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Colours of Thailand: White

TIME : 2016/2/24 18:30:09

Many travel brochures associate Thailand with white sandy beaches, but beyond the islands and resorts white is a colour which features heavily in Thai culture and everyday life. In Buddhism, white represents purity and visitors to Thai temples will notice white chedis (pagodas) and white lotus flowers. If you are on holiday or vacation in Thailand you might not see many white elephants or white rabbits like the ones shown below, but if you eat local Thai food you are guaranteed to see white rice every day.

white elephant at Doi Suthep, Chiang Mai
White elephant at Doi Suthep, Chiang Mai

towel elephants in Bangkok hotel
Towel elephants at Thong Ta Resort Hotel near Bangkok airport

white sandy beach at Ko Adang
Deserted white sand beach at Ko Adang (near Ko Lipe) in southern Thailand

rice is served with most meals in Thailand
Plain white rice is served with most meals in Thailand

white rabbits in honour of His Majesty the King of Thailand
His Majesty the King of Thailand was born in the Year of the Rabbit and a white rabbit features on the king’s royal emblem

white lotus flowers are used in Buddhist offerings
White lotus flowers are commonly used when making Buddhist offerings

The gleaming White Temple in Chiang Rai
Wat Rong Khun (also known as the White Temple) in Chiang Rai

seated white Buddha in Chiang Rai
White seated Buddha in Chiang Rai