Culture Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam?
I’m looking for a book explaining the culture of these countries, what to do what not to do. I’m going there this summer and would appreciate some advice on literature.
Culture of Thailand
The culture of Thailand has been greatly influenced by Buddhism. But there have been other dominating influences of Hinduism as well along with the effects of the repeated invasions of Myanmar, Laos and also the Chinese immigrants.
Arts and Crafts in Thailand
Traditional visual arts in Thailand bear a great influence of Buddhism but contemporary Thai art is a combination of the modern techniques along with the traditional styles. Crafts include textiles and decorative items that bear the distinct Thai style.
Architecture of Thailand
Classical Thai architecture is found in the temples and royal palace buildings and the best examples of Thai architecture are the Grand Palace, the Wat Benchamabophit, Wat suthat to name a few.
Thai Cuisine
Thai cuisine is extremely popular due to the blending of the four fundamental tastes of salty, sour, spicy and sweet. Most of the dishes combine all of these and there are innumerable spices and herbs used to achieve this.
Music and Dance in Thailand
Music consists of both the folk music and also the classical traditions along with pop or string music.
The Ram Thai or Rabam is the main art form while the dance forms can be divided into the high art or classical dance and low art or folk dance divisions.
Religion in Thailand
Thailand is predominantly a Theravada Buddhist country but there are the minorities like the Phra Nyanasamvara Suvaddhana Mahathera and the Muslims as well.
Thai Customs and Traditions
The most distinctive Thai custom is the Wai that bears resemblance to the Indian namaste demonstration of affection amongst friends are common in public. It is considered rude to put the feet above someone’s head or step on a Thai coin as it has the King’s head engraved upon it.
Thailand Hill Tribes (Akha, Karens, Lahu, Lisu, Meo, Yao)
The tribes of the Akha, Karen, Hmong, Yao, Lisu had migrated to Thailand about a 100 years back from the southern part of China and they have their own religion, art, culture and dress.
Fashion in Thailand
Thailand is a land where the latest styles and traditional crafts have been well blended and there is some thing or the other for every buyer irrespective of the budget.
Thai Etiquette
The behavior of the Thais is well controlled by etiquette based on the Buddhism. The society is non- confrontational in nature and so disputes need to be averted at all costs. Thais prefer proper behavior and dress. Revealing clothes and behaving rudely in public needs to be avoided at all costs.
Culture of Cambodia
The culture of Cambodia has had a rich and varied history dating back many centuries, and has been heavily influenced by India. In turn, Cambodia greatly influenced Thailand, Laos and vice versa. Throughout Cambodia’s long history, a major source of inspiration was from religion. Throughout nearly two millennium, Cambodians developed a unique Khmer belief from the syncreticism of indigenous animistic beliefs and the Indian religions of Buddhism and Hinduism. Indian culture and civilization, including its language and arts reached mainland Southeast Asia around the 1st century A.D. Its is generally believed that seafaring merchants brought Indian customs and culture to ports along the gulf of Thailand and the Pacific while trading with China. The first state to benefit from this was Funan. At various times, Cambodia culture also absorbed elements from Thai, Lao, Chinese, and Javanese cultures.
Culture of Vietnam
The Culture of Vietnam which is the agricultural civilization based on the wet rice cultivating is one of the oldest of such in the Asia Pacific region. In terms of prehistory, most Vietnamese historians consider the ancient Dong Son culture to be one of the defining aspects of early Vietnamese civilization.
Long periods of domination and interaction with its northern neighbor, China, has resulted in Vietnam’s historic inclusion as part of the East Asian Cultural Sphere, known widely as Chinese Cultural Sphere. Historically, passing the imperial Mandarin exams was the only means for Vietnamese people to socially advance themselves.
Following independence from China in the 10th century AD, Vietnam began a southward expansion that saw the annexation of territories formerly belonging to the Champa civilization (now Central Vietnam) and parts of the Khmer empire (today South Vietnam) which resulted in minor regional variances in Vietnam’s culture due to exposure to these different groups.
During French colonial period, Vietnamese culture received marcant influences from the Europeans, including the spread of Catholicism and the adoption of Latin alphabet — to this day, Vietnam is the only non-island nation of Indochina which uses the Latin Alphabet to write the national language.
In the socialist era, the cultural life of Vietnam has been deeply influenced by government-controlled media and the cultural influences of socialist programs. For many decades, fore
VIETNAMESE HISTORY,CULTURE,& LANGUAGE
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Culture Shock! Vietnam: A Guide to Customs & Etiquette, Claire Ellis, Good Book $7.69 |
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Fire in the Lake Vietnamese and Americans in Vietnam war history book culture pb $5.00 |
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HISTORY OF VIET NAM book Ho Chí Minh Vietnamese language culture $19.99 |
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Vietnam in HD, Blu-ray Edition $16.49 One of America’s most divisive wars comes alive in this vivid six-part miniseries recounting the years 1964-1975. The conflict in Vietnam is revisited through stunning high-definition cinematography, boasting a variety of intimate interviews combined with rare footage and dramatic stories of the war voiced by top Hollywood stars. Narrated by Michael C. Hall. 4 2/3 hrs. total on two discs. Widescre… |
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Across the Universe $3.70 Inspired by the songs of The Beatles, this stunning musical drama follows Liverpudlian welder Jude on his odyssey from Britain to New York City where he falls in love with the beautiful Lucy and finds himself an eclectic circle of friends that includes guitarist Jo-Jo, sexually confused Prudence, and the rebellious Max. With Jim Sturgess, Evan Rachel Wood, Eddie Izzard, and Bono. Performed by the … |
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WWII in HD (DVD) $11.95 At first glance, the very concept of WWII in HD seems like an oxymoron. After all, isn’t the footage from back then nothing more than grainy black-and-white newsreel? And really, how much definition can be added to film that was shot more than 60 years ago? The answers: no, and quite a lot, actually. The quality of much of what is seen in the course of these 10 episodes (each around 45 minutes lon… |
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SOLDIER OF AQUARIUS: 1969-1970 [Special Legacy Edition Reprint] (N/A) $3.00 The adventures of a young man graduating from college in 1969 and his efforts to grapple with decisions about his future at a time when the siren song of the Counterculture calls and the draft for bodies to fight the war in Vietnam looms. This is the story of those decisions and their effect on the young man. He did it all…saw much…and in the end was called upon to pay the price.A 100% authent… |
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Odyssey: 1970 (Cassell Faction Trilogy) $3.00 Odyssey:1970 is the story of a young man’s life on the road during one of the pivotal years in modern American history. The sequel to Crossroads: 1969, it picks up with the story of John Cassell, a twenty-two year old college graduate, just returned from Europe and North Africa. Miraculously freed from the Vietnam War by a high draft lottery number in December of 1969, he decides to devote the yea… |
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The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir $6.16 Paperback book… |
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