Memory Lane (In my own language)

The Ceremonial Ratchamankala is the Royal ceremony to celebrate a king whose reign lasts longer than all the former kings’.

In the history of Thailand/Siam there were 2 times:

1^st in 1908, celebrating King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) whose reign lasted longer than the past Kings’ ever recorded (40 years).

2^nd in 1988, celebrating King Phumipol Adulyadej (Rama IX) whose length of reign surpassed King Chulalongkorn (Rama V)’s (42 years).

It is likely that there will be no more for King Rama IX’s reign lasted 70 years and 179 days.

Attachment 62597
King Rama IX’s Royal Ceremonial Emblem


These photos below show King Rama V’s

Attachment 62598

Attachment 62599

Attachment 62600

Attachment 62601

Attachment 62602

Attachment 62603

Nice poses of one of King Rama V’s uncountable nieces.

Attachment 62639


Historians said that this was an example of old styled bridge built across any klong (= canals) commonly seen here and there in Bangkok during the reign of King Rama I – III.

Attachment 62640
(The graphic engraving (below) based on photograph (top) taken at Klong Mahanak )


The graphic engraving based on photograph shows “Royal (group) Funerals” held at Sanam Luang in 1887, the reign of King Rama V.

Attachment 62641
(3 of his children who died very young and 1 of his Royal Concubines; only 3 in royal urns seen)

The royal visit of King Rama V to Wat Mongkon Bohpit in Ayuthaya Province. The photo shows the original condition ever been captured in a photograph of the Wat after it was demolished by the Burmese.

According to the record, the fire set by the Burmese took at least 15 days to burn the capital of Ayuthaya Kingdom down to the ground in 1767.


Attachment 62682

Wat Patum Wanaram is located in Patumwan District between the two shopping malls, Siam Paragon and Central World and across the street from Siam Square.

The Wat was founded in 1857 by King Rama IV as a place of worship near his Sa Patum Palace. At the time of its founding the area was a rice field and only accessible via the Klong San Saeb.

Attachment 62683
(Taken in 1946, the road named in the future as Rama I seen at the bottom. To the left is the future Siam Square area and to the right is the future Ratchaprasong Intersection. Note: the name printed below read as Wat Raja Prachit was mistaken)


Attachment 62684

Sadly probably most well known for May 10th 2010 when 6 people seeking shelter from the red shirt/yellow shirt conflict inside were shot and killed by bullets shot from outside the temple grounds. It was being used as a safe zone. Always have a look when passing on the skytrain.

The Kingdom of Siam, now known as Thailand, is one of the least-known participants in WW I. Siam contributed to the fight against the Central Powers in one of the critical campaigns of the war. It sent an Expeditionary Force to France to serve on the Western Front.

Although it had upheld its neutrality from the start of the war in 1914, Siam entered it in July 1917 by declaring war against Germany and Austria-Hungary.

Following acclimation, both military and meteorological specialist training, the Siamese contingent began operations on the Western Front in mid-September 1918.

The war ended soon afterwards, but following the Armistice of 11 November 1918, Siamese troops contributed to the initial occupation of Rhineland, when they took over the town of Neustadt an der Haardt.

Unlike its Southeast Asian neighbors, Siam had never been colonized. By sending troops, Siam entered the war as an independent country, not one serving its colonial master. It was the only state in the region to enter the conflict entirely of its own free will, as an equal of the European powers, not as a part of their colonial contingents.

At the war's end, following the Allied victory, Siam was rewarded with confiscated German merchant ships. It also was granted political favors in Asia.

Siam, then, participated in the Versailles Peace Conference and became a founding member of the League of Nations which is the forerunner of the United Nations.

By 1925, the United States, the United Kingdom, and France had abandoned their extraterritorial rights in Siam.

Attachment 62708
(King Vachiravud (King Rama VI) during the Buddhism ritual)


Attachment 62709
(King Vachiravud dressed in a uniform of a British General in 1917)


Attachment 62710
The flag


Attachment 62711
(The Siamese Expeditionary Force, 1919 Paris Victory Parade.)



