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 regiaFamily Name – Fabaceae (Leguminosae)Other English Names – Flamboyant, Royal poincianaFlowering Season – April-JuneNative to Thailand – NoTypical 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. At peak bloom, a flame tree’s crown will be full of these blazing… Read More
Thai Name – Gan-la-pa-pruek (กัลปพฤกษ์), Ga-la-pruek (กาลพฤกษ์)Scientific Name – Cassia bakerianaFamily Name – Fabaceae (Leguminosae)Other English Names – Wishing tree, Pink cassiaFlowering Season – February-AprilNative to Thailand – YesTypical 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 pink and fade to white. From… Read More
Thai Name – Da-cope farang (ตะขบฝรั่ง)Scientific Name – Muntingia calaburaFamily Name – MuntingiaceaeOther English Names – Strawberry tree, jam tree, Singapore cherryFlowering Season – Year-round, but less in the cool seasonNative to Thailand – NoTypical Height – 5-12 meters One of the most understated flowering trees in Thailand, you could easily walk past a flowering calabura and not notice the small (1.5-2cm) solitary white flowers. They have five wide petals… Read More
My father was named Sri Indraditya, my mother was named Nang Suang, and my elder brother was named Ban Muang. There were five of us born from the same womb: three boys and two girls. My eldest brother died when he was still a child. When I was nineteen years old, Khun Sam Chon, the ruler of Mae Sot, came to raid Tak. My father went to fight Khun Sam… Read More
The Ramkhamhaeng Inscription, aka Sukhothai Inscription One, was found in 1833 by Prince Mongkut, the future King Rama IV, while he was still a monk. He found it in the area where most historians assume that the royal palace once stood. The inscription is a squat four-sided pillar rather than the typical slab shape and is 114.5cm tall with each side 35.5cm wide. The first and second sides have 35 lines… Read More
Thai Name – Bpra-duu (ประดู่) Scientific Name – Pterocarpus macrocarpus Family Name – Fabaceae (Leguminosae) Flowering Season – March-April Native to Thailand – Yes Typical Height – 15-30 meters The Burma padauk goes from completely green to full of small (about 1.5 centimeters wide) yellow flowers overnight; and reverts back to all green again after only a few days in bloom. The flowers turn into distinctive disc-shaped seeds, which give the tree its scientific name. The genus Pterocarpus… Read More
One of the Buddha’s disciples, while out on a morning alms round, saw a woman so beautiful he fell in love at first sight. After returning to the monastery, his obsession with her made him depressed and ill and he could no longer concentrate on his studies or meditation. The Buddha told him he should stop thinking about her and then to remind the disciples that all women are ungrateful… Read More
The Bayon-style Prang Ku Chaiyaphum (ปรางค์กู่ ชัยภูมิ) is the most complete Khmer ruin in the province, and a major point of pride for the capital city. It decorates the street signs, the festival honoring it lasts three days, and it’s the city’s main (essentially only) tourist attraction. It was built by King Jayavarman VII (r. 1182-1219) as a Mahayana Buddhist temple for one of the 102 arogayasala (hospitals) that he opened across the… Read More
No original structures from Ku Ban Nong Ranya (กู่บ้านหนองร้านหญ้า) remain, but in 2017 locals took the old blocks (mostly laterite, but a few sandstone) that had been scattered around the area and stacked them up into four short walls on a concrete base. It’s not a restoration, but it was done in spirit of a Khmer sanctuary. The interior of this shrine holds a Buddha image and a local goddess… Read More
There are no ancient structures left at Non Thaen Phra (โนนแท่นพระ) anymore, just a few dozen scattered blocks, mostly laterite, laying around in the dirt plus a few sandstone carvings; and you probably can’t see the later. In or around 1914 a hunter chasing a deer found a Buddha image in the forest here. Later locals uncovered many more ancient artifacts, such as statues, pedestals, pottery, stone grinders, and a… Read More
Prang Ku Ban Nong Faek (ปรางค์กู่บ้านหนองแฝก) was built by King Jayavarman VII (r. 1182-1219) as a Mahayana Buddhist temple for one of the 102 hospitals (arogayasala) he opened across the empire. All of the structures – the main sanctuary, gopura, bannalai, and enclosure – are built of laterite, with only door and window frames being of sandstone. While none of the structures are complete and the tower is gone, after a recent… Read More
Ku Daeng (กู่แดง) is a single brick prang with a rather unusual design: it’s cross-shaped with open doorways on all four sides and has a nearly three-meter tall base. The prang collapsed completely, but the laterite base, with stairs on all four sides and deeply redented corners, survived mostly intact. The base’s modern modification is that locals filled in the eastern steps to make a solid wall as a spot… Read More
Prasat Ban Tan (ปราสาทบ้านตาล) is a completely collapsed single tower built of sandstone, probably on a laterite base. Its history is unknown, but it could be from the 11th-century, the same time as Phimai. Although it had fallen down on its own, locals say that its current state of total ruin is due to looters pulling down what still stood when they were looking for valuables. One of the things… Read More
Sop Namman (สบน้ำมัน) sits under a giant mango tree far from any village or paved road and it’s the small adventure required to get there, rather than what you find that makes a visit fun. Judging by the large (1.3 x 1.3 meters square) yoni still there, it could have been a fairly large sanctuary. But, other than this, all that remains are 33 scattered sandstone blocks. Nothing is known… Read More
In Thailand there are many Khmer ruins inside villages, but Ku Ban Hua Sa (กู่บ้านหัวสระ) is the first I have visited that is literally in someone’s backyard. Although rather than an actual ruin, it’s just a gathering of various sandstone and laterite blocks, some for building walls and others carved for decorative trim. A few carvings in better condition were removed by the Fine Arts Department for safe keeping. A… Read More
Wat Boon (วัดบูรณ์) is known locally for its old (possibly Lan Chang era) brick stupa, which is now covered by a modern one. But, before the Lao came there was a Khmer temple of unknown era and design on this site. There are no Khmer structures remaining, just a few blocks, almost all laterite, which you barely notice since they’re used to line walkways next to the ubosot and stupa.… Read More
Prang Ku Kaeng Sanam Nang (ปรางค์กู่แก้งสนามนาง) was, and kind of still is, a single laterite tower of unknown age. The original temple toppled completely and there was no attempt at reconstruction. What stands now are laterite and sandstone blocks stacked to make three walls for a Buddha image shrine. It’s now open to the north, but the original almost certainly would have faced east, and there’s a doorway to the… Read More
Thai Name – Lueang Breedeeyatawn (เหลืองปรีดียาธร)Scientific Name – Tabebuia aurea (some organizations use Tabebuia caraiba or Tabebuia argentea)Family Name – BignoniaceaeOther English Names – Caribbean trumpet treeFlowering Season – February-AprilNative to Thailand – NoTypical Height – 3-8 meters When a silver trumpet tree is in full bloom the yellow flowers can entirely cover the tree’s crown. From a distance it can look like a golden shower tree, but those flowers… Read More
Thai Name – Man daeng (หมันแดง) Scientific Name – Cordia sebestena Family Name – Boraginaceae Other English Names – Scarlet Cordia Flowering Season – Year-round, but most abundant March-May Native to Thailand – No Typical Height – 6-9 metersGeiger trees have vivid orange five-centimeter-wide flowers that grow in clusters at the ends of branches. From a distance these clusters look like giant orange balls and give the trees a polka… Read More