| Ghost Housing | | | | who besieged the kingdom. Today, Ayutthaya is a |
| When you visit Thailand, you can see many miniature | | | | small town about one hour north of Bangkok with |
| houses that look almost like dollhouses. But they are | | | | about 54,000 people living there. |
| not for kids to play. They are built for ghosts. Many | | | | Thailand is a religiously diverse and tolerant country |
| Thais still believe in ghosts, which goes back to | | | | About 95% of the population are practicing |
| animistic beliefs that were present in Thailand long | | | | Theravada Buddhists. However, when you visit |
| before the arrival of Buddhism or other religions. | | | | Thailand, you will also see a lot of Indian and Chinese |
| | | | religious influences. Brahmanistic, Hinduistic and Taoistic |
| Twice As Big As London | | | | statues and shrines can be seen in many places along |
| The former capital of Thailand, Ayutthaya, was | | | | with Buddhist symbols and Buddha images. This is |
| almost twice as big as London in the 17th century, | | | | mainly due to historical reasons, because so many |
| and in fact, it was one of the most spectacular cities | | | | different people from so many different regions |
| in the world at that time. While London had around | | | | settled down in what today is known as Thailand. |
| 500,000 inhabitants, Ayutthaya reached 1,000,000. | | | | The Kings of the current dynasty are also referred |
| The kingdom of Ayutthaya astonished tradesmen | | | | to as Rama. There were nine kings in this dynasty, |
| from all over the world, and reports of early | | | | and the current one is called Rama IX. Rama is the |
| European visitors still tell the story of a city with | | | | name of a reincarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu, and |
| some many temples and so much gold, it was, | | | | this tradition goes back to the belief that the kings |
| according to them, a city which no one would believe | | | | were in fact human reincarnations of Vishnu. |
| exists, if not seen with his own eyes. | | | | Brahmin astrologers still to this day preside over |
| However, in 1767 the city got almost completely | | | | important royal ceremonies, like the royal ploughing |
| destroyed, all the gold and other valuables was | | | | ceremony, to determine auspicious dates for |
| stolen, scriptures burned by the Burmese warriors | | | | example. |