What I have with Belgians...
Peter has a thing for Belgians, in this article he writes what exactly that is. And he makes a surprising revelation at the end.
For several days now I have been the temporary resident of a Townhouse in the center of Hua Hin. Soi 51 to be exact. The transition from a five-star villa in Jomtien to a somewhat tired and outdated Townhouse in Hua Hin was a big one. But once I have recovered from the worst of the shock, I am quite satisfied with my accommodation.
In Thailand, the mask obligation has been abolished, you would think fantastic, but anyone walking on the street in Pattaya sees little concrete of this. At least 95% of the Thai people on the street still wear such a face covering and that completely voluntarily. If it doesn't help, it won't hurt…. Well, it certainly does damage, how about the mountain of waste that all those used face masks produce?
About bad Thai women and naive men
Are foreign men who fall prey to overly greedy Thai ladies themselves (partly) guilty of that or not? Do they make wrong choices when entering into relationships? Is it naivety, bad luck or a lack of people skills? Can this happen to everyone or just those who like the wrong women?
About Tenglish, Dunglish and other coal English
We Dutch are quite convinced that we speak excellent English and laugh hard at the Tenglish of Thai. However, the coal English, which we usually speak, is also far from correct. With our Louis van Gaal as an exponent of this as a shining example.
Column: 'Fear of dying, from a normal flu….'
Dying is no fun. It's never really fun. It is perhaps one of the most prominent fears that a human being carries. I think so too. I'm still very much alive and I certainly don't intend to prematurely greet the Grim Reaper. The readers, except for some, would not be happy with that either, because it would also mean the end of Thailandblog.
Are you embarrassed about flying to Thailand?
In the Netherlands, environmental fetishists are trying to make everyone feel guilty. Besides the fact that every middle-aged white angry man is at least a pervert and racist, because he sometimes looks at a beautiful woman and cherishes the Sinterklaas party with Zwarte Piet, there is something new to hit you with: fly shame .
2019 promises to be a special year!
Of course, best wishes to everyone in this sparkling new year. It promises to be a special year in many ways. First of all because after the coup on May 22, 2014, free elections will be held in Thailand for the first time in 2019. Another special fact is that Thailandblog has existed for no less than 10 years on October 2019, 10. We will of course come back to that.
Column: Cheap flights to Thailand? Write it on your belly!
In the future, flying to Thailand may only be possible for people with a very broad budget. Even before the flight tax has been introduced, the cabinet is already calculating whether the flight tax can be increased from 7 to 15 euros per passenger.
'Functional Nude in Thailand'
A conversation with a Thai, whom I consider to be an expert in Thailand – after all, she was born there – sometimes yields surprising insights. In Thailand, for example, the concept of 'functional nudity' is more or less known.
Thailand, once an extraordinary discovery, now an old friend….
When you visit Thailand as an unwitting tourist, you get the most pleasure out of the country. Thailand does not hold many secrets for Khun Peter after his umpteenth visit. Thailand is now more of an old friend to him.
About beautiful tourist figures and the harsh reality
Anyone who looks at the annual figures on the number of tourists from the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) may no longer dare to visit Thailand because you can walk over the heads. Reality seems more unruly, but numbers don't lie, do they?
Column: Unwanted or wanted sexual harassment?
In this column, Peter draws attention to the sexual harassment of older Western men in Thailand.
Column: 'The lust traveler'
A special phenomenon, a 'sex tourist'. According to the dictionary, it is a 'lust traveler'. That already sounds a lot nicer. When I go back to Thailand and my environment pours out the well-known prejudices about me, I no longer want to be pilloried as a sex tourist, but as a lust traveler.
Chiang Mai: Chinatown squared?
The trip to Chiang Mai was already in fits and starts, but the reunion with the 'Rose of the North' provided even more surprises. For example, the city has undergone a remarkable transformation when you see the stream of tourists passing by: you imagine yourself in Chinatown.
It was always a point of annoyance for me: the slow internet connection in your hotel in Thailand, but a mifi router brings light to the internet connection darkness.
'A day without sex'
Every Buddha day is a tough test, a friend confided to me during a dinner in a good restaurant in Bangkok. A Buddha day invariably meant no sex with his Thai girlfriend, who had learned the Buddha's precepts well.
Column: Smiling at the dentist in Thailand
Are the Dutch stingy? No, we hate paying too much. We like to cycle around a street if a net of squeezed oranges is a quarter cheaper elsewhere. That is why Thailand is such a pleasant country for us. This is how you go to the dentist smiling, especially when you are presented with the bill.
'Giving money away makes you happy!'
Giving money away makes you happier than spending money on yourself. This is written by German psychologists affiliated with the University of Lübeck. The outcome of the research will soon be published in Nature Communications.
Yes, you read that right. The journalists of our state broadcaster reported yesterday, both on the news and online, that the world had become a bit more dangerous for travelers again. According to these ladies and gentlemen of NOS, this also included a number of popular holiday countries, including Thailand.
Will this Sunday go down in history as the day that Feyenoord became national champion? We'll know in a few hours. A mistake in my holiday planning means that I unfortunately cannot travel to Rotterdam today.
Bangkok is losing more and more icons
It hurts for the older expats, Bangkok is changing visibly. Capital is winning over small businesses and the bulldozers are wiping out some of the last visible memories. Shame!