Before I first came to Thailand, I spent about 2-3 months in India. A country I personally found fascinating in its richness of culture. So, when I arrived in Thailand I wasn’t really surprised to see Hindu influences in all walks of Thai life. From places of worship to people’s homes. An example of...
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Thousands of people with a fascination of Thai culture visit our web sites every day. Not all of these are tourists – many have already been to Thailand on holiday and want to know more about their favourite destination. It always surprises my Thai colleagues at school when I tell them how many foreigners...
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When I was driving through Taiban late last night I noticed a brightly lit stage in the middle of a deserted parking lot. This was instantly recognizable as likay which is a form of Thai folk opera/drama. Despite the fact that they were probably 200 metres away, I could still hear them singing very...
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There is a Thai superstition that if you and your lover are born on the correct days then you will have a long and happy marriage. These combinations will succeed: A man born on Sunday and a woman born on Monday (and vice versa) A man born on Friday and a woman born on...
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I told you the other week about the Thai belief that it is unlucky to get a haircut on Wednesdays (see Which days are unlucky?). Did you know, that you should also pay close attention to which day you wash your hair?! Wash your hair on Sunday – you will live long Wash your...
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Although the Thai Zodiac is similar to what we use in the West, you will see from the following chart that the Thai version is off by about 23 days. According to “Thai Ways” (Denis Segaller 205), this is because the Western version takes the sun as its reference point. While in the Thai...
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I talked before about lucky coloured clothes for each day of the week. Well, Thai people have more superstitions about each day. If you were born on a…. …Sunday, don’t do anything auspicious on a Friday. …Monday, don’t do anything auspicious on a Sunday. …Tuesday, don’t do anything auspicious on a Monday. …Wednesday, don’t...
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Did you know that in Thailand that each day of the week is assigned a different colour for clothes you wear? I didn’t really know about this at first but after a few years I was starting to get curious as to why people were giving me a different coloured shirt for my birthday....
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Have you ever wondered what happened to spirit houses when they die? If you have been to Thailand then you must have seen the spirit houses. They are everywhere. Just about every house has one – also every business, school and even petrol stations! These little ornate houses on a pole, are for the...
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What would you say the symbol of your country is? One of my students came up to me the other day and asked what is the symbol of England. I couldn’t really think of any one symbol. Certainly not an official one. My student suggested Big Ben which is partly true but that is...
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