HTMS CHAKRI NARUEBET | จักรีนฤเบศร : Southeast Asia’s Only Aircraft Carrier

The Chakri Naruebet is an aircraft/helicopter carrier of the Royal Thai Navy. It is the one and only in Southeast Asia and the smallest serving aircraft carrier in the world. It holds the distinction of the most technologically advanced vessel in the region.

Though an aircraft carrier in an Armed Forces may depict offensive warfare, the Chakri Naruebet was purchased mainly to modernize the Royal Thai Navy and for surveillance for Thailand’s Exclusive Economic Zone. In fact, the anti-aircraft missile systems were never installed and the Chakri Naruebet is rarely put to sea. Starting up its engine alone costs US$4,000 already.

In time of war (which I don’t think will happen), the vessel is the Flagship of the Royal Thai Navy. It will be sent for air and surface defense missions and anti-submarine warfare. It can carry 6 Harriers and 4 Seahawks at the full speed of 26.2 knots.

This prestigious vessel was delivered brand new to Thailand in 1997 (at a cost of US$175 million) by Spanish shipbuilders Izar from Ferrol, Spain. The design was based on the Spanish carrier "Principe de Asturias".

The Chakri Naruebet’s size and power can withstand rough weather at sea. It was used for search and rescue when the tsunami hit Thailand in 2004 and other disaster reliefs. This is why the ship is numbered – “911”.

The name "Chakri Naruebet" means “The Protector of the Chakri Dynasty” given by His Majesty the King of Thailand. HTMS means “His Thai Majesty’s Ship” used for the Royal Thai Navy’s vessels only.

The HTMS Chakri Naruebet – Prestige of the Thai Kingdom.
Treasure of Southeast Asia.



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OUR ICONS: The Patuxai | Laos' Middle Finger

Some say it looks curiously similar to the one in Paris. Well, maybe because the one in France is famous all over and it is the only point of comparison for description.

Patuxai is very Laotian, that’s for sure. It is Southeast Asia’s only structure of its kind and no other country in our region has actually imitated it because Vientiane had it first.

Believe it or not, Patuxai is one of the highest points of Vientiane. You can climb the top and have a 360 degree view of the city. This makes Patuxai a tourist-must-see. Very daunting, very majestic.

Notice the intricate designs of the structure. Kinnari figures all over! Very Laotian, very Southeast Asian!

The Kinnari (half-woman, half-bird mythical creature), by the way, is the only iconic figure that connects almost all of Southeast Asia – from Siam to LanXang (Laos), from Khmer Empire (Cambodia) to Surigao (Philippines), from Java to Burma. Our ancient people have Kinnaris in their cultures one way or another.

Patuxai means “Gate of Victory” in Laotian. It was built in 1968 and was first called the Anousavari Monument dedicated to those who fought in the struggle for independence from France.

This is a good place to meet local yuppies and youngsters on weekends and practice your Laotian (or practice THEIR English!).

To those calling Patuxai the “Vertical Runway” in an attempt to be sarcastic – piss off! In reference to America giving the funds to Laos to build an airport but built a monument instead…shut your faces!

Do you even know how much bombs America dropped on Laos in the Vietnam War? Laos wasn’t even in that war! Even if America pays $10 Billion a month to Laos for 20 years, it won’t be enough payment for the damage America cost the Laotians. There, take that!

The Patuxai is one big middle finger aimed at America.

The Patuxai – Pride of Laos, Treasure of Southeast Asia.

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--Pisanu in Vientiane
27 Jun 2008

Note: Patuxai is pronounced as /Pa-‘too-‘sai/

THE EMERALD BUDDHA พระแก้วมรกต

The Emerald Buddha is one topic I didn’t plan to post on this blog. The topic is “sensitive” and its history is written in different versions. A lot of people don’t know its significance and the controversy it created between a dozen kingdoms and countries throughout its 2,000 year history.

This goes to show how fragile our region actually is. Ancient animosities can still arise and if we are not prepared to open our minds and compromise, everything we worked for would crumble down in shambles.

