Thai Temple in the Sea

Wat Khun Samut Trawat in Samut Prakan Province in Thailand, is a Thai temple that has now become surrounded by the sea due to land erosion. The pictures and the information in this post are from http://www.khunsamut.com/, a website part of Paknam Web Portal.

Many of the families in Ban Khun Samut have moved their houses inland four or five times during the last two generations. In total, over one kilometre of land has been lost and a further four kilometres has been affected.

The temple is the only building that hasn't been moved yet in this community. Most of the temple buildings have been raised on stilts, including the kutis where the monks sleep. However, the only thing they could do with the chapel is to raise the floor. Because of this, you can no longer stand and look out at the view through the window. You have to sit down!

For more pictures, information, directions how to get there and many more, vist Wat Khun Samut Trawat blingual (English - Thai) website!

Paknam Web Portal

Paknam Web Portal claims to be "Thailand's Leading Web Portal". And indeed it IS.

It is the largest network of English language websites in Thailand. They have websites about every aspect of Thai culture and life, such as music, buddhism, language, tourist attractions, scouting, photography and food.

All of the websites listed in the top 10 list receive between 6,000 and 60,000 unique visitors per day. In total, Paknam Web owns about 98 domain names, but only about 45 have been developed so far.

Paknam Web is based in Samut Prakan, which is a small province just south of Bangkok. The name "paknam" means "river mouth" in Thai and is the old name for our city. We are very close to the Gulf of Thailand. Our local tourist attractions include The Erawan Museum (see picture above), The Ancient City and The Crocodile Farm. All of the websites in this network are made by teachers and students from local schools.

Information and picutre from http://www.paknamweb.com/.

Book stores in Bangkok

Information from http://www.bangkokguidebook.com/

Asia Books

- Sukhumvit (221 Sukhumvit Road, between Soi 15 & 17)
- Landmark A & Z (1st & 3rd Fl., Landmark Plaza, The Landmark Hotel)
- Times Square (2nd Fl., Times Square, opp. Robinson Dept. Store)
- Peninsula (2nd Fl., Peninsula Plaza, adjacent to the Regent Hotel)
- Emporium (3rd Fl., next to the main entrance to Emporium Dept. Store, Emporium Shoping Complex, Sukhumvit 24 Road)
- Thaniya (3rd Fl., Thaniya Plaza, next to Soi Patpong 2 , Silom Road)
- Central City Bangna (3rd Fl., Central City Plaza, Central City Bangna, Bangna-Trad Road)
- Seacon Square (2nd Fl., From The Main Atrium towards Lotus Supermarket, Seacon Square, Srinakarin Road)
- Siam Discovery Center (4th Fl., near the connecting walkway to Siam Center, Siam Discovery Center Rama 1 Road)
- Siam Paragon (walk in from Siam Square sky train station)
- World Trade Center (3rd Fl., Skydome Area, World Trade Center, Rajdamri Road)

Bookazine

- Siam Square (oposite Siam Center)
- Silom Complex (2nd floor)
- Sogo dept store (3rd floor)
- Sukhumwit Rd (between sois 3 and 5)

Kinokuniya

- Siam Paragon mall in Siam Square
- Emporium Shopping Center

Chulalongkorn University Books

- British Council building in Siam Square (second floor)

Budget Hotels in Bangkok

Prices range for a couple of hundred baht/night to 1,500 baht/night.

