Thread: Memory Lane (In my own language)

The colorized B&W photo courtesy of ‘Page Siam Colorization by Noomrattana’ shows Grand Palace in the reign of King Rama IV (1851 – 1868). Sanam Luang is beyond on the left side of the road.

The colorized B&W photo courtesy of ‘Page Siam Colorization by Noomrattana’ shows Crown Prince Chulalongkorn (the future King Rama V).

Referring to the article 917/37, the colorized B&W photo courtesy of ‘Page Siam Colorization by Noomrattana’ shows the clearer view inside the hall of Wat Phraya Kai which was adjusted to become an office of the East Asiatic Company’s sawmill.

On 2 December 1975, the Lao People’s Liberation Army (Pathet Lao) overthrew the royalist government, forcing King Savang Vatthana (1907 – 1978) to abdicate. The royal family was move to the re-education camp where the King later died under suspicion. However, there were some of them managed to escape in time. They crossed the Mekong River to the land of Thailand and with help, they moved on the France where they are now based and work to achieve a change of government in Laos.

The colorized B&W photo courtesy of ‘Sebastian Peet’ shows some Lao female royalty existing around that time.

Sisowath (1840 – 1927) was King of Cambodia from 27 April 1904 to his death in 1927. When he was born, Cambodia was under joint Siamese and Vietnamese rule. The royal family lived in Battambang then under Siamese hegemony. Like his brother King Norodom, Sisowath was educated in the Siamese capital of Bangkok. He did not return to his native Cambodia until 1860, when his father and the ruling monarch, Ang Doung, died.

The colorized B&W photo is courtesy of ‘Sebastian Peet’.

The colorized B&W photo courtesy of ‘Sebastian Peet’ shows Oun Kham (June 5, 1811 – December 15, 1895), the King of Luang Prabang during 1868-1887 and a second time between 1889 and 1895.

The last two years of his reign ended with the establishment of a French protectorate over Laos. When being unable to hold off outlaw Chinese Black Flag Army forces, he sought assistance from King Rama V for help.

When the Siamese army left in 1887, the band of the White Tai Pirate Deo Van Tri had overwhelmed Luang Prabang, which made Oun Kham seek refuge at Pak Lay.

On 7 June 1887 the Lao royal capital was seized and sacked; the elderly ruler barely escaped with his life. Between his two ruling periods he was exiled in Bangkok where he gave assistance to Auguste Pavie, a French colonial civil servant, explorer and diplomat who was instrumental in establishing French control over Laos.

He was the last king of Luang Prabang under the protection of the Kingdom of Siam.

Praisaniyakarn or simply called as Post Office Building was the original location of the Post Department, which was Thailand’s first postal office.

The office stood on the eastern bank of the Chao Phraya River, at the mouth of Klong Ong Ang (Ong Ang Canal) near the area of Pak Khlong Talat, right on the south of The Memorial Bridge (Sapan Put). It is a three story striking white Western-style building.

Originally, the building was built in 1871 as the residence of a nobleman named Phra Preecha Kolakan (Samang Amatayakul), the former governor of Prachinburi Province, who was later charged with treason for the corruption in the operation of a gold mine in Kabin Buri. Phra Preecha Kolakan was executed on November 24, 1879 and his assets were seized.

King Rama V (1868 – 1910) had borne the divine kindness in the establishment of the Thai postal service on August 4, 1883. The King’s biological younger brother chaired the first director-general of the Post and Telegraph Department and had used the residence of Phra Preecha Kolakan as the postal office by naming it "Praisaniyakarn".

Praisaniyakarn was demolished in 1982 for the construction of Phra Pok Klao Bridge on the occasion of the 200th-anniversary celebration of Rattanakosin Kingdom (Bangkok), which parallels the Memorial Bridge on the south side.

The current building is a replica built on the plot of land nearest to the original site in order to be used as the Thailand’s postal museum. It was built in 2003 and completed in 2010.

The colorized B&W photo courtesy of ‘Page Siam Colorization by Noomrattana’.

The colorized B&W photo courtesy of ‘Page Siam Colorization by Noomrattana’ shows the original photo, shot in 1948 by Dr. Robert Larimore Pendleton, of a part of the wide area that covers from Sanam Poa (close to the Victory Monument) to Sapan Kwai on Paholyothin Road. The area around that time filled with vegetable patches.

The colorized B&W photo courtesy of ‘Page Siam Colorization by Noomrattana’ shows Siam booth displayed at the St. Louis World's Fair, an international exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from April 30 to December 1, 1904.

The colorized B&W photo courtesy of ‘Page Siam Colorization by Noomrattana’ shows a part of motor show held in 1905 in the reign of King Rama V. All (but 1) of the female shown are related to the King (wives, step mothers).

The colorized B&W photo courtesy of ‘S. Phormma's Colorizations’ shows young female royalty (wives and daughters of King Rama V) with cameras, a new kind of toy in Siam, in 1897.

