THAILAND: THE LAND AND THE PEOPLE

Bits of Thailand have popped up in my life over the years. It probably started with the musical The King and I. That’s when I first learned that Siam is modern-day Thailand. I also came across it in other musicals like Miss Saigon and Chess. I grew up in a rural area, so the first time I had Thai food was visiting friends in St. Paul, Minnesota. I met people from Thailand visiting the United States and know Americans who have moved there and/or frequently visit Thailand for work. Not to mention all of the episodes I’ve seen of Anthony Bourdain and other chefs showing us the vast diversity of Thai cooking.

Thailand literally means “land of the Thais.” But the origin of “Thai” varies between meaning “free person” and just general “people.” The formal name of the country is Kingdom of Thailand, or Ratcha-anachak Thai. It’s also known as Siam, which has an even murkier origin. Some linguists think it may be derived from either a Pali, Sanskrit, or Mon word, while others believe it may have originated from the Chinese name Xian that the Portuguese turned into Siam.

Thailand lies in southeast Asia, surrounded by Laos to the east and northeast; Cambodia to the southeast; the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia to the south; and Myanmar (Burma) to the west and northwest. The Mekong River plays an important part in its ecology and economy. Thailand is known for its beaches and water-eroded landforms. For the most part, Thailand basically has a rainy season and a drier season. As a coastal country, it’s one of the countries that’s affected by rising sea levels and extreme weather patterns the most.

The earliest people migrated into this area around 20,000 years ago, and rice cultivation began roughly 4000 years ago. The ancient people were among the first in Southeast Asia to really make use of copper, bronze, and iron. The Thai people, of the Tai ethnic group, were first mentioned in Chinese chronicles in the 6th century BCE. Early Thai culture was heavily influenced by Mon, Khmer, and Indian cultures that were already mainly in the area. During the Sukhothai Kingdom of the 1200s, they started to fight against the Khmer. This is also when the Thai script was invented, and Theravada Buddhism was established. After this, the Ayutthaya Kingdom came to power under a mandala system (where local power had more influence than the central powers), lasting nearly 400 years. Europeans started making their way into southeast Asia in the 1500s, starting with the Portuguese, followed by others. Tensions grew as the Siamese navigated their rocky relationships with European powers, including the French who spent most of their time trying to spread Christianity. The late 1700s saw a period of fighting against the Burmese, and under Rama I, was able to finally put an end to it. Britain stepped in and created a treaty that offered some reprieve over a couple other situations in Southeast Asia. As Siam tried to figure out how best to rule over different ethnic groups and regions, there were quite a few revolts between the Siamese government and the French who controlled nearby countries. It remains one of the few countries in this area of Asia (and probably the world) not controlled by Western powers. When WWI happened, Siam backed the Allies. During WWII, Siam changed its name to Thailand, and Japan invaded the country in 1941 (not because of the name change, probably for other reasons). During the Vietnam War period, Thai society saw a period of modernization; however, some in the rural areas leaned toward communist as a middle class was growing more evident. After a couple of coups in the late 1970s, Thailand finally elected its first prime minister in 1988. The country would be rocked by the 1997 Asian financial crisis, which originated in Thailand. In 2004, the country would be hit again in a different way: by a massive earthquake and corresponding tsunami. I remember watching it unfold on television; it was horrible.

The largest city and capital of Thailand is Bangkok, known as Krung Thep Naha Makhon in Thai (or just Krung Thep to locals). Located at the mouth of the Chao Phraya River delta, it started out as a small, 15th century trading post. Bangkok’s modernization helped bring the whole country forward. Known for its cultural landmarks, culinary scene, and street life (including its famed red-light districts), Bangkok frequently makes the “top cities for tourists” lists. Bangkok is an example of what’s called a primate city (no, not referring to apes and monkeys), a city that is disproportionately larger in population and influence than all of the other urban centers in the country; the rule is that it’s twice as large as the next most populated city (the US lacks a true primate city, but if you look on a state level, it’s probably like Chicago is with Illinois). I feel like a lot of national capitals call into this category.

