Umum: (PRI)

Thailand is a country at the centre of the Indochinese peninsula in Southeast Asia.

With a total area of approximately 513,000 km2 (198,000 sq mi), Thailand is the world's 51stlargest country. It is the 20th-most-populous country in the world, with around 66 million
people. The capital and largest city is Bangkok.
Festival: (PRI)
The Songkran festival is the Thai New Year's festival. The Thai New Year's Day is
13 April every year, but the holiday period includes 1415 April as well. The word
"Songkran" comes from the Sanskrit word sakrnti (Devangar: ), literally
"astrological passage", meaning transformation or change. The term was borrowed
from Makar Sankranti, the name of a Hinduharvest festival celebrated in India in January to
mark the arrival of spring. It coincides with the rising of Aries on the astrological chart, the
New Year of many calendars of South and Southeast Asia. The festive occasion is in keeping
with the Buddhist/Hindusolar calendar.
Festival Tradition: (MIA)
The Songkran celebration is rich with symbolic traditions. Mornings begin with meritmaking. Visiting local temples and offering food to the Buddhist monks is commonly
practiced. On this specific occasion, performing water pouring on Buddha statues is
considered an iconic ritual for this holiday. It represents purification and the washing away of
one's sins and bad luck. As a festival of unity, people who have moved away usually return
home to their loved ones and elders. As a way to show respect, younger people often practice
water pouring over the palms of elders' hands. Paying reverence to ancestors is also an
important part of Songkran tradition.
The holiday is known for its water festival which is mostly celebrated by young
people. Major streets are closed for traffic, and are used as arenas for water fights. Celebrants,
young and old, participate in this tradition by splashing water on each other. Traditional
parades are held and in some venues "Miss Songkran" is crowned. where contestants are
clothed in traditional Thai dress.
Food: (LANDI)
Thai cuisine blends five fundamental tastes: sweet, spicy, sour, bitter, and salty.
Common ingredients used in Thai cuisine include garlic, chillies, lime juice, lemon grass,
coriander, galangal, palm sugar, and fish sauce (nam pla). The staple food in Thailand is rice,
par- ticularly jasmine rice variety (also known as "hom Mali" rice) the which forms a part of
almost every meal.
Khao Chae: (LANDI)

The Mon people prepare this dish during the Songkran Festival as part of their
thanksgiving. When khao chae was introduced to Thailand during the reign of King Rama II,
it was considered "royal cuisine" and not available to the public. According to Thai celebrity
Chef McDang, who grew up in a Bangkok palace, it's "the only Thai dish that can truly be
considered 'royal Thai cuisine'.
Khao chae is "rice soaked in cool water". "Khao" means "rice" and "chae" means "to
soak". Around the time of King Rama II, the recipe was adapted from a Mon dish and then
modified. It was meant to be made and consumed in the hot season, from mid-March to the
end of April. Ice was not then available in Thailand, so the water was kept cool during hot
season by putting it in an earthenware vessel in a shaded places. Some old recipes call for the
use of camphor to cool the dish.