Thailand Voice

Events have heated up considerably in Thailand’s capital today as troops attempt to regain control of several key areas. All services have been suspended on the BTS SkyTrain. The big shopping malls around the rally site at Rajprasong intersection had been open earlier but all closed around 2.30pm. Many foreign visitors found themselves essentially … Read full story >>>

Flouting a ban on their using 11 key roads, thousands of Red Shirt protesters mounted processions throughout Thailand’s capital city. Here is a series of photographs of one group streaming down Phaholyothin Road, near Soi Ari in northern Bangkok. While this procession … Read full story >>>

It's hot – literally and figuratively – in Bangkok at the moment. So I'd like to treat everyone to a steaming bowl of ginger soup, with chewy glutinous rice dumplings stuffed with black sesame butter.  “I've always said this … Read full story >>>

Police in riot gear have been massing under the Rajdamri BTS station, 500 meters south of the rally stage at Rajprasong intersection. Skuffles have broken out between the police and Red Shirt protesters. Thanks to Twitter user narisa_nna , we have the… Read full story >>>

When on holiday a good nights sleep and a decent breakfast is essential to giving yourself a decent start to the day. A top class hotel should provide you with both but that all depends on your breakfast needs. An expensive mattress and … Read full story >>>

Away from the main rally area, roads that would normally have been full with busy traffic were lined with protesters’ vehicles or filled with groups of protesters dancing and partying. At some points, Rama I Road was eerily quiet, apart from the distant thump of Thai country music… Read full story >>>

Support vehicles parked in Rajdamri Road, 500 meters from Ratchprasong intersection. A supporter on top of a campaign truck watches the rally stage from 300 meters away. Smiling supporter relaxes in the back of a truck. Every vantage point along Rajdamri Road is … Read full story >>>

Meanwhile, life goes on… A vendor offers Red Shirt paraphernalia, including foot clappers. Hot and tired, protesters sit outside one of the shuttered retail malls. Everywhere, protesters exuded a friendly, positive attitude. Closer to the main rally location, this man nursed a leg … Read full story >>>

What’s been happening this week? Following the excitement of televised negotiations between Thailand’s Prime Minister and UDD leaders, the week has been fairly quiet as everybody waits to find out exactly what happens next. The Red Shirts finally seem to have… Read full story >>>

Locals cheered on thousands of passing Red Shirts on bicycles, motorbikes, pickup trucks, vans and buses Sunday morning. The protesters were headed to the 11th Infantry Regiment’s Bangkok base where they aimed to pressure the PM into dissolving Parliament and calling elections. Read full story >>>

Huge procession carried off to great fanfare and with few problems. Today’s protest cavalcade appears to have been a great success, at least in terms of the size of the turnout and the lack of friction. In sweltering heat, thousands of vehicles carrying tens of thousands of UDD supporters … Read full story >>>

  Sam Euay Nong (’Three Sisters’) is a cheery, tidy family-run place in central Vientiane. They do a handful of simple Lao/Vietnamese dishes, ranging from tam mak hung , Lao-style papaya salad, to khao poon nam jaew , thin rice noodles in broth … Read full story >>>

How you can follow the big protest parade online. The UDD leadership had been promising a world-record cavalcade of 20,000 vehicles that would stretch some 50kms or more through Bangkok. As of 12:30pm, it appears several thousand vehicles are involved in a procession of about 4-6kms, but that is very … Read full story >>>

SMH: At least 80,000 so-called “Red Shirts” converged on rally grounds near the government’s offices in Bangkok, giving Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva an ultimatum to dissolve parliament or face further demonstrations.”We will leave here to listen to the government’s answer … Read full story >>>

Despite reports of there being more than 100,000 red shirts in Bangkok already, at about 6pm tonight the numbers were still relatively low around the main convergence point at Ratchadamnoen Klang Avenue. The red shirts had set up tents all along the road, from quite close to the Rattanakosin Hotel, but … Read full story >>>

Sompien Eksomya (Thai: พ.ต.อ.สมเพียร เอกสมญา), superintendent of Yala’s Bannang Sata district police, and three subordinates were seriously wounded in a roadside bomb attack in the district yesterday. Sompien had recently asked the premier for a transfer to a safer area before his retirement next year. Pol… Read full story >>>

By GREG LOWE IN BANGKOK THE government is hopeful that this weekend’s mass protests will pass without violence, but security forces are well prepared for any incident, Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya says. Thousands of red-shirt supporters of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra yesterday started mobilising from around the country to … Read full story >>>

Getting up to speed. As we prepare to cover the UDD’s mass rally in Bangkok on Sunday, we review the last Red Shirt rally in Bangkok. If you weren’t with us for coverage of the street battles last year, you may want to scroll back through the… Read full story >>>

