This pioneering insight into contemporary Thai folk culture delves beyond the traditional Thai icons to reveal the casual, everyday expressions of Thainess that so delight and puzzle. From floral truck bolts and taxi altars to buffalo cart furniture and drinks in a bag, the same exquisite care, craft and improvisation resounds through home and street, bar and wardrobe. Never colonised, Thai culture retains nuanced ancient meaning in the most mundane things. The days are colour coded, lucky numbers dictate prices, window grilles become guardian angels, tattoos entrance the wearer. Philip Cornwel-Smith scoured each region to show how indigenous wisdom both adapts to the present and customises imports, applying Roman architecture to shophouses, morphing rock into festive farm music, turning the Japanese motor-rickshaw into the tuk-tuk. Colour-saturated illustrations help you navigate various social traits, whether white-faced hi-so matrons or Red Bulls, willing workers wearing coins in their ear. This is Thai culture as it has never been shown before. AUTHOR: Born in England, Philip never expected to live in Thailand for almost two decades. He d been in the capital only four days before becoming the founding editor of its first international-standard city listings magazine, Bangkok Metro, which he helmed until 2002. Throughout his time in Thailand, Philip has organised events, from film festivals and dance productions to themed parties and award ceremonies. He also acted as location consultant on several international projects, including the Grammy-nominated video-album 1GiantLeap and the Discovery Channel cityguide Noodle Box: Bangkok, which he presented. Among the other publications Philip's edited or contributed to are "Thailand: A Traveller's Companion, Eyewitness": "Thailand Guidebook", Lonely Planet's "World Food: Thailand" and the city's first mobile phone guide for Nokia. International magazines he's worked on include Wallpaper*, Colors, World Architecture, Attitude, and Inside: Australian Design Review. Photographer John Goss is an American artist based in Bangkok. John works collaboratively and individually on projects using both traditional and electronic media. A past recipient of a fellowship from the U.S. National Endowment for the Arts, he has created multi-media performances combining text, movement, lasers, computers, image projection, and digital music. His video works and photography have been widely exhibited around the world. SELLING POINTS: *Fully revised and updated; 64 more pages, 4 new chapters and 209 new photographs *Original edition was widely reviewed, including a full page piece by Andrew Marshall in Time magazine *Pioneering insight into contemporary Thai culture *Packed with colour illustrations and insightful observations *Respected author writes for many publications including Time Out Bangkok 492 colour photographs