Attachment 62712 Attachment 62713
(Major General, the commander of the Siamese Expeditionary Force)


Attachment 62714
(Siamese casualties during the war amounted to 19 dead. Two soldiers died before departure to France, and the remainder perished from accidents or disease. The World War Volunteers Memorial honoring the Siamese soldiers who died in the conflict opened on 22 July 1921, at Sanam Luang. The last surviving member of the Siamese Expeditionary Forces died on 9 October 2003, age 106)

An interesting story that I had never heard before.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by nathanielnong

Unlike its Southeast Asian neighbors, Siam had never been colonized.

---

This old chestnut :smile: open to Thai-style interpretation.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by panama hat

This old chestnut :smile: open to Thai-style interpretation.

---

Indeed. Historic perspectives and interpretations are usually under the realm of subliminal indoctrination.
You know how that is: if repeated often and loud enough, all becomes true.

Historiology discourses are almost never open to questioning examinations.

In memory of...

(One of my all-time favorites. The first time I could afford a plane ticket, I flew to England then Liverpool to see the River Mersey.)

<font size="4">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08083BNaYcA

Thai school girls’ (from high society families) hairdo during the reign of King Rama V (1868-1910). The style was taken after Japanese women during the Meiji - Taisho period (1868-1926) which itself was adapted from France’s Madame Pompadour’s.

The leader of the style was a Japanese Woman who was the head mistress of a high society school named “Rajini (= queen) School”.

Attachment 62746

A glimpse of a view inside the Queen Saovabha (King Rama V's Supreme Queen Consort) Memorial Institute (known in Thai as "Satan Saowapa" in Bangkok which is an institute that specializes in the husbandry of venomous snakes, the extraction and research of snake venom, and vaccines, especially rabies vaccine (more details in page 18).

This photo was taken in 1948, showing herds of horses and sheep (or goats? I never can tell one from another, sorry) kept for making antiserum.

The buildings in the background were those in Chulalongkorn Hospital. The two places were divided by ‘Ang Lee Dunang’ Road which, actually, named Henri Dunant, a Swiss humanitarian, businessman and social activist. He was the visionary, promoter and co-founder of the Red Cross.

Attachment 62747

Rajini School is still going strong. Quite a prestigious all girls school on the river in Phra Nakorn district. My niece went there.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by aging one

Rajini School is still going strong. Quite a prestigious all girls school on the river in Phra Nakorn district. My niece went there.

---

My mom and her sisters went there too!

Attachment 62771


At first glimpse, one could think of somewhere in Europe but it was actually located in Bangkok.

Sapan Mansri or Mansri bridge was built by King Chulalongkorn (Rama V)'s younger brother who shared the same parents, King Rama IV and the Supreme Queen Consort. It was dedicated to his most beloved wife, Man (1866-1895), born a commoner, who died at the age of around 29.

Attachment 62772


The bridge across a small ‘klong’ was beautifully designed with the effigy of the deceased fixed in the middle. It was opened to public in 1908 but later on, when more new roads were constructed, the klong was filled and the bridge finally was demolished. The place around has become an intersection named "Mansri Intersection".

Attachment 62773


One of the very beautiful buildings is located at the corner of the intersection, The Metropolitan Waterworks Authority Building being built since 1914.

Attachment 62774

Kolae Boat

Attachment 62822


Kolae boat is one of the most beautiful type of boats in Thailand. It is traditionally used as fishing boats by fishermen in the lower southern provinces, especially Pattani and Naratiwat.

Each boat consists of a strikingly pointed head and tail, and travels on water by the use of sail. It is distinctively decorated with brilliantly complex and colorful designs and serves as a medium for the expression of Arab wisdom in combination with Thai art.

According to records, during the Sukhothai period (around 1238-1438), the Arab-Muslim traders started to settle in Thailand. Both Pattani and Naratiwat were influenced by the Islamic faith. Arab culture and wisdom were brought in by the Moor and Arab merchants.

Later on, the Ayuttaya Kingdom (around 1350-1767) adapted the Kolae form of boat from a Moorish ship with a raised prow and thus devised the royal barge, as can be seen from the craft in the Royal Barge Procession during the reign of King Narai the Great.

At the same time, Pattani and Naratiwat craftsmen adopted traditional Thai artistic designs for use in decorating the Kolae.

