Enchanting Thailand

Enchanting Thailand

Author: Mick Shippen

Publisher: Enchanting Asia

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781906780531

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The country is home to a distinctive culture that enables old traditions to sit comfortably within a prosperous and progressive society and enrich the lives of all who visit. One of the original "Asian tiger" economies, over the past two decades Thailand has survived boom and bust, undergone recovery and more.


Introduction to Thailand

Introduction to Thailand

Author: Gilad James, PhD

Publisher: Gilad James Mystery School

Published:

Total Pages: 104

ISBN-13: 4009201460

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Thailand, also known as the Land of Smiles, is a beautiful country in Southeast Asia with a rich culture and history. Located predominantly on the Indochinese Peninsula, Thailand is bordered by Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, and Malaysia. The country has a population of approximately 69 million people, with Bangkok serving as its capital and largest city. It is known for its stunning beaches, ancient temples, delicious cuisine, bustling cities, and friendly people. Thailand is largely influenced by Buddhism, which is reflected in its culture and architecture. Thai culture is deeply rooted in traditional rituals, ceremonies, and festivals. The country is also known for its unique art forms, such as Muay Thai (Thai Boxing), traditional dance and music, and beautiful handicrafts. With its tropical climate and diverse geography, Thailand is a popular destination for tourists from around the world, with tourism being a significant contributor to the country's economy.


Capitalism Magic Thailand

Capitalism Magic Thailand

Author: Peter A Jackson

Publisher: ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute

Published: 2021-12-13

Total Pages: 381

ISBN-13: 9814951978

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By studying intersections among new cults of wealth, ritually empowered amulets and professional spirit mediumship—which have emerged together in Thailand’s dynamic religious field in recent decades—Capitalism Magic Thailand explores the conditions under which global modernity produces new varieties of enchantment. Bruno Latour’s account of modernity as a condition fractured between rationalizing ideology and hybridizing practice is expanded to explain the apparent paradox of new forms of magical ritual emerging alongside religious fundamentalism across a wide range of Asian societies. In Thailand, novel and increasingly popular varieties of ritual now form a symbolic complex in which originally distinct cults centred on Indian deities, Chinese gods and Thai religious and royal figures have merged in commercial spaces and media sites to sacralize the market and wealth production. Emerging within popular culture, this complex of cults of wealth, amulets and spirit mediumship is supported by all levels of Thai society, including those at the acme of economic and political power. New theoretical frameworks are presented in analyses that challenge the view that magic is a residue of premodernity, placing the dramatic transformations of cultic ritual centre stage in modern Thai history. It is concluded that modern enchantment arises at the confluence of three processes: neoliberal capitalism’s production of occult economies, the auraticizing effects of technologies of mass mediatization, and the performative force of ritual in religious fields where practice takes precedence over doctrine.


Enchanting Phuket, Samui and Krabi

Enchanting Phuket, Samui and Krabi

Author: Mick Shippen

Publisher: Enchanting Asia

Published: 2015-01-15

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781909612181

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Phuket Island and Krabi on the west coast of southern Thailand and Samui in the Gulf of Thailand offer an idyllic combination of a sunny climate, stunning beaches, lively nightlife and extraordinary natural beauty. Enchanting Phuket, Samui & Krabi takes an illustrated tour of the region introducing the best inland sites to visit and the most exciting beaches, both for those who want to chill out and those who want to party.


Historical Dictionary of Thailand

Historical Dictionary of Thailand

Author: Gerald W. Fry

Publisher: Scarecrow Press

Published: 2013-08-08

Total Pages: 712

ISBN-13: 081087525X

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Throughout its history, Thailand has shown remarkable resiliency, adaptability, and creativity in responding to serious threats and crises, and this since much earlier times when it was known as Siam. This book, while focusing on the modern period, does reach back to ancient kingdoms but also shows the impressive rise to a modern democracy, although still endowed with a king, and even more impressively, an economic “tiger.” Moreover, it has become a prime tourist destination and is thus known to vast numbers of foreigners as a sort of “instant Asia.” The Historical Dictionary of Thailand, now in its third edition, covers this amazing story in various ways. First, the chronology traces the most significant events from year to year. The introduction then provides a good overview of the land and people, the history and traditions, and where it now seems to be heading. The dictionary, which by now has hundreds of detailed and cross-referenced entries, looks more closely at important persons, places, institutions and events as well as more generally its politics, economy, society, culture and religion. So this is an excellent reference work not only for scholars but many others who have visited the country and were fascinated by it.


Thailand

Thailand

Author: Maurizio Peleggi

Publisher: Reaktion Books

Published: 2007-05-30

Total Pages: 260

ISBN-13: 1861894600

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Tourist brochures and travel guides depict Thailand as an exotic country with a rich cultural heritage, strong religious traditions, and a popular monarchy. Historians also contribute to Thailand’s international allure with chronicles of its unique historical and cultural continuity in comparison to the other southeast Asian countries, whose histories are stained by colonialism and nationalist struggles for independence. Thailand challenges these stereotypes with a reinterpretation as well as an introduction to the emergence of Thailand as a nation-state. The book argues that the development of Thai nationhood was a long-term process shaped by interactions with the outside world, its pursuit of civilization, and, more recently, globalization. Maurizio Peleggi’s original account investigates, among other issues, the evolution of the geographical and linguistic landscapes, changes in class and gender relations, the role of institutions and ideologies, modern cultural expressions, social memory, and the conception of the Thai national self as contrasted against the racial and cultural Others of Burmese, Chinese and Westerners. Thailandis a concise and compelling introduction to the complexities that lie behind Thailand’s exotic facade.