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Showing posts from September, 2018

Fusion Image: A Personal Collection

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The Pokemon Go screen action provided some hilarious moments with certain positional arrangements. Here was my collection. Listed in the Being Thai page.

The King Taksin of Thonburi Era

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The Thonburi Era, when the Thonburi was the capital city of siam, started in 1767 and ended in 1782 with only one king. King Taksin was born Sin from a Chinese descent father and a Siamese mother in 1734. He became the governor (Phraya) of Tak and became known as Phaya Tak (Sin). The name was there shorten to Phraya Taksin. In April 1767, the Burmese army successful captured and ransacked the capital Ayutthaya after a year-long siege, ending the Ayutthaya era in Thai history. Taksin was part of the defending army; he thought that the situation was hopeless a few months before the fall and led a small force breaking through the encirclement. He captured the Chantaburi Province as his stronghold. Instead of going back to the fallen capital, he selected the downstream port, Thonburi, as the new capital and was crowned king on 28 December 1767. His early reign was focused on unifying Siam by defeating other Siamese forces that arose in major provinces throughout the country. Then, ...

Hindu Gods: Mythology and Professional Patrons in Thailand

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Thai cultures have been heavily influenced by India ones. While most Thais are Buddhist, the Hinduism influence is undeniable. There are shrines to Hindu gods everywhere, from the royal court where the image of god-king was adopted to emphasize the power and majesty, to commoners who prayed for good luck. They also function as divine patrons of professions. Some people came to pray at these statues even though they were not Hindu, mainly for good luck in love, works or exam as well as for confidence in general. Frequency, a table will be placed near the statute for offerings and incense stick receptacle. There might be an annual or regular ceremony to pay respect as well. Personally, I think that it was the mythical storytelling and fascination with divinity that these gods that helped fulfilled gaps in people's mind. Shrines of these Hindu gods dotted around the country at a surprising density and many became Pokemon landmarks. Previously, I overlooked them and started noticin...