Thailand Stories

Ai Haruna, 37, from Japan, celebrates after winning the Miss International Queen 2009 transsexual beauty pageant in the Thai resort city of Pattaya, about 150 km (93 miles) southeast of Bangkok October 31, 2009. (Reuters) Miss International Queen 2009 Haruna Ai of Japan (C), flanked by first…

In this photo taken Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009, a billboard showing Adolf Hitler saluting is erected in the middle on a highway in the resort town of Pattaya, Chonburi province southeastern Thailand. The Thai language on the billboard said, ‘Hitler is not dead,’ had been up for several weeks …

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. ( Richard Barrow /paknam.com) More Thailand pictures can be found at www.ThaiPhotoBlogs

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, traditional spa …

Thailand is in big trouble again. Its tourism industry was already facing disaster last year with the prolonged airport closure. Things looked like it was starting to get better but the situation has just been going from bad to worse. This year Thailand has received a lot of negative press from the international media. Everything …

Look, but don’t touch – these Thailand ‘pretty girls’ could be on a scammer) Once known as the Land of Smiles, pitiable Thailand is now turning into the world’s most infamous Land of Scams – and this year in particular we have been inundated again and again and again with lurid stories of sad foreigners been stung for wads of…

Khao Sarn Road Cop Box (AKA: Chanasongkram Police Station) seems to have a fetish for trying to bust pot-smoking backpackers but not the hundreds of scammers operating in their vicinity. Let me take the chance today to write a blog of a…

One of the jobs I have to do at the school is to look after the foreign teachers. This term we have four new teachers fresh off the boat. The teachers are staying in a townhouse belonging to the school. Their …

An albino baby turtle swims with green sea babies turtle in a pond at Khram island, about 30 km (19 miles) from Pattaya, east of Bangkok. Special care is given to around 15,000 green and hawksbill baby turtles hatched and housed at the navy’s conservation center each year. Once the baby turtles’ shells are big and strong…

When I see images like this I usually think of Japanese kids who often wear masks when they are ill or when they are concerned about catching a contagious disease. However, I took this picture this afternoon here in Thailand. The number of cases of people infected with the …

Respect for the Law (Click here for part one) From the age of just two and half months, toddler Tui can enjoy the thrills and sprills of being sat on his father’s motorbike and admire the awesome way his father manages to fit the entire family on the back of his motorbike and…

“He fought like a man so he could become a woman” – Still from the Thai movie Beautiful Boxer Thailand here has many-a glorious site to feast ones eyes on, besides just a million temples, two million taxis and three million noodle soup stalls we…

Sorawee Nattee (C), winner of the Miss Tifffany 2009 contest, Writtorn Narapaipimol (L) who finish in 2nd and Napatsawan Cholakorn who finish in 3rd place are pictured at the end of the contest in Pattaya on May 15, 2009. The Miss Tiffany contest is held…

Thailand’s latest floating market is the Four Regions Floating Market in Banglamung District of Chonburi, a short distance south of Pattaya. The market is split up into four distinct areas which represent the four regions of Thailand. There are over one hundred shops selling quality souvenirs and handicraft as well as delicious Thai food. …

When I first travelled through Asia I remember thinking that it was lucky that I spoke English as my first language. I noticed that English was being used as the way to communicate between backpackers of different nations. For example, a German would speak to a Frenchman in …

Supporters of exiled former premier Thaksin Shinawatra battle with pro-government supporters during the 14th of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and Related Summits in Pattaya on April 11, 2009. The summit of Asean leaders with dialogue partners has been cancelled and state of emergency declared in Pattaya after a clash of red-shirted and blue-shirted people outside the meeting venue and…

Supporters of ousted Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra force their way as a glass door shatters at one of the venues of the 14th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits in Pattaya April 11, 2009. A summit of Asian leaders in Pattaya, Thailand, has effectively been cancelled after anti-government protesters broke into part of the conference venue, a …

Supporters of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra scuffle with riot policemen near the venue of the 14th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits in Pattaya April 10, 2009. Anti-government protesters converged on the Thai beach town of Pattaya on Friday with plans to disrupt an Asian summit as part of efforts to try to force Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva …

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva (back) walks towards his car as security officers gesture after Abhisit’s car was stuck in traffic in Pattaya April 7, 2009. Protesters attacked a car carrying Vejjajiva on Tuesday as a minister warned that opposition elements wanted to cause chaos at a big rally this week in a bid to topple the government. Abhisit was unhurt, but a window in his car was smashed…