There were 37 Thai athletes participating in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London and three of them brought medals back home. Here are our winners; 1. Pimsiri Sirikaew, 22 won silver medal in women's weightlifting. 2. Chanatip Sonkham , 21 won bronze medal in women's taekwondo 49kg. 3. Kaew Pongprayoon, 32 won silver medal in men's Light Flyweight Boxing 49 … [Read more...] about Olympics Thai heroes
Thai Culture
Graduation ceremony in Thailand
Sawatdee ka, Yesterday my little brother Mink, who you saw in my several videos graduated from Law Faculty of Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. My family, my relatives and I went to congratulate him and I would like to share some photos to show what the Thai graduation is like. For Government universities the graduates will be given the diplomas by the HRH … [Read more...] about Graduation ceremony in Thailand
Thai superstition – Why no haircuts on Wednesday?
Sawatdee ka, Have you ever heard that it is unlucky to get a haircut on a Wednesday in Thailand? Most hair salons are closed or the hairdressers get a day off every Wednesday. I have read a cause of this superstition, in the ancient times people believed that Wednesday was the day of growth and development, it was also considered auspicious time. The members of royal family … [Read more...] about Thai superstition – Why no haircuts on Wednesday?
The Animal Thais Dislike
Sawatdee ka, I went to Lumpini park today and spotted this reptile. Many Thai people have a superstiton that if you see this animal, bad luck will come to you. I remember when I was a kid and there were few of these reptiles in my school's pond. Whenever my friends and I saw it we would scream and ran away because we didn't want to have a bad luck. I don't have such a … [Read more...] about The Animal Thais Dislike
The World’s Longest Kiss Competition
Sawatdee ka, Early this evening I saw the news about this competition on TV, so I searched more information on the internet and found out that... The “World’s Longest Kiss… Returns” competition is being held from 12-14 February 2012 in Pattaya. The aim is to break the Guiness World Records of longer than 46 hours. The winning couple will win 200,000 Baht. The event will take … [Read more...] about The World’s Longest Kiss Competition
National Teacher’s Day
Teacher's day (วันครู Wan Kruu) is celebrated every year on January 16th in Thailand, it is also a school holiday. It is the day that teachers gather together to remember their first teachers. Thai people believe that any field of work will have a teacher such as actors, dramatist, magician, astrologist and even boxers. Therefore, we need to have a Wai Kru ceremony to … [Read more...] about National Teacher’s Day
Bangkok’s Christmas Lights
Sawatdee ka, I don't know about you, but I LOVE December. It is the best weather in Thailand, also it is the holiday season so everyone seems to be more happy than usual. I love hearing Christmas songs that are being played everywhere. Most Thai are Buddhist but we love to celebrate any occasion, so some Thai also join Christmas parties and enjoy the beautiful time of … [Read more...] about Bangkok’s Christmas Lights
Personal pronouns in Thai language.
Sawatdee ka, In English the pronoun "you" is good to use to call anyone whether he/she is older or younger than you, even at the same age. Thai culture is based on people's seniority, so it is not nice and polite to call people who are older than you only by their names. Then what we should call them? The word พี่ “pîi“ has a particularly wide range of use, which includes - … [Read more...] about Personal pronouns in Thai language.