How can I present the Emerald Buddha as objective as I can? Perhaps I can account its 2,000 year journey to its present home – Thailand… but it would be too long and I would write it a way that would serve my country. So, may be not…

Before we get accused of misleading information… the Emerald Buddha is not actually an emerald but a single block of the finest jade. It is a figure of the sitting/meditating Buddha and legend has it that it was carved in India in 46 BC. It is 2ft 2in tall and 1ft 7in across the lap.

The Emerald Buddha’s present home is Thailand -- Where it is housed in an impressive temple (Wat Phra Kaew) within the walls of the Grand Palace complex in Bangkok.

It is also interesting to note that the Emerald Buddha is adorned in pure gold and changed 3 times a year. It is dressed in 3 different sets of gold clothing corresponding to Thailand’s seasons – hot, rainy and cold seasons (March, July and November).

ONLY the King of Thailand can change the gold clothing in a very solemn ceremony. The 2 other gold clothing which are not in use at any given time are displayed on the Pavilion of Regalia nearby.

The Emerald Buddha is the palladium of modern Siam. It is the most revered and treasured possession of the Kingdom. See it on your next visit to Thailand and feel its inexplicable power over those who revere it or over those who merely stare.

The Emerald Buddha can be found within the Grand Palace in Bangkok.

The Emerald Buddha - Southeast Asia's Most Priceless Treasure.

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THE TERNO: The Haute Couture of National Dresses

Elegance to the highest level… stately grace at its utmost… the Haute Couture of national dresses!

The Terno is absolutely one of the world’s most distinct and recognizable traditional dresses identified ONLY to the Philippines…*Northern Mariana, did you hear that? Ha!*

A Terno is a seamless, long, elegant dress with a signature “butterfly” sleeves. The “butterflies” frame the woman’s smooth shoulders, collar lines, neck and of course, the face. It is made with fabrics expensive enough to scandalize the World Bank. LOL!

Seriously…I’m sure you guys have seen beautiful women from the Philippines wore a “terno”, at least one time in your life. Imelda Marcos showed the world how to wear it while she strut her stuff in the 70’s and 80’s around the globe. Oh did she make a Filipino fashion statement or what? So imeldific! *some dictionary lists “imeldific”, mind you*

Isabel Preysler never leave her “palace” without proudly wearing one! Mrs. Preysler (for those who don’t know) is an ultra-famous Madrid socialite of Filipino origin. And she happens to be Julio Iglesias’ ex-wife (ask your grandparents who he is or click here). And yeah, yeah, yeah…I’m sure my Filipino readers want me “highlight” this… Isabel is Enrique’s mom. Ok? Ok. Now, get off me.

Anyways, back to the topic…”Terno” is a coined term for the Spanish word “to match” or “matching” AND it didn’t start the way it looks today…

The evolution started in the Spanish era when Tagalog women (of Luzon Island) modified their traditional dress (Baro’t Saya) and made it more conservative. They made it longer at floor-length so not to scandalize the foreign priests.

Historians also noted that it has also been influenced by Hindus and Chinese traders in those times. In the turn of the century (1900s) it came to a point when the Terno is made with 7 layers to create the skirt! *Whoa!* I guess they haven’t realized that the Philippines is a tropical country in those days, did they? Interesting.

I am aware that Filipinos nowadays identify the Terno with Imelda Marcos. And I hope they get over it soon. Although she's the one who popularized it, the Terno is still a Filipino national identity worthy to be worn by any woman who is proud of her heritage.

The Terno – Style icon of Southeast Asia.

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OUR ICONS: BeerLao

Aside from the fact that this is the only beer brewed in Laos; and its cultural significance to the Laotians (and backpackers, of course)… this liquid amber *that didn't sound right lol* is surprisingly very good! Clean taste, a hint of grass/wheat and a light finish. I just can’t pinpoint the other odd undertone is has but I’ll let you know soon.

BeerLao has been winning medals since 2003 in the international beer circuit. The most recent was in Paris. It is also named as the “Best Beer in Asia” by Time Magazine in 2004. Who would imagine a world-class beer coming out of Laos? Well, don’t bother…it’s already here.

