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 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."
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.
Career or Career?
That is the question facing highly educated beginners. Career: you walk along for a while, take an exciting turn and before you know it you are doing something completely different from what you were trained for. Career: look up, elbows on edge and up the ladder.
Thailand around the Nieuwmarkt
Piet van den Broek has settled in Amsterdam on long leave for several weeks, within the canal belt, in his town house on the Nieuwe Prinsengracht. Fortunately, he is not devoid of all Thai delights.
Meander over the Literature Museum
Piet met Simon at Ons Moeder while he was snacking on a herring. “That's one of the few things I miss here,” he said between bites, “a nice herring! Fortunately, Our Mother provides that.”
Five musical eighteens and a royal haircut
The word piano quintet has the same effect on me, an avid amateur pianist, as the exhaust of an F16 does on a heat-seeking missile. In the Bangkok Post of Friday, August 16, I read that the Piano Quintet 18 would perform the following Sunday at the Goethe Institute.
In the thrift store of the time: nostalgia or old stuff
Piet van den Broek was confronted with the question: "You write very fascinating about beautiful musical performances, but can't you do that in advance so that I can also attend them?" In this column he responds to this question and describes his visit to a concert in honor of Princess Galyani Vadhana in the beautiful Thewarat Sapharom Hall, a neoclassical showpiece of breathtaking beauty.
Historical awareness: the Meierij
A few days before the King's Day, at the regular table at Ons Moeder in Pattaya, I got into a conversation with a fellow countryman temporarily staying in Thailand.
A day in Bangkok with music
A trip from Pattaya to Bangkok is a true feast for the classical music lover, Piet van den Broek. In his column you can read why Piet did not accept the offer for erotic entertainment and playing a Steinway grand piano.