Thailand!    Perhaps not as exotic a name as Siam. Nevertheless it immediately brings to mind Golden palaces, Golden temples and Golden beaches, set against a background of lush, green forests and paddy fields, teakwood houses on stilts along the countless klongs (canals), pictureseque floating markets, exciting nightlife and smiling helpful, happy people.People, over 60 million of them, are really our greatest asset. A healthy blend of Thai (Tai), Cambodian (Khmer), Laotian, Chinese , Malay, Burmes and Indian plus the various hilltribes, are about 94% Buddhist and 4% Muslim with smaller minorities of other religions - Christian, Confucian, etc. Their various religous festivals and ethnic bacgrounds all help to create the special Thai culture.