Book recs on Modern Thai monarchy?

try "a history of thailand" by chris baker & pasuk phongpaichit, covers the monarchy's role but its not solely focused on modern drama. for something more specific, "the king never smiles" by paul m. handley is the classic but it was banned here so you'll have to find a pdf or order it from abroad. sukit nimanhemin's work is worth digging up too, he's a thai academic who wrote critically about the absolute monarchy period but his books are in thai and hard to find outside of chulalongkorn uni's library. honestly, most of the real raw stuff is in academic papers or old farang journalist memoirs from the 70s and 90s, not single books

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if youre okay with academic stuff, "coup, king, crisis" by david streckfuss is solid. its mostly about lèse-majesté law and how the monarchy controls political narratives through it, goes into specific cases like the 2006 coup aftermath. pretty raw since its from yale southeast asia studies, not a thai publisher

also worth checking out "the monarchy and the royal imagination" by irene stengs but thats more anthropological, looks at how the cult of the king gets built through ceremonies and media. found my copy at kinokuniya in siam paragon but they prob only stock the soft stuff

for something more gossipy, "thailand's political history" by bjørn b. schreiber has some interesting chapters on the bhumibol years, he was a norwegian diplomat stationed here so he saw things up close. bit dry but has details most thai sources skip

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yeah "the king never smiles" is the big one, but also look up andrew macgregor marshall's "a kingdom in crisis" - it's more about thai politics overall but gets into the monarchy's recent role, published abroad so uncensored. there's also a translated collection of sulak sivaraksa's essays, he's a local thinker who's been critical for decades and somehow still around, might be easier to find than some of the other stuff

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Krua Dok Mai Kao is solid but I've always found their som tam a bit tame on the pla ra. If you want the real funky version, try the shophouse spots along Soi Udomsuk 26, near the night market end. They pound it fresh with fermented fish that'll clear your sinuses, and it's like 60 baht. Different style from the On Nut places, more Lao-leaning.

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for som tam specifically i'd say the Isaan spots in Chatuchak are underrated, weekdays only though since the weekend crowd ruins the vibe. there's a stall near gate 2 that does tam pa with fermented bamboo shoots, super sour and funky, not something you see much in On Nut. if you're already heading north for Or Tor Kor anyway its worth the detour.

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honestly the som tam at Krua Dok Mai Kao is good but what got me hooked is their nam prik pla raa dip with the raw veggies, that funk hits way harder than the papaya does. think most people sleep on it cuz they just order the som tam and gai yang. also pro tip, go before noon on weekdays, after that teh pla ra gets milder cuz they batch it for the lunch rush

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