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  1. #601
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    Quote Originally Posted by lom View Post
    A Siamese
    Good example! I, for one, cannot swim.

  2. #602
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    Raj Pattern

    Raj pattern (called in Thai as “ratcha patan”) refers either to Thai men's costume consisting of a white Nehru-style jacket with five buttons, a 'chong kraben' (a wrap worn with part of the fabric folded back between the legs and tucked behind the waist), knee-length socks and dress shoes, or to the specific form of the jacket itself. It was worn chiefly during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries by government officials and the upper class in Bangkok. Nowadays, it is used in selected circumstances as a national costume.

    Previously in 1870 during his visit to Singapore and Java, King Chulalongkorn (King Rama V) had his entourage dress in a combination of official Thai costume, chong kraben, not Western pants, and Western styled suit jackets, socks, shoes and neck/bow ties.

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-king-rama-5pg-jpg
    (India, 1871)


    This same pattern had been carried on to 1871 when they officially paid a visit to India. There, a tailor in Calcutta made him a suit jacket with a standing collar and buttoned vertical opening. With this pattern, there was no need to wear a tie and that pleased the King so much that he ordered it to replace the old suit jacket, alleviating the need for a separate layer of shirt in the hot climate.

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-02-jpg

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-01-jpg


    Soon, the dress became the civil uniform. It was worn both officially and privately and remained popular until the Field Marshal Poh Piboonsongkram era when the chong kraben was banned by cultural mandate.

    The term “raj pattern” comes from a combination of Bali and English which means royal pattern. It was coined by Chao Praya Passakornwong who was acting as royal secretary during the King's journey.

    Because the term is in English which was difficult for normal Thai people to pronounce so, in the end, they called it “ratcha patan” which was more comfortable to their tongue.

    Nowadays, the full raj pattern costume is worn only on select occasions as a national costume and is employed regularly only in the tourism industry. The jacket, however, has found continued use in the dress uniforms of the civil and military services as well as the formal clothing worn with the 'suea krui' as the academic dress of certain universities where it is worn with pants in the Western style.

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-king-rama-5pg-jpg

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-03-jpg

    Last edited by nathanielnong; 14-02-2021 at 10:22 AM.

  3. #603
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    Aerial photography of some areas in Bangkok shot during late 1940s – early 1950s.

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-10-05-06-jpg
    (Chakrawat area – Wat Sum Pluem)

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-10-05-07-jpg
    (The intersection between Bumroong Muang Road and Fueng Nakorn Road (See Kak Sao Chingcha) - red circle is nonsignificant)

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-10-05-08-jpg

    (The future Wang Burapa shopping center area; Wang Burapa, before demolished, is seen including the Memorial Bridge)

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-10-05-09-jpg

    (Bumroong Mueng Road)

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-10-05-10-jpg
    (Democracy Monument seen from afar)

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-10-05-11-jpg
    (Grand Palace complex, Sanam Luang seen on the upper right)

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-10-05-12-jpg

    (Victory Monument)
    Last edited by nathanielnong; 14-02-2021 at 03:22 PM.

  4. #604
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    A tale from little birds

    Before electric light was introduced to the people in the capital in 1891 in the reign of King Rama V, Siamese in Bangkok had lighting created from a gas station that was established in the reign of King Rama IV.

    And before that, the light from oil lamps had struggled to illuminate the night. That, later, only improved slightly when the gaslight was initially introduced.

    American physician Dan Beach Bradley recorded in the 1868 Bangkok Calendar annual that "RS Scott, Esquire" had given the city its first glow of gaslight on October 26 that year.

    The record says that “On the 26th at around 8pm, "Mr. Scott & Company performed gaslight at their new rice mill (little birds forget where; they are oldddd!). The lighted lamps at night were made of gas, not oil, and it was very good. Mr. Scott & Company invited anybody in Bangkok who wanted to see the light to go to his company. He believed that it would be a new tradition in Bangkok soon and every Siamese should see it.

    The gaslight proved to be good and beautiful and the witnesses appreciated it. There was no need to use oil. Mr. Scott & Company placed a gas lamp in a form of elephant at a window that was decorated with alphabets to form the King’s (Rama IV’s) name."

    A few months later, King Rama IV agreed to install a small gas plant, called Rong Klan (common name = distillery?) Lom Pratheep, in the Royal Palace.

    The glowing gas lamp in the window soon evolved into the gas lamp on a pole, and by the time King Rama V was on the throne, every major street in Bangkok was lined with lampposts, another giant step toward a brighter future.

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-10-03-06-jpg

    Last edited by nathanielnong; 15-02-2021 at 03:00 PM.

