André Rieu in Hua Hin
Almost all Hua Hinse hotels had registered for the opening of Oriental Living on Saturday evening. That is a nice shopping complex on Petchkasem Road in the seaside town, on the way to Cha Am, say. The owner is a wealthy man. Like many Thai businessmen, he wants to show that on occasion. Oriental Living is a store where all kinds of authentic looking Thai furniture are for sale. In fact, everything that Westerners think is in the houses…
Alcatraz in Thailand: all drug traffickers on an island
It seems like an interesting proposal from the National Police Chief, Gen. Priewpan Damapong. He wants to house all drug traffickers in Thailand on an island, to prevent them from continuing their perfidious trade from their prison.
A new Dutch health insurance in Thailand
Two out of three good, that seems like a good score. I have been deregistered in the Netherlands, albeit with a run-up and have now finally arranged my health insurance, with a few pitfalls and some threats.
Tourists in fact guilty of killing Thai elephants
Have you ever ridden such a pachyderm in a Thai elephant camp? Never wondered where the animal came from? Of course not, because you are on vacation. According to Dutchman Edwin Wiek, a tireless fighter against the illegal animal trade in Thailand, poachers shoot elephants almost every week to trade their young on the black market. To then sell it to elephant camps. In an article in the English-language daily newspaper The Nation, Wiek, also founder of the …
Get rid of the Dutch tax authorities…
I eventually succeeded in deregistering from the Municipal Basic Administration of Heerlen, albeit not without a struggle. You can report a move within the Netherlands via the internet, but all kinds of boxes are tilted at foreign addresses. So there was nothing else to do than to report the move to Thailand by 31 December in writing. A good friend posted the envelope at the beginning of December and then a deep silence set in. I contacted via email…
Ticket to and from Bangkok? A chaos in the air…
Many people are making plans again to either travel to Thailand or to visit the old homeland for a short time. What seems? Booking a (cheap) ticket is a chaotic activity. Even worse: a ticket BKK-AMS is a lot more expensive than from AMS to BKK.
The field rat, a type of large vole, is becoming scarce in Thailand. Good news? Not really, because the shortage of rat meat encourages the smuggling of dead and skinned rats from Cambodia. And they may be infected with the dreaded disease leptospirosis, Weil's disease.
Raw fish in Isan increases risk of liver cancer
Whatever Isan may have for beautiful views and impressive monuments, there is a terrible danger lurking: liver cancer! Traditionally, the population there is accustomed (and addicted) to eating raw freshwater fish in the Koy Pla, the fish salad. And that's the culprit.
Predictors want to regulate their arts by law
In Thailand there are thousands of men and women who can predict the future. Or at least say they can.
Terrorism in Bangkok? Request a load…
It is and remains a strange story that terrorists would want to commit an attack in Bangkok. In itself, the thought of an attack is not strange; it is a place where millions of people live together.
Makro Hua Hin is definitely worth a detour
Unsurprisingly, on Makro's opening day in Hua Hin, people were hanging out with their legs. Finally, the royal seaside resort has a large supermarket.
My neighbor Mo has gone to her father's. He is in a hospital in Pitsanoluk. A private hospital, because the government hospital in Tak is not well known.
From two-lane to four-lane in Western Hua Hin
Widening a busy two-lane road to a four-lane road is always a daunting task. The widening of the Canal Road in Western Hua Hin has been on the agenda for a long time, but it still has major consequences.
A curious hotel, just below the Bhumibol dam
Now that the prediction of a seven-year-old boy - who died 37 years ago - has not come true and the Bhumibol dam is still holding back Thailand's largest reservoir, I dare to write about a curious downstream hotel, annex guesthouse.
Deregistered from the GBA, and then?
As of today I have been deregistered from the Municipal Basic Administration of Heerlen. At least I hope so. The relevant papers were posted in the Netherlands by a friend at the beginning of December and I have not heard anything since.
Disturbing stories about Bangkok Hospital in Hua Hin
The better hospitals in Thailand are privately owned. Their profit motive is usually accompanied by excellent care, but the costs do not always outweigh the benefits, as the new Bangkok Hospital in Hua Hin proves.
The year looked so manageable at the beginning
Prediction is difficult, especially when it comes to the future. If I had known what was hanging over my head this year, I would have preferred to skip 2011. And it looked so clear…