Loy Kratong Festival
Sawatdee ka, Every year the Loy Kratong Festival falls on the full moon night of the twelfth lunar month, this year the festival falls on the 10th of November.The festival originally started from the Sukhothai period a symbolic tradition, as one floats away their Kratong at the same time it releases bad luck or vibes, as well as expressed apologies to the River Goddess Khong … [Read more...] about Loy Kratong Festival
King Chulalongkorn’s Day
Sawatdee ka, Today is one of most important days for Thai people. On 23rd of October of every year is "Chulalongkorn Day" or "Piyamaharaj Day" วันปิยมหาราช It is the day that our King Chulalongkorn, or King Rama V, passed away. He is considered one of the greatest kings of Thailand. The most important thing he did was abolish slavery (เลิกทาส). King Chulalongkorn (Pra … [Read more...] about King Chulalongkorn’s Day
Some Do’s and Don’ts for Thailand
Sawatdee ka, Recently I have got questions about this topic from newbies coming to Thailand. I thought I would write about it, so we can share a little bit of Thai culture to everyone. I have some foreign friends living in Thailand, and heard some of their misbehavior to Thai people's eyes. We were talking and laughing about the funny encounters .From their respective, it … [Read more...] about Some Do’s and Don’ts for Thailand
Wat Arun “the Temple of Dawn”
Sawatdee ka, Today I took a boat along the Chao Praya River to a market in Nontaburi province. I passed Wat Arun (วัดอรุณ) or the Temple of Dawn, and I couldn't help myself take a photo of this beautiful temple as if I was a tourist seeing it for the first time. Wat Arun is one of Bangkok's best know landmark. It stands on the west bank of the Chao Praya River in Thon … [Read more...] about Wat Arun “the Temple of Dawn”
Learn Thai from Thai food : Son-in-law eggs
This morning I was in a mood for cooking. I decided to cook my favourite egg dish which is called in Thai "Kai Luuk Koei" (ไข่ลูกเขย) Kai (low tone) [ไข่] means egg Luuk (falling tone) - Koei (rising tone) [ลูกเขย] means son-in-law So, Kai Luuk Koei means son-in-law eggs! Funny name, isn't it? Kai Luuk Koei made from deep-fried hard boiled eggs, which have been cut into … [Read more...] about Learn Thai from Thai food : Son-in-law eggs
Thai Traditional Wedding Ceremony – Water Pouring
พิธีหลั่งน้ำพระพุทธมนต์ (Water pouring) The water pouring is the most important part of the Thai wedding ceremony as during this part the couple officially become husband (สามี [saa-mee]) and wife (ภรรยา [pan-ra-ya]). Traditionally, this was all that was required to validify the marriage, but nowadays the couple are also required to obtain a marriage certificate … [Read more...] about Thai Traditional Wedding Ceremony – Water Pouring
Thai Traditional Wedding Ceremony – Counting the Dowry
Thai marriage at large and definitely the ceremony of Traditional Thai Wedding interlinked with an ancient tradition called sinsod (สินสอด). A custom of paying a dowry (dowery) to compensate a family of bride “for mother's milk”. A concept of sinsod was initially brought in to ensure that one's daughter does not marry below her potential standing in life. To stipulate that her … [Read more...] about Thai Traditional Wedding Ceremony – Counting the Dowry
Thai Traditional Wedding Ceremony – The Engagement
Traditionally, the engagement is performed well in advance of the wedding, just as in western culture, but recently, it has become common for it to be carried out on the wedding day after Counting the Dowry. The engagement is historically a way of introducing the bride to the groom, who has been selected by her parents and gives a chance for the couple to get acquainted … [Read more...] about Thai Traditional Wedding Ceremony – The Engagement
Thai Traditional Wedding Ceremony – symbolic doors
Barring the Groom from approaching the Bride (พิธีกั้นประตู) In order for the wedding to continue, the groom must bring the bride from her room to join him for the engagement ceremony. However, before this can happen, the groom must successfully pass through a number of obstacles that are put in the groom’s way by the bride’s family. These symbolic “doors” can only be entered … [Read more...] about Thai Traditional Wedding Ceremony – symbolic doors
Learn Thai – Sepak Takraw
Sawatdii ka, Do you know Sepak Takraw? Last Satureday I saw a group of taxi motorcycle riders in my soi playing Sepak Takraw on the side of the street, so I thought I needed to find out more about this and share in my blog. Sepak Takraw (เซปักตะกร้อ) was created by the royal family of Malaysia about 500 years ago. The name itself comes from two languages. Sepak is "kick" … [Read more...] about Learn Thai – Sepak Takraw
Visit a real Thai house
Sawasdii ka, The other day I went to a bookstore and a book with the bright yellow cover catched my eye, I picked it up and it was "Bangkok attractions" so I went through the book quickly but one place that got my interest the most was a place with the title "visit a real Thai house: Bangkok Folk Museum" I have been living in Bangkok for about 8 years but I didn't know … [Read more...] about Visit a real Thai house
Chinese New Year in Thailand
Sawatdii ka, One of the important festivals in Thailand is coming up soon, Chinese New Year. (Wan trut jiin) วันตรุษจีน Every year, many people in Thailand with Chinese ancestors, celebrate the Chinese New Year with elaborate ceremonies. This year which is the year of the rabbit starts on February 3, 2011. It is the tradition that every family thoroughly cleans the house to … [Read more...] about Chinese New Year in Thailand