http://www.hisukhumvit.com/ HI Sukhumvit
Big John's Homepage Big John's Guesthouse
http://www.newjoe.de/ New Joe Guesthouse
http://www.winlongplace.com/ Win Long Place
http://www.ktguesthouse.com/ KT Guesthouse
http://www.ratchanaplace.com/ Ratchana Place
http://www.pinnaclehotels.com/ Pinnacle Hotels
http://www.madrasthailand.com/ Madras Hostel
http://www.baantarinee-thai.com/ Baan Tarinee
http://www.samran.com/main.asp Samran Place
http://www.stablelodge.com/ Stable Lodge Hotel
http://www.newsiam.net/ New Siam Guesthouse
http://www.buribandb.in.th/ Buri Bed & Breakfast
http://www.royalasialodge.com/ Royal Asia Lodge
http://www.bangkokcityinn.com/ Bangkok City Inn
http://www.theregentsilom.com/ The Regent Silom
http://www.wendyguesthouse.com/ Wendy House
Frommer's Guide renohotel@clickta.com Reno Hotel
http://www.newworldlodge.com/ New World Lodge
http://www.soi1guesthouse.com/ Soi 1 Guesthouse
http://www.newempirehotel.com/ New Empire Hotel
http://www.dropinnbangkok.com/ Drop Inn Bangkok
http://www.chinatownhotel.co.th/ China Town Hotel
http://www.jimslodge.com/aboutus.html Jim's Lodge
http://www.patumwanhouse.com/ Patumwan House
http://www.ashaguesthouse.com/ Asha Guesthouse
http://www.charliehousethailand.com/ Charlie House
http://www.bourbonstbkk.com/ Bourbon Street Hotel
http://www.bangkok-hotel.com/ Bangkok Rama Place
http://www.siamorientalgroup.com/ Siam Oriental Inn
http://www.royalasiaparadise.com/ Royal Asia Paradise
http://www.bangkoksuite.com/ Bangkok City Suite Hotel http://www.eurasiahotels.com/bangkok/ Eurasia Bangkok http://www.geocities.com/penguinhouses/ Penguin House
http://www.bangkok-guesthouse.com/ On Nut Guesthouse http://www.asiatravel.com/firsthouse/ First House Bangkok http://www.bansabaihostel.com/index.php Bansabai Hostel
http://www.khaosanroad.com/ Khao San Rd Hotels & Rooms
http://www.guesthouse-bangkok.com/ The Urban Age Hostel
http://www.bangkok-hotelpro.com/park-hotel/ The Park Hotel http://www.numberonebangkok.com/ Number One Guesthouse http://www.howardsquare.com/ Howard Square Boutique Hotel
http://www.5-rama-nine-54.com/ 5 Rama Nine 54 Guesthouse
http://www.east-thai.com/238guesthouse/ 238 Guest House
http://www.thetraininn.com/ The Train Inn @ Hua Lamphong http://www.hotelvisit.com/ntrocadero/ New Trocadero Hotel http://www.geocities.com/greenhotelthailand/ Green Hotel
http://www.bangkok.com/white-orchid-hotel/ White Orchid http://www.baankaewmansion.com/ Baan Kaew Mansion http://www.khaosanroad.com/kshouse/ KS Guest House
http://bangkok-sahara-hotel.th66.com/ Bangkok Sahara
http://www.khaosan-hotels.com/ Rambuttri Village Inn
http://www.baanhualampong.com/ Baan Hualampong
http://www.shambarabangkok.com/ Shambara Hostel
http://www.riversidebangkok.com/ Riverside Bangkok
http://www.suriwongsehotel.co.th/ Suriwongse Hotel
http://www.sawasdee-hotels.com/ Sawasdee Hotels
http://www.nasavegashotel.com/ Nasa Vegas Hotel
http://www.stayandtravel.com/ Ban Yai / Homestay
http://www.bestbkk.com/ The Best Bangkok House
http://www.kritthaimansion.com/ Krit Thai Mansion
http://www.discovery-lodge.com/ Discovery Lodge
http://www.malaysiahotelbkk.com/ Malaysia Hotel
http://www.thaicozyhouse.com/ Thai Cozy House
http://www.premierinnbangkok.com/ Premier Inn
http://www.stardomegroup.com/ Star Dome Inn
http://www.fortunabangkok.com/ Fortuna Hotel
http://www.nanaplaza-inn.com/ Nana Plaza Inn
http://www.manohrahotel.com/ Manohra Hotel
http://www.woodlandsinn.org/ Woodlands Inn
http://www.bangkok.com/thaihotel/ Thai Hotel
HI Thailand Hostels HI Thailand Youth Hostels
http://www.pjwatergate.com/ PJ Watergate
http://www.silomcityinn.com/ Silom City Inn
http://www.hoteldemoc.com/ Hotel De' Moc
http://www.samslodge.com/ Sam's Lodge
Muang Phol Mansion Muang Phol Mansion
http://www.dynastyinn.com/ Dynasty Inn
The Bed & Breakfast The Bed & Breakfast
http://www.nanahotel.co.th/ Nana Hotel
http://www.bhimaninn.com/ Bhiman Inn
Sawadee.com The Residence Rajtaevee
http://www.suk11.com/ Suk 11 Hostel
http://theleefamilythai.com/ Lee Place
AW Group Travel Agency Business Inn
http://www.aoneinn.com/ A One Inn
http://www.leelainn.com/ Leela Inn
Bangkok Tonight Town Lodge Hotel
Woraburi.com Woraburi Sukhumvit
http://www.lkninn.com/ L.K.N. Inn
Hotel Thailand Royal Pacific Hotel
c/o Travelfish.org White Lodge
Sawadee.com Trang Hotel
HotelVisit.com Rex Hotel

Links from Dave's ESL Cafe Forums .

