About the trip

Located in South-East Asia, Thailand is bordered by Malaysia and the Gulf of Thailand to the south,
Myanmar and the Andaman Sea to the west, Cambodia to the east and the Lao People’s
Democratic Republic to the north and north-east. Thailand covers about 513,000 square
kilometres, stretching approximately 1,715 kilometres from north to south and 915 kilometres at its
widest point from east to west. As of April 2000 it had a population of 60.6 million, one of the most
homogeneous in South-East Asia with a sprinkling of ethnic Chinese, Malays, Cambodians,
Vietnamese, Burmese, Indians, non-Thai hill tribes and others. In terms of population it is the fourth
largest state in South-East Asia.
The country can be divided into four natural regions: the mountainous north, where temperatures
are cool enough for the cultivation of lychees and strawberries; the north-east, a rolling semi-arid
plateau bounded on the north and east by the Mekong River; the isthmus of the south with its hilly
rubber plantations, fruit orchards, coves and bays; and the central region, the basin of the Chao
Phraya River and a most fertile rice-growing area. This region has become the administrative,
political and commercial centre of the country