Operational Thailand airlines include Thai Air Asia, SGA Airlines, PB Air, Thai Airways International, Orient Thai Airlines, Bangkok Airways and Nok Air. All are geared towards providing a hassle-free and safe sky travel. They offer passengers with the most convenient way of releasing airline tickets, boarding and unloading, baggage deposit services and tour assistance.

Thailand airlines deliver the high standards of flying tourists from all over the world. Thai Airways serve flights from Bangkok and Phuket to any point of destination cities in the US and Europe such as Los Angeles in California, Munich in Germany, Melbourne and Sydney in Australia, Rome in Italy, Paris in France, Madrid in Spain, London in the United Kingdom, Athens in Greece. Connecting flights via Doha in Qatar, Manila in Philippines and other Asian cities are also given as options.

Serving flights to and fro all continents of the world, Thailand airlines afford hospitality and high quality of services to every jetsetter. The eminent culture of congeniality is apparently seen in how the flight stewards reach out to their passengers. Because Bangkok is considered as the aviation hub of Asia, more flight schedules are opened by Thailand airlines to give the travelers wider choices to reach Thailand.

It is said that wherever Thailand airlines fly, the authenticity of Thai culture and heritage travels along with it. Cheap flights are now being offered online through international travel agencies. Online booking is the quickest and most convenient way to get your tickets at slashed rates. Lower than usual, air ticket prices are only enjoyed by those who link with Thailand’s accredited travel companies.

Although Thai has its own native tongue, Thailand airlines are competitive in terms of employing competent flight attendants who have the ability to speak the universal language. They are carefully trained and equipped with strong verbal skills using English as the medium of interaction.

There are more than 70 destinations in 40 countries now that Thailand airlines are flying back and forth. This goes to say that Thailand is keeping up with the world tourism trend of vacationing not only during summer but all seasons of the year. Whether it is for business or amusement, travelers seek to fly to Thailand to discover its cultured means, English education progress and eco-tourism boost.

Hotel Artport Saintdenis Singapore

Literature flourished during the First Reign. Works include the Ramakien, the Thai version of the Indian Ramayana epic and the translation of the Chinese classic, Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

When King Rama II or King Phra Phutthalertla Napalai, the son of King Rama I, ascended the throne, his reign from 1809 – 1824 signaled the start of a dynasty. Like his father, King Rama II loved literature and was renowned as a great poet.

The Chakri dynasty continued with King Rama III or King Phra Nangklao, the son of King Rama II, who reigned from 1824 – 1851. Unlike his father, he had no interest in literature. Even the greatest of Thai poets, Sunthorn Phu, found no favor in the Third Reign.

In King Rama IV or King Mongkut (1851 – 1868), another son of King Rama II, the kingdom had one of the most enlightened Chakri kings. After 27 years in monkhood during which he studied Buddhism, English, Latin, science, mathematics and astrology, King Monkut ascended the throne at 47.

Politically astute, he saw the growing pressures of colonialism and prepared his son, Prince Chulalongkorn, for the challenges ahead.

The reign of King Rama V or King Chulalongkorn (1868 -1910, was the golden age of the Chakri Reformation. The most revered of the Chakri kings, King Chulalongkorn reorganized the government, improved education, infrastructure and communications. Slavery was abolished.

His crowning achievement was the ability to neutralize Britain and France at the height of their imperial power and preserve the independence of Thailand.

King Rama VI or King Vajiravudh, the son of King Rama V, reigned from 1910 – 1925. The first of the Chakri kings to be educated overseas, King Vajiravudh introduced surnames for the people, changed Thai flag to its present form, enacted compulsory primary education and established Chulalongkorn University in memory of his father. The Seventh Reign, however, incurred massive spending in a fragile economy, a harbinger of events in the next reign.

The last of King Rama V’s sons, King Rama VII or King Prajadhipok, reigned from 1925 – 1935. He was also the last of the Chakri kings to reign as absolute monarch. The coup on 24 June 1932 ended the absolute monarchy.

King Prajadhipok reigned briefly as the first constitutional monarch in a stormy relationship with the new government. He abdicated on 2 March 1935.

After the abdication, young Prince Ananda, the son of Prince Mahidol and grandson of King Rama V, he was appointed king at the age of ten. Regency was appointed while the young king continued his studies.

King Rama VIII or King Ananda Mahidol had a short and tragic reign from 1935 – 1946. On 9 June 1946, less than a year after he returned from his studies, the young King Ananda was found shot. No verdict was returned.