  5. #605
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    Assumption Cathedral at Bangrak, Bangkok around early 1800s founded by Bishop Pascal. It was later seriously damaged by the consequence of WWII in 1942. Along with the vast area around on which the catholic people’s houses were located were also burned down. Illustrations from the book titled ‘Bangkok in 1892’ by Lucien Fournereau.

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-10-03-07-jpg

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-10-03-07-01-jpg


    Last edited by nathanielnong; 16-02-2021 at 02:56 PM.

  6. #606
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    Karl Friedrich August Gützlaff (1803, Prussia – 1851, British Hong Kong), anglicized as Charles Gutzlaff, was a German Lutheran missionary to the Far East.

    He was notable as one of the first Protestant missionaries in Siam (1828 – King Rama III). Here with Jacob Tomlin of the London Missionary Society, he worked on a translation of the English Bible into Thai.

    In China, Gützlaff was one of the first Protestant missionaries to wear Chinese clothing.

    This is the sketch of his house in Bangkok.

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-10-03-12-jpg

  7. #607
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    How successful was he/were they in converting?


    The bigger question, however, is how did the royals feel about foreigners converting their people considering they are representatives of the faith?

  8. #608
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    Quote Originally Posted by panama hat View Post
    How successful was he/were they in converting?


    The bigger question, however, is how did the royals feel about foreigners converting their people considering they are representatives of the faith?
    Think I read something like this somewhere. Not sure if I can find it. I read a lot.

    By the way, such people, can they be called 'stereotype'? (Ours is the best, yours is not)

  9. #609
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    Wat Pra Sri Sanpet was the holiest temple within the site of the old Royal Palace in Ayutthaya Kingdom. It was the Wat of the royal family so no monks lived there. The Wat was used exclusively for royal ceremonies.

    It was the grandest and most beautiful Wat and it served as a model for Wat Pra Kaew in Ratanakosin Kingdom.

    The Wat was built in 1492 and had been renovated through time until 1767 when the city of Ayutthaya including the Wat compounds were completely destroyed by the Burmese, thus ended the Ayutthaya Kingdom (1350-1767).

    For the remaining of Wat Pra Sri Sanpet, only three Chedi can be seen today.

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-12-02-jpg
    (Copied from a book: Ancient Capitals of Thailand; Asiabooks 1996; date unknown)


    Memory Lane (In my own language)-12-03-jpg
    (King Rama V exploring the site)


    After King Rama I had established the new kingdom, Ratanakosin Kingdom, he had an idea of collecting all the important Buddha’s images from the old kingdom to be kept in the Grand Palace.

    The 16 meters standing Buddha’s image from Wat Pra Sri Sanpet which was named after the Wat’s was one of those that was collected though it was damaged beyond repaired.

    So, King Rama I decided not to renovate the image but ordered to put the image in the foundation of the great Chedi at Wat Pra Chetupon (aka Wat Poh).

    That was long time ago (1782-1809). Time went by, one day the historians found this head of Buddha’s at the historic site of Ayutthaya and did some research and found that the head belonged to the standing Buddha’s image that King Rama I collected from Wat Pra Sri Sanpet.

    Since there is no old record describing the detail of the appearance of that image that was put in the foundation of the great Chedi at Wat Pra Chetupon except that the image was ‘damaged beyond repaired’, so, no one knew how damaged the image was and that image had the head attached or not.

    It might be possible that the image originally collected from Wat Pra Sri Sanpet had no head, hence ‘beyond repaired’ was
    described, and the head (this one) was found later on.

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-12-01-jpg

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-12-jpg
    Last edited by nathanielnong; 17-02-2021 at 03:31 PM.

  10. #610
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    Moh Budlay (Doctor Bradley)

    Dan Beach Bradley was born on July 18, 1804 in Marcellus, NY. He was a deeply religious individual but because of a lack of funds he was unable to attend seminary, instead deciding to pursue the study of medicine.

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-001-jpg


    In 1832, after applying for a missionary appointment in Asia, he was accepted by the American Board of Commissioners of Foreign Missions. After receiving his Doctor of Medicine in 1833 he courted and married Emilie Royce so that he could have a helpmate on his mission. Soon after their marriage in 1834, they set sail from Boston on July 2 and arrived in Bangkok, Siam.

    At the time of the Bradley’s arrival Siam was under the rule of King Nungklao (King Rama III; 1824-1851). Unlike his predecessors, who had implemented an isolationist policy with the West, King Rama III allowed a limited increase of trade and other interactions with European powers.

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-001-01-jpg


    The Bradley’s took up residence with another Presbyterian minister who was already residing in Bangkok and Dr. Bradley almost immediately set up a dispensary to treat the people of Siam.

    While treating 75 to 100 patients a day, Bradley slowly acquired the Siamese language by working very hard with a teacher. Despite a slight speech impediment he had in both languages he gave sermons in both English and Siamese.

