Here I show six cartoons with explanations that bitingly criticized the royal-noble elite in Bangkok a hundred years ago.
The Frisian preacher and the Buddha
Just under ninety-five percent of the Thai population is Buddhist to a greater or lesser extent. Buddhism is the religion/philosophy that has been gaining popularity the fastest in the Netherlands in recent years. Two observations that prompt me to take a moment to reflect today on the intriguing figure of the Anabaptist minister Joast Hiddes Halbertsma, who in 1843 published the first Dutch text on Buddhism in more than one respect.
Book review 'Destination Bangkok' (readers' submission)
Jan draws attention to the book “Destination Bangkok” in which an expat in Thailand is mercilessly punished for his missteps.
Book review – Scot Barmé: Woman, Man, Bangkok, Love, Sex and Popular Culture in Thailand
There are books that completely renew my view on aspects of countries, communities and events. The book by Scot Barmé mentioned above, already published in 2002, is such a work. I read it like a thriller in one breath, in a day and a half night.
The Jim Thompson myth
Jim Thompson's life in Thailand is almost legendary. If you have been to Thailand, then that name is known and you also know a bit about what he has done.
'Thai Love' – book review
Thai Love is Karel Poort's debut novel. The story is about a single man over fifty named Koop who is financially independent through an inheritance. During a holiday in Phuket, he meets the Thai bargirl Two who knows how to charm him in a refined way.
'The smile behind exciting Thailand' is the first book by Ger de Kok. Ger has, according to him, a good insight into the real Thailand. After visiting Thailand for many years, he decided to write down his opinion and his experiences with Thailand in this book.
Book review: 'Bangkok wakes to rain'
In early 2019 Riverhead Books – an offspring of Penguin Books – published 'Bangkok wakes to Rain', the literary debut of the mainly Brooklyn-based Thai author Pitchaya Sudbanthad.
“Sometimes I wonder if I was born for the accident. Is this my life now is this my destiny? I pray to Buddha that it will not be so. I don't want this life. Now I'm a country girl trying to escape the clutches of a tiger only to be swallowed by a crocodile. My whole life has been hell and the end is nowhere in sight.”
Book review: Thai cuties
The book 'Thai cuties' by Charles Schwietert is the umpteenth in the series of books about the relationships between farang and Thai ladies. The book is a representation of true events and that always gives an extra dimension to the story.
This book by Thongchai Winichakul describes how the memories of the massacre at Thammasat University on October 6, 1976 were experienced on a personal and national level. He tells how memories were suppressed because they were too painful and how the memories were distorted. There were no commemorations on a national level for the first twenty years.
Book review: Bencharong Chinese porcelain for Siam
Two years ago River Books in Bangkok published the chic looking book Bencharong – Chinese Porcelain for Siam. A luxuriously published book about an eminently luxurious and exclusive artisanal product. The American author Dawn Fairley Rooney, who lives in Bangkok, was not ready for her test piece. She has already published nine books, four of which are about Southeast Asian ceramics.
'Thailand, soft as silk, flexible as bamboo' is perhaps the most famous book about Thailand by a Dutch author. Sjon Hauser wrote the book in 1990 after he fell under the spell of Thailand as a tourist ten years earlier.
The filmed introduction of James Bond in 'Dr. No' in 1962 introduced Western cinema audiences to a world that stimulated their imagination and took them to exotic places that most could only dream of at the time: Jamaica, the Bahamas, Istanbul, Hong Kong and, of course, Thailand.
Western Writers in Bangkok: Paul Theroux
Paul Theroux (°1941) is one of the writers I would like to join right away if I could draw up a guest list for an ultimate dinner. Okay, he's arrogant and know-it-all, but what a writing style that man has…!
Western writers in Bangkok – the Bangkok noir scene
On this blog I have regularly discussed Western writers of all stripes who, for one reason or another, have or had a connection with the Thai capital. Many of them have meanwhile, contrary to their work, given up and are resting on their - no doubt well-deserved - laurels in the Panthenon of the Great and Not So Great Authors.
Book review: 'Return Bangkok'
Peter takes a closer look at the book 'Retour Bangkok' and gives his opinion on Michiel Heijungs' debut novel.