Boon Ok Phansa (บุญออกพรรษา) is Month #11 of Heet Sip-Song – The Twelve Isan Merit-Making Traditions. Ok Phansa (“Leaving the Rains Retreat”) is the final day of the three-month Buddhist Rains Retreat, which is fully explained with Boon Khao Phansa, the retreat’s first […]
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Boon Khao Sak (บุญข้าวสาก) is Month #10 of Heet Sip-Song – The Twelve Isan Merit-Making Traditions. Boon Khao Sak is the follow-up to Khao Pradap Din from the previous month, and the two are very similar. Boon Khao Sak is also a ceremony […]
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Boon Khao Pradap Din (บุญข้าวประดับดิน) is Month #9 of Heet Sip-Song – The Twelve Isan Merit-Making Traditions. Khao Pradap Din means “food placed on the ground” and it’s a ceremony to honor people’s ancestors. Before dawn (usually, though some places do it in […]
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Boon Khao Phansa (บุญเข้าพรรษา) is Month #8 of Heet Sip-Song – The Twelve Isan Merit-Making Traditions. In the Buddha’s time, most monks did not stay in monasteries for long periods, they traveled town to town spreading his teaching. During the rainy season in […]
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Boon Samha (บุญซำฮะ) is Month #7 of Heet Sip-Song – The Twelve Isan Merit-Making Traditions. Samha means “washing,” and this tradition is the Isan version of spring cleaning, but on a spiritual as well as physical level. Sometimes called Boon Berk Bahn (“Opening […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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Boon Khao Kam (บุญเข้ากรรม) is Month #1 of Heet Sip-Song – The Twelve Isan Merit-Making Traditions. Boon Khao Kam is a period of self-purification for Thai monks who broke serious monastic rules. Formally known as pariwatkam (khao means “enter,” so Khao Kam means […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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Wat Khuat Mak Dhamma Siri (วัดขวดมากธรรมศิริ) is one of the bottle temples found around 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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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