    In 1845 Emilie Royce Bradley died of tuberculosis leaving Bradley to care for their three remaining children.

    Bradley traveled with his children back to America in 1847 after a break with the Board of Commissioners over the idea of Christian perfectionism.

    While in America he became associated with the American Missionary Association and while raising funds he met his second wife, Sarah Blachly, at the Oberlin College. They waited a year and then traveled back to Bangkok in 1850 with Bradley’s two remaining children.

    In 1857 the AMA cut its ties to the mission in Bangkok donating the printing press to Bradley so he could continue to support himself and he did so until his death in 1873. The printing plant was given to his wife, Sarah Bradley, who continued to print tracts and teach women of the royal court English until her death in 1893.

    Dan and Sarah Bradley had five children. Some of them stayed their lives in Siam including Irene Bell, their youngest child, who remained in Siam her entire life. The compound was passed to her after Sarah, her mother, death and then, at Irene’s death in 1939, it passed back into the hands of the Siamese government.

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-002-jpg
    (Family Photo of the Bradley's in Siam. Pictured from left to right: Dan Beach Bradley, Dwight Blachly Bradley, Sarah Blachly Bradley, Mary Adele Bradley, Irene Bell Bradley, Cornelius Beach Bradley, Dan Freeman Bradley, Sarah Adorna Bradley, Dan McGilvary, Sophia Royce Bradley)


    Memory Lane (In my own language)-003-jpg
    (The Bradley home in Bangkok is very Western; the figures on the porch are dressed in full Western fashion as well, which would have been stiflingly hot in this climate)


    While Dr. Dan Beach Bradley was in Siam, its rulers changed hands two times. When King Rama III died his younger half-brother, Prince Mongkut was named heir.

    When Prince Mongkut took the throne as King Rama IV (1851-1868), he named his younger brother Prince Chutamani as vice-king officially named King Pinklao.

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-004-jpg

    (Some interesting information about these two Kings, Rama III and IV; King Mongkut had joined the Buddhist priesthood when he turned 20 and decided to remain a priest when his half-brother, who had less of a right to the throne than him, was named King (Nungklao aka Rama III) so as to prevent any court intrigue)

    Both brothers, King Mongkut and King Pinklao, were interested in Western ideas and customs. King Mongkut enjoyed astronomy and printing while King Pinklao was interested in mechanics and shipbuilding.

    Both Kings called upon Bradley mainly for medical reasons. King Pinklao called on Bradley to treat one of his young wives after childbirth and to treat King Mongkut when his facial nerves became paralyzed.

    King Mongkut also called on the good doctor to help him gain a better mastery of English and to help tutor members of the royal household. This included Prince Chulalongkorn who, later, became King Rama V in 1868. This King Rama V who later was hailed as “the Great” implemented policies that modernized Siam and kept it uncolonized.

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-005-jpg


    (To be continued)


    Last edited by nathanielnong; 18-02-2021 at 09:48 AM.

  11. #611
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    (continuing from yesterday...)

    Dr. Dan Beach Bradley worked with other missionaries, the Baptist and Presbyterian and the Catholic, to create type set for the Thai script so that they could print religious parables and give them to the people. The missionaries would print tracts, small religious pamphlets, and go out in boats and on foot into the city of Bangkok and hand them out to people. At the same time as they did these missions, they worked together to translate the bible and print it for general consumption.

    As Bradley began learning Siamese he decided it would be useful to create a dictionary of the language. In 1839, at royal request, Bradley printed the Opium Edict which marked the beginning of printing public documents in Siam.

    King Rama IV took a strong interest in the printing press and after he took a visit to London, Bradley and the King made the first copyright transaction in the history of Siam in 1862, a travel journal of King Rama IV’s visit.

    With royal approval, Bradley founded the first newspaper in Siam, the Bangkok Recorder which was published monthly from 1844-1845 and 1865-1867. He also printed the annual almanac, The Bangkok Calendar, from 1859 till his death.

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-01-00-jpg
    (Photograph of the printing plant which included a printing office, a book bindery and a type foundry. The native Siamese workers are seen lined up out front and the silhouette of the printing press can be seen through the door.)


    Memory Lane (In my own language)-01-01-jpg


    Despite enjoying printing, Bradley was a doctor first. He set up a dispensary soon after arriving in Bangkok and treated 75-100 patients a day. Here he prescribed medicine and performed the first surgery in Siam. He gained respect quickly by treating the general populace of Siam and the royal court.

    He found the Siamese tradition of having women lay by a fire for a month after giving birth an unacceptable practice.

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-06-jpg


    He proceeded to print a pamphlet on midwifery and urged women not to continue with this custom. One of the first women he told to break custom was one of Prince Chutamani’s wives.

