Thailand Voice

“Thai people attend a religious floral offering Saturday, January 9th, 2010, during a religious ceremony at an old military prison, known as Tuk Din, in Bangkok, Thailand.” “The prison believed to be haunted with the spirits of the dead, is being demolished to make way for several 20 story apartment … Read full story >>>

Just stumbled upon this site: Critical Asian Studies . A worthwhile read caught my eye: “Demanding Daughter Duty: Gender, Community, Village Transformation & Transnational Marriages in Northeast Thailand.” A study about the increased favorable acceptance of Isaan women with foreign partners. An in-depth study about a social phenomenon not known some years ago. … Read full story >>>

Children’s Day (วันเด็ก) is celebrated on the second Saturday of January each year in Thailand. In observance of Children’s Day 2010, lots of Thai twitter users have changed their avatars to childhood photos. Prominent figures like newspaperman Suthichai Yoon ( @suthichai ) and hip hop artist Joey Boy ( @joeybangkokboy ) … Read full story >>>

There’s much talk in here and in Thailand forums about the kingdom’s culture of propaganda and institutionalized brainwashing. Why are Thai people not allowed to grow up and think for themselves? Which becomes all too obvious when you switch on Thai radio or TV. OK, there are some more decent radio stations, such as… Read full story >>>

Finally we see some focused government action in these trying times. Not only the Ministry of Information & Communication Technology is overly active these days to ensure a pure and prosperous society. We learn that the Ministry of Health “is considering action against alcohol beverage firms that distribute calendars clearly showing their brand… Read full story >>>

The cultural tradition of this country has Buddhism at the heart, making Thailand truly unique in my eyes. Everyday, just by speaking Thai, I get reminded of my belief. But like all things beautiful when they become mundane and perfunctory, … Read full story >>>

From the movie “Phobia 2″ (which I haven’t seen yet) here is a very cool song by the group Nologo. Hope you like it. Read full story >>>

The word ของ (kɔ̌ɔng), which means “of” in English, is used to show possession. For example, “Josh’s car” or “your friend.” It’s a pretty simple grammatical concept for Thai, thankfully. All you have to do is remember the structure: Noun + ของ + possessor I put… Read full story >>>

It’s one of those nights I try to avoid. Halloween . Why celebrate death and the macabre when the non-Halloween world got enough of death and the macabre already. What a nerd. Because the supernatural, ghosts, ghost hunters and such are very Thai and therefore real. That’s what … Read full story >>>

The 24th October edition of the newspaper El Pais was banned from sale in Morocco, as it printed a cartoon by Le Monde cartoonist Plantu which Moroccan authorities considered disrespectful to the national flag. The cartoon originally appeared in Le Monde on 22nd October. El Pais also reprinted Khaled Kadafrom’s cartoon from Akhbar… Read full story >>>

On August 12 2008 Dr. Tanet Charoenmuang ( ธเนศวร์ เจริญเมือง held a talk at the Informal Northern Thai Group (INTG) on the administrative structure of Chiang Mai province. A bit late they now added a summary of this talk on their website. In fact, … Read full story >>>

So you’re in Thailand maybe since years and you’re not able to speak a single coherent Thai sentence. Told me an Aussie friend here recently whose local business spiraled downwards that in a meeting with his Thai in-laws the long unsaid was finally said to him: “You don’t speak Thai, that’s why!”… Read full story >>>

Headaches at Hua Hin’s Asean gathering. A Thaksin rift mars the Asean solidarity. The host, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, cancels a press conference mid-summit and no bilateral meeting with Cambodia. Well, ignoring the simple fact that he had been installed by a de facto judicial coup – … Read full story >>>

Thai Takes By PHILIP GOLINGAI WHAT can an eternal friend, who happens to be the Cambodian Prime Minister, do to help his self-exiled billionaire politician buddy? If you were Hun Sen, you would offer to build a beautiful home in Cambodia for Thaksin Shinawatra, the former Thai prime minister who was ousted … Read full story >>>

