Thailand

So...you're looking for Koh Samui Thailand. The Thai people will tell you that there is so much more to see and do in Thailand than just what you see in the brochure.

Whether its a holiday, on business, or for a short break Thailand is increasing in popularity amongst us Brits - and rightly so!

That's why its important to get your travel plans sorted out properly, and in our opinion, flight, holiday and hotel specialists Opodo offer the best service online - but you can find that out for yourself here...

Thus when Rama VI died suddenly in 1925, aged only 44, the monarchy was already in a weakened state. He was succeeded by his younger brother Prajadhipok (Rama VII), who inherited a country which had outgrown the system of personal rule but had no experience of any other system.

The history of Thailand begins with the migration of the Thais into what is now Thailand during the first millennium. Prior to this, bronze and iron age civilisations had existed for several thousand years, plus later Mon, Malay and Khmer kingdoms. The Thais established their own kingdoms, most prominently a brief flowering at Sukhothai and more lastingly the Ayutthaya kingdom. These kingdoms were under constant threat from Burma and Vietnam, as well as from Thai and Lao rivals.

The regimes of Sarit and Thanom were strongly supported by the U.S. Thailand had formally become a U.S. ally in 1954 with the formation of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO). While the war in Indochina was being fought between the Vietnamese and the French, Thailand (disliking both equally) stayed aloof, but once it became a war between the U.S. and the Vietnamese Communists, Thailand committed itself strongly to the U.S. side, concluding a secret agreement with the U.S. in 1961, sending troops to Vietnam and Laos and allowing the U.S. to open airbases in the east of the country to conduct its bombing war against North Vietnam. The Vietnamese retaliated by supporting the Communist Party of Thailand's insurgency in the north and northeast.

There was also pressure from the influential Chinese business community, who wanted financial stability. The return of prosperity in the mid 1920s eased these pressure somewhat, but the onset of the Great Depression in 1930 brought a renewed air of crisis. Keen to maintain its respectability with foreign creditors, Siam maintained the gold standard, thus pricing itself out of its export markets.

Later kings found their power being gradually eroded by the kingdoms of Lannathai to the north and Ayutthaya to the south. Sukhothai became a tributary state of Ayutthaya between 1365 and 1378, and in 1438 a mere province.

The military, now led by Field Marshal Phibun as Defence Minister, and the civilian liberals led by Pridi as Foreign Minister, worked together harmoniously for several years, but when Phibun became prime minister in December 1938 this co-operation broke down, and military domination became more overt.

Economic development certainly did not bring prosperity to all. During the 1960s many of the rural poor felt increasingly dissatisfied with their condition in society and disillusioned by their treatment by the central government in Bangkok. Efforts by the Thai government to develop poor rural regions often did not have the desired effect in that they contributed to the farmers' awareness of how bad off they really were. It is interesting to note that it was not always the poorest of the poor who joined the anti-government insurgency. Increased government presence in the rural villages did little to improve the situation. Villagers became subject to increased military and police harassment and bureaucratic corruption. Villagers often felt betrayed when government promises of development were frequently not fulfilled. By the early 1970s rural discontentment had manifested itself into a peasant's activist movement.

At first the princes and other conservatives successfully resisted the king's reform agenda, but as the older generation was replaced by younger and western-educated princes, resistance faded. The king could always argue that the only alternative was foreign rule.

The arrival of English warships provoked a massacre of more Europeans. Phetracha (reigned 1688-93) seized the throne, expelled the remaining foreigners, and ushered in a 150-year period during which the Thai consciously isolated themselves from contacts with the West.

The Kingdom of Thailand is a country in Southeast Asia, bordering Laos and Cambodia to the east, the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia to the south, and the Andaman Sea and Myanmar to the west. Thailand is also known as Siam, which was the country's official name until May 11, 1949. The word Thai means "free" in the Thai language; the word land means "land" in English. It is also the name of the Thai people - leading some inhabitants, particularly the sizeable Chinese minority, to continue to use the name Siam.

As a result, the king went into exile in Europe and in 1934 he abdicated. His ten-year-old son Ananda Mahidol was proclaimed as Rama VIII, but remained in Europe. Thereafter the king remained a marginal figure until the late 1950s.

Mongkut's first attempts at reform, to establish a modern system of administration and to improve the status of debt-slaves and women, were frustrated. Rama IV thus came to welcome western pressure on Siam. This came in 1855 in the form of a mission led by the Governor of Hong Kong, Sir John Bowring, who arrived in Bangkok with demands for immediate changes, backed by the threat of force.

Educational opportunities and exposure to mass media increased during the Vietnam War years. As bright university students learned more about ideas related to Thailand's economic and political systems resulting in a revival of student activism. The Vietnam War period also saw the growth of the Thai middle class which gradually developed its own identity and conciousness.

With chaos reigning on the streets, King Bhumibol, ignoring the safety concerns of his immediate security staff, ordered the gates of Chitralada Palace opened to the students who were being gunned down by the army.

Koh Samui Thailand and Thailand online resources.