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Bangkok Travelbug February 2012 Khon Kaen National Museum – the Issarn heritage
30 January 12
This month we start our exploration of the north-eastern region of Thailand or Issarn as it is locally called. There is no better place to have an overview of Issarn history and culture than the Khon Kaen National Museum in Khon Kaen city.
This museum doesn’t just cover the history of Khon Kaen but the entire north-eastern region dating back several thousand years. For this reason, I chose Khon Kaen National Museum as my first stop in my visit to the province that is in the heart of Issarn.
Khon Kaen National Museum
There is evidence of civilisations in Issarn dating back 5,000 years in the Bronze Age. There are also a few other surprises.
23 January 12 - Today is the first day in the Year of the Dragon. Chinese New Year is celebrated in a big way in Bangkok and many other Thai cities where there is a large Thai-Chinese population.
One of the most enjoyable places to visit in Bangkok during this festive season is Yaowarat, Bangkok’s Chinatown.
Many Thais visit Yaowarat during Chinese New Year to pray at the various temples and shrines, walk along Yaowarat Road to view the decorations and taste the wide variety of food offered by the street vendors.
Let’s take a tour of Yaowarat, Bangkok’s Chinatown and enjoy the Chinese New Year atmosphere.
Wat Triamit and the Yaowarat Heritage Centre attracts many visitors at this time
The Odean Gate, the start of Yaowarat Road
Worshippers at the Golden Shrine Foundation shrine behind Wat Traimit
Goddess of Mercy Shrine at Thian Fa Hospital
Yaowarat Road under streams of red lanterns
Welcome to the Bangkok Chinatown Festival 2012
Here come the goodies!
Little buns made from sweet dough fried in special pans
Fancy some?
Pa tong ko – deep fried dough
Sugar cane juice
Sweet deserts
Lunch at my favourite Teo Chew porridge stall
What I settled for
Here’s something really special. It's called "kanom jin boran".
The person of the left draws out the dough and the next person strings it into thin noodles
The third person wraps crushed sweetened peanuts in the noodles
They are too good to miss. Have a happy and prosperous Year of the Dragon.
Happy Lunar New Year!
18 January 2012
On 23 January 2012 we usher in the Lunar New Year, the Year of the Dragon, the black water dragon, the symbol of power and dignity.
We wish all our friends and their families good health, happiness and prosperity in the Year of the Dragon. Have a good Dragon Year!
Happy Lunar New Year
To our Chinese readers,
Gong Si Fa Cai
To our Vietnamese readers,
Chuc Mung Nam Moi
Good luck and all the best!
Bangkok Travelbug January 2012 - Don Kai Dee Benjarong Village
10 January 12
Welcome back to the Bangkok Travelbug. We hope 2012 has got off to a great start for you. I am sorry for the late delivery of the January issue.
This month we return to Samut Sakhon to visit a very special place that produces the exquisite Benjarong porcelain.
Benjarong
Don Kai Dee Benjarong Village doesn’t just sell Benjarong porcelain. Visitors are welcome to tour the facilities and to try making and painting the Benjarong porcelain.
What’s more there are comfortable homestay facilities as well.
Mookerheide is a part of a region of nature that’s in the middle of the woods. It lies by the Maas River which is called La Meuse in Belgium and France.
Even as we close this dismal year of natural calamities and other pressing problems, this Christmas let us find our peace and renewed hope for the year ahead.
Hope
Deny me all the good of earth – All joy and soul-rebounding mirth, All wealth and rank and love’s great days; But leave one thing by which to cope With ebbing life’s dim evening rays – Leave me but hope.
Max Ehrmann, author of Desiderata
May the shining star over a humble manger in Bethlehem one dark December night more than 2,000 years ago provide a guiding light and a glimmer of hope to the uncertainties in the future.
Have a warm and peaceful Christmas with your families and friends and a New Year that brings fresh hope and vigour in all your lives.
