Thailand Stories

This week I am back to school after the long summer holidays. So, I thought I would share with you some of the highlights of life in a Thai school. This first picture shows the “wai khru” ceremony which always takes places towards the beginning of the academic year. As you…

Many people believe that the practice of releasing fish and birds at the temple in order to make merit is an old Thai tradition. But, in fact it was the Mon people of what is now Southern Burma that brought this practice to Thailand. In this picture, the Thai-Raman people of Phra Pradaeng in Samut…

The Khon masked play is a kind of classical dance drama in Thailand. It depicts episodes from the Ramakien, which is the Thai version of the Ramayana. Originally it was only for royal audience, but these days anyone catch watch and enjoy these plays. I…

Buffalo racing is not really like a day at the horse races. It takes a long time to prepare them for the start of each race. There are also many false starts which again takes time for them to get back to the start line. Even though…

Every now and then I get invited to a wedding. Though, the chances are they want me to go as they need someone to take pictures. I have done a number of weddings for free. I don’t mind doing it…

The name “Mardi Gras” is probably more famously linked with the carnivals in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and New Orleans, Louisiana. The first Mardi Gras that I have been to was here in Pattaya, Thailand. It is another classic example of how the Thai people love to adopt any festival…

The city where I live, Samut Prakan, is a red shirt stronghold as they voted for Thaksin. Today there were about 4-5,000 people parading through the town demanding that Prime Minister Abhisit steps down. You can see more of our photos at www.paknamphotos.com . Original post blogged on www.mythaiphotos.com .

One of the famous desserts for Samut Prakan Province is Khanom Jaak. The dessert is prepared inside the leaves of a nipa palm and then roasted over a charcoal fire. The ingredients include sticky rice flour, palm sugar and shredded coconut. A bundle of this costs about 20 baht. Original post blogged

One of the more popular sports in rural areas in Thailand is cock fighting. This is a traditional game that goes back hundreds of years. Gambling is prevalent during matches even though it is illegal. The sport is not as bloody as it was in the past and the number of deaths among the cocks have decreased. Nevertheless…

Every now and then, a shipment of illegal ivory is confiscated at Suvarnabhumi Airport. This is a picture of a press conference that I was invited to attend where 2,000 kilos of ivory had been seized with an estimated street value of 50 million baht. Original post blogged on

The first time I watched horse polo was in Gilgit in Pakistan. I always thought that it was only played in the Indian sub-continent and by the old colonial powers. I didn’t realize that Thailand also has an active polo team. Apparently polo was …

Late last year I was invited to witness an emergency exercise at Suvarnabhumi International Airport near Bangkok. They were simulating a lightning strike against ground staff who were refuelling an aircraft. Everything was done in real time. As you can see from the storm clouds, their visual effects were quite