Thailand...
* Known not long ago as Siam, the setting of fictionalized "The King and I."
* Where the longest reigning monarch still sits on the throne, protected by the strictest lese majeste laws in the world.
* Never colonized, though its neighbors were consumed by European powers.
* Famous for its sex industry, which bloomed during the era of American Involvement.
* Where the Buddhist words I know are pronounced as though "your mouth is full of cotton," "dharma" dissolving to "thamma."
And where in two days I will get off a plane and spend four months adding to this list.
L'chaim!
