10 unknown facts about Thailand

1. King Rainmaker

A few years ago, rice farmers in Thailand experienced a period of severe drought. The king, who for many years had been dedicated to helping the rural population of Thailand, invented a method to make it rain, for which he also filed an international patent. Airplanes are used to shoot silver iodide chemicals into clouds in specific ways, stimulating 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, yet US scientists are still baffled by this phenomenon and unable to adequately explain it. It is in the northeastern part of 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 snake.

Once a television crew tried to uncover “the hoax” and said the phenomenon was simply Cambodian soldiers firing into the air. However, they were quickly proven wrong. There are records that this phenomenon occurred 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 trees. But Thailand also has its own miniature tree tradition, which is called mai dat. Historical evidence shows that this tradition has existed since the 13th century. Mai have their own style: they are not as small as Japanese bonsai, but they are often larger. Also, while with Japanese bonsai the goal is usually to make the small tree look as natural as possible, the mai dat are supposed to look particularly well trimmed. The goal of the mai dat artist is to create a tree that is made according to human shapes. Thailand is a country that used to be almost completely covered in forests and swamps; it was a tropical desert. Only in the last few decades have forests been cut down 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”, being the current King Rama XI. Rama was the name of a demigod 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 it is because women consider themselves unworthy, but it is not. It is simply a matter of avoiding awakening feelings that would not be appropriate for monks, feelings such as sexual desire.

6. Bangkok tram

Once there was a tram in Bangkok. Today, Bangkok is known for its chronic traffic jams, and pretty much the only way to avoid getting stuck in traffic is the ultra-modern skytrain (BTS) or the even newer subway (MRT). However, there was once a tram that ran through Bangkok. Bangkok’s tram network was established in 1894 and closed in 1968. In fact, as early as 1888 there was a guy named Alfred John Loftus (Phraya Nithetcholthee) who operated a tram line in Bangkok, pulled by horses! However, after a couple of owner changes, the horse-drawn carts were replaced by electric carts. New routes were opened and built, until in 1968 the last tram in Bangkok was stopped.

You can still see some of the railways in the Thanon Charoenkrung Soi 39 area.

7. Thai Tomboys

While almost everyone knows about ladyboys in Thailand (and some men may tell surprise stories when they discover that the “woman” they slept with all night was not actually a woman), not many people know that There are also many tomboys there: women or girls who dress, act and look like men. Entire books have been written on Thai gender roles, and while some ladyboys, tomboys and gay men feel 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 of a 15-year-old boy who decided to be a ladyboy, and in fact now dressed, talks and behaves like a woman. However, the schoolmates never teased, mocked, or harassed him. Being a remote town and not modern Bangkok, it speaks volumes about the tolerance of Thais towards people who choose to “be different”.

9. Men’s nails with long nails

This may sound strange: but many (completely straight) men grow long nails. The most common 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 long nails, 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 is lucky. Apart from that, many men also told me about my question why they had a long nail which is useful – it is easy to scratch with a long nail and sometimes it is just useful to open something.

10. White is beautiful

While in the Northern Hemisphere, many people would like a stronger tan and take every opportunity to sunbathe and make their skin darker and more exotic, for Thais, bright white skin is beautiful. In fact, Thais spend around US $ 50 million a year on skin whitening products.