In Thailand may be found, at one and the same time, the most up-to-date forms of cultural life in south-east Asia, and the most ancient.
It is a land of startling contrasts. Beside hotels and massage parlours stand miniature temples like oriental doll's-houses, the houses of ancient earth-spirits. In monasteries, monks perform ceremonies for cars, marking them with magical symbols to protect them from harm.
More than any country in the world, Thailand is the land of the Buddha image. Produced over 1,300 years, and ranging in size from tiny miniatures to colossal statues, they are so numerous that they far outnumber the human population.