K R A B I

posted on 02 Feb 2009 22:47 by pae-kung
Krabi is one of the southern provinces  of Thailand, at the shore of the Andaman Sea. Most notable are the solitary limestone hills, both on the land and in the sea as islands. Rock climbers from all over the world travel to Railay Beach to climb. Of about 130 islands belonging to the province, Ko Phi Phi Lee is perhaps the most famous, as it was the set of the movie The Beach. The coast of the province was badly damaged by the tsunami on December 26 2004. The limestone hills contain many caves, most having beautiful stalactites and stalagmites. Tham Chao Le and Tham Phi Hua To, both in Ao Luek district, contain prehistoric rock-painting depicting humans, animals as well as geometrical shapes. In Lang Rong Rien cave in 1986 archaeologists found 40,000 year old human artifacts - stone tools, pottery as well as bones. It is one of the oldest traces of human occupation in all South-East Asia. The caves of Krabi are also one of the main sources of nests of the Edible-nest Swiftlet, used to create bird's nest soup.                Tourism  Hat Noppharat Thara – Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park (อุทยานแห่งชาติหาดนพรัตน์ธารา – หมู่เกาะพีพี) Covering the areas of Tambon Nong Thale, Tambon Sai Thai, Tambon Ao Nang and Tambon Pak Nam, Amphoe Mueang, Hat Noppharat Thara – Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park has an area of 242,437 rai in which 200,849 rai is water. There are 3 distinctive kinds of forest here: moist evergreen forests, mangrove forests and peat swamp forests.

 

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untitled

posted on 02 Feb 2009 19:18 by pae-kung

Magha puja day is considered one of the most important Buddhist celebrations. It refers to the worship that takes place on the full moon of the third lunar month (about the last week of February or early March) to commemorate the day on which Lord Buddha recited the "Ovadha Patimokkha" (the Fundamental Teaching) to his disciples.

This day marks the great four events that took place during Lord Buddha's lifetime, namely;

  • The time of the full moon in the third lunar month,

     

  • 1,250 Buddhist monks from differents places came to pay homage to the Lord Buddha at Veluwan Temple in Rajgaha City of Magaha State, without any appointment,

     

  • all of them were Arahants (enlightened monks) who had attained the Apinyas (Six Higher Knowledges),

     

  • all of them had been individually ordained by Lord Buddha himself (Ehi Bhikkhu).
    • Later, the Magha Puja ceremony was widely accepted and performed throughout the country.

    The evening of that day, Lord Buddha gave the assembly a discourse "Ovadha Patimokkha", laying down the principles of His Teachings to be followed by all Buddhists, summarized into three acts, i.e. to do good, to abstain from bad action and to purify the mind.

    Magha Puja Day was never celebrated in Thai kingdom. King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) explained that "..the Magha Puja was never performed, the ceremony has just been practised during the reign of King Mongkrut (Rama IV) of the Chakri Dynasty". Having realized the importance of this day, King Rama IV ordered the royal Magha Puja Ceremony to be performed in the Emerald Buddha Temple in 1851 and to celebrate it yearly.

    Later the ceremony was widely accepted and performed throughout the kingdom. It was declared to be a public holiday back then so everybody could go to the temple to merit and perform other religious activities in the morning and to take part in the candlelit procession or "Wien Tien" in the evening.

    		 

     

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    Valentine's Day

    posted on 07 Jan 2009 20:15 by pae-kung

     

                       Valentine's Day or Saint Valentine's Day is a holiday celebrated on February 14. In the the West, it is the traditional day on which lovers express their love for each other by sending Valentine's cards, presenting flowers, or offering confectionery. The holiday is named after two among the numerous Early Christian martyrs named Valentine. The day became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished.

                      The day is most closely associated with the mutual exchange of love notes in the form of "valentines." Modern Valentine symbols include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten notes have largely given way to mass-produced greeting cards. The sending of Valentines was a fashion in nineteenth-century Great Britain, and, in 1847, Esther Howland developed a successful business in her Worcester, Massachusetts home with hand-made Valentine cards based on British models. The popularity of Valentine cards in 19th-century America was a harbinger of the future commercialization of holidays in the United States.

                       The U.S. Greeting Card Association estimates that approximately one billion valentines are sent each year worldwide, making the day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year behind Christmas. The association estimates that women purchase approximately 85 percent of all valentines.

    edit @ 7 Jan 2009 20:18:06 by PaeKung

    Tags: day, valentine1 Comments
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