6. Talk

The official language of Thailand is Thai. Like Mandarin and Vietnamese, Thai is a tonal language (think about the difference in your voice when saying "yes." versus "yes?" - that's tonal) which can make it tricky for Westerners to learn quickly, but despite this, everyone will appreciate any attempt you do make so pick up a phrasebook and give it a go. But it will be difficult. Thai is a language with many dialects, though the Bangkok dialect, also known as Central Thai, is used as the standard and is taught in all schools. The spelling doesn’t have any gaps between the words and the point is stated at the end of the paragraph or a text. Public signage is generally bilingual, written in both Thai and English. There is also some prevalance of Japanese and Chinese signs. Where there is English, it will usually be fairly phonetic - for example "Sawatdee" (meaning hello) is pronounced just as it reads: sa-wat-dee. There is no universal agreement on how to transcribe Thai letters that don't have an English equivalent, so KhaoHYPERLINK "http://wikitravel.org/en/Bangkok/Khao_San_Road" San Road for example is also commonly spelled Kao Sarn, Kao Sahn, Khao San, Koh Saan, Khaosan, and many other variations. Maps with names in both Thai and English make it easier for locals to try and help you.

English is the most popular foreign language taught in Thai schools, so many young people have a basic grasp of English, though few are fluent. Most "front desk" people in the travel industry speak at least enough English to communicate, and many are relatively fluent; some also speak one or more other languages popular with their clientele, such as Chinese, Japanese, German and even Russian.

Many Thais have trouble pronouncing the consonant clusters of the English language. Common confusion comes from the fact that Thais often pronounce "twenty" as "TEH-wen-ty", making it sound like they're saying "seventy". Therefore it is a good idea to make use of the calculators that street vendors may offer you in order to avoid confusion about prices offered when buying goods.

Questions

1) What is the official language of Thailand and what are its particularities?

2) Which foreign language is widely spoken and taught at school?

7. Religion

Wat Yai Chaimonkorn, Ayutthaya

Buddhism was introduced into Thailand from Sri Lanka, and currently nearly 95% of the population is Buddhist. Theravada is the predominent school, though beliefs are often mixed with folk religions. Mahayana Buddhism is also practiced in Thailand, though it is mostly confined to Thais of Chinese ancestry.

Since the 60s, many foreigners have trained at monasteries in Thailand, and while most have only stayed for a short time, many have also taken monastic ordination. Therefore, it is not uncommon to see farang monks at monasteries, especially those located in rural areas. Two famous Thai monks who have enjoyed influence overseas are Ajahn Chah and Buddhadasa.

Thais are pretty flexible by nature and so readily make allowances for foreigners who are not familiar with their customs. However, there are a few rules that should be observed when visiting a monastery:

• Never sit with the soles of your feet facing a Buddha image or a Buddhist monk. The feet are considered dirty, and so it is considered disrespectful to sit with them facing an object of respect.

• Women should never touch a Buddhist monk. If a female wishes to make an offering to a monk, she should place it on a table and allow the monk to retrieve from there.

• Do not climb on sacred objects.

• Do not take photographs of meditating monks as this obviously disturbs their practice.

Questions

1) What are the roots of Thai Buddhism?

2) Which rules should be observed when visiting a monastery?

8. Eat

Thai-style seafood curry

The food alone is really reason enough for a trip to Thailand. Curries, fruit shakes, stir fries, fresh fish made a zillion ways - and that's just the beginning. Food in Thailand can be as cheap and easy as 25 baht pad thai (Thai fried noodles) cooked at a street stall or as expensive and complicated as a $100 ten-course meal by a royal chef served in one of Bangkok's 5 star hotels.

Since most backpackers will be sticking closer to the first than the second, one of the great things about Thailand is that food from stalls and tiny sidewalk restaurants is usually quite safe. Unlike some Asian countries, travellers should worry more about overeating or too much curry spice than about unclean kitchens and bad food. In fact, street restaurants, where you can see what you'll get and everything is cooked on the spot can be a safe option.

Etiquette

Thai food is most commonly eaten with fork and spoon. Hold the spoon in your right hand and use it to eat, and reserve the fork for piling food onto your spoon. Chopsticks are only employed for noodle soups and East Asian-style dishes.

Thai food is meant for sharing. Everybody gets their own plate of rice and tiny soup bowl, but all the other dishes are laid out in the center of the table and you're free to eat what you wish. Though some people believe that taking the last piece from a shared plate is considered slightly unlucky, and you may hear people make wishes for others to compensate for their own misfortune — a popular wish is that "may my girl/boyfriend be beautiful"!

Food is also generally brought out a dish at a time as it is prepared. It is not expected for diners to wait until all meals are brought out before they start eating as is polite in western culture. Instead they should tuck into the nearest meal as it arrives.

Thai cuisine

Thai cuisine is characterized by balance and strong flavors, especially lime juice, lemon grass and fresh coriander, the combination of which gives Thai food its distinctive taste. In addition, Thai food has a deserved reputation for being spicy, with hot little torpedo-shaped chillies called phrik khii nuu ( "mouse shit chillies") making their way into many a dish. Thais are well aware that these can be more than Westerners can handle and will often ask if you like it hot (เผ็ด phet); answer "yes" at your own risk!

