Yoke thé ရုပ်သေ (literal translation is "miniatures" ) is the Burmese name for marionette puppetry. Like most of Burmese refined art, yoke thé performances originated from royal patronage and were gradually adapted for the wider populace. Yoke thé are almost always performed in the form of Burmese operas.
Burmese marionettes are very intricate and their use requires dexterous skills, as they employ 18 or 19 wires for male and female characters respectively, and each puppet is controlled by only one puppeteer.
The probable date of the origin of Burmese marionettes is given as around 1780, during the reign of Singu Min, and their introduction is credited to the Minister of Royal Entertainment, U Thaw. From their inception, marionettes enjoyed great popularity in the courts of the Konbaung dynasty. Little has changed since the creation of the art by U Thaw, and the set of characters developed by him is still in use today. Until the conquest of Upper Burma by the British in late ...
Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon occupies a site that may reach back far earlier than the Ayutthaya kingdom itself. Historians and archaeologists point to traces of a large surrounding moat and the outline of an ancient baray, or rectangular reservoir, near the southwestern edge of the present monastery. These features are characteristic of Khmer temple planning, in which a broad outer moat symbolized the cosmic ocean encircling Mount Meru. The evidence suggests that an important religious complex, possibly Khmer or linked to the earlier Dvaravati culture of the sixth to eleventh centuries, once stood here, though no standing structures from that period remain visible today.
The monastery that visitors now see was founded in 1357 by King Ramathibodi I, known as U-Thong, the first ruler of Ayutthaya. After two royal princes, Chao Kaeo and Chao Thai, died of cholera, the king ordered their remains cremated and a sacred site established at the place of the ceremony. A stupa and preaching hall were raised, and the ...
Wat Nok, known as the Bird Monastery, stands as a restored temple ruin within the heart of Ayutthaya Historical Park, nestled on the southwestern corner of the far larger Wat Mahathat. Its proximity is so intimate that visitors often assume it forms part of the neighboring complex, yet Wat Nok possesses its own distinct architectural character and independent history.
Oriented along an east-west axis, the site preserves the foundations of a preaching hall together with renovated traces of its walls and pillars. Several headless Buddha images in the Taming Mara posture rest upon the altar area.
Nearby rises a substantial prang like chedi that echoes Khmer forms while displaying the multiple redented corners and elaborate eastern portico crowned by a secondary prang that mark the late Ayutthaya style.
This tower retains some of the finest surviving stucco in the city, including geometric patterns, partial standing Buddha figures within niches, a headless mythological figure on one corner, and ...
Port FC and Rasisalai United opened the 2026/27 Thai League 1 season at Buriram City Stadium in a matchup that highlighted the gap between established top flight pedigree and rapid upward mobility.
Port, one of Thailand’s oldest professional clubs, traces its roots to 1967 when it was founded as Port Authority of Thailand FC. Nicknamed the Port Lions, the Bangkok side enjoyed early dominance with multiple Kor Royal Cup titles in the late 1960s and 1970s, along with Queen’s Cup and FA Cup successes, and has remained a consistent presence in the modern Thai League 1 era with strong recent finishes, domestic cup wins, and continental qualifications.
Rasisalai United, by contrast, is a much younger club founded only in 2019 in Sisaket province’s Rasi Salai district. Built on community support and a modest budget, it climbed quickly through the amateur ranks, claimed the Thai League 3 title in 2024/25, and then won the Thai League 2 championship in 2025/26 to earn promotion to the top flight ...
