Features on Asian Art, Culture, History & Travel
Features
A Season In Mae Hong Son
Thailand’s "Valley Beyond The Clouds"
Nowadays it may be difficult to believe, but Siamese officials once dreaded being sent to work in Mae Hong Son, the Kingdom’s most distant - and until recently most inaccessible - province. On consideration, however, past fears of being sent to "Thailand’s Siberia" are easier to understand. Hidden in a long and narrow valley several mountain ranges beyond Chiang Mai, the region had few attractions and numerous afflictions - endemic malaria, banditry and a plethora of troublesome spirits, to name but a few.
Thai Teak
Story by Ron Emmons / CPA Media (18 December, 2021)
Teak, a hardwood synonymous with the Tropics, and native to North Thailand, has a colourful history. Here our correspondent, Ron Emmons unearths some fascinating stories.
The Rhythms of Rice
Story by Ron Emmons / CPA Media (11 August, 2021)
Throughout Southeast Asia, rice is the staple food; and yet it is more than just food – it has shaped the history, culture and economy of the entire region, and the area now known as Thailand is thought to be where it was first planted.
Thailand’s Tempting Regional Cuisines
Central Thai Food is Justly Celebrated World-Wide - But The Kingdom’s Less Well-Known Regional Cuisines Are Equally Delicious!
Just thirty years ago Thai cuisine was relatively unknown beyond the frontiers of the Kingdom and a few small ethnic enclaves, such as the Thai district of Los Angeles. The past two decades have seen a dramatic change, with Thai restaurants springing up all over the world, from Paris to Sydney, Seoul to Johannesburg. Thai has become the ‘in’ cuisine, as much on account of its healthy, low cholesterol and low fat content as for its spicy taste and elegant presentation.
Cultural Riches Of Lampang
Northern Thailand’s Historic Second City
Lampang is the second city of the Khon Muang or Northern Thai people, being, after Chiang Mai, the largest, richest and most populous city of the north. Isolated from Lamphun and Chiang Mai to the west by the Doi Khun Tan mountains, from Phayao to the east by the massive bulk of Doi Bussaracum, and from Phrae to the south-east by the Doi Khun Kiat range, the valley of Lampang is broad and fertile. As a consequence, Lampang—valley, city and people—has developed a distinctive style and culture of its own.
Timur’s Legacy
The Architecture Of Samarkand
Timur, better known in the West as Tamerlane from his nickname Timur-i-leng or “Timur the Lame”, was the last of the great nomadic warriors to sweep out of Central Asia and shake the world. As befits a man styled “World Conqueror”, we know a lot about him - and not all of it good. In 1336, at Shakhrisabz in present-day Uzbekistan, the wife of a minor chief of the Mongol Barlas clan gave birth to a son with blood-filled palms, a sure omen that the infant was predestined to cause the death of many.
Sigiriya
The "Cloud Maidens" Of Sigiriya
"Sweet girl, standing on the mountain, your teeth are like jewels, lighting the lotus of your eyes.
Talk to me gently of your heart…
Who is not happy when he sees those rosy palms, rounded shoulders, gold necklaces, copper-hued lips and long, long eyes." - Graffito, Sigiriya Mirror Wall, c. 800 AD
Coffee
The Rich History Of Coffee
For lo! the board with cups and spoons is crowned,
the berries crackle and the mill turns round;
On shining altars of Japan they raise
The silver lamp; the fiery spirits blaze:
From silver spouts the grateful liquors glide,
While China’s earth receives the smoking tide.
- Alexander Pope, The Rape of the Lock, Canto III (1714)