Norwich bulletin., 1921-12-03
A Bulletin To Let
 Advertisement Will Rent II
NUSIo
SIAM

Oif%m r.
 Slams entry into the paper nnak- ing field. as indicated by the receni shipment of paper plant from tfif country to Bangkok for experiment with such raw materials as rice straw and native grasses is more characteTis. tic Of Slams civilization than the Tyhitf elephants or little boys smoking bit cigars popularly associated with thai Asiatic kingdom, says a bulletin from the Washington, D. c. headquarters O. the National Geographic Society.
 Quaint and curious customs do pre- vail in Siam, wild men still may bt found on the Burmese half of the Ma lay peninsula, and in the northern for ests of Siam roam the tiger. leopard rhinoceros and tapir,1 continues tho
 But in Bangkok electric lights H. lumine streets traversed by trolley carr erstwhile elephant paths have beer converteds into boulevards along which spin familiar makes of automobiles, and a royal establishment which clings to the sacred elephant employs a yacht for weekend trips on the Menam Riv- CT.
 Tn some superficial aspects 1t would seem that Bangkok is several laps ahead of ultra modern America. knfck- erbockers attract attention when wocr by American women in city streets and bobbed hair is frowned on in soms of our conservative business and so- | cial circles. Yet the Siamese woman wears the knee length panung, as does her brother, and for generations she has refused to be fbothered with long hair. She has freedom that has de- veloped shrewdness and independence | in contrast to most oriental women. though she is apt to be unlettered. ! "The spirit of progress in Siam lies much deeper than surface likenesses or acceptance of fads. No duress com- pelled her sovereign to convert a tract formerly used for cremating members Of the royal family to a park for crfc- ket golf and football playing. From this park in the Royal Palace runs a boulevard with three roadways, SC, part by double rows of trees and flank ed by shaded footpaths-an avenue which would do credit to the plan ot an American city. Nor are Bangkok'S many improvements due to foreign pro- motion, for there are fewer Europeans in Slams capital than in almost anY other Eastern city of its importance
 Bangkok is a. city of half a million inhabitants, the capital, metropolis and port city of Siam.i The kingdom hal an area about equal to that of Spair and population of some eight mil lion.
 'The high civilization of BangkoI has contrast in extreme primitivi . conditions of other parts of the ccun try. Curious customs abound. In up
 per Siam tea is pickled for chewinI instead of being used as a beverage First the leaves are sun dried, the ,l they are steamed to rid them of tan
 min. Next they are weighed down fo
 fermentation, a process suggestive c the German preparation of sauer kru
 at. The substance thus formed Is plac
 ed in the mouth until the juices ar
 removed. The appearance of the in
 dividuals with the balls in their cheek forms a never-ending source Of aInuse
 ment for travellers.
 "The capital of upper Siam is Chien
 Mai, famous for its lacquer ware an
 centre of the teak tree trade. This re
 zion is a land of boats. Water route
 form virtually the only lines of com
 munication between the upper and low . CT kingdom.
 : 'In eastern Siam a plateau and ] plain support population which mus 3 3 move from swamp lands in the rain v season to higher elevations which ar e barren and stony. Hence living con
 ditions are most primitive.
 , Bangkok has been called the Venic
 of the East The AIenam River is tn
 great trading street Of the city. Float
 ing houses do a cash and carry bust
 ness through windows opening towar
 the channel where pass the shopper
 in almost every conceivable sort ( ? craft. These range from great steam [. ships to the priests boats propelled b novitiates and from the immense rio
 boats to the canoes which carry th
 postment Then there are the river
 going cafeterias serving the resident
 of floating houses. These, too. are ca
 noes, equipped with tiny stoves. "Perhaps the most colorful rive
 scene is the water market, where eac \ tiny boat with its cargo of food bear ' a little lamp. The market hours ar \ from midnight until early morning. An ! during that paEIDd the market sectio z of the river resembles a fairyland wit its myriad niimmerine Iiehts's