Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of 66 million, it spans 513,115 square kilometres (198,115 sq mi). Thailand is bordered to the northwest by Myanmar, to the northeast and east by Laos, to the southeast by Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the southwest by the Andaman Sea; it also shares maritime borders with Vietnam to the southeast and Indonesia and India to the southwest. Bangkok is the state capital and largest city.
The Thai Rak Thai Party (TRT; Thai: พรรคไทยรักไทย, RTGS: Phak Thai Rak Thai, IPA:[pʰáktʰajráktʰaj]; "Thais Love Thais Party") was a Thai political party founded in 1998. From 2001 to 2006, it was the ruling party under its founder, Prime MinisterThaksin Shinawatra. During its brief existence, Thai Rak Thai won the three general elections it contested. Eight months after a military coup forced Thaksin to remain in exile, the party was dissolved on 30 May 2007 by the Constitutional Tribunal for violation of electoral laws, with 111 former party members banned from participating in politics for five years. (Full article...)
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Statue of King Ram Khamhaeng the Great, Sukhothai Historical Park, Sukhothai Province, Thailand
He is credited for the creation of the Thai alphabet and the firm establishment of Theravada Buddhism as the state religion of the kingdom. (Full article...)
King Rama VI was the person who shed the light first on the Ramayana studies in Thailand, by tracing the sources of the Ramakien, comparing it with the Sanskrit Valmiki Ramayana. He found that the Ramakien was influenced by three sources: the Valmiki's Ramayana, the Vishnu Purana, and Hanuman Nataka (all three are from Hinduism). A number of versions of the epic were lost in the destruction of Ayutthaya in 1767. Three versions currently exist, one of which was prepared in 1797 under the supervision of (and partly written by) King Rama I. His son, Rama II, rewrote some parts of his father's version for khon drama. The work has had an important influence on Thai literature, art and drama (both the khon and nang dramas being derived from it). (Full article...)
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Phra Pathommachedi
Phra Pathommachedi or Phra Pathom Chedi (Thai: พระปฐมเจดีย์) is a Buddhist stupa in Thailand. The stupa is located in the Wat Phra Pathommachedi Ratcha Wora Maha Wihan (Thai: วัดพระปฐมเจดีย์ราชวรมหาวิหาร), a temple in the town center of Nakhon Pathom, Nakhon Pathom Province, Thailand. Phra Pathommachedi is the tallest stupa in the world. The top of its spire reaches 120.45 meters, with the base circumference of 235.50 meters.
The name Phra Pathommachedi means the first holy stupa, given by king Mongkut. Modern Historians believe that the stupa was one of the principal stupas of ancient Nakhon Pathom, the largest city of the Mon kingdom of Dvaravati in Nakhon Pathom area together with the nearby Phra Prathon Chedi (Thai: พระประโทณเจดีย์) during the 6th to the 8th centuries. (Full article...)
After his appointment as army chief in 2010, Prayut was characterised as a royalist and an opponent of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Considered a hardliner within the military, he was one of the leading proponents of military crackdowns on the Red Shirt demonstrations of April 2009 and April–May 2010. He later sought to moderate his profile, talking to relatives of protesters who were killed in the bloody conflict and cooperating with the government of Yingluck Shinawatra, who won parliamentary elections in July 2011. (Full article...)
Pattaya City (Thai: เมืองพัทยา, RTGS: Mueang Phatthaya, pronounced[mɯ̄a̯ŋpʰát.tʰā.jāː]) is a self-governing municipal area within, but not part of, Bang Lamung district and has a population of 119,532. It covers the tambons of Nong Prue and Na Klua and parts of Huai Yai and Nong Pla Lai. Although the municipal area is not part of Bang Lamung district, Pattaya City has grown into all adjacent sub-districts and accounts for the largest population percentage in the district, making it de facto a part of the "Pattaya-Bang Lamung-Jomtien" area, otherwise known as "Greater Pattaya". (Full article...)
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Himavanta (Thai: หิมพานต์;RTGS: Himmaphan; Khmer:ហេមពាន្ត;UNGEGN:Hempéandâ; Burmese: ဟိမဝန္တာ; MLCTS: hi.ma.wanta) is a legendary forest that is said to be located at the hill of Himmanpan Mountain or the Himalayas which is derived from the Sanskrit word Himālaya (हिमालय 'abode of the snow'). Himavanta appears in a Thai literature named Traibhumikatha (Thai: ไตรภูมิกถา) which explained that Himavanta is the name of the forest and the mountain where many small and large mythical creatures such as Phaya Naga (Thai: พญานาค), Phaya Krut (Thai: พญาครุฑ), and Kinnaree (Thai: กินรี), spirits or even gods or goddess are resided in. The mythical Nariphon tree (Thai: นารีผล) that often mentioned in Thai folklore, is also said to grow here. The story of Himavanta and the explanation of the three existed planes are created by the king, the philosopher who rules the Si Satchanalai (Thai: ศรีสัชนาลัย) whose name is Phaya Lithai (Thai: พญาลิไท). Since the concept of Himavanta forest related with Buddhist cosmology, it profoundly created impacts and influences on beliefs, cultures and arts in religions (Buddhism or Hinduism) and in general. (Full article...)
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Durians at a market
The durian (/ˈdʊəriən/, /ˈdjʊəriən/) is the edible fruit of several tree species belonging to the genusDurio. There are 30 recognized Durio species, at least nine of which produce edible fruit. Durio zibethinus, native to Borneo and Sumatra, is the only species available on the international market. It has over 300 named varieties in Thailand and 100 in Malaysia as of 1987. Other species are sold in their local regions.
