Why I never arrived in Burma
It was April 2012 when I wanted to travel via Thailand to the country of Aung San Suu Kyi. First three days in Bangkok, then to Rangoon and then another week to the royal resort of Hua-Hin. I left Friday April 20 and never arrived in Burma
Mae Sot – more than a border town (video)
For many, Mae Sot will mainly be associated with a visa run, but this colorful border town has much more to offer.
Gaeng Hang Lay (Thai curry with pork from the North)
Gaeng Hang Lay is a reddish curry from northern Thailand with an intense but mild flavour. The curry and meat melts in your mouth thanks to the well-cooked or braised pork in the dish. The taste is unique thanks to Burmese influences.
The infamous road between Chiang Mai and Mae Hong Son, blessed with hundreds of hairpin bends, is the only reminder of a long-forgotten piece of Thai war history. Barely hours after the Imperial Japanese Army invaded Thailand on December 8, 1941, the Thai government – despite fierce fighting back in places – decided to lay down its arms.
In the past week, more than 5.000 Myanmarese have fled to Thailand because of the escalating violence in eastern Myanmar.
Looking for Burmese traces in Chiang Mai
In the official Thai historiography, there are a number of historical phases that people prefer to talk about as little as possible. One of those periods is that of the two centuries that Chiang Mai was Burmese. You can already question the Thai identity and character of the Rose of the North anyway, because formally Chiang Mai, as the capital of the kingdom of Lanna, has not been part of Thailand for even a century.
“The Mad Fourteenth Century” – a Southeast Asian version
In 1978, the American journalist and historian Barbara Tuchman (1912-1989), published 'A Distant Mirror – The Calamitous 14th Century', in the Dutch translation 'De Waanzige Veertiende Eeuw', a sensational book about everyday life in medieval Western Europe in general and in France in particular, with wars, plague epidemics, and an ecclesiastical schism as the main ingredients.
Book review: 'The Burma deception' by Roel Thijssen
The Burma Hoax is the sixth espionage novel in the Graham Marquand series and has its origins shortly before the end of World War II, when Thailand was secretly making overtures to the United States. In those last months, the 'Thailand route' was the only way for the Japanese rulers to bring war booty from the occupied territories to safety. American OSS agents manage to intercept one of those convoys and thus amass great wealth
Drama in the making on the Thai-Burmese border
Almost immediately after the military coup in Burma/Myanmar, I warned of a possible new drama on the Thai-Burmese border. And I'm afraid I'll be proven right very soon.
Muay Thai: The Legend of Nai Khanom Tom
Nai Khanom Tom is considered the “Father of Muay Thai” who was the first to dignify Thai boxing with a reputation abroad.
Thailand Photo of the Day: Daily protests in Bangkok against military violence in Burma (Myanmar)
Thai and Burmese protest daily in Bangkok against the military violence and the arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi in Burma. Army chief Min Aung Hlaing has taken over power in the country after a coup (the name Burma has been renamed Myanmar by the military).
Meanwhile in Burma
Last week's military coup in Burma also caused some commotion in Thailand. And that's not really surprising. In recent years, politically charged issues such as the territorial dispute over three islands in the mouth of the Kraburi River, the brutal persecution of the Rohingya and the influx of thousands of illegal Burmese workers into the Thai labor market have in any case caused relations between the two countries to suffer. created tensions.
Myanmar elections
With all the buzz surrounding the elections in the United States, we would almost have forgotten that elections took place on Sunday, November 8, 2020 in Myanmar, Thailand's northernmost neighbour.
Resurfacing 'forgotten' conflict also has an impact on Thailand
On November 26, 'Charity Without Borders', a local aid organization in northern Burma, reported to the Reuters news agency that a Dutch tourist had died and his Argentinian companion had been injured by an exploding landmine near the 'backpackers' and adventurous hikers quickly gaining popularity town of Hsipaw.
Movie tip: The Road to Mandalay, a tragic love drama
The Road to Mandalay, a tragic love drama, will be released in Dutch cinemas on July 26.
The discovery of a long-lost king
In 2013 there was a news report that the remains of Udumbara, king of Ayutthaya, had been found in Myanmar, who had died there in 1796. There have been many kings of Ayutthaya, but I did not know Udumbara (yet).
Burma's last king's family is annoyed by Thai soap
The family of the last king of Burma (Myanmar) is annoyed green and yellow by the Thai soap opera Plerng Phra Nang (A Lady's Flame). The soap is based on a bloody power struggle at the court of King Thibaw, the last king of Burma. The soap is broadcast at prime time on Channel 7 from Friday to Sunday.