Thailand is a country in Southeast Asia. Myanmar sits to its west and north, Laos to its northeast, Cambodia to its east, and Malaysia to its south, and it has a long coast on two seas. Its capital city is Bangkok, a huge, hot, busy city. About 70 million people live in Thailand. The language is Thai, and it has its own writing, which looks nothing like English letters. Most people there are Buddhist, and you see temples everywhere, gold and bright and full of visitors. For many people around the world, Thailand means holidays — beaches and islands in the south, mountains and old cities in the north, and food that is famous for being hot and sour and sweet all at once. But it is not only a holiday place. Since the 1980s its factories have grown very fast, and it now makes cars, computer parts, and much else, which is why so many companies from Taiwan and Japan have work there. One thing worth knowing: the country was called Siam until 1939, changed back for a few years, then became Thailand again in 1949 — so old books, old maps, and words like "Siamese cat" use the older name. Also, Thailand is the noun for the place; the people, the language, and the food are Thai, not Thailand.