Thailand Voice

David Smyth updates Teach Yourself Thai … Only a handful of Thai courses are highly thought of, and David Smyth’s Teach Yourself Thai is at the very top of that list. When I asked polyglot Stu Jay Raj which books he’d recommend to students of the Thai language, David’s… Read full story >>>

James Higbie and Essential Thai… From the inception of the Successful Thai Language Learner series, I’ve had my eye on James Higbie. I was patiently tracking Jim down, but he found me first. During our back and forth Jim mentioned that his highly prized Essential Thai is being tidied up for a reprint. … Read full story >>>

By Thorn Pitidol, Thailand’s Matichon Online reported this  extraordinary story  about what may happen during the time of emergency decree.  The topic of the story reads: “A 16-year-old student who held a banner that said ‘I saw dead people at… Read full story >>>

artist : ทองเจริญ ดาเหลา + บุญช่วง เด่นดวง (thongcharoen dalao + bunchuang denduang) album : คุยเขื่องเรื่องซาอุฯ (khui khueang rueang sa u) tracklist : 01. คุยเขื่องเรื่องซาอุฯ (khui khueang rueang sa u) 02. ลูกจ้างเมีย (luk chang mia) 03. พ่อบักเติ่งคนดี (pho bak toeng khon di) 04. ซาอุดิฯขุมทอง (saudi khumthong) 05. อย่าห่วงพ่อบักเติ่ง (ya huang pho bak toeng) 06. ได้เต่าเสียหมา (dai… Read full story >>>

Can’t decide what to eat? This free app for the iPhone will help you make that decision. The idea behind “Gin Arai” is simple. Just open the app, shake the iPhone and a pop-up will give a suggestion of what to eat. As you can see from the picture above, the food … Read full story >>>

Interviewing Successful Thai Language Learners… Name: Andrew Biggs Nationality: Australian Age range: Mid-twenties. Oh allright, 47. Sex: Male Location: Bangkok Profession: Writer, TV producer, Tv and radio emcee, school owner … you name it Website/blog: www.andrewbiggs.com Products (books, courses etc): Too many to mention What is … Read full story >>>

I think I may have hit on a perfect keyword focused post which just may get search engines purring. It’s the story of an ex topless model and a pussy. Add Thailand to the tale and every pervert who ever owned a PVC mac should arrive here shortly after … Read full story >>>

The five-segment horror shorts anthology Phobia 2 has been playing at the Fantasia Festival in Montreal, where it’s received decent buzz. It’s been playing alongside Jija Yanin’s Raging Phoenix and Sompote Sands’ Giant and Jumbo A . Phobia 2 ( Haa Phrang , 5 แพร่ง , literally “five … Read full story >>>

Right now if you go to the Department of Special Investigation website , the lead item in a red and bolded font is the word “Wanted!!!” (“ประกาศจับ” !!!). Linked is a four page PDF with 12 photos of the wanted individual and their details. Next to the photos is the term  “นรกจะกินหัว” which literally… Read full story >>>

My missus is amazing. No doubt. Of her talents her never-ending desire to cook me amazing dinners (separate post with pictures required) is one of my favourites. She is currently sporting a bump for the four months of pregnancy thus far and, though she gets plenty of rest, she still … Read full story >>>

The “Ratchaprasong Interesection” sign disappeared for one day — and was back today. The sign, covered with dirt and even graffiti, was removed on Monday for a thorough cleaning. When it came back yesterday, it looked so clean that the speculation was that it was a “new” sign. As cartoonist Arun here suggests, … Read full story >>>

“Tukky” Sudarat Butrprom got her start in showbiz as a wardrobe assistant and now she’s a star. Surely her true-life story will have parallels with her latest movie, which opens this week. The comic actress , who’s a fixture in the lineup of comedians in films by Poj Arnon and Mum … Read full story >>>

