In the Year 2547
Not a song title but the year of the Buda, the King’s 77th birthday fell on December 5. The people of Thailand (Siam) venerate the royal family and especially their king. The airport TV in Bangkok showed the king driving a modest small sedan followed by several limousines as he left the palace. This says something about the culture. The family works ceaselessly in support and care of the less fortunate, especially children. They reward citizens who do the same.
Thailand managed to avoid colonization by the British on one side and the French on the other and to finesse its way through two world wars. They gave up land, the Northwest to Burma, the South to the British and the East, Cambodia to the French, but they remained free. Thai translates literally as freedom. The civility and the courtesy are evident everywhere. The Buda, a proud exotic history and elephants seem much in evidence, especially in the North.
The modern highway system by contrast was built to Western standards. Thailand feels like a thriving country with fast cars, clean streets and well-tended farms. The silk cloth and clothing are without equal. Furniture and ceramics plants dot the roadways and these products compete favorably as well.
I went to Thailand to work in a mobile medical clinic in the village of one of the mountain tribes. It was a beautiful experience. I will return for a longer stay if it works out. Again, these efforts are initiated by Thai citizens living up to their culture.
There was trouble in the South. Local police cracked down. Terrorists killed the Governor. There was a crack down, more riots. The King intervened. As I left, they were talking about airdropping hundreds of thousands of flowers for peace over the cities of the South. It will be interesting to see how effective flowers turn out to be in engaging a militant religious minority. With Thailand’s history of peace and neutrality, it may stand an equal chance.
In Thailand, there is no Digital Revolution. The economy emerges as a digital economy. If we do not get past the information blockade, the bottleneck in bandwidth so that our information technology can expand onto the Internet, Asian, certainly Thai productivity may surpass our own.
The Thai house belongs in Architectural Digest. It truly represents the place and the spirit of the land. http://users.skynet.be/gerry/ This example may be a bit on the high end but in simple form, these structures are common. They remain open cool and sheltered in rainy season.
Thailand managed to avoid colonization by the British on one side and the French on the other and to finesse its way through two world wars. They gave up land, the Northwest to Burma, the South to the British and the East, Cambodia to the French, but they remained free. Thai translates literally as freedom. The civility and the courtesy are evident everywhere. The Buda, a proud exotic history and elephants seem much in evidence, especially in the North.
The modern highway system by contrast was built to Western standards. Thailand feels like a thriving country with fast cars, clean streets and well-tended farms. The silk cloth and clothing are without equal. Furniture and ceramics plants dot the roadways and these products compete favorably as well.
I went to Thailand to work in a mobile medical clinic in the village of one of the mountain tribes. It was a beautiful experience. I will return for a longer stay if it works out. Again, these efforts are initiated by Thai citizens living up to their culture.
There was trouble in the South. Local police cracked down. Terrorists killed the Governor. There was a crack down, more riots. The King intervened. As I left, they were talking about airdropping hundreds of thousands of flowers for peace over the cities of the South. It will be interesting to see how effective flowers turn out to be in engaging a militant religious minority. With Thailand’s history of peace and neutrality, it may stand an equal chance.
In Thailand, there is no Digital Revolution. The economy emerges as a digital economy. If we do not get past the information blockade, the bottleneck in bandwidth so that our information technology can expand onto the Internet, Asian, certainly Thai productivity may surpass our own.
The Thai house belongs in Architectural Digest. It truly represents the place and the spirit of the land. http://users.skynet.be/gerry/ This example may be a bit on the high end but in simple form, these structures are common. They remain open cool and sheltered in rainy season.
posted by Clancy Hughes | 12/07/2004 11:24:00 PM
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