Sukhothai has been described as the dawn of happiness when there was no gap between the King and his people. King Ramkhamhaeng ruled the kingdom as a kind father helping his people solve their problems. On the contrary, Ayutthaya was governed by an absolute monarchy with a system of slavery adopted from the Angkor empire of Cambodia. This type of rule was influenced by India. At present, the Indian influence can be seen in royal ceremonies such as the coronation, oath of allegiance, and Songkran have deep roots in India. However, the caste system was not accepted here like in other nations in Southeast Asia.
In the Thai language, the assimilation of Pali and Sanskrit, the classical language of ancient India, as well as the Khmer and Chinese language is seen in Thai names and the Royal language. As for the food, a lot of Indian, Malaysian and Chinese foods had been adopted to be more palatable to the Thais such as various dishes of curry, soup and fried vegetables with meat. All these have been intermingled to be the Thai way of life.