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June 23, 2011

Pattaya, Chonburi, Thailand

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , — Owen Jones @ 3:27 pm

Pattaya is a city constructed for fun on the northeastern coast of the Gulf of Thailand. It is located in Chonburi Province around 150 kilometres south of Bangkok. In the Sixties, Pattaya was hardly known, yet the American soldiers fighting in Vietnam started using it for R&R and it started to boom. Pattaya is most famous for its entertainment and its nightlife, yet in fact it has a lot more than that to offer.

As far as only sport goes, Pattaya offers horse riding, swimming, diving, wind surfing, golf, tennis and jet skiing among others. However, unlike most sporting towns or cities, it does not start to go to sleep when the sun goes down.

The bars, restaurants, discos and strip bars begin to open in profusion at around four o’clock. The bars are of each persuasion to suit each niche market.

There are Welsh bars, American bars, Irish bars, Lady Boy bars and each other type of bar you can think of. Likewise with the restaurants, there are specialized restaurants for each country. There are bush game restaurants, Chinese, Japanese, American, French, German and fish restaurants. In fact there are thousands of restaurants and bars all trying to become unique.

I am sure that you could stay in Pattaya for months without going the same bar or eating the same sort of food twice. This is just as well because there are representatives from each country in the world there as well. You will hear English, Russian and every European and Asian language spoken in Pattaya on a regular basis.

Pattaya receives over one million visitors a year. Most of these visitors are men, and the local government is attempting to do more to appeal to women and families by relocating the girlie bars back away from the beach.

Despite it being quite large, you can stay in your favourite part of Pattaya yet find nearly everything you desire near-by. However, if you do have to get about, nothing could be simpler. Most individuals merely hop on a ‘Baht Bus’. These small open-backed pick-ups can be seen going around the city by quite predictable routes when you understand the layout of the city.

The ‘fixed fare’ is ten Baht for as far as you want to go on the route, although some drivers will endeavor to trick more out of you if you go a long distance. Thais pay five Baht. If you do not feel confident enough to predict where the bus is going, you could get on one of the thousands of motorcycle taxis.

They are dearer at about forty to sixty Baht, but they will go anywhere you like. Get a quote before you set off to avoid disappointment on both sides. If you do not want to hire a car, there are other alternatives. You could hire a motorcycle or motorbike. A motorcycle costs around 100 Baht a day at the cheapest, but beware the traffic in Pattaya it can be fairly chaotic.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on several topics, but is now involved with Songkran – the old Thai New Year. If you would like to know more, please visit our website at Package Holidays to Thailand.

June 2, 2011

Buddhism And The Main Buddhist Sects

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , — Owen Jones @ 3:01 pm

Following Buddha’s death in 483 BC, his closest followers (his disciple monks) took time off their preaching to compile his sermons (sutras) and his regulations (vinayas). In the old convention of Buddha, monks initially walked the countryside preaching and teaching for nine months of the year and went to sit out the monsoon period in a retreat for three months.

These retreats became monasteries and temples. This withdrawal into monasteries was important in the development of various interpretations of Buddha’s doctrines and in due course led to the formation of different sects which gained popularity in different parts of Asia.

There are three foremost Buddhist sects: Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana or Tantric Buddism.

Theravada Buddhism is the principal sect in Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand and is the sect that stays most faithful to Buddha’s original teachings. Theravada Buddhism teaches that the path to the attainment of personal Nirvana is the aim of life. It is a very individualistic religion in that everybody is alone on their own path to enlightenment.

Mahayana Buddism grew into the largest sect and spread along the Silk Road from India through China to east Asia beginning in about 200 BC. Mahayana Buddhists worship Buddha and the Buddhist saints (bodhisattvas – meaning ‘wisdom beings’).

Bodhisattvas are beings that restrain themselves from attaining Nirvana (and therefore leaving the wheel of life or cycle of birth, death and reincarnation) so that they may help others achieve Nirvana, which is a major difference between it and Theravada Buddhism.

