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18 Nov 09
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5 Million Baht Toilet at Thai Temple Toilets in Thailand don't exactly have the best of reputations. They are often dirty, smelly and not well-looked after. They are also nearly always squat toilets. Now comes the news that the temple toilets at Wat Bang Phli Yai Nai in Samut Prakan have... |
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16 Nov 09
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Loy Krathong Sai 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... |
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12 Nov 09
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Twelve Giants at the Airport At the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, you will find six pairs of giant demons that stand guard at each of the entrances. They are facing inwards towards the ubosot as if they were protecting the Emerald Buddha. These giants were built during the reign of... |
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08 Nov 09
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High Tide Floods in Paknam The rainy season has already come to an end. There has been no rain the last two weeks in Samut Prakan. However, this was the view this morning in Paknam. This is not rain water. This is sea water that swamps the city during the daily high tides during... |
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06 Nov 09
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How to cook... Pork Soup This is the Thai version of pork soup that is a little on the spicy side. In the ingredients below you can see diced potatoes, pork, carrots, Chinese celery, lime, stock cube, bird eye chillies and plum tomatoes. You could use chicken instead of... |
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03 Nov 09
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Loy krathong - searching for a moment of peace As the fireworks and firecrackers are going on non-stop for the third day running, and the city is celebrating with the biggest and most colourful parade of the loy krathong festivities, I am at home listening from a safe distance. I feel full, saturated... |
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01 Nov 09
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Loy krathong - thoughts on the day of the lantern parade I moved to Chiang Mai the day before loy krathong four years ago - I always think of this holiday as my anniversary.
Chiang Mai is famous for going way over the top with parades and holidays, loy krathong probably being second only to the week-long... |
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29 Oct 09
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Hintang - A Near Death Experience Part two of my road trip from Thailand to Lao.
You could be forgiven for thinking you’re standing at Stonehenge or any one of Britain’s finest megalithic sights, but no you’re in Lao, atop a mountain, kilometres from the nearest village in one ... |
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28 Oct 09
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Chinese Dragon Dance 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 October. At about 7 a.m., at... |
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27 Oct 09
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Expensive Karaoke Scam (The following is a brief Thai>English translation from various local news sources)
(After bargaining down the original bill of 30,000 Baht, Mr Atthaphon received a reduced one at just more than 16,000 Baht)
Customers at Melody Karaoke, in the close... |
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26 Oct 09
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Plain of Jars - Now & Then Fourteen year ago I crossed the border from Thailand into Lao for the first time and visited the Plain of Jars, then one of the remotest places on earth. Over the next few years I was to cross the Thai/Lao border a further six times, these visits finished... |
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25 Oct 09
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Road to Pai: Pong Dueat geyser There are dozens of hot springs around Chiang Mai, some are well-known and extensively developed like Sankamphaeng, others are only just more than small pools of water in the forest.
Pong Dueat is on route 1095, one of the attractions we visited when... |
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24 Oct 09
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Loy Krathong in October 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... |
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23 Oct 09
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Commemorating Chulalongkorn Day Today marks the anniversary of the death of King Rama V who is regarded by many people as one of the most important monarchs in recent Thai history. Every year, on the 23rd October, Thai people remember him on this day which is known as Chulalongkorn Day... |
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22 Oct 09
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Boat Parade on Gulf of Thailand One of my favourite festivals in Thailand is undoubtedly Luang Phor Pan Worshipping Festival in Bang Bo District of Samut Prakan. I went last year for the first time and had no idea what to expect. There were so many surprises that I had a really great... |
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21 Oct 09
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The Birthplace of King Bhumibol (63 Longwood Avenue: the first home of Prince Bhumibhol, the future King of Thailand. Photo courtesy of KTBF)
Quite incredibly most Thais who I have ever spoken to haven’t known where the present king of Thailand, King Bhumibol Adulyadej was born. F... |
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20 Oct 09
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Novice Monk Ordination for H.M. The King During the school holidays in Thailand, it is common for Thai students to ordain as novice monks for a short time. In the olden days, before there were government schools, poor boys would ordain in order to get an education. However, these days, their... |
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18 Oct 09
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Streets of Blood – Thailand’s Democracy Monument Hammer & Sickle, one of four side panels of the monument, sculpted by Corrado Feroci, did he deliberately sneak communist imagery in?
Democracy Monument was built in 1939 in the middle of the military dictatorship of Field Marshal Phibun Songkran to... |
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18 Oct 09
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Rafting on the Pai river (no, that is not me!)