In 1946, the present monarch, King Rama IX or King Bhumipol Adulyadej, younger brother of King Ananda, ascended the throne. The reign saw the blossoming of a close relationship between the benevolent monarch and his people, one of deep respect and fatherly love.

It seemed the ideal model of a constitutional monarchy over the longest reign in history. Perhaps the one that King Prajadhipok was so desperately seeking in 1932.

The nine kings of the Chakri dynasty have seen old Siam from a group of fragmented kingdoms under constant external threat to a unified kingdom. The kingdom went through a painful transition from an absolute monarchy to a tumultuous constitutional democracy and onto a thriving and stable nation.

The reign of the Chakri Kings in Thailand has covered more than 220 years over which the kingdom has preserved its unity, independence and prosperity.

Saintdenis Hotel Artport

The huge chedi of Wat Yai Chai Mongkon was built in 1592. Ayuttaya king, Nareusan the Great, built it. But this temple already existed during the time of King Ramathibodi in 1357 and it was used as the site for meditation by monks.

When the Burmese took over Ayutthaya, they destroyed the small chedis but Wat Yai Chai Mongkon was too big to be destroyed and survived the attack. A new Ubosot was built in the place of the old Ubosot, which was set on fire by the attackers.

Ubosot is a hall where important ceremonies take place. It may not be always open to the public. The ubosot should have an altar with one or more Buddha images.

The big chedi of Wat Yai Chai Mongkon now has modern images of Buddha lined up in the inner courtyard. There is wonderful view of Ayuthhaya landscape which you can see if you climb the base of bell shaped chedi.. There is a reclining Buddha, built by the King Nareusan, for purpose of meditation.

The temple has been now converted to a museum in the honor of King Nareusan. A modern wiharn is built behind the chedi. A wiharn is a place which houses Buddha images where people come to pray for peace.

Singapore Saintdenis Hotel Artport

Penalties for the possession of, use of, or trafficking in illegal drugs in Thailand are severe. Foreigners are not excused from these checks, and anyone whose urine tests positive for drugs is arrested and charged. The possession of even small quantities of “soft drugs” for recreational purposes can result in lengthy jail sentences and deportation. Enforcement action against people involved in all aspect of illicit drugs has increased significantly. Canadians are reminded that Thai laws regarding illegal drugs are very strict and include the death penalty for serious offences. The possession of even small amounts of illegal drugs, including marijuana, can result in severe fines and/or prison sentences. Visitors should be aware that night-time police spot-checks to search for illegal drugs have become common in and around entertainment venues in Thailand.

Never become involved with drugs of any kind in Thailand. Amphetamines and Ecstasy are regarded as class A drugs and possession or trafficking of them carries the same penalties as, for example, heroin.

The long, mountainous border with Myanmar (Burma) brings refugees, illegal immigrants, and drugs into the country. Most people think about Thailand as having only drugs & girls. Enforcement action against people involved in all aspect of illicit drugs has increased significantly, becarefull not to ruin your holiday and your life.

Singapore Saintdenis

When you type mail order bride Thailand into your favorite search engine it will reveal hundreds of sites where you can supposedly contact Thai women wishing to be brides.

The truth is most of these sites are a scam. There is a much better way to find a bride and it need not cost you any money.

The traditional mail order bride sites you find on your search advertise numerous women. Most of the time these women are fake. The site owner will buy photo content of Thai women and make fake profiles. Sometimes, when they are real people, the adverts are out of day; the women have found a husband but the site owner has kept the advert up because it lures people into joining his site. So after you pay what is usually a huge membership fee you will be, on the whole, contacting fake or out-of-date adverts of women. You have just wasted a lot of money.

Did you know there is a growing trend of Thai women using popular dating sites to find a husband? They do so because they can use the sites for free and more people use them so they have more chance of becoming a bride. Now that you know about this trend you can use the information to easily find yourself a Thai bride.

Instead of typing mail order bride Thailand into a search engine just get a free account at a popular dating site. On your profile state that you are looking for a Thai bride. Go to the search page and search for women in Thailand looking for husbands (you can put these exact keywords into the search) and you will find thousands of results. Now all you have to do is visit their profiles, look at their photos, decide which you like best and email them and send a friend request. Within a few short hours you will have dozens or hundreds of Thai women sending you messages and it has not cost you a cent.

