Originally Posted by
dsquared37
That's me, kwaiyai: big buffalo.
Some photos were easy and some took a little searching in Thai. The barges are not that common of an event and wikipedia lists the May 1957 as the only ceremony during the 53-58 period. If so it was in honor of the year 2500 on the Buddhist calendar.
I now know that all of these photos were actually between January 1956 and October 1957, so I'm quite sure you are right about the date.
The photo of the Kok Wua intersection I first thought was taken from the northeast corner looking to the northwest corner but realized later the Thai was written backwards so it was the south side of the street. Also there are a few photos my wife thought were Wat Arun due to the porcelain decorations but there are a few wats from the early 1800's which have this type of embellishment so it's a difficult call.
I've looked very closely at similar photos of the guardian statues outside Wat Arun, but the roofline looks different to me in those photos, so I'm not yet convinced of them. I intend to see Wat Arun when I visit in April anyhow, so I'll check it out more closely.
We loved your photos and the juxtaposition with what's present now was very stark in your photos of Ratchadamneon Rd.
Judging from the street views in Google Maps, I'd guess so! I believe the Ratchadamneon Road pictures were from very early 1956, because they lived for 7 weeks in a hotel called the Rattanakosin Hotel very close to the spot where these pictures were taken.
I've been looking for the site of their first house, which dramatically illustrates the changes over the years. My mother describes it as being down two different dirt roads in an area that is now highly developed.
Mrs dsquared said to me, in the mix of Cambodia photos, 'That's the Raffles Hotel.' I had looked right past it not recognizing the building at all.
That was a great catch and is obviously right compared to modern photos. The photos you identified in Ayuthaya were a great catch as I had no idea where those were. It makes perfect sense since my grandfather would have up near Saraburi frequently.
If you have more I'd love to see them. If we can be of furhter help in terms of identifying or photographing just let me know.
I am checking with other relatives to see if I can find more. If I do I will drop you a note. I'm deeply indebted.
Edit: There was a photo of a hotel called the Carlton Hotel. A search indicated it might be Pattaya but we have no idea.
I'm almost certain that it is Hua Hin. I know that they went on a vacation there. I have some pictures of them on the beach there that might help locate the hotel, but I don't have permission to post pictures of them online at the moment.