The Bangkok Legacies
blog keeps readers informed of
the latest content added to Tour Bangkok Legacies,
updates and changes to existing pages,
news and developments affecting historical sites,
anniversaries of momentous events in history and
cultural festivals.
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Remembering Pridi Banomyong
30 June 2009 - To commemorate 110 years of Pridi Banomyong (1900 – 2010), a year-long commemorative event has been planned from 11 May 2009 – 11 May 2010. Pridi was born on 11 May 1910.
The activities include launching the Pridi-Phoonsuk Banomyong E-library and the website on Pridi-Phoonsuk Banomyong This website is in Thai.
For the English translation of Pridi’s literary work, please see Pridi Banomyong which covers selected articles on life, politics and economics.
Given the dearth of books on Pridi and the establishment’s attitude towards him, this development is a welcomed change. But will official Thai history recognize Pridi’s contributions and grant him his rightful place in history?
24 June 2009 - A number of visitors have made searches for the location of the Erawan Shrine or what is commonly called the four-faced Buddha.
Here is a map of the Bangkok Shrines in the Ratchaprasong junction where this popular shrine and five other Hindu shrines are located. The junction is near the Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel.
21 June 2009 - Ko Kred is a man-made island midstream of the Chao Phraya River near Pak Kred in Nonthaburi province just north of Bangkok. The island is home to an old Mon community and is famous for its pottery.
Ko Kred pottery
The island was created in 1722 when a canal was cut through the base of a sharp meander in the Chao Phraya River as it passed through Nonthaburi to shorten the sailing time to Ayutthaya.
8 June 2009 - Thai silk weavers in Ban Krua, a Cham Muslim community in Bangkok, supplied silk to Jim Thompson when he started his Thai silk company in 1948. What’s Ban Krua like today?
Ban Krua July 2009
Although I’ve visited the Jim Thompson House several times before, I’ve never been to Ban Krua which is just across the Saen Saab canal from the Jim Thompson House.
Though I knew that they were the weavers who first supplied Thompson with his silk, I was under the impression that the community was long gone after Thompson’s disappearance. Well almost but not quite.
29 May 2009 - I first visited the Bangkok Dolls Museum more than four years ago when I started this website. I could hardly remember the way in and had to refer to the web page for the map and directions to get there.
It was such a pleasant surprise when I finally found the place again. It hasn’t changed one bit. The place still looks the way when I first saw it more four years ago.
The entrance to the museum
This time I was ready with my camera. Here are pictures of some of the delightful dolls in this doll house.
Kids in traditional costume
There are more in the main web page.
The traditional Khon drama
Take a virtual tour of the Bangkok Dolls Museum if you can’t get down to Soi Mor Leng.
21 May 2009 - Last week during my trial run on the skytrain extension, I took the opportunity to take a short walk to Wong Wian Yai. This time I managed to get better shots of the King Taksin Monument than I did a few years ago.
The King Taksin Monument at Wong Wian Yai
This monument is in memory of a great warrior who united the fragmented city kingdoms in old Siam after the second destruction of Ayutthaya by the Burmese in 1767.
In a series of campaigns over 12 years, King Taksin drove the Burmese out of Siam, tamed the rival factions in the kingdom and secured the borders of a unified kingdom.
Read more about the military exploits of King Taksin and visit the monument at Wong Wai Yai.
17 May 2009 - The extension of the Silom line from Taksin Bridge to Wong Wian Yai finally opened on 15 May 2009. The new route covers 2.2 km with two new stations, S7 Krung Thonburi and S8 Wong Wian Yai. The skytrain operators will run a three month trial from 15 May to the end of August during which train rides between Taksin Bridge and Wong Wian Yai stations will be free.
If you are at any of these stations, just go to the ticket machine and press the button with number 1 to get your free ticket.
Here are some important points on the new extension.
Taksin Bridge station
If you are boarding from Taksin Bridge, please note that the trains for National Stadium and Wong Wian Yai depart from the same platform. This is because the exisiting platform isn’t wide enough.
Each time a train arrives, announcements in Thai and English will be made to inform commuters where the train is going. The final destination will also be on the display board. So don’t get on the wrong train.
