Thailand Voice

Thousands of anti-government demonstrators gather Sunday, March 14, 2010, in Bangkok, Thailand. Protest leaders have given the government until Monday at noon to accede their demands or face mass marches on key locations in Bangkok. (Richard Barrow/www.paknam.com) More Thailand pictures can be found at www.ThaiPhotoBlogs.com .

A total of 5,000 red guards are believed to be deployed at the rally site in Bangkok and at 30 other locations in the area. This includes 200 mobile units on motorcycle. They will be providing protection to the red shirts at the rally and also intercepting…

There be Red Shirts… Thursday afternoon I tried to focus on a Friday post. Sigh. But I could not, would not settle. Because with everything going on this weekend, there was too much on my mind. The closer the Red Shirt rallies came, the… Read full story >>>

  Here in Bangkok, our city awaits an uprising, a showing of great strength, a sudden burst of violence, a failure to mobilize, or just an inconvenient weekend. People could die, or cocktail parties could be cancelled. It all depends … Read full story >>>

This is the fourth and final review of Golf courses in Ubon Ratchathani. The other three can be found here . สนามกอล์ฟ เขื่อนสิรินธร Sirindhorn Dam Golf course is located the furthermost from Ubon but in my opinion it is the best… Read full story >>>

Well either it was too hot or their numbers just didn’t cut it yet, but a few hundred red shirts marching along selected locations in Bangkok called it a day after the widely announced start of the government’s end this… Read full story >>>

Supalak in The Nation (yes, The Nation) The government, with collaboration from the mainstream media, managed to portray itself as an angel and the red-shirt group as former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s evil lackeys – ready to use all violent means to bring their boss back to power…. Read full story >>>

Escorted and guarded by Thai commandoes, Maj. Gen Khattiya Sawasdipol (center), alias Seh Daeng, a supporter of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, is brought to criminal court Monday, March 8, 2010, in Bangkok. Khattiya and seven associates were arrested on Saturday on charges…

It is probably not a good idea to venture outside at the moment if you are living in some areas of Bangkok, Ayutthaya, Chiang Rai, Lampang, Lumpoon, Maehongson, Nan, Phayao and Chiang Mai due to the bad air quality. You should also consider wearing face masks in Chachoengsao, Nonthaburi, Samut…

Thai Muslim villagers look at birds in cages during in a bird-singing contest in Yala province, about 1,100 km (683 miles) south of Bangkok March 7, 2010. About 6,000 birds took part in the competition. (Reuters) Thai Muslim villagers look at birds in cages during in a bird-singing contest in Yala province, about 1,100 …

      Lumphini Stadium, Friday, March 5.     Read full story >>>

Three years in production , Kantana’s historical epic Kon Tai Ting Pandin ( คนไท ทิ้งแผ่นดิน ), a.k.a. The Edge of Empire , is set for release on April 10. There’s a website that may or may not be up and running when you click … Read full story >>>

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…

Bangkok has many museums, many of them state run, but many of the better ones are privately owned like this one called House of Museums on the Western outskirts of Bangkok. The museum details the life in Thailand over 50 years ago through the…

Just outside of Nakhon Pathom, to the West of Bangkok, there is a popular wax museum called Thai Human Imagery Museum. Though, to be precise, they are fibre glass models as I guess wax ones would melt in this heat. There are various rooms with different themes. This one shows the …

Thai tennis player Paradon Srichaphan poses next to a cutout of himself in “Bang Rajan 2″, a new historical movie at the opening ceremony of the movie in Bangkok March 3, 2010. (Reuters) More Thailand pictures can be found at www.ThaiPhotoBlogs.com .

Parachutists from the Thai Air Force board a U.S. aircraft, the C-17 Globemaster III, during a parachute jumping training session as part of the “Cope Tiger 2010″ joint Air Force exercise at Royal Thai Air Force headquarters in Bangkok March 3, 2010. About 1,600 soldiers from three…

In Tak, in northern Thailand, there is a shrine and statue for King Taksin the Great (1734-1782). He is not only the most famous native of this province, but he is heroically known for expelling the Burmese from Thailand after the defeat and subsequent destruction of Ayutthaya in 1767. …

Written, produced and starring martial-arts actors and stuntmen, Bangkok Adrenaline will be released on DVD in the U.K. on March 22 by Optimum Home Entertainment. Amazon.co.uk has it . Directed by Raimund Huber, the story involves a group of foreigner backpackers who… Read full story >>>

Commentators in Thailand often like to assert that rural people are not overly worried about corruption. In my experience this is far from the truth. I have found that discussions of corruption, in both its mundane and more spectacular forms, are part and parcel of local … Read full story >>>

In a follow-up to the weekend's post on Crispin's Asia Times article on judicialization, Simon Montlake in CSM: The verdict underscores the role of Thailand’s judiciary in adjudi… Read full story >>>

Police secure the area as members of bomb squad investigate the site of an explosion outside a branch of the Bangkok Bank in central Bangkok late February 27, 2010. A total of four different branches of Bangkok Bangkok were attacked. (Reuters)

Deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is shown on a large screen during a teleconference to his supporters at the Pheu Thai Party building in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, Feb. 26. 2010. Thailand’s highest court prepared Friday to rule on whether Thaksin should lose part of his…

Today, the verdict regarding Thaksin Shinawatra's  76 billion dollars of frozen assets will be read in Bangkok. Many pundits view this as a major turning point in the Rubik's Cube of Thailand's shape-shifting, color-coded politics. It seems to me that things will remain mostly calm in Bangkok, and … Read full story >>>

The oddball Anglo-Thai film noir Soi Cowboy is coming out on DVD in the U.K. on March 31. Amazon.co.uk has it . Network Releasing is the distributor. Directed by Thomas Clay, it stars Nicolas Bro, a huge Dane who’s living in Bangkok with a tiny pregnant Thai woman… Read full story >>>

Ants bite and Thailand’s Red Weaver Ants (Oecophylla smaragdina) are no exception. These red weaver ants are territorial and aggressive. When the ants bite you will certainly know about it. Rarely will you escape with just one ant bite as their amazing communication system can quickly gather a whole army to deal… Read full story >>>

Migrant workers from Myanmar work on a fishing boat before sailing out of the port of Mahachai, near Bangkok February 23, 2010. Migrant workers in Thailand face extortion, arbitrary detention, forced labour and physical abuse, sometimes at the hands of officials in a climate of impunity, a rights group said on Tuesday. (Reuters) Migrant workers…

Thailand’s finance minister Korn Chatikavanij gives a speech before receiving the “Global Finance Minister of the Year” award from The Financial Times’ Banker magazine at a hotel in Bangkok February 22, 2010. (Reuters) More Thailand pictures can be found at www.ThaiPhotoBlogs.com .

Thailand’s Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, 2nd right, kicks the ball while playing a soccer charity match against Thai women’s national team at Rajamangala stadium in Bangkok, Thailand Sunday, Feb. 21, 2010. Supporters of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was confronting with police officers outside the stadium while …

CHON BURI, THAILAND – FEBRUARY 21: Ai Miyazato of Japan poses with the trophy after winning the final round of the Honda PTT LPGA Thailand at Siam Country Club on February 21, 2010 in Chon Buri, Thailand. (Getty Images) More Thailand pictures can be found