The Chinese people of Samrong in Samut Prakan Province believe that their God Jao Por Tap will help them get rich. Behind Imperial World, on the old Paknam Railway Road, they have built a large Chinese shrine dedicated to this God. Every year, on the last Sunday of January, they hold a parade through town which is attended by literally thousands of local people.

It was still dark when people started turning up at the Jao Por Tap Shrine. We arrived there shortly after 7 a.m. and both the road outside and the grounds of the shrine were crowded to capacity. This was the first time I had attended this parade and so didn't really know what to expect. There was so much going on in different directions that I didn't know where to focus my attention. The Governor of Samut Prakan was there as well as local politicians. In fact, anyone who was anybody had turned up for this event.

The opening ceremony involved the usual speeches and these came to an end with firecrackers and crashes of cymbals and banging of drums. This signalled the start of the parade. I think it would be fair to say that this was the largest Chinese parade that I have ever seen. As well as marching bands there were also the dancing dragons and acrobats. There was even this guy that had skewers through his cheeks.

The parade left the shrine shortly after 8 a.m. and made its way up the Old Railway Road and then turned right next to Samrong Hospital and headed towards Imperial World and then out onto Sukhumwit Road. Along the way, shopkeepers had set up small shrines on tables. The dancing dragons and acrobats did a small performance in front of these shrines and they were then given some money.

There must have been over 1,000 people in the parade but there were also thousands of people lining the parade route through town. It was a big event on the calendar for Samrong. From where I stood taking pictures and shooting video, it took them about 45 minutes to pass by me. Then as quickly as it started it was all over. Though, of course not for them. They still had a long way to go.

You can see many more of our pictures and also a video over at www.paknam.com and www.paknamphotos.com.

The annual National Children's Day for Thailand took place today. Children are considered as the most valuable resource of the country. There is a Thai saying that goes, "Children are the future of the nation, if the children are intelligent, the country will be prosperous." To help stimulate children to be aware of their significant role in the country, the National Children's Day was held for the first time on the first Monday of October 1955 and continued like this until 1963. Then it was changed to the second Saturday of January.

Many organizations around the country and popular tourist attractions for children, like zoos, put on special activities for children. Most of these allowed children to go in for free. Some public transport was also free today for children. In Samut Prakan, children didn't have to pay to go to the Crocodile Farm, Ancient Siam and The Erawan Museum. Other places, like the Royal Thai Naval Academy, opened their doors especially for children and their parents. Here two boys are playing on a warship. There was also dog shows.

At the City Hall Plaza in Samut Prakan, there were many activities for the children to take part in. Many of the fun games had prizes which they gave away. But there were also some booths, like this one, where they were just handing out presents to the children. There was also free food and drinks for everyone including parents. The fire brigade was there allowing the children to have hands-on experience of putting out fires.

The emphasis was on having fun and there was certainly plenty of that despite all the crowds. The event was opened by the Governor who told the children of the motto for this year which is: "Think creatively, learn diligently, uphold morality." He also allowed the children to go and visit his office where he works and have their picture taken with him. Children all over the country certainly look forward to this day.

You can see some more of my pictures over at www.paknamphotos.com and a video at www.paknam.com.

Judging by these photos that I took early this morning, not everyone was nursing hangovers after welcoming in the New Year at midnight last night. Like thousands of other local people from Paknam, I was up early at 6 a.m. to head down to the City Pillar where the main road through town had been closed for a merit making ceremony. This is a traditional Thai way of bringing yourself good luck for the new year.

Exactly 99 monks from nine local temples were invited to attend the chanting and merit making. Tables had been lined up on both sides of the road and people came early with food and essential supplies to offer to the monks. After the chanting, the Governor of Samut Prakan then gave everyone a blessing for a prosperous new year. Then the 99 monks came out to receive the alms.

It was all over almost before it had started. Taking pictures of the mass alms giving is always a bit difficult. Apart from being so many people there, each monk had a helper who had to keep emptying the alms bowl by pouring the contents into a sack. They often walked in front of the monks that sometimes blocked our view. I took lots of pictures but I had to make sure that I got at least one good one of the Governor and his wife for the local newspaper. Visit our www.paknam.com website for more local news. I have also posted many more pictures and a video of this event.

Some of the best orchids in the world can be found in Thailand. They grow here easily and can also be bought at a good price. However, with over 1,000 species of orchids in Thailand the price can vary from cheap to extremely expensive. If you are interested in flowers or like taking pictures, then you would surely be interested to know that some of the best orchids in Thailand are on display this weekend at Ancient Siam in Samut Prakan Province.

As part of the celebration for the new year, Ancient Siam have organized the Thai Orchid Festival which will run between 31st December 2009 and 3rd January 2010. The event was officially opened by Mr. Surachai Kanasa, Governor of Samut Prakan.

The opening ceremony was this afternoon. However, there are still many activities going on over the weekend. All of the orchids in the competition will still be on display. Ancient Siam is a great place to go at the best of times. But, if there is a festival going on then it is definitely good value for money.