Thai dishes can be roughly categorized into central Thai food (around Bangkok), northern Thai food (from the northern region around Chiang Mai, with Burmese and Chinese influence), north-eastern Thai food (from the Isaan region bordering with Laos) and southern Thai food (with heavy influences from Malaysia). The following list covers some better-known dishes; see Isaan for Isaan food, which is widely available throughout the country.

Rice

The Thai staple food is rice , so much so that in Thai eating a meal, kin khao, literally means "eat rice".

• Khao suai or "beautiful rice" is the plain white steamed rice that serves as the base of almost every meal.

• Khao phat is simple fried rice, usually with some pork (muu) or chicken (kai) mixed in.

• Khao tom is a salty and watery rice porridge served with condiments, quite popular at breakfast.

• Khao niao or "sticky rice" is glutinous rice - usually eaten dry, traditionally by hand, with grilled/fried pork or chicken or beef. It is especially popular (more than plain rice) in North-Eastern (Isan) and Northern provinces, but is widely available throughout the country, especially in places specializing on Isan or Lao cuisine.

Noodles

Kuay tiao phat sii-u kai, or fried giant rice noodles with soy sauce and chicken

Thais are great noodle eaters. The most common kind is rice noodles, served angel-hair , small, large and giant , but egg noodles , Chinese-style stuffed wonton ravioli and glass noodles made from mung beans are also popular.

Unlike other Thai foods, noodles are usually eaten with chopsticks. They are also usually served with a rack of four condiments, namely dried red chillies , fish sauce, vinegar and sugar which diners can add to their own taste.

• Phat thai , literally "fried Thai", means thin rice noodles fried in a tamarind-based sauce. Ubiquitous, cheap and often excellent - and as an added bonus, it's usually chili-free (you can add yourself, however, or ask to do if buying of the street - but be warned, it is often really hot).

• Ba mii muu daeng is egg noodles with slices of Chinese-style barbecued pork.

• Kuai tiao ruea is a rice noodle soup with a fiery pork blood stock and an assortment of offal. An acquired taste, but an addictive one.

Soups and curries

The line between soups (tom, literally just "boiled") and curries ( kaeng) is a little fuzzy, and many dishes the Thais call curries would be soups to an Indian. A plate of rice with a ladleful of a curry or two on top, known as khao kaeng , is a very popular quick meal if eating alone.

• Tom yam kung is the quintessential Thai dish, a sour soup with prawns, lemongrass and galangal. The real thing is quite spicy, but toned-down versions are often available on request.

• Tom kha kai is the Thai version of chicken soup in a rich galangal-flavored coconut stock, with mushrooms and not a few chillies.

• Kaeng daeng and kaeng phet are the same dish and, as you might guess, this coconut-based dish can be spicy. Red curry with roast duck is particularly popular.

• Kaeng khio-waan , sweet green curry, is a coconut-based curry with strong accents of lemongrass and kaffir lime. Usually milder than the red variety.

• Kaeng som , orange curry, is more like tamarind soup than curry, usually served with pieces of herb omelette in the soup.

Mains

Thais like their mains fried (or grilled ). Fish, in particular, is often deep-fried until the meat turns brown and crispy.

• Ka-phrao kai , literally "basil chicken" is a simple but intensely fragrant stir-fry made from peppery holy basil leaves, chillies and chicken.

Salads

A classic Isaan meal: som tam papaya salad, larb meat salad and sticky rice.

About the only thing Thai salads (yam) have in common with the Western variety is that they are both based on raw vegetables. A uniquely Thai flavor is achieved by drowning the ingredients in fish sauce, lime juice and chillies - the end result can be very spicy indeed!

• Som tam , a salad made from shredded and pounded raw papaya is often considered a classic Thai dish, but it actually originates from neighboring Laos. However, the Thai version is less sour and more sweet than the original, with peanuts and dried shrimp mixed in.

• Yam ponlamai is Thai-style fruit salad, meaning that instead of canned maraschino cherries it has fresh fruit topped with oodles of fish sauce and chillies.

• Yam som-o is an unusual salad made from pomelo (a mutant version of grapefruit) and anything else on hand, often including chicken or dried shrimp.

• Yam wunsen is perhaps the most common yam, with glass noodles and shrimp.

Dessert

Thais don't usually eat "dessert" in the Western after-meal sense, although you may get a few slices of fresh fruit for free at fancier places, but they certainly have a finely honed sweet tooth.

• Khanom covers a vast range of cookies, biscuits, chips and anything else snackable, and piles of the stuff can be found in any Thai office after lunch. One common variety called khanom khrok is worth a special mention: these are little lens-shaped pancakes of rice and coconut, freshly cooked and served by street vendors everywhere.

• Khao niao ma-muang means "sticky rice with mango", and that's what you get, with some coconut milk drizzled on top. Filling and delicious and an excellent way to cool the palate after a spicey Thai dish! Alternatively, for the more adventurous type, an equally popular dish is Khao nio tu-rean in which you get durian instead of mango with your sticky rice.

• Waan yen, literally "sweet cold", consists of a pile of ingredients of your choice (including things like sweet corn and kidney beans) topped with syrup, coconut cream and a pile of ice, and is great for cooling down on a hot day or after a searing curry.

Questions

1) Which gastronomic advice would you give for a Russian traveller to Thailand?

2) Which etiquette should be observed when eating in Thailand?

3) Design the menu for a Thai traveller.

4) Which desserts characterize the Thais as people having sweet teeth?