Archive for the 'Culture Shock' Category
Thai Election 2011 The Aftermath!
Thai Election 2011 The Aftermath! – This morning I received an email, it was in relation to my last post on the site Yingluck Shinawatra Thailands First Woman! From time to time I do get responses to the posts, but I felt given the light hearted and humorous nature of this one I had to share it.
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Gay in Bangkok – The Scene
The Gay Scene in Bangkok – Being predominantly Buddhist and without an anti-gay establishment to resist, Bangkok could soon be replacing San Francisco as the #1 gay travel destination in the world. However, public displays of affection are still frowned upon whether you are gay or straight. The deep south of Thailand is much more
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Is Sex Tourism Bad For Bangkok?
If you have 53 minutes to spare, dedicate them to this episode of BBC World Have Your Say: Is Sex Tourism Bad For Bangkok? The topic has been talked to death, but even so the moderator and guests make these some worthwhile 53 minutes. Guest insiders are the Bangkok Post’s columnist Khun Voranai who has
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Isaan, My Love: Of Hobbits & Cobras
My Isaan is life. My Isaan is temples and festivals, it’s food and folks, governors and nai amphers. Once a person realizes you can’t change Isaan and you’re happy to become part of the landscape, life is ooooh soooo brillant. Stop in Nakhon Nowhere at 7 am at the local eatery and the circus has
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Senatorial Role Models
Chapeau! Two Thai senators, Payap Tongchuen, 59, and Direk Tungfang, 64, recently replaced their velvet gloves with boxing gloves. A senator kicking at a senator, glorious. On September 13th, 2010, they kicked the crap out of each other at a temporary boxing ring in the compound of Bangkok’s parliament. Well, why temporary! The senatorial fight
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Useful Idiots
Well that title is stolen. I’m too dull to come up with something as creative. Stolen from a recent BBC Documentaries … But this seemingly internally inconsistent, loaded term attributed to Lenin does ring a bell, doesn’t it. We’re all some kind of useful idiots at some point in time. Well maybe not you. But
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Newspaper Finds Truth, Rapes It
We all know, Thai newspapers are not for the faint-hearted. Gross front pages showing accident victims torn apart and blood all over are the order of the day. Because there’s a market appreciating violence. But what about the essentially more subtle handling of violence per se? That’s why this ad below (click to enlarge) can
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God Vs. Ghost
You’re well aware of the dark daylight and bright nights here in the land of illusion and camouflage. If you’re into the twilight world of protective tattoos and amulets, you know why Central World’s Zen burned down and Isetan survives without a scratch. Ratchaprasong is powerfully protected by seven deities and their shrines. In front
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Thailand: A Chinese Colony?
So what about that Thai identity. The kingdom has so far been spared the racial chasm that openly split Indonesia and still today Malaysia. Are ethnic Chinese the shadowy masters of Thais? Name a leader here. They’re all of Chinese descent. Except, yes. There is no Singapore without them. But what would Thailand today be
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Backlash Say Hi!
Well blame Mr. Nice aka our dear prime minister for being too cozy for way too long, just to mention a free bus service for enemies of the government. But maybe, hopefully, there’s a strategy behind Abhisit’s policy of passive containment. By doing not much the anger of the people grows, giving Abhisit the green
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