Attachment 62823


As Pattani comprises of Buddhist, Muslim, and Chinese communities, it reflects a harmonious mixture of the three cultures. Kolae boats in this province feature Thai, Islamic, and Chinese art forms in accordance with local geographical and social conditions.

Contests of miniature Kolae boats are held occasionally and this encourage craftsmen to improve their production. Miniature Kolae boats and other products have become sought-after items among Thai and foreign visitors. They are available in souvenir shops in Pattani and Naratiwat. The price can vary but usually starts from 200 baht and can be up to over 10,000 baht, depending on their sizes and decorations.

Attachment 62824

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by nathanielnong

sheep (or goats? I never can tell one from another, sorry)

---

In Asia there is little distinction, generally speaking. Chinese only has one word which includes both.

Western culture is a bit different. If I remember correctly from my schooldays there is a parable in the Bible about Judgment Day being a separation of the sheep from the goats, a separation of the good from the bad. We still have an English idiom "to separate the sheep from the goats." I never really understood it because both make a good curry.
I suppose the difference is that sheep will flock together and follow the shepherd whereas goats are independent and wilful.
Anyway, the animals in your photo look to me like sheep. I have seen sheep in Thailand but they don't do well in the heat.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Shutree

In Asia there is little distinction, generally speaking. Chinese only has one word which includes both.

.

---

Fairly sure there are different word in Thai - Pae (goat) and Gae (sheep)?

Goat and sheep are also different words in Mandarin. Related and similar but very distinct

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by panama hat

Goat and sheep are also different words in Mandarin. Related and similar but very distinct

---

You are perfectly correct and I was wrong to be so broad brush about it. When I first learned Chinese the teachers said 'yang' was the Chinese word for both sheep and goat and I never heard any different. On a menu it is always 'yang' and if you ask people if it is lamb or goat they usually just smile. At least that is my experience.
Lin Yutang translates 'yang' as both sheep and goat. Of course he also includes 'cotton yang' for sheep and 'mountain yang' for goat.
Out of curiosity, I asked an educated Chinese friend who knows the difference and she said even she wouldn't usually distinguish in spoken Chinese, that if she was pointing out a sheep or a goat to her young children she would only use 'yang'. I vaguely remember a subtitled nature program about mountain goats that repeatedly, and not surprisingly, used the term 'mountain yang'. That is the only time I can remember encountering it.
My long excuse for being incorrect.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Shutree

My long excuse for being incorrect.

---

:) Absolutely no need for an apology.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Shutree

a separation of the sheep from the goats

---

Wheat from the chaff?

Goats are better on mountains and can eat anything. That's why they'd be favoured in some countries.

"goat" - "sheep" ... and then ... "lamb"!

Attachment 62896

The chief animal of Siam is the elephant. Elephants are found in great numbers in the north, and also in the wide plains of the south, where these plains are not cultivated, but are covered with jungle-grass, brushwood, and bamboo.

The Siamese elephant sometimes attains a height of ten or eleven feet. Frequent measurements have proved the curious fact that the height of an elephant is usually about twice the circumference of its biggest foot.

One thing to distinguish Asian elephants from African elephants is to look at their ears. Asian elephants have smaller ears.

In the ancient time, Ayutthaya Kingdom, once or twice a year there was a big elephant-hunt.

At the beginning of the wet season orders were sent forth that elephants were to be collected. A number of men traversed the plain where the elephants had been allowed to roam unmolested, and drove them in towards the town.

People of all classes, from royalty to peasants including foreigners, went to witness this fun incident. There was a great deal of excitement, particularly when the elephants were expected. Record says that…

...Presently an enormous tusker is seen. This is a tame elephant. He walks slowly in front, and the crowd of wild elephants behind who have taken him for their leader follow like a flock of sheep (... again!), except that they make more noise.

Round the outside of the herd there are other tame elephants, carrying men on their backs who are armed with spears.

At last they reach the river. They stop for a moment, but the big tusker marches on in front, and the others are pushing at the back, so into the water they all go. They swim to the other side of the river, and there the mounted elephants get the whole herd into line again, pretending all the while to be their friends.

