>> The Thais are happy cheerful people and like to joke around but at the same time, they are fervent followers of their religion. More than 90% of the Kingdom's inhabitants are committed Buddhists and follow the writings of the Enlightened One. People spend a lot of their weekends with their families at the temples and during the week they'll find a minute to visit a place of worship, pay respect to Buddha and pray to the Spirits.

Anytime can be a good time for spiritual thoughts - early morning on the way to work, during a lunch break or on the way home in the evening. Believers gather in their numbers at places of worship (wats, sanctuaries, at the foot of a sacred image) where they'll run shoulders with followers of other denominations - Hindus, Brahmans... In the calm ambience, devotees burn sticks of incense (3: one for Buddha, one for the teachings of the Prophet and one for the monks); light a candle and offer a garland of jasmine flowers or a lotus flower to Buddha.

The Thais happily mix their beliefs and superstitions. They will pay homage to Buddha and at the same time pray to the Spirits to ask them to keep the demons away and watch over their families and even commanding dances to the Spirits in some places. (/LA)