Ancient Siam is a large open air museum with buildings, monuments and important structures from all over the country. If you want to see traditional Thai style house from the four regions then this is a great place to come. You can rent a bicycle and easily spend the good part of the day exploring the park. Ancient Siam is one of my favourite places to take pictures and I always go whenever they have a festival. Visit our www.paknam.com website for more detailed information.

Sriwittayapaknam School in Samut Prakan put on Christmas activities for their students on the morning of 25th December 2009. As the students arrived at school, they were greeted by Santa Claus and a couple dozen fairies. The young fairies handed out candies to the students as they arrived.

During morning assembly, there was singing and dancing around a Christmas Tree. The students sang popular Christmas songs such as Jingle Bells, Away in a Manger and We Wish You a Merry Christmas. All of the students in our school are Buddhists and there are no Christians. However, Thai people are always keen to adopt festivities of other countries as long as they are fun.

Visit the Paknam Web Forums to see some videos shot this morning.

Millions of people from all around Thailand came together on the evening of the 5th December 2009 to celebrate H.M. The King's 82nd birthday. In Samut Prakan we also had a ceremony in the City Hall Plaza alongside the river. This was attended by the Governor, Mr. Surachai Kanasa, and the City Mayor as well hundreds of local people. They represented schools, government departments and private organizations.

From 6 p.m. onwards, each group took turns in paying homage to a portrait of H.M. The King by presenting two "phan phums". This is a lotus bud shaped floral design. They are presented on a small tray. They are not easy to make and it can be time-consuming. Traditionally a mould is made using clay mixed with sawdust. But these days special dry floral foam is cut into the shape of a lotus bud. The stem of the dried flower is cut off and a sharp pointed slither of bamboo is used to pin it into the dry foam.

It took over an hour for all of the organizations to present their "phan phum". Everything had to be finished before 7.19 p.m. as this was the auspicious time chosen to start the main ceremony that would take place simultaneously around the country. The main event in Bangkok at Sanam Luang was televised and broadcast live around the country. Millions of candles were lit at exactly 7.19 p.m. and the Thai people then sang songs to praise H.M. The King.

The sea of candle light was a beautiful scene but the grand finale of the event was of course the magnificent firework display. We actually had two shows as a district across the river started theirs a little early while we were still singing. At the completion of the songs the sky behind the giant portrait of H.M. The King was lit up with colourful fireworks. A beautiful finish to a wonderful evening.

Today, people from all around the country are coming together to celebrate the 82nd birthday of H.M. The King. Many of them are wearing pink which is an auspicious colour believed to help make the King better. The Thai monarch has been in Siriraj Hospital in Bangkok since 19th September for treatment for inflammation of his lungs. Several thousand well-wishers gathered at the City Hall Plaza in Samut Prakan to give alms to 99 monks in honour of His Majesty.

The ceremony was opened by Mr. Surachai Kanasa, the Governor of Samut Prakan. He first paid homage to a Buddha image and then took part in chanting. Attending the event were many local government officials who all came together to pay homage to His Majesty. A similar event was being held at the same time in Bangkok at Sanam Luang. H.M. The King is regarded as a father to all Thai people as they love him so much. This day is also celebrated as National Father's Day.

After the chanting had finished, the Governor led the local people in giving alms to several hundred monks. Tables had been set up around the parade ground and local people had gathered behind them since early morning. They did this to make merit on behalf of H.M. The King. To make the most merit, the food should have been prepared by themselves before they arrived and not bought at a food stall. Leftovers from the night before must never be given to monks.

The local people stood behind the tables as the monks slowly made their way down the row. People were giving fresh food as well as pre-prepared packages such as pot noodles that you can see in this picture. As some of these items were too big for the alms bowls, each of the monks were assisted by temple boys who carried big sacks. The monk then emptied their bowls into these sacks. By the end of the alms giving event, the pick-up trucks from the temples were full with sacks of food. Local people also gave the monks purple orchid flowers and also envelopes containing money.

After the alms giving had finished, Mr. Surachai Kanasa and local people made merit for H.M. The King by releasing 1,000,000 sea creatures into the Chao Phraya River. This is a common event done to make merit for birthdays. People usually release birds or fish. I thought that 1,000,000 was a staggering number to release in one go, but it turned out to be very small shrimps. These were in plastic bags which people emptied out into a large tub of water. From this there was a pipe which washed the shrimps out into the river below. This evening, Mr. Surachai Kanasa will lead the local people to light candles to wish the monarch a happy birthday.

More pictures can be seen at www.PaknamPhotos.com and also a video at www.paknam.com.

Tomorrow is the 82nd Birthday for H.M. The King. In past years, most Thai people would wear yellow in honour of His Majesty. In Bangkok there would be a sea of yellow. However, after the PAD hijacked the colour yellow and forever took it away from representing His Majesty, a new colour has emerged. People now wear pink to honour the King. At the ceremony held at the school this morning, all of the teachers had to wear pink shirts. Tomorrow, in Samut Prakan, we have two main events. This is merit making with 100 monks at 6.30 a.m. in the morning and then a candlelight celebration at 6 p.m. in the evening. I will be there to cover both events for our local newspaper and also our news site at www.paknam.com. I have been instructed that all of the media have to wear pink shirts tomorrow with the "Press Association of Thailand" logo on it. I think we will all be pretty in pink tomorrow.