Then the tusker marches into a big enclosure set round with posts, and thence through a gateway into a second enclosure. By this time some of the wild elephants have an idea that they are being trapped, and they try to go back; but the guard-elephants stand quite steady, and the men on their backs make good use of their spears. So at last the captives are brought into a square space surrounded by a high, thick wall, on which hundreds of spectators are crowded, watching the operations. This ends the first day.

The next morning half a dozen tuskers are led into the enclosure, or panead, as it is called in Siamese. On the back of each elephant are two men, provided with long coils of rope. They look for those young elephants that they think can be trained to make strong and useful servants later on.

Having chosen one, they chase him about, and, after a time, succeed in getting a noose under his foot, and in pulling the noose tightly up above the knee. The other end of the coil is thrown to the men upon the ground, and they make it fast to a post.

When the youngster tries to run about again, he finds that he is held tightly by one leg. He shows his displeasure by the most heart-rending howls. As soon as a certain number have been tied up to posts, a gate is opened in the enclosure, and the uncaptured beasts are allowed to rush out on to the plain beyond. But they are not permitted to go back to their homes in the jungle; a ring of mounted elephants surrounds the plain and keeps them within bounds.

The young ones in the panead are led out, one at a time, through a narrow gate. A tame elephant leads the way, and another follows. Once outside, three mounted elephants appear. One goes on each side of the captive, and the third follows behind. The captive is fastened by his neck to the necks of his brethren on either side, and in this humiliating way he is led to the stables. There he is tied by the neck and one leg to a post. After about three years he has lost his temper, become gentle, and can then be taught to work.

Other elephants are noosed in the open, but in the evening, after a bathe in the river, the herd goes back to the panead.

When as many elephants have been chosen as are wanted, the rest are set free, and allowed to wander at liberty for another twelve months…

Attachment 62897

Attachment 62898

Attachment 62899

Attachment 62900

Attachment 62901

Attachment 62902


Note:

Normally, we have words used for counting things (Don’t know how to call in English because English language don't have it). For animals, we use the word ‘tua’.

For example, a farang says ‘one dog’. In Thai we say ‘dog one tua’. ‘Tua’ is a Thai word to address the number of animals; ‘cat two tua’, pig thirty tua’ and etc.

Only one type of animal that is exceptional, the elephants. We have two separate words used for counting number of them.

We use ‘tua’ for wild elephants. For tamed elephants, we use ‘cheuag (rope)'.

The reason is explained above. We use ropes to catch wild elephants before taming them.

So, when someone says ‘I saw elephant 2 tua’, it means he saw 2 wild elephants. If he says ‘I saw elephant 2 cheuag’, it means he saw 2 tamed elephants.

That is “Thai word” for today…

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by nathanielnong

Normally, we have words used for counting things (Don’t know how to call in English because English language don't have it).

---

We call them "classifiers."

That is "English word" for today...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by TheMadBaron

We call them "classifiers."

That is "English word" for today...

---

Thanks, noted it down!

Found some more old photos (but not that far back in the real 'panead' time, though) about capturing elephants.

Attachment 62952

Attachment 62953

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by nathanielnong

For animals, we use the word ‘tua’.

---

This "classifier" is often the one very well remembered by falangs (myself not excluded). Correct when it is used for counting the legs at the table, however, a blatant mistake - and a terrible offence - when counting the people, esp. women...

Still hanging out with our old friends, the elephants...


White elephant

The term derives from the sacred white elephants kept by Southeast Asian monarchs in Burma, Siam, Laos and Cambodia.

To possess a white elephant was regarded (and is still regarded in Thailand and Burma) as a sign that the monarch reigned with justice and power, and that the kingdom was blessed with peace and prosperity. The opulence expected of anyone who owned a beast of such stature was great.

According to Brahmanism belief, if a monarch possessed one or more 'white' elephants, it was a glorious and happy sign.

In Thai language, they are called 'pueak (= albino)', not white (= kao), indicating from "pale yellow eyes and white nails with white hair. The rough skin was either pink all over or had pink patches on the head, trunk, or forelegs."

They were not really worshiped for themselves but were regarded as an appendage to the King's majesty.

