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You are browsing the archives of 2008 March.

In the last week or so, Chiang Mai and the north of Thailand have been experiencing the usual hazy weather they get at this time of the year. The haze and smog in Chiang Mai is nowhere near as bad as it was last year, but it is still enough of a problem for the [...]

It’s official; Thai people are getting fatter. I’d long since suspected it, but my own less-than-scientific observations have been confirmed in a recent report from the Kasikorn Research Centre. This year, the number of Thai people classed as overweight is expected to increase to between 10 – 12 million, which is almost 1 in 6 [...]

The Travel and Leisure Magazine awards for 2007 confirmed Thailand’s reputation as a top-class destination. Bangkok was voted the 3rd best city in the world to visit and the Thai capital’s hotels also featured heavily amongst the best in their respective categories. Phuket was voted as 8th best island in the world whilst Thai Airways [...]

There’s an expression that many expats use to sum up the bizarre, outrageous and confusing things that can happen in Thailand; T.I.T. (This is Thailand).
You’re driving along a busy main road at night and although the traffic light is on green, traffic has halted. The reason for the delay? An elephant is being escorted across [...]

A Swedish tourist was stabbed to death yesterday on a quiet beach in Phuket. Initial Thai police investigations suggest that the woman may have been followed from the grounds of the hotel where she was staying.
Any murder is alarming, but the fact that this appeared to have happened in broad daylight makes it doubly [...]

Bangkok’s international airport (code = BKK) is known as Suvarnabhumi (pronounced Su-wan-na-poom) and is located to the east of Thailand’s capital city. The airport opened in 2006 and the terminal building hosts international and domestic flights. Suvarnabhumi replaced Bangkok’s Don Muang airport (code = DMK) which no longer has international flights but does run some [...]

Kreng jai (also written as krengjai) is a distinctly Thai trait that can bewilder visitors to Thailand. So what is kreng jai? The direct translation is often given as ‘awe heart‘ or ‘deferential heart‘ and it is usually interpreted as consideration, but that is too simplistic because kreng jai is also a feeling. Kreng jai [...]