I've tried to study the language, but it has 68 letters in the alphabet, and, in some cases, you have up to 5 letters that represent the same sound. To make matters more complicated, the language is tonal, not phonetic, and different tones, rising or falling, of the sound, mean completely different things. You do have to take your shoes off though, like you would in a temple. Thailand even has high speed connections to the Internet and Web sites, just like home. The stereotype of Thai culture involves bars and prostitution, but that is only a very small part of the picture.
Thai culture is a quirky mix of old and new, Western and Eastern.
The Thai form of Buddhism is very popular and you notice, while traveling on Phahonythin Road, that all the taxi drivers have Buddha amulets and other ritual objects hanging from their rearview mirrors. Temples and shrines are everywhere, and at night, you will see Buddha statues lit up with colored fluorescent lights and twinkling Christmas lights. Thai men are expected to spend at least one month of their lives making merit as Buddhist monks. You can flip on the television, and see one of the most popular shows, which is a sitcom with characters dressed as royalty from the old glory days of Ayuddhya, but with a transvestite playing the queen. One unfortunate thing that has happened is that the American musical style of saccharine romantic ballads has been copied and you'll hear them all over the radio, but in Thai.