“So I left him, saying to myself as I went away: Well, although I do not suppose that either of us knows anything really beautiful and good. I am better off than he is – for he knows nothing, and thinks that he knows; I neither know nor think I know. In this latter particular, then, I seem to have slightly the advantage over him”. Apology, The Dialogues of Plato
• Before King Mongkuk (Rama IV) ascended the throne in 1851 he had spent twenty-seven years of his life as a Buddhist monk.
• Thailand’s exports for the first 11 months of 2007 have risen 17.4% year-on-year to $139.21 billion.
(Bangkok Post, December 22 2007)
• An average of 16 children die everyday in Thailand from injury.
(Thai National Injury Survey 2007)
• The coolest province in Thailand is Loei in the northeast.
• Thailand shares a 506km border with Malaysia.
• The three largest islands in Thailand are Phuket, Koh Chang and Koh Samui in that order.
• The average speed of a car in Bangkok is 7kph.
(The Nation, August 31 2006)
• Elephants can live for over 80 years.
• For the first 10 months of 2007 a total number of 655,154 Chinese tourists visited Thailand down from 747,067 for the same period of 2006.
(Tourism Authority of Thailand)
• On the Thai national flag, the inner wide blue band represents the monarchy. The white bands symbolize Buddhism and the outer red bands the people or the nation.
