Period
In little more than half a century, Bangkok acquired paved roads, tree-lined avenues, domed throne halls and palaces adorned with rococo or Art…
Understand 11 min read
At the end of the 19th century, King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) had rice fields and orchards purchased north of Bangkok, between two canals. Within some…
Understand 13 min read
In 1782, a general moved the Siamese capital from one bank of the Chao Phraya to the other and founded a dynasty that still reigns today. The name…
Understand 13 min read
The history of Thai art tends to begin at Sukhothai, in the 13th century, in what UNESCO presents as the first kingdom of Siam. Here we find brick…
Understand 12 min read
Between Yaowarat and the Phadung Krung Kasem Canal, on the east bank of the Chao Phraya, Talat Noi covers less than half a square kilometre. Yet this…
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In April 1767, Ayutthaya fell to the Burmese army. The Siamese kingdom was left with neither capital nor dynasty, and several leaders vied for what…
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At the centre of the Buddhist universe rises a mountain, Meru, encircled by seven ranges, seven seas and four continents. In the 14th century the…
In depth 13 min read
More than forty-four thousand registered temples, and several hundred thousand monks and novices depending on the period: the Thai Sangha is an…
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A few steps from Yaowarat, Bangkok's Chinatown, a handful of streets in the old city sell saris, gold braid and lengths of fabric. Above them rises…
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Under the reign of Rama III, commonly placed between 1824 and 1851, several of Bangkok's royal temples were clad in ceramics and filled with stone…
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For nearly six centuries, the north of present-day Thailand answered to a capital other than Sukhothai, Ayutthaya or Bangkok. Founded in 1296 by…
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On the west bank of the Chao Phraya River, facing old Bangkok, the neighbourhood of Kudi Chin brings together a Catholic church, a Buddhist temple, a…
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The flooded paddies that now make up the image of the Thai countryside are not a timeless backdrop. Archaeology shows that the first rice cultivated…
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On 21 April 1782, on the eastern bank of the Chao Phraya, a wooden pillar is planted in the ground. This act founds the capital of the new Chakri…
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On the walls of Wat Phra Kaew, as on the stages of the *khon*, Phra Ram has been doing battle with Thotsakan for more than two centuries. Their story…
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Some one and a half kilometres long, Yaowarat Road has become the emblem of Bangkok’s Chinatown, with its shop signs, its gold shops and its…
Understand 13 min read
On the edge of Lake Nong Han, some twenty kilometres from Sakon Nakhon, a boat-shaped cathedral towers over streets laid out with ruler-straight…
Understand 13 min read
