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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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. […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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, […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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Thai Name – Pip (ปีบ), Gasalawng (กาสะลอง) Scientific Name – Millingtonia hortensis Family Name – Bignoniaceae Other English Names – Tree jasmine Flowering Season – September-May Native to Thailand – Yes Typical Height – 10-20 meters The Indian cork tree is a tall, typically rather narrow tree with distinctive […]
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Thai Name – Intanin Nam (อินทนิลน้ำ)Scientific Name – Lagerstroemia speciosaFamily Name – LythraceaeOther English Names – Crepe Myrtle, Rose of IndiaFlowering Season – March-MayNative to Thailand –YesTypical Height – 10-20 meters A very common street-side ornamental tree in Thailand, the Pride of India is unmistakable when […]
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Thai Name – Jamjuri (จามจุรี) Scientific Name – Albizia saman (some organizations continue to use the former Samanea saman) Family Name – Fabaceae (Leguminosae) Other English Names – Monkey Pod Flowering Season – February-May and September-November Native to Thailand – No Typical Height – 15-30 meters Rain trees are […]
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