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Once upon a time, Farangs named Bangkok as Venice of the East...
1890s...
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1940s
Now, we know who ruined its reputation!
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Looks like you have one shot of the old beautiful Sathorn Rd. By any chance do you have photos of the late 70's when they cut all the beautiful trees down and began filling the klong that ran down the center?
1950s
Water police on his needle boat
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1960s
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Coca-Cola, so refreshing...
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The Great Chao Praya River...
1890s
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1960s
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All I could find. Hope, they are close enough..
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The Klong shot in mid 50s
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Marlon Brando is playing a kite…
The term “playing a kite”, in Thai language we say “chuck (= verb) wow (= kite)”.
So, “Marlon Brando is playing a kite” can be translated in Thai as “Marlon Brando ‘chuck wow’”
Now, the Thai term “chuck wow” has another meaning as a slang which means “to jerk off”
So, in Thai’s ears, after hearing, it can mean either Marlon Brando is ‘actually’ playing a kite or he is jerking off.
Of all the Chakri Dynasty kings that has reigned Siam/Thailand since the beginning, there is only one reign that was ruled by 2 kings; King Mongkut (Rama IV; 1804-1868) and his younger brother, Prince Chutamani who was crowned in 1851 as the second king named King Pinklao (1808-1866). He sat on the throne at the Front Palace.
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Front Palace (Wang [palace] Na [front])
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The most traumatic event in the history of ancient Thailand: The Capsizing Boat Queen.
King Chulalongkorn (King Rama V; 1853-1910) was a great king who brought much to Thailand and who is therefore still highly revered today by the Thai people.
He was a great modernizer, yet one of the too strict royal laws of his time was responsible for the tragic death of one of his wives, Queen Sunanta Kumarirat who was pregnant at the time and their young daughter.
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Princess (her rank back then) Sunanta Kumarirat was born on November 10, 1860, as the daughter of King Mongkut (King Rama IV; 1804-1868) and one of his wives.
She was the first wife of King Chulalongkorn and was also his half-sister because they shared the same father, King Mongkut.
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King Rama V’s first five wives were all his half-sisters and the first three of them, Princess Sunanta being the eldest, were siblings.
With Princess Sunanta, the king had a daughter, born on August 12, 1878, and named Princess Kannaporn Petcharat.
She also was expecting another child who was to be a boy and therefore the first son and future king, when tragedy struck on May 31, 1880.
On that day, Princess Sunanta with her daughter were accompanied by other Princesses who were also the King’s wives. Each had her own royal boat towed by a steam boat. The parade was to take them to the Bang Pa In Royal Palace (also known as the “Summer Palace”) in Ayuthaya.
Along the way in Nonthaburi, a tragic accident due to human error caused Princess Sunanta with her daughter’s boat capsized. Both along with a nanny fell into the water and were trapped inside the boat’s cabin.
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The accident happened in board daylight and many spectators witnessed the capsizing, but they were unable to rescue them.
In one of the royal laws, it was forbidden for any common people to touch the high rank royalties (such as the king’s wives, in this case) under the penalty of death for the whole family, even if it meant that they could save ‘life’.
For this accident, not only was there this law, but also a guard on another boat ordered them to do nothing.
So, the tragedy that should not have happened happened.
At that time, the Princess was only nineteen years, her daughter Princess Kannaporn was just over a year and a half old.
Subsequently, the guard was punished for his overly strict view of the law in such circumstances. He was charged of murdering the King’s wife and a daughter and had him put in prison (to be released afterwards).
After that, the King’s relatives told that he had “fallen into deep sadness.”
His great sorrow was demonstrated by the rapid cancellation of his long-awaited trip to the United States of America for an indefinite period.
The King, so overwhelmed by the loss of his favorite wife and not only a daughter but an heir son included, began to organize funeral ceremonies, described as the most “elaborate and costly than we have ever known in Siam”.
The King directed all his efforts to complete the construction of the Royal Summer Palace, where his wife was to go on that fateful May morning.
The King, so devoted to appropriately commemorating his beloved wife, kept her body for about seven months before cremating her. They were “embalmed and placed in a sitting position” on golden cinerary urns surrounded by rich and expensive jewels, vases of gold and silver, and other precious things, insignia of royalty, that had belonged to the dead during their lifetime.
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After attending all the details of the preparation, the King had the funeral cards sent to all of the important people. Since at the time, Sunanta’s royal title was a princess, the King, with much love and in honor of, established hers to “the Queen”.
As the grandiose funeral ceremonies began, a funeral attendant described in detail what was seen and heard during the twelve days of the cremation ceremonies.
“The breath of trumpets and conch shells, moaning women from the palace came into the quartets four times a day to cry and cry, to sing funeral hymns and to sing the excellence of the deceased… Highest rank of Buddhist priests chanted every day and through the night…”
Finally, on March 16, 1881, the royal cremation began at Tung Pra-main (Sanam Luang Park).
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The saddest deaths are those of people who disappeared too soon. If you add to that tragic story, a drowning or rather three who drowned in front of people who were ordered not to help them, you understand the tribute.
Note: Later on all of the too strict royal laws including the one that caused the King so much pain were revised.
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Angklung/Angkalung
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The angklung is a type of musical instrument which was first invented in West Java, Indonesia, with a possibility of cultural transmittance to various other places such as Malaysia and the Philippines over the course of several centuries.
In the early 20th century during the time of the Dutch East Indies, the angklung was adopted in Thailand, where it is called angkalung.
It was recorded that angklung was brought to Siam in 1908 by Luang Pradit Pairoh, a royal musician in the entourage of Field Marshal Prince Panurungsi Sawangwong of Siam who paid a royal visit to Java that year.
