Thailand Voice

The tension is rising in Thailand as we have now started the countdown to Judgement Day on Friday 26th February 2010. The red shirts have already started their protests though so far the yellow shirts have decided to stay at home. If that is true…

The grounds of a Buddhist temple in Thailand have a variety of buildings of all shapes and sizes. At first glance their use might seem to be random. But, there is one building, called the “phra ubosot” which is not only the most sacred but also has distinguishing features that makes it …

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…

Today, people from all around the country are coming together to celebrate the 82nd birthday of H.M. The King. Many of them are wearing pink which is an auspicious colour believed to help make the King better. The Thai monarch has been in Siriraj Hospital in Bangkok since 19th September for …

Everyone knows about Loy Krathong that happens on the full moon in November. However, not many people know that we have another Loy Krathong in October. The phrase “loy krathong” means to float a bowl shaped container. It is not a festival like Christmas which celebrates a particular event. You can actually float a krathong…

During the school holidays in Thailand, it is common for Thai students to ordain as novice monks for a short time. In the olden days, before there were government schools, poor boys would ordain in order to get an education. However, these days, their parents want them to ordain for a short time during…

Mr. Surachai Khanasa, the Governor of Samut Prakan Province, took part in a ceremony this morning to announce to the Gods and Angles in Heaven that they will be holding the annual Worship Fair for Phra Samut Chedi. During the ceremony, they…

We started www.thailandvoice.com at a time when there was no comprehensive blogroll for blogs about Thailand. The only sites listing Thai blogs also listed blogs from around the world. There was no one site that was dedicated to promoting blogs from Thailand. With Thailand Voice we surf the…

One of my favourite websites is our own www.thailandguidebook.com . It started as a student project where they put together information on every province in Thailand. A large group of students worked together to type up information provided to us by the Tourism Authority of Thailand …

Today is an auspicious day in Thailand for all Thai people. Today is the ninth day of the ninth month of the ninth year in the 21st Century which translates as 09 09 09. The number nine in Thai is ” gao ” which sounds similar to another word which means…

This is a nice simple dish called Fried Pomfret, or “pla jalamet khao tod” in Thai. In the picture below, you can see the pomfret fish and the tapioca flour. Wash and clean the fish and then scour it on both sides. Next rub in the tapioca…

Thailand has many natural and man-made wonders that are worthing visiting if you are on holiday in Thailand. Some of these are well-known to tourists while others are more off the beaten path. If you have ever been to any of these “wonders” then we would like you to help vote …

Today I received an email forward that is doing the rounds in Thailand at the moment. It shows some “highway robbers” in action in Thailand. The lady who took these pictures was annoyed with being pulled over and decided to document…

If you have ever been in the waiting area of the departure lounge at Suvarnabhumi Airport then you will know how uncomfortable those seats are. The grey metal is not only hard but it is also cold to the touch. Whenever I have to fly out, I always wait …

This is one of my favourite curries that I cook every now and then. It is Chicken and wax gourd curry or “gang khua fak gup gai” in Thai. You cook it in much the same way as other red curries but there is an…

Well, just a short while back I decided on the spur of the moment to pack our bags and get a short flight to somewhere…… and that somewhere was to be Penang Island in Malaysia. The wife, Su, and I went to Hong Kong over the Songkran holidays in April, …

This week we are cooking spicy bacon and eggs which is “yum kai dao bacon” in Thai. Usually a “yum” is a spicy salad that is mixed in a bowl but this one is a bit different. It is a bit …

Suvarnabhumi International Airport has been receiving a lot of bad publicity lately. We all know very well about the taxi scam where the drivers refuse to turn on the meter or dump you in the middle of nowhere if you try to kick up a fuss…

There are quite a few Buddha images, however most of them depict him at the same age. This Baby Buddha image, called “pang prasut” in Thai, is relatively rare. It depicts the moment when the Buddha was born and he …

The dish we are cooking this week is Fried Spare-ribs marinated in pineapple juice. In Thai it is called “si-khrong mu thot”. It is not really much of a traditional Thai dish but I see it a lot on menus at restaurants. In …

On July 1st, Scouts from schools all around the country took part in celebrations marking the anniversary of the foundation of Scouting in Thailand. In Samut Prakan, the governor, Mr. Kwanchai Wongnitikorn, and the head of the Education Area Office 1, Mr. Yongyuth Sapcharoen, presided over …

The Thai food recipe we have for you this week is Stir-fried Chicken with Garlic Plant. In Thai it is called “kai phat ton kra-thiam”. As you can see in the picture below, there are only two main ingredients: chicken …

Today we have a simple dish called Fried Battered Mushrooms or “het nang fa thot” in Thai. As you can see in the picture below, there are only two basic ingredients. On the left there is a pack of tempura flour and on the right oyster mushrooms. …

Taxi drivers say they have been hit by the political divisiveness that has affected the whole country too. Passengers have recently complained that they couldn’t discuss politics with cab-drivers without getting into an argument. Some Bangkokians have decided to avoid taxis altogether because… Read full story >>>

The Thai Hotels Association (THA) recently reported that average occupancy of Bangkok hotels was around 30% and as low as 5-10% at some properties after the red-shirt political riots during the Songkran festival. … Read full story >>>

What a month April was and for all the wrong reasons in Thailand. Red shirt protests in Bangkok and Pattaya saw the cancellation of the ASEAN conference in the coastal resort and the army was sent in to disperse protesters in Bangkok. … Read full story >>>

In answering the question ‘is populism good?’ it  is necessary to ask ‘what is the alternative?’ As discussed yesterday, populism centres on (i.e. it is the most common form of populism that) privileging a poor rural majority over a powerful urban minority of elites. Within a democratic framework, that implies… Read full story >>>

It is good to have some vegetarian dishes every now and then. This is another good example that is also not spicy. It is Stir-fried beans and mushrooms or ” thua khaek phat het ” in Thai. As you can see in the ingredients below, there…

The Kingdom of Siam was renamed to Thailand under the authoritan regime of Field Marshal Phibun in 1939, and after a short interlude from 1945 to 1949 with a reversion the old name only the name Thailand was used. However, this name is a bit controversial as it refers to the main … Read full story >>>

Matichon tracked a man who was photographed while pulling a red shirt woman by her hair and drag her down the road on 13 April. The blog post has been removed from personal blog but matichon still maintained his statement that he did not felt sorry doing that and he agreed Read full story >>>