The Mystery Of The James Bond Car Stunt – Solved? James Bond in Thailand Thailand has always held a special place in James Bond history. Its tropical islands, crowded Bangkok streets, canals and busy markets provided the exotic background for several 007 adventures, from “The Man with the Golden Gun” in 1974 to “Tomorrow Never … Read more
Mae Posop: Thailand’s Rice Mother and the Cat That Brings Rain Rice is much more than food in Thailand. It is breakfast, lunch and dinner, a symbol of prosperity, and the reason generations of farmers have watched the sky with nervous expressions during the planting season. It is also believed to have a spirit. Her … Read more
The Cloth That Shimmers Like Moonlight — Lamphun’s Pha Yok Dok, Worn by a Princess If someone tells you Lamphun has cloth woven with silver, you might imagine something stiff, heavy and impossible to wear. The truth is more subtle, and in some ways more impressive. Deep in Lamphun, the former capital of the Hariphunchai … Read more
(Unknown Thailand — Story No. 100) Unknown Sukhothai: King Lithai, the Crystal Chakram, And The Sky That Fought for Him This story begins with King Lithai, a spinning disc of light, and a 14th‑century battlefield in Sukhothai. The year is sometime in the mid‑1300s. The place is the Sukhothai region, in what is now northern … Read more
The Women Who Built Phuket If you walk down Thalang Road in old Phuket Town today, you’ll see beautiful Sino‑Portuguese shophouses glowing in the sun — pastel yellows, soft blues, deep reds, with intricate archways and carved wooden shutters. Cafés, bookshops, boutiques, and restaurants spill out onto the pavements. It’s lovely, peaceful, and full of … Read more
The Traditional Thai Ritual of Appeasing the “Phi Rong” Spirit What Is the Phi Rong Spirit Ceremony in Thailand? Across Thailand, traditional beliefs have long shaped local customs, family life, and community routines. Before modern medicine became common, many communities explained unexpected sickness, bad luck, or repeated problems in a house through a spiritual lens. … Read more
Princess of Khok Phanom Di: The Woman Buried Under 121,000 Shell Beads On a quiet mound in central Thailand, archaeologists uncovered one of the most dazzling prehistoric burials ever found in Southeast Asia. Beneath layers of earth at Khok Phanom Di, a woman lay wrapped in garments stitched with more than 121,000 tiny shell beads, … Read more
The Great Franco‑Siamese Land Swap: How Borders Were Traded Like Property And Made the Thailand We Know Now It sounds like a high‑stakes real estate deal, or a colonial‑era board game — but it really happened. There were no epic battles, no glorious last stands, just pen, paper, and three treaties across 14 years. However … Read more
Beetle Gladiators of Northern Thailand If you’re wandering through the villages of northern Thailand between September and November, you might spot something delightfully odd. Groups of kids and grown‑ups huddled in a circle, leaning in intently, cheering softly but not watching a ball game, not a boxing match, but two beetles. Locked horns. Pushing. Shoving. … Read more
King Mongkut: The Extraordinary Monk And Monarch If you’ve ever seen The King and I, you probably have a vague and incorrect picture of King Mongkut, Rama IV, the eccentric, stern, slightly out‑of‑touch monarch of 1860s Siam. Nothing could be further from the truth. In reality, he was one of the most extraordinary, forward‑thinking rulers … Read more