Wong Wian Yai station
Please note that although this station is called Wong Wian Yai, it’s in Krung Thonburi Road at least one km from the actual Wong Wian Yai in Somdet Phra Chao Taksin Road, where the King Taksin Monument is located.
Wong Wian Yai station
I was expecting it to be like the Victory Monument station which has a grand view of the Victory Monument.
Facilities for the disabled
Facilities for the disabled at the two new stations, Krung Thonburi and Wong Wian Yai, are a vast improvement over those at the older stations along the line.
At these two new stations, ramps and lifts for the disabled and elderly are available on both sides of the road.
Lift at the street level
These lifts are connected to the ticketing platform by overhead bridges.
Overhead bridge to the train station
To the ticketing floor
From the ticketing floor, separate lifts will take commuters to the two train platforms above. These facilities provide full acess to the the two stations for the disabled.
Provisions have been made to extend the line further to Bang Wa, 5 km away, the final destination of the line. From there commuters can connect to a new subway line that’s being planned.
To the final destination
For details of the Bangkok skytrain routes and stations, please see the permalink.
6 May 2009 - Tribal musical instruments feature pictures of rare and unusual musical instruments of the hill tribes in northern Thailand on display at the Jim Thompson Art Centre in the Jim Thompson House, Bangkok.
Here’s a sample of what you can expect.
Karen harp
In this exhibition, you will be introduced to the history, culture and the role of music in their lives of the Akha, Hmong, Karen, Lahu, Lisu and Mien people.
Akha bamboo beaters
The pictures and write-up on these musical instruments are based on the exhibition “Songs of Memory – Traditional Music of the Golden Triangle” by Victoria Vorreiter who has done intensive research on this subject.
Lahu reed pipes
These rare exhibits of musical instruments and clothing will be on display from 24 April – 23 July 2009. So if you happen to be in Bangkok during this period, make it a point to go there.
30 April 2009 - I went back to the Thai Labour Museum on 22 April 2009 and discovered that it’s gone. Back in November 2005, the State Railway of Thailand, the landlord, served notice to repossess the land on which the museum is located.
There was a long delay because as recent as June 2008; the museum was still there, although locked. Well this time it was finally demolished. All that’s left is a heap of wooden debris. The museum had to make way for the new rail link from Suvarnabhumi to the city.
I’m trying to find out the new location of the museum, if they have got one. Let’s hope that the new home will be better and more permanent because this museum preserves the 300 year history of Thai labour.
Exhibition – Songs of Memory Traditional Music of the Golden Triangle
24 April 2009 - Last night I had the pleasure of attending the opening ceremony of this very interesting exhibition on the traditional music of the tribal people in northern Thailand and neighbouring Myanmar and Laos.
The exhibition is based on the book of the same name by Victoria Vorreiter who has done intensive research on the lives, customs, ceremonial clothing and musical instruments of the Akha, Hmong, Karen, Lahu, Lisu and Mien people.
The rare exhibits of musical instruments and clothing of these tribes are on display at the Jim Thompson Art Center, Jim Thompson House, Bangkok from 24 April – 23 July 2009.
This is a rare opportunity for a glimpse into a rich culture which we rarely have access to. If you’re in Bangkok, don’t miss it. Admission is free. To get there, please see map to the Jim Thompson House.
Hotels update – hotels in Sathon
19 April 2009 - Here are more hotels added to the list of hotels in Sathon.
Baan Pra Nond Hotel near the Surasak intersection and Surasak skytrain station used to be an old family home. It’s only got nine rooms, a lucky number in Thailand.
17 April 2009 - I returned to Bangkok on the evening of 15 April after going home for Songkran to walk straight into an emergency in the city which was embroiled in three days of political unrest and violence. There were about a dozen foreigners in the arrival hall. The rest were Thais returning home after the long Songkran break.
I cleared my passport under five minutes, a record in all these years to Bangkok. The reception area was empty. Outside five taxis were waiting in the queue with as many passengers. I’ve never seen Bangkok airport like this.
Six days earlier, the taxi I booked to the airport had a problem getting to me because of road blocks by anti-government protesters. I had haunting memories of the airport closure in late November and early December last year. That was a different group of anti-government protesters against the previous government.
