Thailand Voice

The Thai government over the past few years have been so focussed on first the yellow shirts and then the red shirts that hardly anyone has noticed the rampant increase of drug use in Thailand. It is almost getting to epidemic proportions …

A traffic policeman walks past a group of Bangladeshi Jumma Buddhist student monks and novices during a rally outside the United Nations building in Bangkok March 5, 2010. The monks urged the Bangladesh military and Bengali Muslim settlers to stop attacks on the Jumma indigenous people…

(The crime scene of almost every Farang ‘murder’ in Pattaya – the infamous Pattaya hotel balcony) As a Farang in Thailand we have all heard some of the most laughable quack-wack Thailand myths: ladyboys who have coaxed clients back to their rooms only to drug ‘em and cut out …

Myanmar’s ethnic Karens move out from their refugee camp in Tha Son Yang district, Tak province near the Thai-Myanmar border February 5, 2010. Thailand suspended on Friday the forced repatriation of ethnic Karen refugees from military-ruled Myanmar, heeding calls from U.S. lawmakers and rights…

Even for those who have never stepped a foot in the Land of Noodle Soup & Nose Jobs, chances are they’ve heard some classic Thailand myth worthy of an editorial column in the most sensational European tabloid. So worthy actually, …

One of the more popular sports in rural areas in Thailand is cock fighting. This is a traditional game that goes back hundreds of years. Gambling is prevalent during matches even though it is illegal. The sport is not as bloody as it was in…

Well, about a few weeks back it was my turn, the first in years actually, to do a visa run to Vientiane, Laos. And I did the visa run on my own and not with some over-priced Visa Run trip company. Thinking back, the…

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…

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 …

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…

One of the better preserved traditional markets in Thailand can be found in Suphanburi Province. It is called Sam Chuk 100 Year Market and it still has its original wooden shophouses that date back to the reign of King Rama V…

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…

One of the most ambitious plans for a tourist attraction in Samut Prakan Province is the 139 meter high tower that will give fine views of the Gulf of Thailand. The plan for the tower has been around for a while and for the past few years it seems it had been put on hold…

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…

This is a dip called “nam phrik mamuang”. In the ingredients pictured below, you can see palm sugar, red chilli, red shallots, dried shrimp, green mango and shrimp paste in the middle. Put the shrimp paste into a mortar and pound in the shallots …

If you go to Thailand on holiday, you will most likely find that the local food is one of your highlights. You will find this both delicious and cheap. Here are some of my favourite Thai food dishes. 1. Tom Yum Egg Noodle with Red Pork (baa mee tom yum) 2. Egg Noodle …

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…

Every year in October there is a big temple fair in Samut Prakan. It is the most important annual tradition for the people in our province. It is called the “Phra Samut Chedi Fair” and lasts for 12 days and 12 nights. It is an event that we all look forward to as there …

A Thai official (R) walks past an anti-AIDS campaign poster displayed at the Thai Ministry of Public Health in Bangkok on September 24, 2009. An experimental AIDS vaccine has for the first time cut the risk of infection in a ‘breakthrough’ in the quarter-century battle against the deadly epidemic, researchers…

Hardly a week goes without someone sending me an email out of the blue via www.thai-blogs.com . Very often it’s just an old friend/acquaintance of mine whose found me blogs by chance, then occasionally an email concerning an old blog of mine. Rarely, however, do I get an email as touching as…

This is continuing my interview with Peter Robinson, who is probably better known in Thailand as “Phra Farang”, the foreign monk. (Click here for part one.) Peter spent ten years as a monk before finally disrobing in order to spend more time with…

One of the best books about Buddhism in Thailand is undoubtedly “Phra Farang: An English Monk in Thailand” by Phra Peter Pannapadipo. Even if you are not interested in becoming a monk yourself, his vivid description of his ten years as a foreign monk in Thailand …

Thailand is in big trouble again. Its tourism industry was already facing disaster last year with the prolonged airport closure. Things looked like it was starting to get better but the situation has just been going from bad to worse. This year Thailand has received a lot of negative press from the …

Suang Puangsri, 38, cleans his home in Uttaradit province, 600 km (373 miles) north of Bangkok September 4, 2009. Suang has adapted his house to live with his unusual pets, about 4,600 scorpions, as part of his atonement after serving the creepy crawlies on the menu…

A plainclothes policeman arrives at the scene of a bomb attack in Thailand’s Yala province, about 1,084 km (674 miles) south of Bangkok September 4, 2009. A bomb in a pick-up truck exploded in Thailand’s southern Yala province on Friday, killing a policeman and wounding 10 villagers, police said, the latest deadly blast in a region plagued…

A 74 years old man in Sisaket Province has been living in a hole for the past 30 years. He only emerges to take a bath and use the toilet. The hole is only 1.5 meters by 2 meters and 2 meters deep. (Matichon Online) More Thailand pictures can be found at

Currently docked at Klong Toey Port, the MV Doulos, is visiting Thailand again and welcoming all bookworms until August 23rd 2009. The MV Doulos is the world’s oldest active ocean-going passenger vessel, according to Guinness World Records. She was built in 1914. Doulos has …

On Friday morning, customs officials at Suvarnabhumi Airport invited us to a press conference to see the 2,000 kilos of ivory that they had recently seized. The shipment came in from Uganda and Kenya and include 316 pieces of tusks which were…

I think spring rolls are a favourite appetizer for many people. In Thai it is called “poh pia tod”. The ingredients do vary but in our picture below you can see, spring roll sheets, mungbean noodles, chopped garlic, minced pork, bean sprouts, white…