Thailand Voice

While working on the family farm in Nakhon Phanom this past April I put in more than my fair share of sweat equity getting the fields ready for the upcoming rice season. Most of the family fields are located just behind the house so we didn’t have far to go with our… Read full story >>>

It’s been a picture kind of week here at Land of Smiles so why not wrap up the week with just a few more of my favorites. The Mekong is a beautiful river and everything that surrounds it adds to it’’s beauty. It’s hard not to notice how important … Read full story >>>

Reuters : “Physical therapy is needed to help him stand up and walk which would need a little time. That is why he needs to continue staying in hospital, but doctors say there is no danger ,” the princess told Thai nationals in Germany in comments broadcast on Thai television. “He now can… Read full story >>>

Warning to readers! There are a lot of pictures of a Thai boy band Duo called Golf & Mike following. I was standing outside the concert venue waiting for Golf and Mike to arrive on stage, I didn’t mind too much as I was talking to an old student and getting … Read full story >>>

My last trip to Thailand found me splitting time between Mukdahan and Nakhon Phanom and while I enjoy both provinces, the latter of the two is my hands down favorite. Nakhon Phanom is a good sized city, the 14th largest in Thailand, but it still has a nice home town feel to it. And if… Read full story >>>

Well, not really. At best,  you can hope for “out of sight, out of mind”, and then we have the oddity that is the above picture. Rural Thai households are probably among the cleanest in the world. The floors are either concrete, tile or smooth… Read full story >>>

I love rural Thailand and all it has to offer, from the laid back atmosphere to the kind smiles of  it’s friendly people, everything seems to mesh. That being said there a few aspects of rural Thailand that scare the hell out of me. For the most… Read full story >>>

Abhisit is very articulate and can spin with the best of them. But I don’t know why he has to lie. Thailand is not an open economy or is it even remotely liberal. It is a protectionist country. Nothing wrong with being protectionist but to … Read full story >>>

Not for the faint-hearted purse, I already had to stomach quite some criticism last year because of my enjoyment of the culinary elitism at the Four Seasons Hotel’s 9th World Gourmet Festival. But no regrets whatsoever; especially from someone who usually appreciates the candor of street food. Others… Read full story >>>

When you walk up the stairs of the family home in Nakhon Phanom you’ll see the above object hanging  above your head to the left just before the door. It’s made of Bamboo and has a rectangular slot cut into it. in which you will find a small stick with a string … Read full story >>>

The picture above is a bit of a mystery to me that I haven’t been able to work out. On the doors to the storage area under the family house in Nakhon Phanom are three symbols, 2 hearts followed by a circled cross. I’ve seen these symbols together a few times in Nakhon Phanom… Read full story >>>

The road along the Mekong in Nakhon Phanom proper is where you will find most if not all of the government offices and about the midway point of the Mekong prominade you will see a long line of trucks waiting at the Port house for the ferry across to Laos. Trade between Laos and Thailand… Read full story >>>

I’ve been doing some more work on garlic production and marketing in Thailand. Yesterday I compiled price data for dried garlic from 1984 to the present (the data is available from the Office of Agricultural Economics). I have plotted the price in this graph (click for a larger version). I have … Read full story >>>

From a New Mandala reader in Bangkok: Read full story >>>

New Mandala guest writer, Gregore Lopez, has an interesting piece in Eureka Street on “Malaysia’s threat to Rudd’s Asia Pacific Community.” Here is a short extract: This week’s visit to Malaysia of Kevin Rudd and Foreign Minister Stephen Smith reminds us of stormy bilateral relations under former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. Following … Read full story >>>

When I go  up country to see Pookie’s family in Issan we always head to Mukdahan first where her parents live , although technically they live in Nakhon Phanom as well but that is a story for tomorrow. Each time I see the house… Read full story >>>

Last week, Dr Pavin Chachavalpongpun had an op-ed in the Bangkok Post making some valid criticism of Thaksin’s foreign policy, but then concluding: Under the Abhisit administration, Thai foreign policy has undergone an extreme makeove r. The Democrat-led government has rejected Thaksin’s business-first mentality and re-introduced a seemingly principle… Read full story >>>

If you are anything like me when you first hear about rural Thailand you brain conjures images of grass thatched huts, traditional Thai clothing and half naked women working the fields. Alright, the half naked woman thing is just a… Read full story >>>

I wrote in january : The most depressing “opinion poll” ever : children want… things from Abhisit It was indeed depressing. But I’m not sure anymore It was “the most”… A new one is a serious competitor for the golden medal. A latest survey reveals that many Thai people would … Read full story >>>

Asia Times : Stimulus Program ATol: Your fiscal stimulus program ambitiously aims for the government to lead the Thai economy over the next three years. With the collapse of global trade and your country’s heavy reliance on exports for growth, does Thailand need a new economic model and one that is… Read full story >>>

Latest report from Matichon with unofficial results is Surachart Charnpradit of Puea Thai with 123,557 votes and Chart Thai Pattana’s Sakulthip Angkasakulkiat with 75,420 votes in the by-election in Sri Saket Constituency No. 1. So far the victory margin is 47,000 votes. BP : Unsure whether this in includes… Read full story >>>