Mahayana Buddhism is more readily absorbed by different cultures than the other forms which accounts for it having spread so far. The Buddhist emperor Ashoka (272-232 BC) gave Mahayana a huge boost in popularity by despatching missionaries to Sri Lanka, south-east Asia and China from where it was taken to Korea and Japan in the Sixth Century anno domini.

Zen Buddhism grew in popularity in Japan and China in the Seventh Century. Zen Buddhism is a variant of Mahayana Buddhism and teaches that Nirvana can be achieved through mental conditioning and meditation.

Vajrayana or Tantric Buddhism arose in the Seventh Century as well and is most common in Tibet and Mongolia. Vajrayana Buddhism tries to identify the initiate with a visualized deity. Tantric cannon includes esoteric writings, teaching that meditation can engage the mind by the use of mantras (chants), mudras (hand gestures) and mandalas (visible icons). The Dalai Lama is the spiritual and temporal head of Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhists.

Buddhism reached its height of popularity in China during the T’ang dynasty in the Ninth Century, when it was partially suppressed by royal command. Likewise Zen attained its height of popularity in the Nineteen Century when the Japanese royal family switched to Shintoism taking many of the royal hangers-on with it. Buddhism declined in India as well in the Eighth Century because lots of its concepts were absorbed into Hinduism. Buddism was to all intents and purposes extinct in India by the Thirteenth Century.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece writes on many subjects but is at present concerned with Easter.If you would like to read more, please go over to our web site entitled Celebrating Easter

May 9, 2011

How To Grow Orchids Thai Style

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , — Owen Jones @ 8:30 am

Orchids have the reputation of being difficult to grow in the West. Gardeners shy away from trying to grow them because they think that they are a problem to grow and because they are expensive. This is easily understood, but there is more to the story than that. The fact is that most countries have their own native orchid species, so it is possible to grow orchids wherever you live, if you pick the right species.

The other side of the coin is that what most people in the West think of as orchids are orchids from exotic countries and they can be a problem to grow. I say difficult to grow, but that is not the whole story either. If you can create an environment comparable to where the orchids come from, it need not be difficult at all.

A lot of the spectacular orchids are parasites, like mistletoe is a parasite plant in the temperate countries of the West. These orchids often grow on trees. In trees and on trees, that is. So, their natural environment is to become attached to the bark of a living tree or to get lodged in the fork of a branch.

The orchid will then draw its nutrients and water from the inside of its host much in the same way as does a flea or a bed bug. Another thing to be aware of is that if a plant lives under the canopy of a tree, it seldom, if ever, experiences direct sunlight. Wooded areas are also fairly humid. It is also worth mentioning that exotic plants usually come from warm or hot countries.

Therefore, if you can recreate these conditions of providing warmth, humidity and a host, growing foreign orchids should not become that much of a problem. And in truth, it is not, although in the West it might necessitate a greenhouse.

Thailand is home to numerous parasitic orchids, most of which grow on trees in the forests, which are warm to hot and humid, but most people do not live in those conditions. Most Thais live in either open villages or cities where conditions are not favorable to growing jungle orchid varieties. However, most Thai gardeners do not want or even have greenhouses.

Instead, if a Thai gardener is interested in nurturing jungle orchid species, he or she will purchase (or acquire) the root complex of a dead tree which also has a tree stump of, say, a metre attached. They will then move this tree stump in to a very shady position, say, under a canopy and grow their wild jungle orchids on that.

How is that done?, you may ask. Well, it is actually simplicity itself. First you get hold of a sample of the orchid and then you attach it to the stump with a ‘strap’ of something that will both allow the orchid to grow and to breathe. Most Thais use some of the fibres from inside a coconut.

The gardener will strap the baby orchid to the stump using the coconut matting as a band-aid with either staples or small nails. By the time the orchid has buried its roots into the host, the matting will have rotted away, as will probably the staples.

