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.
After the 1978 Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia and subsequent collapse of Democratic Kampuchea in 1979, the Khmer Rouge fled to the border regions of Thailand, and, with assistance from China, Pol Pot's troops managed to regroup and reorganize in forested and mountainous zones on the Thai-Cambodian border. During the 1980s and early 1990s Khmer Rouge forces operated from inside refugee camps in Thailand, in an attempt to de-stabilize the pro-HanoiPeople's Republic of Kampuchea's government, which Thailand refused to recognise. Thailand and Vietnam faced off across the Thai-Cambodian border with frequent Vietnamese incursions and shellings into Thai territory throughout the 1980s in pursuit of Cambodian guerrillas who kept attacking Vietnamese occupation forces. (Full article...)
The UDD protest at Ratchaprasong intersection on 8 April 2010
The 2010 Thai political protests were a series of political protests that were organised by the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) (also known as "Red Shirts") in Bangkok, Thailand from 12 March–19 May 2010 against the Democrat Party-led government. The UDD called for Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to dissolve parliament and hold elections earlier than the end of term elections scheduled in 2012. The UDD demanded that the government stand down, but negotiations to set an election date failed. The protests escalated into prolonged violent confrontations between the protesters and the military, and attempts to negotiate a ceasefire failed. More than 80 civilians and six soldiers were killed, and more than 2,100 injured by the time the military violently put down the protest on 19 May. (Full article...)
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The Pheu Thai Party (PTP; Thai: พรรคเพื่อไทย, lit. 'For Thais Party', RTGS: Phak Phuea Thai, pronounced[pʰákpʰɯ̂atʰāj]) is a major Thai political party and is the third incarnation of a Thai political party founded by former prime ministerThaksin Shinawatra. It is the current majority ruling party of Thailand, ruling along with other parties in a coalition.
The Pheu Thai Party was founded on 20 September 2007, as an anticipated replacement for the People's Power Party (PPP), which the Constitutional Court of Thailand dissolved less than three months later after finding party members guilty of electoral fraud. The People's Power Party was itself a replacement for Thaksin's original Thai Rak Thai Party (TRT), dissolved by the Court in May 2007 for violation of electoral laws. (Full article...)
Thai cooking places emphasis on lightly prepared dishes with aromatics and spicy heat. The Australian chef David Thompson, an expert on Thai food, observes that unlike many other cuisines, Thai cooking is "about the juggling of disparate elements to create a harmonious finish. Like a complex musical chord it's got to have a smooth surface but it doesn't matter what's happening underneath. Simplicity isn't the dictum here, at all." (Full article...)
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The Legend of Suriyothai (Thai: สุริโยไท) is a 2001 Thai film written and directed by Chatrichalerm Yukol, which portrays the life of Queen Suriyothai, who is regarded by Thai people as the "great feminist". It records the climax when she takes her battle elephant in front of the Burmese army and sacrifices herself to save the life of her King Maha Chakkraphat and his kingdom. It was Thailand's most expensive film and the highest-grossing, until it was surpassed by Pee Mak. (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). The secret forest someway somehow has a link with the reality as origin of some places that exist in real world are told from the story of Himavanta. 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...)
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...)
The party was founded in March 2018 by Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, former vice president of Thai Summit Group, and Piyabutr Saengkanokkul, a legal scholar. It was founded on a progressive platform that sought to restrain the military's power in Thai politics, decentralize the bureaucracy, and improve social and economic equality. The party was dissolved by the Constitutional Court on 21 February 2020. (Full article...)
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Location In Samut Prakan##Location in Thailand##Location in Southeast Asia
Image 6Display 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 26Wat 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 28Ananta 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 29Phibun welcomes students of Chulalongkorn University, at Bangkok's Grand Palace – 8 October 1940. (from History of Thailand)
Image 46Map 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)
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Luang Por Dattajivo (Thai: ทตฺตชีโว, RTGS: Thattachiwo; Pali: Dattajīvo; born 21 December 1940), also known by his birth name Phadet Phongsawat (Thai: เผด็จ ผ่องสวัสดิ์) and former ecclesiastical titlePhrarajbhavanajahn (Thai: พระราชภาวนาจารย์, RTGS: Phra Rat Phawanachan), is a Thai Buddhist monk. He is the former deputy-abbot of Wat Phra Dhammakaya and the vice-president of the Dhammakaya Foundation, and was the observing abbot of the temple from 1999 until 2006, and again from 2011 until 2016. he was still widely considered the de facto abbot. He met Mae chi (nun) Chandra Khonnokyoong and Luang Por Dhammajayo in his student years, and they have been his teachers throughout his life.
Luang Por Dattajivo was ordained in 1971, and quickly became a prolific author. He also took on a significant role in managing Wat Phra Dhammakaya. It was for this position that he was charged by the Thai military junta in 2017, when he refused to deliver Luang Por Dhammajayo to the authorities. This happened during the lockdown by the Thai junta, when abbot Luang Por Dhammajayo was sought for charges of receiving ill-gotten gains, charges which have been widely described as politically motivated. (Full article...)
... 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 So Sethaputra compiled his authoritative English–Thai dictionary while in prison, with the manuscripts smuggled out for publication?
... 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?
Credit:User:Hdamm
The roof of Wat Makut Kasat (วัดมกุฎกษัตริยาราม), Bangkok, shows the victory crown as the royal emblem of King Mongkut (Rama IV), flanked by two five-tiered umbrellas.