10 unknown facts about Thailand
1. Rainmaker King
A few years ago, rice farmers in Thailand experienced a period of severe drought. The king, who had been helping the rural population of Thailand for many years, invented a method of making rain, for which he also filed an international patent. The planes are used to shoot silver iodide chemicals into the clouds in specific ways so that they are stimulated to rain. This method was successful.
2. Mysterious fireballs
At a certain time of the year a strange phenomenon occurs that has not yet been scientifically explained. Well, there were scientific theories, however, scientists are still puzzled by this phenomenon and cannot explain it properly. It’s in northeast Thailand, and the locals have their own explanation for the mysterious fireballs emerging from the Mekong River: they say they are fireballs from the legendary Naga serpent.
Once a TV crew tried to uncover “the hoax” and said the phenomenon was simply Cambodian soldiers shooting into the air. However, they were quickly proven wrong. There are records of this phenomenon occurring for hundreds of years, and it is a kind of Thai version of “Loch Ness”.
3. Thai Bonsai
Most people are aware of Japanese bonsai. But Thailand also has its own miniature tree tradition, which is called mai dat. Historical evidence shows that this tradition already exists since the 13th century. Mai dat have their own style: they are not as small as Japanese bonsai, but are usually larger. Also, while with Japanese bonsai the goal is often to make the small tree look as natural as possible, mai dat is supposed to look particularly well trimmed. The aim of the mai dat artist is to create a tree made according to human forms. Thailand is a country that used to be almost completely covered with forests and swamps: it was a tropical desert. Only in the last few decades have forests been cleared and turned into farms and cities. Therefore, imitating nature is not what Thais consider beautiful.
4. Demigod King
It is a traditional Thai belief that the King is a human reincarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu. All the kings of the current dynasty, since the 18th century, have been called “Rama”; the current king is Rama XI. Rama was the name of a half-god from the Indian epic Ramayana, which has its own Thai version, the Ramakien.
5. I can’t touch this (monk)
It is forbidden for a woman to touch a Buddhist monk. Some women are offended by this or think this is because women are considered unworthy, but this is not the case. It is simply a matter of avoiding arousing feelings that would not be appropriate for monks, feelings like sexual desire.
6. Bangkok Tram
Once upon a time there was a tram in Bangkok. Today, Bangkok is known for its chronic traffic jam, and pretty much the only way to avoid getting stuck in traffic is by taking the ultra-modern skytrain (BTS) or the even newer subway (MRT). However, once upon a time there was a tram that ran through Bangkok. Bangkok’s tram network was established in 1894 and closed in 1968. Actually, as early as 1888 there was a guy named Alfred John Loftus (Phraya Nithetcholthee) who operated a line of trams in Bangkok – pulled by horses! However, after a couple of changes in ownership, the horse-drawn carts were replaced by electric carts. New routes were opened and built, until in 1968 the last streetcar in Bangkok was stopped.
Some of the railways can still be seen in the Thanon Charoenkrung Soi 39 area.
7. Thai tomboys
While almost everyone knows about ladyboys in Thailand (and some men may tell stories of surprise when they discovered that the “woman” they were flirting with all night was actually not a woman at all), not many people you know there are. There are also a lot of tomboys: women or girls who dress, act and look like men. Entire books have been written about Thai gender roles, and although some ladyboys, tomboys and gays feel that they are not treated equally, they are treated with much more tolerance than probably in any other country in the world. For example, I know the case of a 15-year-old boy who decided to be a ladyboy and, in fact, now dresses, talks and behaves like a woman. However, he was never teased, teased, or bullied about it by schoolmates. Being a remote town and not a modern Bangkok, it speaks volumes to the tolerance of Thais towards people who decide to “be different”.
9. Men’s long nails
This may be strange, but many (completely straight) men grow long nails. Most commonly it is the nail of the little finger. Part of this is because in rural Thailand, long nails were a sign of a certain social status: a farmer cannot grow his nails long because they will simply break during hard work in the fields. In fact, in Isaan (Northeast Thailand) it is even believed that a long nail on the little finger brings luck. Aside from that, many men also told me when I asked them why they have a long fingernail that it is useful: It is easy to scratch yourself with a long fingernail, and sometimes it is only useful for opening something.
10. White is beautiful
While in the northern hemisphere, many people would like a stronger tan and take every opportunity to lie in the sun and make their skin darker and more exotic, for Thai people, white and bright skin is beautiful. In fact, Thais spend around US$50 million a year on skin whitening products.