Treasures of Thailand, 1960s

is [Music] he [Applause] [Music] s [Music] there are sies fighting fish and there are sies fighting men both gy and spectacular exponents of their art here is an ancient form of fighting but the ties are friendly and Peaceable people and when the show is over these exhibition Fighters put on the clothes of the present day by okay traditional displays like this make a bridge with the past they are an art with a long history but nevertheless the ties are fully committed to the 20th century so s pong Wong chai fresh from his athletic at the fighting School becomes one of the busy citizens of Bangkok taking the modern world for [Music] granted the city is no picturesque survival of a byon age Thailand is one of the nations of the East which has assimilated the technology of the present day the car the telephone the poster and the Jet Plane are part of tha life but there is a firm foundation below this through all the twists and turns of an ancient history the ties have lived secure within their Frontiers and their Buddhist religion the climate of the tropics does not give buildings a long life but these images of the Buddha have been standing for more than five centuries since they were set up in the one-time capital of [Music] sukotai earliest here were the kums who built the stone monuments of Pei here were libraries temples palaces all carved and decorated in the 12th century of our [Music] era they carve stories of gods and heroes of ancient battles and the Kings who ruled in those far off times Buddhism is one of the world's great religions and plays a leading part in the life of the whole Thai nation public and private the Royal Chapel of the emerald Buddha is one of the principal temples of Bangkok there is a lavishness of form and color which is holy thae everywhere there is gold gold gilded roofs and figures fluttering Gold Leaf of a thousand Pious offerings for the Buddhist leaves a flake of gold as a mark of respect to a holy spot or image in the temple of the reclining Buddha The Gardens and buildings are dominated by the vast golden image 160 ft in length and 39 ft High [Music] [Music] people come here to offer their prayers and seal them with a lighted taper or a square of gold leaf [Music] Thailand is and has been for hundreds of years a monarchy King Rama I first began the Grand Palace in 1782 he chose a style based upon the European for Thailand's contacts with the Western world are of long standing the palace is used for formal receptions and makes an impressive background for State occasions and Royal ceremonies [Music] many of these ceremonies revolve round the religious year its climax is the Royal procession down the cha prea River to the Temple of the Dawn Wun the immense Royal barges are brought out once a year for this [Music] occasion the splendor the carved and gilded boats the 54 disciplined rowers come from the pages of history but the trim figure of the king symbolizing the nation he leads is completely of the 20th century the royal family plays its part as one of the most important unifying elements in Thailand how does an ordinary Thai family live here again the ties have kept a lively sense of tradition while taking wholeheartedly to the ways of the modern world yesterday's athlete at the sword fighting school is today's Young [Music] father s pong wongchai sits down to a quick breakfast before he leaves for work in the city and the children go after to school it is a pattern familiar around the world though here the day starts with rice and pickles but traditional Customs are still observed family occasions like little dang's birthday must be given a good start by offering food to one of the city's monks the monastic orders live on gifts of food but a monk may not ask for them he must be invited to the door where the whole family can acquire Merit by sharing in a present of rice and fruit and some flowers which the welcome receiver can take back to his [Music] [Music] [Music] Monastery song works for a bank in downtown Bangkok Banks and Bangkok do business like Banks anywhere else and the ties expect their offices to be smart and efficient song is at work here checking queries from industrial customers the ties have taken over modern office Machinery though squeezing the 70 or so signs of their alphabet onto a standard typewriter keyboard presents some problems the threads of trade come together in the commercial quarters of the city bringing Commerce and Industry from scattered corners of the land a telephone call gives an instant link with an office or factory joins place to place and makes each element dependent on the others streamline development makes the country more Compact and unified so that the products of the machine shops can fit neatly into the pattern of supply and demand the traffic which rolls on the roads runs on tires so there's a factory in Bangkok to make them the corded fabric and thick rubber tread are built up layer by layer before being molded to the final familiar shape the rubber which goes into the tirs comes from Thailand to from plantations 800 m to the South the more industry is developed the more horsepower is needed at its elbow in the hills of the Northwest the pumi pon Dam rises in a concrete Cliff 505 ft high this is one of Thailand's key projects one of the biggest dams in the world as with other modern developments the effect is to draw together the scattered elements of the country for the turbines gener electric power which can be carried to 37 provinces to changai 150 Mi to the north to tuck panak nakor saan towns which no longer need look only to their own local trade and commerce but still the basis of all wealth the foundation of all Society is the land