Thailand Voice

Supharp Prakna (2rd L), a Thai national, is escorted by military personal after his trial at a military court in Phnom Penh February 12, 2010. The Cambodian military court convicted and sentenced Prakna to 20 years in prison for terrorism charges. 39 year-old Prakna was…

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 …

The Temple Fair in Samut Prakan has now reached its fourth day. Today is the 8th day of the waning moon of the 11th lunar month. On this day every year, the local people from Phra Samut Chedi District come together to compete in various traditional games…

A couple of weeks ago I went to Mae Sa waterfalls on the edge of Doi Suthep-Pui National Park . On the way back, I noticed a sign saying Tad Mok waterfall, 9 km . It was already too late to make the little side trip so I postponed the …

This wonderful little gorge on the Khan river is one of my favourite weekend getaways. I didn’t have anything special in mind when heading out there this afternoon, just dangling my feet in the water, having a little swim, reading my book, taking a few pictures in the green …

Look, but don’t touch – these Thailand ‘pretty girls’ could be on a scammer) Once known as the Land of Smiles, pitiable Thailand is now turning into the world’s most infamous Land of Scams – and this year in particular we have been inundated again and again and…

Many of the coastal provinces in Thailand have mangrove forests. However, the number of mangroves over the last 30 years or so have decreased greatly. In 1961 there were 909,346 acres of mangrove forests. By 2002 this number had reduced to only 593,052 acres. This is mainly due to urbanization, agriculture and aquaculture. In …

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 …

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…

Scientists work on developing the H1N1 (Influenza A) vaccine inside a Bio-safety Level 3 (BSL-3) lab at Sillapakorn University on the outskirts of Bangkok July 12, 2009. The vaccine is expected to be launched around October 2009 and the plant located at the university will be able to produce more …

Samut Prakan is the most densely populated province in Thailand. In the city it is a bit like a concrete jungle which is so different to what it must have looked like a hundred or so years ago. I like using Google Earth to find new…

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…

Beyond a doubt, ASTV, backed by the People’s Alliance of Democracy (PAD) has escalated in popularity more than any other TV channel in Thailand in 2009. This is due of course to precise unbiased news reports which particularly penetrate the essence of Thai politics and offer the audience a real chance to get the …

Long before Chiang Mai was founded some 700 years ago, the Mon people set up the legendary kingdom of Haripunchai in the area that is today known as Lamphun. Wat Chammathewi (also known as Wat Kukut) dates back to the 8th century. The spire on top of the chedi is said to have been lost …

The Thai food recipe we have for you this week is Stir-fried Chicken with Garlic Plant. In Thai it is called “kai phat ton kra-thiam”. As you can see in the picture below, there are only two main ingredients: chicken …

When visiting Krabi town, you may have wondered about that high, steep mountain range covered in mist in the distance. It is 1400-metre tall Khao Phanom Benja (also spelled Bencha), or Five-point Prostration Mountain, as Thais say the shape of the mountain …

Thailand is known for it’s various markets and Chatuchak market in Bangkok is the mother of all markets. Sitting on 70 rai of land (35 acres), Chatuchak market boasts somewhere between 9000 and 15000 merchants selling to over 200 thousand visitors daily. Whatever you are looking for you will be sure … Read full story >>>

Some of you have probably already heard about Pongsathorn Wattanabenjasopha, the 12 year old school boy that committed suicide last week by jumping from the 6th floor of our school building. It was front page news last Friday in all the Thai newspapers and on television as well…

If you’ve been to Thailand for any amount of time you’ve seen countless instances of Thai ingenuity, some barely noticeable and some quite blatant. Most are simple fixes that you wouldn’t have thought of and some clever enough that you wish you would have thought of. The one thing all cases of … Read full story >>>

You want me to do what? “Gybzy” Wanida Termthanaporn and Pen-Ek Ratanaruang are featured in a series of photos in yesterday’s “In Pictures” feature from Cannes on the BBC website . The shots are by Agence France-Presse’s Francois Guillot, and they all aren’t … Read full story >>>

It’s inevitable that in times of war prisoners will be taken. Some if their fate can be called kind will return home, their minds and bodies scarred forever by the rigours of torture. I had thought the first four days of my holiday had been … 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 >>>

You heard it. We were looking forward to the Phuket Film Festival under the directorate of Scott Rosenberg who was kind and willing enough to write this exclusive report for us. Scott cancelled the fest 15 minutes too early … And you think the title … Read full story >>>

            Whenever I hear or read the phrase “the boys in brown” I know that the Thai police are going to be slated for something or other. But here in Phana I can have no complaint about the police at all. It is true that I have twice … Read full story >>>

Thailand has more than 1000 species of Wild Orchids and is famous worldwide for the breeding of hybrids. In our opinion, one of the most beautiful of Thailand’s orchids is Dendrobium parishii. Note the small “p” in parishii which denotes that this plant is a species and not a hybrid. Read full story >>>

On May 14th, 2009 students from NIVA International School took the lead on the Bangkok Urban Garden Project , cleaning and planting at the Bangkok Refugee Center. We love to encourage people to do more than what is expected of them and this group of… 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 >>>

Thailand Secretary of Agriculture Jaranthada Kanasut scatters sacred seed rice as attendants look on during royal ploughing ceremonies Monday, May 11, 2009, in Bangkok, Thailand. The annual event marks the beginning of the rice growing season. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit) Oxen are guided by royal attendants during royal ploughing ceremonies Monday, May 11, 2009, in Bangkok, Thailand. (AP Photo…

Villagers look as a rocket is successfully launched during the rocket festival also known as “Bun Bangfai” in Yasothon, 531 kms (435 miles) northeast of Bangkok, May 10, 2009. The festival marks the start of the rainy season when farmers are about to plant rice. (Reuters) Participants prepare their rocket for …

         Missing Phana, I suppose I most miss our home there. The house was completed in 1995, in theory. In fact, we have been making minor alterations to it ever since. An architect friend in Bangkok drew up the plans, largely according to our ideas. We wanted … Read full story >>>