What is "Rama"?

I believe most travelers in Bangkok have heard of the word "Rama" such as "Rama 4", "Rama 9" or etc.

So what is "Rama"?
Rama or Phra Ram is the name of a character in an epic, Ramayana. Rama is the 7th avatar of Vishnu, the supreme god in Hinduism.

"The kings in the current Chakri dynasty of Thailand are often referred to as Rama followed by Roman ordinal in English translation. The name Rama was adopted from the name of the Hindu god Rama, a reincarnation of Vishnu." -- from wikipedia

For the current dynasty, Chakri Dynasty, that has ruled Thailand since the founding of Rattanakosin era in 1782 now has had 9 kings.

• Buddha Yodfa Chulalok the Great (Rama I)
(1782-1809)
• Buddha Loetla Nabhalai (Rama II)
(1809-1824)
• Jessadabodindra (Rama III)
(1824-1851)
• Mongkut (Rama IV)
(1851-1868)
• Chulalongkorn the Great (Rama V)
(1868-1910)
• Vajiravudh (Rama VI)
(1910-1925)
• Prajadhipok (Rama VII)
(1925-1935)
• Ananda Mahidol (Rama VIII)
(1935-1946)
• Bhumibol Adulyadej the Great (Rama IX)
(1946-present)

Where can you find the word "Rama"?

1. Roads in Bangkok

• Rama I or Phra Ram 1
• Rama II or Phra Ram 2
• Rama III or Phra Ram 3
• Rama IV or Phra Ram 4
• Rama V or Phra Ram 5
• Rama VI or Phra Ram 6
• Rama IX or Phra Ram 9

2. Bridges in Bangkok

• Rama III Bridge or Saphan Phra Ram 3
• Rama IV Bridge or Saphan Phra Ram 4
• Rama V Bridge or Saphan Phra Ram 5
• Rama VI Bridge or Saphan Phra Ram 6
• Rama VII Bridge or Saphan Phra Ram 7
• Rama VIII Bridge or Saphan Phra Ram 8
• Rama IX Bridge or Saphan Phra Ram 9

Rama III Bridge

Rama IV Bridge

Rama VIII Bridge

Rama IX Bridge


all the photos on this post is from wikipedia

Bangkok Cleaning Day at Ratchaprasong

On Sunday May 23, 2010, I had an opportunity to help clean Bangkok at the protest site. Red shirt incident is a very well-known news throughout the world as you can see news about it on many popular newspapers or websites.

The red shirts first came out, I mean for this incident, on March 12, 2010. At first they set up their stage at Phanfah Bridge which is not far from the well-known Khao Sarn Road. In the beginning of Arpil they moved to Ratchaprasong intersection, the business key area, and had been there till the end of the crackdown by the government.

After let them take the intersection for over a month, the government decided to start its crackdown on May 17 by declaring the whole week as holidays. I sat in front of the TV all day at home to watch the news to see what had been and would be happening. The CRES (Centre for the Resolution of Emergency Situations) often showed up on TV and had speech. They warned all the red shirt people to go home by 3pm of Tuesday May 18, and that was the deadline the CRES gave them before the crackdown started. Things turned out that many red shirts were still there but yet many of them decided to be sent home.

On May 19, some of the leaders decided to turn themselves in to the authority and that caused a serious anger to some members among them who later fought with the troops and burned down the city. A big shopping, Central World or CTW which was once called World Trade Center, was burned down. Some other buildings in that area were burned down as well.

That night the CRES declared a curfew in Bangkok, which later has extended till now.

Anyway, things seemed to be more quiet after that night. I wished so much to go to the site and see it with my own eyes. And lucky me, the BTS announced that its service would be opened on Sunday 23 May, and would stop at every stations except Ratdamri. And I also heard that BMA, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, invited everyone to join and help clean that area. I thought of it as a very good opportunity to go there and take pictures.

That day I arrived Chidlom BTS station around noon and saw many people were there already cleaning the area. I walked to the intersection and took many pictures along the way. Some malls near there got destroyed a little and some got a lot. The CTW got damaged a lot. I walked close to it and took many pictures.

A woman there gave me a broom so I helped clean the road for a bit and then walked to Siam Theater to see how much it got damaged. I could not believe my eyes. The whole theater got burned down and also some stores next to it. I still could smell the ash in the air and see some smoke coming out from the builings.

Well, its hard for me to explain but I have many pictures I took to share here.

I also posted a story at iReport on CNN site as you can see it here, Big Cleaning Day in Bangkok at Ex Protest Site

See more photos here, Bangkok Cleaning Day

Driving Scooter around Bangkok [3]: Sapan Lek Square

The next day we went to Pirom Plaza or Sapan Lek. If you like toys, its right place to go to. Plenty of toys there with cheap price; figures, plastic models, PSP, RC helicopters, BB guns, etc.

