Welcome to the Thailand Portal / สถานีย่อยประเทศไทย
Map of Thailand
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 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.
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...)
Image 2
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...)
Pattaya City (Thai: เมืองพัทยา, RTGS: Mueang Phatthaya, pronounced[mɯ̄a̯ŋpʰát.tʰā.jāː]) is a self-governing municipal area within, but not part of, Bang Lamung district and has a population of 119,532. It covers the tambons of Nong Prue and Na Klua and parts of Huai Yai and Nong Pla Lai. Although the municipal area is not part of Bang Lamung district, Pattaya City has grown into all adjacent sub-districts and accounts for the largest population percentage in the district, making it de facto a part of the "Pattaya-Bang Lamung-Jomtien" area, otherwise known as "Greater Pattaya". (Full article...)
Image 4
Lisa in March 2024
Lalisa Manobal (also spelled Manoban; born Pranpriya Manobal; March 27, 1997), known professionally as Lisa (Korean: 리사), is a Thai rapper, singer, and dancer. She is a member of the South Korean girl group Blackpink, which debuted under YG Entertainment in August 2016. She is set to make her acting debut in 2025 in the HBO television series The White Lotus.
In September 2021, Lisa released her debut single album Lalisa, which made her the first female artist to sell 736,000 copies of an album in its first week in South Korea. The music video for its lead single became the most-viewed music video in the first 24 hours on YouTube by a solo artist. Both "Lalisa" and the album's viral second single "Money" charted in the top ten of the Billboard Global 200, with the latter breaking the record for the longest-charting song by a female K-pop soloist on the US Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart. Lalisa and "Money" became the first album and song by a K-pop solo artist to reach one billion streams on Spotify, respectively. In 2024, Lisa established her own management company named Lloud and signed with RCA Records. (Full article...)
Image 5
Parinya Charoenphol at Fairtex Gym in Bangkok.
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...)
In Thailand, protests began in early 2020 with demonstrations against the government of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha. They later expanded to include the unprecedented demands for reform of the Thai monarchy. The protests were initially triggered by the dissolution of the Future Forward Party (FFP) in late February 2020 which was critical of Prayut, the changes to the Thai constitution in 2017, and the country's political landscape that it gave rise to.
This first wave of protests was held exclusively on academic campuses and was brought to a halt by the COVID-19 pandemic. Protests resumed on 18 July 2020 with a large demonstration organised under the Free Youth umbrella at the Democracy Monument in Bangkok. Three demands were presented to the Government of Thailand: the dissolution of parliament, ending intimidation of the people, and the drafting of a new constitution. The July protests were triggered by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and enforcement of the lockdown Emergency Decree and spread nationwide. The protesters were mostly students and young people without an overall leader. (Full article...)
Image 8
Phra Sumen Fort is one of the remaining original forts that guarded the city of Rattanakosin.
The fortifications of Bangkok consist of several series of defensive structures built to protect the city during the late Ayutthaya to early Rattanakosin periods. The earliest structures were built when Bangkok was an outpost of Ayutthaya guarding entry to the Chao Phraya River during the 15th–16th centuries. These were reinforced when the city became the site of the short-lived capital of Thonburi after the fall of Ayutthaya in 1767. New walls and forts were built when the city of Rattanakosin replaced Thonburi in 1782, which were mostly removed and replaced in the second half of the 19th century in order to accommodate the expanding city. Today, four of the city's defensive forts remain, along with two short sections of the Rattanakosin city wall and one of the city gates. (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...)
Image 10
The Emerald Buddha adorned in winter season attire
Image 415th-16th century Sawankhalok stoneware with brown underglaze and pale blue glaze (from Culture of Thailand)
Image 517th-19th century Benjarong style ceramics from Ayutthaya. (from Culture of Thailand)
Image 6Ananta 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 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 43Map 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 46The ruins of Ayutthaya city was completely buried beneath a mass of jungle vegetation in 1930. (from History of Thailand)
Image 47Wat 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 48People floating krathong rafts during the Loi Krathong festival in Chiang Mai, Thailand (from Culture of Thailand)
... that the first Thai typewriter left out two letters, which eventually became obsolete?
... that Thai YouTuber MindaRyn began an anime singing career after her music covers were noticed by a Japanese record label?
... 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 the electropop rock band Siamés created "Argentina's first anime music video"?
... that So Sethaputra compiled his authoritative English–Thai dictionary while in prison, with the manuscripts smuggled out for publication?
... 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 a kind of deep fried egg dish might be perceived as a warning in Thai folklore?
Recent Comments