Ola Siao: 500 years of Thai-Portuguese Relationships In Bangkok Thailand

The Museum Siam is holding the “Ola Siao: 500 years of Thai-Portuguese Relationships” exhibition.

Under the theme ‘Historic Mission for Power, Money, or Faith in God?, the event is the first live exhibition in Thailand, where visitors can listen, chat, smell, look, and taste. The organizer hopes participants would be involved in a new learning experience, and understand the history and background of the Thai-Portuguese relationships, which have developed for 500 years.

Mr. Rames Promyen, Director of the National Discovery Museum Institute (Museum Siam), revealed that Portugal was the first nation which sent an envoy to develop a friendly relationship with the Ayutthaya Kingdom during the reign of King Ramathibodi II in 1511. Portugal and Thailand (Siam) have been in good relationship for 500 years, the longest relations Thailand has enjoyed with a Western nation. The relationship reflects Thailand’s open diplomacy from the past to present. The Kingdom has been welcoming traders from all over the world. Having many great and farsighted kings, Thailand has developed diplomatic relations with several Western powers as equal states.

The Ola Siao: 500 years of Thai-Portuguese Relationships exhibition is considered an unconventional way of giving knowledge. Visitors get a chance to experience and learn of several events in history from actors and actresses playing roles of Portuguese figures, who were significant to Thailand. They dress in traditional costumes, bringing the audience back to the old days. Mr Rames hopes that the visitors will be able to recall what they have learned here through visualization, which is a better learning process than reading books.