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 almost 70 million, it spans 513,120 square kilometres (198,120 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.
Born in Chiang Mai Province into a wealthy family of HakkaChinese descent, Yingluck Shinawatra earned a bachelor's degree from Chiang Mai University and a master's degree from Kentucky State University, both in public administration. She then became an executive in the businesses founded by her elder brother, Thaksin Shinawatra and later became the president of property developer SC Asset and managing director of Advanced Info Service. Thaksin served as prime minister from 2001 until 2006 when he was overthrown by a military coup. He fled abroad shortly before he was convicted in absentia of using his position to increase his own wealth. Thereafter, he lived in self-imposed exile to avoid serving his prison sentence until he returned to Thailand in August 2023. (Full article...)
The Thai Canal, also known as Kra Canal or Kra Isthmus Canal, 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...)
Phra Bat Somdet Phra Phutthayotfa Chulalok Maharat (Thai: พระบาทสมเด็จพระพุทธยอดฟ้าจุฬาโลกมหาราช, 20 March 1737 – 7 September 1809), personal name Thongduang (ทองด้วง), also known as Rama I, was the founder of the Rattanakosin Kingdom and the first monarch of the reigning Chakri dynasty of Siam (now Thailand). His full title in Thai is Phra Bat Somdet Phra Paramoruracha Mahachakkriborommanat Phra Phutthayotfa Chulalok (พระบาทสมเด็จพระปรโมรุราชามหาจักรีบรมนารถ พระพุทธยอดฟ้าจุฬาโลก). He ascended the throne in 1782, following the deposition of King Taksin of Thonburi. He was also celebrated as the founder of Rattanakosin (now Bangkok) as the new capital of the reunited kingdom.
Rama I, whose given name was Thongduang, was born from a Mon male line descent family, great-grandson of Kosa Pan. His father served in the royal court of the Ayutthaya Kingdom. Thongduang and his younger brother Boonma served King Taksin in wars against the Burmese Konbaung dynasty and helped him in the reunification of Siam. During this time he emerged as Siam's most powerful military leader. Thongduang was the first Somdet Chao Phraya, the highest rank the nobility could attain, equaled to that of royalty. In 1782, he took control of Siam and crowned himself as the monarch. The most famous event in his reign was the Burmese–Siamese War of 1785–86, which was the last major Burmese assault on Siam. (Full article...)
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Scene of a declaration of Siam as a democratic nation on 24 June 1932
The Siamese revolution of 1932 or Siamese coup d'état of 1932 (Thai: การปฏิวัติสยาม พ.ศ. 2475 or การเปลี่ยนแปลงการปกครองสยาม พ.ศ. 2475) was a coup d'état by Khana Ratsadon (the People's Party) which occurred in Siam on 24 June 1932. It ended Siam's centuries-long absolute monarchy rule under the Chakri dynasty and resulted in a bloodless transition of Siam into a constitutional monarchy, the introduction of democracy and the first constitution, and the creation of the National Assembly. Dissatisfaction caused by the economic crisis, the lack of a competent government, and the rise of Western-educated commoners fueled the revolution.
The Siamese cat (Thai: แมวไทย, Maeo Thai; แมวสยาม, Maeo Sayam) is one of the first distinctly recognised breeds of Asian cat. Derived from the Wichianmatlandrace, one of several varieties of cats native to Thailand (formerly known as Siam), the original Siamese became one of the most popular breeds in Europe and North America in the 19th century. Siamese cats have a distinctive colourpoint coat, resulting from a temperature-sensitive type of albinism.
The carefully refined, more extreme-featured, modern-style Siamese is characterised by blue almond-shaped eyes; a triangular head shape; large ears; an elongated, slender, and muscular body; and various forms of point colouration. Other than point colouration, the modern-style Siamese bears little resemblance to the original foundation stock, and the more moderate, traditional, or "old-style" Siamese, with a much rounder head and body, has been re-established by multiple registries as the Thai cat. Both Siamese and Thai cats are separately selectively bred by breeders, and pedigreed in multiple major cat fancier and breeder organisations. Similar to other officially recognised cat breeds, the term "Siamese" or "Thai" is only meant to be used for cats from this specific breed, which are by definition all purebred cats with a known and formally registeredancestry, also known as the cat's pedigree or "paperwork". (Full article...)