Bangkok Travelbug December 2011 – Tha Chalom – the fishermen’s patron saints
3 December 2011
Traditionally the Bangkok Travelbug features scenes of Christmas in Bangkok for the December issue. This year it just wouldn’t be appropriate in view of the natural calamity that has hit much of Thailand
By late-November the death toll from the terrible floods in Thailand since August stands at 666. There are still 17 provinces flooded at varying levels.
Almost five million people are still affected from the floods. Samut Sakhon a coastal province stands to receive waters from western Bangkok through canals that would drain into the Tha Chin River.
Besides several industrial estates, Samut Sakhon produces more than half the seafood that is consumed in Thailand or exported. For this reason we feature in this issue Tha Chalom, the fishing community in Samut Sakhon and their patron saints.
30 November 2011 - The model warship builder, Khun Manoth, lives in the Phrayaprasit community located at the end of Soi Sam Sen 28 with his collection of wooden sailing ships and a long history of model ship building.
Trace the career of this remarkable craftsman and admire some of the intricate models of 16th – 18th C European warships in his collection.
Have just arrived for a three year stay. So happy to have found your most informative page. I'll be referring to it quite often while making my way around
I met my Civil Partner almost 20 years ago. Shortly after this, we went to the Erawan Shrine and prayed for many things. We prayed for a lasting relationship.
Bangkok Travelbug November 2011 – Samut Sakhon – the "Chinese port"
30 October 2011 - This month we visit an unusual place with an unusual name using a different mode of transport. The experience of getting there and back was as enjoyable, if not more, than being at the destination itself.
Bangkok Travelbug October 2011 – Laem Sing Chanthaburi – the Lion Cape
29 September 2011 -
This month we move out of Chanthaburi city to Laem Sing district by the Gulf of Thailand. Laem Sing is endowed with natural beauty; a forest park overlooking the sea, a beautiful beach and two off-shore islands. It’s also home to some ruins of the past.
Exhibitions at the Bangkok Arts and Culture Centre
27 September 2011 - There are three interesting exhibitions on at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre.
Firstly, there’s the outdoor display of the traditional fishing boats or "Kolae" from southern Thailand. These four colourful boats on display belong to fishermen from Narathiwat, the southern most Thai province that’s adjacent to the Malaysian state of Kelantan.
The boats are more than 50 years old and are made from a hard and resilient wood called Hopea.
Secondly there’s the exhibition on Asian Masks on the 5th level which lasts till the 6 October 2011.
Asian Masks
Lastly the art exhibition on the 7th floor, "Emerging Patterns" features contemporary works by Thai artists from the four southern provinces of Narathiwat, Patani, Songkla and Yala. This exhibition lasts till 16 October 2011.
Contemporary art of southern Thailand
The Bangkok Art and Culture Centre is next to the National Stadium skytrain station and opposite the Mah Boon Khrong mall.
Admission is free to all the exhibitions. However, no photographs are allowed inside the exhibition halls. So if you happen to be in Bangkok during this period, to drop in to take a look at these exhibits.
The answer to my prayer
I have been praying to Phra Phrom for about four years. Phra Phrom always listens to my prayers. Recently a miracle happened to me. It's been two years
26 September 2011 - During my last visit to Soi Pracha Rat 24, I passed through the Tao Poon junction and Krung Thep-Nonthaburi Road.
The area has changed beyond recognition. The construction of the Purple Line is now in progress and the huge support pillars can be seen all along Krung Thep-Nonthaburi Road.
Pillars of the Purple Line near Tao Poon
Here’s a map showing the various stations and the approximate trace of the Purple Line from Ratburana – Yommarat – Sam Sen – Bang Sue – Bang Sorn – Phra Nang Klao Bridge – Bang Yai (Nonthaburi).
The Purple Line is one of the 10 new train lines or extensions to tbe built linking the city centre to the suburbs in the neigbouring provinces. When all the lines are completed and operational, travelling around greater Bangkok would be so much more convenient.
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