Thais traditionally celebrate f Songkran, the spring

NewYear festival, by cleaning their houses from top to bottom, putting on new clothes, and having water fights in the Street.

w m Drain the field before harvesting. Cut the stems and tie into sheaves for threshing (separating the grains from the plant).

102

The number of national parks in Thailand

106

The number of Thai airports

997 ft

(304 m) The height of Baiyoke II Tower, Thailand’s tallest building

2,000 miles

(3,219 km) The total length of Thailand’s coastline

198,116 sq miles

(513,120 sq km) The area of Thailand

Tom yam kung (hot and sour shrimp soup)

Kaeng khiao wan kai

(green chicken curry)

Pad thai (fried noodles)

Phat kraphao (meat fried with sweet basil)

Kaeng phet ped yang

(roast duck in red curry)

Hołd the rice sheaf above your head and then strike it against a hard surface until all the grains fali out.

Put the grains in a milling machinę to remove the outer brown husk, leaving smooth white grains of rice.

Tell me morę: elephants

Asian tsunami

The Indian Ocean tsunami that struck Thailand on the morning of December 26, 2004 was the worst natural disaster in the country’s history. Morę than 5,400 people were killed, and tens of thousands were left homeless.

Five things to see in Thailand

■    Elephants have special importance for the people of Thailand.

■    March 13 is celebrated as National Elephant Day.

■    It is considered lucky to walk three times under an elephant.

■    Rare white elephants are a symbol of royal power.

■    Elephants used to be taken from the wild to work in the logging industry until Thailand banned commercial logging in 1989.

■    Thailand has around 3,000 domesticated elephants.

■    There are now only around 1,500 elephants left in the wild in Thailand.

Wat Benchamabophit

Also known as the Marble Tempie, Wat Benchamabophit in Bangkok was built as a royal monastery in 1900.

Elephants    Giant Buddha

Thailand is home to many The giant standing Buddha at elephant camps, where tourists Wat Intharawihan in Bangkok can learn to ride an elephant stands 109 ft (32 m) high and or trek through the jungle. took 60 years to complete.

Grand Pałace

Built in 1782, the Grand Pałace in Bangkok was the official residence of the kings of Siam for 150 years.

Khao Yai National Park

Thailand’s oldest national park is home to morę than 150 different species of animals, including tigers and macagues.