Back to Hell

Having recently finished reading “Welcome to Hell – One man’s fight inside the Bangkok Hilton" by Colin Martin, I decided to write a short presentation on Thailand Blogs too. You can read it here!

Find out more about this topic here:

- The Real Bangkok Hilton - BBC article

- Bangkwang - Wikipedia article

- Save a Life - Foreign prisoner support service

- Thai Prison Life - Gor's story

- Department of Corrections, Thailand - official website

How rich am I?

WHY ARE WE DOING IT?
We are obsessed with wealth. But we gauge how rich we are by looking upwards at those who have more than us. This makes us feel poor. We wanted to do something which would help people understand, in real terms, where they stand globally. And make us realise that in fact most of us (who are able to view this web page) are in the privileged minority. We want people to feel rich. And give some of their extra money to a worthwhile charity.

HOW DO WE CALCULATE IT?
The Global Rich List calculations are based on figures from the World Bank Development Research Group. To calculate the most accurate position for each individual we assume that the world's total population is 6 billion (according to the 2003 world population Data Sheet of the Population Reference Bureau) and the average worldwide annual income is $5,000 (according to Steven Mosher, president of the population research institute, CNN, October 13, 1999).

WHO'S BEHIND THIS?
Poke are a creative company based in London. Our aim is to inspire people through interactive media.We built this site because we wanted to challenge people's perception of their personal wealth. And while we're at it hopefully raise some money for a good cause.

My Rich List Position


DID YOU KNOW?
Three decades ago, the people in well-to-do countries were 30 times better off than those in countries where the poorest 20 percent of the world's people live. By 1998, this gap had widened to 82 times.

The above info is from Global Rich List! Click on the link, write you annual income, and find out Your Rich List Position.

Bangkok Fight Club

It's not a fight club like the one in the motion picture Fight Club (what a great movie!) but a place in Bangkok where those who are into martial arts can train Muay Thai kick boxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, MMA , International Boxing and Self Defense.

BFC was formed in 2001 by Alex Berezovik and Todd Barlow as an informal training group. At the time the club had only 6 members. Numbers has steadily grown to the fairly large group of followers and today 17 different nationalities are represented at the Bangkok Fight Club.

In December 2002 BFC got it’s very own training facility in the downtown Bangkok right in the middle of Asok road (Petchburi MRT station or Asok BTS station).

In January 2003 BFC got it’s trade mark dog logo.

Since August 2003 BFC is proud to be affiliated with Cesar Gracie's "Gracie Fighter Jiu-Jitsu" to become the first ever Jui-Jitsu school in Thailand to carry the Gracie's name and Gracie's logo.

Members of BFC were invited to teach the course of close range combat and ground fighting to the personnel of the Brinks Security (Thailand) one of the major security services providers in Thailand.

In March and April 2004 BFC instructors were also teaching a course of Brazilain Jiu-Jitsu and Self defense to the members of the Royal Bangkok Sports Club.

BFC was the very first martial art school ever to introduce and to showcase the art of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu and Mixed martial arts to the Thai TV audience. Since December 2002 BFC appeared in several popular programs on Thai TV.

The above information was taken from: http://www.bangkokfightclub.com/. Click on this link for schedules, fees and exact location. The website in in English, Thai and Japanese.

Gor's Thailand Life

On my way back home from the bank I stopped at Central Ladprao. Here I bough some magazines from B2B and Thailand Life by Panrit "Gor" Daoruang (2007) from The Book Club bookstore. At the time I was in the bookshop, they had a 10% discount for all books, so Thailand Life cost me 356 baht. I'm really looking forward to reading it. You can read more about Gor on http://www.thailandlife.com/. His prison life is documented on http://www.thaiprisonlife.com/. If you want to buy the book online, then click here.

