Thailand at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics
With many hours of fun watching the performances of athletes from many countries at the Tokyo Olympics, you might have missed the fact that Thailand was also one of the participating countries. Thailand delegated 41 athletes, who had to compete for medals in 15 sports disciplines.
Today is a national holiday in Thailand. It's Mother's Day and Queen Sirikit's birthday. The 'mother of the Thai nation' has turned 89 years old.
In many places, including Thailand, this period commemorates the 76th anniversary of the end of World War II with the capitulation of the Japanese armed forces. Today I would like to take a moment to reflect on the Dutch doctor Henri Hekking, who was honored as a hero in the United States, but hardly gained fame in the Netherlands, and this completely unjustly.
Working on the margins of the 'Railway of Death'
On August 15, the military cemeteries of Kanchanaburi and Chungkai will once again reflect on the end of the Second World War in Asia. The focus is – almost inevitably I would say – on the tragic fate of the Allied prisoners of war who were forced into forced labor by the Japanese during the construction of the infamous Thai-Burma railway. I would like to take a moment to reflect on what happened to the Allied prisoners of war and the romusha, the Asian workers who had been deployed in this ambitious project that cost tens of thousands of lives, after the Railway of Death was completed on October 17, 1943.
Julius Ernst, KNIL veteran of the Burma Railway
Gringo wondered if there were any Dutch survivors who worked on the Burma railway. There are. One of those survivors is Julius Ernst, a KNIL veteran who was over 90 years old, who was imprisoned in the Rintin camp. Last year Dick Schaap made an interview with him for Checkpoint, a monthly magazine for and about veterans. On Thailandblog the complete story.
The difficult processing of the Thai war past
Now almost 76 years ago, on August 15, 1945, the Second World War ended with the Japanese surrender. This past has largely remained unprocessed throughout Southeast Asia and certainly also in Thailand.
Lesbian and Muslim and football star: get used to it…
In 2016, a bookstore was opened in the south of Thailand on the Pattani campus of Prince of Songkhla University. With progressive literature especially on gender equality and with information for the LGBT community. It had to become a 'safe haven' for students and other citizens who have a different sexual preference than the vast majority and who want to study and relax in peace.
Thailand & flooding: “the never-ending story”
When we see the misery that the flood has caused in Wallonia and the basin of the Meuse in recent days, we quickly forget that floods cause problems in Thailand almost every year. In fact, they used to be an integral part of the ecosystem in the basin of major rivers such as the Mekong, Chao Phraya, Ping or Mun.
The original conjoined twins
The most famous Siamese twins come from Thailand - then Siam - which also gave rise to the expression Siamese Twins. The two brothers Eng and Chang became celebrities in Europe and America in the 19th century.
The Melting Third Pole; Thailand also feels the pain
There is a threat of a climate crisis in Asia due to the melting of the glaciers on the roof of the world. This is at the expense of 2 billion people, their drinking water and agriculture. This also concerns Thailand.
A Groningen resident moved from Bangkok to Phnom Penh
On the website of The Big Chilli I read a profile of Peter Brongers, a native of Groningen, who came to Thailand in 1995 and has been working in Cambodia since 2008. In that profile sketch his career is described and he indicates some differences in doing business in Cambodia compared to Thailand.
Thailand brings infected Covid patients back to their place of residence by train and bus
The Thai government has taken an important measure in the fight against the Covid-19 virus. A nouveauté so to speak, never seen before. To relieve the pressure on healthcare in Bangkok, large numbers of infected persons will be transferred to their original place of residence.
As you may know, the British aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, escorted by a large fleet of naval vessels, including the Dutch frigate Zr.Ms. Evertsen on a 7-month trip to Japan. It is a special journey in many ways. The journey is long by contemporary European standards, it is the first major voyage of the new aircraft carrier and the first time in 21 years that a Dutch naval vessel visits Japan.
Laos and the R of capitalism……
Listen carefully when you are in Laos. You will witness a linguistic rebirth! It is the letter R. In Laos that is special in spoken and written language. You also have it in neighboring Thailand. In popular parlance, the 'r' does not exist and the 'l' appears. Also in the karaoke; sorry: kalaake…. Hasn't many a foreigner there sung along with 'Take me home, countly loads'? Yes, from John Denvel… And of course the 'Blidge over tabbed wottel…'.
Luxury train: the Eastern & Oriental Express (video)
The Eastern & Oriental Express is a very luxurious train. The route Bangkok – Singapore enjoys the beautiful scenery of tropical rainforest, mountain passes, rubber plantations, while stops are made in Kanchanaburi, Butterworth and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia).
The downfall of the Trentinian
On February 4, 1928, an emergency telegram arrives in Paris at Mrs. Bartholoni with the announcement that an explosion has taken place on the Trentinian off the banks of Nakhon Phanom in Siam resp. Thakhek in Laos. There are at least 40 dead and many injured; her husband has not been found up to that point. He was one of the crew on board.
The Two Heroines of Thalang (Phuket)
You may have driven past it. At a roundabout on Thepkasattri Road in the Thalang district of Phuket Island, there is a monument depicting two Thai women. You may have wondered what these two ladies owe the monument to. This is the story.