The Thai angklung is typically tuned in the Thai tuning system of seven equidistant steps per octave, and each angklung has three bamboo tubes tuned in three separate octaves rather than two, as is typical in Indonesia.
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In 2008, there was a grand celebration in the Thai traditional music circle to mark the 100th anniversary of the introduction of angklung to Thailand. Both the Thai and Indonesian governments supported the celebration.
"Pine tree Against the Wind"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewDlkqVzs1g
One peaceful morning at Ratcha Dumnuen Road in the 50s (almost no car at all.... wow!)
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The latest Fashion...
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Rama I Road by the National Stadium through time
50s
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60s
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Recently
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Postcard from the past
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I like this photo (1930s after the Siam Coup) the most, so serene.
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This one is still okay (60s). I miss the colorful buses.
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Bang Pa-In Royal Palace
Bang Pa-In Royal Palace also known as the Summer Palace, is a palace complex formerly used by the Thai kings. It lies beside the Chao Praya River in Bang Pa-In District, Pranakorn Sri Ayuthaya.
King Prasart Tong from Ayuthaya period (approx. 1350-1767) constructed the original complex in 1632, but it fell into disuse and became overgrown in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, until King Mongkut (King Rama IV) began to restore the site in the mid-19th century. Most of the present buildings were constructed between 1872 and 1889 by King Chulalongkorn (King Rama V).
The vast area is divided into 2 sections:
The Outer Court which is the area the King appears before the public and for performing public ceremonies. It comprises of (written to the Thai pronunciation):
1. Hor Hem-Montien-Tewarad – A shrine for King Prasart Tong who originally constructed the place.
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2. Pra Tee Nung I-Sawan Tipya-Ard – Thai style pavilion in the middle of a pond. The statue of King Rama V made to order by his son, King Wachirawut (King Rama VI), is placed inside.
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3. Pra Tee Nung Wa-Ro-Pad Pi-Man – Throne Hall made for the King’s public appearances.
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4. Sapakan-Ratchaprayoon - Originally built as a temporary residence for the King Rama VÂ’s siblings and the first heir to the throne, Prince Maha Wachiroonahit who died young.
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5.Kra-Jome Trae – A gazebo
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6.Roen-Pae- Pra-Tee-Nung – A small private residence for King Rama V
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The Inner Court connected to the Outer Court with a beautiful bridge is a private area for the Royalties comprising of:
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1.Pra-Tee-Nung Utayan-Poomisatien – The grand throne hall of the Royal Palace. The original one was burned down while being repaired in 1938. The recent one looks totally different.
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2.Hor-Witoon-Tasana – A tower for the King to view the wide vicinity and wild elephants.
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3.Keng Bupa Prapad – The King’s retreat
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4.Pra-Tee-Nung Wae-Hard Chumroon – A Chinese style residential hall.
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5.Pra-Tum-Nak Fai-Nai – Residences for female royalties, some of them (the Queens’):
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(more...)
6.Monuments dedicated to the death of important Royalties.
6.1 Queen Sunanta Kumareerat (the Capsizing Boat Queen)
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6.2 King Rama V’s one of the favorite concubines and 3 favorite offspring who died young
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Wat Niwet Tummaprawat
Wat Niwet Thammaprawat Ratchaworawihan is a Buddhist temple located in a small island within the grounds of the Bang Pa-In Royal Palace in Pranakorn Sri Ayuthaya Province.
Founded in 1878, it is remarkable among Thai Buddhist temples because its Gothic styled architecture mimics those of European churches.
The construction of Wat Niwet Thammaprawat was commissioned by King Chulalongkorn (King Rama V) in 1876 to serve as the royal temple for the newly expanded Bang Pa-In Palace. The temple was designed by Joachim Grassi, one of the first Italian architects employed under the king's government. Many public buildings were built in the Western style during King Chulalongkorn's reign. It was a trend considering reflecting the modernization of Siam at the time.
Built in Gothic revival style, the decorations were designed with stained glass windows and a Gothic altar. Its appearance resembles that of a Christian church with the temple's main Buddha image in place of a Cross. Construction was completed in 1878.
Wat Niwet Thammaprawat is a first class royal temple and is a registered historic monument, and received the ASA Architectural Conservation Award in 1989.
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[QUOTE=nathanielnong;4139945][SIZE=3]One peaceful morning at Ratcha Dumnuen Road in the 50s (almost no car at all.... wow!)
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I just noticed, the family offering food to the monks have their shoes on. Was this a special family photo, since they look smartly turned out, or was it the practice then to keep shoes on?
Interesting pics, by the way.
[QUOTE=Shutree;4141221]
From what I have learned...
First of all, Tak Bart (offering food to monks) is an original tradition for Buddhists since the beginning and that first happened in (nowadays) India/Nepal the area where Buddha stayed. Around that time, people hardly wore shoes, except those from high class. Since no monks wore shoes (as one of the rules Buddha decrees to be rid of "luxuries"), so to show them faith and respect, people didn't wear shoes when offering food to them. Hence, this has been carried on until today.
It is not a rule and nowadays, the earth is so dirty and dangerous to stand barefooted. So, relaxation happens.
Anyway, as Buddha says "Merit making will be effective when you do it with your mind not your body". Alas, even the strict Buddhists fail to recognize it let alone general ones.
Thanks for asking.
More scenes of Venice of the East...
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The very first KFC branch in Bangkok in the 70s. I wonder if anyone here used to visit there.
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Cigarette vendor
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I bet some of you used to visit there.
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