First Thai Gold Medal

Good to see Thailand on the board with a Gold from Ms. Prapawadee in weight lifting. Her mom passed out during the competition.. hope she's ok.

Bangkok Dangerous - the remake

In theaters soon the Nicolas Cage movie Bangkok Dangerous, the remake of the 1999 movie Bangkok Dangerous.

From IMDB:

Both this version and the 1999 version of Bangkok Dangerous were directed by Oxide Pang Chun and Danny Pang. Jason Richman has joined the original writers with this screenplay. This new version is in English; the 1999 version was in Thai. There are also rumored to be some major changes in the storyline and characters.

The picture was shooting during the 19th September Coup d'etat. Nonetheless, filming only stopped for six hours. The Armoury department claim they fired the only shots in the coup.

Thai Town gets funding

Recent article about how Thai Town was granted $250,000 in Preserve America grants, along with another $250,000 in other public and private matching funds.

"...Thai Town, which runs along Hollywood Boulevard from Normandie to Western avenues, is home to about 46 Thai business, including silk shops, massage parlors, bookstores and restaurants. About 10,000 Thais live in the neighborhood, Martorell said, representing about one-fifth of the Thai community in Southern California."

For a fairly decent movie on the subject, checkout Province 77.

Goverment Shake up over Temple issue

I just saw this email that has been floating around on the whole Cambodian World Heritage, temple issue. The fallout is quite drastic as Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama became the third top official in the ruling People Power Party (PPP) forced out of office in less than 48 hours. More..

This email show a large Thai kingdom of yesteryear, slowly eroded by kings who gave away pieces in order to remain and independent country.
In one of many frames you can see the area given away, and the king who was in power at the time. This one depicts loosing the Lao and Cambodian regions.

The last frame depicts the current loss of land, that has led to this latest step down by the Foreign Minister.

How to avoid Google in Thai Language

Are you sick of Google showing you what they think you want to see just cause you are in Thailand? Here's a quick fix to get the non-regional results Google would give if it didn't try to guess where you are.

Instead of just doing your search at google.com, enter this instead:

http://www.google.com/ncr

This little trick will get you seeing the results the rest of the world sees, and not results Google thinks you want to see cause you are in Thailand. You can also make is your start page.


Update: Take this example. Do a search for "water buffalo" at google.co.th (link) and at google.com/ncr (link). You'll notice totally different results. Keep this in mind when you query Google for a term. There is a difference between Thai results and no region results.

How far has Thai retailing come in 20 years?

In just two decades, retailing in Thailand has evolved from a traditional model to the global model seen today.

The first 7-Eleven opened in 1989 in Bangkok's Patpong area, and the format proved a huge success. There are more than 4,400 locations in Thailand currently. The Japanese chain Family Mart came to Thailand in 1993. Tesco Lotus's Lotus Express also operates in this segment.

Take a trip thru the last 20 years of Thai retailing with this article.

True WiFi hotspots for free?

This could be some great news for Bangkokians.

The BMA will give away 500,000 free WiFi cards to the public at more than 50 travel centres and leading department stores. The sites, to be available free for a year, require access cards.

Anyone seen these cards yet? More..

UPDATE: Yeah too good to be true. Finding one of these free cards is next to impossible. The speeds, availability, and hoops necessary to jump thru make this pretty much a joke.

Hilarious Thai ad for celling tiles.

Another in a long line of great Thai adverts. (Thanks to: thecatat7)

Girls on the streets of Bangkok flickr set

One of the nicest bits of Bangkok eye candy, are undoubtedly the girls on the streets. Have a look at this flickr set.

Thai Language in GTA4

The second word heard in the new all time best selling game (Grand Theft Auto IV), is the Thai word 'alaiwah' or "what the hell". It is uttered by what seems to be a Thai dominatrix whipping a guy on the boat that Niko Bellic arrives on. Cool.

Top 100 Blogs of Thailand

Whatismatt compiled the first decent list of the top 100 English blogs in Thailand. A nice idea, and good way to find out who's saying what, where. It's only based on people who click on the list, but the fact that it is compiled, is a great start.

Thai's giving Americans real estate advice.

Fun post by an American tourist writer discussing real estate with a Thai business man in Phuket:

"...what's really wrong with the US is that we have no honor. Actually, that's not how he puts it. He says in Thailand the financial and legal consequences of defaulting would be secondary. A defaulting borrower would suffer a serious loss of face and incur negative religious points, or karma. Some real estate investors are still "making merit"--performing redemptive religious acts--for losses following the 1997 crash."

Songkran 2008 videos

A few Songkran 2008 videos that give you a pretty good idea of what it was like, if you were not able to make it:


Khao San Road:





Chaing Mai (?):





Pattaya:





Girls Dancing in Traffic:

Get ready for food inflation

Some stats from a recent article on a growing rice shortage.

• 33% Rise since January in price paid by Philippines for rice from Vietnam
• 3 billion People worldwide who rely on rice as a staple food
• 40% Rise in rice price in Thailand this year
• 19.2% Rise in consumer prices in Vietnam last month, against March 2007
• 8.4% Rise in food prices in the Philippines last month, compared with March 2007
• 854 million Number of people worldwide who are “food insecure”
• 1 billion People globally who survive on less than $1 a day, defined as “absolute poverty”

Is this a joke: "Burma warns of terrorist acts during Water Festival"

The Nation in their wisdom posted this story:

Rangoon - Burma's junta warned of increased terrorist acts during the upcoming Water Festival and the national referendum, claiming two "terrorists" had been arrested last month, state media reports said Saturday.

Burma warning of terrorist attacks, really? The government who used deadly force to beat down monks is giving out terror advice? Really? The Junta who keeps people suppressed is not having problems with terrorism? Really?

"Ministry of Culture Bans People Named Porn"

BANGKOK - The Ministry of Culture announced today that it would impose a new ban on people named Porn, citing the name’s corrosive effect on Thai society and the damage it causes to the kingdom’s reputation abroad.

Ha ha ha.

If NotTheNation keeps this up, they could soon join the ranks of The Onion.

Thaiand Blog Watch - Yahoo Pipes Widget

Farang bum on Sukumvit

Some pics posted of the "Looking for work" farang street person. Check him out under the Asoke BTS. Guess there is a first for everything.

Copy Ferrari made inThailand

Thailand is credited with this copied P4:

The Ferrari P4 - of which only three were made, in 1967 - was made in a back street factory in Thailand and is powered by a Subaru engine. more

Suan Lum Night Bazar to morph into world tallest budilding?

I think Bangkok will miss the place if it leaves. It's a nice place for after hours shopping and enjoying some music. It's done well, and it will be a shame to loose it.

Any tenants who refuse to leave the hugely popular night market next to Lumpini Park could face "seizure, arrest or imprisonment," said the agency in an advertisement notice printed in several Thai-language newspapers. link