Culinary memories of a Burgundian diner - From Michelin stars to street food (Bangkok)
Bangkok, the City of Angels, is culinary heavenly as one of the most diversified cities on the planet. You will find literally anything and everything that the heart of a true food lover could desire, from dazzling Michelin stars to super simple but oh so tasty street food.
The man's love goes through the stomach is a lofty cliché, but as far as I'm concerned, it certainly rings true. My Thai spouse has years of hospitality experience and believe me, her Som Tam, Pad Kraphao or Yam Plameuk are of a lonely world class that would even bring a dead person back to life…
I have a soft spot for the earliest aviation pioneers 'those magnificent men in their flying machines'. The daredevils in their flimsy boxes, which were really no more than canvas-covered wooden frames held together by some tension cables and a handful of bolts. One of them was Charles Van den Born.
The city walls of Phimai
Every animal has its own pleasure… I admit that I have long been fascinated by old city walls, gatehouses, defensive moats and other fortifications. In Thailand, the enthusiast of this kind of immovable heritage is served at his beck and call and it is therefore no coincidence that in the past on Thailand blog I have already discussed the old city walls and fortifications of Ayutthaya, Chiang Mai and Sukhothai.
The Temples of Mae Hong Son
When I first visited Mae Hong Son, the capital of the least populated province in Thailand, more than thirty years ago, I was immediately sold. Back then it was one of the country's most pristine and remote towns, tucked away between towering mountains and difficult to reach from Chiang Mai via a road that seemed to wind forever in sharp hairpin bends between the steep, densely forested slopes.
An introduction to Buddhist iconography
You just can't miss it: Everywhere in Thailand you are confronted with images of Buddha. From the heavily gold-painted Phra Buddha Maha Nawamin in the Wat Muang Monastery in Changwat Ang Thong, which is just under a hundred meters high, to the much more modest examples in the house temples, they bear witness to spirituality, tradition and an ancient culture.
Another beautiful historical story by Lung Jan about the forgotten Franco-Flemish, Daniel Brouchebourde, who was personal physician to two Siamese kings.
Wat Benchamabophit – the marble temple
For most tourists who visit Bangkok, a visit to Wat Pho or Wat Phra Kaeo is a regular part of the program. Understandable, because both temple complexes are crown jewels of the cultural-historical heritage of the Thai capital and, by extension, the Thai nation. Lesser known, but highly recommended, is Wat Benchamabopit or the Marble Temple which is located on Nakhon Pathom Road by the Prem Prachakorn Canal in the heart of the Dusit district, known as the government quarter.
The arrival of Theravada Buddhism in Thailand
No one knows exactly, but the most accurate estimates assume that between 90 and 93% of the Thai population are Buddhists and more specifically practice Theravada Buddhism. This immediately makes Thailand, albeit after the People's Republic of China, the largest Buddhist nation in the world.
The Dutch consular services in Bangkok (1860-1942) – part 1.
Due to the simple fact that a Dutch embassy was not formally opened in Bangkok until after the Second World War, the consular services formed the main diplomatic representation of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Siam and later Thailand for more than eighty years. I would like to reflect on the not always flawless history of this diplomatic institution in the Land of Smiles and the, at times, quite colorful Dutch consuls in Bangkok.
Homan van der Heide carried the water to the sea
One of the most important and influential Dutchmen in Siam has been the far too long forgotten engineer JH Homan van der Heide. In fact, his story began in 1897. In that year, the Siamese monarch Chulalongkorn paid a state visit to the Netherlands.
At the Crossroads of Cultures: Phu Phra Bat Historical Park
The Phu Phra Bat Historical Park in Isan is one of the least known historical parks in Thailand. And that is a bit of a shame because, in addition to a lot of interesting and untouched flora and fauna, it also offers an eclectic mix of relics, from different historical cultures, ranging from prehistory to Dvaravati sculptures to Khmer art.
The Phi Thong Luang: An Endangered People
In academic circles they are called Mabri or Mlabri, but to most Thai people they are known as the Phi Thong Luang, roughly translated the people of the Spirits of the Yellow Leaves. These people, who live in the far north of Thailand, in the provinces of Nan and Phrae on the border with Laos, are one of the smallest and least known of the ethnic groups in Thailand that are usually described as "Mountain Peoples" an inaccurate and not entirely correct, but a good description.
Chiranan Pitpreecha – the soul endures…
'The soul survives' is a phrase from 'The first rains', translated in 2017 by fellow blogger Tino Kuis, one of the most famous socially critical poems by Chiranan Pitpreecha (°1955, Trang).
Octave Fariola: Belgian mythomaniac freebooter, American war hero, Irish rebel and Siamese engineer
I don't have to tell you that a lot of Farang who somehow ended up in Thailand are colorful characters to say the least. One of the most imaginative was undoubtedly Octave Fariola, a Belgian globetrotter whose adventurous life almost resembles a picaresque novel.
The Walls of Chiang Mai
In a previous post I briefly considered the old city walls of Sukhothai. Today I would like to tell you something about the almost equally old walls of Chiang Mai.
A Christmas story from Isaan….
I don't know if it had been a Holy Night, but it certainly wasn't a Silent Night... Now that the rice harvest is over, most of the men in the village amuse themselves with flying kites and making kites.