    By treating members of the royal family he gained even more prestige and more people trusted his ability as their doctor.

    Bradley is also credited with performing the first surgery in Siam, removing a cancerous tumor from the body of a slave. After this surgery, Bradley became highly sought after for medical advice from the royal court. The royal court gained trust in Bradley and called on him for medical advice for years. Bradley taught royal doctors how to perform the same practices as he did and he wrote numerous books for the purposes of the court.

    Bradley's greatest medical challenge while in Siam was attempting to produce a vaccination for the smallpox virus which devastated the country and killed Bradley's eight-month-old daughter, Harriet, back when they were in America. Although never beat it, he did inoculate and vaccinate members of the royal family, which made treatment of the general populace easier.

    On January 13, 1837, a cannon exploded at a temple fair at Wat Prayoonrawongsawat in Thonburi, the former capital of Siam, killing eight people and injuring many more. One of the wounded was sent to Bradley who amputated his right arm at the shoulder. That was the first time in Siam.

    Perhaps one of the most overlooked outcomes from Bradley's relationship with royalty is the change that took place in the educational system. King Rama IV valued education highly and Bradley created boarding schools for native children to learn in a Western educational setting. The boarding schools, while unsuccessful, showed the emphasis put on education in Siam during this period. Bradley advised the royal court to pursue education until his death.

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-07-jpg


    As an advocate of education, Bradley had high regard for Anna Leonowens, the teacher of the King's children. Bradley admired the perseverance of Leonowens even though she was not treated with respect from the Siamese.

    Bradley did admit, however, that Leonowens did not have a significant impact on Siam, an opinion at odds with hers which she recorded in her two volumes of memoirs beginning with The English Governess at the Siamese Court (1870), which were later fictionalized in Margaret Landon's novel Anna and the King of Siam (1944).

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-08-jpg

    Last edited by nathanielnong; 19-02-2021 at 09:30 AM.

  12. #612
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    Chinatown (Yaowarat) in the first half of 1900s

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-10-03-05-001-jpg

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-10-03-05-01-jpg

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-10-03-05-03-jpg

    (Old movie theaters are indicated)

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-10-03-05-02-jpg


    Memory Lane (In my own language)-10-03-05-04-jpg

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-10-03-05-05-jpg

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-10-03-05-06-jpg

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-10-03-05-07-jpg

    (Shot in late 60s-early 70s)
    Last edited by nathanielnong; 19-02-2021 at 03:09 PM.

  13. #613
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    A documentary (photos not included) titled The Mighty Chao Praya River

    Central Thailand’s primary waterway, the Chao Praya River, brings us ebbs and flows that are at the core of Bangkok culture. This “mother of waters” has provided the country not only with a major means of transportation, but also with rich mineral deposits that make its vast basin among the world’s most fertile farming regions.

    Bangkok’s development over the centuries has moved in harmony with the Chao Praya’s cyclical breaths.

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-01-01-jpg


    In the early 14th century, the Chao Praya River didn’t exist as we know it now. The small waterways that remain its major tributaries – the Ping, Wang, Yom and Nan rivers – and many small streams originating in the mountains of the north, united at Pak Nam Pho, in present-day Nakhon Sawan.

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-01-02-jpg


    The, now, big river wound southward for more than 300 kilometers. It passed Ayutthaya and Bangkok before flowing into the Gulf of Thailand in what is now Samut Prakan’s Pak Nam district.

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-01-03-jpg


    Around that time, Bangkok (called ‘Bang-Kok’ not ‘Krung Thep’ as back then it was just a city) was the most important port for the Kingdom of Ayutthaya in the early 14th century.

    Foreign traders were ordered to leave their ships at the mouth of the river and seek permission from the governor of Bangkok to visit Ayutthaya, the capital city.

    It was King Chairachathirat, the 15th ruler of the Kingdom of Ayutthaya, who in 1542 ordered a canal to be dug through the port city, straightening the river to enable foreign traders to reach Ayutthaya, the capital, more easily.

    The new canal divided Bangkok into a west and east bank, Thon Buri and Bangkok (now, Krung Thep) as they are known today. The river’s new route passes what is now Thammasat University, Siriraj Hospital and the Temple of Dawn has became the Chao Praya River. The old route is today called the Bangkok Yai (now called Klong Bang Luang) and Bangkok Noi canals.

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-01-04-jpg


    Nonetheless, in the Ayutthaya period, the Chao Praya River was known to foreigners as the Meinam (or maenam = river). The name “Chao Praya” seems to have first appeared during the Rattanakosin period.

