Most historians think Thais originated in southern China. Tais (Tai is the spelling of the diaspora of ethnic groups who speak the same family
Many historic temples grace the northern Thai town of Nan, so I spent several days there. Wat Ming Muang was low on my list because
While artists in Florence developed three-dimensional perspective and France’s King Francois I imported the Italian Renaissance to beef up his image, Thais perfected their own art
Vientiane has a lot of enchantments besides That Luang. It became one of Southeast Asia’s greatest cities in the 17th century. Lan Xang moved
Many Laotians consider Vientiane’s That Luang to be their national monument, but the insight guide that the Discovery Channel published called it strange and exotic.
The growth of Islam in Southeast Asia has always intrigued me. The faith has been uncompromising in its basic tenets. God is Tawhid (unity) and
We’ll get back to ancient Greece shortly, but after taking a long voyage to the Malay world. Both cultures were oriented to the sea and
The kings of the Lan Xang Empire unified their realm by importing Indian traditions, including Buddhist monasteries and court dances that dramatized the Ramayana. But
Many fans of Laotian art say that Luang Prabang’s Wat Xieng Thong is the most beautiful temple in the country. It was built by
I’ve been looking forward to writing a series of articles on the Laotian Lan Xang kingdom. It was a fascinating cultural crossroads when its political