Thailand Voice

It is that time of year again when we do a quick review of the past year. Today I am going to look back at some of the more popular news photos from Thailand on our sister blog www.thaiphotoblogs.com . One of the most popular pictures…

Cambodian police officials patrol in front of the Thai embassy building in Phnom Penh on November 5, 2009. Thailand recalled its ambassador to Cambodia on November 5, after Phnom Penh gave a job to fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, further raising tensions between the countries. (Getty Images) Prasas Prasavinitchai, Thailand …

About 30 wives of foreign diplomats in Thailand went on a trip to Petrified Wood Museum, silk factory, pottery community, and Prasat Hin Phimai in Nakhon Ratchasima Province. (manager.co.th) More Thailand pictures can be found at www.ThaiPhotoBlogs.com .

Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn of Thailand is seen here changing the cloth of the Emerald Buddha to mark the start of the cool season, November 3, 2009. (Matichon) More Thailand pictures can be found at www.ThaiPhotoBlogs.com .

Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej (2nd L) lights a candle to a krathong before floating the krathong onto a river during the Loy Krathong festival at Siriraj Hospital in Bangkok November 2, 2009. Believers float krathongs during the festival, which is held as…

Ai Haruna, 37, from Japan, celebrates after winning the Miss International Queen 2009 transsexual beauty pageant in the Thai resort city of Pattaya, about 150 km (93 miles) southeast of Bangkok October 31, 2009. (Reuters) Miss International Queen 2009 Haruna Ai of Japan (C), flanked by first runner-up Kangsadal Wongdusadeekul of Thailand (R) and second runner-up Daniela…

Teeranun Wipuchanin, a 43-year-old unemployed former stock trader, walks after being arrested by Thai police officers at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport November 1, 2009. Police in Thailand arrested two people, including Teeranun, on Sunday on suspicion of spreading rumours about the health of…

Gas, oil and water spray from the West Atlas mobile offshore drilling unit in the Timor Sea, about 250 km (155 miles) off the far north Kimberley coast of Western Australia state, before it caught fire November 1, 2009. The rig operated by a unit of top Thai energy firm PTTEP in …

Fugitive Thai banker Rakesh Saxena is escorted by Thai police officers at the Crime Suppression Division office in Bangkok October 31, 2009. Rakesh returned to Thailand after the Supreme Court of Canada rejected his latest appeal against extradition. Saxena, 57, was charged by Thai police in 1996 with helping to…

Thai children pose for a photo next to balloons arranged to form a Halloween figure at a shopping mall in Bangkok. (Getty Images) Thai office workers pose for a photo next to balloons arranged to form a Halloween figure at a…

The winner of Miss Thailand 2009 was Miss Ornvipa Kanoknateesawad. She also won four other awards during the contest: Miss Media Choice, Miss Healthy, Miss Personality and Miss Princess. (Asiancuteidol) More Thailand pictures can be found at www.ThaiPhotoBlogs.com .

Miss Karnpitcha Pitchayot won an award for “Miss Beautiful Complexion” in the Miss Thailand contest. The prize was 100,000 baht. The finals for Miss Thailand will be held on Wednesday evening. (siamdara) More Thailand pictures can be found at www.ThaiPhotoBlogs

Thai activists wave Thai flags and chant slogans during a rally against the act of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen toward Thailand outside the Cambodian Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2009. Hun Sen offered to make Thailand’s ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra his economic adviser last week, threatening to worsen already tense relations…

Canadian protestor, Ashley Fruno, from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), holds a sign during a protest outside the Canadian Embassy in Bangkok October 26, 2009. The protest is part of PETA’s campaign to bring attention to the practise of traditional seal hunting in Canada. (reuters) More Thailand…

Thailand Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva speaks during the closing ceremony of the 15th ASEAN Summit at the seaside town of Hua Hin October 25, 2009. REUTERS/Sukree Sukplang (THAILAND POLITICS) Thailand’s Prime Minsister Abhisit Vejjajiva indicates to Australia’s Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, right, where to stand as Japan’s Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, second from right, and China’s…

Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej is seen coming down to Siriraj hospital’s ground floor to pay homage to his late mother and King Rama V on the occassion of the Chulalongkorn Day, October 23, 2009. King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world longest reigning monarch, has been treated at Bangkok’s Siriraj Hospital since September 19 for …

The winner of Miss Teen Thailand 2009 is Miss Stephany Auernig, a 15 year old teenager who has a Thai mother and an Austrian father. She goes to The Regent’s School. (kapook.com) More Thailand pictures can be found at www.ThaiPhotoBlogs.com .

Devotees to Sapam Chinese Shrine in Phuket, Thailand work themselves into a trance Thursday, Oct. 22, 2009, prior to a nighttime street procession at the Vegetarian Festival. The annual festival traces its origin back to the early 1800’s when Chinese tin miners and others…

H.M. The King has granted the name Bhumibol 1 to the northern bridge across the Chao Phraya River linking Bangkok and Samut Prakan, and the name Bhumibol 2 to the southern bridge that links Phra Pradaeng city and Samrong Tai. (Richard Barrow/paknam….

A Thai potter shapes an earthen-ware bowl during the production process at a pottery in Thailand’s southern Pattani province. Thailand has tried for years to boost investment in the deep south through tax incentives and other measures, but businesses have been reluctant to put their money into a…

Models display a design by Klosiet, as part of the ELLE Fashion Week 2009 in Bangkok, Thailand. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit) Models displays a design by Asava, as part of the ELLE Fashion Week 2009 in Bangkok. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit) More Thailand

In this photo taken Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009, a billboard showing Adolf Hitler saluting is erected in the middle on a highway in the resort town of Pattaya, Chonburi province southeastern Thailand. The Thai language on the billboard said, ‘Hitler is not dead,’ had been up for several weeks on the main road and…

Miss Pongchanok Kunklub was crowned as Miss Thailand World 2009 on Saturday night.(missthailandworld2009.bectero.com) More Thailand pictures can be found at www.ThaiPhotoBlogs.com .

Supporters of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra rally outside the Government House in Bangkok October 17, 2009. Several thousand “red shirt” protesters rallied in Bangkok amid tight security on Saturday to demand the Thai government submits its petition seeking a royal pardon for Thaksin. (Reuters) More Thailand pictures can

New Thailand’s football coach Bryan Robson of England, right, is presented with a team jacket by chief adviser of the Thai Football Association Suwat Liptapallop after a news conference in Bangkok, Thailand Friday, Oct. 16, 2009. Robson, a former England captain agreed in a four-year contract to coach the Thai …

A Thai farmer hands over a petition to EU Health Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou, right, in front of the European Commission and Council headquarters in Brussels, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009. Farmers and environmental group Greenpeace handed over a petition signed by 180.000 people calling for…

Buddhist monks gather under the photos of the 1973 student uprising during a memorial service marking the 36th anniversary of the incident in Bangkok, Thailand Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2009. Scores of Thai people were killed when activists and students took up the streets in an uprising against a military dictatorship in 1973. …

Thai Siriphong Kanchannaniwit, left, holds a fake gun for crime reenactment in Bangkok, Thailand, on Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2009. Thai authorities charged Siriphong with premeditated murder after he confessed to killing and dismembering the body of a 5-year-old half-Japanese boy and fatally…

Animal trainer Santisak Dulapitak, 53, trains his iguana to pose in a chair at his home in the outskirts of Bangkok. Santisak has been training his animals to appear in advertisements and movies for more than two decades. (Reuters) A one…

Thai visitors look at a dragon made of balloons on display at the 2009 Balloon Art World challenge event in Bangkok on October 12, 2009. The Balloon Art World challenge 2009, the international balloon decoration competition, is being held in Bangkok until October 14. (Getty Images) Thai visitors look at a colourful portrait of Marilyn Monroe made of balloons on…