The colorized B&W photo courtesy of ‘Page Siam Colorization by Noomrattana’ shows Ratchaworadit palace compound in the reign of King Rama V.

Ratchaworadit used to be one of the palace compound in the reign of King Rama IV (1851 – 1868). It was located on the west side of the Grand Palace and close to the Chao Phraya River. Thus, it also served as the royal pier. The compound was deteriorated around the end of King Rama V (1868 – 1910)’s reign. Most of the small palaces were demolished except one and this area has become Ratchaworadit pier nowadays.

Now…

The colorized B&W photo courtesy of ‘S. Phormma's Colorizations’ shows the Queen Mother (King Rama V’s Supreme Consort) at the Royal Coronation of her son, King Rama VI, in 1911.

The colorized B&W photo courtesy of ‘Sebastian Peet’ shows the young future King Rama VII (1925 – 1935) posted on the occasion of the Royal Top-knot Removing Ceremony.

The colorized B&W photo, taken around 60-70 years ago, courtesy of ‘Page Siam Colorization by Noomrattana’ shows an advertising prop made by Chia Tai’s seed business which is now a part of the renowned CP Group.

The colorized B&W photo courtesy of ‘S. Phormma's Colorizations’ shows the traditional funeral of a member of Chiangmai royalty in 1935.

The colorized B&W photo (shot in 1916) courtesy of ‘Page Siam Colorization by Noomrattana’ shows the temporary throne hall built, on the west side of the Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall, for King Rama VI to perform the Royal ‘house warming ceremony’ and that is The Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall.

During King Rama V's reign, Luang (noble rank given by the king) Sathon Racha Yut (name given by the king), a wealthy businessman, was commissioned in 1892 to dig the canal linking Khlong Thanon Trong (now Rama IV Road) with the Chao Phraya River at a side of Wat Yannawa, Bang Rak. The canal was 3.2 km long. The name of the klong is Klong Sathorn being derived from Luang Sathon Racha Yut, the honour title received by the King for his good deed developing the city.

Luang Sathon Racha Yut dug the Klong passing through the untidy area between Si Lom and Ban Wai Roads. He took the soil from the canal to fill for the road construction on both sides of the Klong.

Subsequently, he received the rights for the adjacent land along both sides of the Klong. He then developed and divided the land into plots and sold to noblemen, foreigners, and wealthy people. This was regarded as the first land development project in Siam/Thailand.

In the old days, the lands along both sides were occupied by beautiful mansions, decorated with many kinds of big trees, such as sea almond, rain trees, and mangos.

The water in the Klong was clear and clean. Children often loved to swim in it. From here and there, double-rope-bridges were built for crossing over.

After Taksin Bridge construction finished in 1982, the big trees were removed and Sathon Road was enlarged, narrowing the canal.

The colorized B&W photo courtesy of ‘Page Siam Colorization by Noomrattana’ shows King Rama VI (1910 – 1925) and one of his Consorts posted on their wedding day.

Prueng Sucharitakul (1895 – 1982) was a commoner who had presented herself first serving King Rama VI’s Queen mother. When she was 26 years old, the King had requested her marriage from her father. The gracious Royal Wedding Ceremony in western style was held on 27 October 1921. She was considered the first ordinary woman to join the royal matrimony and also the first time that the marriage registration was made.

Sadly, she, later on, fell out of the King’s favour and was demoted to become the King’s high concubine. Her then position was replaced by her younger sister, who finally became His, temporary, Queen (the one who also fell out of His favour because of her many miscarriages).

Wat Phra Singh is said to be built in 1345 by the fifth king of the Mangrai Dynasty. Now the location is in the western part of the old city of Chiang Mai.

The colorized B&W photo courtesy of ‘S. Phormma's Colorizations’ shows the Wat that was taken in 1920. Of two people in the photo, on the right was Prince Boworadet (2 April 1877 – 16 November 1953) who was a Thai attempted-coup leader in 1933, so-called the Boworadet rebellion. It was a result of the conflicts between the previous royalist regime (those loyal to the Chakri Dynasty) and the succeeding constitutional regime led by Khana Ratsadon ('People's Party'). The Boworadet rebellion was eventually defeated by the Siamese Government.

On the left was George Wylie Paul Hunt, the first Governor of Arizona, USA.

Tai Yai also known as Shan are a Tai ethnic group of Southeast Asia. They are the biggest minority group in Myanmar, making up about 10% of the population. The estimation of the number of Tai Yai people in Myanmar ranges from 4 to 6 million. Most of them live in Shan State, which is the biggest state in the country.

A large number of Tai Yai also inhabits Thailand. They are also known as Ngio or Ngiauw in Tai yuan language.

The colorized B&W photo courtesy of ‘Sebastian Peet’ shows a group of Tai Yai royalty posting, in Delhi Durbar, on the ceremony of Prince Albert Edward becoming King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, Emperor of India and, in an innovation, King of the British Dominions.