This was one flight I couldn’t miss. I was due home for my mother’s 88th birthday on Good Friday, 10 April. It was such a great relief to get to the airport and an even greater one when the plane took off.
Back in Singapore, I watched the news update on Thailand every hour if I could. Each update was worse than the previous one. I feared the worst. The Easter weekend was marred by street battles between rival factions in Pattaya. Protesters literally crashed into the hotel where the Asean leaders were to meet. The summit was cancelled.
Asean Prime Ministers were unceremoniously bundled into helicopters from the hotel roof top. That must have been quite an experience for them, for a change.
Back in Bangkok the street violence intensified. On Easter Sunday, a state of emergency was declared. On Easter Monday, the military crackdown started. One country after another warned their citizens to stay away from Bangkok.
How was I was going to get back? It was uncertainty in reverse this time. But I had a feeling that the media focus on the trouble spots tends to blow the picture out of proportion. The whole city couldn’t be up in flames.
In Khao San and Silom Road, water fights were in full swing. The striking contrast was unreal. In parts of the city, there was gunfire, smoke and explosions. Yet carefree water fights were merrily going on somewhere else.
By 14 April, it was all over. Thailand didn’t even make it to the headlines that day.
When I reached my apartment, the sight of familiar faces in the neighborhood restored a sense of peace and normalcy. The people in a nearby shop were drenched by their day long water splashing and liberal doses of local whisky.
The gloom and apprehension I felt over the last few days melted away to the calm and serenity in Nang Lin Chi. Such extreme contrasts make life here an exhilarating experience. It’s like being in love.
Happy Songkran to all
9 April 2009 - As we approach the Songkran weekend and the start of the festival next Monday, we’d like to wish all our friends and visitors, Thais and non-Thais alike, a Happy Songkran.
The prelude to the festival is currently going through a very turbulent political storm. Anti-government demonstrators have massed in front of Government House, the Foreign Ministry and the home of Senior Statesman and Privy Councillor General Prem.
At midday today, taxi drivers in support of the demonstrators have blocked the junction around the Victory Monument, a major traffic junction and bus terminal for several services around the city.
Whether this political fervor will cool down for the holidays, I’m unable to say. I do sincerely hope that at least a temporary truce can be called just before Songkran.
To those on the way home or already home, we wish you a safe journey and a warm and well-deserved reunion with your loved ones, families and friends.
Happy Songkran.
Update – Bangkok airport hotels
7 April 2009 - We continue with our regular updates on Bangkok hotels with the focus today on the airport hotels.
Suvarnabhumi
The number of hotels near Suvarnabhumi Airport or in eastern Bangkok has increased steadily. Most of the new ones are in Lat Krabang, the area just north of the airport. Many of these hotels are in the budget category.
The future of Don Mueang hangs in the balance yet again. In late March 2009, THAI, one of the three airlines operating from Don Mueang, pulled out their domestic flights from Don Mueang to Suvarnabhumi. This leaves Nok Air and One-To-Go in Don Mueang, insufficient to sustain a critical mass.
The Thai government is divided on whether to stick to a one airport policy or to have two. The last time Don Mueang was left in a similar lurch was in September 2006 when Suvarnabhumi opened.
Back then, the Don Mueang hotels changed tack and promoted their facilities as venues for meetings, conventions and seminars. The partial move back to Don Mueang gave the hotels some new hope which is dashed again. Two new hotels have opened since. Given the current situation, the hotels in Don Mueang will have to rethink their marketing strategy.
There doesn’t appear to be a clear vision of the role these two airports can play in regional and international air travel. Given Bangkok’s location as the crossroads of air routes between East Asia on one hand and South Asia, the Middle East and Europe on the other, this indecision could be an opportunity lost in future when air travel picks up.
6 April 2009 - Today, 6 April, Thais remember their founder King Rama I who established Bangkok as the new capital in 1782.
The city’s founder
The Bangkok era is often referred to as Rattanakosin the era when the Chakri kings reigned over Thailand. This makes Bangkok and the Chakri dynasty 227 years old.
For more on city’s founder, please see the permalink.
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