Energy drinks in Thailand
Thais love energy drinks. In Thailand you sometimes come across the strangest brands. Energy drinks are especially popular with Tuk-Tuk, truck and bus drivers.
Impunity after the Tak Bai massacre on October 25, 2004
Twenty years after the Tak Bai massacre, the families of victims are still waiting for justice. As the statute of limitations approaches, the perpetrators seem protected by bureaucracy and impunity. The tragedy painfully illustrates how difficult it is in Thailand to tackle state violence and how vulnerable the Malay Muslim community in the Deep South continues to feel as a result.
Moo Deng, a two-month-old pygmy hippopotamus, has quickly become an internet phenomenon in Thailand. Her adorable appearance and playful behavior draw visitors to the Khao Kheow Open Zoo. But behind her popularity lies an ironic reality: while people marvel at her innocence, the plight of her kin goes unnoticed.
The scars of captivity
Wasana Busadee's world changed dramatically when she innocently ended up behind bars for over two years. What began as a simple favor for an acquaintance turned into a nightmare of despair and injustice. Although she is now free, the scars of her captivity remain visible. Her story reveals a painful reality within the Thai justice system.
Thailand sees significant increase in marriages between Thai women and foreign men
Over the past three years, the number of Thai women marrying foreign men has increased significantly, while the number of Thai men marrying foreign women remains relatively low. In 2022, this phenomenon peaked with 4.819 registered marriages. Bangkok tops the list in 2023, with an impressive 5.872 registered couples.
Hi-So and Lo-So, social classes in Thailand
Status is very important in Thailand. Thai society is highly hierarchical. Ranks and positions are quickly clear to the Thai.
Polygamy was common in Thailand at court and bourgeoisie
Tino Kuis gave a very favorable book review of 'Woman, Man, Bangkok. Love, Sex and Popular Culture in Thailand by Scot Barmé He read this book in one breath as if it were a political thriller and promised more. Here again a contribution based on Barmé's book. About polygamy or polygamy.
Superstitions in Thailand
In certain parts of Thailand (North and Northeast), Animism plays a more important role than Buddhism. Superstitions can sometimes take on strange forms, as this list of examples shows.
“Farmers are the backbone of the nation”, the socio-economic status of the rural population in Thailand
Let us briefly outline the socio-economic existence of farmers in Thailand. Although I usually don't do that, I will make a comparison with Dutch farmers here and there. The 'boring' statistics are at the end of this story, but it is important to go through them.
Thailand stands at a crossroads of time, where age-old traditions collide and mingle with the waves of modernization. At the heart of this cultural drama is the deep-seated reverence for the monarchy and Buddhism, which together form the country's social and political backbone, even as the voice of youth for change grows louder.
Amnesty advocates visited by the police
Several volunteers collecting signatures to call for an amnesty law for pro-democracy activists have reported harassment by police officers, the organization Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) said.
Boonsong Lekagul was born on December 15, 1907 into an ethnic Sino-Thai family in Songkhla, southern Thailand. He turned out to be a very intelligent and inquisitive boy in the local Public School and consequently went to study medicine at the prestigious Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. After graduating cum laude as a doctor there in 1933, he started a group practice together with a number of other young specialists, from which the first outpatient clinic in Bangkok would emerge two years later.
The fears of Thai people
Research by Suan Dusit revealed the ten biggest fears of the Thai people, ranging from environmental issues to economic uncertainties. This in-depth overview, based on a survey of 1.273 people in 2018, offers a rare glimpse into the concerns within Thai society. Each problem raised is accompanied by a proposed solution, which you can judge for yourself.
'The sporting bar is not very high in Thailand, why is that?'
It has always surprised me that a country with around 72 million inhabitants does not really excel on the world stage when it comes to sporting achievements. Especially if you compare it with Belgium and the Netherlands, relatively small countries that play an important role on the sporting world stage. Does this have to do with the fact that there is less pressure for prestige in Thailand than in the Western world? Or are there other causes?
Violence in Thai schools
There is frequent violence in Thai schools, both physical, psychological and sexual. Little is done about this. My son attended Thai primary education for 8 years. Several times a year the teacher would tell him แบมือ bae muu (low, mid tone) “Hold up your hand!” and then he received a good slap on the palm. Often he didn't know why. This happened much more often with other students. I taught English for free at a monk school for a few years. One day I saw a large group of monks in the middle of the schoolyard. Two kneeling, bare-chested novices were beaten by three monks while half the school watched.
The Thai National Anthem
For those who want to integrate in Thailand, and there are undoubtedly many on this blog, it is necessary that they can sing the Thai national anthem at the top of their lungs.
Why are bananas crooked?
With a simple example you can sometimes show big differences between unequal cultures and views. Some quickly sense where those differences are, others have to learn through trial and error and there is of course also a category of people who have no need to take the differences into account at all.
Gambling, officially banned but unofficially rooted in Thai culture, is a paradoxical dance of risk and reward. In the small alleys of Bangkok, behind closed doors in Chiang Mai, or in the open fields of Isaan, this passion comes to life. It is not only a game of chance, but also a ritual that is deeply intertwined with Thai life.
Nice to be a Thai (?)
We Farang live in Thailand and usually have a good time there. It is therefore a good place for us. Some still complain about anything and everything. Others see things through rose-colored glasses. That is all widely reported on the Thailand blog.
Thailand in pictures (12): Soldiers and coups
A picture paints a thousand words. This certainly applies to Thailand, a special country with an interesting culture and many cheerful people, but also a dark dark side of coups, poverty, exploitation, animal suffering, violence and many road deaths. In each episode we choose a theme that gives an insight into Thai society. Today a photo series about coups and military.
Thailand in pictures (11): The small self-employed person
A picture paints a thousand words. This certainly applies to Thailand, a special country with an interesting culture and many cheerful people, but also a dark dark side of coups, poverty, exploitation, animal suffering, violence and many road deaths. In each episode we choose a theme that gives an insight into Thai society. In this series no slick pictures of swaying palms and white beaches, but of people. Today a photo series about the small self-employed person.
Thailand in pictures (10): Ladyboys
A picture paints a thousand words. This certainly applies to Thailand, a special country with an interesting culture and many cheerful people, but also a dark side of coups, poverty, exploitation, animal suffering, violence and many road deaths. In each episode we choose a theme that gives an insight into Thai society. Today a photo series about Ladyboys.