Thailand Stories

As everyone knows by now, I am very excited about Thai Street Food. I have several websites of my own on this subject. I usually buy any book that I can find about Thai food. However, even though there are many books about Thai Cooking, there …

If you are in Bangkok at the moment then you shouldn’t pass up on the opportunity to go and see a light and sound show at the Grand Palace called “The Golden Heritage of the Rattanakosin Era”. It is running from now until 28th February 2011. It pays…

The most popular floating market in Thailand for tourists is undoubtedly at Damnoen Saduak. However, if you want to avoid the bus loads of tourists on a very well worn trail then I suggest that you head out to Tha …

I first went to Amphawa Floating Market in Samut Songkhram exactly five years ago. I went there for the annual Rama II Fair . This year it takes place on the weekend of 5th-6th February 2011. I have been back to Amphawa a few times since. I really like …

Lin Ping, the Panda Born in Thailand Thailand has had panda fever ever since the birth of Lin Ping at Chiang Mai Zoo in May 2009. They even have a 24 hour reality show so that people can watch from home. This is a picture that I took of Lin Ping when I visited Chiang Mai Zoo a …

When I first started teaching at Sriwittayapaknam School nearly 17years ago, I used to do penpal projects between my Thai students and students in other countries such as America, England and Australia. It was great fun for all the students involved as they got to communicate with people on the other …

It has taken more than four years, but Suvarnabhumi Airport now has a fully functional Airport Rail Link. People arriving in Thailand can now take an express train from the airport to downtown Bangkok in just only 15 minutes. Also this week saw the official opening of the check-in service …

Madame Tussaud's in Bangkok The latest world-class tourist attraction to open in Bangkok is Madame Tussaud’s. They already have one in Hong Kong and Shanghai but this is the first Madame Tussaud’s to open in South East Asia. I think it is also the first branch to open …

Darkest Isan (where decent thais fear to tread), Part Six I first hit Mukdahan 12 years ago, arrived at the bus station, took a tuk tuk through the town along Mekong road past the Indo-Chinese market, thought this looks interesting I must really visit this place someday, arrived at the ferry port …

During my trip to Uthai Thani, I was really glad to be able to visit Wat Chantharam (Wat Tha Sung) which is alongside the Sakaekrang River. Despite its importance to Thai people and the beauty of several of its buildings, you won’t find this temple in any guidebook. In fact, many English language guidebooks …

Today I went to apply for my Thai driving license. I know a lot of expats in Thailand will be wanting to do this themselves, so here is exactly what I had to do to get a driving license. 1) Don’t panic! It is not …

Darkest Isan (where decent thais fear to tread), Part Five Leaving Buriram and southern Isan it was time to head north towards the centre of the region and Dinosaur country. Kalasin is famous for having not only the most Dinosaurs in…

With daily return flights starting at just £48 (2400 baht, low season, booked well in advance) from Air Asia, Yangon now counts as a viable excursion/visa run from Bangkok. This fact hasn’t gone unnoticed by locals either; I met dozens of Thais…

A few week’s ago, the excellent Spectrum supplement of the Bangkok Post did a big feature on the so-called Bangkok’s ‘cigarette police’ . If you haven’t read it already then I suggest you take a look now. For a while there has been a law in…

Recently I decided to have a go at The Thai Street Food Challenge . Basically, I have to eat nothing but street food for every meal for 30 days. In theory it doesn’t sound much of a challenge as street food in Thailand is both delicious and plentiful. However…

As part of the celebrations for their birthday, many Thai Buddhists will go to their local temple to offer alms to a monk and to then receive a blessing in return. Monks are also often invited to mark other anniversaries. This week, my school celebrated 55 years and so twenty monks were invited. After …

My Bangkok Day Trip for this week is to Bangsaen Beach in Chonburi Province . This is the closest seaside resort to Bangkok which has sand and water clean enough for you to swim. Chonburi City is just over 60 minutes from Bangkok and you can…

I have said it before, but no-one believed me. This year will see the start of a significant number of people using e-guidebooks instead of hefting around large bricks that the Lonely Planet books are starting to resemble. Lonely Planet actually started to go …

Last night I was invited to visit Ancient Siam in Samut Prakan for their night tour and dinner theatre. This is not a regular feature but a special event for this weekend and next weekend on 14-16th May 2010. I have been to the Ancient Siam (formerly known as Ancient City)…

We get many letters from people, mainly Asians, asking if the important shrines of the Ratchaprasong area are still open due to the red shirt protests. The quick answer is that “yes, they are” but you will need to be careful when you go…