Thailand Voice

The red shirt protests have been going on in Bangkok for 4-5 days now. Countless thousands of protesters have been camped out along the Royal Avenue. The news hasn’t received that much attention yet in the international press, mainly because there hasn’t been any violence. Thailand is not like other countries …

Over the past few days, the red shirts have been streaming into Bangkok to join the protest site on Ratchadamnoen Klang Avenue. On Sunday the red shirts from Samut Prakan came together to join the protest. The local red shirt radio had been broadcasting for several days…

A few days ago, a user called “musicxpresso” put up for sale on ebay a wanted poster for Thaksin and his wife for a mere 99 cents. The photo showed the massive banner used as the backdrop for one of the yellow shirts stages while they occupied the Government House area. However, if you read…

Thailand’s Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva is all smiles during a televised news conference at government house Saturday, Feb. 27, 2010 in Bangkok. Supporters of populist former Thai leader Thaksin Shinawatra denounced a court order to seize US$1.4 billion of his assets, and vowed Saturday to pursue a nonviolent struggle for what …

The tension is rising in Thailand as we have now started the countdown to Judgement Day on Friday 26th February 2010. The red shirts have already started their protests though so far the yellow shirts have decided to stay at home. If that is true…

Kayasit Pissawongprakan, Director General of the Office of the Thai Attorney General, center, is surrounded by reporters after a news conference at his office in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, Jan. 29, 2010. Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thuagsuban refused on comment on the pending decision by public prosecutors to drop all …

TOUR2 : Bang Nampheung Floating Market, The Erawan Museum, Reclining Buddha at Bang Phli and finishing with a meal at sunset at the Bang Pu Seaside Resort. Samut Prakan Province is sandwiched between Bangkok and the Gulf of Thailand. As it is so close to the …

It was a year ago now that I first visited the tranquil little village of Baan Nam Khong and enjoyed gliding from tree to tree with the amazing Jungle Flight adventure. I got a chance to fly again last weekend and try out the longest, fastest and…

On reading the title, most of you are probably wondering “Who the heck is she?” Well, she was one of Thailand’s most well-known farang names during the early to mid 1990’s; a name that was highly controversial, but in the stupidest way possible (She even has her very own Wikipedia entry). So, who was…

When I first came to Thailand fifteen years ago there wasn’t really that much in the way of English media. All we had at the time were two national newspapers in English and a few programmes on television if we tuned in to …

Asia team players Liang Wenchong of China (L-R), Gaganjeet Bhullar of India, captain Naomichi “Joe” Ozaki of Japan pose with Europe team captain Colin Montgomerie of Britain, players Pablo Martin of Spain and Robert Karlsson of Sweden during a news conference on the Bhumibol bridge in Bangkok January 5, 2010. Asia will play against…

Paradorn Srichaphan of Thailand (L-R), Ayumi Morita of Japan, Vera Zvonareva of Russia and Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia pose during a news conference introducing players for the upcoming Tennis Classic in Hong Kong January 4, 2010. The tournament will be played between January…

I talked before about the eating habits of Thai people. I mentioned that they seemed to snack all day and still remain quite slender. However, this is not saying that there are no obese people in Thailand. Far from it. There are quite a few very chubby students at my school. I would …

Judging by these photos that I took early this morning, not everyone was nursing hangovers after welcoming in the New Year at midnight last night. Like thousands of other local people from Paknam, I was up early at 6 a.m. to head down to the City Pillar…

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…

Dr Vichai Chokewiwat, chairman of Thailand’s Government Pharmaceutical Organization (GPO) demonstrates how to use a new swine flu vaccine during a news conference in Bangkok December 18, 2009. A trial of Thailand’s first locally produced swine flu vaccine will begin with 24 people. (Reuters) Dr Vichai, …

Tomorrow is the 82nd Birthday for H.M. The King. In past years, most Thai people would wear yellow in honour of His Majesty. In Bangkok there would be a sea of yellow. However, after the PAD hijacked the colour yellow and forever took it away from representing His Majesty…

Toilets in Thailand don’t exactly have the best of reputations. They are often dirty, smelly and not well-looked after. They are also nearly always squat toilets. Now comes the news that the temple toilets at Wat Bang Phli Yai Nai in Samut Prakan …

For the past three days, Samut Prakan City has been submerged under seawater for three to fours hours during the high tide period. Both Samut Prakan and Bangkok are gradually sinking into the sea. Floods are becoming more common every year. Traffic in Samut Prakan City…

The rainy season has already come to an end. There has been no rain the last two weeks in Samut Prakan. However, this was the view this morning in Paknam. This is not rain water. This is sea water that swamps the city during the daily high tides during November every year. …

(The following is a brief Thai> English translation from various local news sources) Customers at Melody Karaoke, in the close vicinity of Prachacheurn Police Station, were originally charged an astonishing 30,000 Baht for 3 hours of karaoke. Charges included 100 Baht for a…

Everyone knows about Loy Krathong that happens on the full moon in November. However, not many people know that we have another Loy Krathong in October. The phrase “loy krathong” means to float a bowl shaped container. It is not a festival like Christmas which celebrates a particular event. You can actually float a krathong…

Today marks the anniversary of the death of King Rama V who is regarded by many people as one of the most important monarchs in recent Thai history. Every year, on the 23rd October, Thai people remember him on this day which is known as Chulalongkorn Day …

One of my favourite festivals in Thailand is undoubtedly Luang Phor Pan Worshipping Festival in Bang Bo District of Samut Prakan. I went last year for the first time and had no idea what to expect. There were so many surprises that…

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….

Today marks the start of the Vegetarian Festival in Thailand. I went to Thong Siang Vegetarian House in Samut Prakan to watch this event. The ceremony was a signal for the nine Gods to come down to earth. Something similar happened all over Thailand today. During the following ten …

This morning in Samut Prakan we had the rare honour of a visit by Somdet Phra Phuttacharn (Somdet Kiaw) the abbot of Wat Saket in Bangkok. However, this is no ordinary monk as he is the Acting Supreme Patriarch of Thailand. He is effectively the leader of all Buddhist monks in Thailand. He …

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 …

Twenty five contestants competing in the Miss Poland 2009 contest are presently touring Thailand. They will be here from 5th-14th October 2009. Some of the major locations that they will visit include Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket and Krabi. As well as touring tourist attractions, they will also take part in activities such as Thai cooking, …

How come no charges of lese-majeste have been filed against these two? Here are another 20 amazing Thailand facts as compiled over on the ThailandQA.com Forums. You can see the other facts already posted by clicking here. Most of them were compiled by myself, but for the ones not, the name is in …