Thailand has the second largest economy in the subcontinent and is very dependent on exports that includes cars, electronics (including appliances), rice and fish, jewelry, rubber, and textiles. Tourism is a crucial part of their economy and includes several niche-style tourist markets: ecotourism, culinary tourism, and even sex industry tourism (I guess there really is something for everyone here - I laugh at it, but it’s thought that at least 10% of tourism dollars are spent in this category). Thailand also has a large number of workers working in the “informal work” field (or as we call it in the US, freelance or gig economy), which opens up some aspects for being a hotbed of trafficking.

The official language is Thai, which is closely related to Lao. Its writing script used is similar to that of Khmer. There are actually 62 languages that have been recognized by the government, but only four of those are listed on the census. Of the minority languages spoken in Thailand, Lao has the most speakers, followed by Kelantan-Pattanin Malay in the south (also called Jawa or Yawa), and Thai Chinese. Learning English is a mandatory subject in schools as a second language.

By far, Buddhism is the dominant religion of Thailand, and more specifically Theravada Buddhism. Almost 95% of the population follows it in one way or another. Of the remaining 5% or so, most of those are Muslims (mostly concentrated in the south and mostly Sunni). There are a very small group of Christians, Hindus, and whatever of gods or non-gods that happen to make their way through Thailand.

The name Siamese has lent its name to a few common things that we name today. Thailand was where the first known Siamese twins, now called conjoined twins, were born in 1811. They have an odd yet interesting story if you want to Google it. Siamese cats also originated from Thailand. A 14th century poet described 23 different kinds of Siamese cats, but today there are only six kinds. Brides are often gifted a pair of Siamese cats on her wedding day since they’re seen as good luck. I don’t know, I’ve known a couple people who have had Siamese cats, and they seemed a little temperamental. I mean, even more so than cats are normally.

Up next: art and literature

JAPAN: THE LAND AND THE PEOPLE

When I was in 8^th grade and going through high school orientation, we were told to start thinking about what foreign language we wanted to study. Our options were Spanish, Latin, and Japanese. I knew I didn’t want to study Latin because I wanted to study a language I could use while traveling someday, and let’s face it: while studying a dead may be beneficial to the sciences, you can’t travel anywhere with it. Except maybe science conventions. But I think scientists speak another language altogether. And I knew that Spanish was super popular, and the classes would be full. (I did go back and learn some Spanish on my own.) So, that left me with Japanese. Plus, all of my friends were taking Japanese, and that was probably the biggest reason I took the class. But to be honest, I already had an interest in Asia and their writing systems and culture, so this also seemed to be a logical choice for me. I took four years of Japanese in high school, then won a scholarship to study abroad in Japan during the summer of 1998 where I was placed directly in Tokyo. I continued to study throughout college and joined the Japanese Student Association and other Japan-America organizations. I even worked for three summers at Concordia Language Villages at the Japanese camp, Mori no Ike. I have to admit, I haven’t studied quite as much during the last five or ten years or so, giving way to studying Spanish and Portuguese. But Japan has always had a special place in my heart, and I’m very happy to finally land on Japan for my blog. 

 

The Japanese word for Japan is Nihon or Nippon, often translated as “the origin of the sun.”  The etymology of the term Japan comes from a mispronunciation or other foreign term for the islands of Japan. However, which language it’s stemmed from seems to be somewhat disputed. It mostly likely was introduced into English from the Portuguese traders who picked up the Malay-origin Chinese word for the island nation. 

Japan is an archipelago of over 6800 islands in East Asia. On the eastern side is the Pacific Ocean and to the western side is the Sea of Japan, which separates Japan from North Korea and South Korea as well as Russia.  It’s also separated from mainland China by the East China Sea. The Ryukyu Islands are also part of Japan, which includes the island of Okinawa (housing one of the US Air Force Bases that are still in Japan left over from WWII) and extends all the way to Taiwan. The four main islands from north to south are Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Fukuoka. Because Japan is spread out quite a ways from north to south, it has a very drastic change in climate across the country. The northernmost island of Hokkaido is very cold in the winter and has a famous snow sculpting celebration each February. The southernmost islands of the Okinawa prefecture enjoy a warm tropical climate. Its location along the Pacific Ring of Fire makes it prone to earthquakes (as many as 1500 per year—to be fair, I was in six earthquakes while I was there for six weeks, and only one or two were barely felt) and tsunamis, a Japanese word itself. It’s one of the most densely populated countries in the world: it’s like taking half of the people in the US and forcing them to all live in California. 

