Boon Bang Fai (บุญบั้งไฟ) is Month #6 of Heet Sip-Song – The Twelve Isan Merit-Making Traditions. Known as the Rocket Festival in English, Boon Bang Fai (literally “fiery tube”) is one of the iconic elements of Isan culture. The largest rockets are four meters long (plus a longer tail section), hold 120 kilograms of gunpowder and climb several kilometers high (an airplane pilot once claimed to see one at six… Read More
Boon Songkran (บุญสงกรานต์) is Month #5 of Heet Sip-Song – The Twelve Isan Merit-Making Traditions. Songkran is the Thai New Year, and it’s by far the most important holiday in all parts of Thailand. Because of the enormous number of migrant workers who leave their homes to work in Bangkok and other cities, for many families in Thailand, Songkran is the only time they can be together. So everybody who… Read More
Boon Pha Wet (บุญผะเหวด) is Month #4 of Heet Sip-Song – The Twelve Isan Merit-Making Traditions. The being who would eventually become the Buddha lived, he tells us in the Pali Canon, over 100,000 lives before reaching enlightenment. As the Buddha he recounted many of his past lives (called “Jataka” in English; chadok in Thai) and 547 stories about them have been formalized into their own chapter in the Pali… Read More
Boon Khao Jee (บุญข้าวจี่) is Month #3 of Heet Sip-Song – The Twelve Isan Merit-Making Traditions. Khao jee is grilled sticky rice battered with egg and salt and sometimes stuffed with pieces of cane sugar. It’s a common Isan food sold by many street vendors and in every morning market. During Boon Khao Jee everyone gets up early to grill them for the monks’ morning meal. Then when they’re done… Read More
Boon Khun Lan (บุญคูณลาน) is Month #2 of Heet Sip-Song – The Twelve Isan Merit-Making Traditions. Boon Khun Lan is a celebration of the rice harvest, and a thank you to all the spirits who helped. And since rice is life in rural Isan, this post-harvest blessing is one of the most important annual village events. At the start, all villagers come together at some spot, usually either out by… Read More
Boon Khao Kam (บุญเข้ากรรม) is Month #1 of Heet Sip-Song – The Twelve Isan Merit-Making Traditions. Once a year the monks of every temple gather together to confess minor transgressions of the vinaya pitaka (the set of rules for monks laid out by the Buddha) and receive a penance. Khao kam (called pariwatkam in Central Thai language) is a period of self-purification for the monks, and transgressors will stay in near… Read More
These twelve heet (“traditions” or “rituals” that help you have a good life) are practiced across Northeast Thailand (the region known as Isan) and lowland Laos. City folk have mostly abandoned some of them, but there are very few Isan villages where they don’t all remain important events. Some are Buddhist celebrations observed around the globe while others originated from local pre-Buddhist beliefs, though all of the later now have… Read More
A clique of the Buddha’s monks taunted and insulted other monks when they disagreed with them on something. When the Buddha was told about their behavior he scolded them and then told them this story of one of his past lives so they would understand that speaking with kindness rather than hostility is beneficial. — — — The Buddha-to-be was born as an ox. His owner named him Nandivisala and… Read More
A very unusual rock art site, Tham Sam cave (ถ้ำซำ) has a long wall covered with large paintings of people. These have no connection or resemblance to the many ancient cave paintings found around the region except that both are made with natural pigments – probably derived from tree sap. These consist entirely of red, white, and black and the lively results from the limited palate are a testament to… Read More
A very ordinary Thai temple in most regards, and not high on the list of Phuket’s main tourist attractions, Wat Phra Thong (วัดพระทอง) is nevertheless a great detour for temple enthusiasts. People come to the “Temple of the Golden Buddha” (named by King Rama VI while he was still just a prince) to see its unique namesake Buddha image, which is usually called Luang Por Phra Phut (the “Emerging Buddha”)… Read More
Wat Khuat Mak Dhamma Siri (วัดขวดมากธรรมศิริ) is the eighth “bottle temple” that I have found in Thailand. It’s quite large and the bottle decoration (mostly from beer and energy drinks) is used throughout the whole temple, not just on a few buildings. It’s definitely worth the trip. Almost always referred to as just Wat Khuat (วัดขวด), which means “Bottle Temple,” it’s less than an hour from both Hat Yai and… Read More
Opened in February 2018, the Narathiwat City Museum (พิพิธภัณฑ์เมืองนราธิวาส) is a better than average local museum and anybody visiting Narathiwat city should take an hour to visit it. The staff will be surprised and very pleased to welcome non-Malay foreign travelers; and I’m not just assuming this, they told us when we showed up. Four wings on two floors of the old provincial hall cover the history, culture, and ecology… Read More
In ancient times, Indian merchants managed much of the trade in the parts of the Malay Peninsula that are now part of Thailand, including trans-shipment routes through Songkhla, and there were many Indian settlements. One of them was at the foot of Kao Kuha hill, between the ocean and Songkhla Lake, where two Hindu “cave” shrines were carved into an east-facing cliff. Evidence is scarce, but it’s assumed that they… Read More
Thai Name – Haang-nok-yuung farang (หางนกยูงฝรั่ง) Scientific Name – Delonix regia Family Name – Fabaceae (Leguminosae) Other English Names – Flamboyant, Royal poinciana Flowering Season – April-June Native to Thailand – No Typical Height – 6-12 meters Not only are flame trees one of the world’s most beautiful flowering trees, the individual flowers, which look sort of like orchids, are also strikingly beautiful.… Read More
Thai Name – Gan-la-pa-pruek (กัลปพฤกษ์), Ga-la-pruek (กาลพฤกษ์) Scientific Name – Cassia bakeriana Family Name – Fabaceae (Leguminosae) Other English Names – Wishing tree, Pink cassia Flowering Season – February-April Native to Thailand – Yes Typical Height – 6-12 meters Although the flowers are almost completely different, the pink shower tree is quite closely related to the golden shower tree and both are very showy with long lasting blooms. These open… Read More