Born to a family of farmers in Ayutthaya province, he received a good education, becoming one of the nation's youngest barristers in 1919, at the age of nineteen. In 1920, he won a royal scholarship granted by the King of Siam to study in France, where he graduated from the University of Caen with a master's degree, and received a doctorate from the University of Paris in 1927. In the same year, he co-founded Khana Ratsadon with like-minded Siamese overseas royal-sponsored students. After returning to Thailand, still called Siam at the time, he worked as a judge, judicial secretariat, and professor. In the aftermath of 1932 Siamese Revolution, he played an important role in drafting two of the country's first constitutions and proposing a socialist economic plan influenced by communism scheme, principles and conducts. His plan was ill-received, and Pridi went into a short period of political exile as aftermatch of the fight-for-power with his fellow revolutionists. On his return, he took many ministerial posts in Khana Ratsadon governments. His contributions include modernizing Thai legal codes, laying the foundation for Thailand's local government system, negotiating the cancellation of unequal treaties with the West, and tax reform. (Full article...)
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Chiang Mai is the largest city in northern Thailand, the capital of Chiang Mai province and the second largest city in Thailand. It is 700 km (435 mi) north of Bangkok in a mountainous region called the Thai highlands and has a population of 1.2 million people as of 2022, which is more than 66 percent of the total population of Chiang Mai province (1.8 million).
Chiang Mai (meaning "new city" in Thai) was founded in 1296 as the new capital of Lan Na, succeeding the former capital, Chiang Rai. The city's location on the Ping River (a major tributary of the Chao Phraya River) and its proximity to major trading routes contributed to its historic importance. (Full article...)
In the regional competition, Thailand is the most successful football team in Southeast Asia with seven AFF Championship trophies and nine senior-level gold medals from the Southeast Asian Games, the most of any Southeast Asian country. In higher levels, Thailand achieved the third place in the 1972 AFC Asian Cup where it was the host, and has totally seven appearances in the AFC Asian Cup so far. Furthermore, the team reached the fourth-place in the 1990 and 1998Asian Games and participated in the Summer Olympics twice. However, Thailand has failed to obtain higher achievements in the continental and global records. The team obtained first ever win in the AFC Asian Cup in 2007 and had to wait 47 years to finally sneak out of the group stage in 2019. Thailand also advanced to the final round of World Cup qualification twice, in 2002 and 2018, but failed to qualify for the FIFA World Cup. (Full article...)
Image 6Wat 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 7Funeral pyre of Chan Kusalo, the patriarch-abbot of northern Thailand. (from Culture of Thailand)
Image 8Gurkhas guide disarmed Japanese soldiers from Bangkok to prisoner of war camps outside the city, September 1945 (from History of Thailand)
Image 27Display 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 29Map 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 30A 14-year-old Vietnamese contaminated with Agent Orange. (from History of Thailand)
Image 39People floating krathong rafts during the Loi Krathong festival in Chiang Mai, Thailand (from Culture of Thailand)
Image 40Ananta 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)
Wat Paknam was established in 1610, during the Ayutthaya period, and received support from Thai kings until the late nineteenth century. By the beginning of the twentieth century, the temple had become nearly abandoned and had fallen into disrepair. The temple underwent a major revival and became widely known under the leadership of the meditation master Luang Pu Sodh Candasaro, who was abbot there in the first half of the twentieth century. Seven years after Luang Pu's death, Somdet Chuang Varapuñño [th] became the new abbot until his death in 2021. Somdet Chuang made international headlines from 2015 onward, when his appointment as Supreme Patriarch (acting head of the Thai monastic community) was stalled and finally withdrawn, due to reasons generally interpreted as political. This has led to heated debate and protests in Thailand. As part of this process, Somdet Chuang and his assistant were accused of tax fraud. It turned out that there was not sufficient reason to charge Somdet Chuang, however. As for the charges remaining against his assistant, the latter was later acquitted due to lack of evidence, two days after Somdet Chuang's nomination as Patriarch was withdrawn. (Full article...)
... that following the controversial success of Amarin Plaza, Rangsan Torsuwan went on to design the Grand Hyatt Erawan hotel in the same vein, but with Thai-style columns replacing Ionic ones?
... 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:Markalexander100
A view inside a songthaew (Thai สองแถว, literally "two rows"), a kind of passenger vehicle in Thailand. It takes its name from the two bench seats fixed along either side of the back of the truck.