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.
Siege of the French fortress (A) by Siamese troops and batteries (C), in Bangkok, 1688. The enclosure of the village of Bangkok represented in the lower left corner (M) is today's Thonburi.
The siege of Bangkok was a key event of the Siamese revolution of 1688, in which the Kingdom of Siam ousted the French from Siam. Following a coup d'état, in which the pro-Western king Narai was replaced by Phetracha, Siamese troops besieged the French fortress in Bangkok for four months. The Siamese were able to muster about 40,000 troops, equipped with cannon, against the entrenched 200 French troops, but the military confrontation proved inconclusive. Tensions between the two belligerents progressively subsided, and finally a negotiated settlement was reached allowing the French to leave the country.
The Siege of Bangkok would mark the end of French military presence in Siam, as France was soon embroiled in the major European conflicts of the War of the League of Augsburg (1688–1697), and then the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1713/14). With the end of the siege, a long period started during which Siam would remain suspicious of Western intervention. Only a few French missionaries were allowed to remain, while trade continued on a limited level with other European countries such as Portugal, the Dutch Republic and England. (Full article...)
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The history of Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, dates at least to the early 15th century, when it was under the rule of Ayutthaya. Due to its strategic location near the mouth of the Chao Phraya River, the town gradually increased in importance, and after the fall of Ayutthaya King Taksin established his new capital of Thonburi there, on the river's west bank. King Phutthayotfa Chulalok, who succeeded Taksin, moved the capital to the eastern bank in 1782, to which the city dates its foundation under its current Thai name, "Krung Thep Maha Nakhon". Bangkok has since undergone tremendous changes, growing rapidly, especially in the second half of the 20th century, to become the primate city of Thailand. It was the centre of Siam's modernization in the late 19th century, subjected to Allied bombing during the Second World War, and has long been the modern nation's central political stage, with numerous uprisings and coups d'état having taken place on its streets throughout the years. (Full article...)
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Elephants in Ayutthaya The elephant has been a contributor to Thai society and its icon for many centuries. The elephant has had a considerable impact on Thai culture. The Thai elephant (Thai: ช้างไทย, chang Thai) is the official national animal of Thailand. The elephant found in Thailand is the Indian elephant (Elephas maximus indicus), a subspecies of the Asian elephant. In the early-1900s there were an estimated 100,000 captive elephants in Thailand. In mid-2007 there were an estimated 3,456 captive elephants left in Thailand and roughly a thousand wild elephants. By 2017 the number of captive elephants had risen to an estimated 3,783. The elephant became an endangered species in Thailand in 1986. (Full article...)
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Thailand have several but not all of the same rights as non-LGBT people. Both male and female types of same-sex sexual activity are legal in Thailand, and same-sex marriage rights within the nation are pending legalisation. About eight percent of the Thai population, five million people, are thought to be in the LGBT demographic.
In 2013, the Bangkok Post said that "while Thailand is viewed as a tourist haven for same-sex couples, the reality for locals is that the law, and often public sentiment, is not so liberal." A 2014 report by the United States Agency for International Development and the United Nations Development Programme said that LGBT people "still face discrimination affecting their social rights and job opportunities", and "face difficulty gaining acceptance for non-traditional sexuality, even though the tourism authority has been promoting Thailand as a gay-friendly country". (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...)
The Sultanate of Singora was a heavily fortified port city in the deep south of Thailand.
The Sultanate of Singora was a heavily fortified port city in southern Thailand and the precursor of the present-day town of Songkhla. It was founded in the early 17th century by a Persian, Dato Mogol, and flourished during the reign of his son, Sultan Sulaiman Shah. In 1680, after decades of conflict, the city was destroyed and abandoned; remains include forts, city walls, a Dutch cemetery and the tomb of Sultan Sulaiman Shah. An inscribed cannon from Singora bearing the seal of Sultan Sulaiman Shah is displayed next to the flagpole at the Royal Hospital Chelsea, London.
