Jesuits in Siam: 1687
For the benefit of my dissertation I was once again working in the university library of Amsterdam, when my eyes fell on a very intriguing title of a very old book for Thailanders: VOYAGE DE SIAM DES PERES JESUITES
Tropical robe in Thailand
How do you behave when you live in Thailand for a long, maybe too long? It seems to me very useful to do a self-examination from time to time on the basis of this list.
Kronkel clears his throat and muses on Christmas
I found Simon in an unsightly bar, apparently felled by a lavish alcohol-soaked Christmas dinner. He looked very disheveled, both in dress and in facial expression.
A fast prince in Pattaya and eleven other Siamese
Prince Bira, in full HRH Prince Birabongse Bhanubandh, was born in 1914 as the grandson of King Mongkut (Rama IV). During his studies in London (visual arts!) he became addicted to fast cars and started a career as a racing driver.
When King Chulalongkorn died in 1910 after a reign of forty-two years, his eldest son, twenty-nine-year-old Prince Vajiravudh, was his undisputed successor.
Gods twilight in Siem Reap
Watching the moon rise from Angkor Wat after dark has definitely been the most impressive experience I have had in recent years.
A newsletter from 1608: Siamese envoys to Prince Maurits
In 1608, two envoys from the King of Siam pay a visit to the court of Prince Maurits. A French newsletter reports in detail. "Their language is very barbaric and very difficult to understand, as is the writing."
A three-dimensional Droste effect in Thai style
For twenty-three years, from 1988 to 2011, I enjoyed living in Haarlem, northwest of the station, in the direction of Bloemendaal and Overveen. With a strong easterly wind and a certain phase of the production process, a heavy, unmistakable cocoa smell, coming from the Droste factory, located on the Spaarne, sometimes penetrated the nostrils.
Baan Hollanda: An excursion into our past
With the 24 participants in this excursion, organized by the Dutch Association of Pattaya, we dashed from Thai Garden Resort to Baan Hollanda in Ayutthaya, the old capital of Siam, in exactly the planned two hours and fifteen minutes.
Chateau de Phratamnak
Piet van den Broek writes in his column: The world wants to be cheated. About Chateau de Phratamnak in Pattaya, mock heroes and castles in the air.
Twirl over breathlessness: to be or not to be
I found Simon at the family table, engaged in a lively conversation with an older man who introduced himself as Luuk and a neurasthenic leptosome of indeterminate age named Michel.
Twist in The Circle
Recently I am having a pleasant chat with Hans at the members' table in De Kring's restaurant, and who is coming in? “Simon! You here! What a surprise! Move on!” Simon slumps down on the seat next to me and before I can ask he declares: “We ran out of pills, so I had to come here. What's the pot for dinner?"
Twirl: With Simon in the Temple
It had been a while since I had exposed Simon to the carnal temptations at the Casnovy a Go-go bar, so it was about time I took him to a temple for compensation and penance to introduce him to the spiritual life in Thailand.
Chom Rom Kon Rak Muan Mek
Piet van den Broek read in the Bangkok Post that there is a club of cloud enthusiasts in Thailand, whose members enjoy themselves by carefully studying the clouds in Thailand.
Twirl in Pattaya
The man with the grooved face and the oversized spectacles read with sad but also somewhat frightened eyes at the regular table of Ons Moeder de Telegraaf.
A very guilty landscape in Phnom Penh
Piet bought a ticket for the luxury bus to Phnom Penh. Fatal decision! I should have understood that there is no such thing as a luxury bus from Pattaya to Phnom Penh. As punishment for my stupidity, after a five-hour delay at the border and a seemingly endless bus ride through Cambodia's murky countryside, I arrived in their capital at 01.00:XNUMX AM.
A nice piece of cheese from the workshop
In Thailand, it is well known, cheese shops are taboo for religious reasons. You will therefore not find a cheese shop anywhere in this country unless it is an illegal one. You can eat cheese there, but only if you make it yourself or get it from someone.