Siam Niramit [Joshua Burke]

Last year in December, when my grandma came over to visit, we went to a Thai show called Fanta Sea. It was more for the entertainment then learning the Thai culture though (and the buffet wasn't that good). So on the weekend we decided to go to another Thai show called Siam Niramit. It supposedly has over 100 actors and 500 costumes and is one of the largest shows in the world. Hopefully this show would teach us about Thailand's unique culture. 

We arrived a whole three hours before the show even started so we could have some time looking at the cultural area. The gigantic parking lot was completely empty and we got the best spot, which is awesome. We got our tickets for the show and the buffet and they even let us in  30 min. before the they opened. After walking through the souvenir isle, we came into the central area. Their was a huge sea dragon, that was pretty cool. There was the cultural town to our left and the theater and the buffet, that doesn't open till later, to our right. 

The empty parking lot.

The awesome sea dragon.

The cultural part was pretty neat. It had houses from all over the provinces of Thailand and how they celebrated festivals. They even had a house from the Provence of Ubon, where we went. Jacob, James and I also went in a shallow draft lake boat for a ride. Thai people used these boats for fishing in shallow lakes. Although they would never survive in decent size waves for they were very tippy. They also had these cool masks that you could try on and I learned the history behind the masks.

Me wearing one of the masks. 

"Phi Ta Khom" is the name for the colorful ghosts who danced and teased people at the festival held on the sixth or seventh lunar month in the Dansai District of the Loei Provence. The festival known as "Bun Pha Ves" is part of Buddhist merit-making. It is believed that the roots of this festival were from an important tale of the Buddha's last life, (before he reached nirvana). The words "Phi Tam Kon" means (be followed by the spirits). In Bun Pha Ves, young villagers make ghostly masks. The mask is made out of bamboo, while the curved nose is made out of wood. Once finished it is beautifully painted to be used in the festival. 

A lonely scarecrow.

A mud hut.

Some of the Thai houses. 

Me at one of the houses.

It was getting dark by the time we finished with the cultural part. It was time to eat at the buffet. I ate about five helpings of Thai and western food. I never knew I could eat so much. The performers put on a pre-show outside near the sea dragon. There was a show about Saka, the Thai god of water. He symbolizes power and prosperity. They also had mock ancient Thai warriors, some foot solders with spears and swords, and some even on elephants!

Unfortunately we were not allowed to bring our devices to take pictures so I will tell you what the performers did in the theater. In the show the performers enacted parts in ancient Thai history. They showed me what life was like in fishing villages, crowed towns, the ancient Thai army, the grand palace, and certain festivals. There were even performers flying and popping out from the ceiling above us. I also learned that in the Buddhism when you die you either go to Fiery Hell or Blissful Heaven, depending on what you did while you were living on Earth. 

Here are some of the punishments that you will get in the Buddhism Hell if you committed these acts on Earth. 

Telling lies- having your tongue pulled out. 

Stealing from temples- being turned into a demon 

Drinking alcohol- being put in boiling water 

Pretty gruesome right? Anyway, the entire show was amazing and I hope you readers have learned something about Thai history and culture. If you come to Phuket, and I think there is one in Bangkok, go check the Siam Niramit show out. It is defiantly worth it. 

That's it for now 

Thanks for reading

Joshua 

IS THAT A NATIVE WARRIOR?