I'm going to start it as soon as I finish Forget You Had a Daughter by Sandra Gregory (2002), another book about life in prison in Thailand.

Follow my example and help those behind bars: Books and letter to Gor .

Aikido movement in Thailand

In 2504 (we are in year 2550 now!) Aikido has arrived Thailand by Tamura Shihan, an aikido teacher of the Asia University , Tokyo. He sent graduated students holding black belt rank to teach aikido at the College of Physical Education (The National Stadium). We have consistently obtained about technical support from the Aikido World Headquarters, Tokyo.

1962 – 1968
Teaching aikido mainly outside class at the College of Physical Education .

1968
Moving to Budokan dojo ,Yaowarat, Samyod Crime Suppression Division Thai Police, Dolwittaya school, and Engineering Faculty of Chulalongkorn University.

27 May 1968
Demonstration Aikido at the Amporn Garden.

1970
Founding Renbukan, patronized by Kawasaki Thailand , on the 4 th floor building opposite the general post office, Bangrak, Bangkok .

10 Jun 1975
Asking for permission to establish Aikido Association of Thailand leading by Mr.Prapant Chittaputta as the head of the group.

5 Aug 1975
Registering for setting Aikido Association of Thailand and since then Aikido being popular among soldiers, polices, and students.

1 Jan 1982
Moving dojo to Y.W.C.A., Sathorn Road, Bangkok; having Aikido club throughout Bangkok such as Cadet Academy, Royal Thai Navy Academy , Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy, Kasetsart University, Wat Leap branch Metropolitan Electricity Authority, Thai-Japan Youth Center and so on.

3 Jan 1982
Praticing aikido at the first day of Aikido Club, Thai-Japan Youth Center and in that year at Chiang Mai University , Wachirawuth School ( Songkla Province ), Ubolrachathani Military camp.

3 Apr 1982
His Majesty the King visiting Thai-Japan Youth Center on the day of Grand opening.

9 Jun 1988
Registering for relocation the association to 893 Pattanakarn Rd. , Klongton, Suan Luang. (Fukakusa Shihan has taught since 1964; now occupies a post of the president of Aikido Association of Thailand and Mr.Prapant Chittaputta is a secretary-general of the association)

1 Jan 1996
Ending dojo of association at Y.W.C.A. because of the building demolished; then temporarily moving dojo to Thai-Japan Youth Center for 3 years ( 1 Jan 1996 – 26 Nov 1998 )

26 Nov 1998
Relocating the Aikido Association of Thailand on 2nd floor , 1521/3 Sukhumvit Rd. , (between Soi 67 and 69) North Phrakanong, Klong Toey, Bangkok 10110 and setting up Renbukan dojo be practicing center of membership till present.

Source: http://www.thaiaikikai.com/ (Aikido Association of Thailand)

Aikido in Thailand

After quite a long break, of about two months, I went back to the aikido dojo.

There are two placers where I have trained until now. One of them is at Thai-Japan Youth Center (aka Thai-Ippun Gym - website is in Thai only!) in Din Daeng area, near the Ministry of Labour. Here the yearly registration fee is 40 baht (yes, that's right, just 1 USD!), and foreigners need to show a valid passport and two small sized photos (one for the membership card, and the other for the application form). The form is bilingual, Thai - English, but the card will be in Thai only, as they have only a typewriter with Thai script.

The Japanese government sponsored the building of Thai-Japan Youth Center on the occasion of 200 years of Rattanakosin (1982). His Majesty the King of Thailand was present at the opening ceremony.

Rembukan, the other dojo, is the headquarters of the Aikido Association of Thailand. For a timetables and additional fees (and two other dojos), check out http://www.thaiaikikai.com/.

I'll write more about aikido in Thailand in a different post!

Acc Track Asia Cup 2007 Round 2

Books and letter to Gor

As I promised in my post Overwhelmed, I mobilised myself and sent the books and letter to Gor. Panrit "Gor" Daoruang is Thailand's most famous teenager. He writes at Thailand Life about his life growing up in Thailand.

Read at Thai Prison Life what life is like for a man behing bars. Helping Foreign Prisoners is quite easy. If you want to involve yourself even more, read Foreigner Support.

The package for Gor was about 3 kg, and it cost only 150 baht to send by EMS to this address.

Here is the list of books, that according to the lady from the post office, will reach Samut Prakan Prison in 3 days. When will Gor get them, I don't know. But I'll wait for his reply patiently.

