The Mon people, in the communities surrounding Wat Bang Ya Phraek in Phra Pradaeng District of Samut Prakan, took part in a parade and merit making activities this afternoon. In Thai, this parade is called “ngan hae yot phra chedi sai”. Which is basically a parade to carry the pinnacle or slender spires for...
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I have just returned from a three day trip to Trang and Satun in the South of Thailand. I was invited by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) to join them to do “Product Testing for Quality Tourists”. It sounded like fun so I jumped at the chance to go. We flew down to...
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Well, this turned out to be one crazy night at Silom, it was one night I wished I had not gone to take some pictures for the tweeple. It started with the usual scene, No colors set up on the right side of silom, the Reds on the other, quietly behind their bamboo fort....
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Before you read this, please know that I am completely neutral in this battle for democracy, I was about to type that I have “No color”, but then I would be still taking a side. You can call me Shirtless I guess. Up until now, there has been nothing resolved, only more protest’s popping...
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The Thai army have now declared their willingness to use live fire in defending Silom from the Red Shirt protesters. They are deadly serious about this issue. The Reds seem to know it as they have called off today a march to Silom. This morning I visited the Sala Daeng Intersection to see what...
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One of the main events organized during Songkran celebrations around Thailand is the Miss Songkran Beauty Contest. The one that I went to on Friday night was held at the municipal offices in Phra Pradaeng, Samut Prakan. It takes place every year and it is always fun to go and watch. Both male and...
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Taking a break from the hectic Songkran celebrations the other day, I went to Wat Chai Mongkol in Samut Prakan. It was like an oasis in the middle of a war zone. In the surrounding area, roaming pickup trucks, packed with people armed to the teeth, were patrolling the streets looking for people to...
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One of the more traditional events that took place during Songkran recently was “song nam phra”. This is the practice of bathing Buddha images with rose scented water. Most tourists, and even some Thai teenagers, seem to think that Songkran is only about throwing water at each other. However, it was originally more a...
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As you probably all know now, Thailand is celebrating Songkran this week, which is the traditional Thai new year. It is basically a week of waterfights, but there are also some other traditional aspects to the festival which I will tell you about later. Yesterday I went to visit Ancient Siam (Muang Boran) in...
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Thailand has quite a few ethnic minorities. One of these groups are the Mons which have their own distinct culture, clothing and language. They originally came from Southern Burma where they were once rulers of their own kingdom. Due to persecution and wars, they have fled their homeland and can be found in neighbouring...
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After all the bad news in Thailand over the past few weeks, it is finally good that we can relax and enjoy one of the Kingdom’s most popular festivals. Songkran is the traditional Thai new year which is held every year between 13-15 April. As it is in the middle of the week and...
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Thai women are naive, attentive and submissive to their husbands…………. Hang on a minute are we talking about the Thai Women we all know? A few residents of Thailand may think I’ve finally lost the plot. But no this is the image being a portrayed of the female denizens of the Land of Smiles...
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These are some of the pictures of the Songkran activities that I will be joining in Samut Prakan this week. As you can see there is a lot going on during the traditional Thai new year and not all of them are to do with water throwing! Though, of course, water fights are the...
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You can trust the Thais to carry on with their festivals despite the troubles in Bangkok. The evening of Saturday 10th April 2010 was a dark day in the history of Thailand with at least 21 people killed in running street battles between the Thai army and red shirt protesters. I was there earlier...
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I am not sure about you but it is getting a bit boring with all the news about the red shirt protests. So, how about some fun pictures of children playing Songkran? While the adults in Bangkok are waging war against each other, the children of the nation have started their own version. Songkran...
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Last night, on the evening of 7th April 2010, the Prime Minister of Thailand declared a State of Emergency for Bangkok and certain districts in surrounding provinces. Although this in itself may sound scary, it in no way means that Bangkok has suddenly become dangerous. Life goes on as normal for most people. The...
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I recently visited Ancient Siam in Samut Prakan for their Guan Yin Festival. The Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara represents the spirit of compassion and is highly revered among the Chinese and other nations such as India, Tibet, Korea and Japan. The events at Ancient Siam started with paying respect to the female image at various shrines....
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We are just coming to the end of the second day of the occupation of Bangkok’s main shopping street by the red shirts. I went back again this afternoon. There seemed to be less people there today, but as they were more spread out down the road as far as the eye could see,...
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These are some of the pictures that I took at the red shirt rally today in Bangkok. It was another of those historic days in Thailand and although I was very busy taking pictures at other events in Samut Prakan, I decided I should make the time to travel into Bangkok to see what...
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It is natural for us to get interested in peoples and cultures, especially when we stay in countries for a considerable length of time. Bangkok for me was like a second home. It was delightful to see so many young couples moving around in shopping complexes, markets, the streets and other places of gathering....
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