Thailand is one of the granaries of Asia the Patty Fields have traditionally supplied the staple food for the country as well as grain for export but the push to modernization has brought new crops on the Upland Plains which are too dry for Rice crops of corn and sorghum are being raised for cattle feed few years ago Thailand produced little corn now they are one of the largest producers in the world [Music] vegetables for the towns are now grown commercially and it has become worthwhile to install mechanical irrigation systems in the far south there appliations of coconut for vegetable oil but here at least there is one job which no one has yet been able to mechanize coconuts have to be handpicked and a well-trained monkey can Harvest 100 coconuts an are besides no machine yet exists which can tell a ripe coconut from an unripe [Music] one forests of the north comes much of the world's teak valuable Hardwoods need careful felling and here again an elephant can pick its way through the standing Timber where no tractor could go and is still unbeatable for hauling a 20ft [Music] log Timber agriculture rubber mining every one of these industries stretching over a country 1500 miles in length needs transport for their products to reach their markets [Music] modern highways are one more way in which the Far Corners of the country have been brought closer to one another all this is mirrored in the papers and figures of the capitals commercial houses where the day's work gives a solid Unity to these different Enterprises when the day ends s pong along with his associates reverts to being a private citizen but the labors he leaves are the Enterprises which which have built the busy city of Bangkok with its monuments public buildings and [Music] boulevards and here is another way which modern tech technology has bridged the country radio and television the two television channels covering most of the country play films from around the world as well as their own shows in the studios the organized chaos of commercially sponsored programs is converted daily into smooth presentations which have the distinctive Thai Flavor fore next [Music] so the songs and stories and jokes and opinions go out to families and groups across the country creating their popular Heroes and heroins and drawing every village closer to the capital the country and the world [Music] oh more [Music] part of the atmosphere of Thailand comes from the Arts and Crafts it has always practiced making objects not only for use but for admiration and enjoyment the painter gives a flick of the wrist and there is a posy of flowers on a palis on [Music] the Potter cuts his designs on plates and bowls decorates them with fantastic shapes from the world of folklore and mythology [Music] one cottage industry has captured the world Thai Silk has spread like a rainbow across it and yet it's beginning in a basket of silk worms munching malberry leaves seems unlikely enough the worms their catapillar really are bred in The Villages and kept in flat round baskets until they make their cocoons the silk is then wound into tny Hanks before being bleached and woven into its eye stunning final [Music] shape of course the silk itself is only a raw material it has to be made up [Music] the ties have always admired beautiful women from any country and they have centuries of practice in finding ways to make them more beautiful Jewelers and so Smiths go to work and from the earth come gems for them to work on rubies emeralds pearls Star Sapphires the star of [Music] sayam the country itself is Jewel like it's not surprising The Travelers from draa climates strain their Ingenuity to arrange a visit here the beaches of the South come very close to a vision of lotus Land There are miles of palm fringed white sand as unspoiled as Robinson cruso Island where the Indian Ocean washes up corals and [Music] seashells in the north the Mountain Streams tumble through little paradises of bamboo Groves [Music] and the ties have seen to it that there are hotels pools and all the necessary facilities to add to the Natural pleasures of their country [Music] parades and displays of many kinds among crowds scattered over the ground like bright colored confetti [Music] all [Music] the stars of the show are the elephants waging mock Wars and making the Earth shake as they pound down the racetrack some teams are even prepared to challenge an elephant to a tug of war though it takes a good many heavily built young men to make something like an even contest [Music] the ties may be gentle and friendly people but they like a vigorous show every week the boxing stadiums are jammed with fans watching Tai style Fighters s pong is there and has taken his little son solemn with [Applause] excitement tie boxing has a long history behind it and the rules are complex and tough knees elbows and feet are allowed and the speed and accuracy is deathly [Applause] [Music] [Applause] go go go why you not [Applause] out out [Applause] so a day ends but color and movement still Sparkle in the streets at night Bangkok is still not ready as [Music] sleep once a year the lights are brought to Earth in the Festival of ly Craton a celebration in which the whole country joins under the Autumn Moon people are perhaps more aware than ever before of the links that join the nation lighted floats are set on lakes rivers and canals they carry with them the cares of the last year and the hopes for a new one good wishes to song back home at last with his evening paper good wishes to a drowsy Danga already tucked up in bed good wishes to mother and son to the family good wishes carried by the light of ly Craton from neighbor to neighbor through every corner of the land of the ties [Music]