    King Rama IV explained in the Bangkok Recorder newspaper in 1850 that the Siamese in the old days had called every river “maenam”, adding the name of the most important settlement nearby, such as Maenam Bangkok and Maenam Tha Cheen. “The true name of Maenam Bangkok is Maenam Chao Praya”, the King said.

    The Kingdom of Ayutthaya’s long and proud rule came to an end in 1767, when the king of Ava (now a part of Myanmar) ordered his army to invade Bangkok in order to approach Ayutthaya, the capital city, from the south.

    The Siamese general Praya Tak aka Nai Sin soon reclaimed the land from the usurpers of Ava, and established the Kingdom of the new Siam. Crowned as King Taksin, he occupied the throne from 1767 to 1782.

    As having told earlier, King Taksin built his capital on the west bank of the Chao Praya River, former part of Bangkok, and called it “Krung Thonburi Sri Mahasamut”. His residence and offices now belong to the Royal Navy. Around that time, the east bank of the River or Bangkok was occupied by Chinese settlers.

    Thonburi was the capital of new Kingdom of Siam for 15 years. On April 6, 1782, King Taksin was assassinated at the Temple of Dawn, and Thonburi was demoted back to just a city like before. The Chakri Dynasty started and Bangkok on the east bank was promoted to the capital city of the Kingdom of newer Siam.

    The Chao Praya River was no longer the chief route to the great capital of old Siam but the central artery itself of the capital of the new Siam. New palaces for the king and members of his family were built on the river, as were the raft-houses of his ordinary subjects.

    The river now came into its own as the main means of transportation between the inland cities and farmlands to the outside world. Trading flourished along its course and boat-building and fishing along its banks. No wonder the Chao Phya is so revered: in the Rattanakosin era, it brought new life, hope and opportunity to the millions living along its shores.

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-01-05-jpg
    Last edited by nathanielnong; 20-02-2021 at 10:55 AM.

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    The Crying Bridge

    Constructed in 1914, the bridge commemorates one of the most important figures in Thai history, King Chulalongkorn (King Rama V), who died in 1910.

    Located a stone’s throw away from the Golden Mount, the bridge is officially known as Sapan Mahadthai Utit. The name is in recognition of the Thai civil servants from the Ministry of the Interior (Krasuang Mahadtai) who donated the funds for the construction.

    However, it is the colloquial name, Sapan Ronghai (the ‘Crying Bridge’), that hints at the reason for the construction. The passing of the much-loved King Chulalongkorn in 1910 was a time of great sadness for the Siamese people. The emotion of the time is poignantly captured on the design of the bridge with elegant bas-reliefs portraying grieving woman and man holding their children.

    (Note: the second picture shows the original models for the sculptures.)

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-01-jpg

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-02-jpg
    Last edited by nathanielnong; 21-02-2021 at 10:09 AM.

  15. #615
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    Computer colored versions of B&W photographs

    Two ‘poo dee’ ladies in the reign of King Rama V (Note: Shoes were uncommon back then)

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-a06-jpg


    Shot in the reign of King Rama VI. I think they did a very good job adding colors to this b&w photo, looks realistic like in present time.

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-a06-01-jpg


    Young King Rama V during his early reign.

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-a06-02-jpg


    King Rama VI with his favorite dog ‘Ya-leh’ and favorite junior chamberlain.

    On 25th December 1919, Panee (his name) rode a motorcycle, Indian, on an errand and met a terrible accident. He died at the age of just 22.

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-a06-03-jpg
    Last edited by nathanielnong; 21-02-2021 at 03:10 PM.

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    A shot of Motorcar show as a part of the Ceremonial Ratchamankala which was the royal ceremony to celebrate a king whose reign lasts longer than all the former kings’ (detail in page 20), here it’s King Rama V.

    This car belonged to a Belgian doctor named Dr. Eugene Reytter. He was one of the team of the King’s personal doctors.

    (Note: Around that time motorcars were new to Siamese. They did not have a local word for them so they called them as they sounded in English which in Thai tongue it pronounced as ‘moh-ter-ca’)

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-a04-jpg

  17. #617
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    The first greeting card ever recorded in Siam/Thailand history was made by King Mongkut (Rama IV) on January 1st, 1866, printed in his own hand-writing, sent to ambassadors from foreign lands including those foreigners and foreign friends who worked at the royal court.

    The photo shown here found in an old book shop named “Maggs Bros.” in London is one of those sent to Captain John Bush (1819-1905), an English sea captain who served under the Siamese government during the reigns of King Mongkut and King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) and earned a noble Thai title.

    He served as Bangkok's Harbor Master, captained royal vessels and managed the Bangkok Dock Company.

    Soi Charoen Krung 30, the street where he used to live, is also known as Soi Captain Bush after him.