The only thing left to do is to keep the tree and the baby flower well watered so that it can suck the remaining nutrients out of the dead tree. They will thrive for numerous years under these conditions and the tree stump will be a living flower pot, of sorts.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on numerous subjects, but is now involved with Loy Krathong. If you would like to know more, please visit our web site at Package Holidays to Thailand.

April 20, 2011

The Profession Of Landscape Architecture In Thailand

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — Owen Jones @ 3:18 am

Landscape architecture plays an important function in the development of all contemporary cities. The principles of landscape architecture are used in order to create open ‘breathing spaces’ so the city has some fresh air and does not look cluttered. Landscape architecture is taught in Thailand and is acknowledged as a profession offering professional qualifications at degree level.

If someone wants to practice as a landscape architect in Thailand, then he or she has to have a bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture from one of the two universities offering the course. Chulalongkorn University and Thammasart University turn out around 100 post graduates between them in landscape architecture each year.

Bangkok is home to most of Thailand’s landscape architectural companies. There are around thirty substantial businesses and about eighty freelance landscape architects.Lots of the post graduates would like to continue their study or gain more experience abroad before settling down to practice in Thailand. In order to work as a landscape architect in Thailand, one needs to obtain a license from Thailand’s official Association of Architects.

The Thai Association of Architects plays an vital role in maintaining standards of landscape architecture. The Thai government, both local and national, use landscape architects to help with the design of such projects as motorway development, inner city reconstruction and airport design. On a more understandable level, landscape architects are involved with the Royal Flora Expo in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand.

The Association of Architects in Thailand is a private organization but it works hand in glove with the Ministry of the Interior. It assists the government regulate four professions which can have an effect on the environment and one of these is the occupation of landscape architecture. However, landscape architecture does not make up 25% of the Association’s work. At 15% of the association’s workload, it is fair to imagine that landscape architecture is under represented in Thailand.

The Association of Architects issues licenses to applicants based on the results of three principles. These concepts are education, experience and examination. The principle of education is satisfied by gaining a BA in landscape architecture. Then the applicant has to provide proof of work experience and finally, the association has its own examinations which the landscape architect also has to succeed in.

Landscape architecture is still in its infancy in Thailand. That is to say that, landscape architecture has merely recently started being applied to public developments. There have been landscape gardeners working on the gardens and palaces of rich Thais for centuries, just like in each other country with a wealthier ruling class.

Two of Thailand’s most well-known landscape architects are Somwang Leevanjikul and Chanvudhi Varavam, both of whom have been used in substantial government projects in Thailand using their skills in landscape architecture to create Thailand’s cities and countryside a better looking place to be.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on numerous topics, but is now concerned with Loy Krathong. If you would like to know more, please visit our web site at Package Holidays to Thailand.

November 15, 2010

Thailand Or The Land Of Smiles

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — Owen Jones @ 7:40 am

Thailand is the most well-liked tourist destination in South-East Asia and has been for decades. This is because the climate varies throughout the year from hot to cool and even cold, if you would like to look for it; Thai food is world-renowned; the range of wildlife is broad as is the flora; the diving is fantastic and the people are friendly and hospitable. Thailand is not known as the Land of Smiles for nothing.

There are also a great deal of festivals, some of which are religious, which equals Buddhist, and others are not. Thailand has been Buddhist ever since the country came into being in the Thirteen Century, but the people were Buddhist long before that. Or at least the majority of them were. There were also throw-backs to older religions the same as in the West.

In the West Christmas and Easter were moved to cover up pagan festivals, but in Thailand they simply have the old festivals as well. One of the biggest festivals is Loy Krathong in November (the first full moon in the twelfth lunar month). Loy Krathong is a charming festival to appease the goddess or water, Ganga, for using and abusing (polluting) her.