Saintdenis Hotel Artport

The Most Popular Thailand Retirement Locations Are:

Bangkok
Pattaya
Phuket
Chiang Mai
South Of Thailand

….that’s not all…Retirees also choose other locations in Thailand like: North East Thailand ‘Isaan’, Chiang Rai, Udon Thani, Nong Khai, Khon Kaen, Hua Hin or some of the beautiful Islands in the south of Thailand.

Phuket, Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao are just a few of the beautiful islands in the south of Thailand with some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. If you don’t want to live on an island it is nice to have the option of visiting an island for a few days or weeks.

Visiting Thailand for a longer stay before retiring in Thailand is a good way to find out if this is the Paradise for you. Some people come to Thailand for 6 moths to one year to find out if they want to retire in Thailand and find the area of Thailand they like.

There are things about Thailand that may be a little difficult for some to live with. The Thai Visa requirements are confusing but need to be understood. A foreigner can own a condominium in Thailand but not land. As a foreigner you will always be a foreigner.

Thai people treat everyone with respect yet they will always refer to you as farang -foreigner- which is not meant to insult you but it is deeply engrained in Thai people and it is the way they refer to white people.

The list of good things about Thailand is seemingly endless and outweigh the ‘negative’. Thai people are one of the most sociable nations on the planet and have an extremely carefree attitude. They love to joke, have fun and eat delicious food.

So, to sum it all up: If you like to see beautiful things and places, have fun, you are laid back, you like to eat delicious and exotic dishes and you would like to have all of that for pennies on the dollar….you may want to consider Thailand as a retirement location.

How Much Money Do You Need In Thailand?

The answer is; how long is a piece of string? There are people who can live very comfortable for well under $ 1,000 a month and then you have people who think $ 5,000 is bare minimum.

There are people who pay $ 100 a month rent for an apartment and are happy and then there are people who own a one million dollar condo and are happy or still think they could have done better.

Saintdenis Singapore

1. The Legal Marriage and genuine ongoing relationship.

This can be supported by submitting the original copy of the Marriage Certificate along with other documents. Another way of proving the marital relationship is by showing pictures or recorded videos taken during the wedding ceremony or the actual Marriage Registration. You must be able to show exchange of correspondence such us letters, postcards, chats, emails, telephone bills, photos together and even receipts of money transfers. Plane tickets, boarding passes and hotel bookings can also be used as proof to show that you have done things and traveled together. Both the applicant and sponsor should also write a letter about their relationship stating how and when the first meeting took place, how the relationship developed and express each eagerness and desire to be with each other to spend life together as family.

2. The Sponsor’s current Financial Position and Accommodation in the UK.

The UK Embassy in Bangkok and its commercial organization partner, VFS, will check if the sponsor has the capability to support the future spouse’s stay in the UK without asking help from the public funds. To affirm and establish this requirement, the sponsor must provide his/her latest six months bank statements, employment certificate, at least 3 months recent pay slips, house title deed, mortgage or contract with the landlord. To strengthen this requirement, a photo of the sponsor’s house in the UK (including every room) is a must.

3. Age requirement is at least 21 years old.

This is very simple. If the applicant is below 21 years of age, the sponsor must wait until the applicant is 21 before applying for a spouse visa. This rule applies the same way to the sponsor. Thus, none of the couples must be under 21 during the application. Both of them must be of legal age for the Thai spouse to be issued a UK Spouse Visa in Thailand.

Hotel Artport Singapore

In Thailand, evidence of the ornament designs, partly, have been studied through the accessories of Buddha images or the kings’ and members of royal families’ ornamentations. This is because, in the past, the ornaments showed social status. There were orders imposed, which clearly stated which caste could use which ornaments, or objects. For example, the number of ornaments a person belonging to a certain order of precedence can wear and what kind of objects can be worn; a person of a certain status can or cannot wear a certain object; if a person violates the order, what punishment it will be. These rules do not only apply to ornamentation but also to clothing. For instance, a person of certain status should wear flower prints with patterns and colours. Or, for an ornament made of gold decorated with diamonds, only the king can wear. Or, Rachavadee enamelled gold ornaments are worn by the prince or princess. Gold ornaments are allowed to wear only by the prince (in the grandchild generation of the king.) Aristocrats who are not Praya (a nobleman higher in rank than Pra, lower than Chao Praya) can wear silver objects. Ordinary people use copper.

