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.
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...)
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...)
Operating from its primary hub at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport, the airline currently serves 51 international and 10 domestic destinations using a fleet of 71 aircraft consisting of wide-body and narrow-body aircraft from both Boeing and Airbus. Currently Thai's route network is dominated by flights to cities in Europe, Asia and Oceania flying to 27 countries as of November 2023. Thai was the first Asia-Pacific airline to serve Heathrow Airport. Among Asia-Pacific carriers, the company has one of the largest passenger operations in Europe. As of 2023, the longest route Thai operates is the Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) to Heathrow Airport (LHR) (9,576 km [5,950 mi]). As of 2013, services between Bangkok and Los Angeles were served via Incheon International Airport near Seoul until the airline ended its flights to the United States on 25 October 2015. As of the end of 2019, 1,438 of its 22,054 employees were pilots. (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...)
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Green papaya salad with yardlong beans, chili, pla ra, brined crab, hog plum and lime
Chang Bunker and Eng Bunker (May 11, 1811 – January 17, 1874) were Siamese (Thai)-American conjoined twin brothers whose fame propelled the expression "Siamese twins" to become synonymous for conjoined twins in general. They were widely exhibited as curiosities and were "two of the nineteenth century's most studied human beings".
The brothers were born with Chinese ancestry in Siam (now known as Thailand) and were brought to the United States in 1829. Physicians inspected them as they became known to American and European audiences in "freak shows". Newspapers and the public were initially sympathetic to them, and within three years they left the control of their managers, who they thought were cheating them, and toured on their own. In early exhibitions, they were exoticized and displayed their athleticism; they later held conversations in English in a more dignified parlor setting. (Full article...)
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Formal portrait, c. 1900s
Chulalongkorn, also known as King Rama V, reigning title Phra Chula Chom Klao Chao Yu Hua (20 September 1853 – 23 October 1910), was the fifth monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri, reigning from 1 October 1868 until his death in 23 October 1910.
Chulalongkorn was born as the son of King Mongkut in 1853. In 1868, he travelled with his father and Westerners invited by Mongkut to observe the solar eclipse of 18 August 1868 in Prachuap Khiri Khan Province. However, Chulalongkorn and his father both contracted malaria which resulted in his father's death. (Full article...)
Image 22Wat 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 30Ananta 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 31Siamese Administrative Division in 1932 (Rama VII) (from History of Thailand)
Image 3215th-16th century Sawankhalok stoneware with brown underglaze and pale blue glaze (from Culture of Thailand)
Image 40Display 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 62Map 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 6317th-19th century Benjarong style ceramics from Ayutthaya. (from Culture of Thailand)
... that Thai YouTuber MindaRyn began an anime singing career after her music covers were noticed by a Japanese record label?
... that So Sethaputra compiled his authoritative English–Thai dictionary while in prison, with the manuscripts smuggled out for publication?
... that the performers in the Thai drag show Calypso Cabaret impressed Lady Gaga with their ability to be open about their identities?
... that a kind of deep fried egg dish might be perceived as a warning in Thai folklore?
... 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 neighborhood Phahurat, before it became Bangkok's Little India, was an enclave of Vietnamese immigrants until a fire burned it down in 1898?