These days, people still remember the old significance of Loy Krathong (‘Floating Boats’), but it has been taken adopted by lovers too. People float symbolic boats out onto the water and ask the goddess to forgive them and to grant a wish. Lovers push their boats out together and numerous people believe that if the boats, krathong, float out side-by-side then they will have a trouble-free year together.

Numerous women don traditional Thai costumes for the evening, particularly if they are going out for a meal or to a party. Some men do too, but not so many.

Also in November is the world-famous Elephant roundup in Surin. The elephant roundup is also well-liked with foreigners and Thais alike. The city of Surin is full on this weekend so if you want to go it is worth booking your hotel with your travel ticket otherwise you may be stranded. Not that it is cold or likely to rain.

Bridge Over the River Kwae week is in November. The bridge is a moving reminder of the horror that prisoners of war from all around the world underwent at the hands of the Japanese overlords at the time. More Thais died than foreigners although Thailand was thought of as ‘friendly’ by the occupying Japanese.

In December it is the King’s birthday and Fathers’ Day on the 5th. The king is very extremely well esteemed in Thailand and many people will light candles in their garden on the roadside to the king in the early evening. This is a very pretty sight, particularly in the villages where street lighting is normally negligible. Constitution Day is on the 10th and is a bank holiday, which usually means a celebration.

Christmas is celebrated in the cities by tourists, ex-pats and young Thais although it has no real religious significance outside the Christian churches in the larger cities.

New Year’s Day is huge. There are parties that will last all night, dancing, feasting and fireworks.

Thailand is a great place to come to in November and December and although it is considered high season, I am sure that you will find it cheaper to come on vacation to Thailand – The Land of Smiles – than it is to remain at home in the cold.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on numerous topics, but is now concerned with Loy Krathong. If you would like to know more, please visit our web site at Package Holidays to Thailand.

May 4, 2010

Spitting Cobras

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — Owen Jones @ 5:10 pm

The spitting cobra is one of the most peculiar species of snake as it not only has a deadly bite but it also sprays venom into the eyes of prey and aggressors alike. Contact with the eyes can be very painful and even blinding, therefore, if you accidentally get cobra snake venom in your eyes, wash them out immediately so as to prevent permanent damage to the tissue.

The King Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) is also unusual in this large family of snakes (elapidae) because it feeds almost exclusively on other snakes with mice and small birds also making up part of its diet.

The King Cobra sets another record in terms of size: it can get to nearly twenty feet long, which makes it the largest venomous snake in the world. The most recent discovery of a new cobra species was made in 2003, when a specimen was identified at a London Zoo as part of an illegal shipment of exotic pets.

DNA studies revealed that this new species of snake is similar to the red spitting cobra but has different genes. It seems to originate from an area between Sudan and Egypt and it has been called the ‘Nubian Spitting Cobra’.

Though highly dangerous when it is threatened cobras will not attack if you leave them alone, although the spit is very accurate for about two meters. Compared to the strike of a rattlesnake, the cobra is fairly slow in its attack and furthermore, many bites prove to be blank, that is without venom.

A study conducted on Malaysian cobra snake victims indicates that only 55% of the wounds involved venom release and the same statistics indicate a mortality rate of 10% for people bitten, since the toxins injected into the blood of the prey devastate the nerves (neurotoxin) inducing respiratory failure half an hour after being bitten, giving you 30 minutes to seek an antidote.

The colouration is variable from light green-grey to black, while juveniles are yellow and black banded. This snake can find a habitat all over south-eastern Asia.

Are you interested in the Cobras? To learn more about snakes visit Caring for Snakes our new web site. Visit the Uber Article Directory to get a totally unique version of this article for reprint.

December 16, 2009

Porsche 977 Carrera Sports Car

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — Colin Jones @ 5:12 pm

A new Porsche 911 is always intriguing because it’s exciting to see how after more than 40 years of development the Porsche team still manages to bring alterations and advancements to this iconic exemplar.