In studying documents written in the past, the word ornament did not exist. However, there are words categorizing ornaments into two categories: Siraphorn, which means head ornaments and Thanimpimpaphorn, which means body, and head ornaments (Siraphorn.) These define positions and the order of precedence (or estate or feudalistic status) (Fine Arts department 1993, P. 34).

Furthermore, apart from the four necessities for maintaining life, food, clothing, medicines and shelter, which are the fundamental needs, human beings also want to have facilities and other objects for the ritual of life, they want to attain the spirituality of mind, which make life more complete, sacrificing a basic cycle of life; birth, old age, suffering, and death. They also want to differentiate themselves and show self-importance to society. In the past, body decoration with natural objects such as colours from natural resources for painting, flowers, leafs, feathers, shells, bones, canine teeth, ivory, etc., were brought into use. Such decoration is for the purpose of beauty or power or expression of courage.

This simply shows one’s pleasure and self-uniqueness, which usually happens in every society in the world. This, also, shows the fundamental relation between human beings and jewellery from the past until the present. Although jewellery is not part of the needs for life, they are objects generating one’s fulfilments and regarded as important for one’s mind, which has an influence on one’s living. The designs and objects brought into body decoration or to ornament production have evolved from a particular period of time and objects found.

Evolution of Jewellery In Relation to Buddhism

Based upon archaeological evidence, records and other documents, including jewellery discovered at a number of ancient sites, Thai jewellery together with its stories and evolution have existed along with Thai history. The designs of the ornaments have been developed according to the change of period and to the influence of a certain belief of a particular period.

All the ornaments are used as sacred items. The popular ones are in the forms of, for example, fig leaves, leaves of a papal tree, which has a heart-like shape and are believed to be sacred leaves of a heavenly tree. Among a variety of precious items discovered and brought into ornamentation, gold is the most popular and most widely used because of the neatly of its colour, brightness, its good quality, rustlessness, rarity and its expensive price. Another is the use of precious stones in Thailand related to the belief of colours of Hinduism. Countries in the eastern part of the world are, to a certain extent, influenced by India’s art, culture and practice. Thailand received certain ideas about ornamentation in the tenth century and descended until the eighteenth century where Thailand evolved its own characteristics of jewellery according to the change of time. Such precious stones brought into body ornamentation are of nine kinds, called Nawarattana. They are coral reefs, topaz, sapphire, ruby, a bort, a brilliant, an emerald, zircon, garnet. However, it (Nawarattana) is defined differently in some books. That is, Nawarattana are sacred objects that are: pearl, ruby, topaz, diamond, emerald, lapis lazuli, coral reefs, sapphire and garnet, all of which are the colours of the three gems of Deva or of the nine planets of the solar system. There is Lapis lazuli but not zircon.The nine precious stones representing Deva are:

o Pearl representing the colour of the full moon

o Ruby representing the colour of the sun

o Topaz representing the colour of Jupiter

o Diamond representing the colour of Venus

o Emerald representing the colour of Mercury

o Coral reefs representing the colour of Mars

o Sapphire representing the colour of Saturn

o Cat’s eye representing the colour of the waxing moon (1st half of lunar month)

o Garnet representing the colour of the waxing moon (2nd half of lunar month.) (Fine Arts Department, 1993, p.159)

Historically, based upon archaeological evidence, during the Davaravadee period, small blast furnaces and moulds for jewellery casts were used. Most of the golden work of the Davaravadee period was found in the ancient cities in the central part of Thailand, such as the ancient cities of Uthong, Supanburi, Srithep, Petchboon, Srimahosod, Prachinburi and Nakornprathom. The oldest golden work in Thailand can be grouped into two kinds. The first one is religious golden work; Buddha images or items used in important religious worship, for example, the reposing form of Buddha images, or bodhisattva images. Another is the golden jewellery found on the sculptures in ascetic places, which were at the time parts of people’s lives. There are head-ornaments, earrings, necklaces, belts, arm and wrist ornaments, whose designs were influenced by India. The characteristics of Davaravadee’s jewellery are as follows

o Necklaces: The necklaces of the period of Davaravadee are of various designs. They are octagon-like, star gooseberry- like, star apple- like, rattan ball-like shaped golden bead-necklaces found at the ancient city of Uthong, Supanburi.

o Lockets: The lockets found are of various designs. They are in a round shape, like that of the Wheel of Dharma decorated with either long bell-like, or upturned end triangle-liked shapes with diamonds at the centre. This evidence confirms that symbols in Buddhism have been strongly represented in jewellery for a long time.

o Earrings: The earrings found are of various designs and sizes. The styles discovered mostly are in the shape of a bulb or pear, the ends of which turn to each other. The earrings are created either with gold with or without patterns. Some have small seeds of diamonds decorated around the rim.

o Rings: The rings are of various designs, such as those with gold without pattern, those with colour stones decorated on top and those gold coiled around.

o Other ornaments: They are, for example, small parts of golden ornaments assumed to be parts of head ornaments.

