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 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.
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...)
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...)
Although warfare occupied most of Taksin's reign, he paid a great deal of attention to politics, administration, economy, and the welfare of the country. He promoted trade and fostered relations with foreign countries. He had roads built and canals dug. Apart from restoring and renovating temples, the king attempted to revive literature, and various branches of the arts such as drama, painting, architecture and handicrafts. He also issued regulations for the collection and arrangement of various texts to promote education and religious studies. (Full article...)
Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies 1,568.7 square kilometres (605.7 sq mi) in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated population of 9.0 million as of 2021, 13% of the country's population. Over 17.4 million people (25%) lived within the surrounding Bangkok Metropolitan Region at the 2021 estimate, making Bangkok an extreme primate city, dwarfing Thailand's other urban centres in both size and importance to the national economy.
Bangkok traces its roots to a small trading post during the Ayutthaya Kingdom in the 15th century, which eventually grew and became the site of two capital cities, Thonburi in 1767 and Rattanakosin in 1782. Bangkok was at the heart of the modernization of Siam, later renamed Thailand, during the late-19th century, as the country faced pressures from the West. The city was at the centre of Thailand's political struggles throughout the 20th century, as the country abolished absolute monarchy, adopted constitutional rule, and underwent numerous coups and several uprisings. The city, incorporated as a special administrative area under the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration in 1972, grew rapidly during the 1960s through the 1980s and now exerts a significant impact on Thailand's politics, economy, education, media and modern society. (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...)
Image 8
Eng (left) and Chang (right) in later years
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, whom 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...)
Image 11Ananta 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 52People floating krathong rafts during the Loi Krathong festival in Chiang Mai, Thailand (from Culture of Thailand)
Image 53Display 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 54Gurkhas guide disarmed Japanese soldiers from Bangkok to prisoner of war camps outside the city, September 1945 (from History 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)
Image 58Phibun welcomes students of Chulalongkorn University, at Bangkok's Grand Palace – 8 October 1940. (from History of Thailand)
Image 59Wat 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)
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Chetana Nagavajara (Thai: เจตนา นาควัชระRTGS: Chettana Nakwatchara; born 19 July 1937) is a Professor Emeritus of German language at Silpakorn University. His career includes significant contributions to both academia and higher education administration in the country.
Throughout his tenure at Silpakorn University, Nagavajara was the Dean of the Faculty of Arts from 1976 to 1979 and the Vice President of the university from 1979 to 1981. He actively participated in shaping national policies for higher education, holding various government-appointed positions in administration. (Full article...)
... that the first Thai typewriter left out two letters, which eventually became obsolete?
... 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?
Kaeng som, gaeng som (Thai: แกงส้ม, pronounced[kɛ̄ːŋsôm]), Asam rebus, or Thai/Lao/Malaysian sour curry is a sour and spicy fish curry or soup with vegetables popular in Southeast Asia. The curry is characteristic for its sour taste, which comes from tamarind (makham). The recipe uses palm sugar (Thai: น้ำตาลปี๊บ, namtan pip) to sweeten the curry. (Full article...)
Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park, the first coastal national park of Thailand, was established in 1966 and covers 98 square kilometres (38 sq mi) of Prachuap Khiri Khan Province. It includes a limestone sub-range of the Tenasserim Hills, freshwater marshes, mangrove forests and sandy beaches. The large Phraya Nakhon Cave, pictured here, has an opening in its roof through which sunlight streams. The historic Khuha Kharuehat Pavilion within the cave was built for a visit by King Chulalongkorn in 1890 and is directly illuminated for a short period each day during certain months of the year. Later kings, including Vajiravudh and Bhumibol Adulyadej, have also visited the site.