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-01-jpg

  18. #618
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    Silom Road was said to be originally built in the reign of King Rama IV. It was built by digging a klong with the same name then bringing the soil up to make a road.

    It was named after a (? Thai nouns don’t have singular/plural form so I have no idea how many) windmill (= silom) some farung had built on.

    In the reign of King Rama VII, the road was just a small one with Klong Silom running along on one side. The owners of houses on this side of the road would build wooden bridges with wooden gates in the middle of the bridge… (I wonder if those bridges could support a car?)

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-10-12-silom-rd-01-jpg

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-10-12-silom-rd-02-jpg

  19. #619
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    Thanks again for taking the time to keep this thread going!

    The King had excellent writing skills.

  20. #620
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    Quote Originally Posted by CalEden View Post
    Thanks again for taking the time to keep this thread going!
    Absolutely, greatly appreciated.

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    Memory Lane (In my own language)-odqbea111a1et8qllusu-o-jpg

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    Hua Lumpong Station is an unofficial name for Bangkok railway station, the main railway station of Bangkok.

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-001-jpg


    In Thai, the Station is officially referred to as Sathani (= station) Rotfai (= train) Krung Tep (Krung Tep is the transliteration of the common Thai language name of Bangkok) and Bangkok Railway Station in English.

    Anyway, the term 'Hua Lumpong' is the informal name of the station, generally used by both farung and locals and is often named in travel guide books and in the public press.

    There are a number of suggestions for the origin of the name Hua Lumpong. A common explanation is that it came from the name Wua Lumpong which was shortened from a former name for the area Tung Wua Lumpong meaning "The Field (= tung) of Wild (= lumpong) Oxen (= wua)".

    The station was opened on 25th June 1916 after six years of construction that started in 1910 in the reign of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) and finished in the reign of King Wachirawut (Rama VI).

    The shape of the station was built in an Italilan Neo-Renaissance-style, with decorated roofs and stained glass windows using the Frankfurt (Main) Hauptbahnhof in Germany as a prototype.

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-002-jpg


    The front of the building was designed by Italian born Mario Tamagno, who with his countryman Annibale Rigotti, were also responsible for the design of several other early 20th century public buildings in Bangkok. The pair designed Bang Khoon Prom Palace (1906), Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall in the Royal Place (1907–15) and Suan Kularb Residential Hall and Throne Hall in Dusit Garden, among other buildings.

    The station is scheduled to be closed for being main railway station in 2021, when it will be converted into a museum. And will also change its official name to the most common name to our ears and mouths, Hua Lumpong Station. The State Railway of Thailand plans to move Bangkok's central railway station to Bang Sue Grand Station.

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    (This one looks like an American gangster movie to me)

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    Memory Lane (In my own language)-06-01-jpg
    (Bunker made during the WWII in front of the station)


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    (The former train station called 'Royal Train Station', before Hua Lumpong Station being built which sited close by. It served for the Nakorn Ratchaseema line which was the first line ever in Siam. It officially opened partly on March 1896 for the train that ran between Bangkok - Ayuthaya covering 71 km.)


    Memory Lane (In my own language)-010-jpg
    (King Rama V on the line which was finally extended to the planned destination, Nakorn Ratchaseema.)
    Last edited by nathanielnong; 23-02-2021 at 10:01 AM.

  23. #623
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    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).

    AMUSEMENTS

    The Siamese have practically no games which, like football and hockey, involve a great deal of physical exertion. They like to take their pleasures quietly, on account of the great heat.

    The chief amusement is gambling in some form or other. Little boys catch crickets, and bring them to school in match-boxes. In play-time they dig a little hole in the ground, put the crickets in the hole, and make them fight, meanwhile betting their knives, cigarettes, and other small possessions on the result of the combat.

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-23-02-01-jpg


    Sometimes there are cock-fights. As there are few or no watches with which to time the rounds, a time-measurer of another kind is used. This consists of a small bowl preferably a coconut shell that floats in water. There is a little hole in the bottom of the bowl, through which water slowly enters. When the bowl is filled to a certain point it sinks, and then the round is over.

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-23-02-02-jpg


    Perhaps the most curious of the contests that are employed as means of gambling is that between two fighting fish.

    The fighting fish is a species of small carp about the size of a stickleback (called in Thai as 'pla (= fish) kad (= bite)). It has beautiful peacock-blue sides and ruby-colored fins. These fish are kept in glass bottles, and are trained to attack their own image as seen in a looking-glass.

    When two of them meet each other in a big bowl of water, the way in which they maneuver to get hold of one another is most ridiculous, and the way they bite whenever they get the chance is perfectly atrocious. All the time the fight is going on the spectators lay wagers on the result.

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-23-02-03-jpg


    In March, when the winds are strong, kite-flying is indulged in by grown-up people as well as children.