Other found items are beads, earrings and gold flakes, including equipment made of gold. The prosperity in trading was important for about five hundred years. From the eleventh to sixteenth century, the new centre of trading became the kingdom of ancient Khmer, which grew in the east and expanded to Davaravadee and Srivichai.

From the twelfth to eighteenth century, the Khmer influence expanded to the east, the northeast and to some parts of central Thailand. Stone inscriptions were found. There were records of religious activities, sacred images and worship items made of gold, including the imposition on gold use restricted to the king. For instance, the imposition was from the Ayutthaya period based upon the Deva belief in Khmer culture, which was the important convention in governing the kingdom and completely validated again that essences of religion have been brought into jewellery. From archaeological evidence from the northeastern part, gold ornaments were found such as necklaces, rings, and earrings. They were discovered around Phnom Rung Stone Castle, Buriram. Golden rings inlaid with jewels and See Sao style braided gold necklaces were found at Pimai Stone Castle, Nakornratchsima. Pieces of gold with and without patterns for religious purposes, including gold ornaments offered to Deva images, such as necklaces and pahurad (a kind of bracelet) created for offering to Hinduism’s devas, or bodhisattvas of Mahayana Buddhism, were also found.

Subsequently, in the nineteenth century, Thais living around Yom Basin gathered and established the Kingdom of Sukothai. The central cities were Sukothai and Srisatchanarai which are now located in the province of Sukothai. The cities were prosperous in terms of art, culture, and economics. There are archaeological evidences and objects left until today. The designs of the uses of gold for Buddhism, dresses and jewellery discovered are such as, golden rings, eight petal- golden flowers at Wat Mahatath, including golden Buddha images. The time when the kingdom of Sukothai was located at Yom Basin was prosperous; another Thai kingdom was called Ayutthaya.

Ayutthaya was situated to the south of Chao Phraya Basin surrounded by three rivers: Lopburi River, Chao Phraya River and Pasak River. Such a location made Ayutthaya an appropriate spot for trading, for communication and goods forwarding, especially from India and China. Ayutthaya became the centre of trading in Southeast Asia. The civilization and power of the kingdom enabled Ayutthaya to annex neighbouring states, including Sukothai. Eventually they were all called the Kingdom of Siam. The evidence showing the prosperity and wealth of the kingdom of Ayutthaya is the gold work discovered at Wat Mahatath. The goldsmiths in Ayutthaya are renowned for producing the best goldsmithing era that is as well skilful as those in our country. Goldsmiths can produce gold-silver work in thousands of styles, all of which are very beautiful. Gold and silver inlaid work is very cleanly neat, including the brilliant lines added superbly; they use little water to weld the gold and inlay with gold and silver so skilfully that it is difficult to identify which part is the seam.

The examples of Ayutthaya jewellery are specifically from the mid and late Ayutthaya periods because of the war with Burma, but very few remain. However, from studying sculptures, such as the images of bodhisattva, or the jewellery on the full dressed Buddha images, there were ornaments decorated with ‘Prajamyam ‘, ‘Dokjan flower’, flowery or flowers in rhombus frame, ‘Kra Chang ‘ or triangle patterns. The Buddha images found can be divided into two groups:

o The first group of jewellery sacred for the Buddha images is similar to the characteristics like the ones inscribed. That is, the head ornaments are decorated with a series of coils overlapping upwards to form a high cone-shape top. The heads are still of the same style with general Buddha images, which show the heads and the rays.

o The second group of jewellery sacred for the Buddha images with clear development (evolved from the first group of Buddha images) in terms of ornamentation. (Chao Sam Praya National Museum, Ayutthaya and Pra Nakorn National Museum, Bangkok leaflet 2000)

