Siamrat Blog

A beautiful day to admire Saphan Charoen Rat 31, built by King Rama VI to celebrate his 31st birthday. Near Sanam Chai MRT southern entrance.

Monks on their morning alms round near Hualampong, Bangkok.

Five years ago I wrote an article about the history of early Thai cinema (See link in comments). Great to see that Bangkok's oldest surviving cinema, Sala Chalerm Thani, is now a focal point for today's "World Day for Audiovisual Heritage".

Today I went on a long walk to Manangkhasila House, only to be told No Photos! No Entry! by the otherwise pleasant policeman on duty. This house was built by King Rama VI (r.1910-1925) and gifted to Phraya Udomratchapakdi. After WWII it was bought by the government and has since then followed the political winds. During the 1950s it was the HQ of the right wing political party which took its name from the house, Phak Seri Manangkhasila. Under PM Anand in 1992 it was the offices of the Central Organisation for Democracy Foundation. After the 2006 coup it was turned into a museum about Thai Prime Ministers. And after the 2014 coup General Prayut Chan-o-Cha moved in to use the mansion as the HQ of the National Council for Peace and Order.

Visiting Jim Thompson’s house today, first time since 2008. Still a great tour. He had so many great works of art in his collection.

In 1871 King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) was invited by the British to visit the colony of Singapore. It made a big impression on the young King. On his return to Bangkok he initiated the building of rows of shop houses similar to what he had seen on his trip. Many can still be seen around old Bangkok, like these on Soi Phiphaksa 1, Yaowarat. At the end of the row one can still see the old notice from the Royal Privy Purse (now the Crown Property Bureau) regarding rental payments.

All roads lead to Rome they say but in Thailand all roads lead to Democracy Monument in Bangkok. Here on the northern side of the roundabout stands the rather neglected 0km marker for road distances in Thailand.

A Hindu shrine on the side of a large busy main road in Thonburi, Bangkok, with Ganesh statue and linga. The large sign is the words of the correct prayer when making devotions.

I’ve been having a great time today visiting the RTAF National Aviation Museum. Multiple hangars full of aircraft dating from around 1910 all the way to 2010. Thailand was a very early adopter of aviation and the early history is fascinating. And seeing all these planes is fantastic.

Wat Vieng Neua is a Tai Yuan temple dating to 1911 in Luang Namtha, Northern Laos.

Siamrat has been in Champasak this week for the Wat Phou festival. But I also found time to visit some other ancient Angkor sites that I hadn’t visited before 1. Hong Nang Sida 2. That Sam Pang 3. Wat Tomo

Siamrat is visiting the capital of . In former times this was known as Chiang Hung of the Tai Lue kingdom . It’s now quite a large city and all of the temples etc appear to be modern constructions.