We went there once for keroro models. I found some old keroro models there which I couldnt find anywhere else. I found many PSP stores with cheap price. I found many bb gun stores. I was interested in having it so we went back there to get one.

I got KSC glock 19 for 5300 baht, bullets, gas and silicon included. Man it looked so real, the weight, the look, everything.

I have some photos belows.

related stories:

• Driving Scooter around Bangkok [1]: Emerald Temple and Wat Pho
• Driving Scooter around Bangkok [2]: Golden Mountain, China Town and Sampheng
  

Driving Scooter around Bangkok [2]: Golden Mountain, China Town and Sampheng

The next day I told my boyfriend to ride to the Golden Mountain. WE missed it the day before. I didnt want to climb up the mountain when I was in pants, neither did he. We rode pass the China Town. The traffic there was terrible. But he knew how to ride scooter in Bangkok, we passed that area quickly. Well I was wondering how it would be about him an the scooter in Bangkok. The traffic here is always crazy but he learnt how to drive like thai people so fast. If you wanna see how the traffic here is you can visit his blog, he writes about living in thailand as well.

The Golden Mountain is not far from Wat Phra Kaew or Kaosarn Road. You can buy Bangkok map at any book store but you will certainly find the english version at Asia Books. I have been living in Bangkok for more than 10 years but this was my first time going there.

The Golden Mountain is in Saket temple. It was built in 1787 A.D. (Ayutthaya era). The mountain has 100 meters height. You can climb up to the Chedi by using the stairs which there are 2 sides, north and souths, 344 steps for each side.

When you climb up to the to the top you will see a small room with a smaller pagodah containg Buddha's relics in the inside. Not far from there you will see the stair to climb up to the very top with a sign says something like "to heaven". After you take those stairs to the heaven you can look down from up there to see the whole area of the temple, yeah its a big temple, and you can also see the Bangkok as well. Sorry I didnt take many photos there :(.

Man I thought I was dying when i was climbing up the stairs!!

After that we left to Chinatown or Yaowarat. The traffic was bad so we parked the scooter somewhere beside the road and walk to the shopping area. The shark fin and bird nest are popular there. Plenty of food there such as fish belly, crabs, ducks, goose, shark fins, birs nest, chestnuts, etc. We agreed to come back at night for dinner.

We walked in the street to see what was inside and wow there was a huge market, lots of stores! I then knew that we were at Sampheng, a big shopping area with cheap prize. We walked around that area for an hour or so but still couldnot explore the whole market.

We came back there at night for dinner. We walked around and couldnot find any spicy food so we left there and headed to Saun Lumpini Night Bazaar.

related stories:

• Driving Scooter around Bangkok [1]: Emerald Temple and Wat Pho
• Driving Scooter around Bangkok [3]: Sapan Lek Square

Driving Scooter around Bangkok [1]: Emerald Temple and Wat Pho

This time my boyfriend arrived on Saturday 25th of July and was gonna stay for 2 weeks. I took 3rd-5th off plus the weekend so we had 5 days to spend together. We went to Pattaya but I will write about it later in another entry. We didnt take a trip to a far place like we did and decided to take a tour in Bangkok.

My boyfriend bought a scooter on the thirs day he was here so we had a good vehicle to explore Bangkok. Well actually driving scooter in Bangkok is quite dangerous, from crazy traffic, and you can easily do something against the traffic law.

My boyfriend got stopped by the police twice and was fined, I was with him once, for driving in a wrong lane. I can tell you that its hard to know where you can or cannot drive. No sigh at all. I told him that I believed he would have to pay more before he knew the scooter driving system in Bangkok.

The first place we went to is a temple that belongs to the palace, Emerald Temple or Wat Phra Kaew. If you want to go there, there are some rule that you should know:

For men:

• always in polite pants, no shorts allowed
• no sandals allowed

For women:

• always in pants or skirt, no shorts or short skirt allowed
• no sandals allowed
• do not wear shirt that exposes your shoulder

We got there almost at noon so we stopped for lunch by the river and then we walked to the temple. Thai people were hardly seen there, but so many foreingers. The fee is 350 baht but for foreigners only. My boyfriend had to wait in the line to by the ticket whlie I was ready to get in with no ticket!

On the wall of the temple you will see pictures which are from an old story 'Ramayana', a story of a fight between giants and human. Well that is what I remember from school class which is long time ago. I mightbe wrong about the story. :p

The name of the temple in thai is 'Wat Phra Kaew' and you can call it 'Emerald Temple' in english. The temple belongs to the palace which is always used when there is a very important ceremony of the king and his family. Taking photos is are not allowed in some area.