The other night I asked my taxi driver about the mask displayed on his dashboard and he told me that the face represents a Thai tattoo master named Ajarn Noo Kampai. The Ajarn, or teacher, is widely known for his sacred Thai and Khmer tattoos that are believed to protect the body (and … Read full story >>>

artist : สามพลังสาว (sam phalang sao) album : ลำเพลินวอนเจ้าพ่อพลาญชัย (lam phloen won chao pho phalan chai) tracklist : 01. วอนเจ้าพ่อพลาญชัย (won chao pho phalan chai) sung by พิมพ์ใจ เพชรพลาญชัย (phimchai phetphalanchai) 02. บ้าคนละอย่าง (ba khon la yang) sung by พิมพ์ใจ เพชรพลาญชัย (phimchai phetphalanchai) 03. รักข้ามโขง (rak kham khong) sung by พิมพ์ใจ… Read full story >>>

Mindfulness and learning Thai… Reading a recent article by Catherine Wentworth, Learning Thai (for the shy) , I hit upon a paragraph that grabbed my attention. She was talking about shy people learning languages but the thing that particularly piqued my interest was her mention … Read full story >>>

By James Harriman,   The E-Saan Center for Business and Economic Research (ECBER) has released results of its June Isan-based public opinion poll which covered the issue of government performance. The ECBER polled residents on whether they “support or don’t … Read full story >>>

And now, it’s the “Loei Model.” It’s supposed to be a local initiative in this northeastern province to encourage reconciliation at the local level. A sort of a “town-hall meeting” tookplace here during the weekend at the Loei Rajabhat University where the provincial governor, Pornsak Jiaranai, chaired a discussion on… Read full story >>>

Who is Andrew Biggs?… Andrew Biggs, the coolest bald guy in Thailand , is one of those long-time expat curiosities that a chunk of Thai learners know next to nothing about. A part of the reason is because Andrew does not market his talents to… Read full story >>>

Are you a shy Thai learner?… Back when I was much younger, I’d shrink from meeting new people, and sometimes people I knew. One time, I even burst into tears when a male teacher focused on me too intently in class. But years later, I am no longer what… Read full story >>>

There is something profound about a clear glass image of the Buddha. For one thing, it is evocative of the Buddhist practice of clearing the mind through meditation. And it also recalls the Buddha’s achievement of nirvana, the transcendent state in which there is neither suffering, desire, nor sense of self. In … Read full story >>>

Interviewing Successful Thai Language Learners… Name: Ian Fereday Nationality: British Age: 50 next month (oh dear!) Sex: Male Location: Phuket Town, Phuket Profession: Semi-retired owner of Patong Language School Website: phuket-languageschool.com | study-thai-online.com | teflplus.com Products : Commenced studies at Patong Language School using the Ministry of Education… Read full story >>>

Hugh’s Retired Life in Thailand… Hugh is an industrious individual. No doubt. Besides gardening (yes, I’m envious, very) he’s always working on new and intriguing projects. Although retired, he authors books for the Thai professional market (impressed? I am). And as you all … Read full story >>>

This week’s piece by Suthon Sukphisit is about the Isan region – he uses the cuisine of the region as a prism through which to consider economic and social issues, albeit in the somewhat superficial way that is forced upon him by the limited space available to him. He falls into the sentimental-romantic-… Read full story >>>

The Abhisit regime’s desire to suppress all forms of political dissidence has plumbed new depths of absurdity with the announcement that it is planning to buy the satellite company Thaicom from Temasek Holdings in Singapore.* The thinking, such as it is, seems to be that naughty people … Read full story >>>

Comus was the most substantial work of poetry that Milton had yet written – it might also be considered a work of drama but it is conventional to categorise it among his verse. In form, it follows the convention of the ‘masque,’ which was a courtly… Read full story >>>

After yesterday’s report indicating that shootings at the 1972 Bloody Sunday events, when British soldiers shot dead 14 protestors, would include the term ‘state murder,’ there is a further report in today’s Guardian about the response from some of the bereaved. Although the killings took place… Read full story >>>

