Thailand is something of a meat-laden obstacle course for vegetarians and vegans — vegetable dishes are flavoured with meat, vats of pork broth bring meaty savouriness to otherwise vegetarian noodles, and everything is salted with a lashing of fish sauce. You’ve got to know your enemy to defeat it. Here in the kingdom “vegetarian eating” … read the full post

I love reading about a place that I am travelling through, and all-the-better if the book makes me squirm with horrible recognition: This is how we count the days. June: the Germans come to the islands — football cleats, big T-shirts, thick tongues — speaking like spitting. July: the Italians, the French, the British, the … read the full post

Bangkok is one of the best cities in the world for street food (I would argue the best, but proof is not actually in the pudding as the pudding quality is unfortunately subjective). There are noodles and rice and fish and pork and, uh that green looking thing and that mushroom that looks like a … read the full post

In 1951, the West was introduced to a fictional version of Siam (Thailand’s name until 1939) through the mega-success of the Rogers and Hammerstein musical The King and I. Based on the 1944 Magaret Landon novel Anna and the King of Siam, the story follows Anna, an English teacher from London, as she makes her … read the full post

Thailand is easy to put on a postcard. Find some palm trees in front of the Andaman sea, or an elephant holding a mango, or a bunch of smiling eight-year old novices in orange robes and you can go to press. Trying to understand what those kids are smiling about requires a bit more searching. … read the full post