The Giant Swing Main Page

Topping off the Giant Swing - Post Today, January 9, 2007
Above: Post Publishing's great photo of the top piece being lifted on to the Giant Swing



(Photo: 2Bangkok.com)

(Photo: 2Bangkok.com)

Giant Swing gets new look - Bangkok Post, July 19, 2005 Initial repairs on the ancient giant swing near city hall have been completed by a private firm to allow the swing to withstand bad weather until the end of the rainy season, when the swing will undergo major restoration work... The money was spent on cleaning it, checking damage caused by termites, eradicating the termites, putting epoxy glue in its connecting parts, coating it with carbon fibre sheets and giving it a new red paint... Restoration work of Giant Swing begins - TNA, May 12, 2005 GIANT SWING: Replacement time for historic icon - The Nation, April 19, 2005 The construction of a replacement for the 45-year-old Giant Swing in Bangkok’s Phra Nakhon district is a possibility if the proper timber is supplied, Deputy City Clerk Phichai Chaiyaphojphanich said yesterday... Phichai said superficial renovations and partial replacement of damaged components had been ruled out. However, the BMA was going ahead with a major renovation job and was simultaneously trying to locate suppliers of ideal timber so the weather-scarred structure could be replaced. The ideal timber for the replacement was either golden teak or ironwood (takhien). The replacement would require four entire logs, 25 metres in length and 50 centimetres in diameter...

Plan to build a new B10m Giant Swing - Bangkok Post, April 19, 2005
Deputy city clerk Pichai Chaipotpanich yesterday said city hall would propose replacing the 21-metre-high wooden Giant Swing with a brand-new one, costing the city about 10 million baht as it would include a higher foundation for the wooden structure and landscape improvement of the vicinity.
The BMA would need four logs, possibly teak, which should be 25 metres long and 50 centimetres in diameter. They might be imported from Burma but city hall would be willing to buy from local suppliers if they existed.
The current Giant Swing is 45 years old, though the original one dated back to 1784. Pending acquisition of new logs and the construction of a new one, the current Giant Swing would have to be repaired well enough to survive the upcoming rains. In the old days, the Giant Swing was used in a ceremony honouring the Hindu god Shiva.

Giant Swing ceremony to be performed before restoration - TNA, April 18, 2005
Bangkok's famous Giant Swing is to swing into action once again for a special ceremony to be carried out before restoration on the ancient structure begins, Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayothin revealed today.
Although the ceremony will not replicate the daring and dangerous Brahmanic feats of old, it will involve Brahmanic ritual.
. ..The restoration on the swing, constructed in 1784, is expected to begin mid-year, and the BMA hopes to revive the ancient Giant Swing ceremony in 2006 or 2007.

Fears for giant swing - The Nation, February 26, 2005
Bangkok officials plan to hasten repairs to the ageing Giant Swing, fearing it would not withstand a major storm. The weakening of the structure is obvious even to passing motorists.
Urban planning officials have found peeling of the swing’s wooden pillars and deep cracks, particularly at their base.
In September 1996, the Public Works Department reinforced the posts by fastening iron bands around them and building a circular concrete foundation.
However, the swing, which will be 221 years old on April 8, is in no danger of collapsing for the time being.

Old, old Giant Swing photo - January 30, 2007
Anyone know the date of this photo? And what is the bell-shaped object by the swing?