In Thailand, white elephants (chang pueak) are considered sacred and are a symbol of royal power. All those discovered are presented to the king.

Historically, the status of kings has been evaluated by the number of white elephants in their possession. The late King Rama IX owned as many as 21 white elephants which was considered an unprecedented achievement, making him the monarch who owned the greatest number of chang pueak in Thai history.

The first chang pueak found in King Rama IX’s reign was regarded as the most important elephant in the whole realm. It received the royal title which bears his majesty's own name: Phra Savet Adulyadej Pahol Bhumibol Navanatta-parami.

However, the King did not bestow royal titles to all of the white elephants in his possession. Up until now, eleven of these elephants are still alive and only five have royal titles.

As referring to the above, a white elephant in Thailand is not necessarily albino but it must have pale skin. After being discovered, the elephants are assigned to one of four graded categories before being offered to the king, although the lower grades are sometimes refused.

In the past, lower graded white elephants were given as gifts to the king's friends and allies.

Because the animals were considered sacred and laws protected them from labor, receiving a gift of a white elephant from a monarch was simultaneously a blessing and a curse.

It was a blessing because the animal was sacred and a sign of the monarch's favour.

It was a curse because such animal needed a lot of care and, being considered sacred, could not be put to work. So it was a great financial burden on the recipient as he now had an expensive-to-maintain animal and he could not give away and, at the same time, could not put too much practical use.

According to an old story (of course, told by our little birds), a white elephant or more were sometimes given as a present to someone who displeased the king, usually a lesser noble. The unfortunate recipient, unable to make any profit from it but obliged to take care of it, would suffer bankruptcy and doomed.

"The white elephant flag", flag of Siam in 1855–1916

Attachment 62954


King Rama IX and his first chang pueak named Phra Savet Adulyadej… who fell (in our tradition, we don’t say “a chang (in general) ‘dies’” instead, we say “a chang ‘falls'") in April, 2010 at the age of 59.

Attachment 62955

Attachment 62956

WHITE ELEPHANTS

An interesting observation (pictures not included) made by Ernest Young, B.Sc., Head Master of the Lower School of John Lyon, Harrow, England published in 1908 (= the reign of King Rama V).

Siam has been called the "Land of the White Elephant," and no account of the country would be complete which failed to take notice of these peculiar animals. The national flag is a white elephant on a scarlet ground; the mercantile flag is a white elephant on a blue ground; and on every temple and official building this wonderful creature is fashioned in stone, wood, and plaster.

In former days the King did not feel himself fully a king unless he possessed a white elephant, and he never hesitated about undertaking a war in order to obtain one of these rare animals.

In former years no subject was allowed to keep a white elephant. If by chance he found one, he hastened to present it to the King. If he dared to try to keep it for himself, the King made war upon him and took it away by force.

Strictly speaking, there is no such thing as a white elephant. The animal is not really white, but only a little lighter in colour than the ordinary elephant. Occasionally it is of the colour of dirty bath brick, and it may have a few white hairs on its tail or its head.

The news of the discovery of a white elephant always produced great joy in the people and the King. The King sent a body of nobles and princes to the place where the animal had been found, and where he was tethered by silken cords. The ambassadors guarded the quadruped while professional elephant-tamers taught it how to behave in the presence of men and in the streets of a town. People went from all parts of the country to visit it and take it presents.

Attachment 62989
A royal white elephant, as depicted in a Thai painting


Meanwhile, in the capital, a palace was rapidly erected for the sublime animal. When the palace was finished and the taming of the elephant completed, a stately procession set out to meet it and bring it home.

The King headed the procession, and when he met the elephant he knelt before it and gave it presents, after which he turned round and led the way back to the capital.

In the elephant's new residence there was a wardrobe for his clothes, and covers of velvet and silk embroidered with gold and jewels. On his head was fastened a gold plate bearing his name and titles.

He had a troupe of slaves and a party of priests, an orchestra of musicians, and a number of dancing-girls, all specially set apart for his instruction and amusement.

Attachment 62990


When the elephant wanted to sleep, the priests chanted slumber-songs. When he looked lively and wakeful, the dancing-girls sang and danced to him. When he was hungry, he was fed with the finest fruits and vegetables. As a rule this life of laziness and luxury soon brought about his death.

