Geographically, Thailand is a diverse country. Thais generally divide it into four distinct regions. The Central region is largely delta country, dominated by the Chao Phraya River, and with rich soil. Southern Thailand is peninsula country, with the Andaman Sea on one side and the Gulf of Thailand on the other. The North is cool and mountainous. Northeastern Thailand is a vast plateau and flanked by the Mekong River. Each region has its own distinct ethnic peoples, speaking their own dialect, and practising their own customs. Until the 1920s and the completion of the railway network, travel within Thai- land was difficult. Journeys were accomplished by elephant, and it could take several weeks to reach the further provinces from Bangkok. Consequently, the four main regions, left largely to govern themselves, kept their traditions intact. The culinary traditions included. It is therefore possible to travel throughout the. country and experience very different styles of cooking. Or to visit a Bangkok restaurant owned by people from one of the regions, and specialising in that cuisine. Or to sit in a restaurant and pick out dishes that have originated in the North, Northeast, Central and Southern regions. All of this diversity has come together under the general heading "Thai food", and helps to explain why there is such a tremendous variety t of foods available in a country whose population, at around sixty million, is not an exceptionally large one. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that the menu of a "typical Thai restaurant" is actually a Bangkok menu; for Bangkok is what is termed a "primate city" by sociologists, a city that politically, economically and culturally dominates all the other cities in a country. When we sit down to a Thai meal, therefore, we are experiencing the many different styles and flavours of the country. The curries and seafood of the South; the courtly dishes of the North; the herby, earthy recipes of the Northeast, with their river fish; the sheer inventiveness of the fertile Central region. Add to this the Chinese influence, which has itself been profound, and the contributions from other ethnic peoples, and you have a most wonderful melting pot.
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