Coming as I do from a rather chilly climate to live in Thailand one of the first things I noticed in the hotels and apartments I stayed in was a lack of carpets. Tiled floors, natural wood finishes and ceramic tiles are the norm here. However in the High class hotels and even a few low class hotels an effort has been made to make the traveler feel 'at home' and carpets are the norm at least in the bedroom areas. This is probably a good idea as after sleeping with the aircon on full blast feet touching an ice cold ceramic floor can be a shock.

Yes there are factories weaving carpets and other types of western floor coverings, but they are few and far between. Plastic and linoleum type floor coverings are quite popular and for the thin grades very cheap indeed.

Ceramic tiles are perhaps where the Thai floor covering manufacturers have the edge. Cheap labour costs means that intricate patterns can be designed and the tiles churned out at a very reasonable cost. These tiles adorn the floors of almost every building here in Bangkok.  am sure there are also many buildings, offices, hotels and homes now sporting tile floor coverings with a 'Made in Thailand' tag