Souls of Bangkok: The homeless tuk tuk toy maker (video)
During this Christmas Day it is good to also think about people who have it much worse than we do and do not sit down at a spacious table with food and drink today.
Permissible 'child labor' in Thailand (video)
Have a look at this video, a boy about 10 years old who works as a conductor/ticket seller in a passenger bus in Bangkok. There has been quite a stir about this on Thai social media. One doesn't mind so much, the other disapproves completely.
Teenage mothers in Thailand (video)
Thailand has the second highest percentage of teenage mothers in Southeast Asia. In 2013, the number of teenage pregnancies was 130.000.
Not a day goes by in Thailand without children drowning. It is even the number one cause of death among Thai children.
Cupid's arrowheads can be poisonous to Thai teenagers
Friday is Valentine's Day and in Thailand that will mean another peak in unwanted teenage pregnancies.
Domestic Violence in Thailand
Thailand is at the forefront of the increase in domestic violence in Asian countries. With more than 20.000 cases being processed by law enforcement last year, the Thai man is remarkably aggressive in his own home.
Shocking figures: 12 Thai children drowned in 5 days
Not a day goes by without the Thai news reporting children who have drowned. It is even the number one cause of death among Thai children.
The Thai Army in Phitsanulok (Part 3)
How did Chris' nephew get on after his asthma attack during military service. Uncle came over to arrange things.
I gamble, therefore I exist…
Thais love to eat, sing karaoke and gamble. An anecdote of how gambling-crazy this nation is might be a wedding that took place a dozen years ago.
Alcohol abuse a growing problem in Thailand
Those who regularly visit Thailand and occasionally mingle with the Thai population will have noticed one thing: Thai and alcohol don't go well together.
A farang? Please pay double…
Thailand is a beautiful country to live in or to visit as a tourist. There are, however, a few caveats left and right. An example of this is the hated double pricing system. A much discussed and controversial subject among tourists, expats and pensioners.
'Something is wrong with one in three children'
Juvenile delinquency and the number of teenage pregnancies have increased by half in 5 years. School dropout rates are high in rural areas. A social time bomb is ticking in Thailand.
Because she's a girl
Today is Day Of The Girl Child, which draws attention to girls who receive little or no education. Wipa, 15, from Chiang Mai, is one such girl.
A katoey: neither meat nor fish!
Katoeys or ladyboys are often in the news negatively and – let's be honest – they don't always come out favorably on this blog either. Oh, I do participate in it myself, you know, making jokes about those people, but I also admit that I don't understand their nature of acting and thinking.
The brutalization of perfect violence (2)
Without exception, the best Muay Thay fighters all come from Isan, the barren northeast of Thailand, where living conditions are extremely Spartan and training in fact begins as soon as the umbilical cord is cut.
Gun ownership in Thailand
Coincidence or not, just when that Thai senator who "accidentally" shot his wife is in the news, one Oscar wrote a column about gun ownership in the German-language magazine Der Farang. He called the column Tatort
Thais love to gamble
Handy lottery guys. They say that they sell fifteen hundred numbered lottery tickets of one thousand baht. The grand prize is one million baht.