Thread: Memory Lane (In my own language)

The colorized B&W photo courtesy of ‘Page Siam Colorization by Noomrattana’ shows the original look of the Chakri Maha Prasat Throne Hall which is sited inside the Grand Palace.

After a trip to Singapore and Java, in the East Indies (present day Indonesia) in 1875, King Rama V brought back with him two Englishmen, the architect John Clunich and his assistance Henry C. Rose to design and construct the Chakri Maha Prasat Throne Hall which turned out to be of an eclectic style, a blend of Thai and European (more specifically Renaissance or Italianate) styles. The lower part of the structure is European, while the upper part is in Thai-styled green and orange tiled roofs and gilded spires.

The colorized B&W photo courtesy of ‘Page Siam Colorization by Noomrattana’ shows King Rama IX receiving flowers from his subject who was an old woman at the age of 102. The flowers happened to be 3 lotuses. They were wilted by the hot temperature and the long time of waiting. The original photo was shot in 1955 in Nakhon Phanom. It was his first visit to Isan area after ascending the throne.

The colorized B&W photo courtesy of ‘Page Siam Colorization by Noomrattana’ shows (one of) the air raid shelter(s) built during the World War II and the Bombing of Bangkok. It stood in front of the, then, Hua Lampong railway station. The place was demolished after the war and replaced by a fountain of Erawan which still stands today (I think for I haven’t witnessed with my own eyes yet).

The colorized B&W photo courtesy of ‘Page Siam Colorization by Noomrattana’ shows a scene happened during ‘The 6 October 1976 massacre’, known as the 6 October event in Thailand. The violent was crackdown by Thai police and lynching by right-wing paramilitaries and bystanders against leftist protesters who had occupied Bangkok's Thammasat University and the adjacent Sanam Luang, on 6 October 1976.

Prior to the massacre, thousands of leftists, including students, workers and others, had been holding the ongoing demonstrations against the return of former dictator Thanom Kittikachorn to Thailand since mid-September.

Official reports state that 46 were killed (on both sides) and 167 were wounded.

In the old days, the rulers in the northern part of Siam such as Chiengmai, Lampoon, Lampang, Phrae, Nan and etc. had a title called in local language as ‘Chao Luang’. The status had to be approved by kings of Siam.

The colorized B&W photo courtesy of ‘Sebastian Peet’ shows the viceroy of Chiengmai. His status was as important as Chao Luang of Chiengmai (1881 – 1894) himself.

Something weird happening to this website. It is sluggish. Is it me or it happens to everyone?

It still is today. From 5 minutes done to half an hour done!

Back to normal...

The colorized B&W photo courtesy of ‘Page Siam Colorization by Noomrattana’ shows Wat Ratchaburana in the reign of King Rama VII (1925 – 1935). The Wat was built in the late Ayutthaya period by a wealthy Chinese merchant named "Liap". It has been located at the foot of the Memorial Bridge (Sapan Put) on the Bangkok side.

During World War II in 1945, the temple was seriously damaged and the name of the Wat was deleted from the official list. Later, the then abbot and local people helped rebuilding the temple. The Wat has been since named unofficially as Wat ‘Lieb’ which means ‘totally wiped out’.

The photo of Wat Lieb shot in 1967 from the foot of Sapan Put.

At present day, 2016, from the same spot as in 1967.

The colorized B&W photo courtesy of ‘Page Siam Colorization by Noomrattana’ shows King Rama VIII visiting Bang Khen field (later the site of Kasetsart University) in 1946. It was 5 days before his untimely death.

Assumption College is a Roman Catholic all boy private school founded by Father Emile August Colombet on 16 February 1885 (the reign of King Rama V). It is the first school founded by the Order of Brothers of Christian Instruction of St. Gabriel. Assumption College is the third oldest boy school in the country.

The colorized B&W photo courtesy of ‘Page Siam Colorization by Noomrattana’ shows the Assumption College students waiting to get inside the school in the reign of King Rama VI (1910 - 1925).

