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The Kaleidoscope Museum project is a project within members of my group. The aim of this project is to preserve the unique cultures of developing countries and to preserve their rich cultural heritage. As a member of this project, I will be focusing on Thailand's culture with my partner, Lester. Providing 15 different perspectives. Thailand’s culture has been deeply influenced by religion, as most of the population is Buddhist. In 2014, Thailand’s military took control from the government and returned ‘order’ on multiple things. This was one of the reasons why Thailand’s culture has started to become endangered. Through our online media community, Padlet, we will be showcasing the different perspectives and their importance, providing reasons on why we should preserve Thailand’s culture.

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1. Prasat Hin Phimai

2. Ayutthaya

3. Sukhothai

4. Wat Rong Khun

5. Wat Arun Ratchawararam

6. Wat Phra Kaew

7. The Grand Palace

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8. Krabi Kra-bong (martial art)

9. Muay Thai (boxing)

10. Sepak Takraw (kick volleyball)

11. Kaeng Ruer (boat racing)

12. Len Wow (kite flying)

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13. Som Tum (green papaya salad)

14. Nuea Khem Tom Krati (salted beef jerky stewed in coconut cream) (เนื้อเค็มต้มกะทิ)

15. Nuea Foi Khem Pad Wan (sweet and savory shredded beef)

16. Kluai Kai plus gang ped (curry plus bananas)

17. Santos fruit (wild mangosteen)

18. Nam Daeng (red sugar water)

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19. Tuk Tuk (3 wheels motorized vehicle)

20. Songthaew (a car that combines 2 rows of sits)

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21. Buddhism (94.6%)

22. Muslim (4.3%)

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23. Krabi Krabong (a Thai martial art)

24. daab (knife/sword)

25. ngao (staff)

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26. Khon (Thailand art dance)

27. Lakhon Nai (a form of dance in drama)

28. Li-khe (Thailand dance)

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29. luk thung

30. mor lam

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Tuk-tuk is a common transportation in Thailand, you can see it almost everywhere, it looks like a motorcycle with three wheels as you can see in the photo. In Thailand, a Tuk-tuk is regarded as a taxi, and the price is set based on the traveled distance, but no taximeter. However, if you easily believe the price he offers, don’t be angry about getting scammed, the driver will usually add up the price a little, so that he can earn more money. Remember to save your money as long as you haggle with him. In addition, some divers will deliberately take a longer path, or drive you to jewelry stores(or other attractive stores), and invite you to go shopping. In order to avoid wasting your time, I suggest you to research the fastest route before taking the ride, and show the driver what route you want to take. For short distances, taking the Tuk-tuk is the best choice.

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Songthaew is a very common vehicle in Thailand. It looks like a truck with the ceiling on the seats behind the truck, as you can see in the picture. The reason why this vehicle called Songthaew is because there is two rows of seats behind the truck, and “Songthaew” means two rows, therefore this vehicle is called Songthaew. In Thailand, Songthaews are regarded as buses, there are 5 different colors, and each color has its own route, except for the color red, red Songthaew has several routes where no fixed route has been determined, and other four colors, which are yellow, blue, green, white, they all have their route, the route will be posted on the side of the car. The price of all Songthaew are the same, which is about 10-30 baht, when you want to take a ride, just wave your hand to it, and there is a button where you can press to let the driver know that you want to get off at the next stop.

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Sepak Takraw is a traditional sport in Thailand, which arose around 15 A.D. in Thailand. Sepak Takraw is also called kick volleyball, because the way to play it, is very similar to volleyball. A team comprises 3 players and consists of a striker, a server, and a bowler. You must win 3 sets and score 21 points in every set to win the game. Players must stand in the circle during the serve(only the team who serves), there are three circles on the court, including quarter circles and service circles, the service circle is for the player who serves, and other players would need to stand in the quarter circle.

Rules:

1. Players are allowed to use their body and head to hit the ball, but not their arms or hands.

2. A team is allowed with a maximum of three touches of the ball before it goes over the net, player may take all three touches himself.

3. Players can not let the ball hit the ground or hit the ground outside the court.

4. The player cannot touch the net.

5. Players cannot lift their foot out of the circles during the serve.

Why should this culture be preserve?

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【2021第一次藤球排名賽】甲組三人賽精華－從師徒到隊友征戰世錦賽

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Muay Thai PPT slideshow, include history, game introduction, and rules

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Why should the culture be preserve?

