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For many outsiders Thailand still conjures up images of the East at its most mysterious and enchanting – a view largely formed by Hollywood films like The King and I. Never conquered by foreigners, this proud and ancient land has been shaped by Buddhism, the monarchy, and the military. Today it is a representative democracy with a populist female prime minister, and is ranked among the tiger economies of Southeast Asia. It is a manufacturing powerhouse, the world’s largest rice exporter, and a tourist paradise that welcomes 22 million visitors a year to its beach resorts and its vibrant capital, Bangkok.   Yet despite the veneer of Western modernity, the country and its people remain an enigma for many visitors, smiling and inscrutable.