Rikker Dockum and the Bangkok Podcast… May was a crazy month for Bangkokians. No doubt. And while some of us were busy twitching through the political scuffles, Greg Jorgensen of GregToDiffer.com and Anthony Joh of Thai-FAQ.com twigged it as an opportunity to create Bangkok Podcast . Join … Read full story >>>

Learn Thai Podcast… Learn-Thai-Podcast.com started when Jay worked in Thailand 4 years ago. He came here to work for a design company and we just did some lessons for fun. We stopped at some point but received a lot of positive feedback so about 2.5 years ago we decided to do this seriously and… Read full story >>>

Interviewing Successful Thai Language Learners… Name: Martin Clutterbuck Nationality: British Age range: 40-50 Sex: Male Location: Bangkok Profession: PR Website/blog: will give you this anon. Book: The Legend of Siamese Cats What is your Thai level? Fluent, but shy of bilingual Do you speak more street Thai, Issan Thai, … Read full story >>>

Interview with polyglot Stu Jay Raj… Heads-up everyone: This post is a continuation of Stuart (Stu) Jay Raj: Interview Part One .   Stu, with Cracking Thai Fundamentals and now Mindcraft , you’ve taught the Thai language to expats for some time. … Read full story >>>

PM Abhisit Vejjajiva admits that there has been pressure for him to “take drastic actions” against the red protestors, especially after they took over Rajprasong Intersection, Bangkok’s business central district.” “I also wanted to take that route. But for the sake of national interests, we have to be cautious and to follow … Read full story >>>

PPT on CAPO: A PPT reader who wanted to know about the seemingly sudden appearance of CAPO in the media – the Centre for the Administration of Peace and Order. His research produced some results that we felt that our readers would find the results useful background … Read full story >>>

     My Pics of the Day this week were all taken at the Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi. Mrs Phanaperson and I stopped over on our way to the UK. Our son and his family are now living and working there. Check out the Pic… Read full story >>>

Advanced Thai listening practice… Last week I posted Gaccha’s The Red Shirts: Thai Reading and Listening materials. And as I mentioned, Gaccha’s aim is to encourage others to create more Thai learnings materials. To share what is possible, I waited until my Red Shirt posts settled down before posting Gaccha’s Pulp Fiction YouTube video… Read full story >>>

Sesame Street comes of age… This week, on November 10th, Sesame Street turned the big FOUR OH. My, oh, my, does time fly… So if you didn’t know Sesame Street as a child, then your brothers or sisters, nephews or nieces, or even … Read full story >>>

Won’t attempt to delve into all the internal politics of Cambodia, but the BBC asked three Cambodians (a journalist, a manager, and a student) their views on the appointment of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra by Cambodian leader Hun Sen. The manager: If Cambodia is prospering, that would be good for Thailand as … Read full story >>>

Here is a very interesting clip – from a weekly community English class in Yangon that draws 500 students. The video was taken by Anne Murat, who is co-filmmaker on the the documentary Rangoon Cocoon . Thanks to a regular reader for the tip. Read full story >>>

Xinhua: The Thai man named Siwarak Chothipong in Khmer, 31, worked as aengineer in CATS, was arrested on Wednesday according to the arrest warrant of prosecutor of Phnom Penh Municipality Court, the Khmer language newspaper Rasmei Kampuchea reported.He spied through copying the letters of flights of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra … Read full story >>>

This posting is a follow-up on civil society movements attempting to create a more just Malaysia – especially in reversing racist government policies. The online media had been at the forefront in providing news and views from diverse groups – especially those marginalised by the mainstream media. By providing an… Read full story >>>

Birds come and birds go… The Wednesday before last, the maid came running into the living room all excited (I know it was a Wednesday because it is the only day I have a maid). ‘นก มา! นก มา!’ Translation: Bird come! Bird come! Waving her … Read full story >>>