by Lang Reid
We all remember the heavy encyclopedias we gleaned
information from when we were children. Now that weighty tome can be
replaced by one DVD, and the Thailand Travel Encyclopedia promises
over 5,000 inputs and over 7,000 pictures and represents Yves Masure’s 15
years of travel, research and translation.
The DVD begins with the following: “Southeast Asia, is
nothing less than an open-air museum stored with astonishing wonders - a
magnificent school where one can absorb intriguing cultures in an empiric
and peripatetic way.”
In Masure’s words, “With the aim to store my findings and
enabling me to visit them again, I have recorded the results of such a
research. Thus, with near-scholarly, in-depth study done in multiple
languages, including Thai, Khmer, Lao, Sanskrit and Chinese, and by using
both primary and secondary sources, along with a comparative study of
parallel materials, I created this travel encyclopedia, which I hope will
help shed some light on the often obscure and enigmatic cultural aspects of
a society shrouded in myth and legend.”
He begins with Early History. “Originally the Tai were an
animist people in Southwest China, though not ethnically Chinese, and from
the 9th century began to migrate southward, little by little, into parts of
Southeast Asia and the fertile Chao Phraya valley. They settled down in an
area that today is Burma, Laos and Thailand, and here they came into contact
with other civilizations such as the Mon, Khmer and Lawa.”
“From the 7th to 14th century AD the Khmer established a
mighty kingdom based in Angkor, from where they expanded and would
eventually rule over practically the whole of Indochina. They were already
present in Thailand’s most important basin during the Dvaravati period,
where they mixed with the local Mon population. Whilst their conquests
throughout the 7th to 11th centuries brought cultural influences in art,
language and religion, their political dominance eventually overthrew the
Dvaravati culture.”
It is not all history as cities, provinces, culture,
customs, temples, national monuments and parks, flora and fauna, this DVD
encyclopedia has it all. 7,000 images covers an amazing amount of items.
It has very detailed information, such as “The Democracy
Monument in Bangkok symbolizes the transition of an absolute to a
constitutional monarchy on 24 June 1932 or 2475 BE. The date is represented
in the measurements of the monument. The height of the four wings and the
radius of the monument are 24 meters, and the year is represented by the 75
cannons that surround the monument.” Now, did you know that?
The depth of research and the wide range of items is
incredible, and Masure has done a wonderful job in recording these. Now on
its sixth iteration, this DVD encyclopedia has no equal that I have seen. It
is the best Xmas present you can send to friends and family (easy to carry
and post) explaining just why you live here, and why you continue to be
fascinated by this country. This DVD shows many of the reasons. At only B.
1,400 in good bookshops it has a wealth of information and is thoroughly
fascinating.
