The Thai heart speaks
The Thai word "jai" means "heart". The word is often used in conversations between Thais and it is also a popular word in advertising campaigns. It is usually used as part of a sentence to represent "relationship" or "humanity".
Why Tha was called 'Poepbroek' (From: Stimulating stories from Northern Thailand; nr 15)
To Wai or not to Wai?
In the Netherlands we shake hands. Not in Thailand. Here people greet each other with a 'wai'. You fold your hands together as in a prayer, at the level (fingertips) of your chin. However, there is much more to it…
Phya Anuman Rajadhon พระยาอนุมานราชธน (1888-1969), who became known by his pen name Sathiankoset, can be regarded as one of the most influential pioneers, if not the founder, of modern Thai anthropology.
This is about two brothers. Their father gave them something on his deathbed. He gave each son 1.000 baht and said, "From my death, every meal you eat must be a good meal." Then he took his last breath.
This is about two neighbors. One was not religious, the other was and was also an honest person. They were friends. The religious man placed an altar against the wall of his porch with a statue of Buddha in it. Every morning he offered rice and showed respect to Buddha, and in the evening after dinner he did it again.
All those little words
Check Inn 99, first floor, Soi 11 just past the Old German Beerhouse at the Sukhumvit. Stately high windows, tight hall, tight corners. Dark smooth-planed teak frames, unvarnished fibres, tasteful European tone. Natural and smooth. Voiced dance tent. Live music & restaurant.
Seats two by two full of soft cushions like hairy ears up. Mixed couples. Oh, how lazily but discreetly we plopped down. Low coffee tables draped in red and black Lanna fabric.
The meditating hermit and women's breasts (From: Stimulating stories from Northern Thailand; nr 12)
This story is about a hermit who had reached the jhana (*). This hermit had been meditating in a forest for twenty thousand years and he had reached jhana. That means that when he was hungry and thinking about food, he felt satisfied. If he wanted to go somewhere, he only had to think about it and … hoppa! … he was already there. Sat there meditating for twenty thousand years. The grass was already higher than his ears but he just stayed put.
Thai Folktale: Rage, Manslaughter and Penance
This is one of the folktales of which there are so many in Thailand, but which are unfortunately relatively unknown and unloved by the younger generation (perhaps not completely. In a cafe it turned out that three young employees did know it). The older generation knows almost all of them. This story has also been made into cartoons, songs, plays and movies. In Thai it is called ก่องข้าวน้อยฆ่าแม่ kòng khâaw nói khâa mâe 'basket of rice little dead mother'.
This story is from the Karen lore. It's about a Thai man and a Karen man who were great buddies. This story is also about sex. Thai people, you know, they always have a plan ready. Resourceful people!
A vagina full of china snails (From: Tantalizing stories from Northern Thailand; no. 10)
In this story again someone who wants to have sex with his young sister-in-law, just like in story number 2. But this time mister uses a different method. We will call him brother-in-law because no name is known.
Another story about Grandpa Tan, now together with Grandpa Daeng, his neighbor. Grandpa Daeng bred ducks and had four to five hundred of them. He kept the ducks on his field, which was next to Grandpa Tan's field.
Do you drink rich? People say liquor is bad for you, but it's not that bad! A drink can contribute to your life. It can make you rich, you know!
About alcohol in heaven and a bald jerk in hell (from: Stimulating stories from Northern Thailand; nr 7)
Grandpa Kaew drank all day long. From getting up to going to sleep. He drank three hip flasks of liquor a day. Three! Together more than half a liter. And he never went to the temple. In fact, he didn't even know where the temple was! Gifts for the temple and thamboen, never heard of it. As soon as he got up in the morning he drank a bottle; one after lunch and one in the evening. And that every day.
The poor man and the civet cat (from: Tantalizing stories from Northern Thailand; nr 6)
The poor man had a very small paddy field and could barely provide for his own food. The god Indra took pity on him and hid a beautiful woman in an elephant's tusk and dropped it in his field. He found that tusk and took it to his cabin. He had no idea there was a woman hiding inside.
This is the story of a man who had sex with his buffalo. He temporarily lived in a shed on the rice field and as soon as he saw the chance he took the water buffalo! His wife, who brought him his food there, had seen him do this time and time again. She wasn't stupid at all, but what could she do about that?
A rural man for the first time in the big city (from: Stimulating stories from Northern Thailand; nr 4)
You sometimes say, less flatteringly, 'A country man for the first time in the big city'. Well, Mr. Tib was such a man; a real country bumpkin!