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 over 70 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.
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...)
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 of the gulf
The Gulf of Thailand, also known as the Gulf of Siam, is a shallow inlet in the southwestern South China Sea, bounded between the southwestern shores of the Indochinese Peninsula and the northern half of the Malay Peninsula. It is around 800 km (500 mi) in length and up to 560 km (350 mi) in width, and has a surface area of 320,000 km2 (120,000 sq mi). The gulf is surrounded on the north, west and southwest by the coastlines of Thailand (hence the name), on the northeast by Cambodia and the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam, and opens to the South China Sea in the southeast. (Full article...)
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The Thonburi Kingdom (Thai: ธนบุรี, IAST: Dhanapura, pronounced[tʰōnbūrīː]) was a major Siamese kingdom which existed in Southeast Asia from 1767 to 1782, centered around the city of Thonburi, in Siam or present-day Thailand. The kingdom was founded by Taksin the Great, who reunited Siam following the collapse of the Ayutthaya Kingdom, which saw the country separate into five warring regional states. The Thonburi Kingdom oversaw the rapid reunification and reestablishment of Siam as a preeminient military power within mainland Southeast Asia, overseeing the country's expansion to its greatest territorial extent up to that point in its history, incorporating Lan Na, the Laotian kingdoms (Luang Phrabang, Vientiane, Champasak), and Cambodia under the Siamese sphere of influence.
The Thonburi Kingdom saw the consolidation and continued growth of Chinese trade from Qing China, a continuation from the late Ayutthaya period (1688-1767), and the increased influence of the Chinese community in Siam, with Taksin and later monarchs sharing close connections and close family ties with the Sino-Siamese community. (Full article...)
New Year celebration, Rot Nam Dam Hua, a traditional celebration of elders
Thai New Year or Songkran (Thai: เทศกาลสงกรานต์, pronounced[tʰêːt.sā.kāːnsǒŋ.krāːn]), also known as Songkran Festival, Songkran Splendours, is the Thai New Year's national holiday. Songkran is on 13 April every year, but the holiday period extends from 14 to 15 April. In 2018 the Thai cabinet extended the festival nationwide to seven days, 9–16 April, to enable citizens to travel home for the holiday. In 2019, the holiday was observed 9–16 April as 13 April fell on a Saturday. In 2024, Songkran was extended to almost the entire month, starting on the first of April, and ending on the twenty-first, departing from the traditional 3-day format. And with the New Year of many calendars of Southeast and South Asia, in keeping with the Buddhist calendar and also coincides with New Year in Hindu calendar such as Vishu, Bihu, Pohela Boishakh, Pana Sankranti, Vaisakhi. The New Year takes place at around the same time as the new year celebrations of many regions of South Asia like China (Dai people of Yunnan Province), India, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.
In Siam, New Year is now officially celebrated 1 January. Songkran was the official New Year until 1888, when it was switched to a fixed date of 1 April. Then in 1940, this date was shifted to 1 January. The traditional Thai New Year Songkran was transformed into a national holiday. Celebrations are famous for the public water fights framed as ritual cleansing. This had become quite popular among Thai and foreigners. (Full article...)
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An auto rickshaw is a motorized version of the pulled rickshaw or cycle rickshaw. Most have three wheels and do not tilt. They are known by many terms in various countries, including auto, auto rickshaw, baby taxi, mototaxi, pigeon, jonnybee, bajaj, chand gari, lapa, tuk-tuk, tum-tum, Keke-napep, Maruwa, Adaidaita Sahu, 3wheel, pragya, bao-bao, easy bike, and tukxi.
The auto rickshaw is a common form of transport around the world, both as a vehicle for hire and for private use. They are especially common in countries with tropical or subtropical climates since they are usually not fully enclosed, and they are found in many developing countries because they are relatively inexpensive to own and operate. There are many different auto rickshaw designs. The most common type is characterized by a sheet-metal body or open frame resting on three wheels; a canvas roof with drop-down side curtains; a small cabin at the front for the driver operating handlebar controls; and a cargo, passenger, or dual purpose space at the rear. Another type is a motorcycle that has an expanded sidecar or, less often, is pushing or pulling a passenger compartment. (Full article...)
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The Thai Canal (Thai: คลองไทย), also known as Kra Canal (คลองกระ) or Kra Isthmus Canal (คลองคอคอดกระ), is any of several proposals for a canal that would connect the Gulf of Thailand with the Andaman Sea across the Kra Isthmus in southern Thailand. Such a canal would significantly reduce travel times through heavily-navigated trade routes.
The canal would provide an alternative to transit through the Straits of Malacca and shorten transit for shipments of oil to Japan and China by 1,200 km. China refers to it as part of its 21st century maritime Silk Road. Proposals, as of 2015, measure 102 kilometres long, 400 meters wide and 25 meters deep. Plans for a canal have been discussed and explored at various times. Cost, environmental concerns, and geopolitical concerns have been weighed against the potential economic and strategic benefits. (Full article...)
The maximum zone of influence of Rattanakosin included the vassal states of Cambodia, Laos, Shan States, and the northern Malay states. The kingdom was founded by Rama I of the Chakri dynasty. The first half of this period was characterized by the consolidation of Siamese power in the center of Mainland Southeast Asia and was punctuated by contests and wars for regional supremacy with rival powers Burma and Vietnam. The second period was one of engagements with the colonial powers of Britain and France in which Siam remained the only Southeast Asian state to maintain its independence.[better source needed] (Full article...)
Image 2Ananta 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 36Wat 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 41Display 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 42Funeral pyre of Chan Kusalo, the patriarch-abbot of northern Thailand. (from Culture of Thailand)
Image 55Map 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)
... that during Siam Niramit, a Bangkok cultural show, the forestage was transformed into a 50-metre-long (160 ft) river?
... that the performers in the Thai drag show Calypso Cabaret impressed Lady Gaga with their ability to be open about their identities?
... 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 "gambling lord" Hong Taechawanit's mansion in Thailand became a police station?
Credit:User:Diliff
A spectacular sunset in Bangkok, showing the skytrain and modern skyline, taken from the corner of Thanon Silom. Taken on the 4th of June, 2004.
... that the wildly popular Jatukham Rammathep amulet was created by a policeman in 1987 who believed the amulet's spirit helped him solve a murder case?