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Nai Khanom Tom, also known as the Father of Muay Thai, was a legend in the history of Muay Thai. All of these appellations are attributed to his contribution to Thailand and Muay Thai. Moreover, there’s a celebration of Nai Khanom Tom on March 17th in Thailand, furthermore, he is also the subject of statues, medallions, amulets, plays, a TV miniseries, brand. It’s obvious that Nai Khanom Tom is popular in Thailand, but what “significant” contribution made him that popular?

At the time when Ayutthaya was almost falling in 1767, the Burmese took advantage of it and invaded Thailand to round up a group of residents, to take them as prisoners. Among them were a large number of boxers, who were held by the Burmese potentate in the city of Ungwa.

In 1774, in the Burmese city of Rangoon, Lord Mangra, king of the Burmese, decided to organize a celebration, the celebration included many entertainments, sports, and games, among the fight between Muay Thai and Parme(Burmese own martial art). King Mangra wanted to see whose fighting skill was better, so ordered Thailand to pick the best fighter to fight with them, Nai Khanom Tom was the choice for the Thais as he was renowned for his Muay Thai skills. During the fight, he defeated 10 of Burma’s great fighters, and this made King Mangra applaud the feat that Nai Khanom Tom had. After the game, King Mangra was impressed by his skill and said “Every part of the Siamese is blessed with venom. Even with his bare hands, he could fall nine or ten opponents, But his Lord was incompetent and lost the country to the enemy. If he had been any good, there was no way the city of Ayutthaya would ever have fallen” King Mangra gave him freedom and he returned to Thailand with honour. For the respectful of Muay Thai, Nai Khanom Tom fights with 10 Burma’s great fighters at all costs, this spirit greatly admired the Thai people.

This is the story of Nai Khanom Tom’s significant contribution to Muay Thai, as we can see the greatness of Nai Khanom Tom, and had a huge impact on Muay Thai culture.

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Krabi Kra-bong PPT slideshow, includes history, game introduction, and different types of weapons

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Why should this culture be preserve?

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Kaeng Ruer means longboat racing, longboat racing is popular in Thailand, and it’s a traditional sport in Thailand. The historical information of  Kaeng Ruer is vague, we don’t know its origin, but we can speculate Kaeng Ruer’s history in Thailand spans centuries. There’s only one information that has been recorded, the record shows that the King of the Ayutthaya period trained oarsmen intended to use in war by a boat contest, and this is also why there’s boat racing Today.

The boat races are usually held from September to October, and the purpose of the game is to demonstrate the bond between local Thais and the river and to show the morals, courage, and strength of the rowing crew. Each team consists of 8 to 10 oarsmen and one helmsman. The boats used in Kaeng Ruer are made from hardwood and tied colored cloth on the boat.

Why should this culture be preserve?

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You can learn ? in the video

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In this website, you can learn how to make the Som Tum

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Som Tum is a very popular traditional dish in Thailand, although the origin of Som Tum is in Laos, and called the tum bak hoong, but spread to Thailand very soon, and Thailand created its own flavor, Som Tum. Since the 1800s, papaya and chili have been key ingredients in Laos cuisine, and papaya salad is also popular in Laos, so they mixed it up and became a spicy papaya salad, called tum bak hoong. This dish spread to Thailand very soon, and when it reached Thai, at first Thais couldn’t accept the flavor that Laos liked, so they decided to customize it with different flavors, including sweet, salty, and sour, which is the Som Tum that we know today, and after their ameliorate, it soon became the street market staple.

The salad combines green papaya with chiles, garlic, shrimp, peanuts, long beans, and tomatoes, and you can toss it with the sauce you like, including salty, sour, and sweet sauces.

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Why It Works

Pounding the ingredients with a wooden pestle coaxes out their aromas, without pulverizing them into a paste.

Mixing in and lightly pounding green papaya just before serving ensures that it absorbs the dressing but also retains its crunch.

Walk down any bustling street in Thailand and you will hear the rhythmic beat of wooden pestles striking clay mortars as vendors prepare iterations of som tam-pounded salads that are paired with a sour dressing. The most well-known entry in this category is easily som tam Thai, the shredded green papaya salad found in central Thailand that has become synonymous with the term "som tam." The salad combines crunchy strips of unripe green papaya with fresh chiles, pungent garlic, savory dried shrimp, roasted peanuts, long beans, and tomatoes, all of which are tossed with a salty-sour-sweet dressing made with fish sauce, lime juice, and palm sugar. It's everything you could want in a salad-refreshing, light, and quick to prepare.

