Thailand Voice

As the Mekong runs to its lowest level in three decades , boat traffic has had to be suspended and, in common with other waterways in the region, people wonder how they are going to survive. There will be the economic cost of reduced trade (there is an estimate of 100 million baht so… Read full story >>>

Heatwave is a post from: ThaiPulse.com/blog/ , a Thailand focused website. ©2009-2010 ThaiPulse It’s been blistering hot now for about 2 months. We’ve had a couple rain showers in 60 days, but it’s noticeably hotter and dryer than the last couple years. Moving into a house I thought it’d be cooler than the flat we… Read full story >>>

The Sunee Grand Hotel is the newsest and by far nicest hotel currently in Ubon. Apart from it being the nicest it is also part of the biggest shopping complex in town which includes an adventure swimming pool and ten pin bowling. When I was driving back from Laos a few weeks ago (yes that… Read full story >>>

This week sees Mobile World Congress (MWC) – one of the year’s biggest and most important events in the technology industry – taking place in Barcelona, Spain. Asian influence at the show is usually in the form of Japanese, Chinese and Korean… Read full story >>>

Stumbled upon this interesting piece from (UK) Guardian online promoting Burma as underestimated tourist spot. I’ve long been tempted to take a better look at the country know as Myanmar ever since my brother spent a week there in between a couple of stays … Read full story >>>

Spend more then a few minutes in Thailand and you will quickly understand that motorbikes are a major way of life here. Most people cannot afford a car and who really needs one when you can fit the entire family on a little scooter! It is almost … Read full story >>>

Everyone loves Thai Flowers and Dok Mai of course means ‘flowers’ in Thai. Nat, a young Thai photographer friend of ours, has just opened his first website. His website is all about the Flora of Thailand and, although the site is written in Thai, the language of flowers is universal. Visitors to Thailand cannot fail… Read full story >>>

Thai Sex Talk… Before you think I’ve gone all Thai sex-crazed, please let me explain. The well-crafted book, Thai Sex Talk , is not about the smutty side of Thai life. It is a collection of Thai words and expressions that focus on personal relationships. And they… Read full story >>>

I just received word that there was an incident involving the Bangkok to Ubon train this evening in Sisaket. Apparently the incident happened near the Big C in Sisaket and it involved a truck. More details to come as I get Read full story >>>

I co-teach physical education to grade 1 and 2. When I started two years ago we had two footballs and three basketballs. Back then, we were not allowed to use the big open field in front of school. The director had just spent a large sum of money … Read full story >>>

There are many noteworthy and progressive foreign policy initiatives announced by Australia’s Foreign Minister Stephen Smith in yesterday’s Ministerial Statement on Burma  ( New Mandala discussions are available here ). While it may not have arrived with the same trumpet blast and… Read full story >>>

Analyst firm IDC has been busy publishing interesting predictions and statistics ( one is here ), the latest being Southeast Asia Telecommunication Top 10 Predictions: 2010 The Year for an Upswing . This list serves as an interesting warm-up for the company’s … Read full story >>>

The rumours are still flying thick and fast and as there are so many people interested in what Thai airways are up to I thought it best I present any new information that comes my way. I need to stress that … Read full story >>>

What a busy week! After my Iast blog my parents, a family friend, the kids and I packed up and headed off to the village for 2 days arriving back with enough time to quickly drink a coffee at Peppers before going straight to the … Read full story >>>

The legal showdown between Ms Suu Kyi and her brother comes as the SPDC is preparing to hold a controversial election later this year…Ms Suu Kyi herself, whose house arrest was extended last year after a US citizen swam across Inya Lake to … Read full story >>>

This Thai learning Thai… Unfortunately there was no mystical transference or osmosis of language from mother to womb. So I am an American born woman who is ironically half Thai and half Chinese. Ironically because my ethnic makeup is very Thai, something I learned when I moved here as an adult. There are … Read full story >>>

The Phuping Palace (Bhuping) is a Royal Residence. Located on a mountain above the famous Chiang Mai Temple, Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep, the Phuping Palace is the winter residence of the Thai Royal Family. The Phuping Palace was built in 1961, with… Read full story >>>

Guy Caught on National TV is a post from: ThaiPulse.com/blog/ , a Thailand focused website. ©2009-2010 ThaiPulse Great clip… look at the guy over the shoulder of the one supposed to be getting the attention of the camera… This won’t happen in Thailand because we … Read full story >>>

Elephants in the room: the uses and meanings of English in Thai political discourse (Part 1) [This is the first of a three part article. Parts 2 and 3 will be posted over the coming week.] When I moved to Thailand eight years ago, I became interested in the new world… Read full story >>>

Many a foreigner visiting Thailand’s shores have shaken their head looking at the Thai power supply which at best could be called Spaghetti! Now I am no expert on power but it really does amaze me how anyone can actually have a half … Read full story >>>

As I blogged about previously we had decided to celebrate Christmas on January 12 as that was the day after my parents arrived. The kids had been asking me for the last two weeks ‘when Christmas was coming’ because ‘it takes too … Read full story >>>

A few weeks back I blogged about postponing Christmas due to various reasons. I am so glad that I did as on Christmas morning we ended up having a meeting with our lawyers going over a business problem that we had at the time. Thankfully the day improved as we had shut the kitchen for… Read full story >>>

It seems that my information that I received regarding Nok Air only flying three times a week was perhaps not correct. The latest info from two different people is that they will indeed fly three times a day the same as … Read full story >>>

The Chiang Mai Mail, in addition to covering local news and politics, also has sections on sport, entertainment, social scene and local business as well as a classified section. Whilst containing much of interest to the tourist, the strength of the Chiang Mai Mail is providing news and information to the large expat … Read full story >>>

Former Premier Thaksin Shinawatra is due to return to Cambodia later this month — the third time in the past three months — and this cartoon by my favourite political cartoonist “Stepff” caught my attention once again. Thaksin is appparently using Cambodia as his base to “coach” his Pheau … Read full story >>>

The King’s Cup kicks off in Nakhon Ratchasima on Sunday and will feature not just Thailand but also Denmark, Poland and Singapore. Not sure what kind of sides Denmark and Poland will be able to put out but I imagine that Singapore … Read full story >>>

… they will spread out and block the entire passageway. Read full story >>>

Have blogged numerous times on the court decision suspending projects in the Map Ta Phut (the title is not a spelling mistake) industrial estate – see here and here or for a full list here. Now, … Read full story >>>

Yes, you read correct, all of us managed to get away for an entire week leaving on January 1 (after deciding on the afternoon of December 31 to go.) Just my wife and kids and it was bliss. Ubon -> Village -> Pakse -> Savannakhet -> Mukdahan… Read full story >>>

Having re booked my flight back to the UK for this coming Saturday I found myself with five clear days to further explore Udon Thani city. With my chest virus infection slowly starting to clear I looked forward to a little R & R in a city which had provided exactly that to … Read full story >>>