Beerlao was first produce in 1995 by the only brewery in the country, the Lao Brewery Company in Vientiane. LBC has been producing other beer brands since 1971.

Beerlao is made from local jasmine rice, Pilsner malt imported from France, Hallertauer Magnum hops and dry yeast from Germany, and spring water. They are now taking beer-making seriously. It is now exported in Australia, America, Canada, Cambodia, France, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Switzerland, Thailand, Vietnam, and the UK.

It comes in 3 variants: the Beerlao Original with 5% Alc./Vol., Beerlao Light with 2.9% and the divine Beerlao Dark with 6.5% party points. A regular bottle costs 5,500 Kip (US$0.50/ 21 Baht / 2 Ringgit).

When you come to Laos, try this beer. So when it’s time to leave, it would be your magic carpet. With just one bottle, you will be transported back to the streets of Vientiane or Luang Phrabang, enjoying on the banks of the Mekong River watching the sunset.

BeerLao – Treasure of Southeast Asia.

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*Photo courtesy of Peter Garnhum

BEAUTIFUL WOMEN WEARS KEBAYA

One heritage icon of Southeast Asia that spans half of our region is the elegant Kebaya. It is a traditional chemise *ok, blouse!* worn by women in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Southern Thailand. It is usually made with translucent fabric, lace or linen and worn together with a sarong or other traditional textiles.

Some says the Kebaya originated from the Middle East; more likely because they share religious background with them. Some claimed it came from a type of blouse worn by Javanese women in the 1400s; but others also claim it originated from China which spread through the region a hundred years earlier.


As the Kebaya extends 6 different countries over hundreds of years, it is also interesting to note that styles vary with cultural infusions…

One familiar style is the Sarong Kebaya; the uniform of flight attendants of Singapore Airlines and Malaysia Airlines. *If you see it on a male cabin attendant, that’s another story*

Kebaya Indonesia is worn with sarong batik, colorful songket and a long thin scarf called salendhang. There are notable variations by province.

The Nyonya Kebaya is worn by the classy women in Malacca, complete with sarong and beaded shoes. This is one of the most famous *and indecently expensive* styles of this elegant outfit. A book written by Mahmood Endon shows how beautiful the Nyonya Kebaya is. The Pua T’ng The is the version of Hokkien ladies in Penang.

And Bruneian ladies wear it with particular elan. Simply lovely.

In the early days, women used to wear it just for going out of the house. And it’s very nice to see those old Malayan movies where all women wears one and dang! Does it look good on them or what?! But sad to say nowadays, it is mostly reserved to be worn only in special occasions. *sigh*

Maybe because Kebayas are too expensive nowadays? Maybe – a modern piece costs at least 1,000 Ringgit (US$320/ 11,200 Baht/€218) in Malaysia alone. I say, they should make it more affordable so that the Kebaya won’t die with it.

The Kebaya is a heritage that we should not lose with time.
It is the collective identity of our graceful women.

Because women in Kebaya, and wears it with pride --
are the most beautiful women in the world.

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Photo credit: Mahmood Endon & Javajive.

INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT OUR NATIONAL ANTHEMS

The oldest national anthem in our region is “Lupang Hinirang” of the Philippines composed in 1898. The newest is “Patria” of Timor Leste composed in 1975.

The longest anthem is “Indonesia Raya” of Indonesia with 32 lines from 3 verses and 2 choruses. And the shortest, on the other hand, are “Allah Peliharakan Sultan” of Brunei and “Negaraku” of Malaysia, both with only 6 lines.

The only anthem sung in a non-Southeast Asian language is “Patria” of Timor Leste which is in Portuguese. There are no Tetum version (the national language) written up to this day. The Philippine anthem is the only one written in 3 official versions – Spanish, English and Filipino.

A survey of 500 people reveals that 89% of them thought that the National Anthem of Singapore is sung in Chinese – it is in fact, sung in Malay.

The only Southeast Asian anthem written by a foreigner (a European) is -- with much irony -- "Phleng Chat" of Thailand. The only country in the region that didn’t fall to colonizers has a foreigner to compose its national anthem.