    There is always great excitement at a kite-flying contest. Two men stand close together. One man sends his kite up, and when it is well in the air the second man sends his aloft.

    The kites have no tails, but they fly steadily. When the two kites are near each other, one man gives his string a peculiar jerk. This makes his kite jump over the other one, descend a little way, and then come up on the other side.

    In this way the strings attached to the two kites get entangled. By alternately pulling in and releasing the strings they are made to saw one another. The man whose kite-string is first cut through loses the game. On many of the kites whistles are fastened, and as the kites sweep through the air shrill piercing sounds accompany their flight.

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-23-02-04-jpg


    Another popular amusement is "football," which is nothing like our game of the same name. The ball is only about six or seven inches in diameter. It is very light, as it is made of a few pieces of twisted cane.

    Any number of people can play, from two upwards. The players stand in a ring facing each other. One of them sends the ball into the air, and the person nearest to it, when it descends, must send it up again. He may do this with his head, shoulder, knee, or foot, but he must not touch the ball with his hands.

    If the ball falls just behind the player's back, he judges the distance without turning round, catches the ball on the back of his heel, and so brings it back into the circle and towards another player.

    There are no goals, and, in fact, no scoring of any kind. The game ends when the players are tired.

    Sometimes a weary one will drop out of the game, lie down for a while for a rest, and then rejoin the circle when he feels refreshed. New-comers may join the game at any moment.

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-23-02-05-jpg
    (Note: We call this ball "takraw" and call this game “tae (= kick) takraw”. I guess in his time, this name had (or has??) not been invented to call the ball yet. By the way,
    I don't know back then but all I know, the ball is made of some tropical plant called 'rattan' or in Thai, 'wai'.)


    About the only amusement not associated with gambling is the theatre. There is only one fixed theatre in the capital. In the days when there was neither gas nor electric light it was only open on moonlit nights, for without the light of the moon the people would have had to go home in the dark. As a rule, theatrical performances take place at private houses at times of weddings, or funerals, or on other occasions of private rejoicing or sorrow.

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-23-02-06-01-jpg


    There are no men players except the clowns. The other parts are taken by women. The plays, if acted from beginning to end, would last for weeks; but, as everybody knows the whole of every drama, only small portions are acted at a time. The better the people know the selection that is played, the better they like it.

    The actresses move about from one side of the stage to the other, twisting their heads, arms, and legs about in a slow and curious fashion, which is their way of dancing. They do not speak. The story is told by a chorus of people, who screech out the tale, to the accompaniment of the weirdest of bands. It sounds like a mixture of drums, brass trays, and bagpipes.

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-23-02-06-02-jpg


    As a fixed theatre is not necessary, the plays can be acted anywhere. A space for the stage is marked out on the ground with mats. Round the mats sit the band and the chorus. The spectators sit or stand quite near the players, and sometimes an odd baby gets loose, and wanders about amongst the feet of the angels and demons, who are strutting quaintly in the mat-encircled area.

    When the man who beats the drums or bangs the brass trays has had enough, some little boy in the audience will come and take his place, and so allow the weary musician a little rest.

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-23-02-06-03-jpg


    There is of course, no scenery, and the audience has to draw very largely on its imagination as the performance proceeds.

    Suppose that a Siamese company were going to play "Robinson Crusoe." This is the kind of thing that would happen.
    One actress would come on the stage with a pole fastened to her chest. From the top of a pole a little flag would fly. The rest of the troupe would stand, two by two, behind the maiden with the pole. Last of all would come another actress, bearing another pole and flag, and with a rudder tied to her back. The long string of people gathered together in this way would represent a ship and its passengers.

    The voyage would now begin by the company rolling round the edges of the mats in a very slow and measured manner. Presently the storm would arise. The drummers would bang, the brass-tray beaters would hammer, and the bagpipe-blowing gentlemen would nearly burst themselves. The chorus would howl, and all the little boys and girls in the audience would join in, and outdo the professional howlers easily, as you may imagine.

    Everyone would fall flat down on the stage, and that would be a shipwreck. In a second or two the drowned sailors would get up and walk off the stage, and no one would think it at all funny.

    Poor old Robinson, left to himself, would find the goat, and the goat would be one of the actresses, who would walk about on two legs, wearing a mask that would look just as much like a monkey as a goat, and with two horns on her head. The goat would circulate about the stage, dancing exactly like a human being, and the spectators would help the actress by believing that she really was a goat, and so everybody would be satisfied.

    When Robinson wanted to hide himself in a wood, he would walk to the edge of the stage, and hold a branch of a tree in front of his face. This would mean that he was quite hidden.

