Siam Niramit Bangkok

Siam Niramit has the world's largest stage show, so it's a must visit while in Bangkok. It's mainly known for its incredible cultural night show, but it's a package of many attractions. This place has a Thai Village, great buffet dinner, elephants you can feed, and a cultural pre-show before the main show. The main show is spectacular, entertaining, and educating as it gives a broad overview of Thai history.

When you first arrive at Siam Niramit you will be greeted by Thai people at the entrance, and once you pass that, there will be elephants! Do not worry those elephants are well taken care of. You can feed them, play with them, pet them, and snap some pictures with them.

Then you will walk into the open area where there is display of various booths where you can spend some time and have fun before the main event.

Different booths offer different things. It gives you a carnival vibe mixed with Thai culture. There is a booth for shooting tin cans for prizes if you win, free photo board booth, or a booth with where you can wear traditional clothes for photos, and more.

Once you pass the open area and all the booths, you will come across a Thai village. This village has traditional Thai country homes from different regions you can walk through. Then the evening begins with buffet dinner followed by a pre-show outside in the open area and right after that, the main show begins.

VILLAGE & CULTURE

The village inside Siam Niramit is a traditional Thai village with cultural authentic village homes and traditions from different regions that gives an insight into Thai villagers life.

In the village are some natives doing different things. Some were making food without the use of fire or electricity to show how villagers live. I saw a guy making omelets using leaves, and it was delicious. We also came across a girl scrapping the inside of a coconut to make delicious natural shredded coconut snacks.

They are willing to interact and discuss their culture with you. Since they don't speak English, my tour guide translated for me. He also gave me more insight and told me stories about life in a village since he was from the northern region villages of Thailand.

Bai Sri Su Kwan

There is a ceremonial ritual known as "Bai Sri Su Kwan." performed by a woman to bring you happiness and prosperity. I had the honor to experience this ritual, and the woman begun by taking a sacred white cotton string and rubbing it back and forth on my wrist while saying a blessing. The Rubbing towards the wrist is believed to bring good things, but rubbing away from the wrist is believed to remove bad things. The blessing asks the spirits to bring well-being, prosperity, and happiness. The white cotton string is then tied around the wrist with three knots.

Making Silk & Batik painting

I made sure I went into all the homes in the village. In one, couple women were making silk. There, I got to learn the process of making silk.

Silkworms are raised in winnowing baskets with mulberry leaves provided for them to feed on. Within 3 weeks, the silkworms will shed skin and increase in length by roughly 3 inches. At this point, they have completely transformed into cocoons.

The cocoons are then put into hot water.The filaments from several cocoons are then reeled together on a wooden spindle to give a uniform strand of raw silk. A single cocoon of Thai silk can yield about 700 yards of the filament. The final step is to boil the silk thread in alkaline water to soften it and then it is left to dry in the sun. Once dry, its spun into a single thread and dyed in different colors. The silk threads are then spun onto spools for weaving.

Towards the end, we came across a girl who was doing Batik painting.

You might be unfamiliar with Batik painting since it isn't that popular. Batik painting is done by using a white cloth. First, you select areas of the cloth and outline it by brushing hot wax over it. Then, the cloth is dyed in mixed colors. Next, it is covered with fixative and left to dry for 24hrs. Once it has dried, it is washed in hot water to remove the wax and reveal white areas. The cloth that was covered by wax doesn't get affected by the dye and remains white. The final step is to wash it in cold water and leave it to dry.

There is a small lake in the center of the village, and you can go on a short boat ride that is enjoyable and comforting.

THE ELEPHANTS

The elephants are part of the main show, but they are outside before the show for people to interact with. There are two of them, and one is a baby. He is precious, smart and playful! He gave me a high five, and I had the chance to play with him for awhile. He is way more interactive than the older one, and he also seems to love and enjoy being around people.

BUFFET

The buffet doesn't only serve Thai food, but it offers varieties of food options from China, India, and the western world.

PRE-SHOW

The performance is outside in the middle of the open area very close to the audience who are seated and standing in a circle. The performance is nice, but it's nothing compared to the main show inside the theater.

MAIN SHOW

This show is inside an enormous theater, and it's the largest stage show in the world. Before entering the theater, you will be checked for cameras since they aren't allowed inside. Taking pictures or videos during the show isn't allowed, so please obey the rules as it is a sign of respecting the culture.

This show is all about the history of Thailand and Thai people from different regions. The actors, the producers, and all the people behind this show are incredibly talented! You can tell they put their hearts into this production with all the features from the brilliant colors to the traditional dances, live animals, great soundtracks, special effects and more. It's an unforgettable experience, and so captivating, that it has to be seen to be believed.

With everything that I saw at Siam Niramit, I am not surprised that the theater is certified as world’s highest stage by Guinness World Record.

#Thailand #Culture