More info by country here...


BRUNEI DARUSSALAM
Anthem Title: الله فليهاراكن سلطن (Allah Peliharakan Sultan)
English Translation: "God Bless the Sultan"
Composer: Awang Haji Besar bin Sagap
Lyricist: Pengiran Haji Mohamed Yusuf bin Abdul Rahim
Date of Composition: 1947
Date of Adaptation: 1951 & 1984

BURMA
Anthem Title: " Kaba Ma Kyei "
English Translation: "Till the End of the World, Burma"
Composer & Lyricist: Saya Tin
Date of Composition: n/a
Date of Adaptation: 1947

CAMBODIA
Anthem Title: "Nokoreach"
English Translation: “Royal Kingdom”
Composer: Cambodian folk tune
Lyricist: Chuon Nath
Date of Composition: n/a
Date of Adaptation: 1941 & 1947

TIMOR LESTE
Anthem Title: "Pátria"
English Translation: "Fatherland"
Composer: Afonso de Araujo
Lyricist: Francisco Borja da Costa
Date of Composition: 28 November 1975
Date of Adaptation: 20 May 2002

INDONESIA
Anthem Title: “Indonesia Raya”
English Translation: “Great Indonesia”
Composer & Lyricist: Wage Rudolf Supratman
Date of Composition: 1928
Date of Adaptation: 1949

LAOS
Anthem Title: "Pheng Xat Lao"
English Translation: “National Hymn of Lao”
Composer: Dr. Thongdy Sounthonevichit
Lyricist: Dr. Thongdy Sounthonevichit (original), Sisana Sisane (new)*
Date of Composition: 1941, *1975
Date of Adaptation: 1947

MALAYSIA
Anthem Title: "Negaraku"
English Translation: "My Country"
Composer: *The tune was originally used as the state anthem of Perak
Lyricist: n/a
Date of Composition: 1957
Date of Adaptation: 1957

PHILIPPINES
Anthem Title: “Lupang Hinirang”
English Translation: “Chosen Land”
Composer: Julian Felipe
Lyricist: Jose Palma
Date of Composition: 1898 (tune), 1899 (lyrics)
Date of Adaptation: 12 June 1898
*Sung in Spanish from 1899-1918, sung in English from 1919-1940s, sung in Filipino from 1966 to present.

SINGAPORE
Anthem Title: “Majulah Singapura”
English Translation: “Onward Singapore”
Composer & Lyricist: Zubir Said
Date of Composition: 1959
Date of Adaptation: 1959

THAILAND
Anthem Title: "เพลงชาติ" ("Phleng Chat")
English Translation: “National Song”
Composer: Peter Feit (Phra Jenduriyang)
Lyricist: Luang Saranupraphan
Date of Composition: 1932
Date of Adaptation: 10 December 1939
*The only anthem played at 8.00 and 18.00 by law.

VIETNAM
Anthem Title: “Tiến Quân Ca”
English Translation: "Army March"
Composer & Lyricist: Văn Cao
Date of Composition: 1944
Date of Adaptation: 1945

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OUR TREASURES: The Esplanade

Arguably Southeast Asia’s most magnificent arts complex and I'm definitely not arguing. Singapore’s Esplanade is one of the best architecture I have ever seen and one of the most beautiful buildings on Earth.

Locals endearingly call it “The Durian”. But contrary to popular belief, the original design didn’t intend to look like the smelly *and hellish!* fruit. It just so happen it looks like one. And others call it “the fly’s eyes” anyway, meaning, it’s all subject to personal interpretation.

30 years in the making – this performing arts complex was worth the wait. It has put Singapore on the international cultural map. World-class performers can’t wait to caboodle the state-of-the-art acoustics and stage of this “classy” venue. Some of Asia’s largest productions is on stage here.

Esplanade formally opened on 12 October 2002 and the government even issued commemorative stamps to mark the occasion. Located in 6 hectares (15 acres) of uber-prime land and was built to the tune of…hold your breath…US$400 million. Whew! Get a load of that!