The original people in Japan were the Ainu who mostly lived on the northernmost island of Hokkaido as well as some of the Russian islands north of Hokkaido.  (I did a research paper on the Ainu when I was taking Japanese in college. They were treated much like the American Indians were by the Europeans who arrived later.) The early people in Japan were mainly hunter-gatherers, and they were highly influenced by the Chinese language, literature, and culture. Likewise, Buddhism began to spread and became widely popular during the 11^th century. Starting in the 1200s, Japanese society entered into a feudal era. This is this time period that inspired many of our samurai films and stories. The country was pretty much shut off to the rest of the world. However, Portuguese Jesuit priests were allowed to enter during the 1600s (if you’ve ever read James Clavell’s Shogun, you’ll be familiar with this period). This was a crucial visit, which allowed Japan to obtain many items (including weapons) and cultural information from the West. This period of closure to the outside lasted until US Navy Commodore Matthew Perry landed in Japan in 1854, and Japan subsequently opened itself up to the world again. Japan entered what’s known as the Meiji Restoration where they sent out their best and finest students to learn everything they could from the rest of the world to bring back to Japan in order to help modernize the country. Around the turn of the century, Japan entered wars with China and Russia to gain land. It then entered China again in 1937 and also invaded French Indochina and Pearl Harbor. The US responded to the attack at Pearl Harbor by dropping the controversial atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki (making it the only country in the world to be attacked this way). Since WWII, Japan has increased its economy to have one of the largest economies in the world and subsequently, a high quality life. 

Not only is Tokyo the capital, it’s the largest city in the country, coming in with over 13.1 million people in the metropolitan area. I have a certain affinity for this city because this is where I did my homestay (in Ikegami, Ota-ku). Its former name is Edo, which is often mentioned in literature and in some place names, but was renamed Tokyo during the Meiji Restoration. Tokyo took much damage from bombings during WWII and much of the city was rebuilt after the war. Today, it is a major city for government, education, finance, culture, sports, and the arts not only in Japan but throughout Asia. The city is divided into 23 wards, each one with its own special bragging points. The major shopping and tourist areas are in Shinjuku and Shibuya as well as the Ginza and Harajuku neighborhoods. Temples and shrines dot the cityscape along with museums, libraries, restaurants, Tokyo Dome baseball stadium, Tokyo Tower, Tokyo Imperial Palace, Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, the Rainbow Bridge and many other places to see. 

Since the Meiji period started in 1868, Japan started expanding its economy and joining the world market. There were many industries getting their start, and there are many top companies in Japan today that were started during this period. The period after WWII saw much growth up until the 1990s when the bubble finally popped, and the slowdown generally lasted until the 2000s. Japan is a leading producer of cars—names like Daihatsu, Honda, Isuzu, Mazda, Mitsubishi (what I drive), Nissan, Subaru, Suzuki, Toyota, and Yamaha are common names around the world. They’re also known for their electronics companies such as Sony, Panasonic, Nintendo, Casio, Hitachi, Seiko, Sharp, Toshiba, Minolta, Fuji, Fujitsu, JVC, Kenwood, Konica, Kyocera, Uniden, TDK, Sanyo, Pioneer, and Nikon. They also have substantial robotics, energy, biomedical technologies, chemical, and space programs in Japan. The oldest company in the world is a construction company that was founded in 578 and was continuously in business until it was absorbed by another company in 2006. 

Religious freedom is granted throughout the country. Although most Japanese people do not actually consider themselves belonging to any religion, most people visit a Buddhist or Shinto shrines during major festivals and holidays and will lay claim to one of these religions when asked. Other Asian religions are also found in Japan like Hinduism, Sikhism, Islam as well as Judaism and to a much lesser degree, Christianity. 

