Lands of Thailand - Then and now. This is how much Land Thailand had to give away to avoid bloodshed with the evil west, mostly Britain and France (usa had it's hands full taking over Nations like the Philippines at the time) Because of this Thailand is the ONLY Asian Nation to not be occupied by a foreign power. The people of Thailand have hardly known the pain of war on the scale as the rest of Asia, and I believe that's contributed greatly to their Nations overall happiness and peaceful lifestyle. Thailand is not called "The Land of Smiles" for nothing. The people truly are mostly very happy and their beaming smiles is the proof.