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 almost 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.
Himavanta is a legendary forest, also called Himmanpan Mountain, which is said to be located in the Himalayas. Himavanta appears in a piece of Thai literature called Traibhumikatha which explains that Himavanta is a forest where many diverse mythical creatures such as Phaya Naga, Phaya Krut, and Kinnaree, spirits or even gods and goddess reside.
The mythical Nariphon tree that is often mentioned in Thai folklore is also said to grow here. The story of Himavanta and the explanation of the three existing planes were written by the philosopher-king of Si Satchanalai, Phaya Lithai. Since the Himavanta forest relates to Buddhist cosmology, it profoundly influences beliefs, cultures and artworks in the Buddhist and Hindu religions, among others. (Full article...)
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Proposed Thai Canal routes
The Thai Canal (Thai: คลองไทย), also known as Kra Canal (คลองกระ) or Kra Isthmus Canal (คลองคอคอดกระ), is any of several proposals for a canal that would connect the Gulf of Thailand with the Andaman Sea across the Kra Isthmus in southern Thailand. Such a canal would significantly reduce travel times through heavily-navigated trade routes.
The canal would provide an alternative to transit through the Strait of Malacca and shorten transit for shipments of oil to Japan and China by 1,200 km. China refers to it as part of its 21st century maritime Silk Road. Proposals, as of 2015,[update] measure 102 kilometres long, 400 meters wide and 25 meters deep. Plans for a canal have been discussed and explored at various times. Cost, environmental concerns, and geopolitical concerns have been weighed against the potential economic and strategic benefits. (Full article...)
Luang Por Dattajivo (Thai: ทตฺตชีโว, RTGS: Thattachiwo; Pali: Dattajīvo; born 21 December 1940), also known by his birth name Phadet Phongsawat (Thai: เผด็จ ผ่องสวัสดิ์) and former ecclesiastical titlePhrarajbhavanajahn (Thai: พระราชภาวนาจารย์, RTGS: Phra Rat Phawanachan), is a Thai Buddhist monk. He is the former deputy-abbot of Wat Phra Dhammakaya and the vice-president of the Dhammakaya Foundation, and was the observing abbot of the temple from 1999 until 2006, and again from 2011 until 2016. As of December 2016,[update] he was still widely considered the de facto abbot. He met Mae chi (nun) Chandra Khonnokyoong and Luang Por Dhammajayo in his student years, and they have been his teachers throughout his life.
Luang Por Dattajivo was ordained in 1971, and quickly became a prolific author. He also took on a significant role in managing Wat Phra Dhammakaya. It was for this position that he was charged by the Thai military junta in 2017, when he refused to deliver Luang Por Dhammajayo to the authorities. This happened during the lockdown by the Thai junta, when abbot Luang Por Dhammajayo was sought for charges of receiving ill-gotten gains, charges which have been widely described as politically motivated. (Full article...)
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Lisa in 2024
Lalisa Manobal (Thai: ลลิษา มโนบาล; born Pranpriya Manobal, March 27, 1997), known mononymously as Lisa (Korean: 리사), is a Thai rapper, singer, dancer and actress. She is a member of the South Korean girl group Blackpink, which debuted under YG Entertainment in August 2016. She made 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 at the time. 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, signed with RCA Records, and achieved her first number-one single on the Billboard Global Excl. US with "Rockstar", the lead single of her debut studio album Alter Ego (2025). (Full article...)
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Green papaya salad with yardlong beans, chili, pla ra, brined crab, hog plum and lime
Green papaya salad is a spicy salad made from shredded unripe papaya. Originating in Laos, it is a national dish and a cornerstone of Lao cuisine, known locally as tam som or tam mak hoong. The dish exemplifies bold, vibrant flavors, blending sour, spicy, salty, and sweet elements, and holds deep cultural significance in Laos.
Green papaya salad is also widely popular in Thailand, particularly in the Isan region, which shares close ethnic and cultural ties with Laos due to its predominantly ethnic Lao population. Introduced to Thailand via Isan, the dish—called som tam in Thai—became a staple of Thai cuisine and spread nationwide. Beyond Laos and Thailand, green papaya salad has also gained regional prominence across continental Southeast Asia, including Cambodia, Myanmar, and Vietnam, as well as Xishuangbanna (China).[citation needed] (Full article...)
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Siege of Bangkok
Siege of the French fortress (A) by Siamese troops and batteries (C), in Bangkok, 1688. The enclosure of the village of Bangkok represented in the lower left corner (M) is today's Thonburi.
The siege of Bangkok was a key event of the Siamese revolution of 1688, in which the Kingdom of Siam ousted the French from Siam. Following a coup d'état, in which the pro-Western king Narai was replaced by Phetracha, Siamese troops besieged the French fortress in Bangkok for four months. The Siamese were able to muster about 40,000 troops, equipped with cannon, against the entrenched 200 French troops, but the military confrontation proved inconclusive. Tensions between the two belligerents progressively subsided, and finally a negotiated settlement was reached allowing the French to leave the country.
The Siege of Bangkok would mark the end of French military presence in Siam, as France was soon embroiled in the major European conflicts of the War of the League of Augsburg (1688–1697), and then the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1713/14). With the end of the siege, a long period started during which Siam would remain suspicious of Western intervention. Only a few French missionaries were allowed to remain, while trade continued on a limited level with other European countries such as Portugal, the Dutch Republic and England. (Full article...)
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...)
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Lipa Noi Beach
Ko Samui (or Koh Samui), often locally shortened to Samui (Thai: เกาะสมุย, pronounced[kɔ̀ʔsā.mǔj]), is an island off the east coast of Thailand. Geographically in the Chumphon Archipelago, it is part of Surat Thani Province, though as of 2012, Ko Samui was granted municipal status and thus is now locally self-governing. Ko Samui, with an area of 228.7 square kilometres (88.3 sq mi), is Thailand's second largest island after Phuket. In 2018, it was visited by 2.7 million tourists. (Full article...)
Image 27Wat 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 40Map 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 41Ananta 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 48Display 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)
Mae Salong's early history centered on the Golden Triangle's opium trade, in which its distinctive population – the "lost army" of the Republic of China Army's 93rd Division – became involved. At the conclusion of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, some remnants of the anti-communist Kuomintang (KMT) forces refused to surrender, including the 278th Regiment of the 93rd Division and the 709th Regiment of the 237th Division (led by General Li Kuo-hui). The troops fought their way out of Yunnan in south-western China, and its soldiers lived in Burma's (now Myanmar) jungles. The army grew and part of it returned to Taiwan under international pressure. The remaining troops moved to the Thai border area and eventually established several communities in Thailand. Those led by Gen Tuan Shi-wen (also known as Chiwan Khamlue) settled in Mae Salong. The Thai government allowed their presence in exchange for their help fighting the communist insurgency on the Thai frontier. In reward, the Thai government granted citizenship to most of the KMT soldiers and their families. (Full article...)