Thailand (Lonely Planet, 13th Edition) - China Williams [668]
pík·sù – a Buddhist monk; from the Sanskrit bhikshu, Pali bhikkhu
PLAT – People’s Liberation Army of Thailand
pleng koh·râht – Khorat folk song
pleng pêu·a chee·wít – ‘songs for life’, Thai folk-rock music
ponglang – see ohng·lahng
poo kw – mountain
pôo yài bâhn – village chief
prá – an honorific term used for monks, nobility and Buddha images; spelt ‘Phra’ in proper names
prá krêu·ang – amulets of monks, Buddhas or deities worn around the neck for spiritual protection; also called prá pim
prá poom – earth spirits or guardians
prang – (rahng) Khmer-style tower on temples
prasada – blessed food offered to Hindu or Sikh temple attendees
prasat – (rah·sàht) small ornate building, used for religious purposes, with a cruciform ground plan and needlelike spire, located on temple grounds; any of a number of different kinds of halls or residences with religious or royal significance
PULO – Pattani United Liberation Organization
râi – an area of land measurement equal to 1600 sq metres
reu·a hhng yow – long-tail boat
reu·an ta·ou – longhouse
reu·se – an ascetic, hermit or sage (Hindi: rishi)
rót aa – blue-and-white air-con bus
rót ràp ah·gàht – air-con bus
rót fai fáh – Bangkok’s Skytrain system
rót fai tâi din – Bangkok’s subway system
rót norn – sleeper bus
rót tam·má·dah – ordinary (non air-con) bus or train
rót too·a – tour or air-con bus
sh·lah – open-sided, covered meeting hall or resting place; from Portuguese term sala, literally ‘room’
shm·lór – three-wheeled pedicab
shn prá poom – spirit shrine
sm·nák sng – monastic centre
sm·nák wí·àt·sà·nah – meditation centre
samsara (P) – in Buddhist teachings, the realm of rebirth and delusion
sangha – (P) the Buddhist community
satang – (sà·ahng) a Thai unit of currency; 100 satang equals 1 baht
sèe yâak – intersection, often used to give driving directions
smaa – boundary stones used to consecrate ground used for monastic ordinations
serow – Asian mountain goat
sêua môr hôrm – blue cotton farmer’s shirt
soi – lane or small street
Songkran – Thai New Year, held in mid-April
so·an ah·hhn – outdoor restaurant with any bit of foliage nearby; literally ‘food garden’
srng·ta·ou – (literally ‘two rows’) common name for small pick-up trucks with two benches in the back, used as buses/taxis; also spelt ‘swngthew’
SRT – State Railway of Thailand
stupa – conical-shaped Buddhist monument used to inter sacred Buddhist objects
sù·shn – cemetery
tâh – pier, boat landing; spelt ‘Tha’ in proper nouns
tâht – four-sided, curvilinear Buddha reliquary, common in Northeastern Thailand; spelt ‘That’ in proper nouns
tâht grà·dòok – bone reliquary, a small stupa containing remains of a Buddhist devotee
tàlàat náam – see à·làht nám
tâm – cave; spelt ‘Tham’ in proper nouns
tam bun – to make merit
tambon – see am·bon
TAT – Tourism Authority of Thailand
têt·sà·bahn – a governmental division in towns or cities much like municipality
THAI – Thai Airways International; Thailand’s national air carrier
thammájàk – Buddhist wheel of law; from the Pali dhammacakka
Thammayut – one of the two sects of Theravada Buddhism in Thailand; founded by King Rama IV while he was still a monk
thann – (tà·nn) street; spelt ‘Thanon’ in proper noun and shortened to ‘Th’
T-pop – popular teen-music
tràwk – see ròrk
trimurti (S) – collocation of the three principal Hindu deities, Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu
Tripitaka (S) – Theravada Buddhist scriptures; (Pali: Tipitaka)
tú·dong – a series of 13 ascetic practices (for example eating one meal a day, living at the foot of a tree) undertaken by Buddhist monks; a monk who undertakes such practices; a period of wandering on foot from place to place undertaken by monks
túk-túk – (úk-úk) motorised shm·lór
ùt·sà·nít – flame-shaped head ornament on a Buddha
vipassana (P) – (wí·àt·sà·nah) Buddhist insight meditation
wâi – palms-together Thai greeting
wan prá – Buddhist holy days, falling on the days of the main phases of the moon (full, new and half) each month
wang – palace
wát – temple-monastery; from