We took like an hour or so there at Wat Phra Kaew and after that we drove the scooter to Wat Pho which is across the road. Wat Pho is one among old temples, it was believed that it was built in Ayutthaya era, (Wat Phra Kaew was built in B.E. 2325 or A.D. 1782). There is a hugelaying buddha there. I have no idea how big is that. I asked my boyfriend if he knew how big it is and he said "its huge!".

After we left Wat Pho we went to a place near China Town called "Pirom Plaza". It is a place with lots of toys for sale. Man I really love that place! I got a bb gun glock 19 from there which I will write about later.

At night we rode the scooter to Kaosarn Road for dinner. Sorry that I didnt take any photos there. I was curious how Kaosarn Road would be at night. I went to Pattaya and spent Saturday night there at a hotel near the "crazy road". It was so crazy at night with lots of people and girls dancing in the pole. It was tolly different at Kaosarn Road. It was like a food area. Plenty of food. We sat at a food stand and had thai spicy food.

That was all for us for that day. The nex day we went to the Golden Mountain, the only mountain in Bangkok!

related stories:

• Driving Scooter around Bangkok [2]: Golden Mountain, China Town and Sampheng
• Driving Scooter around Bangkok [3]: Sapan Lek Square

Feed Tons of big fishes at Makham Temple!

Wat Makham or Makham Temple is one of the place I like. When I go there my goal is always to feed the fishes there. The temple is located by Chao Phraya river. They built a big raft for people to sit and relax and sell fish food to feed the fishes.

Makham temple is located in Pathumthani province, only 15 minutes by car from my house and very close to bangkok. There tons of fishes in the river at the raft. You can feed them all day. They never have enough. The biggest fishes you will find there is Stripped Catfish, the smaller are carp, some other kinds of catfishes, and so on. There is also a market there with plenty of food. If you are hungry you can sit at one of the restaurants by the river and enjoy your lunch.

Khao Din: The Zoo for everyone

This popular, government-owned zoo opened in 1954. Considered both a public park and a place for recreation, Dusit Zoo occupies a land area of 35-acres and a water area of 12-acres. Apart from the animals there is plenty of scope for other activities, or just relaxation. As with most zoos, the fun is watching the smiles on the faces of the children, as they see the giraffes amble along with their awkward gait and the monkeys showing off their dexterous acrobatics. It also houses a 70-year-old crocodile, chimpanzees, Asian elephants, birds and fish. Visit the website for further details.

Above is the overview about Khao Din or Dusit Zoo. I went there when I was a kid and seems like the last time I went there was a year ago. When I was in hi school I passed this zoo everyday, twice a day. It is very old and it is also the firs zoo in Thailand. It is very cheap to get in, 50 baht for adult and 10 for kid. I dont know about the entrance fee for foreigner.

Aside from animals, there are still boats for rent, a small amusement park for kids and shows, elephant and Acrobatic Kenys Boys.


The last time my mom, dad, sister, nephew and me went there together. Actually we took my nephew there. He went there a few times and knind of remember about everything in it.

If you are gonna have lunch there, I suggest you bring it from home. There are not many restaurants. There is a KFC but always crowded. Hardly to find seat. There is a car park in there so you can take your car and dont have to worry about where to park it. Traveling by bus is also very convenient as well. When I was studying in the school near there, I always took a bus number 28 and 108 from Victory Monument. They both passed the zoo and there was a bus stop in front of it. Not sure if there is any change or not.

Songkran: Water Battle at Khao Sarn and Silom Road!

I think many foreigners have heard about Songkran. If you have not, im gonna write about it now.

Songkran is an anual festival from April 13-15, which is the hottest time of the year in Thailand. About 60-70 years ago, Songkran was to celebrate Thai New Year which was on April 1. We celebrate these 3 days by throwing or shooting water to other people. You can get other people wet and they dont get mad at you. But you should not throw the water at the vendors who is working in that area or people who is in the work suit and going to work. And also should not throw the ice or dirty water to the other.

People here always take this chance to come back to their hometown to visit their family. I think it is similar to the Christmas that you come back home to visit your parents, grandparents or any other relatives.

I'm gonna talk about my experience with Songkran of this year now. I had a long weekend from 11-15 and then was extended to 19. If you still remember, there was the protest by the red shirt protestors during that time. I was watching the news about the situation in Bangkok to see if we could go out for Songkran or not. Well, the situation seemed bad, the protesters took some areas and took some public buses and burnt them. However, it was my boyfriends first time with Songkran so he wanted to join it.

We took the taxi to Khao Sarn road, the famous place for the festival. All the taxi drivers said no but we still had hope and finally got one who was willing to drive us there.

Khao Sarn is a place that you can see many foreigners and it is always one of the best places for celebrating Songkran. It is always very crowded there. And yep, I forgot to tell you one thing. You should not bring anything you dont want it to get wet like mobile phone or camera with you. It will get damaged by the water.

