Asia Quiz: Thailand | 10 Questions

Answer: Samui

It's in the north-eastern part of Koh Samui and famous for its dominating Buddha statue. It is slightly off the beaten track from the more popular Chaweng and Lamai beaches.

Answer: Aeroplane

"Khruang bin" literally means "engine fly". If you listened carefully to the Thai announcement on your flight into Thailand you would have heard "gaan bin" and then your airline. That could of course have given you a clue. A motorcycle is a "motorsi". A bus is a "rot may" and a car is a "rot yon".

Answer: Chatuchak

Chatuchak market has many sections selling anything from live animals to oil paintings and is only open on weekends. The oil paintings are worth a look as some of the artists are quite good. The floating market requires a hairy boat ride and I made up the other two answers!

Answer: five

So for example the phrase "New silk does not burn, right?" can be created from the word that, to an English speaker, looks like "mai" and has to be pronounced with different tones. Of course to a Thai national it would be differentiated by spelling and tone markers but to a non Thai it can be confusing and amusing. Problems exist with pronunciation of vowels too, one of the most common being the confusion caused by "khwaay", which means "buffalo", and "khuay", which means "male member". Thai people are often amused/embarrassed by the foreigners' pronunciation of "Bridge over the River Kwai"...but that's another story.

Answer: Malaysia

The golden triangle is perhaps more accurately reserved as a moniker for the area known for producing opium. It is, however, also used as the name for a tourist attraction at the side of the Mekong river (with a quasi tacky sign), where it is possible to see Thailand, Myanmar and Laos with the naked eye from the top of a hill. And capture all three with a decent camera. Malaysia borders Thailand but the Mekong exits land in Vietnam, even though Vietnam does not share a land border with Thailand.

Answer: sunbathing on the beach

A "hat" is a beach and "ab det" means to sunbathe. The other three activities are much more in tune with the exotic Thai holiday...but I still find playing Funtrivia via wi-fi while "ab det" on the "hat" a pleasurable experience. Try it too!

Answer: eating at a restaurant

"Thaan khao" literally means "to eat rice" but it is used for any form of food. A "raan ahaan" is a restaurant.
Buying a present at a market is "suu khong khwan thii dtalaat". Taking a taxi to the airport is "chaw roth taxsii pay sanaam bin" and buying a bus ticket is "suu tua roth may". Apologies to all Thai teachers for the transliteration capability of this website!

Answer: Siam Commercial Bank

Siam Commercial Bank is partly owned by the royal family's investment vehicle, known as the Crown Property Bureau. Kasikorn Bank and Bangkok Bank are Thai-Chinese family owned banks. HSBC is a UK and Hong Kong listed commercial bank.

Answer: Hua Hin

Hua Hin is a place on the Gulf of Thailand that is popular with Thai nationals for weekend breaks. It's located 180 km from Bangkok - only a three hour drive. Surat Thani is south of Hua Hin on the Gulf of Thailand and Krabi and Phuket are both on the other coast of the southern part of Thailand, at the Andaman Sea.

Answer: Songkran

Saengthip is a brand of Thai whiskey. Mae Hong Son is a town in northern Thailand. Song san means to pity.