1.Rainmaker King
A few years ago, rice farmers in Thailand experienced a severe dry spell. The king, who for many years had dedicated himself to helping the rural population of Thailand, invented a method to make it rain, for which he also filed an international patent. Planes are used to shoot silver iodide chemicals into the clouds in specific ways so that they are stimulated to rain. This method was successful.
2. Mysterious Fireballs
At a certain time of the year a strange phenomenon occurs that has not yet been scientifically explained. Well, there were scientific theories, however, scientists are still puzzled by this phenomenon and cannot adequately explain it. It’s in the northeast of Thailand, and the locals have their own explanation for the mysterious fireballs emerging from the Mekong River: they say they are fireballs from the legendary Naga serpent.
Once, a TV crew tried to uncover “the hoax” and said the phenomenon was simply Cambodian soldiers shooting into the air. However, they were quickly proven wrong. There are records of this phenomenon for hundreds of years, and it is a kind of Thai version of “Loch Ness”.
3. Thai bonsai
Most people are aware of Japanese bonsai. But Thailand also has its own tradition of miniature trees, which is called mai dat. Historical evidence shows that this tradition has already existed since the 13th century. Mai dat have their own style: they are not as small as Japanese bonsai, but they are usually larger. Also, while with Japanese bonsai the goal is usually to make the small tree look as natural as possible, the mai dat is supposed to look particularly well trimmed. The aim of the mai dat artist is to create a tree made according to human forms. Thailand is a country that used to be almost completely covered in forests and swamps: it was a tropical desert. Only in the last few decades have forests been cleared and converted to farms and cities. Therefore, imitating nature is not what Thai people consider beautiful.
4. Demigod King
It is a traditional Thai belief that the King is a human reincarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu. All the kings of the present dynasty, since the eighteenth century, have been called “Rama”; the current king is Rama XI. Rama was the name of a half-god from the Indian epic Ramayana, which has its own Thai version, the Ramakien.
5. I can’t touch this (monk)
It is forbidden for a woman to touch a Buddhist monk. Some women are offended by this or think that this is because women are considered unworthy, but this is not the case. It is simply a matter of avoiding arousing feelings that would not be appropriate for monks, feelings like sexual desire.
6. Bangkok Tram
Once upon a time there was a tram in Bangkok. Today, Bangkok is known for its chronic traffic jam, and pretty much the only way to avoid getting stuck in traffic is by taking the ultra-modern skytrain (BTS) or the even newer subway (MRT). However, once upon a time there was a tram that ran through Bangkok. Bangkok’s tram network was established in 1894 and closed in 1968. Actually, as far back as 1888 there was a guy named Alfred John Loftus (Phraya Nithetcholthee) operating a tram line in Bangkok, horse-drawn! However, after a couple of changes of owners, the horse-drawn carriages were replaced by electric carriages. New routes were opened and built, until in 1968 the last tram in Bangkok stopped.
Some of the railways can still be seen in the Thanon Charoenkrung Soi 39 area.
7. Thai tomboys
While almost everyone knows about ladyboys in Thailand (and some men can tell stories of surprise when they found out that the “woman” they were flirting with all night was actually not a woman at all), not many people You know there are also plenty of tomboys: women or girls who dress, act, and look like men. Entire books have been written on Thai gender roles, and while some ladyboys, tomboys, and gays feel they are not treated equally, they are treated with much more tolerance than probably in any other country in the world. For example, I know the case of a 15-year-old boy who decided to be a ladyboy and, in fact, now dresses, talks and behaves like a woman. However, he was never teased, teased or bullied by schoolmates about it. Being a remote town and not modern Bangkok, it speaks volumes about the tolerance of Thai people towards people who choose to “be different”.
9. Long men’s nails
This may be strange, but many (completely straight) men grow long fingernails. Most commonly it is the nail of the little finger. Part of this is because in rural Thailand, long fingernails were a sign of a certain social status: a farmer cannot grow fingernails because they will simply break during hard work in the fields. In fact, in Isaan (northeast Thailand) it is even believed that a long nail on the little finger brings luck. Other than that, many men also told me when I asked why they have a long nail that it is useful: It is easy to scratch with a long nail and sometimes it is only useful to open something.
10. White is beautiful
While in the northern hemisphere, many people would like a deeper tan and take every opportunity to lie in the sun and make their skin darker and more exotic, for Thais, bright white skin is beautiful. In fact, Thai people spend about 50 million US dollars a year on skin whitening products.