Archive for November, 2009
1 + 1 = 3
A year ago, a few days before HM the King’s 81st birthday, Thailand was in the hands of reactionary yellow shirts who saw themselves on a holy mission to save the Thai nation and crown at whatever cost from doomsday. Hundreds of thousands of tourists paid a heavy price, not to mention the losses Thai
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The Ultimate Thai Ringtone
Thanks to good friend Andy who, while shooting a film upcountry, came across this so typical Thai sound. And caught it. He played around with it, cleaned up background noise, edited it – et voilà, here are the MP3 and MP4 ringtones for your phone. Says Andy that recently in a Bangkok taxi his phone
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Top Thai iPhone Apps
An Indian once told me with the cutest of accents: “Women. Who can live with them. Who can live without them.” Same applies to the iPhone. Who doesn’t have one yet. And if you don’t have one yet, how can you get along without. The phone’s complex simplicity is astonishing, not to mention the huge
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Samak R.I.P.
A year ago he was still going strong, Samak Sundaravej, dinosaur politician, cook, former prime minister. Liver cancer. That’s how life can be. Our humble little tribute to the controversial firebrand is a video below I shot not too long before his demise. A timely reminder that the old guard dies off slowly and there’s
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George Talks
He’s an institution: George, founder and owner of ThaiVisa.com, Thailand’s probably most popular website among foreigners with its unique forum. George is the brain behind the success, but success invites envy and jealousy, so not all you read about ThaiVisa is milk and honey. I recently had a talk with George and here is what
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Walking The Bhikkhuni Path
The cultural tradition of this country has Buddhism at the heart, making Thailand truly unique in my eyes. Everyday, just by speaking Thai, I get reminded of my belief. But like all things beautiful when they become mundane and perfunctory, we stop taking notice and we stop to appreciate. The meanings become dissipated. This is
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Red Propaganda
Here’s lovely Puea Thai MP Khun Visaradee Techateerawat, one of a few young Thai political activists – who interviews three red protagonists on the coup d’état that took place some three years ago on September 19th, 2006. Khun Visaradee’s simple question: Does democracy exist in Thailand today. Sure, it’s red material, but still, sometimes you
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This, Dear Friends, Is Thailand
They thought no one on the outside world will ever hear those torrents of hatred, but then again, they’re actually no torrents of hatred but … utterances of devotion and pride. Affirmations of pure love and dedication till death. Judge for yourself. This is scary stuff not only for outsiders. Because this is real. Setting:
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No Escape
Tried to have a weekend free of politics, starting with a Saturday afternoon stroll to Pantip joining a party later on. But no politics is hardly possible in the metropolis Bangkok that’s just not getting rid of its provincial charm. You can meet anyone anywhere. At the party I ended up with meeting … well,
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Loved Only @ Home
Don’t accuse me of not trying. I tried very hard to uncover some positive international news reporting about Thailand. A task that’s doomed. There’s not only an irreconcilable division within Thailand. Thailand herself seems more and more misunderstood and isolated by the international media and community. Following the current spat between the two neighboring kingdoms
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