As the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the PRC, China’s October 1st National Day this year was the centre of much media attention both within and beyond the country. But it’s interesting to reflect upon how this festival was viewed within China’s Tai-Kadai speaking minority communities. I was… Read full story >>>

You don’t have to be a stranger to face a culture shock. For most of you life is easy anyway. The color of your skin or depth of your pockets may buy you entry into any society. Being strangers in their own country, that’s the reality … Read full story >>>

The Nation on the Police Commission meeting yesterday where there was another meeting and still no decision on who the Police Chief will be: A source said Abhisit might be edging closer to his last option: appointing an “acting” police chief if the stalemate… Read full story >>>

The protagonists in the ongoing political war may have their own reasons for destroying each other. But when they manage to kill people’s faith in the very foundation of a genuine democratic system, that is inexcusable. – Extracted from Suthichai Yoon Read full story >>>

Yongyoot Thongkongtoon’s romantic drama Best of Times has been chosen for the Tokyo International Film Festival , which announced its line-up of around 80 films yesterday. It’s playing in the Winds of Asia-Middle East section. Here’s the synopsis : Some people spend most of their lives trying to forget their first love, but some spend a… Read full story >>>

My dream would be to make a living with photography. All there would be is meeting, observing and capturing people and their moments. But I have obligations, not enough talent anyway and – yes – no gear at the moment as I’m about to decide between a 5… Read full story >>>

We’ve been stuck in Whang Pho way to long without a little road trip. This week we are going to visit Ciejay’s daughter and family in Nakorn Sawan, about a three and a half hours drive from Kanchanaburi, for a double… Read full story >>>

Thailand’s women’s volleyball team made a big surprise as they beat China 3-1 in the final to win the 15th Asian Women’s Volleyball Championship, held at the Quan Ngua Sport Palace in Hanoi, Vietnam yesterday. In a nail-biting match, Thailand came back … Read full story >>>

Fellow Wikipedian hdamm is currently creating vector maps for all the districts superseding the pixel maps I created years ago. While doing so he ran into similar cases of the contradicting maps like those I lamented about a year ago , most strikingly in Kalasin… Read full story >>>

The Thai-Chinese Free Trade Agreement (FTA) has made significant differences to the livestyles of many Bangkok residents and, indeed, people in all the large towns of Thailand. The combination of the reduction of tariffs on various agricultural products (fruit and vegetables – especially apples, garlic and onions) together with… Read full story >>>

It’s been unofficial for a long time so I may as well make it official: Real Life Thailand is going into semi-retirement. I will probably return and write longer articles on an occasional basis, but I don’t anticipate any regular updates, unless the writing bug hits… Read full story >>>

Well, partially back. Albeit I am not aware if he was ever really gone. But he’s not back with the old Bangkok milieu talk . His former employer the Bangkok Post brings the Trink book review of Harold Stephens ‘ For the Love of Siam . … Read full story >>>

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ended her recent week-long trip through Asia in Thailand. She met with Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva in Bangkok, and then concluded her trip with attendance at the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in … Read full story >>>

This one’s actually different from the usual “similar, but somehow not.” This one’s an adaptation, a Cambodian adaptation, with very obvious Thai undertones: The German film Same Same But Different , with – yes – the David Cross in the leading role who convinced as young Ralph Fiennes in the phenomenal The Reader . The female… Read full story >>>

[Bloomberg] Thailand’s Industrial Output Falls for Eighth Months on Exports [Thailand’s industrial production fell for an eighth month in June as the global recession slashed demand for automobiles and processed food. The magnitude of the drop was the smallest since November. A measure of manufacturing … Read full story >>>

Singer-actress Mai Charoenpura became a dance-music icon in 1990s and gained notice as an actress in 2001 when she played the plotting Lady Sudachan in Suriyothai. She starred in last year’s thriller Memory, for which she won best actress honors at the Star Entertainment Awards and shared love scenes with… Read full story >>>