The new 997 blends the silky modern appearance of the 996 series with the popular retro styling of the older 911′s. The front end is finished with round lamps and separate parking/fog/indicator lights. This modification, combined with broader hips resembles the last of the air-cooled 911′s, the 993. Other changes in the body shell are the new door handles, wing mirrors and the smart cut of the rear wings into the bumper/lights.

Even if the 997 looks a lot like the preceding model, the 996, the new car is in point of fact 38mm wider which makes for a more forceful look. With each new model brought out, Porsche has tried to reduce the drag co-efficient helping the 911 glide through the air more efficiently thereby aiding performance. The same thing has been done with the new car, and if we compare the 993 Cd of 0.34 to the 997`s 0.28, we can see how far the aerodynamic game has moved on. The latest body shell and rear wing combine with new under body paneling to also offer increased levels of down force for this latest evolution of Porsche’s best.

The latest Porsche model has the best handling 911 ever. Improving a car’s firmness helps ensure that the suspension is able to work more efficiently and while not making such a quantum leap as the team did with the 996, Porsche improved torsional rigidity by 8% and added as much as 40% more strength.

For their new model car, Porsche wanted to enhance crash safety provisions so they added two new air bags, which are located in the side of each front seat back-rest and are calculated to protect the thorax. They also kept the earlier two front and two side airbags, which means that now there are six air bags in total. For the same reason, that is crash safety, the reinforced body shell features additional protection such as a more widespread use of very high strength steel.

The most recent model is also 50 kg heavier than the 996. The reason is that current crash safety regulations kind of force vehicle manufacturers to produce new cars of increased weight, despite the widespread use of a large range of weight saving measures, such as an aluminum bonnet.

Aside from the crash safety improvements, much of the increased weight can be attributed to the higher standard specifications of the new cars. The power to weight ratio is similar with the latest car offering 233 bhp per tonne against it’s predecessors 238 but the new model’s improved aerodynamics must help it achieve Porsche’s claimed performance figures, which are identical to those of the 996.

If you are interested in Cars in Thailand, please click the link or Cars in India on the second link. Don’t reprint this exact article. Instead, reprint a free unique content version of this same article.

October 14, 2009

Cobras

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — Colin Jones @ 2:37 pm
by Colin Jones

The spitting cobra is one of the most peculiar species of snake as it not only has a deadly bite but it also sprays venom into the eyes of prey and aggressors alike. Contact with the eyes can be very painful and even blinding, therefore, if you accidentally get cobra snake venom in your eyes, wash them out immediately so as to prevent permanent damage to the tissue.

The King Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) is also unusual in this large family of snakes (elapidae) because it feeds almost exclusively on other snakes with mice and small birds also making up part of its diet.

The King Cobra is also unique because of its size – it can reach 5.85m (almost 20 feet) in length, which makes it the longest poisonous snake in the world. The latest discovery of a new species of cobra was made in 2003 when it was identified by London Zoo as part of an illegal shipment of exotic pets.

According to DNA studies this new species of snake is similar to the red spitting cobra but different in terms of genes. It appears to have originated in an area between Sudan and Egypt, and it was given the name of the ‘Nubian Spitting Cobra’.

Though highly dangerous when it senses a threat, a cobra will not attack if you leave it in peace, although the venomous spit can travel very accurately for two meters. If compared to the strike of a rattlesnake, the cobra is pretty slow in attack, and many bites prove blank, that is without envenomation.

According to a study conducted on Malaysian cobra snake victims only 55% of the bites involved venom release and the same statistics indicate a mortality rate of 10% for people bitten, since the toxins injected into the blood of the prey destroy the nerves (neurotoxin) , which induces respiratory failure half an hour after being bitten, giving you 30 minutes to get help.

The colouration of this snake is variable from light green-grey to black, whereas juveniles have alternate yellow and black bands.This snake is to be found all over south-eastern Asia.

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Interested in the Cobras? To learn more about snakes visit Caring for Snakes our new online resource. Don’t reprint this exact article. Instead, reprint a free unique content version of this same article.

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