    If anyone pretended to see him, they would probably hear some very rude remarks from the rest of the audience, who would not wish to have their innocent amusement spoiled by a clever young critic.
    (Good description to me!)
    Last edited by nathanielnong; 24-02-2021 at 03:35 PM.

  24. #624
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    Wung Bang Koon Prom …

    ... was the Palace of Field Marshal Prince Boripat Sukhumpan (1881-1944). He was a son of King Chulalongkorn (King Rama V) and one of his Queen Consorts.

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-01-jpg
    (Left)


    The Palace was built in 1901. Important buildings in the compound are Tumnak Yai (Main Pavilion) and Tumnak Somdet (Queen Mother Pavilion).

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-02-jpg


    Tumnak Yai is a 2-storey Neo Baroque style building designed by Mr. Mario Tamagno, an Italian architect. The middle porch comprises pillars an arch, above the arch are Palladian motif windows, with a distinguished pair of twisted columns, elaborately decorated with stucco. The left and right wing are asymmetrical, that is the left wing is a 3-storey tower whereas the right wing is a 2-storey with a curvilinear plan.

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    Tumnak Somdet is Jugendstil, or German Art Nouveau style designed by Mr. Karl Doring, A German architect. The interior is decorated with moral painting by Mr.Rigoli, an Italian artist. It was built connecting to Tumnak Yai in 1913 as a residence for Queen Sukumanmarasi, the Prince’s mother.

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-09-jpg

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    Field Marshal Prince Boripat Sukhumpan resided at this place for 30 years during 1902 – 1932. Those days were prime time of Wung Bang Koon Prom as it was a center of various fields of arts such as music, orchid culture, Thai dwarfed tree training, collections of art objects such as blue-and-white porcelain, mother of pearl inlay works and etc.

    It was also a school for princesses and young ladies from noble families taught by foreign teachers. Thus, the Palace was also informally known as “Bang Koon Prom University”.

    During the reign of King Rama VII who was his half-brother, the Prince was appointed as Minister of Interior and was made member of the Supreme Council of the State of Siam which was responsible for state affairs.

    When the Siamese revolution of 1932 occurred, Khana Ratsadon (The People's Party) succeeded in seizing the Royal Plaza (known commonly as ‘Lan Pra Roop’). They also cut off all the telecommunication systems.

    After announcing the first manifesto, some of the forces invaded Wung Bang Koon Prom in order to control Prince Boripat Sukhumpan who was deemed a threat for he was considerable influence in the Siamese government.

    Did not believe that such people whom (or who?) the Prince was well accustomed to would perform such act, he was not prepared. Once the place was invaded, there was nothing much to be done except being forced into exile. At that time he and his wife along with a number of royal pages were about to flee by boats at the pier behind the Palace.

    After being detained for a short period of time, the Prince and his family left Siam by a special train that ran nonstop to Penang, Malaysia. The Royal family moved on to settle the rest of their in Bandung, Indonesia.

    Following the revolution, the palace served as the site of several government offices until it became the headquarters of the Bank of Thailand in 1945.

    It now serves as a museum. It used to house the Bank of Thailand Museum until 2017 when its main exhibition was moved to the Bank of Thailand Learning Center housed in the opposite former bank note printing press building.

    The Palace is a registered ancient monument, and received the ASA Architectural Conservation Award in 1993.


    Memory Lane (In my own language)-12-jpg
    (Translating from his quote to his personal secretary before leaving the country…

    “… When the Party arrested me, I was in my nightgown. Before being moved away I asked if I could change to proper attire. They refused.

    During the detention, the head of the Party told me that his ‘boys’ were exhausted from the operation. He asked if I had ‘anything’ for them.

    I sarcastically told them that I had nothing with me. All were at my house (meaning the Palace). If you want, you can take them.

    So, they took them all including my house and now I am homeless…”)
    Last edited by nathanielnong; 25-02-2021 at 09:40 AM.

  25. #625
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    The old location of the British Embassy was on Charoen Krung Road (New Road). Record says that 2 small buildings (Record says ‘on the right’ but they are on the left of the photo (1st). The photo might be reversed, I say) were lockups for people who were under the British Flag doing wrong. There were 2 guards who were Irish brothers named “Lamberton”.

    Later on, those who were under lockup donated money to build the statue of Queen Victoria that we see nowadays sitting in front of the Embassy.
    (Note: I doubt if the donation should include the officials’ too?)

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-10-01-001-jpg

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-10-01-002-jpg
    (View from Charoen Krung Road)

    Memory Lane (In my own language)-10-01-003-jpg
    (View from Chao Praya River)

    After the British Embassy was moved to the present location, the old building instead served for the Grand Post and Telegraph Office which was not the first one in Siam.

    Last edited by nathanielnong; 26-02-2021 at 02:52 PM.

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