“Sir, we’ve come to ask you why such a strange animal as man was ever created.”
“Why are you concerned about that?” said the dervish. “Is it any of your business?”
“But, Reverend Father,” said Candide, “there’s a terrible amount of evil in the world.”
“What does it matter whether there is evil or good?” said the dervish. “When His Highness sends a ship to Egypt, does he worry about whether the mice in it are comfortable?”
“Then what ought we to do?” asked Pangloss.
“Keep quiet,” said the dervish.
Candide, Votaire
• Thailand was an absolute monarchy until 1932 when a bloodless coup led to the country becoming a constitutional monarchy.
• 57,719 pickup trucks, cars and other vehicles were sold in November 2007.
(Bloomberg News)
• The median age in Thailand in 2007 is 32.4 years. The median age in 1980 was 19.5 years.
(CIA World Factbook)
• The Chao Phaya river which runs through Bangkok, is 365km long.
• Before the 1997 financial crisis the Baht was pegged to the US dollar at around 25 Baht.
• Thailand shares a 1,754km border with Laos.
• Bangkok was founded in 1782.
• There have been 18 military coups in Thailand’s modern history.
• Ranong is Thailand’s wettest province.
• After 40 years in the making and by the time it opened on September 28, 2006 the new Suvarnabhumi airport had cost Thailand Bt150 billion.
(The Nation, August 29 2006).
