Thailand Stories

Wat Benchamabopit, which is more commonly known as The Marble Temple, is probably the most beautiful temple in Bangkok. It is certainly one of the most unique as it is a blend of European and Thai architecture. It is a beautiful place to photograph at any time of the year. However, this last weekend was extra special …

Today, the first “Bangkok Car Free Sunday” was organized. The idea was to encourage people to leave their cars at home and take their bike instead. For many people, that is easier said than done. Even though I took the BTS Skytrain into Bangkok today, I still had a 45 minute drive to my nearest station…

I’ve had a great day supporting Bangkok Car Free Day. The bike ride this morning was surprisingly good with little pollution and plenty of greenery. Taking my bike on the BTS was easier than I thought it would be. However I wouldn’t want…

See the full gallery on Posterous Today is Car Free Sunday in Bangkok and cyclists have started to gather already at the entrance to Lumphini Park for the bike rally. The course is about 10km long.

On my way to the bike rally for Bangkok Car Free Sunday.

At the crack of dawn this morning, I was back at Wat Phra Dhammakaya in Pathum Thani Province. I was last there for the meditation workshop for female Buddhists (see here ).  This picture shows the extraordinary dome that is a wonderful backdrop to many of the pictures that I …

Tomorrow there is a bike rally to celebrate Bangkok Car Free Day. Meeting place is at Lumphini Park at 8 a.m. Some lanes around Bangkok will be closed for the cyclists.

See the full gallery on Posterous Having a great lunch at BKK Bagel Bakery. Today I had salmon on a bagel and also a carrot cake. Highly recommended. Their website is www.bkkbagelbakery.com .

See the full gallery on Posterous Every year, before the start of The Buddhist Rains Retreat, a special ordination ceremony takes place at The Marble Temple. Members of the public can make merit by sponsoring someone from Thailand’s Hilltribes. Today they presented robes. Tomorrow is the actual ordination.

Chiang Khan, in the upper north-east of Thailand, is a quiet town along the banks of the Mekong River. In ancient times it used to be an important town on the trade route between Thailand and Laos.  It never really got that…

Phi Ta Khon is the most famous festival that takes place in Loei Province in either June or July each year. At Wat Phon Chai, in Dan Sai, you will find the Dan Sai Folk Museum that goes into great detail…

One of the most unique and colourful festivals in Thailand is Phi Ta Khon that takes place every year in Dansai in Loei Province. It is sometimes translated into English as the Ghost Festival as many people wear ghost masks during the processions. Really the festival is called Bun Luang which is a combination …

See the full gallery on Posterous This has been the first time that I have flown in a small propeller plane in Thailand. This is a Nok Air flight from Don Mueang to Loei in Northern Thailand. There are only 34 seats. Flight time was 75 minutes. A meal wasn’t served, only a light snack.

Today an estimated 2.3 million people visited polling stations for advance voting in Thailand’s national elections. Today was for the people who had registered in advance to say that they were unable to vote on the 3rd July 2011. Polling stations officially opened at 8 a.m. this morning but people were turning up as early as…

DerManDar for the iPhone lets you capture and share panoramas in just seconds. It’s easy to use and its fun interface will change the way you take photos! There is a new iPhone app out that is quite exciting for photographers like myself. It is called Dermandar and like it says on its website…

When I first came to Thailand it was very difficult to get much news about the country in the English language.  That all changed with the launch of Thailand Outlook Channel a few years back. For the first time we were getting English language …

This morning, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva continued on his election campaign trail by visiting Samut Prakan. Large areas in the province have been declared “Red Zones” and as a result of a history of shootings, Samut Prakan has already been declared “Thailand’s most likely…

Bangkok used to be known as the Venice of the East due to its large network of canals. However, most of these have now been built over to make way for roads. One of the main canals still remaining in … Continue reading →

One of the less known museums in Bangkok is the Royal Thai Air Force Museum. It can be found on Phahon Yothin Road which is on the eastern side of  Don Muang Airport. I was in the area at the weekend visiting Rangsit Floating Market and so took the opportunity to…

The 3rd Baba Wedding 2011 ceremony in the ‘Baba Peranakan’ tradition will be held in Phuket City from Friday 10th – Saturday 11th June 2011. Packages for couples to marry during the festival cost 50,000 Baht, including a one-night stay at the Phuket Merlin Hotel on the 10th; the…