Thailand Stories

When I first heard about the Four Regions Floating Market in Pattaya, I just thought that we would be getting another tacky and artificial tourist attraction built just to bring in the tourist dollars. There are not really that many authentic floating markets around. The famous one at Damnoen Saduak was recreated in order to cater for foreign tourists. It is situated on the site of a much older floating market that…

An expression often used during the colonial period was “going native”. It referred to the people who forgot the ways of their home country and started to behave like the natives. It was meant as a derogatory term as if Western educated people were of a higher class and standing. To “go native” meant to behave like someone from your host country. For example, accept the…

Muay Thai, or Thai kickboxing has really gone international. There are enthusiasts all around the world and fighters are no longer just Thai nationals. You also don’t need to train in Thailand any more as there are world renowned boxing training camps in America, Europe and Australia. However, some people do decide to opt for something a bit more authentic and train in Thailand. You …

Back in 2007, we started a new project called “Seven Wonders of Thailand” . We asked members of the ThailandQA Forums to nominate what they thought should be “Wonders of Thailand” in three different categories: Man-Made Wonders, Natural Wonders and Symbols of Thailand. Then, for the past year, people have been allowed to vote on our website at…

After spending a few months working my socks-off in Bangkok, I’m finally falling back into the more mellowed and chilled-out routine of living upcountry here in Suphanburi. This blog of mine today, is actually related in way to Richard’s one lately about the scammering Siam Ocean World at the Siam Paragon. Putting a two-…

Once you made a decision to be brave and break away from the perceived safety of a convenient tourist bus coming with pickup from your hotel or guesthouse, you will need to figure out how to get to the bus station and how to buy the right ticket. The most important thing is that prices are…

(The following blog/article was published in The Nation newspaper on February 2. Here below, however, is the originally un-edited submission) (Watch out for that Thai wife of yours – she could be extremely dangerous! Thai wives are highly skilled at throwing Farang husbands over 12th floor Pattaya hotel balconies!) Besides being home to countless noodle soup carts, coyote dancers and moaning air-hostesses, the land …

(The following blog/article was published in The Nation newspaper on December 22. Here below, however, is the originally un-edited submission) (Farangs often complain about the lack of law enforcement here, but some would go stark raving mad if the cops enforced the law about illegal prostitution) Just how many foreigners…

Not so long back, our friend Derek Sharron from Bamboo Sinfonia Books , sent me an e-mail asking whether or not I was interested in doing a review for one of his latest releases. Sure enough. And after looking at what he had on offer, I decided on this one…..Learning Curve. Learning Curve, written by Mark Thomas, is the very simple story of an incredibly financially naïve British guy called…