Thailand Culture

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Thailand Tourism Festival 2016 

1/17/2016

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The Tourism Authority of Thailand outdid last year's Festival as the crowds were thick last night in Lumpini Park with thousands of people enjoying food and entertainment from across the country. The Festival is the second annual event and seems a huge success! Many vendors were selling tasty Thai foods and products from all over the country. The Festival will continue through the weekend so don't miss it! 
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Bangkok Greets 2016! Happy New Year!

1/2/2016

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Thousands gathered outside CentralWorld Mall near the Rachaprasong intersection counting down to the New Year!  There was an international crowd and everyone was having a great time counting down to 2016! Swadee Pee Mai! (Thai for Happy New Year!).
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Art Box at EM District

12/21/2015

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​The Exhibition Market "Art Box" is now at EM district.  Art Box is now located on Sukhumvit Road just west of Benjasiri Park opposite from the Emporium Mall.  Get there by taking the BTS Sky Train to Phrom Phong BTS Station, take exit 6 and continue just past the Benjasiri Park.  As with other Art Box Exhibition, this rendition is chock full of tasty food and interesting art from local artisans.  The market is easy to get to and a great place to either have dinner or get a tasty dessert.  
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East and West Meet at the Beach

11/25/2015

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Koh Phi Phi Phai
When living in a foreign land, noting cultural differences can be interesting. One of big cultural differences between Thai and western cultures happens at the beach where Thai people have nearly opposite habits to us westerners. 
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First of all, Thai people do not go to beach for sun, they go for the food, having a deep love for seafood. Thailand makes this easy as you can find probably the most delicious seafood cooked Thai style!

When staying at a beach town, if they make it to the beach at all, it will be in the morning when the day is still cool or late in the day when the sun is not so strong. Of course there is good reason for this, Thailand is a tropical country and very hot and humid most of the year, so keeping out of the sun is a smart thing to do and the seafood is a good excuse to get away. As we know as westerners, the prime time for worshiping the sun is from 10 am to 4 pm, exactly the times that you will not see Thai on the beach. 


If you do see Thai people on the beach they will be tucked up under a sea of umbrellas, keeping cool and eating delicious food that is carried right to their chair by an ambitious beach vendor.
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You will find information on some of the Thailand Beaches in the sections on Southern Thailand and the Thai Gulf.  ​​
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Loy Krathong Festival at Golden Mount

11/20/2015

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Last night began the Loy Krathong Festival at Golden Mount.  This festival occurs every year for the week leading up to Loy Krathong and is located within the alleyways surrounding the city icon of Golden Mount at Wat Saket.  

The festival has a long tradition, having occurred here for many many years. The festival is a lot of fun, with many choices of food, confections and of course festival games and rides. There are some strange things within the festival like a old time freak show and haunted house. Years ago, I attended this festival and got to see a very strange Monkey Show.

The tradition of the festival includes a hike up the 344 steps to the top of Golden Mount to give alms and pray for good luck. The hike to the top also affords great views of Bangkok from the top, well worth the hike.
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Loy Krathong - Festival of Lights

11/20/2015

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Loy Krathong remains my favorite of Thai celebrations.  A festival of lights making the city of Bangkok light up across the city with fiery lanterns.  The lanterns lighting up the waterways of city is truly a sight to be seen.  Unfortunately, I will not be able to make the activities this year (November 25th) but I wanted to share Loy Krathong photos from the last several years.   ​

Loi Krathong occurs on the evening of the 12th full moon in the traditional Thai lunar calendar and in the Western calendar this usually falls in November. On this day Thais launch their krathong in a river, canal, lake or a pond, making a wish as they do so. The traditional krathong is a floating decoration made from a slice of the trunk of a banana tree or a spider lily plant where as the modern krathongs are more often made of bread or Styrofoam. The Thais are moving away from Styrofoam because of the obvious impacts to the environment. Thais are often seen launching the floating lanterns on this day and there is the occasional fireworks making this holiday magical to observe.  The festival likely stems from an ancient ritual paying respect to the water spirits, so important to the survival to the Thais of long ago.
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the Loy Krathong Song (in English):

