Thailand

Dama moved to Thailand when he was fifteen years old and lived in Bangkok which is the capital and largest city in Thailand. The most interesting thing that Dama has told me about Thailand is his description of the intense respect shown to the King, King Bhumibol, by the Thai people. He is not particularly monarchist in his beliefs but he said almost all Thai people are and have a deep respect and admiration for the King, who is an inventor. An interesting fact regarding King Bhumibol is that he holds the record for the most honorary degrees given by universities of any living person. He says that the respect for the King can be taken a bit too far sometimes however such as the time someone posted a video on youtube critical of the Thai King that showed his face next to pictures of feet, which is apparently one of the worst signs of disrespect possible in Thai culture.

I went out to eat Thai food here in America with Dama and he said that the food did not even begin to compare to the quality of that in Thailand. His biggest complaint was the poor quality of mango that came with the Thai dessert “Sticky Rice and Mango” and said that the mango tasted as if it had come from a can.