Thailand Stories

I think we are all probably familiar with the different kinds of puppet shows. Everything from the basic hand puppets to more intricately designed puppets operated by a series of strings. In Thailand, there are also shadow puppets. But, it … Continue reading →

Yesterday marked the official start of the Vegetarian Festival in Thailand. In Samut Prakan it runs from 26th September to 6th October 2011. We went to Thong Siang Vegetarian House in Samut Prakan to watch this opening ceremony. The event was a signal for the nine Gods to…

Over recent months there have been an increasing number of iPhone apps that have been released in the Thai language. Which is obviously great for local people. Some of the apps are even bilingual which opens them up to a wider market. However, a pet peeve of mine at the moment are the companies producing two different apps; one …

The longer that you stay in Thailand, the higher the chance is that you will one day be invited to a funeral. This might be for the parent of a colleague at work or a relation of your Thai wife or husband. I am not exactly an expert on Thai funerals, …

Thai people nationwide have been urged to display the national flag together with a yellow flag which has the royal ceremonial emblem marking the 84th birthday anniversary of His Majesty the King. Yellow represents the color of Monday, the birthday of His Majesty the King. For Thai people, the 7th cycle, or 84th, birthday anniversary is an important milestone …

All of the students at my school took part in the annual Wai Khru Ceremony today. The students presented their teachers with flowers and said “thank you” to them for giving them knowledge. In return, the teachers gave them a blessing which the students believe will give …

There are many different places around Bangkok where you can celebrate Songkran this year. The most popular places for the water fights will most likely be Khao San Road and Silom Road. However, if you want to see a more traditional side of Songkran, then I…

Before the age of television soap operas and movies, Thai people entertained themselves by watching Shadow Puppet Shows. In Thai these are known as “Nang Talung” and were popular in Southern Thailand. Although you cannot see them so much these days, you might be lucky at a village festival, temple …

In the old days, before movies and T.V. soap operas, people were entertained with Nang Talung. This is the art of shadow puppets that first became popular in Southern Thailand two or three generations ago. It has since spread to other…

These days Thailand is seeing many more repeat visitors. People who originally fell in love with Thailand in their younger days when they were backpackers are returning as married couples. There are also more retired couples exploring Thailand. For these people they want a bit more than beaches, …

At school last week, we held our regular Thai Manners competition for the students. The students wore traditional Thai clothes and had to visit a number of different bases in order to show that they knew how to perform the proper respect in the…

This is the final part of the Thai Manner demonstration at Sriwittayapaknam School. In the previous blogs, I told how this family went to visit their grandmother. After prostrating on the floor, the grandmother then invites the two adults to sit on the chairs next …

This is continuing with the story of the parents that took their daughter to visit her grandmother. Arriving at the front door, they are greeted by their niece. As she is a lot younger than them, notice how much more respect she is showing to the two…

Today I am going to continue with some examples of good Thai manners which I see a lot in every-day situations. The pictures today illustrate how to behave at home and when visiting relations and friends. In the above picture, a daughter is talking to her parents. Notice, that as her parents are seated, it is proper …

These pictures were taken at Sriwittayapaknam School in Samut Prakan. The students were taking part in a competition for Thai Manners. In this first set of pictures, the students are demonstrating the proper way to show repsect to a Buddha image. This is done in three stages. In…

At Sriwittayapaknam School this morning, students from every grade took part in a competition for Thai manners. What they had to do was walk around the playground and then act in the correct manner for each situation. I am not sure about you, but I find in general that Thai people have very good manners. I am …

One of the most impressive temples in Chiang Mai is Wat Chedi Luang. It is the largest chedi in Chiang Mai and is located in the center of the city. The original chedi, which dates back to 1481 A.D., was 98 meters …

Today marks the start of the Vegetarian Festival in Thailand. In Samut Prakan it runs from 7th to 17th October 2010. We went to Thong Siang Vegetarian House in Samut Prakan to watch this opening ceremony. The event was a signal for the nine Gods to come down to earth. Something similar happened all over Thailand…

This is a review of what happened in Thailand during the last week based on topics that I tweeted. You can follow me live for latest news about Thailand @RichardBarrow . Friday 6th August 2010: The Bangkok Post today, including the front cover picture, is in 3D. http://twitpic.com/2by5kt # King …

This weekend there is a Thai Culture Fair for ten regions of Thailand at Ancient Siam. I was planning on going this afternoon to take some pictures but we had a heavy downpour. So, by the time I got there it was already starting to get dark. A nice picture of a …