This is a Book Review! This week I was presented with yet another book about life in Thailand, and a side oflife that most of us would publicly shun. Written by Derek Sharron, My Name Lon – You Like Me? (ISBN 974-92721-5-3, publisher Bangkok Book...
The Thais call their capital city Krungthep, not Bangkok, as it is know internationally. It is short of what the Guinness Book of World Records dub the longest name for a city – Krungthepmahanakorn Amornrattanakosin Mahintrayuthaya Mahadilokpob...
Northern Thai Cuisine Thai food of the north, in some way, is cooked with the sole thought for the taste for the northern people. The recipe consists of vegetable and ingredients available in their immediate vicinity. The common meal includes...
Historically speaking the knowledge of traditional Thai massage reached South East Asia some 2500 years ago. It is said to have been introduced then by a doctor from Northern India by the name of Jivaka Kumar Bhacca, a contemporary of Buddha and...
In Thailand there are four allies in maintaining stability of Buddhism: Buddhist monks, the King, the government and Buddhist lay people. 1. The Order of Buddhist Monks (Sangha) The Sangha or the Buddhist Church is a sacred and spiritual institution...
One aspect of the Thai language which makes it quite unique and difficult to master by Thais and foreigners alike, is the remarkable diversity in words which mean exactly the same thing. For example, the first person singular pronoun, “I” in...
If cuisine is about cooking style and food, then its features must be related to people, race, history, tradition, culture and science. In comparing cooking styles of the Thais (actually ‘Tais’ rather than ‘Thais’) and the Chinese more than two...
Maybe that should read ‘Marriages made in Heaven ? Before you start: Marriage in Thailand by non-Thai couples or a Thai National and foreigner couple is easy to arrange and can be quickly accomplished. The legal Thailand marriage registration can be...
How is it possible for noodles to get drunk, let alone really drunk as the Thai name ‘Phat Khi Mao’ implies? Well, I don’t know the answer, but I do know pat khi mao translates into the English words “fried” (phat) and “really drunk” (khi mao). The...
Have you ever been wandering around the sois of Pattaya and seen hunks of bright red meat hanging inside the glass display cases of some of the street food vendors? Well, that’s one of the two namesakes that combine to make up the Thai dish known as...