With long coastlines, rivers, mountains, rain forrests and plains, Thailand is a country of scenic diversity. Thailand was never colonized and has a fascinating and ancient culture of its own blended with Indian and Chinese ingredients. Thailand, with its nature and culture has long attracted international travelers and volunteers.
It is a place of paradoxes; busy and modern Bangkok versus remote villages where time stands still. It is a country where some of the most popular pursuits are meditation and gambling, making merits and Thai boxing!
Two favorite phrases are"mai pen rai", never mind, and 'jai yen', take it easy. In Thailand a smile will take you far!

At the center is Bangkok, home to western skyscrapers, shantytowns and hundreds of Buddhist temples.
The friendly and smiling Thai is proud of his culture and country. Central to Thai life is "sanook" (fun). Everything, work included, should be fun. Relations may be more important than results. Friendship is more important than being on time!

Thailand is a large country, in the heart of Southeast Asia, sharing borders with Burma, Laos, Cambodia and Malaysia. There is the mountainous North, the fertile Central Plains, the semi-arid plateau of the Northeast, Isan, and the rain forrest peninsula in the South.
Thailand has a tropical climate with three distinct seasons: hot, rainy and cool.
Thailand has a population of about 65 millions. Ethnic Thais form the majority with Isan (ethnic Lao, about 25 millions), Mong, Khmer, Burmese, Malay, Indian and Chinese to produce a large degree of diversity.

The national religion is Theravada Buddhism, more or less practiced by about 90 percent of the Thais. The remainder of the population adheres to Muslim, Christian, Hindu, animism and other faiths.

The Thais come from Southeast China where, they founded an independent kingdom which thrived until 1250 A.D. Unwilling to be incorporated into Chinese society, waves of migrations headed southward into what is now Thailand and Laos.
Rama V, King Chulalongkorn, 1868-1910, brought about reforms that took Thailand into the 20th century. In 1932 a coup brought about a change to a constitutional monarchy. Since then Thailand has slowly moved towards democracy but suffered set backs and military dictatorships. King Bhumipol (Rama IX), is the present and much respected monarch.