Learn five things that will help you make the most out of your travels in Thailand
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| Ryan: All About Thai, lesson 6 - Can You Answer These Five Questions About Thailand? Hey, everybody! Welcome back to All About Thai, the Thai lessons where you get to learn about the real Thailand. |
| Rawinporn: In this lesson, we have something special. |
| Ryan: A quiz! Which may have some of you thinking, oh no! But don’t worry, this will be a fun one. |
| Rawinporn: We are not going to test your Thai skills or anything like that yet. |
| Ryan: No! These questions are all about Thailand itself; society, geography, and culture, so you can see how much you know about Thailand. |
| Rawinporn: Yes, because learning Thai is much more than just learning a language. |
| Ryan: You learn about people, life, society, all that good stuff. |
| Rawinporn: If you pass, you can go on to the next lesson. |
| Ryan: And if you don’t pass, you can still go on to the next lesson, so no pressure. |
| Rawinporn: So, everyone, are you ready? |
| Ryan: All right, let’s get started! |
| Rawinporn: Khun Ryan, you will be the one taking the test. |
| Ryan: Me?! Okay. Well, I’ll do my best. |
| Rawinporn: Okay. So, here is the first question which is about geography. Where is Thailand situated? |
| South Asia |
| Southeast Asia |
| Middle East |
| Ryan: Well, we mentioned this in our first All About series lesson, didn’t we? |
| Rawinporn: Yes, we did. Thailand is located in Southeast Asia. So, do you know which city of Thailand has the most people? |
| Ryan: Well, that’s got to be Bangkok, right? |
| Rawinporn: Correct! Bangkok has the largest population with 11 million people. |
| Ryan: Okay. Now, let’s move on to a question about politics. |
| Rawinporn: What is the current Thai political system? |
| Monarchy |
| Socialism |
| Constitutional democratic monarchy |
| Ryan: Mmm, well, I saw on the news that his majesty, King Bhumibol just celebrated his 82nd birthday last year and you also have a prime minister. Therefore, the answer would be C. Constitutional democratic monarchy. |
| Rawinporn: Wow, Khun Ryan, you know a lot about Thailand! Well, what is your final answer? |
| Ryan: I would say constitutional democratic monarchy, final answer. |
| Rawinporn: That’s correct. Thailand is currently conducted within the framework of a constitutional democratic monarchy. The Prime Minister is the head of government and hereditary monarchy. The Prime Minister is the head of government and hereditary monarch is the head of state. |
| Ryan: How about the judiciary? |
| Rawinporn: Oh, the judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislative branches. Please note that Thai people have a deep, traditional reverence for the royal family. |
| Ryan: Oh! I heard that we shouldn’t make a joke or insult his majesty the king and royal family members. |
| Rawinporn: Exactly! Okay, let’s move on to the next question. This question is about travel. The following are popular tourist sites in Thailand. Which one is not located in Bangkok? |
| Koh Samui (Samui Island) |
| Temple of the Emerald Buddha |
| The Grand Palace. |
| Ryan: Does everyone know the answer? Let’s see. Temple of the Emerald Buddha is located in Central Bangkok within The Grand Palace area, so the answer must be Koh Samui. |
| Rawinporn: Correct! Koh Samui is not in Bangkok. |
| Ryan: Is Koh Samui situated in the southern part of Thailand? |
| Rawinporn: Yes, it is! You can go there by airplane which takes around 1 hour or by overnight bus or train. Have you ever been to Koh Samui before? |
| Ryan: I’ve been there once, many years ago. I’d like to go back someday. |
| Rawinporn: The beaches there are very beautiful. If you have a chance, please visit the southern part of Thailand. |
| Ryan: Okay. Now, we’ll move on to the economic question. |
| Rawinporn: Exports are Thailand’s key economic driver. What are the largest export products or services in terms of value compared to GDP? |
| Automatic data processing machines and parts and automobiles and parts with USA |
| Agriculture products and fisheries with Japan |
| Precious stones with China |
| Ryan: This is difficult. |
| Rawinporn: I know. The answer is A. Automatic data processing machines, automobiles and parts are the principal export products. |
| Ryan: And the United States is Thailand’s largest export market. |
| Rawinporn: Okay. Now, the next one is a true or false question. |
| Ryan: That’s sounds fun. |
| Rawinporn: Thailand’s main staple diet is rice. Is that true or false? |
| Ryan: This has to be true. |
| Rawinporn: Yes. “Rice” or khâao is the staple diet. |
| Ryan: So, khun Rawinporn, how often do you eat rice? |
| Rawinporn: Oh, I eat rice every day; breakfast, lunch, and dinner. |
| Ryan: Rice for almost every meal? |
| Rawinporn: And not just regular plain white khâao. There are lots of different varieties and ways to prepare it. |
| Ryan: For example? |
| Rawinporn: Most people in Central and Southern Thailand eat “plain rice” or khâao-jâo with every meal, even breakfast. In the north and northeast, people eat “sticky rice” or khâao-nǐiao with their hands. |
| Ryan: How about noodles? |
| Rawinporn: Yes. Some people eat noodles for lunch. It’s so funny. Some say that noodles are not rice, so they don’t fill full after having noodles. |
| Ryan: Yes, I’ve heard about that before, actually. |
| Rawinporn: All right. That’s all for our quiz. |
| Ryan: We hope you had fun and that you learned something. You should try asking your friends and family these questions and see how they do. |
| Rawinporn: That sounds like a fun idea. You can teach other people what you’ve just learned about Thailand. |
| Ryan: And this is only the beginning of all the interesting things about Thailand that you will find out as you learn the language and experience the culture firsthand. |
| Rawinporn: Well, this is all for this lesson. See you next time! |
| Ryan: sà-wàt-dii khráp. |
| Rawinporn: sà-wàt-dii khâ. |
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