Bizarre news from Thailand: this week a lady in Ayutthaya province held a funeral for her Doraemon doll. The story has been widely reported in the Thai language press, and even picked up by the National News Bureau : ความคืบหน้ากรณีนางพลับพลึง นามเจริญ จัดงานศพให้กับตุ๊กตา โดเรมอน ที่มีชื่อว่า จิเหว่ย นาคทอง ที่วัดมหาโลก จังหวัดพระนครศรีอยุธยานั้น … นางนิภา รุ่งเรืองบูรณะกุล ครูประจำชั้นอนุบาล 1 เปิดเผยว่า นางพลับพลึง… Read full story >>>

Kayasit Pissawongprakan, Director General of the Office of the Thai Attorney General, center, is surrounded by reporters after a news conference at his office in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, Jan. 29, 2010. Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thuagsuban refused on comment on the pending decision by public prosecutors to drop all …

It was a year ago now that I first visited the tranquil little village of Baan Nam Khong and enjoyed gliding from tree to tree with the amazing Jungle Flight adventure. I got a chance to fly again last weekend and try out the longest, fastest and…

When I first came to Thailand fifteen years ago there wasn’t really that much in the way of English media. All we had at the time were two national newspapers in English and a few programmes on television if we tuned in to …

Paradorn Srichaphan of Thailand (L-R), Ayumi Morita of Japan, Vera Zvonareva of Russia and Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia pose during a news conference introducing players for the upcoming Tennis Classic in Hong Kong January 4, 2010. The tournament will be played between January…

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…

Dr Vichai Chokewiwat, chairman of Thailand’s Government Pharmaceutical Organization (GPO) demonstrates how to use a new swine flu vaccine during a news conference in Bangkok December 18, 2009. A trial of Thailand’s first locally produced swine flu vaccine will begin with 24 people. (Reuters) Dr Vichai, …

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…

Note: I’ve waited a while before posting as other bloggers’ posts has drawn a line of acceptability for reporting this news. That said, the goverment has blocked certain links to the article in question, as well as threatening legal action on anyone reporting it, so you will find no outgoing links here. If… Read full story >>>

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…

Thai and Japanese students pull a Japanese aircraft at Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok on November 7, 2009. About 222 Thai and Japanese students join to pull the aircraft during the campaign to boost the relationship between the two countries. (Getty Images) More Thailand pictures can be found at www.ThaiPhotoBlogs.com .

Thailand’s Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva (R) shakes hands with Japan’s Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama upon his arrival at the state guest house in Tokyo November 6, 2009. (Reuters) Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama (3rd L) poses with (L-R) Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, Laotian Prime Minister Bouasone Bouphavanh, Myanmar Prime Minister …

Thai politics is a subject I’ve written about partly because, as a politics graduate living in Thailand, it is of natural interest and, secondly, it’s quite a unique and interesting system. For once though, I find UK politics to be… Read full story >>>

Have previously blogged on the Chavalit-Prem relationship (Chavalit speaking out here and here ; Prem’s response ), but also thought that Thai Rath had some interesting points in their analysis a few days on the Chavalit-Prem relationship entitled “Just Friends, Not the Son of Uncle Prem” (แค่เพื่อนไม่ใช่ ‘ลูกป๋า’). The analysis notes … Read full story >>>

Yesterday New Mandala ’s Andrew Walker was interviewed on the ABC Radio National breakfast program about politics and the palace in Thailand.  The audio of Andrew’s conversation with Fran Kelly is available here . Read full story >>>

Bun Auk Phan Saa, the end of the Buddhist Rains Retreat, is usually accompanied by floating of krathong , formerly banana leaf, now usually styrofoam, individual offerings in a pond or stream.  On Monday night, 5 October, one day after Phan Saa, in Baan Dong Phong, near… Read full story >>>

The Nation : Nation Broadcasting Corp yesterday set its initial public offering price at Bt2.90 per share, saying it was appropriate and not too high considering the firm’s expansion plans for new media and cable TV in the future. … A brokerage source said NBC’s… Read full story >>>

I’m now on Google Wave which I’m pretty chuffed about as it is brand-spankingly new, will doubtless become very important and, for now at least, it’s something new for me to geek out on and get to grips with. As we’re still … Read full story >>>

New Thailand’s football coach Bryan Robson of England, right, is presented with a team jacket by chief adviser of the Thai Football Association Suwat Liptapallop after a news conference in Bangkok, Thailand Friday, Oct. 16, 2009. Robson, a former England captain agreed in a four-year contract to coach the Thai …

Twenty five contestants competing in the Miss Poland 2009 contest are presently touring Thailand. They will be here from 5th-14th October 2009. Some of the major locations that they will visit include Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket and Krabi. As well as touring tourist attractions, they will also take part in activities such as Thai cooking, …

Yesterday was a big day in the history of the web. Findings from a PWC report for the IAB (Internet Advertising Bureau) found that online advertising spend in the UK had overtaken TV advertising spend for the first time. Online has long been heralded as the future for, well, pretty … Read full story >>>

In terms of engagement, we intend to begin a direct dialogue with Burmese authorities to lay out a path towards better relations. The dialogue will include specific discussion of democracy and human rights inside Burma, cooperation on international security issues such as nonproliferation and compliance with 1874 and 1718 , and areas that could… Read full story >>>