On 13th of April we took a taxi from the apartment at silom to Khao Sarn. It was not far at all. On the way we saw a burning bus right in front of us. Oh man we were very close to the red shirt area.

People at Khao Sarn were less than I expected. I went there 2-3 years ago and it was very crowded. Actually the situation about the protest prevented people from coming out. However, there were many people there. We enjoyed shooting water and got wet by the other there for a couple hours. During that time, the road was closed and police kept telling us to go back from where we were because it was very close to the red shirt area. Seemed like nobody listened to them and still walked around there.

After we ate, we agreed to come home. We walked to the burning bus for pictures and behind the bus we saw a group of the red shirt people with another buring bus and some buses they took to block the road. We walked there and took some photos.

We took a taxi back to the apartment. The taxi driver dropped us at Silom road. Wow it was very crowded there! Much more people than at Khao Sarn. The road was full of people and the car couldnt get in. Its why the taxi dropped us there. We had to walk along the Silom Road back to the apartment. The next battle had begun!!

A trip to an ancient city and monkey town [2]

The next day we woke up early and walked to the train station to take a train to Lopburi. We got to Lopburi in an hour later. We got a/c this time.

Lopburi is a small city with ruined buildings like temple or palace. Once you get there by train you can hire Tuk Tuk, motorbike taxi or Sam lor to explore the city. Start from the train station you can travel in circle to visit the ruined place there.

After we got out of Lopburi train station, we saw a big ruined temple. We walked across the street to the temple, Wat Prasrirattanamahathat. That was the first place we visited in Lopburi.

After we got out of the temple there was an old man waiting for us and offered us a Sam Lor ride around the city for 200 or 300 baht. It must be hard work for him!!

In Ayutthaya era, there was a king named Narai had the second house there. It's called Narai Ratchaniwet Palace.

We had been to 2-3 places but never saw any monkeys yet. Then we saw one running in front of the building and we took pictures of him. Once we got to Pra Prang Samyod, we saw lots of them there. It was like the big house of monkeys. We bought some monkey food from a boy there. He gave us a tour around the place and told us how to feed the monkeys.

After that we walked to San Prakarn, where the monkey god was. We hardly saw monkeys there but there was a monkey sitting there eating boiled eggs but he ate only the yolk and threw the white away. Before we got to San Prakarn, we saw a big group of monkeys walking across the road.

After we were done, we went back to the train station. We got the standee tickets and no a/c. When we got back to the hotel in Ayutthaya we cleaned ourselves and were ready to leave. We checked out almost at 5 pm and took the train back to Bangkok.

We took lots of photos from there. It was a good place for photos!

Related Article:

• A trip to an ancient city and monkey town [1]

A trip to an ancient city and monkey town [1]

There are many ancient cities in Thailand, Ayutthaya, Lopburi, Kanchanaburi, Sukhothai and so on. I dont know how many exactly ancient cities we have here. I have been to fews of them.

And the trip Im gonna write about here today is a trip to Ayutthaya and Lopburi, 2 different provinces. Ayutthaya is an hour away from Bangkok and Lopburi is another hour away from Ayutthaya.

We decided to take the train trip. On Friday 20th of March after, we went to Rangsit train station which is not far from my house. We got to the station at 7 pm. I asked for 2 a/c seat but the ticket guy gave us free ones and said it would come soon so we didnt have to wait long. Because it was only one hour away we got it. The train was crowded and we stood till we got to Ayutthaya at 9 pm.

We walked to the hotel where I stayed there before, Krungsri River. It only hundreds meters away from the train station. We aksed them to check in for 2 nights. The next day we took Tuk Tuk in front of the hotel to the scooter place. We rented a scooter for a day for 300 baht and then rode it around the town.

As shown in the map, you will see the island which was the Kingdom of Krungsri Ayutthaya hundreds years ago. The train station is outside of the island and also the hotel we stayed in.

The first place we went to was the ancient city. We parked the scooter at the market in the Phra Sri Sanphet temple. We had breakfast there. Yep, Ka Prao Gai with Kai Dow. You will see lots of food there.

After breakfast we went to the temple. There was a big golden statue of Buddha there. Outsite the temple was the big ancient city. I have never explored the whole area cause it was always hot and I think if you wanna walk around that place you will have to spend more than an hour.

See more photos here and here.

When we were done, we moved to the other temple near there. On the way we saw people riding an elephant. Looked fun!

The next place we were gonna go was a temple with the big laying Buddha. The temple was outside of the island. We rode across the river and got to the temple, Wat Yai Chai Monkol.

That place was the last place for us for that day. After that we went back to the hotel to clean ourselves and then drove the scooter to the town for dinner and to return the scooter. We took Tuk Tuk back and rest for the next adventure we were gonna have the next day.

Related Article:

• A Driving Trip from Bangkok to Krabi [2]