About Thailand

On the simple map at the right, you can get an idea of where we are. Legacy is in Chiang Mai Province, which is way up north along the Ping River. On the map, the Ping is mislabled Chao Phraya, but that river does not actually begin until the Ping meets the Nan at Nakhon Sawan, after which the Chao Phraya flows southward toward Bangkok, and meanders lazily through the Thai capital before entering the Gulf of Thailand. Altogether, Thailand is about twice as big as Wyoming.



You can see that Chiang Mai is between Myanmar (Burma) and Laos. Cambodia borders Thailand south of Laos. Phuket and Thailand's other famous beach areas are further south, and all the way south is the troubled area bordering Malaysia.



The Mekong River, which many of us remember as we watched the news during the Vietnam War, is northeast of here. It flows south from China and forms the border between Myanmar and Laos before defining 2 sections of the Thai/Laotian border as well . The Mekong is a vital waterway affecting much of southeast Asia. After passing through Cambodia, it forms a large delta in Vietnam.

From Silk Roads and Siamese Smiles blog- the Mekong flows an estimated 4,880 km (3,032 mi) from the Tibetan Plateau through Yunnan (China) province, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and finally Vietnam. It is the lifeblood of thousands of Asian folks who live at the mercy and benevolence of this great river. It’s name in Thai–Mae Khong–means “mother of all rivers.” Interesting note about the Mekong is that it flows backward at certain times of the year. This is because the low tide level of the river in Cambodia is lower than the high tide level out at sea. Therefore the flow of the Mekong inverts with the tides throughout its stretch in Vietnam and up to Phnom Penh.





Thailand is a Buddhist country (95%) of over 65 million people. It is a constitutional monarchy (since 1932) and the traditional founding date of the country is 1238. It has never been colonized. The economy is fairly robust, and has large import/export and tourism components. It has suffered somewhat from the recent political instability and airport closures, but talk has been of slower growth, not contraction like we see in much of the rest of the world. It is up to the new government to see that this continues. There are fears in some circles that things could get much, much worse if this government is not any more effective than the last two. All this, and the people, at least on the outside, appear to be happy. Thailand is a nice place to be.