Only about thirty years ago, a party of hunters who were looking for white elephants saw in the distance an elephant of excellent shape and size, but of no particular color.

On examining it a little closer, they fancied that it might be one of that rare kind for which they were seeking. They took him away and washed the mud off him, and them to their intense joy, they found that not only was he light in color, but that on his back there were a few hairs that were positively white.

The country went wild with joy. Bangkok was decorated with flags, and illuminated at night. All the places were gay with banners, lights, and music. The King went to meet the animal, and the priests read a long and flattering address to it.

The priests then baptized the animal and gave him his new name and titles, which were very numerous, and which were written on a piece of sugar-cane; this the elephant promptly swallowed. It was probably the only part of the ceremony that gave him any pleasure. He was taken to his new apartment, and there fed by kneeling servants, who offered him food on dishes made of silver.

Things are much changed now. When the last white elephant was discovered, he was sent to Bangkok on a railway-truck. There was no guard of honor, no procession, and the King only went to visit him when he was lodged in the stables.

On the way to the palace the new-comer behaved himself very badly by walking up to a fruit-seller's stall—the first it had ever seen—and eating up everything that was on it, almost before the attendants had had time to notice what he was doing.

Nowadays, the white elephants are badly fed by miserable grooms. They no longer have either priests or dancing-girls. The walls of their stables are half in ruins, and the roofs are covered with dirt of great age and thickness. Their food is only hay, leaves, and young bamboos.

By the side of each elephant is a cage; this is intended for a white monkey, the fit and proper companion for the white elephant. But as white monkeys are more rare than white elephants, all these cages are empty.

Once a year each elephant is sprinkled with holy water by the priests, and is made to listen to a number of long prayers. This is done to keep away evil spirits, and so successful is the operation that it only needs repeating once in twelve months.

When one of the elephants dies, they bring a white monkey, a few doctors, and a few priests, to visit the deceased. By his side they dig a hole in the ground, in which incense is burned. The body is covered with a white cloth, and then taken out of the town and left to rot in a field.

Later on the bones and tusks are collected and preserved. For three days after the death of the quadruped a number of priests remain praying in the stable, requesting the spirit of the animal not to come back again and do any damage.

(The last part seems quite funny. Wonder if the observer ironically added it himself)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Klondyke

This "classifier" is often the one very well remembered by falangs (myself not excluded). Correct when it is used for counting the legs at the table, however, a blatant mistake - and a terrible offence - when counting the people, esp. women...

---

And when talking about selling tickets or ticket sellers, make sure you get the tone right!

ขายตั๋ว v. ขายตัว

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Neverna

And when talking about selling tickets or ticket sellers, make sure you get the tone right!

ขายตั๋ว v. ขายตัว

---

Yes. we have what we call "wannayuk ( ่ / ้/ ๊/ ๋) to control the tone when wanting the right meaning. You guys don't have it so it might be difficult to adjust.

For example: "kai kai kai kai" --- means "Who sells the eggs?" !

Let’s do something fun!


Attachment 63032


The Grand Palace has twelve gates, three along each of the four walls. These massive gates are built of brick and mortar and (almost all of them) are topped with a Prang styled spire.

These gates are all painted in white, with gigantic red doors. Each of these outer gates was given rhyming names starting from (please try to read!):

North wall: Wimarn Taewet - Wiset Chaisee - Manee Nopparat
East wall: Sawatd Sopa - Taewa Pitak - Sak Chaiyasit
South wall: Wichit Banchong – Anong Kharak - Pitak Bowon
West wall: Soontorn Tisa – Taewa Pirom - Udom Sudarak

However, not many people are aware of that when reading each name backwards, each of those names rhymes with the next one as well:
(Start to read backwards from the last name on the west wall – (Udom Sudarak – Sudarak Udom) up to the first name on the north wall – (Wimarn Taewet – Taewet Wimarn)

West wall: Sudarak Udom – Phirom Taewa – Tisa Soontorn
South wall: Bowon Pitak – Kharak Anong – Banchong Wichit
East wall: Chaiyasit Sak – Pitak Taewa – Sopa Sawatd
North wall: Nopparat Manee – Chaisee Wiset – Taewet Wimarn

(Cool, isn’t it?)

