What did Thailand search for online in 2009?

Since 2001, Google has published an annual “Zeitgeist” to provide a view into what the world’s online searches revealed about the interests, passions and issues of the year. There’s a main global version as well as country/language specific Zeitgeists from all over the world to choose from, including Thailand.

So what does the Thai-language Zeitgeist say about search trends here? Basically, the country is obsessed with superstars, sappy songs and soap operas, all of which the Zeitgeist breaks down to provide the top specific terms people used in their searches. But what interests us are some of the news headlines, websites and travel destinations that proved to be popular searches this year.

In terms of news headlines, the top 10 topics searched for were:
1. H1N1 symptoms
2. Lin Ping the panda
3. Trang Games
4. 2009 eclipse 
5. 2009 Motor Show
6. Celebrity Suwanun Kongying's wedding
7. Corporate bonds
8. Korean star surgery
9. United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship
10. The government’s free education policy

As for generally popular search terms, Thailand wanted to find:
1. Games
2. Hi5
3. Youtube
4. Hotmail
5. Oracle
6. Music listening
7. 4Shared
8. Online movies
9. Football scores
10. Second hand cars

Note that Facebook and Twitter didn't even make the list. Surprisingly, Hi5 remains Thailand's social network of choice, though Facebook is fast gaining ground.

And finally, here are the travel destinations most searched for by Thais, which might surprise all those global travellers who tend to focus on Koh Samui and Phuket:
1. Four Regions Floating Market
2. Ampawa
3. Hua Hin
4. Sam Chuk Market
5. Cha-Am
6. Koh Samet
7. Koh Larn
8. Tha Prachan
9. Rong Kluea Market
10. Koh Chang