Thailand Stories

I am in the Northeast of Thailand for the launch of two new guidebooks. I already told you about the one called “The Mekong: Journeys along the River of Life”. Today I’m on my way to Surin Province for the launch of…

Nakhon Sawan Province is in the North of Thailand about 240 kilometers north of Bangkok. It is important as it is regarded as the source for the Chao Phraya River which flows all the way south to Bangkok and out into …

One of the most bizarre festivals that I have ever attended in Thailand is the Tattoo Festival. This takes place at Wat Bang Phra temple in Nakhon Chaisi, about 50 kms west of Bangkok. This year it is on Saturday 19th March 2011. Wat Bang Phra is famous for its magically charged tattoos and amulets which can protect its wearer against…

One of the most important places to celebrate Makha Bucha Day, a Buddhist holiday, is at Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan. This royal temple, in Nakhon Si Thammarat in Southern Thailand, houses a relic of the Lord Buddha. On the full…

(9) Wun Kati (วุ้นกะทิ), which is a Jelly with Coconut Cream Topping. It costs 30 baht. (10) Khao Niew Na Sangkaya (ข้าวเหนียวหน้าสังขยา), which is Thai custard on sticky rice. It cost 12 baht. (11) Thong Yod (ทองหยอด) which translates as Golden Egg Yolk…

A short distance north of Amphawa there is another riverside market that has been trying to revive its old community. This is Bang Noi Floating Market that straddles a canal of the same name near the Mae Klong River. There has been a market here for more than one hundred years and at one time hundreds of market vendors…

It seems that a number of provinces in Thailand are starting to build their own aquariums that rival if not surpass the one in the basement of Paragon shopping mall in Bangkok. One of the latest ones to be built is at Bueng Boraphet in Nakhon Sawan. It was officially opened in 2008 and as you can…

This week we have the tragic news of a young New Zealand tourist, Sarah Carter, who died while on holiday in Thailand. Reports are not clear yet, but it seems that 23 year old Sarah died from food poisoning after eating at a market stall in the Northern Thailand city of Chiang …

(1) Khao niaow ma muang (ข้าวเหนียวมะม่วง) which is sticky rice with ripe mango. It cost 40 baht. (2) Taptim Grob (ทับทิมกรอบ) which is Water Chestnut with Syrup and Coconut Milk. It cost 25 baht. (3) Khanom Pui Fai (ขนมปุยฝ้าย) is the …

Darkest Isan (where decent thais fear to tread), Part Nine For the Americans reading is this blog, Ho Chi Minh is that damn pinko “grrr!” who as TV and Hollywood have proven on celluloid really didn’t kick the arse of the…

The nearest stretch of seaside to Bangkok is probably Bang Pu Seaside Resort (สถานตากอากาศบางปู) in Samut Prakan. Don’t go there expecting beaches as it is only mudflats and mangroves. However, in Bang Pu they have a pier where hundreds of local people go to enjoy the cool evening breeze…

Sometimes I think that the Thai Censor board have their priorities all wrong. Every night, in the Thai soap operas, we get scenes of men hitting and even raping women and then finally marrying them as if that made it alright. But, according to the Bangkok Post this morning, a brief shot of two teenagers, who are seen in …

The annual National Children’s Day for Thailand takes place on the second Saturday of January every year. Children are considered as the most valuable resource of the country. There is a Thai saying that goes, “Children are the future of the nation, if the children are intelligent, …

It has taken more than four years, but Suvarnabhumi Airport now has a fully functional Airport Rail Link. People arriving in Thailand can now take an express train from the airport to downtown Bangkok in just only 15 minutes. Also this week saw the official opening of the check-in service …

There are now two floating markets in the old city of Ayutthaya which make a nice change from just visiting old temple ruins all day. Now you can break up your time to make a more balanced day trip from Bangkok. Earlier I visited Ayutthaya …

National Parks in Thailand Declared as Alcohol-Free Zones At the start of the New year period, the Department of National Parks, Wildlife, and Plant Conservation made a surprise announcement that all national parks in Thailand would be alcohol-free zones.They cited the recent case of a rowdy student drinking party in Khao Yai National Park where someone…

Happy New Year 2011! I hope everyone had fun celebrating last night and managed to get safely back home. This time of year is really dangerous on the roads and I prefer to stay at home rather than travel to other provinces. Too many drunk drivers out there. However, the big exodus from …

Kim Clijsters of Belgium and Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark This afternoon, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) invited two of the world’s leading tennis players, Ms. Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark and Ms. Kim Clijsters of Belgium, to enjoy a cruise on the Chao …

I recently attended the Thailand International Balloon and Adventure Sports Festival 2010 which this year was being held in Nakhon Nayok. This is the fourth time that the Balloon Festival has been held in Thailand. The first two years it took place…

Legal Advisers around 1900 in front of the new office building of the General Adviser Gustave Rolin-Jaequemyns is standing in the center in white Siamese style jacket, flanked by two Siamese secretaries somewhat behind him. HM King Chulalongkorn’s 1897 Journey to Europe Notes on Origins, Background…