Bangkok Local Custom Tips by templemonkey

"Any place that is regarded as holy because of its association with a special person or event."
In nealy most Thai homes no mater what social status you will probably see a place of worship.

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For people who want to get into abit of Thai rock music as well as learn the Thai language.Listening to Thai music is a good way to improve your listening as well as learn new words.
The band Loso is one of the most famous rock band in Thailand.They have many albums from heavy rock song with stinging lylics like Mai tong huang chun "don't worry about me"(Lo Society album) ,smooth sweet melodic love songs like Som Sarn (Entertainment album).For people who don't know Loso "The Best of Loso" is a good introduction to this band's music.There are other good albums such as "Lo Society" and one of my favorites " Rock & Roll".These days the lead singer Sek Loso is often seen jumping around in the energy drink M150 commercials.
Other cool bands are Modern Dog,Silly Fools,Blackhead,Pru,Big Ass,Ab Normal & Body Slam.
A very good site to learn Thai and listen to translated songs www.ethaimusic.com.

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Website: www.ethaimusic.com

There are many Thais with Chinese ancestors ,so you will often see Chinese style shrines all over the country .On certain ocassions such as Chinese New Year you will see people paying respect to Gods and past ancesters in front of their homes,shop or local shrines.Offerrings of chicken,duck,fruit,pig heads ,Chinese dessert,soft drink ,tea and whiskey are placed in front these shrines. Also you will see lots of fake paper money or gold bars being burned , so don't panic thinking there is a fire nearby.
A good time to get a feel of shrine worshipping custom is during Chinese New Year January28-30 .

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Thai people have great respect for The Royal Family and they would think nothing of waiting a couple of hours to get a glimse of their beloved Royal Highness.
I was lucky enough to be in ChinaTown when R H Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn visted during Chinese New Year.Hundreds of people lined the street for more than an hour waiting quietly.When Her Royal Highness finally arrived everyone had to sit down or kneel ,so not to be higher than the Princess.The policemen who were on hand warned everyone that taking pictures were forbidden and ameras will be confascated if you did so.When the Princess passed the crowd "WAI" to pay respect.

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The Thai Vegetarian Festival is an annual event held during the ninth lunar month of the Chinese calendar. It is believed that the vegetarian festival and its accompanying sacred rituals bestow good fortune upon those who religiously observe this rite. The Thai Vegetarian Festival falls usually in the middle of October until the end of the month.So look for restaurants or street stalls with yellow flags with red Thai or Chinese writing.They will serve vegetarian food.

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Jatukarm Ramathep amulets are now very famous in Thailand.The main reason for this is these Buddhist amulets are believed to bring luck, fortune and prosperity to their owner. These beautiful finely detailed amulets originated from the south in Nakhon Sri Thammarat province but many temples all over Thailand are now producing their own Jatukarms.They are now the "in thing "in Thailand and it is not unusual to see people wearing more than one Jatukarms around their necks.Jatukarm Ramathep are available in many different colors, styles, size and of course price ranges.

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