Named in some regions as the "king of fruits", the durian is distinctive for its large size, strong odour, and thorn-covered rind. The fruit can grow as large as 30 cm (12 in) long and 15 cm (5.9 in) in diameter, and it typically weighs 1 to 3 kg (2.2 to 6.6 lb). Its shape ranges from oblong to round, the colour of its husk from green to brown, and its flesh from pale yellow to red, depending on the species. (Full article...)
Siamosaurus (meaning "Siam lizard") is a genus of spinosauriddinosaur that lived in what is now known as China and Thailand during the Early Cretaceousperiod (Barremian to Aptian) and is the first reported spinosaurid from Asia. It is confidently known only from tooth fossils; the first were found in the Sao Khua Formation, with more teeth later recovered from the younger Khok Kruat Formation. The only speciesSiamosaurus suteethorni, whose name honours Thai palaeontologistVaravudh Suteethorn, was formally described in 1986. In 2009, four teeth from China previously attributed to a pliosaur—under the species "Sinopliosaurus" fusuiensis—were identified as those of a spinosaurid, possibly Siamosaurus. It is yet to be determined if two partial spinosaurid skeletons from Thailand and an isolated tooth from Japan also belong to Siamosaurus.
Since it is based only on teeth, Siamosaurus's body size is uncertain, though it has been estimated at between 5.1 to 9.1 metres (17 to 30 feet) in length. The holotype tooth is 62.5 millimetres (2.46 inches) long. Siamosaurus's teeth were straight, oval to circular in cross-section, and lined with distinct lengthwise grooves. Its teeth had wrinkled enamel, similar to teeth from the related genus Baryonyx. As a spinosaur it would have had a long, low snout and robust forelimbs, and one possible skeleton indicates the presence of a tall sail running down its back, another typical trait of this theropod family. Siamosaurus is considered by some palaeontologists to be a dubious name, with some arguing that its teeth are hard to differentiate from those of other Early Cretaceous spinosaurids, and others that it may not be a dinosaur at all. Based on dental traits, Siamosaurus and "S." fusuiensis have been placed in the subfamilySpinosaurinae. (Full article...)
Image 15Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall, the royal reception hall built in European architectural style. Construction was started by Rama V, but was completed in 1915. (from History of Thailand)
Image 25Display of respect of the younger towards the elder is a cornerstone value in Thailand. A family during the Buddhist ceremony for young men who are to be ordained as monks. (from Culture of Thailand)
Image 38Map showing linguistic family tree overlaid on a geographic distribution map of Tai-Kadai family. This map only shows general pattern of the migration of Tai-speaking tribes, not specific routes, which would have snaked along the rivers and over the lower passes. (from History of Thailand)
Image 39Yi Peng, floating lantern festival in Northern Thailand, observed around the same time as Loy Krathong. (from Culture of Thailand)
Image 46Wat Arun, the most prominent temple of the Thonburi period, derives its name from the Hindu god Aruṇa. Its main prang was constructed later in the Rattanakosin period. (from History of Thailand)
Image 47Funeral pyre of Chan Kusalo, the patriarch-abbot of northern Thailand. (from Culture of Thailand)
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The Dhammakaya Cetiya
Wat Phra Dhammakaya (Thai: วัดพระธรรมกาย, RTGS: Wat Phra Thammakai, pronounced[wátpʰráʔtʰām.mā.kāːj]) is a Buddhist temple (wat) in Khlong Luang district, in the Pathum Thani province north of Bangkok, Thailand. It was founded in 1970 by the maechi (nun) Chandra Khonnokyoong and Luang Por Dhammajayo. It is the best-known and the fastest growing temple of the Dhammakaya tradition. This tradition, teaching Dhammakaya meditation (Vijja Dhammakaya), was started by the meditation master Luang Pu Sodh Candasaro in the early 20th century. Wat Phra Dhammakaya is one of the temples that emerged from this tradition and is part of the Mahā Nikāya fraternity. The temple is legally represented by the Dhammakaya Foundation. It aims to adapt traditional Buddhist values in modern society, doing so through modern technology and marketing methods. The temple has faced controversy and a government crackdown. Wat Phra Dhammakaya plays a leading role in Thai Buddhism, with theologian Edward Irons describing it as "the face of modern Thai Buddhism".
Initially, the temple was founded as a meditation center, after Maechi Chandra and the just ordained monk Luang Por Dhammajayo could no longer accommodate the rising number of participants in activities at Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen. The center became an official temple in 1977. The temple grew exponentially during the 1980s, when the temple's programs became widely known among the urban middle class. Wat Phra Dhammakaya expanded its area and the building of a huge stupa (pagoda) was started. During the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the temple was subject to widespread criticism for its fundraising methods and teachings. Luang Por Dhammajayo had several charges laid against him and was removed from his office as abbot. In 2006, the charges were withdrawn and he was restored as abbot. The temple grew further and became known for its many projects in education, promotion of ethics, and scholarship. The temple also became accepted as part of the mainstream Thai Saṅgha (monastic community). (Full article...)
... that during Siam Niramit, a Bangkok cultural show, the forestage was transformed into a 50-metre-long (160 ft) river?
... that the first batch of Action Computer Enterprise's Discovery 1600, one of the first multi-user microcomputers, was delivered to a tobacco-growing business in Thailand?
... that in addition to running Bangkok's first power station, the Siam Electricity Company also operated half the city's tram lines and a fire brigade?
... that the first Thai typewriter left out two letters, which eventually became obsolete?
... that the performers in the Thai drag show Calypso Cabaret impressed Lady Gaga with their ability to be open about their identities?