What they have in common are that the lockets are in the broad shape like wide collars; there are strings of ornaments hung from the lockets called Tub suang, which were made as broad gold sheets. The gold sheets were made in different pieces that could be joined. The front of the locket, at the lowest part, is made as a big broad gold sheet with many peaks and with big ‘dokchan ‘ patterns beautifully inlaid with colourful rubies. Other gold sheets are also decorated with patterns and inlaid with precious stones (Judhawipak 2002, P.42-43).

o Other ornaments are crowns, earrings, Pahurad and arm bracelets. Pahurad is a little bigger than an arm bracelet, which they can resemble. More precisely, the differences are that the lower part of Pahurad is concave and its upper part is pointed. For the arm bracelet, both its upper and lower frames are even (Chao Sam Praya National Museum, Ayutthaya and Pra Nakorn National Museum, Bangkok leaflet, 2000).

Their patterns and designs can be compared with those of dressed sculptures created in the subsequent period. But sometimes the Buddha images were not fully dressed with all the jewellery mentioned.

The prosperity of Ayutthaya lasted for four hundred and seventeen years. Burmese in B.E.2310 destroying historical evidences burnt those.

Later in the same year, Pra Chao Taksin brought liberty to the country and established Thonburi as the capital city. Thonburi was the capital for fifteen years, during which time the city was constantly at war, thus no clear evidence of gold work could be found. Subsequently, Chao Praya Chakri established Rattanakosin, an era as the capital in B.E. 2325, which was restored and prospered until becoming Thailand, the centre of art and culture, economics and trading, as today. For jewellery, there has been schematic development until the present time. The first king brought the customs and restrictions of Ayutthaya back into use again, including the rules of gold usage in the court, including the restrictions on dressing and ornamentation according to status, the prohibition against certain kinds of gold ornaments made for ordinary people. This is because after the changes resulting from being beaten by the Burmese, the old orders, institutions and impositions were omitted. Significantly, jewellery as a sacred object is full of decorations for religion, ornamentation, golden gifts, golden set of items for worshipping the Buddha have been expressed in the old Thai styles, being restored and encouraged to recognize the golden work of the Rattankosin period. (Pra Nakorn National museum, Bangkok 2000) Jewellery as sacred objects show how creative the royal goldsmiths were, being able to create and impose certain forms of gold work to show the status of estate of Buddhism in Thai people’s minds clearly and most appropriately.

Moreover, the traditional belief in the relation of Buddhist culture to jewellery in Thailand symbolizes the use of precious colour stones such as rubies, emeralds etc. that heritages since the Ayutthaya period, as can be seen in many types of jewellery. According to traditional belief (Chandawit 1992, P. 36), Thai people believe there is a guardian angel for each day of the week (Ibid 1992 P. 43-44). Each angel has an individual skin colour.

This belief was referred to by Sunthornphu, who describes the following seven auspicious colours, one for each day of the week:

Sunday: wearing red will bring the wearer good luck

Monday: wearing white denotes long life

Tuesday: blue&purple will bless the wearer with grace

Wednesday: the day for wearing green

Thursday: orange should be worn with a dash of yellow

Friday: grey will bring victory in battle

Saturday: the day to array oneself in purple

In the National Museum in Bangkok, there is a collection of clothes belonging to King Rama IV (1851-1868) in these seven auspicious lucky colours. As fashion changed, the rule was modified. Traced from a classical novel, Si-phandin ‘Four Reigns’ (Pramoj, 1948,P.49) during the reign of King Rama V (1868-1910), colours for everyday clothing were defined as follows: (for the lower wrap/for the shoulder sash)

Sunday: green/red or lichee red or pig’s blood red/yellow green

Monday: pale yellow/pale blue or deep magenta;pigeon blue/champa red

Tuesday: salmon pink or light purple/yellow green or yellow green/pale purple

Wednesday: iron grey/yellow ochre

Thursday: leaf green/bird blood red or orange/pale green

Friday: deep blue/yellow

Saturday: light purple/yellow green

The belief in the relationship between colours and guardian angels was expressed through relating colours of gemstones suitable for individual birthdays. For instance,

Sunday: Garnet

Monday: Pearl

Tuesday: Yellow sapphire

Wednesday: Emerald

Thursday: Cat’s eye

Friday: Moonstone

Saturday: Blue sapphire (Boonprakob 1999, P. 24)

To conclude, the development of jewellery as a sacred object in the context of Thai Buddhist Culture in various facets throughout the different eras enabled Thailand to be prosperous, especially in Thai people’s minds today. When minds are fulfilled and uplifted, human resources then benefit through the development of education, government, economy, science, tradition, customs, art and culture, including the preservation of peace for over two hundred years. Jewellery, a main facet of this scared culture, has therefore been influenced by such development in order to be consistent with the way of life. Beyond the mere issue of its design, jewellery has been developed to fit the use, social and cultural condition of the Thai people.

