The Kingdom of Thailand is a Southeast Asian country that borders Laos and Cambodia to the east, the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia to the south, and the Andaman Sea and Myanmar to the west. Vietnam is a close neighbor of Thailand. Bangkok is the largest city and capital of Thailand.

Thailand was known as Siam until 1939. The word ‘Thailand’ means “Free Land”. Thailand is nicknamed as “the Land of Smiles” because of its vivacious gay life. Thailand is also known as ‘the land of white elephants’ because the White Elephants have always been symbol of royal power in Thailand.

Major cities of Thailand include Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Udon and Ubon. Patong, Karon beach in Phuket, Pattaya, Khao Lak, Chiang Mai and Sukhothai Historical Park are the major attractions of Thailand. Chiang Mai, a modern city surrounding the ancient walled & moated city, is beautiful mountain valley located on the serene Mai Ping River. Chiang Mai and the northern Thailand region is part of the infamous Golden Triangle. The Golden Triangle is the term used for the meeting point of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar.

Thai economy flourishes on tourism industry, and Thailand, widely known for sex tourism, is one of the hottest sex tourism destinations of the world. Officially, prostitution is illegal in Thailand, but generally law is ignored and prostitution is widely tolerated. Prostitution prospers mainly at brothels, ‘body massage’ parlors, hostess bars, karaoke places, go-go bars, beer bars, hotel lobbies, discos, and even in Thai universities.

Climate— Local climate is tropical and characterized by monsoons. It is rainy, warm and cloudy due to southwest monsoon from mid-May to September, and it is dry, cool due to northeast monsoon from November to mid-March. The southern isthmus is always hot and humid.

Traveling to Thailand— Bangkok International Airport, Suvarnabhumi Airport, Chiang Mai International Airport, Chiang Rai International Airport, Phuket International Airport are the major airports in Thailand. Thailand welcomes flights from almost all over the world.

Bangkok International Airport, also known as Don Muang International Airport or Don Mueang, is an important hub of Asia and Thai Airways International. It serves the most air traffic in Thailand.

Suvarnabhumi Airport, also New Bangkok International Airport or Second Bangkok International Airport, is located in Racha Thewa in the Bang Phli district of Samut Prakan province, some 25 kilometers east of Bangkok. It is the new international airport of Bangkok.

The major gateway to the north of Thailand, Chiang Mai International Airport is served by Air Asia, Air Mandalay, Angel Airlines, Bangkok Airways, Lao Aviation, LTU International, Malaysia Airlines, Mandarin Airlines, Nok Air, PB Air, Phuket Air, Silkair and Thai Airways International.

Chiang Rai International Airport, located in Chiang Rai, north of Thailand, about 8 kilometers from the city center, is served by Thai Airways International, Angel Airlines, Air Asia and One-Two-GO.

The Phuket International Airport is served by Air Asia, Air China, Asiana Airlines, Bangkok Airways, China Airlines, Bal Air, Britannia Airways, Britannia (Sweden), Condor Flugdienst, Far Eastern Air, Finnair, Dragonair, Lauda Air, LTU, Malaysia Airlines, Nova Airlines, Phuket Air, Premi Air, Silkair, Thai Airways International, Tiger Airways, Trans Asia Airways and Uni Airways.

State Railway of Thailand operates Thai railway. Bangkok is the only city with a metro system, consisting of the Bangkok Skytrain and the Bangkok Metro subway.

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