PAD THAI

Oct10

 

Raise your hand if you have tried Pad Thai.  Yes, that Rice noodles stir–fried with eggs, tofu, dried shrimps and garlic in a sweet and tangy sauce served with lime wedges, bean sprout, chives, raw banana flowers, and topped with a sprinkling of peanuts. The original name of Pad Thai, is ‘Gway Teow Pad Thai.’, before shorten to “Pad Thai”.

Back to 1700s, during Ayutthaya Kingdom,  “Gway Teow”  which is a Chinese word for rice noodles may have been introduced to Thai people by Chinese traders.

“Pad” means stir fry, Presentation1and “Thai” refer as thai-style

Gway Teow Pad Thai was actually created in 1930s,during World War II, Thailand was focused on nation building due to the war and a shortage of rice.  The government of Thailand (under prime minister Plaek Phibunsongkhram) created the dish ‘Pad Thai’, in a bid to protect the rice resources of the country as noodles used only 50% of the grain, so were more economical and cheaper to produce. At the same time the government wanted to promote unity and a sense of national identity across the kingdom. They told the general public that by eating Pad Thai, they were helping their country.  (Some resources say that there was actually a national competition to create a national dish, of which Pad Thai was the winner!).

 

Classifier Noun

Oct9

What is Classifier Noun ( “lak-sa-na nahm” )?

It is the word used in a sentence when you’re referring to a determinate number of objects. It is a form of grammatical “agreement”, it’s important to use the correct classifier when quantifying more than one object. Each noun has its own classifier noun, which you will have to memories them, but the structure will be the same. Noun/statement + amount + classifier noun
CF N

The Temple of Dawn – Wat Arun

Oct8

Wat Arun, one of Bangkok’s most famous landmarks, has been existed since the time of the Ayutthaya Kingdom. It’s known as Wat Makok at that time. According to the historian (Prince Damrong Rajanubhab), the temple was shown in French maps during the reign of King Narai (1656–1688). The temple was renamed Wat Chaeng by King Taksin when he established his new capital of Thonburi near the temple, following the fall of Ayutthaya. The temple enshrined the Emerald Buddha image before it was transferred to Wat Phra Kaew on the river’s eastern bank in 1785.

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Wat Arun | The Temple of Aawn

The main feature of Wat Arun is its central prang (Khmer-style tower).  It is somewhere between 70 and 80 meters tall, making it the tallest spire in all of Thailand

The central prang symbolises Mount Meru of the Hindu cosmology, is topped with a seven-pronged trident, referred to “Trident of Shiva”. In the Buddhist iconography, the central prang is considered to have three symbolic levels—base for Traiphum indicating all realms of existence, middle for Tavatimsa where all desires are gratified and top denoting Devaphum indicating six heavens within seven realms of happiness.

The corners are surrounded by four smaller satellite prang which devoted to the wind god, Phra Phai. The demons (yaksha) at the entranceway to the ubosot are from the Ramakien. The white figure is named Sahassa Deja and the green one is known as Thotsakan, the Demon Rāvana from Ramayana.

 

The End of Buddhist Lent

Oct6

“aawk-phan-saa”  falls on the full-moon day of the eleventh lunar month which is 13th of October 2019. This day marks the end of the three months Rains-retreat known as ‘Buddhist Lent’ which is a major Buddhism merit-making festival. During the Buddhist lent monks remain in one temple and dedicate themselves to the study of Buddhist scriptures and meditation practice.   76e690f9-356c-47b3-a622-9f2080c98178

End of Buddhist Lent is a day of many celebrations, different regions have their own way of marking the occasion. If you find yourself in a position to visit Thailand during this date, I would recommend finding the local festival to experience a particularly beautiful and interesting festival.

Example; Samut Prakan’s Bang Phli Municipality will host the annual Rab Bua (Lotus Receiving) festival on the morning of Oct 12. Nong khai;The Naga Fireball festival on Oct 13. Nakon Phanom will host the annual Lai Ruea Fai (Illuminated Boat Procession)  during 6-14 Oct. 

September 2019 Events & Festivals in Thailand

Aug29

If you are happen to be there don’t miss a chance to make memories. Making them a unique experience that you can’t find from anywhere else.

Where: Chiang Rai
When: 13-15 September
What: Amazing Brew and Blend; the best coffee and tea from Thai brands and international brands are here. There are also special activities for tea and coffee lovers to enjoy.

More information at: https://www.tourismthailand.org/Events-and-Festivals/Amazing-Brew-and-Blend-Chiang-Rai–9538

 

Tone

Jul26

Tone  

Thai is tonal language, which mean the word can change the meaning based on the pitch in with you say them. There are five tones, called mid (flat), low, high, rising (valley) and falling (hill). Changes in tones result in changes in the meaning of the words.

The tone of a syllable is determined by a combination of the class of consonant, the type of syllable (open or closed), the tone marker and the length of the vowel. 

Ok… try to pronounce this word “khaa” with all tone.

You may find it difficult at first to pronounce all of the word in the correct tone but don’t give up.

It is so much fun; the best way to learn the tones at the beginning is keep repeating or copying the word you heard.

However, in Thai writing, the tones are quite clearly indicated by the use of Tone Marks (if you want to learn reading or writing).

Self Study

Jan19

                             

 It has 3 easy but important steps to learn (read&write)Thai.

     1. Memorize the Thai characters; These 44 consonants create 21 different sounds, and are divided by Class: High, Middle, and Low.

2.  Memorize the Vowels set; There are 28 traditional vowels. Vowels appear in front of, below, above, and in combination will appear surrounding a consonant.

3. Last but not least, study the tone system; Thai is a tonal language which makes it very different to Westerrn languages. Each syllable has a choice between five distinct tones: low, mid, rising, high and falling.