Thailand Stories

October is always the busiest month for me as there are always many festivals in Thailand. Today I went to take pictures of the long boat racing in Phra Pradaeng, Samut Prakan. This took place on the Chao Phraya River in front of the District Office. I took these pictures in the VIP…

This evening I was lucky to get an invite to attend the 11th World Gourmet Festival at the Four Seasons Hotel in Bangkok. Award winning master chefs from all around the world were flown in to Bangkok to cook especially for this event. For our meal, we were …

Around the time of the “Sart chin” Festival, the Chinese have another one called “ting krachaat” or sometimes “tay krachaat”. It basically means to give away basket full of things. It is a kind of Chinese Philanthropy Festival. Local Thai-Chinese business people and …

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 . I have also started a new version of my Bangkok Dangerous Map as…

What do smartphones, Twitter and the Red Shirt rallies in Bangkok have in common? The answer is simple. It has at times meant the difference between life and death for foreign tourists and expats in Bangkok. Maybe a little melodramatic, but it has a grain of truth…

One of the main events organized during Songkran celebrations around Thailand is the Miss Songkran Beauty Contest. The one that I went to on Friday night was held at the municipal offices in Phra Pradaeng, Samut Prakan. It takes place every year and it is always fun to go and watch. Both male and …

After all the bad news in Thailand over the past few weeks, it is finally good that we can relax and enjoy one of the Kingdom’s most popular festivals. Songkran is the traditional Thai new year which is held every year between 13-15 April. As it is in…

These are some of the pictures of the Songkran activities that I will be joining in Samut Prakan this week. As you can see there is a lot going on during the traditional Thai new year and not all of them are to do with water throwing! Though, of course…

You can trust the Thais to carry on with their festivals despite the troubles in Bangkok. The evening of Saturday 10th April 2010 was a dark day in the history of Thailand with at least 21 people killed in running street battles between the Thai army and red shirt protesters. I was there earlier in the day (see my …

I am not sure about you but it is getting a bit boring with all the news about the red shirt protests. So, how about some fun pictures of children playing Songkran? While the adults in Bangkok are waging war against each…

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 …

The annual National Children’s Day for Thailand took place today. 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, the country will be prosperous.” …

Judging by these photos that I took early this morning, not everyone was nursing hangovers after welcoming in the New Year at midnight last night. Like thousands of other local people from Paknam, I was up early at 6 a.m. to head down to the City Pillar where the main road through town had been closed for a merit …

Some of the best orchids in the world can be found in Thailand. They grow here easily and can also be bought at a good price. However, with over 1,000 species of orchids in Thailand the price can vary from cheap to extremely expensive. If you are interested in…

Sriwittayapaknam School in Samut Prakan put on Christmas activities for their students on the morning of 25th December 2009. As the students arrived at school, they were greeted by Santa Claus and a couple dozen fairies. The young fairies handed out candies …

One of the most spectacular cultural shows in Bangkok is undoubtedly at Siam Niramit: Journey to the Enchanted Kingdom of Siam. So many people had been talking about it on the Paknam Web Forums that I thought that I should make an effort to go and see it for myself. It is a big show…

Today marks the anniversary of the death of King Rama VI on November 25, 1925. As this King is regarded as the “Father of Thai Scouting”, schools all over the country took part in a special ceremony to celebrate his life and to remember the day he died. Mr. Surachai Kanasa, the Governor of Samut Prakan, presided over …

This year I have been to several Loy Krathong Festivals. The first was Loy Krathong Jay which was held back in October during the Vegetarian Festival. Then the normal Loy Krathong during the full moon of November. Then, this weekend I went to Loy Krathong Sai at Bang…

After nine days and nights of eating a vegan diet and keeping the 10 precepts, the Vegetarian Festival in Thailand is finally over. The festival ended with a large parade through the town of Paknam early on the morning of 27th…

Everyone knows about Loy Krathong that happens on the full moon in November. However, not many people know that we have another Loy Krathong in October. The phrase “loy krathong” means to float a bowl shaped container. It is not a festival like Christmas which celebrates a particular event. You can …