One of the most common Thailand double-headers seems to be a stop in Bangkok and a visit to Chiang Mai. If you are heading to the north, you’ll run into the question of how best to make the journey from the capital. The roughly 600 km trip is pretty painless no matter how you break … read the full post

Recently a friend asked if I wanted to go watch Sunday afternoon muay Thai in a TV studio. I had visions of what that might mean, but none of them actually mirrored the words, “Sunday afternoon Muay Thai in a TV studio.” The event in fact proved to be exactly what she had described. Full … read the full post

Immediately across from the amulet market at Wat Mahathat is Siriraj Hospital and the Wang Lang market. Thousands of students from Thammasat University cross the Chao Phraya here every day for cheap housing on the Thonburi side of the river, and Siriraj is one of the largest public hospitals in Thailand. Starving students plus hungry … read the full post

Snaking throughout Bangkok are the remnants of its pre-road days: the canals. Bangkok has a huge network of them, most of which are no longer used for transportation. The canals used to be Bangkok’s preferred mode of transportation. Before pavement, the tropical rains would transform footpaths into swamps, and any draft animal and cart would … read the full post

You’ve snared your election poster I hope and now it’s time to shift from politics back to the arts … I must admit that I have been pleasantly surprised by the movie offerings in Bangkok. Yes, the mainstream cinemas mostly feature mega-blockbusters and Thai films of the horror variety, but a steady rotation of film … read the full post

Tonight Thailand is girding its loins for tomorrow’s election. The ballots are printed, the posters stand at every intersection, and starting in a few hours, Thais (as well as your resident foreign correspondent) will be barred from buying alcohol or sharing their political opinions on Twitter or Facebook. This month of campaigning has been fascinating … read the full post

In the last post we discussed what the Red Shirts want, so now we must turn to the other side of the long-running political conflict in Thailand: what do the Yellow Shirts want? Like the Red Shirts, the Yellow Shirts are not a political party but rather a political movement and an umbrella grouping for … read the full post

Folk around the world are aware that something is brewing in Thailand ahead of this weekend’s elections. They may have heard of the Red Shirts and the Yellow Shirts, though from there on out things likely get a bit hazy. The political situation in Thailand is so nuanced that just being in the country does … read the full post

The posters are hung, the rallies and protests have begun, and the alcohol restrictions have been posted: IT’S ELECTION TIME IN THAILAND! So exactly how does democracy work in the Kingdom, you might ask? It works the same way it works elsewhere: messily. Thailand has been a constitutional monarchy since 1932 with a prime minister … read the full post

For most travellers coming to Thailand, beaches are part of the allure. Scores of incredible islands and beaches wait to be explored all over the region, but a couple of spots not too far from Bangkok are perfect for those looking to get out of town for a few days. Hua Hin One of the oldest … read the full post