'Tang Dao' - Thai word for 'Alien'? - Japanese for Sword? - or maybe both...

From Wikipedia,

The Tang Dynasty (Chinese: 唐朝; pinyin: Táng Cháo; Middle Chinese: dhɑng[1]) (18 June 618--4 June 907) was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li (李) family,

The Tang Dynasty, with its capital at Chang'an (present-day Xi'an), the most populous city in the world at the time, is regarded by historians as a high point in Chinese civilization — equal to or surpassing that of the earlier Han Dynasty — as well as a golden age of cosmopolitan culture.

Tang Dao is one of greatest inventions in the Tang dynasty.

Here are two links that offer more information about Tang Dao.

http://thomaschen.freewebspace.com/cu...

http://www.shadowofleaves.com/Chinese...

Teacher Charlie - Actually, I am a 'star man' alien ;>)

"Foreigner" is "khon tang chaat" - person of another nationality. "Alien," as in legal terms like "Office of Alien Employment" is "khon tang dao," which literally means "person of another land" but has the special meaning of a foreigner with a right to stay in Thailand. In this case the dao is pronounced with a falling tone. "Khon tang dao" with a middle tone means someone from another star/planet - a different kind of alien.