Thailand Voice

On Sunday, we went for an enjoyable bicycle ride in Bangkok. At first glance, this would sound like a crazy idea. But, it is amazing that after only a short boat ride across the Chao Phraya River, we were surrounded by lush green vegetation and almost complete silence. In fact, for most of the…

One of the most spectacular cultural shows in Bangkok is undoubtedly at Siam Niramit: Journey to the Enchanted Kingdom of Siam. So many people had been talking about it on the Paknam Web Forums that I thought that I should make an…

Samut Prakan was built as a frontier town to protect the approach to Bangkok upriver. Fortresses were built on both sides of the river from the estuary all the way up to Phra Pradaeng. Not many of these forts are around today. They are either in ruins …

US President Barack Obama (2ndL) and US First Lady Michelle Obama welcome Thailand’s Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva (L) and his wife Pimpen Sakuntabhai to the G20 dinner at the Phipps Conservatory on September 24, 2009 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Getty Images) U.S. President Barack Obama …

I have never been a fan of longan, or lamyai, as it is called in Thai, but it is difficult to avoid the plant and the fruit altogether if you are in Chiang Mai these days. Market stalls are laden with bunches of the fruit, and the …

During the late 19th Century, the colonial powers of France and to a lesser extent Great Britain were attempting to carve up parts of Siam for themselves. In order to protect his kingdom, King Rama V ordered the construction of …

An albino baby turtle swims with green sea babies turtle in a pond at Khram island, about 30 km (19 miles) from Pattaya, east of Bangkok. Special care is given to around 15,000 green and hawksbill baby turtles hatched and housed at the navy’s conservation center each year. Once the baby turtles’ shells are …

“He fought like a man so he could become a woman” – Still from the Thai movie Beautiful Boxer Thailand here has many-a glorious site to feast ones eyes on, besides just a million temples, two million taxis and three million noodle soup stalls we have the one…

There are two animals I really hate in this world. They are ants and mosquitoes. Ants just infuriate me, most the time they are running through the kitchen because of our own stupidity. You leave out something sweet and here in Thailand it doesn’t have to be for more than a… Read full story >>>

Think before you drink, before you write…. The average Thai village girl looks upon a visit to the big city shopping mall as a rare treat, window shopping, a low cost meal and a discounted sale bargain being the order of the day. An iced coffee … Read full story >>>

Quite a while back Monsoon Books contacted us here at www.thai-blogs.com and asked whether we were interested in reviewing one of their books about ladyboys. Since that isn’t exactly Richard’s cup-of-tea, the task was with me. Just looking …

Here we are again, it's time to lead you all astray and infect you with my bad Thai language skills. I'm a little nervous as I know lots of people who are a lot better at speaking Thai than myself may read these … Read full story >>>

Although it’s known as Bangkok’s floating market the Damnoen Saduak floating market is actually about 100 kilometers Southwest of Bangkok in Ratchaburi Province . If, like me, you’ve seen many pictures of people selling many colorful fruits and vegetables on the open waters of the canals then this … Read full story >>>

Two recent Muay Thai action films, Krissanapong Rachata’s Power Kids and Thanakorn Pongsuwan’s Fireball have slipped across the border. Bangkok Film Studio’s Fireball opened in Singapore and Malaysia over the weekend. Now Thanakorn was a little miffed with me last year when I … Read full story >>>

Thai resources on Google Books… As what usually happens when blogging, one subject leads to another. For instance, this week I posted about Mary Haas Thai-English Student’s Dictionary in Bangkok . And then, after a suggestion made in the comments (thanks Aksara Anwa Akson Thai ), I was led to create a post on … Read full story >>>

Well I have survived the first 3 days back at school. I am settling in and getting back to the grind. I am really lucky this year as I don’t have to do too many lesson plans as I have them from the last few years teaching the same level. This means all worksheets … Read full story >>>

As I mentioned in an earlier post I was lucky enough to spend the Thai New Year, known as Songkran, in 4 different provinces. I spent the first day of Songkran in Pattaya on soi Diana playing with all the bar girls and the subsequent days I spent in Mukdahan, That Phanom and … Read full story >>>

Thaksin will be charged with lese majeste in the next few days, according to the Bangkok Post. The charge apparently relates to interviews he gave on 12th and 13th April, presumably his direct appeal to the King on CNN . It’s surprising that his mid-April … Read full story >>>

The Nation : What’s interesting, though, is how the partisans treat the respective scenarios. If you are pro-Abhisit, you tend to believe he was in the car, but you wouldn’t lose sleep if there was evidence that he was in fact hiding somewhere else. If you are pro-red, of course… Read full story >>>

The past several days have been harrowing for Scott Rosenberg, director of the embattled Phuket Film Festival . After agonizing over whether to cancel the festival , he sent out a press release at around 4:20 this afternoon, announcing the festival would be called off due to the heavy presence… Read full story >>>

If you only have a limited amount of time in Bangkok and want to see the sights make sure Chinatown is on the list. The vivid colors, sounds and smells really draw you in and weave scenes that will be with you for a very long time. The Chinatown district is easily … Read full story >>>

Today was the first day of the new Thai school year. Last night I sat watching football from 2am until 4am and listened to rain tumbling down. I was up at 6.30am and the rain was still falling hard, so after a shower and shave … Read full story >>>

It’s a mostly lonely and mighty unforgiving world I’ve found myself living in here, being one of the few bloggers who regularly writes in English about Thai cinema. So when new folks come on the scene, I want to be welcoming. Here’s a few new blogs worth reading: Bangkok1080.asia — … Read full story >>>

Miss Noot and I usually have our beautiful niece Nong Ja 3 or 4 nights a week staying with us. Miss Noot has been doing work experience at a hotel and the evening shift from 3pm until midnight. The past week I had seen Nong … Read full story >>>

There is a lot to digest and discuss in Crispin’s latest article entitled ” My friend is my enemy in Thailand”: Have removed the background information (but if you not familiar with all aspects you should have a read). Key excerpts: Diplomats familiar with the situation say that UDD co-leader Veera… Read full story >>>

How many f-words did you use this week? For me this week has gone exceptionally awry. For example, when things did go right ( i.e. I was on time for a meeting ), it was only to find out later that things were not as they seemed ( i.e. the meeting… Read full story >>>

I posted about my new tattoo but didn’t actually give any information about it. Sorry for this. I am a little absent minded at times. The symbols represent the Seven Virtues of Bushido. I trained martial arts for a long time … Read full story >>>

Two female tourists have died after suddenly falling ill during a stay at Phi Phi Islands the last few days. Both may have been staying in the same bungalows at the islands. Julie Michelle Bergheim, a 22 year old woman from Norway, died on Monday after falling ill at Phi Phi…

Sondhi Limthongkul is a lucky man indeed. The controversial media magnate, ally turned nemesis of Thaksin Shinawatra, and founder of the misnamed People’s Alliance for Democracy was apparently left standing after gunmen riddled his van with bullets on 17 April 2009. At about 5.40am on that day gunmen pulled… Read full story >>>