Wat Tuptimdaeng – A Suburban Forest Monastery In this day and age when some Buddhist temples even need to build stunning Disney style attractions and elaborate Viharns to wow tourists as well as the faithful, it’s really refreshing to come across a temple that rejects all that in favour of simplicity and strict adherence to … Read more
The Buffalo That Roared: Carabao’s Forty-Year Reign Over Thai Music This is about of one of Thailand’s most unlikely and fascinating success stories of both music and business, with one man in particular, Yuenyong Opakul, the driving force that made it all happened. Three Students in Manila Started It All Every great story needs an … Read more
The House Where Seven Went Seeking Shadows Somewhere on Bangkok’s western fringe, past the highway overpasses and industrial warehouses of Thawi Watthana district, stands a two-story house that nobody quite agrees should still be standing. From the outside it looks unremarkable; peeling paint, shattered windows, a garden surrendered to weeds. But locals will tell you … Read more
The Ghost Kingdom Beneath Thailand’s Feet: Inside the Lost Dvaravati Civilization. If you tell most visitors to Thailand that they’re walking through the ruins of a forgotten civilization, they’ll probably think you’re talking about Ayutthaya or Sukhothai. Those are the postcard cities. But there’s something older sitting beneath their feet that barely anyone talks about, … Read more
When Elephants Rest: The Three Graveyard Stories of Thailand The idea of an elephant graveyard has fascinated people for centuries. It’s one of those myths that refuses to die, a mystical place where aging elephants wander off to die alone, mysteriously gathering their bones in a secret clearing. It sounds like something out of a … Read more
It’s Win Win For Bangkok’s Motorcycle Taxis If you’ve spent any time in Bangkok, you’ve seen them. Orange-vested riders wedged between lanes of stopped traffic, threading through gaps that don’t look wide enough for a bicycle, let alone a motorcycle with a passenger clinging on side-saddle. Known as “Win”(วิน), the riders pull onto footpaths when … Read more
Dragons on the River: Why Thailand’s Nan Boat Races Are Pure High-Velocity Chaos If you think boat racing is a peaceful pastime involving polo shirts and soft polite clapping, Northern Thailand’s Nan River would like a word. Every autumn, the quiet town of Nan hosts the Nan Longboat Racing Festival, a wildly energetic, high-octane river … Read more
Puey Ungphakorn: The Man Who Never Needed to Be Important There are some people whose lives sound almost unbelievable when you list the things they did. Puey Ungphakorn was a teacher, economist, British Army officer, secret agent, prisoner, Governor of the Bank of Thailand, university rector and political exile. He was awarded an MBE by … Read more
Thailand’s Ancient Civilization: More Than 5,000 Years of History “A Thai civilization more than 5,000 years old, yet overshadowed by 800–900 years of imagination surrounding Angkor Wat.” Ban Chiang Archaeological Site When talking about one of the greatest archaeological sites in Southeast Asia, Ban Chiang in Udon Thani Province undoubtedly stands among the region’s most … Read more
The Eye of Naga: Thailand’s Giant Serpent Rock That Went Viral Here’s something I sadly didn’t see in my travels around Thailand. Many years ago I visited a national park in what was then Nong Khai province, but unknowingly missed seeing something really unusual of major interest. There’s a rock in Thailand that looks like … Read more