Distillery Breakfast: How Shan Rebels Took Phrae in 1902 Wake up early on 25 July 1902 in Phrae and the air smells like teak dust and diesel from the sawmills lining the Yom River. Walk past the market where Shan traders unload turmeric from baskets stacked on ox carts, and you will see men in … Read more
Phaya Tani: The Symbolic Cannon Taken from Patani to Bangkok In front of Thailand’s Ministry of Defence, opposite the Grand Palace in Bangkok, stands one of the most quietly controversial objects in the country. It is a huge old cannon called Phaya Tani, and although most visitors walk past it without a second glance, it … Read more
Patani: The Lost Sultanate of Thailand’s Deep South A note before you get confused: Please understand the difference between Pattani province (note the spelling) and Patani which was an independent Sultanate. Many of you who read this will have heard about the “deep south” and the ongoing problems there. This story is about the history … Read more
Anouvong Rebellion: The Last King of Vientiane vs Siam In the dry season of 1827, smoke from burning villages drifted across the Khorat Plateau like a warning. A Siamese patrol captain rode through the ashes and found something worse than empty granaries and scorched fields: the entire population was gone. Tens of thousands of Lao … Read more
The Two Sisters Who Saved Phuket: Thao Thepkasattri and Thao Sri Sunhon Every day, thousands of people drive past the big statue of two women on the road between Phuket Airport and Phuket Town. Most know it as the Heroines Monument. Fewer know the real story behind the figures; two sisters who helped turn a … Read more
Princess of Khok Phanom Di: The Woman Buried Under 121,000 Shell Beads On a quiet mound in central Thailand, archaeologists uncovered one of the most dazzling prehistoric burials ever found in Southeast Asia. Beneath layers of earth at Khok Phanom Di, a woman lay wrapped in garments stitched with more than 121,000 tiny shell beads, … Read more
The Great Franco‑Siamese Land Swap: How Borders Were Traded Like Property And Made the Thailand We Know Now It sounds like a high‑stakes real estate deal, or a colonial‑era board game — but it really happened. There were no epic battles, no glorious last stands, just pen, paper, and three treaties across 14 years. However … Read more
The Ghost Kingdom Beneath Thailand’s Feet: Inside the Lost Dvaravati Civilization. If you tell most visitors to Thailand that they’re walking through the ruins of a forgotten civilization, they’ll probably think you’re talking about Ayutthaya or Sukhothai. Those are the postcard cities. But there’s something older sitting beneath their feet that barely anyone talks about, … Read more
Seri Thai: Thailand’s Secret War Against Japan On the morning of 8 December 1941, shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Japanese troops swept ashore at several points along the Thai coast. They were moving quickly through Southeast Asia, and Thailand stood directly in their path. Thai military and police units resisted the landings in … Read more
The Mon Kingdom of Hariphunchai: Secrets of Ancient Lamphun Long before King Mangrai founded Chiang Mai or the Lanna Kingdom rose to power, the mountain-framed Ping River basin was ruled by a remarkable Mon queen. Queen Jamadevi (also spelled Chama Thewi) was a 7th-century Mon princess who marched hundreds of kilometers north from Lavo (modern-day … Read more