By far the most widely spoken language in Japan is Japanese. It’s the language of government and education and general communication. Japanese uses four writing systems: hiragana (for purely Japanese words), katakana (for foreign or borrowed words), kanji (the more complicated symbols borrowed from Chinese), and romaji (Roman letters as well as Roman Arabic numerals). It also utilizes a set of honorifics, meaning they have different ways of speaking to those higher than you in society and those lower than you. The Ainu language in northern Japan is on the verge of becoming extinct. However, awareness of the Ryukyuan languages (those of the Ryukyu Islands and Okinawan dialects) are also increasing. 

Japan’s popularity and cultural products have reached all corners of the earth from Hello Kitty to Pocky to anime to video games to sumo wrestling and martial arts to cat cafes to karaoke to beer vending machines to bonsai trees to sushi, green tea, fugu, and Kobe beef. I’m so excited to write about a country I love and would love to take my children to. My kids are already telling me to find a job there (I just don’t think any company offering an editing job would pay to move my whole family across the world, or to any country for that matter).  

Up next: art and literature

INDIA: THE LAND AND THE PEOPLE

In my 10-year-old Midwestern mind, India was the representation of the word “exotic.” Its dusty land, spicy food, and trippy music surrounded in a whirl of color and animals I only saw in the zoo were almost the opposite of rural Indiana. I remember pouring through old issues of National Geographic at my grandmother’s house, mesmerized at how other people live. (I was also confused at the word Indian: did it refer to Native Americans, or did it refer to people from India? How do you make that distinction?) As a music major in college, I would have to study about Indian classical music and realized what I called “trippy” because of its influences on psychedelic rock of the 1960s and 1970s, was actually a system of slightly complicated rules and different tuning methods. 

 

India was named after the word Indus, the Persian word for the area based on the Sanskrit word for the Indus River.  Indians themselves refer to their country as Bharat.  The name Hindustan often refers to northern India and Pakistan.

  

India is often mentioned as its own subcontinent in Asia. It’s a large peninsula surrounded by the Arabian Sea on the western side, the Laccadive Sea off the southern coast, and the Bay of Bengal on the eastern side. On the northern side of the country, India shares borders with Pakistan, China (Tibet), Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh as well as the Himalayan Mountains. This mountain range pretty much bars the cooler winds from northern Asia from reaching the Indian subcontinent, leaving this area warmer than other areas of the same latitude. The state of Jammu and Kashmir (which always reminds me of the Led Zeppelin song) has been disputed for many years among Pakistan, China, and India.  The island nation of Sri Lanka lies off the southeast tip of India and the Maldives, also an island nation, lie farther off the southwest corner. India also claims two archipelagos: the Lakshadweep island chain off the southwest coast, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands set pretty far off in the Andaman Sea. 

The Indian subcontinent is one of the oldest inhabited areas in the world, spanning back around 30,000 years. The Indus Valley Civilization is one of the oldest in the world, and just after this time, the implementation of the rigid and unfair caste system was put in place. At the same time, the most important Hindu work, the Vedas, were also composed. Buddhism was established during the 6^th century BCE as was Jainism. Indian civilization was booming with advancements in literature, medicine, science, mathematics, and astronomy. During the Medieval times, India underwent a massive urbanization: towns and cities were being developed, reorganized, and strengthened. India engaged in several skirmishes and fought off invasions from the Mongols and other regions in what is now India. The British East India Company set up its trading posts during the 18^th century, and eventually just took over the entire land. The British did introduce a variety of technological advances to the Indian people such as the railroad system (which are often depicted as being overcrowded -- definitely no "capacity" signs there) and the telegraph, but it wasn’t enough to quell the other problems with their occupation, and the Indians revolted. Eventually, the British East India Company was dissolved; however, the British remained in the picture until India completely gained independence in 1947, resulting in two states: India and Pakistan. These two countries would have several periods of unrest between themselves, and they are still in dispute, along with China, over territories in northern India. 

