Thailand (Lonely Planet, 13th Edition) - China Williams [93]
Newley, have you got the tone thing down? I’m getting there! It comes naturally over time, the more you practice words, but it’s difficult, to be sure.
Other than pronunciation, what’s the hardest thing about learning a language like Thai? Newley: The lack of cognates. This doesn’t happen in Thai, of course. So memorising new words can take time.
Which language is harder, Thai or English? Khun Ju: Thai language is harder because of the tones. In Thai, the same word pronounced in different tones can have different meanings.
Newley: Thai grammar is very simple. Verbs aren’t conjugated, for example, which makes things a bit easier than learning English.
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The nearby Ancient Cloth Museum presents a beautiful collection of traditional silks and cottons that make up the royal cloth collection.
Originally built as a throne hall for Rama V in 1904, the smaller Abhisek Dusit Throne Hall is typical of the finer architecture of the era. Victorian-influenced gingerbread architecture and Moorish porticoes blend to create a striking and distinctly Thai exterior. The hall houses an excellent display of regional handiwork crafted by members of the Promotion of Supplementary Occupations & Related Techniques (SUPPORT) foundation, an organisation sponsored by Queen Sirikit.
Near the Th U-Thong Nai entrance, two large stables that once housed three white elephants – animals whose auspicious albinism automatically make them crown property – are now the Royal Elephant Museum. One of the structures contains artefacts and photos outlining the importance of elephants in Thai history and explaining their various rankings according to physical characteristics. The second stable holds a sculptural representation of a living royal white elephant (now kept at the Chitlada Palace, home to the current Thai king). Draped in royal vestments, the statue is more or less treated as a shrine by the visiting Thai public.
Because this is royal property, visitors should wear long pants (no capri pants) or long skirts and shirts with sleeves.
RAMA V MEMORIAL
A bronze figure (Map; Royal Plaza, Th U-Thong Nai; bus 70, 510) of a military-garbed leader may seem like an unlikely shrine, but Bangkokians are flexible in their expression of religious devotion. Most importantly, the figure is no forgotten general – this is Rama V (King Chulalongkorn; 1868–1910), who is widely credited for steering the country into the modern age and for preserving Thailand’s independence from European colonialism. He is also considered a champion of the common person for his abolition of slavery and corvée (the requirement that every citizen be available for state labour when called). His accomplishments are so revered, especially by the middle class, that his statue attracts worshippers (particularly on Tuesdays, the day of his birth), who make offerings of candles, flowers (predominantly pink roses), incense and bottles of whisky. The statue is also the site of a huge celebration on 23 October, the anniversary of the monarch’s death.
The domed neoclassical building behind the statue is Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall, today a part of Dusit Palace Park (Click here), which was built in the early 1900s by Italian architects in the style of European government houses. Used today for ceremonial purposes, the throne hall also hosted the first meeting of the Thai parliament until their meeting place was moved to a facility nearby. Visitors with a ticket from the Dusit Palace Park can explore the architecture of the building and view rotating exhibits.
ACTIVITIES
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Traditional Massage
A good massage is the birthright of every Bangkokian, and the joy of every visitor. Correspondingly, massage parlours are everywhere in Bangkok, and they range in quality, depending largely if they offer massage or ‘massage’. To avoid the latter, stay clear of the places in the seedier parts of town that advertise via scantily dressed women.
If it’s your first