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Thailand is a Southeast Asian, predominantly Buddhist
kingdom almost equidistant between India and China. For centuries known
by outsiders as Siam, Thailand has been something of a Southeast Asian
migratory, cultural and religious crossroads.
With an area of some 510,000 square kilometres and a population of some
60 million, Thailand is approximately the same size as France.
Geographically speaking, Thailand is divided into six major regions: the
mountainous north where elephants work forests and winter temperatures
are sufficiently cool to permit cultivation of temperate fruits such as
strawberries and peaches; the sprawling northeast plateau, largely
bordered by the Mekong River, where the world's oldest Bronze Age
civilisation flourished some 5,000 years ago,- the central plain, one of
the world's most fertile rice and fruit-growing areas; the eastern
coastal plain, where fine sandy beaches support the growth of summer
resorts', western mountains and valleys, suitable for the development of
hydro-electric power; and the peninsular south where arresting scenic
beauty complements economically vital tin mining, rubber cultivation and
fishing.
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