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Thailand: Difference between revisions
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The country is infamous for its sex tourism, especially in Pattaya, and its massive drug trade which has led to Bangkok's reputation as a [[Wretched Hive]] and [[Den of Iniquity]]. During [[The Vietnam War]], it was a place where American soldiers went on rest And recreation. The sex shows are considered to be [[Crosses the Line Twice|some of the most unbelievably raunchy in the world]], minors of both genders are reportedly available for purchase, and [[Sweet on Polly Oliver|male-to-female transsexual]] performers hold a special, almost revered place in the subculture. It apparently also has some number of [[Mail Order Bride]] businesses, if the page ads above are to be believed. Some caution is needed here; [[Self-Deprecation|Thai women themselves will admit]] that they make wonderful girlfriends but terrible wives.
Asian elephants are revered in Thai culture. "White" (actually albino and rather pinkish) ones are all officially owned by the king, in much the way that all mute swans in Britain are owned by the Queen (actually it's only some swans, but never mind). This is the origin of the English phrase 'white elephant', as white elephants were considered desirable by Thai nobles but cost a lot to maintain and could not be used for practical purposes--so they looked big and impressive but were money sinks. Elephants are seen in daily life being used as work animals as they have been for hundreds of years, and vehicle/elephant car crashes are a leading form of road accident. (Elephant vs. tiny Asian car, [[Mighty Glacier|elephant wins]].) The Thai flag used to be three stripes of red on white with a white elephant on the middle stripe--apparently a Thai King took the elephant off when he realised it could be flown upside down in a disrespectful way. In [[World War One]] the middle red stripe was then changed to blue to more resemble the British and French flags, Siam's allies at the time.
Southern Thailand has an Islamist separatist insurgency. The terrorists recently announced a ceasefire, and of course promptly broke it. The Thai Army is surprisingly competent when it finally decides to do something. They are ''very'' good at staging coups.
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== Anime and Manga ==
* [[Moe Anthropomorphism|Thailand]] in [[Axis Powers Hetalia]] is a [[Perpetual Smiler]] with a pet elephant named Toto.
* ''[[Black Lagoon]]''
* In the ''[[Death Note]]'' [[Alternate Continuity]] film ''[[L: Change the World]]'', Thailand is where the bad guys test their bioweapons, the heroes do [[Chase Scene|car chases]], and {{spoiler|where Near comes from.}}
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:Useful Notes/Asia]]▼
[[Category:Thailand]]
[[Category:Useful Notes]]
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