Some people say they admire my adventures - but there is nothing adventurous about me, I am just a lazy traveller.
I first went rafting on the Pai river in May or early June in 2002, when I had got so badly sunburnt I literally... |
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17 Oct 09
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Vegetarian Festival in Samut Prakan Today marks the start of the Vegetarian Festival in Thailand. I went to Thong Siang Vegetarian House in Samut Prakan to watch this event. The ceremony was a signal for the nine Gods to come down to earth. Something similar happened all over Thailand... |
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16 Oct 09
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How to cook... Crispy Fried Vegetables It is that time of year when people are eating vegetarian food for ten days. So, I thought we should kick off the festival with this simple dish. You can basically use any vegetables that you like, but in the ingredients pictured below, you can see green... |
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16 Oct 09
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Acting Supreme Patriarch of Thailand This morning in Samut Prakan we had the rare honour of a visit by Somdet Phra Phuttacharn (Somdet Kiaw) the abbot of Wat Saket in Bangkok. However, this is no ordinary monk as he is the Acting Supreme Patriarch of Thailand. He is effectively the leader of... |
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15 Oct 09
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Exploring Phra Samut Chedi One of the most important temples in Samut Prakan is Phra Samut Chedi. It is not only the symbol of the province but is also the site for the longest running temple fair in Thailand. According to the organizers, we are now in the 182nd year. The whole... |
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14 Oct 09
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Motorcycle Wall of Death The Samut Prakan Temple Fair is still going strong. I went there early this evening to walk around and to take some pictures. One of the sideshows that I visited was this Wall of Death. It is so-called because a motorcycle rider drives up a vertical... |
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12 Oct 09
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Candlelight Procession at Phra Samut Chedi On the evening of the fourth day of the Phra Samut Chedi Temple Fair, it is traditional for the local people to come together to take part in chanting and a candlelight procession around the pagoda. This happens every year and it is always a beautiful... |
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12 Oct 09
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Traditional Sports at Phra Samut Chedi The Temple Fair in Samut Prakan has now reached its fourth day. Today is the 8th day of the waning moon of the 11th lunar month. On this day every year, the local people from Phra Samut Chedi District come together to compete in various traditional games.... |
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09 Oct 09
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Sacred Red Cloth Ceremony Today saw the start of the 182nd Phra Samut Chedi Temple Fair in Samut Prakan. This takes place every year five days after the full moon in October. It goes on for twelve days and twelve nights and includes mandy sideshow games as well as a lot of really... |
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09 Oct 09
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Temple Fair Parade The annual Temple Fair in Samut Prakan kicked off early this morning with the parade through town. The fair at Phra Samut Chedi has been going on now for 182 years which I believe makes it the longest running temple fair in Thailand. Certainly one of the... |
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08 Oct 09
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Boat Racing at Phra Pradaeng Long-boat racing is a traditional festival that is usually held towards the end of the Buddhist Rains Retreat. These races happen all over the country. Some of the biggest take place at Ayutthaya, Phichit, Phitsanulok and Narathiwat. They also have boat... |
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08 Oct 09
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Phra Samut Chedi Worshipping Ceremony Mr. Surachai Khanasa, the Governor of Samut Prakan Province, took part in a ceremony this morning to announce to the Gods and Angles in Heaven that they will be holding the annual Worship Fair for Phra Samut Chedi. During the ceremony, they also sought... |
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08 Oct 09
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Sunshine in the Wide Country A Gallery by Kittisak Butdeewong
Fortunately, I have had the opportunity recently, for the second time, to assist a good friend of mine, artist, Kittisak Butdeewong with most of the Thai>English language preparations for his latest gallery. Kittisak,... |
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07 Oct 09
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Thai Website: Thailand Voice We started www.thailandvoice.com at a time when there was no comprehensive blogroll for blogs about Thailand. The only sites listing Thai blogs also listed blogs from around the world. There was no one site that was dedicated to promoting blogs from... |
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06 Oct 09
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Miss Poland 2009 in Samut Prakan 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. As well as touring... |
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05 Oct 09
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Amazing Thailand Facts (Part 5) How come no charges of lese-majeste have been filed against these two?