The India Gate, New Delhi

The capital of the country is New Delhi. As the center of India’s government, this bustling city has roughly 21.7 million people in the metro area. The capital lies in the midst of several fault lines, making it vulnerable to earthquakes, although most of them are fairly moderate. New Delhi suffers very hot summers with mild winters and is also susceptible to dust storms during the dry season. However, it typically ranks as one of the worst cities for air pollution, so if you’re asthmatic, you might want to head to the coast perhaps. New Delhi is every bit of a modern city, yet it has preserved many pieces of its ancient history throughout the city. Museums, restaurants (ranging from local, traditional food to world-class cuisine), shopping districts and markets, sports arenas, theatres, clubs, and parks dot the city, showing off the best of its culture. 

 

India has one of the world’s fastest growing economies. They have a large agricultural sector where major products include rice, cotton, wheat, potatoes, teas, sugarcane, jute, and oilseed. They also have highly-skilled industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, textiles, telecommunications, software, food processing, and other products and skilled industries. They also have the world’s second-fastest growing automobile industry.  And of course, India is known for its IT industry that includes creating popular websites and tech products as well as supplying call centers and help desks (the inspiration of the short-run sit-com Outsourced, and much chagrin to many people). India’s film industry produces some of the world’s most-watched cinematic films. Even Netflix has an entire section just for Indian films (available in streaming and in DVD format – we just watched the movie Dhoom: 3 tonight, and it was great!). However, there is still a very serious problem with income inequality in this country, especially along gender lines. India has more than a million people who are listed as millionaires, yet most people live off of less than $2/day. 

 

Four religions began in Indian lands: Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism.  Hinduism is the third largest religion, and Buddhism is the fourth largest one in the world. Because of India’s multicultural history, there are also followers of several other religions in India as well: Muslims, Christians, Zoroastrians, Jews, Bahá’ís, atheists, and agnostics. 

Yes, yoga is a physical and mental practice with a basis in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism.

 

Sanskrit, one of the oldest languages in the world, stems from this area and is part of the basis of the Indo-European family of languages. Hindi, one of two official languages, is the most widely spoken language in India and is mutually intelligible with Urdu (which is spoken in Pakistan and northern India); English is the other official language. Because this country is very much a poly-linguistic society, there are several languages that are listed as regionally recognized languages: Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu. Of these 22 major languages spoken in India, they are also written in 13 different scripts. It’s also estimated that there are between 720-2000 dialects spoken in this country alone.

India is the second-most populated country in the world with about 1.2 billion people, yet the land is only about 1/3 the size of the United States, making it also the largest democracy. Many Indians never eat with their left hand because the left hand is used for bathroom purposes. Cows are sacred in the Hindu religion because of the symbolism between cows and good fortune. They are therefore allowed to wander freely in many areas. Although India has the largest postal network in the world with over 150,000 post offices, it’s pretty common for a letter to take nearly two weeks to go 30 miles (I’ll stop complaining about the US postal system now). One of the world’s most iconic buildings, the Taj Mahal (not to be confused with the blues musician), is located in Agra. Chai tea originated in India and is one of the most popular beverages in India – and one of my favorites as well. I’ve already found my recipes and absolutely can’t wait to make these. In the meantime, I think I’ll go drink some chai and look through more Indian films.

Up next: art and literature

BHUTAN: THE LAND AND THE PEOPLE

Tucked away in the Himalayas Mountains, there lies a small country, isolated from the rest of the world until recently. Uninfluenced by outside effects, its ancient traditions are still very much a part of mainstream life in Bhutan. While it’s been “opened” to the world in recent years – only getting television and Internet in the past 15 years or so – the Bhutanese have been somewhat reluctant to shed its old traditions. By their own accord, they calculate their wealth by a Gross National Happiness factor instead of the Gross National Product. It’s considered by many to be one of the happiest places on earth. (Sorry, Disneyland.)

The origin of the name Bhutan is somewhat vague, and there are many theories as to its origin. The traditional etymology is stemmed from the Sanskrit word “Bhota-anta” which means “end of Tibet.” Many of the European explorers had their own names for the area as well.

