Siam/Thailand 1900-1960 (video)

Very nice video, enjoyed watching it. Gives you a completely different impression of Bangkok / Thailand then and now.

The short hair of the Danes was part of the Westernization campaign of the then dictator Phibul Songkram, who wanted the population to adopt Western social customs, because he considered the Thai to be a backward people. Ladies had to wear shoes, hats, gloves and western clothes. Men were advised to give their wives a good-bye kiss before leaving for the office. Korton he laid the foundation for modern Western manners. Many do not know it, but it is Phibul Songkram who taught the Thai to eat with a spoon and fork. Many social customs that we consider typically Thai were implemented by him in the 50s. It is also he who forced the ethnic Chinese to choose a Thai family name.

It was quite common for Chinese traders to set fire to their business around Chinese New Year to swindle insurance. He solved this very simply. He went to the scene and personally shot 3 traders in the head. The arson attacks stopped. He himself was ethnic Chinese. He has been in power 2X, after banishment. He was finally overthrown by Sarit Thannarat, another colorful dictator, who reshaped the role of the monarchy by reintroducing abolished ceremonies and inventing some new ones. It is also he who reintroduced the postal street abolished by Rama V.