Singapore Hotel Artport Saintdenis

Koh Phangan is still a popular destination for backpackers and budget travellers, infamous for its Full Moon Party most young travellers see the island as one of the highlights of their trip to Thailand. The party takes place at the southern end of the island in the town of Haad Rin, a hedonistic party town made up of meandering side streets packed with bars, restaurants and gift shops, bungalow resorts to suit every pocket and above all else the stunning Haad Rin Nok beach. At the time of the full moon, Haad Rin is packed full of revellers and advanced booking is recommended if you wish to stay in this part of the island at this time of the month.

Moving north from Haad Rin we next encounter Ban Tai, home to both the Half Moon Party and the Shiva Moon Party both large events themselves. Ban Tai is also where you will find the ‘horny mile’, a stretch of road almost a mile long that is populated by lady bars on each side. These bars are a lot more laid back than their counterparts in either Bangkok or Pattaya and seem to be a solid favourite with the middle aged tourists who arrive upon Koh Phangan.

Further north still you will come to Thongsala, the only true town upon the island, a vibrant mix of Thai shops, western bars and restaurants along with traditional food markets at every turn. At night the main market square becomes an open air restaurant serviced by a couple of dozen street vendors who set up tables and ply their trade. Some of the best food on Koh Phangan can be found here after the sun sets. Thongsala also houses the main ferry pier for the island and forms a natural gateway to the mainland.

Once you leave Thongsala behind and head further north you will notice a drastic change in the pace of life, things are quieter here with only occasional houses built and small village settlements with local shops. The villages of Wok Tum and Hing Kong are particularly lazy; both wonderful places for somebody looking for a longer term stay on the island.

Further up the coast road you will find Haad Yao and Haad Salad, both excellent diving areas with a close in reef allowing easy access for beach dives, further north still you will find Mae Haad and the small island of Koh Ma sitting an easy wade across the sea from Koh Phangan. This is the premier snorkelling spot on the island offering sites usually only witnessed by scuba divers.

Up at the northern tip of Koh Phangan you will find Chaloklam, a squid fishing village with a beautiful crescent beach. The seafood here is exceptional, taken straight from the sea each morning. At night you can watch the lights of the dozens of squid boats that ply the waters in this area, and then watch them return with their catch and dry it in the sun whilst you eat breakfast at a beachside restaurant.

Over on the west side of the island you will find Tong Nai Pan, originally a secluded backpacker community now the site of the largest developments upon Koh Phangan. Luxury resorts cater for the sun worshipers who agree that the western beach is the most beautiful upon the island.

Singapore Hotel Artport Saintdenis

The temple was made-to-order by Rama V in 1877 and considered to be more “lifelike” than most other temples. Initially the temple was suppose to be the final resting place of the king and the construction began in 1875. However, later it was changed to a temple.

The reclining Buddha is housed in a large wiharn. The open front of the wiharn faces the street. Right next to the reclining Buddha image is room that used as a museum. This museum was opened rather recently, in 1990. In the museum, you can find statues, religious books, old porcelain and some items dating back to when Thailand was occupied by the Japanese during the World War II.

Just next to the wiharn is a small graveyard where four cenotaphs are present. The cenotaphs house the ashes of the first four governors of the city. According to a rumor, the ashes of the first governor of the city are housed in one of the large chedis of Wat Doi Kong Mu but this cannot be endorsed.

Just behind the wiharn are two stairways leading to the side of Doi Kong Mu. Just at the beginning of the stairs there are two huge stone Shan lions. For most people the climb up the stairways is extremely exhausting and that is why mid-way there is a viewing platform which has a standing Buddha on it. This Buddha image looks over the city. For those who do not want to climb up to Doi Kong Mu, there is a road to drive up.

Next to the stairways are several small monuments worth spending time over. There is also a small wooden shrine that has a small altar and right next to the wiharn is a large platform on which is an image of a seated Buddha. This image is in a small square chedi.

Singapore Saintdenis