The colorized B&W photo courtesy of ‘Sebastian Peet’ shows a nobleman (1877 – 1943) with the high rank of Chao Phraya in the reign of King Rama VI (1910 – 1925). He was an educator, writer and senior government officer of Siam. He served as Minister of Public Instruction from 1915–1926, and was the first President of the National Assembly, serving from 28 June – 1 September 1932 and from 15 December 1933 – 26 February 1934. A very splendid work if I may say.

The colorized B&W photo courtesy of ‘Page Siam Colorization by Noomrattana’ shows The Democracy Monument, a public monument in the center of Bangkok. It occupies a traffic circle on the wide east–west Ratchadamnoen Avenue.

The monument was commissioned in 1939 to commemorate the "Siamese Revolution of 1932 which led to the establishment of a constitutional monarchy in what was then the Kingdom of Siam, by its military ruler, Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram. Phibun saw the monument as the focal point of what he envisaged as a new, Westernized Bangkok, "making Thanon [road] Ratchadamnoen the Champs-Elysees and the Democracy Monument the Arc de Triomphe" of Bangkok.

The original photo was shot in 1946. The area around the monument was surfaced with gravel and sand.

The colorized B&W photo courtesy of ‘Page Siam Colorization by Noomrattana’ shows daily life in the biggest fresh market of Chiengmai before the WWII.

The colorized B&W photo courtesy of ‘Page Siam Colorization by Noomrattana’ shows Sala Chaloem Thai or abbreviated as Chaloem Thai in 1959.

Chaloem Thai as a former movie theatre in Bangkok, was located at the corner of Ratchadamnoen Avenue and Mahachai Road near the Fort Mahakan, opposite what is now the Queen Sirikit Gallery.

This movie theatre was built in the year 1940 in the era of Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram to be another national theatre in Thailand as well as Sala Chalermkrung Royal Theatre in Wang Burapha neighbourhood. The crimson red building's distinctive post-modern architecture was designed to harmonize with the surrounding buildings on Ratchadamnoen Avenue. The official opening ceremony took place on February 10, 1949.

Sala Chaloem Thai was once considered one of the most popular and modern movie theatres. It was dismantled in early 1989 as a result of a cabinet resolution, because it obscured the scenery of Wat Ratchanadda and Loha Prasat. All projectors and seats were handed over to the National Film Archive. The site later became home to a Royal Pavilion Mahajetsadabadin and a memorial to King Rama III.

In the photo, the theatre is showing the film of King Rama IX’s private visit to the southern part of Thailand in 1959.

The colorized B&W photo courtesy of ‘Page Siam Colorization by Noomrattana’ shows Dara Rasami (August 26, 1873 – December 9, 1933 … the 4^th from the left), a princess who was a daughter of King Inthawichayanon of Chiang Mai. She was one of the princess consorts of King Rama V.

As the British encroached further and further into Burma in the 1860s and 1870s, Siam became concerned that England wanted to annex the Kingdom of Chiang Mai (later northern Thailand).

In 1883 a rumor spread that Queen Victoria wanted to adopt Princess Dara Rasami of Chiang Mai, which the Siamese saw as a British attempt to take over Lanna. King Rama V (1868 – 1910) then sent his brother to Chiang Mai to propose an engagement to Dara Rasami to become the king's concubine. In 1886, she left Chiang Mai to enter the Grand Palace in Bangkok and became one of the princess consorts of the King.

When Dara Rasami arrived at the Grand Palace her father sent money from Chiang Mai to the King to build a new house for her. While residing in the Grand Palace, Dara Rasami and the ladies in her entourage were ribbed and called "Lao ladies," as well as teased that they "smelled of fermented fish (pla-ra)."

Despite these difficulties, Dara Rasami and her entourage always wore Chiang Mai style textiles for their skirts (known as pa-sin) with their long hair pulled up into a bun on the back of the head, in contrast to the clothing and hairstyles of the Siamese women.

The King and Princess Consort had one daughter but died young.

The colorized B&W photo courtesy of ‘Page Siam Colorization by Noomrattana’ shows the later life of Princess Consort Dara Rasami (August 26, 1873 – December 9, 1933) in Chiengmai, her hometown.

The colorized B&W photo courtesy of ‘Page Siam Colorization by Noomrattana’ shows inside a boutique shop in Bangkok which was owned by a farang during the reigns, in speculation, between King Rama V – VI (early 1900s).