Thailand Stories

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…

Thailand’s Nalada Thamthanakom smiles after winning the annual Miss Tiffany’s Universe 2010 transvestite contest in the beach resort town of Pattaya, nearly 150 km (90 miles) southeast of Bangkok late May 7, 2010. The contest aims to promote a positive image of transvestites. Picture taken May 7, 2010. (Reuters) Thailand’s Nalada Thamthanakom is flanked by runners-up…

This evening we checked in at the beautiful beachside resort called Bundhaya. It is on the island of Koh Lipe in the Tarutao National Marine Park in Satun. Koh Lipe is one of the few islands that has hotels and resorts. There is an old fishing village here too…

It is probably not a good idea to venture outside at the moment if you are living in some areas of Bangkok, Ayutthaya, Chiang Rai, Lampang, Lumpoon, Maehongson, Nan, Phayao and Chiang Mai due to the bad air quality. You…

(The crime scene of almost every Farang ‘murder’ in Pattaya - the infamous Pattaya hotel balcony) As a Farang in Thailand we have all heard some of the most laughable quack-wack Thailand myths: ladyboys who have coaxed clients back to their rooms only to drug ‘em and …

Rescue workers treat a man at the beach town of Pattaya December 2, 2009. Two speed boats collided in Pattaya killing two Chinese men and wounding 15 foreigners including Britons, police said. (Reuters) Friends and relatives react as rescue workers treat victims of a speed boat collision at the beach town of Pattaya December…

Pang Yok, a six-year-old elephant at Nongnuch Garden Resort in Pattaya wields a skillful trunk to paint a portrait of His Majesty the King and the words “Rak Por”. This was just the rehearsal: She’ll repeat the performance for the public…

Ai Haruna, 37, from Japan, celebrates after winning the Miss International Queen 2009 transsexual beauty pageant in the Thai resort city of Pattaya, about 150 km (93 miles) southeast of Bangkok October 31, 2009. (Reuters) Miss International Queen 2009 Haruna Ai of Japan (C), flanked by first…

Teeranun Wipuchanin, a 43-year-old unemployed former stock trader, walks after being arrested by Thai police officers at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport November 1, 2009. Police in Thailand arrested two people, including Teeranun, on Sunday on suspicion of spreading rumours about the health of the country’s 81-year-old king that triggered a slide in stock prices, police …

Gas, oil and water spray from the West Atlas mobile offshore drilling unit in the Timor Sea, about 250 km (155 miles) off the far north Kimberley coast of Western Australia state, before it caught fire November 1, 2009. The rig operated by a unit of top Thai energy firm PTTEP in the Timor…

In this photo taken Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009, a billboard showing Adolf Hitler saluting is erected in the middle on a highway in the resort town of Pattaya, Chonburi province southeastern Thailand. The Thai language on the billboard said, ‘Hitler is not dead,’ had been up for several weeks …

Twenty five contestants competing in the Miss Poland 2009 contest are presently touring Thailand. They will be here from 5th-14th October 2009. Some of the major locations that they will visit include Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket and Krabi. ( Richard Barrow /paknam.com) More Thailand pictures can be found at www.ThaiPhotoBlogs

Look, but don’t touch - these Thailand ‘pretty girls’ could be on a scammer) Once known as the Land of Smiles, pitiable Thailand is now turning into the world’s most infamous Land of Scams – and this year in particular we have been inundated again and again and again with lurid stories of sad foreigners been stung for wads of…

Khao Sarn Road Cop Box (AKA: Chanasongkram Police Station) seems to have a fetish for trying to bust pot-smoking backpackers but not the hundreds of scammers operating in their vicinity. Let me take the chance today to write a blog of a…

One of the jobs I have to do at the school is to look after the foreign teachers. This term we have four new teachers fresh off the boat. The teachers are staying in a townhouse belonging to the school. Their …

An albino baby turtle swims with green sea babies turtle in a pond at Khram island, about 30 km (19 miles) from Pattaya, east of Bangkok. Special care is given to around 15,000 green and hawksbill baby turtles hatched and housed at the navy’s conservation center each year. Once the baby turtles’ shells are big and strong…

When I see images like this I usually think of Japanese kids who often wear masks when they are ill or when they are concerned about catching a contagious disease. However, I took this picture this afternoon here in Thailand. The number of cases of people infected with the …

Respect for the Law (Click here for part one) From the age of just two and half months, toddler Tui can enjoy the thrills and sprills of being sat on his father’s motorbike and admire the awesome way his father manages to fit the entire family on the back of his motorbike and…

“He fought like a man so he could become a woman” - Still from the Thai movie Beautiful Boxer Thailand here has many-a glorious site to feast ones eyes on, besides just a million temples, two million taxis and three million noodle soup stalls we…

Sorawee Nattee (C), winner of the Miss Tifffany 2009 contest, Writtorn Narapaipimol (L) who finish in 2nd and Napatsawan Cholakorn who finish in 3rd place are pictured at the end of the contest in Pattaya on May 15, 2009. The Miss Tiffany contest is held…