Here are another 20 amazing Thailand facts as compiled over on the ThailandQA.com Forums. You can see the other facts already posted by clicking here. Most of them were compiled by... |
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04 Oct 09
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Water Buffalo Festival in Chonburi 2009 Probably one of the most amazing festivals in Thailand has to be the Buffalo Racing in Chonburi. It is also one of the oldest running festivals as the banners in Chonburi City proclaimed it to be the 138th year that this has been held. Picture this. Five... |
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03 Oct 09
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The Lotus Throwing Festvial in Bang Phli One of my favourite festivals in Thailand is the Rap Bua Festival in Bang Phli, Samut Prakan. I usually go every year now. In English, the festival translates as "Lotus Receiving Festival". However, it has another name in Thai which I think describes it... |
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02 Oct 09
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Boat Racing at Bang Phli Towards the end of the Rainy Season, people from all around Thailand come together to race boats on their local canals and rivers. At Bang Phli, where we went this morning, this happens a few days before the end of the Buddhist Rains Retreat. At this... |
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01 Oct 09
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How to make... Khanom Luk Chub One of the most unusual Thai sweets are the "khanom luk chub". These desserts are made from mung-bean flour and come in various colours and shapes. They are made to look like a variety of different fruit and vegetables. These are mangosteens, oranges,... |
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30 Sep 09
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Thai Website: Thailand Guidebook One of my favourite websites is our own www.thailandguidebook.com. It started as a student project where they put together information on every province in Thailand. A large group of students worked together to type up information provided to us by the... |
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29 Sep 09
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Day Tours to Samut Prakan Province TOUR 1: The Erawan Museum, Ancient Siam, Crocodile Farm and finishing with a seaside meal at Bangsaen 2.
Samut Prakan Province is home to the new international airport at Suvarnabhumi and is literally on the doorstep to Bangkok. It also has some amazing... |
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28 Sep 09
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Road to Pai I had not been to Pai since my second Thailand holiday in 2002. It doesn't really make a convenient weekend getaway if you rely on public transport or your two wheels. However, it was the perfect thing to do in my friend's car. Riding up and down hills... |
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27 Sep 09
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Elephants Walk for Greenpeace and Climate Change The participants in the Chang(e) Elephant Caravan have finally reached their destination after their trek across the plains of Central Thailand. The five elephants and Greenpeace supporters set off from the outskirts of Khao Yai National Park fourteen... |
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25 Sep 09
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An Arranged Wedding to Promote Thai Jungle Tourism (The following is a brief Thai>English translation from various local news sources)
At 10 in the morning of 24 September, Mr Sanan, administrative chief of Phatthalung province was in charge of perhaps the first ever televised wedding between... |
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23 Sep 09
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Amazing Taste of Thailand Thai food is certainly world famous these days. It has been estimated that there are now Thai restaurants in 13,000 locations around the world. These range from fast-food take-aways to up-market restaurants. Many of them have been set up by Thai... |
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22 Sep 09
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Lauda Air Crash, 26 May, 1991: Thailand's Worst Ever Hardly a week goes without someone sending me an email out of the blue via www.thai-blogs.com. Very often it’s just an old friend/acquaintance of mine whose found me blogs by chance, then occasionally an email concerning an old blog of mine. Rarel... |
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21 Sep 09
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Beetle season It is September again, and the neighbourhood kids are buzzing with excitement: they like to roam around in the fields and near the river collecting rhino beetles. These magnificent insects are claimed to be one of the strongest species in the world.... |
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20 Sep 09
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Thai Website: Thailand Life One of the first Thai bloggers in Thailand was Panrit "Gor" Daoruang who started back in 1997 when he was only 12 years old. He was blogging about his daily life at a time when people didn't really know what blogs were all about. For him it started as a... |
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19 Sep 09
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Emergency Exercise at Suvarnabhumi Airport Recently, we were invited over to Suvarnabhumi Airport to watch an Emergency Exercise involving a natural disaster. All members of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) must have plans for emergency situations. They have to conduct a... |
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18 Sep 09
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How to cook... Noodle Rolls with Dried Shrimp This is a simple side dish that you can do as an appetizer. In the ingredients pictured below, you can see wide noodles, a mixture of chicken, tofu and garlic, bean sprouts, dried shrimp and sliced egg in the middle.
Prepare the mixture first by finely... |
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17 Sep 09
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A Foreign Monk in Thailand This is continuing my interview with Peter Robinson, who is probably better known in Thailand as "Phra Farang", the foreign monk. (Click here for part one.) Peter spent ten years as a monk before finally disrobing in order to spend more time with his... |
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