The Esplanade was purposely built to be the centre of the performing arts of the Republic of Singapore. There is a 1,600 seat concert hall and a 2,000-seat theatre for the performing arts. There are outdoors venues as well in a 300-meter-long waterfront facing Marina Bay.

What do you make of those triangular aluminium that covers the building? Are those petals? Fish scales? Thorny spikes? What? Those are especially designed to cover the building from direct sunlight. It also allows a fantastic view of the skyline from the inside. Since Singapore is about 83 miles south of the equator, the sun’s path is constant all year round.

How do you know when a building is in Singapore? Well, a good give-away is that it is connected to a shopping mall. Yup! An architectural wonder as the Esplanade is connected to a shopping mall with its namesake. There’s a courtyard where you can people watch, relax and bask in the sun. Wonderful, wonderful place.

How to get there? Take the subway and get off City Hall MRT Station and its just 10 mins walk from there. If you’re the bus-riding kind; take 36, 56, 75, 70, 77, 97, 106, NR1, NR2, NR5 and a lot more. Taking the tube is probably the better option, or better yet...those nice cabs.

Singapore's Esplanade --
Treasure of Southeast Asia.

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The MERLION: Male or Female?

Did you know that “Merlion” is actually a word combination of a mermaid and a lion? So, if it's a mermaid...it must be female. Wait...it could be a combination of a lion and a mer-man, right? So it could be a male! And it's head has long hair like a male lion, so it MUST be a male!

The Merlion has become an almost visual cliché to Singapore as the Eiffel Tower is to Paris. This symbol has become well-known and has come to be identified with no other country in the world but Singapore.

If you would look at it closely, the Merlion, aside from its obvious lion-headed-with-fish-like-body features – it is actually riding a wave! *a surfer's icon? Whoa!* This is as important as the other parts of the symbol as it represents the ancient city of Temasek (the Javanese name of the island before it was named “Singapura”). Singapore adapted the Merlion as its symbol exclusively for the Singapore Tourism Board in 1972.

The original statue of the Merlion is 8.6 metres tall and weighs more than 70 tons! It was sculpted by a Singaporean craftsman named Lim Nang Seng as commissioned by the great Lee Kuan Yew. It cost over $165,000 to build in 1971! The statue was installed at the mouth of the Singapore River to welcome all visitors to this brilliant city.

Exactly 30 years after its installation in 15 September 1972, the original Merlion was moved to an area overlooking Marina Bay on 15 September 2002. Marina Bay is a now the cultural center of Singapore and the home of the future Singapore F1 Circuit.

As we all know, the Merlion has to be the most photographed structure in Singapore. You never been to Singapore if you don’t have any picture next to it. Please bear in mind that the Merlion (and much taller) in Sentosa is a copy-cat *I mean copy-mermaid or copy-merman, whatever*. Its head is twisted to the right and sprouts light. Ha! The original sprouts water, thank you very much.

Whatever you do, no matter how the guidebooks says Merlion Park is in Marina Bay -- never get off Marina Bay MRT Station no matter how you insist the Merlion is there and piss your friends. *this goes for me :p* Just follow the directions below. Take the MRT to Raffles Place and take exit H. Follow the signs to One Fullerton where it is just 5 mins walk to it. The Asian Civilizations Museum and the Esplanade are also just a stone-throw away.

Oh by the way...just a few metres behind the Merlion is a cub! Here's a photo.
So! The Merlion was a female all along! And a mom! Take that!


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OUR TREASURES: The Taxis

They are the 2nd front liners the moment our visitors step foot in our airports. Our taxi drivers give the first impression to them on how we are as a people. That is why I cannot reiterate enough that taxis of our gateways MUST be centralized and drivers are well mannered and well trained.

Our taxis are the ones we love to love and we love to hate as locals. We have endless stories and anecdotes we experienced riding with them. But one thing is for sure, they are important to us…in practicality and cultural aspect.

Here’s how the taxis of our neighboring villages look like --



Our taxis -- Treasures and icons of Southeast Asia.

Have you got a nice story to share about our taxis?


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