Thailand is recovering from the events of the last decade. And, with only a few exceptions, they seems to be looking forward. The world will be watching their political situation though. Geography Thailand is comprised of just less than 200,000 square miles – approximately the size of France. It occupies the western half of the Indochinese peninsula and the northern two-thirds of the Malay Peninsula. Its neighbors are Myanmar (Burma) to the north and west, Laos to the north and northeast, Cambodia to the east, and Malaysia to the south. Bangkok is the capital of Thailand and its largest city. Nearly 10 million live in the metro area surrounding Bangkok. Population The population of Thailand is approximately 65 million. Their ethnicity is 75% Thai, 14% Chinese, and 11% other. Their religions are 95% Buddhist, 4% Muslim, and 1% Christian, Hindu, and others. They have a 96% literacy rate. Thai is the national language; however, some English is spoken by many – particularly near the urban areas. Thailand’s labor force is approximately 35 million. Fifty-four percent work in agriculture, 15% in industry, and 31% in services. Their natural resources include tin, rubber, natural gas, tungsten, tantalum, timber, lead, fish, gypsum, lignite, fluorite, and much arable land. Their main agricultural products are rice, cassava, rubber, corn, sugarcane, coconut, and soybeans. Their industries include tourism, textiles, agricultural processing, tobacco, cement, and light manufacturing. Economy Thailand had the strongest economy in the region for years. However, the economy collapsed under the weight of foreign debt in 1997. A chain reaction occurred and the Asian currency crisis resulted. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) offered $17 billion bailout to Thailand, but the offer required that Thailand accept the IMF restructuring guidelines. Thailand accepted. The decade since then has not been without controversy, but the economy has made a slow gradual recovery. The Thai currency is the baht. The baht is currently equivalent to approximately three cents of US currency. Politics Thailand is a constitutional monarchy, and its current is King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Rama IX is the longest reigning king of Thailand and in the world. He is very highly regarded by Thais, and his recent 80th birthday (December 10, 2007) was cause for great celebration. Less highly regarded is the former Prime Minister - Thaksin Shinawatra. Thaksin is a billionaire telecommunications mogul from Chang Mai who was elected in January, 2001. His tenure in office was an ongoing personal and political scandal, and he left in 2006. But he has recently returned. Time will tell what influence he will wield. Our time in Thailand We arrived in Thailand on December 3, 2007, with plans to stay for a year. In the southern hemisphere, our ‘down time’ was December through May. However, we have returned to the northern hemisphere where weather-determined ‘down time’ is June through November. So, by crossing the equator, we either had to keep sailing on without any ‘down time’ this year, or take a full year off. We knew well before arriving that we would like to spend the year here. While in Singapore we applied for ‘retirement visas’ which would allow us to stay in Thailand for a year as opposed to the 30-day tourist visa most get on arrival. It was a bit of a bureaucratic pain, and an expense, but we applied and got the visas. We were set. Bud traveled to the US a few days after arriving in Thailand, and when he returned, he was told he had a 30-day visa. Oh no he protested – I have a one-year visa. He was told he had 30 days. So the following day we went to the immigration office in Phuket and learned that he had invalidated his visa when he left. The visa had to be ‘converted’ to a multi-entry (for a fee, of course) and ‘converted’ again (for another fee, of course) to be renewable for a year. None of this can be done after the fact. His ‘retirement’ visa was gone, and he had 30 days. We discussed this at length over a few days trying to decide what to do. We would have to travel to Bangkok to apply for another retirement visa, and we could not be sure we would get it. We had visions of the cruising season slipping by while we sat in a hotel in Bangkok waiting for some bureaucrat to further annoy us. We decided to spend our time cruising western Thailand then go back to Malaysia for our down time. We spent a wonderful month sailing north on the west side of Thailand. When Bud’s visa was running out, he made a ‘visa run’ to Myanmar and got another 30 days on return. Now we had another month to make our way south to Langkawi, Malaysia. That would have to do. And it did.
Follow us as we cruise the west side of Thailand.
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