Thailand Voice

One of my favourite festivals in Thailand is the Lotus Throwing Festival in Bang Phli, Samut Prakan. A revered Buddha image is placed on a boat and as it is taken up and down Samrong Canal local people throw lotus flowers onto the boat. Original post blogged on www.mythaiphotos.com .

Bride Rattanaporn Supha, left, and groom Nitiphong Jittahorg of Thailand hold a bouquet of flowers as they are suspended on sling wires during a ceremony, known as a ‘flying wedding,’ as part of Valentine’s Day celebrations in Prachinburi province…

Traditionally, in Thailand, when a Buddhist dies, their body is cremated and then the bones and ashes are collected and are either kept at the temple or at home or sometimes both. However, there is a third option which is seemingly becoming more popular these days. It is called “loi angkarn” which means the…

Thai cuisine involves the balancing of contrasting flavors, spicy and subtle, sweet and sharp. It is also concerned with aesthetic value, for the Thais believe that food should please the eye as well as the palate. One particularly delightful aspect…

(Would be extremely difficult to get these two mixed up – but Mrs Clampton did) Due to the positive feedback from the last blog “The Legendary Edith Clampton (Mrs)” , I think it’s only fair to write up a part 2 and include some of the readers’ responses – some…

I was driving through the countryside in Lopburi Province last year when I came across this amazing sight. An elephant walking through a sunflower field. These sites are a popular attraction for Thai tourists who drive hundreds of kilometres to have their pictures taken with sunflowers. For them, the elephant …

It would seem that the longer I stay in Thailand, the higher the frequency that I attend funerals. In fact, I have two sets of funeral clothes now. I thought today I would give a brief overview of a cremation in order to help any foreigners who might find themselves attending a…

In some restaurants that you might visit in Thailand, some of your dishes will come decorated with what looks very much like flowers. But, in reality they are really edible fruit or vegetables. At the hands of a Thai artisan, a…

Some of the best orchids in the world can be found in Thailand. They grow here easily and can also be bought at a good price. However, with over 1,000 species of orchids in Thailand the price can vary from cheap to extremely expensive. If you are interested in flowers or like taking pictures, …

Millions of people from all around Thailand came together on the evening of the 5th December 2009 to celebrate H.M. The King’s 82nd birthday. In Samut Prakan we also had a ceremony in the City Hall Plaza alongside the river. This was attended by…

Today, people from all around the country are coming together to celebrate the 82nd birthday of H.M. The King. Many of them are wearing pink which is an auspicious colour believed to help make the King better. The Thai monarch has been in Siriraj Hospital in Bangkok since 19th September for …

As the fireworks and firecrackers are going on non-stop for the third day running, and the city is celebrating with the biggest and most colourful parade of the loy krathong festivities, I am at home listening from a safe…

After nine days and nights of eating a vegan diet and keeping the 10 precepts, the Vegetarian Festival in Thailand is finally over. The festival ended with a large parade through the town of Paknam early on the morning of 27th October. At about 7 a.m., at the city hall, a …

Thailand is the largest exporter of fresh orchids in the world. Although there are many varieties and many colours, the violet orchid is perhaps the most recognizable flower symbal of Thailand. Thai Airways give their passengers this orchid to welcome them on board. The young lady in this picture is about to give me …

It is very hot standing in the sun where it is very crowded. Luckily I am standing in a place where it has less people plus I am standing in the front of those people. The bridge, where I am standing, is made from…

One of my favourite festivals in Thailand is the Rap Bua Festival in Bang Phli, Samut Prakan. I usually go every year now. In English, the festival translates as “Lotus Receiving Festival”. However, it has another name in Thai which I think describes it more accurately. This is “Yon…

Thousands of people at Wat Bang Phli Yai Nai, Bang Phli, attended the “Lotus Throwing” festival to mark the end of the Buddhist Retreat on Saturday. A Buddha image on a boat, made its way down the canal, while worshippers on both banks threw lotus flowers at it…

(The following is a brief Thai> English translation from various local news sources) At 10 in the morning of 24 September, Mr Sanan, administrative chief of Phatthalung province was in charge of perhaps the first ever televised wedding between endangered Sakai people. The Sakai is an indigenous tribe who live …

Two drug traffickers on death row at Bang Kwang Prison were executed by lethal injections this evening in Thailand. They were Bundit Charoenwanich, 45, and Jirawat Phumpruek, 52. Both were arrested on March 29, 2001 for having 114,219 methamphetamine tablets in their possession. Convicted of drug trafficking…

Miss Thailand Chutima Durongdej accepts flowers after being named Miss Photogenic at the Miss Universe 2009 annual pageant at Atlantis on Paradise Island in the Bahamas August 23, 2009. (REUTERS/Lucas Jackson) More Thailand pictures can be found at www.ThaiPhotoBlogs.com .

Millions of Thai people from all around Thailand came together on the evening of the 12th August to celebrate H.M. The Queen’s 77th birthday. In Samut Prakan we also had a ceremony in the parade ground next to the Provincial Hall. This was attended …

This morning I visited Ancient Siam (formerly Ancient City) in Samut Prakan for their annual Mother’s Day activity. Over the last four or five years, the management have been organizing many different kinds of events at the park during all major holidays. Today is a public holiday for H.M. The Queen’s birthday…

Today, people from all over Thailand are celebrating Her Majesty Queen Sirikit’s 77th birthday. Like people in other regions of the country, many locals from Samut Prakan dressed in blue today which is the colour for Friday, the day that Her Majesty was born. Several thousand local people came…

The rainy season has been rather dry so far up here in Chiang Mai, ideal for daytrips – if you don’t mind baking in the sun shining right above your head at this time of the year. For a change, I decided to hop on a bus today and go on one of …

After I broke up with my first girlfriend I changed a lot. From a normal school boy into a naughty one. I started to hang out with those friends whom my girlfriend didn’t like. The reason she didn’t like them is because they were never serious with any girls. They just played…

When my mother comes to visit Chiang Mai, she always asks me to take her to the Rose Garden first. She insists that she knows this enchanted place from a previous life and gets annoyed when I point out that Bhubing Palace (Phuphing Palace) wasn’t constructed until 1961. Bhubing Palace is the …

There are an increasing number of foreigners who are marrying Thai women or Thai men. And according to our ThailandQA.com Forums , there are also many people coming to Thailand to attend weddings as guests as they are asking questions like “What do we wear to a Thai wedding” and “What gift do we give…

Senior People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) leader Chamlong Srimuang receives flowers from supporters as he reports to police in Bangkok July 16, 2009. Thursday is the deadline for 35 PAD “yellow shirt” leaders to report and be informed of charges against them of terrorism…

Last year, I wrote a short blog with pictures about How to Eat Dragon Fruit . It proved to be quite popular with people searching on Google. The bright pink fruit is not native to Thailand and can be found in other regions of the…

Thai students sing a song of Michael Jackson during a gathering to pay tribute to the late entertainer, in Bangkok on Friday July 3, 2009. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit) A fan of Michael Jackson lays flowers during a memorial ceremony for the singer in downtown Bangkok July 3, 2009. (REUTERS…