Thailand is called the Land of Smiles because the Thais really do smile a lot, but let it be known that not all these "smiles," called yim in Thai, are what the foreigner would normally define as a smile. The Thais have a wide range of terms for different types of smiles.They're like the Eskimos with all their different terms for snow. Most of these smiles do not signify that the Thai person is in a beaming good mood.