Khon Kaen, Thailand
Khon Kaen Province is in north-eastern Thailand and the home of Khon Kaen University, which will be hosting the 5th World Melioidosis Conference this coming November. I am very excited about going & am going to have to do some research into what I can do after for a holiday - I've never been to Thailand or any of Asia for that matter so I'm uber excited, especially as work will be footing the bill for the flights!
Has anyone been to Thailand & have a recommendation of places to go?
I did find some cool facts about Thailand which I will share with you here - they came from a few random sources so if they are wrong I appologize, I didn't have time to go and verify them all:
- In Thailand, both Father's Day and Mother's Day are celebrated on the birthdays of Their Majesties the King and Queen.
- Thailand is the only country where the King, protector of all religions in the Kingdom, is required by the constitution to be Buddhist
- According to the 'Guinness Book of Records 1995', the Thai language has the second largest alphabet in the world. The largest alphabet in world - Khmer
- The name Bangkok means 'Village of Olives' (Ban Mah-gork)
- According to intensive research conducted by 'Journal of Vector Ecology 26 (2): 2001', about cockroaches in Thailand, it was concluded:'an average of 5.2 cockroaches/house'.
- Thailand has the highest percentage of Buddhists. More than 95% of Thais practice some form of Buddhism
- It is illegal in Thailand for men (and women of course) to go bare-chested in public. You must wear a top at all times!
- It is illegal in Thailand for women to visit night-time entertainment venues alone. They must go with a man!
- The Orchid is Thailand's best flowering export. Exports of the Orchid are valued at US$250million per annum
- Thailand is also the world's second largest market for pickup trucks, after the United States
- It is the only country in the world to change its name 3 times in 10 years. In 1939 the country changed its name from Siam to Thailand. In 1945 the country changed its name from Thailand back to Siam. In 1949 the country changed its name again from Siam to Thailand.
posted by Sara @ 3:23 pm
2 Comments:
I'm so glad you're getting to go to Asia. Just a suggestion that whatever you do, spend at least a little time outside of the normal tourist thing. I'll ask Vilma is she's been to that part of the country and for suggestions, etc. You're lucky to miss all the rain and snow in NY! Lovely sun here in Portland intermingled with spring showers.
Love, Mommio
oooh, how cool that you get to go to thailand on someone else's dime! i've never been there but i've heard it's lovely.
my suggestion is, since the cost of living is so high in london, plan on buying some stuff to bring home. even things you might not normally think of buying in another country. for instance, while my partner's co-worker was in vietnam he brought along his eyeglasses prescription and bought a couple of pairs of eyeglass for only like $30.
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