Parinya Charoenphol (born 9 June 1981) (Thai: ปริญญา เจริญผล; RTGS: parinya charoenphon), nicknamed Toom, also known by the stage name Parinya Kiatbusaba and the colloquial nameNong Toom or Nong Tum, is a Thai boxer, former muay Thai (Thai boxing) champion, model and actress. She is a kathoey, a Thai word referring to what is often considered a distinct gender in Thailand and elsewhere generally considered to be gender-nonconforming men or transgender women. At the age of 18, she underwent sex reassignment surgery. (Full article...)
Image 13Wat 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 14Funeral pyre of Chan Kusalo, the patriarch-abbot of northern Thailand. (from Culture of Thailand)
Image 22Ananta 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 23Yi Peng, floating lantern festival in Northern Thailand, observed around the same time as Loy Krathong. (from Culture of Thailand)
Image 24Thaksin Shinawatra, Prime Minister of Thailand, 2001–2006. (from History of Thailand)
Image 30Display 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 49Map 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 5017th-19th century Benjarong style ceramics from Ayutthaya. (from Culture of Thailand)
The Grand Palace (Thai: พระบรมมหาราชวัง, RTGS: Phra Borom Maha Ratcha Wang) is a complex of buildings at the heart of Bangkok, Thailand. The palace has been the official residence of the Kings of Siam (and later Thailand) since 1782. The king, his court, and his royal government were based on the grounds of the palace until 1925. King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX), resided at the Chitralada Royal Villa and his successor King Vajiralongkorn (Rama X) resides at the Amphorn Sathan Residential Hall, both in the Dusit Palace, but the Grand Palace is still used for official events. Several royal ceremonies and state functions are held within the walls of the palace every year. The palace is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Thailand, with over eight million people visiting each year.
... 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 a kind of deep fried egg dish might be perceived as a warning in Thai folklore?
... 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?
Tom yum or tom yam (UK: /ˌtɒmˈjæm,-ˈjʌm/, US: /-ˈjɑːm/; Thai: ต้มยำ, RTGS: tom yam[tômjām]ⓘ) is a family of hot and sour Thai soups. It is a soup that normally includes shrimp. The strong, hot, and sour flavors make it very popular in Thai cuisine. The name "tom yam" is composed of two Thai words. Tom refers to the boiling process, while yam means 'mixed'.
Historian Giles Milton contends that the origins of Tom Yum can be traced back to India, where there is a variation of hot and sour shrimp soup known as "sour prawn soup." (Full article...)
Wat Arun is a Buddhist temple in Bangkok, Thailand. The temple derives its name from the Hindu god Aruna. This photograph shows the sculptures of two mythical giant demons, Thotsakan (green-skinned) and Sahatsadecha (white-skinned), guarding the eastern gate of the temple's ordination hall, a building designated for the performance of upasampadā, the Buddhist ordination ritual, and other ritual ceremonies. The entrance of the ordination hall has a roof with a central spire, decorated in coloured ceramic and stucco and sheathed in coloured china.
![Image 1 The Bangkok Mass Transit System, commonly known as the BTS Skytrain (Thai: รถไฟฟ้าบีทีเอส RTGS: rot fai fa [BTS]), is an elevated rapid transit system in Bangkok, Thailand. It is operated by Bangkok Mass Transit System PCL (BTSC), a subsidiary of BTS Group Holdings, under a concession granted by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) which owns the lines. The system consists of 62 stations along three lines with a combined route length of 70.05 kilometers (43.53 mi). The BTS Sukhumvit Line runs northwards and south-eastwards, terminating at Khu Khot and Kheha respectively. The BTS Silom Line which serves Silom and Sathon Roads, the central business district of Bangkok, terminates at National Stadium and Bang Wa. The Gold Line people mover runs from Krung Thon Buri to Klong San and serves Iconsiam. The lines interchange at Siam station and Krung Thon Buri. The system is formally known as "The Elevated Train in Commemoration of HM the King's 6th Cycle Birthday" (รถไฟฟ้าเฉลิมพระเกียรติ 6 รอบ พระชนมพรรษา). Besides the three BTS lines, Bangkok's rapid transit system includes the underground and elevated Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) lines, the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRT), and the elevated Airport Rail Link (ARL), serving several stations before reaching Suvarnabhumi Airport, and the SRT Red Lines of the State Railway of Thailand. (Full article...)](/wiki/File:Blank.png)
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