Profoundly guided by Buddhist traditions and ideologies, Bhutan boasts strong sentiments towards preserving ecology and environmental issues. In fact, it has even limited the number of tourists that come into the country by imposing a fee equal to US $250 per day. For that reason alone, I’m not sure if it’s a place I’d be able to afford to go. Bhutan has many protected areas that are known for its forest cover and its rare and exotic animals. It’s actually established a decree that demands at least 60% of the country remain forest-covered. An animal called the takin – something new to me – is Bhutan’s national animal. It’s considered a goat-antelope, a type of animal that comparative to the muskox and is part of the same family that includes sheep and goats.

Bhutan, landlocked right between China and India, became the location where many Tibetans fled from religious persecution. Bhutan came in contact with the British Empire after the controlled India, and after a few skirmishes that led to a war and a treaty, it pretty much ended all ill-feelings between the two. Even after India’s independence from the British Empire, Bhutan and India have remained on “friendly country” status with each other. In fact, Indian rupees are considered legal tender in Bhutan as well as their own currency.  Indians (as well as Bangladeshis) can enter the country freely.

Their government is a constitutional monarchy, which basically means that while it is ruled officially by a king (King Wangchuck), there is also a council of ministers put in place to make other policy and administrational 

decisions. They’ve even put in place the ability to impeach the king, but no one feels it necessary to do so. 

The official language of Bhutan is called Dzongkha, part of the Tibetan language family. The writing script is the same as classical Tibetan. (I actually found a place here in Indianapolis at a Buddhist center where I could take Tibetan language classes on Saturdays.) However, English is the language that is used in education while Dzongkha is listed as the official/national language. There are many other minor languages spoken in Bhutan that include Nepali, Tshangla, Kheng, and Dzala.

The capital city is Thimphu, the country’s largest city with a population (metro area) of around 98,000. The entire country has about as many people as in the city of Detroit, Michigan. While in the past 50 years, Thimphu and Bhutan has been making efforts in expansion, but it has come somewhat slowly. They tried installing traffic lights, but the people requested that it be taken down, saying that it seemed unsightly and marred the landscape. They opted for the traffic cop instead. (It’s only one of two capital cities in the world without a traffic light: Pyongyang, North Korea being the other one.) It’s hard to believe that in a national capital, the drivers also share the road with people moving their cattle without much sign of roadrage at all. Perhaps there may be something to that Buddhist patience and happiness factors. Archery is the national sport and the city of Thimphu is the headquarters of the Bhutan Olympic Committee, headed by the king himself. Bhutan has sent several archers to the Olympics, but no medals have been won. Yet.

Even though Bhutan is the only country in the world to measure happiness, there’s a sad part there as well. Homosexuality is punishable by prison. Those who leave the country without express written permission of the government hold their citizenship at stake, and many who do become stateless refugees. The Lhotshampas (meaning “southerners” in Dzongkha) are those of Nepali ethnicity and suffer governmental discrimination when it comes to education, employment, and the ability to own land. It’s even been said that the government has forced all the people to wear the traditional dress of the majority while out in public. They’ve also imposed that Buddhist-only buildings are allowed to be erected. Only 47% of the total population is literate. Clean water and sanitation aren’t available in many areas, especially in the rural areas. There aren’t enough doctors, and there is a surprisingly high number of maternal deaths. The life expectancy at birth is only about 67 years old. And yet, despite all of this, they’re still happy.

Much of Bhutan remains untouched and unseen by outsiders. Called the Land of the Thunder Dragon, Bhutan is subject to many storms that pop up out of the mountains. It’s the only country in the world that has banned tobacco. (However, marijuana grows freely. The thing is, is that no one smokes it. Rather, it’s fed to the pigs. But before you start planning your trip to “trip,” not all weed is smokable.) The purity, isolation, and mystique of this practically unknown country keeps many people vaguely even aware of its existence. Bhutan itself may be shrouded with mist from the mountains, but hopefully we can unveil its culture and cuisine this week.

Up next: Holidays and Celebrations