Christmas Eve in Hua Hin
What do you do on Christmas Eve in Hua Hin? It's the first time for me to spend this one in the royal seaside resort. I used to live in a suburb of Bangkok and there was little or no sign of Christmas there. Except for some decorated and illuminated trees and a single tree in the house or garden. But Hua Hin? I have left Midnight Mass behind me for decades, as well as belief in what or…
A bizarre story about a Thai visa
Emma's Dutch father has been living in Thailand for years. Emma (15) attended high school in Bangkok and has been studying in England for several months. This under the guidance of her mother, who also has a Dutch passport.
Jaidee, a resort with a good (Dutch) heart
A Thai resort under Dutch management is nothing new. But it is less obvious that a young couple with two children takes over, renovates and reopens a resort.
I found Lizzy, but I wasn't allowed to take her
I found Lizzie! She is doing well given the circumstances and lives with her grandmother in a spot (I can't call it anything else) against the Mekong near Nong Khai. After nine months of waiting, this was the first time I saw my 18-month-old daughter.
A Big Bike is a motorized horse for today's cowboys
Hua Hin has been dominated by Big Bikes the last few days. Real motorcycles, for real men, in all sizes, brands, types and trims.
Minister Piet Hein Donner of the Interior and Kingdom Relations is working on 'additional registration' for expats and emigrants. For example, the government wants to gain a better overview of who is leaving the Netherlands. Those who do not deregister according to the rules can expect a fine from 2013.
Hooray, I have my Thai motorcycle license
I put it off for a long time, getting my Thai motorcycle license. I've had the coveted ticket for driving a car for about six years now. Now that I have owned a Honda Click with 108cc for several months, I couldn't avoid a Thai driver's license, especially for police and insurance. Admittedly: I already had an international driver's license, where a friend had put an ANWB stamp in category A. But my Dutch ...
The annual trip to Immigration/Canossa is over again
A corridor to Canossa, I can't call it anything else. Every year I have to go to Immigration to extend my retirement visa.
Ambassador Joan Boer visits Dutch factory in Cha Am
The Dutch embassy in Bangkok tries to map out the wishes and needs of Dutch people in Thailand as well as possible.
Thai men have more sex than their wives
Thai men have intercourse an average of 7,7 times a month, while their female compatriots have sex only 5,7 times. The conclusion of the 'Ideal Sex in Asia' study is obvious, but you can decide for yourself.
Flooded are more than fed up with the water
Tensions are rising in the areas north and west of the capital Bangkok, which have been struggling with flooding for weeks. The residents are more than tired of having to bleed and pay for keeping the city center water-free.
Buying a bargirl free costs a few baht
This is the story of Oil, a Thai in her early thirties and originally from Bangkok. Oil has already had a working life, trained as a nurse in the capital. Twelve years ago she got a job in a factory in South Korea through an agency.
Take a chance with and on a Thai cruise boat
Gambling is strictly prohibited in Thailand. Not that everyone adheres to that, but still. However, Thai people like to gamble on anything and everything. To avoid the legal cliffs, the solution is now looming behind the horizon: a cruise boat, where the Thai on board can go about their business without hindrance.
It was a party with the Burmese children in Pakayor
The hearts of the more than sixty children of Karen (Burmese) refugees in Pakayor beat with anticipation.
40 years of journalism: a lecture to the Rotary Club in Hua Hin
At the opening of the new Bangkok Hua Hin Hospital in April of this year, I had already encountered the board of Rotary Club Royal Hua Hin. Dressed in a white polo shirt with a large emblem, I could hardly miss them. And because I co-founded a new Rotary Club in Venlo more than 20 years ago as a journalist/reporting editor at the then Dagblad for North Limburg, contact was quickly made. Despite the invitation...
Hans Goudriaan and the above signed were able to visit the Karenkinderdorp Pa Ka Yor near Pa La U again last week after months. The level in the rivers near Pa Ka Yor has been too high in recent months to be able to pass by car, but since last week this has been possible again.
China Airlines: rebook or refund for flights until November 10
Where the Calamity Fund once again fails to do so with regard to organized trips booked with an ANVR member, China Airlines appears to be a lot more flexible as of today.