Loi Loi Krathong,
Loi Loi Krathong,
Loi Krathong is here and everybody's full of cheer,

We're together at the klong,
We're together at the klong,

Each one with this krathong,
As we push away we pray,
​We can see a better day. 
Loy Krathong - Festival of Lights (full photo set)
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Thailand's Royal Palaces

11/10/2015

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There are a number of Royal Palaces open to the public throughout Thailand.  Most of these palaces act as Museums, offering the exposure of Thai History to the general public. This post compiles a list of palaces that I have visited and that are worth a visit from you!  

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Bankok's Grand Palace ​

Thailand's famous "Grand Palace" is a building complex at the heart of oldtown Bangkok. This palace was used as the official residence of the Thai Kings from 1782 to 1925 and housed the King, his court and the royal government. Adjacent to the Palace is Wat Phra Kaew or the "Temple of the Emerald Buddha" ... Read More...

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Vimanmek Palace - The Teak Palace

Vimanmek Palace, purported to be the largest Golden Teak Structures in the world, was originally built in 1868 on Koh Si Chang, a small island off the coast of Si Racha just north of Pattaya and originally called Munthatu Rattanaroj Residence. Koh Si Chang Island... Read More...

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Bang Pa-In Palace

Approximately 60 kilometers north of Bangkok, near the ancient capital city of Ayutthaya, lies Bang Pa In, the summer palace of the King of Thailand.  Nestled on the banks of the Chao Praya River, the original palace complex dates back to the 17th century and the reign of King Prasat Thong...  Read More...

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Phra Tamnak Doi Tung - Princess Mother's Royal Villa

The Royal Villa at Doi Tung was the residence of Her Royal Highness Princess Srinagarindra, the Princess Mother. The villa was built in 1987 and constructed under Her Majesty's supervision to incorporate architectural elements from Switzerland...  Read More...

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Ban Puen Palace

Ban Puen Palace, also called Phra Ram Ratchaniwet, is located at Ban Puen sub-district of Muang District in Phetchburi about 2 hours drive south of Bangkok and an hour noth of Hua Hin...  Read More...

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Mrigadayavsn Palace - Palace on the Beach

The Mrigadayavsn Palace (often referred to as the “Palace on the Beach”) was built by King Vajiravudh in 1925. The palace is made up of 16 buildings in 3 groups, one for men, one for women and one for gatherings and assemblies.  Read More... 

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Bhuping Palace on Doi Suthep Mountain

The Bhubing Palace, built in 1961, is located on top of Doi Suthep Mountain to the west of City of Chiang Mai Province. The Palace is the royal winter residence in Chiang Mai where the Royal family stays during seasonal visits to the people in the northern part of Thailand.  Read More...

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Phra Nakhon Khiri Palace - Majestic Views in Petchaburi

Phra Nakhon Khiri Palace in Petchaburi has the most majestic views and one worth visiting.  The palace is located on a high hill on the outskirts of the town of Petchaburi in Southern Thailand. Read More...

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Royal Patent - Chaipattana Low Speed Aerator

11/8/2015

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His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej combined his keen interest in mechanisms, motors, and vehicles and his strong desire to help the Thai people by cleaning the increasingly polluted waters of his country by developing water aeration devices. In 1993, His Majesty became the world's first sitting monarch to be granted a patent for an aerator used in waterway treatment. The device, referred to as "Chaipattana Low Speed Aerator", which is a paddle-wheel machine attached to a floating buoy that adds oxygen to water though the moving of the water with the paddle scoops. The Chaipattana Low Speed Aerator can be seen in many of the waterways in Thailand. The photos in this blog are from Lumpini Park in Downtown Bangkok. ​The monument shown in the photo to the right is a tribute to the Thai King and his efforts in developing this important device.

