Thailand Stories

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 …

I spent most of today at Safari World, which is just north of Bangkok. It is a great day out for the family if you are looking for somewhere to go. From Samut Prakan it only took about an hour to get there and it would…

I spent most of today at Safari World, which is just north of Bangkok. It is a great day out for the family if you are looking for somewhere to go. From Samut Prakan it only took about an hour to get there …

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 …

Twenty classic Citroen cars have just come to the end of their 100,000 km rally which took them from Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia to Chiang Mai in Thailand. Their final stop, before returning home, was at Ancient Siam in Samut Prakan Province. (Richard Barrow/ Paknam.com ) More Thailand pictures can be

Prasat Preah Vihear is a Khmer temple at the top of a 525 meter high cliff on the border of Thailand and Cambodia. It is not easy to visit at the moment. In fact it is very dangerous as some of the land is in dispute even though, in 1962, the International Court of Justice gave…

For expats living in Thailand, 12th August every year is just another holiday. Even better when it comes close to a weekend like this year and they can go away on a holiday. However, for Thai people it is both the Queen’s Birthday and Mother’s Day. Holidays like this one are the …

Thai Muslim men offer prayers during a special evening ceremony called ‘Taraweeh’ at a mosque on the first day of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in Thailand’s southern province of Narathiwat late on August 12, 2010. Muslims all over the world are supposed to go without food, drink, smoking and sex…

This weekend there is a Thai Culture Fair for ten regions of Thailand at Ancient Siam. I was planning on going this afternoon to take some pictures but we had a heavy downpour. So, by the time I got there it was already starting to get dark. A nice picture of a …

This morning I went to the Provincial Courthouse in Samut Prakan. They had activities for Rapee Day for local students. They had things like quizzes on Thai law for them to take part in. Some students also had an opportunity to watch a demonstration courtroom. It was a…

This afternoon I went too take pictures at a Thai football match for our www.Paknam.com website. Samut Prakan FC were playing against Prachinburi United at Bang Phli. These teams are in Division Two. Samut Prakan is at the top and they are hoping that…

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 evening I went to The Erawan Museum in Samut Prakan as they were advertising a “wien tien” candle procession around the giant three headed elephant. Unfortunately it started to rain heavily just before I arrived and went on for about an hour. I stayed to take a few pictures but did not hang around…

All over Thailand there are many candle processions this week to mark the start of the Buddhist Rains Retreat. This one I took part in today was a bit more unique as it started on water. This boat procession took place at Bang Phli District in Samut Prakan Province. I was there…

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…

This evening we were invited to a newly opened restaurant at the end of Srinakarin Road in Samut Prakan Province. It is a Thai-Chinese Seafood restaurant. They have live bands every evening from 7 p.m. They are open daily from 11 a.m. until midnight. At the moment…

This evening I went to take some pictures of local Thai people praying for unity in the Thailand. The guest of honour at Wat Pichai was Mr. Surachai Kanasa, the Governor of Samut Prakan. He led other dignitaries and local people in prayer for the three pillars of Thai…

These are some pictures of Nong Grace shopping at the local Family Mart in Samut Prakan. A five minute trip to buy some snacks turned into a major event as Nong Grace insisted that she had to check the labels on everything as she didn’t want…

This afternoon, I went with the Cub Scouts from my school to visit the local temple. A monk from the temple gave the Cub Scouts a guided tour. He showed them different buildings and also the different kinds of trees growing in the compound. - Posted from my iPhone

This evening I was invited to the Ancient Siam in Samut Prakan for a press conference for their Thai Culture event coming soon in August. On 7-9 August 2010, there will be a Thai Culture Exhibition and activities at Ancient Siam. At the…