Of all, only one gate that serves as an entrance for common people to enter to pay respect to the Emerald Buddha. That gate is named “Sawatd Sopa Gate”.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by nathanielnong

(Cool, isn’t it?)

---

My tongue twisted early:)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Klondyke
This "classifier" is often the one very well remembered by falangs (myself not excluded). Correct when it is used for counting the legs at the table, however, a blatant mistake - and a terrible offence - when counting the people, esp. women...

---

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Neverna

And when talking about selling tickets or ticket sellers, make sure you get the tone right!

ขายตั๋ว v. ขายตัว

---

Nev, in fact, I am not much afraid that anybody would be keen to buy me... (Would you?)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by panama hat

My tongue twisted early:)

---

Attachment 63086

Watercolor Paintings by Edwin A. Norbury, R.C.A., early 1900s

Attachment 63087
(A CORNER OF THE GRAND PALACE ENCLOSURE, BANGKOK)

Attachment 63088
(THE RIVER MARKET, BANGKOK)

Attachment 63089
(THE GULF OF SIAM—MOONLIGHT)

Attachment 63090
(A BUFFALO CART)

Attachment 63091
(A GROUP OF BUDDHIST MONKS)

Attachment 63092
(THE TEMPLE OF WAT POH)

Attachment 63093
(MOUNT PRABHAT)

Attachment 63094
(A FISHING BOAT OFF THE ISLAND PAGODA OF PAKNAM)

Attachment 63095
(THE ANNUAL RICE PLOUGHING FESTIVAL)

Attachment 63096
(AN ELEPHANT HUNT AT AYUTHIA)

Attachment 63097
(A RELIGIOUS WATER PROCESSION)

Attachment 63099
(A TYPICAL CANAL SCENE)

Kullasatri Wung Lung School (meaning ‘Ladies of Wung Lung) is Thailand’s first boarding school for girls and the first kindergarten.

Founded in 1874 (King Rama V’s) by the American Presbyterian Missionaries, the school was located in the area once called “Wung Lung (= back Palace, the old deserted Palace in the reign of King Rama III)” which is now within the compound of Siriraj Hospital, Bangkok Noi District.

Attachment 63132


Mrs. Harriet M. House was the first principal. The primary objectives of the school were to educate young Thai ladies in the fundamentals of reading, writing, Bible study and sewing.

Attachment 63133

Attachment 63134


In 1921, realizing that the area of the school was limited while the children which, at time, were both Thai and farang were increasing each year, Miss Edna S. Cole, the recent principal, moved the school campus to its present location, Wattana District, and changed the name to "Wattana Wittaya Academy".

Attachment 63135


In 1947, at the Christmas Party in her final year of this school, 16 years old Pantip L. with her friend, a few classes younger, Saisuri V. performed a rendition of a song penned and sung by senior Pantip and the melody given by junior Saisuri who also played a piano. It was a ‘no title yet’ lovely song showing how affectionate love one could give to the other.

This song, much later on, was professionally improved a little bit with title given as “Sai-Tip”, by combining the two girls’ names, and went public which turned out to be one of the all-time classics in the history of Thai songs.

A group of song devotees has translated the lyric into English as shown below:

Starlight that shines so bright,
Reminds me of your eyes,
My heart is full of signs, my love.
Moonlight on my tears falls,
My face, I cannot hide,
Return soon to my side, my love
You are gone I’m all alone
But still dreams linger on,
You always be the one, I love
May the stars remember me,
To you each night and day,
Whilst you’re so far away, my love

Note: After that year, the two girls parted ways to pursue their own futures but the song always unites them.

Senior Pantip L. (now V.) has become a successful medical doctor and junior Saisuri V. (now J. and Ph.D.), a retiree from Prime Minister (Mr. Anan Panyarchun)’s Official Minister. They both are close to 90 now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRsaNi21ktM

young farung looking girl front and center of the first row. Any idea who she was?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by aging one

young farung looking girl front and center of the first row. Any idea who she was?

---

Maybe 2, first row and second row.