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Halloween in Bangkok 2015

11/1/2015

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When I am in Bangkok for Halloween I like to go to Khao San Road to see some interesting costumes. Halloween in Khao San Road is definitely more for adults, but Halloween is not really celebrated in Thailand in the normal sense.  Thousands of people crowded the Khao San Road Area to enjoy the festivities.
The photo set attached to this blog shows you some of these creative people in Thailand.  Let me know what you think…  ​
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Monk Ordination Ceremony in Thailand

10/31/2015

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The decision of a young man to become a Buddhist monk is usually made to make merit for his family, is extremely important to Thai people. The making of merit, the Thais believe, is always rising and falling in one's life and that merit and goodness determine a person's level of existence at any moment in time. The making of merit can come in the form of feeding fish, donating money to the poor, or volunteering your time to become a monk. Becoming a monk in Thailand requires adhering to strict moral precepts, living a rigorous lifestyle of the daily collection of alms from the local community in the early morning hours and hours of prayers and meditation and of course doing chores around the temple.
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Any man can become a monk in Thailand. To become a monk, a man should be at least 20 years old, he must be able to read and write, and he must study and understand the precepts for being a monk. He is given an examination, and if he passes, he is given a certificate of entry to the monkhood by the district head in his province. On the day of ordination, his head and eyebrows are shaved, he is given a white robe, and this is celebrated at the temple with his family and friends. Any ordained monk may leave the order at any time he chooses simply by informing the abbot at his temple. A monk in Thailand is treated with great respect, and the institution itself is highly revered and sanctioned by the government. The government encourages businesses to give time off to their employees who may want to be a monk for a short time and provide pay leave, which is a tax deduction for the business. Others may make it a lifelong vocation.

​I was invited to a Monk Ordination Ceremony by a good friend who was becoming a monk for 3 weeks.  I was able to take both video and photos of the entire event which is in two main parts, the head shaving ceremony and the main ordination event. 
The Shaving ceremony takes place the day prior to the ordination date and begins by family and friends each taking a piece of hair using special scissors. Then the monk leading the ceremony shaves the heads of the supplicants.  When the heads are completely shaved (including their eyebrows) then an orange herb is applied the supplicants bodies. 
The day of the ceremony begins with the supplicant dressing in an ornate robe and having a special breakfast with the closest of family members.  Then the supplicants don white robes and walk three times around the temple, leading the ordination participants.  Following the third time around the Temple the supplicant toss good luck coins the attendees.  The ceremony begins with the supplicants in the white robes and mid way through the ceremony the robes are changed to the traditional orange robes of the Monk and they are given their alms bowls. The Alms Bowls are special for once the supplicant becomes a monk they will use the bowls every morning to gather gifts of food for the temple.
Monk Ordination Ceremony (complete Photo Set)
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    Thailand Culture

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    Art Box At EM District
    Bangkok Greets 2016! Happy New Year!
    Celebrating The Beginning Of Buddhist Lent - Khao Phansa
    Chinese New Year Celebrations In Bangkok
    East And West Meet At The Beach
    Halloween In Bangkok 2015
    Icons Of Thailand
    Jungle Markets Of Thailand
    Khon Performance Of The Prommas
    Loy Krathong Festival At Golden Mount
    Loy Krathong - Festival Of Lights
    Loy Krathong In Lumpini Park
    Monk Ordination Ceremony In Thailand
    Morning Alms In Exotic Places
    Ramakien Or Thai Ramayana
    Rice Paddy Fish BBQ
    Royal Patent - Chaipattana Low Speed Aerator
    Songkran 2016 - Silom Water Fight
    Songkran 2016 - Small Soi Activities
    Thailand's Royal Palaces
    The History Of Thailand's Floating Markets
    The Navarathiri Festival In Bangkok
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    Wat Khanon - Home Of Nang Yai - Thai Shadow Puppets

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