Tam-style pounded salads are integral to the cuisines of Laos and Isan, and they have become a fast-food, on-the-go item that can now be found all over Thailand and pretty much any place that serves Lao or Thai dishes outside of Southeast Asia. While som tam salads follow the same basic preparation blueprint (more on that later), ingredients and flavor profiles vary from region to region. In Laos and Isan, som tam tends to favor savory and sour notes rather than sweetness, with ingredients like pla ra-a fermented fish sauce known as padaek in Lao-salted crabs, and pickled plums. This recipe is for central Thai-style som tam, which is evenly balanced between sour and sweet, thanks to a generous amount of palm sugar in the dressing. Sweetness and saltiness can vary a good deal between styles, but sour, or "som," is a requirement.

The other requirement for tam-style salads is a mortar and pestle-specifically a wooden or clay mortar with a wooden pestle. The goal for pounding ingredients for salads is to lightly bruise and break them down to the point that they release their juices but hold onto their crunchy texture. The kind of heavy granite mortar and pestle I use for making a prik gaeng (curry paste) is great for pulverizing fibrous aromatics and dried spices into a fine paste, but it's not well-suited for pounding tasks that require a lighter touch. The increased volume capacity of a large clay or wooden mortar is ideal for salad-mixing, but despite being larger they are much lighter to maneuver.

Sourcing and Preparing Green Papaya

As for the salad itself, the star of the show is the green papaya. Green papaya is actually fairly easy to source in the US, and can be found at most Asian grocery stores, especially Southeast Asian markets. While they are unripe papayas, I strongly advise against trying to pick out a green-skinned papaya at a supermarket like Whole Foods, no matter how firm and unripe they feel. Despite their appearance, they are much further along in the ripening process than a true green papaya, and you will find that they are orange and sweet once you cut into them. Like green tomatoes, green papayas are their own thing, harvested for a specific culinary purpose, and shouldn't be confused with a fruit that has just been picked before being fully ripe in order to survive shipping. When shopping for green papaya, look for fruit that are firm and feel heavy for their size. If the fruit is squishy, put it down and keep searching.

The traditional way to prepare a green papaya for som tam is to peel it and cut it by hand into strips with a sharp knife. I do this by holding the papaya in my non-dominant hand while making a series of parallel cuts running lengthwise on the papaya, and then shaving down across the length of the papaya to create shreds. This method produces perfectly imperfect shreds with interesting texture, a mix of larger, crunchier pieces, and thinner, more delicate ones. The downside to this method is that it's more time-consuming and it can be a little nerve-wracking for anyone who doesn't trust themselves completely with a sharp knife.

Luckily, there's an easy alternative to hand-cut green papaya: you can use a specialized green papaya peeler, like this affordable one from Kiwi. The Kiwi peeler works much in the same way as a Western julienne peeler; it has a classic y-peeler profile, with a ridged tooth blade that produces even strands of papaya when run down the length of the peeled fruit. Restaurants often favor this tool for making som tam because it gives you consistent results, fast. I find that peeler-shredded papaya doesn't retain its crunch quite as well as knife-cut, and I prefer the varied texture produced with a knife. Whichever method you go with, avoid standard julienne peelers, which create shreds that are too thin, which in turn will result in a soggy som tam.

Pounding the Salad

Once the papaya prep is taken care of, the rest of the salad is a breeze to make. I start by pounding fresh chiles, garlic, and dried shrimp together until they are just slightly broken down. I then add roasted peanuts and pound them slightly before adding softened palm sugar and dissolving it with the pestle by working it around the sides of the mortar. Next, I add long beans and cherry tomatoes, crushing them slightly just to bruise them and release some juices before adding in lime juice and fish sauce. It's critical to taste for seasoning at this point as once the green papaya goes in, it's more difficult to adjust.

The dressing should be sour, sweet, and savory all at once, with background heat from the chiles. When the dressing tastes right, I add in the green papaya and work it into the mix by stirring with a spoon in one hand while lightly pounding with the pestle with the other hand. The goal here is to have the green papaya absorb the dressing, while still keeping its crunch, so it's critical not to pound too aggressively, and to also be ready to serve the salad immediately. The longer the papaya marinates with the dressing, the softer it will become. However, this shouldn't be an issue; once som tam Thai hits the table, it doesn't tend to sit for long.

Som Tam Thai (Central Thai-Style Green Papaya Salad)

Everything you could want in a salad-refreshing, light, and quick to prepare.

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Som Tam Thai (Central Thai-Style Green Papaya Salad)

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This salad combines crunchy strips of unripe green papaya with fresh chiles, pungent garlic, savory dried shrimp, roasted peanuts, long beans, and tomatoes, all of which are tossed with a salty-sour-sweet dressing made with fish sauce, lime juice, and palm sugar.