Thailand Stories

Darkest Isan (where decent thais fear to tread), Part Four. Once upon a time people came to Thailand because it was off the beaten track, later people came because it was on the beaten track, nowadays it’s so easy to travel Thailand makes the beaten…

It’s a Nun’s Life. Thailand and Myanmar, a comparison “Buddhism’s not really for Women…………. they can’t make merit.” As Lo Win my Burmese Buddhism sceptical motorcycle taxi driver I hired for the day in Mandalay put it, while I snapped the…

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pathongko with nam tao hoo Recently I gave myself the challenge of only eating Thai street food for a period of 30 days. This might seem like heaven and such an easy task to do, but in reality it was difficult and…

One of the best things about living in Thailand is the food. It is not only delicious, but it is also plentiful and cheap. In fact, you can find it on almost any street corner at any time of day or night. I guess we are spoilt in Thailand in having such easy access …

If you have ever arrived at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Thailand then you will surely know about the problem with the taxis and illegal tour guides. As you walk out of customs people would always come up to you asking if you wanted a…

Over the recent long holiday weekend in Thailand, we celebrated two important Buddhist holidays: Asarnha Bucha and Khao Phansa. The first takes place on the full moon day of the eighth lunar month. It commemorates the Buddha’s first sermon to his first five disciples. On this day people celebrate the Triple Gem. This represents…

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 . Weekend 16th-18th July 2010 US names new Thailand envoy http://j.mp/bWKMFJ Democrats, who are facing dissolution, held merit-making rituals to “shore up the party’s waning luck” /BkkPost…

If you want any proof that superstition and black magic is alive and well in Thailand then you don’t need to go further than the front page of the Thai Rath. This is the most popular newspaper for Thai people and its front pages are often filled with colour pictures of road accidents and murder victims. …

I have just returned from a three day trip to Trang and Satun in the South of Thailand. I was invited by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) to join them to do “Product Testing for Quality Tourists”. It sounded like fun so I jumped at the chance to go. We flew …

One of the more traditional events that took place during Songkran recently was “song nam phra”. This is the practice of bathing Buddha images with rose scented water. Most tourists, and even some Thai teenagers, seem to think that Songkran is only about throwing water at each other. However, it…

Thailand has quite a few ethnic minorities. One of these groups are the Mons which have their own distinct culture, clothing and language. They originally came from Southern Burma where they were once rulers of their own kingdom. Due to persecution …

For a while now I have been doing a number of other blogs about Thailand. These are more personal ones about every day things that I experience in Thailand. This first one is a “moblog” which I will go into more detail later. It is called that because I blog from my mobile phone…

The Novotel Suvarnabhumi Airport Hotel is hosting a month long art and culture exhibition called “Life along the River”. We went to the opening ceremony at the weekend which was attended by the Governor of Samut Prakan. You can see more pictures at…

The red shirt protests in Bangkok have been going on for about a week now. By world standards, this must be one of the most peaceful mass protests ever. Only the Thai people can protest but keep smiling at the same time. The rally site is more like an outdoor concert at times. However, there is…

A total of 5,000 red guards are believed to be deployed at the rally site in Bangkok and at 30 other locations in the area. This includes 200 mobile units on motorcycle. They will be providing protection to the red shirts at the rally and…

The Thai government over the past few years have been so focussed on first the yellow shirts and then the red shirts that hardly anyone has noticed the rampant increase of drug use in Thailand. It is almost getting to epidemic proportions …

The Chinese people of Samrong in Samut Prakan Province believe that their God Jao Por Tap will help them get rich. Behind Imperial World, on the old Paknam Railway Road, they have built a large Chinese shrine dedicated to this God. Every year, on the last Sunday of January, they hold a parade through town which is attended …

It would seem that the longer I stay in Thailand, the higher the frequency that I attend funerals. In fact, I have two sets of funeral clothes now. I thought today I would give a brief overview of a cremation in order to …

It is that time of year again when we do a quick review of the past year. Today I am going to look back at some of the more popular news photos from Thailand on our sister blog www.thaiphotoblogs.com . One of the most …