1. Max Ehrlich, “The Edict”
2. Bryce Courtenay, “The Power of One”
3. Alistair Mars, “Unbroken”
4. H.G. Wells, “The Island of Doctor Moreau”
5. John Fowles, “A Maggot” (first 58 pages missing)
6. Harold Robbins, “Stiletto”
7. Harold Robbins, “The Piranhas”
8. William Trevor, “Mrs Eckdorf in O’Neill’s Hotel”
9. Peter Matthiessen, “At Play in the Fields of the lord”
10. John Wyndham, “The Kraken Wakes”
11. John Wyndham, “The Midwich Cuckoos”
12. James Stephens, “Desire and Other Stories”
13. Thich Naht Hanh, “Anger” – non-fiction

All you need to do is care!

Do you call this promotion?

- According to Technorati this blog ranks 1,372,336, with an authority of 4. All I can see is a long way ahead! Teacher in Thailand has a better rank and authority.

- This blog is also mentioned in ThaiWeb: Thailand and Thai stuff websites!, under Expat Blogs.

- You can also have a look at my laptop here, courtesy of Computer Desktop.

Thailand weather

Do you what to know the weather forecast for different cities in Thailand? Then visit Thailand Weather, a portal to other links about Thailand. The site is now part of my Websites about Thailand post.

Websites about Thailand

Aikido Association of Thailand - Aikido in Thailand

Bangkok Fight Club - Self Defense, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai, Mixed Martial Arts.

Circle of Asia - Travel information about Thailand and other SE Asian countries.

Chiang Mai & Chiang Rai - Thailand travel and tourism guide.

Paknam Web Portal - Promoting Thai Life and Culture to the World

Thailand Grand Festival - Dates of festivals and cultural events.

Thailand Weather - Weather forecast in different cities around Thailand.

Wat Khun Samut Trawat - Temple in the sea from Samut Prakan.

Sport commentators

I am not fluent in Thai, I cannot read nor write Thai. But I have been living in Thailand for long enough to be able to absorb enough Thai language so that I understand quite a lot from what people say. I agree that the language spoken on the streets is easier to comprehend than the Thai spoken on TV, but sport commentary does not require the use of extensive language, and apart from specific vocabulary that a sport commentator should possess it’s quite basic.

I admit that I’m not a big fan of football, so I don’t watch football on TV, and thus I cannot make any remarks about the commentators! But, I am a martial arts fan and I watch with interest any martial arts competition or event that I come across on Thai cable TV.

This Saturday I watched again, the Breaking Division of US Open World NASK Martial Arts Tournament (1999, if I'm not mistaken). While the participant put on a great show, braking up to 12 slabs of concrete in one go, or 415 wood boards in just 1 minute, the Thai commentator was such a nuisance.

Not only that he spoke over the English commentary, but all he could do was laugh at those sportsman who didn’t break all the boards and continuously make that annoying sound the Thais do when someone does something special: “OOOOOOOOhhhhhhhhhhhooooooooo, mmmhhhhhhhhhhhmmmm, oooooooooooooooiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!!!!!!”

Traffic report for July

According to Google Analytics (the IPs of the two computers I use to update the blog had been excluded with Filter Manager):

1. Site Usage

- Unique Visitors: 261
- Visits: 473
- Pageviews: 803
- Pages/Visit: 1.70
- Avg. Time on Site: 00:09:42
- Bounce Rate: 73.57%
- New Visits: 54.12%

2. Map Overlay

- Thailand: 187
- USA: 88
- Canada: 29
- Singapore: 26
- Romania: 23
- Sweden: 21
- UK: 17
- Australia: 13
- Malaysia: 7
- Spain: 6

3. Sources

- Direct Traffic: 250 (52.85%)
- Referring Sites: 139 (29.39%)
- Search Engines: 84 (17.76%)

I know it’s not much, but I almost spend no time at all promoting the blog! Similar traffic received Teacher in Thailand too.

Rain

These pictures were taken on a rainy day in July in Chonburi province, about 60 kilometers from Bangkok.

July coincides with the rainy season.

Unfortunately, Thailand doesn't have the greatest drainage systems in the world!

Actually, in some places it is quite nonexistent!

Chicken pox... trip to hospital

I meant to keep the promise I made to myself and start doing whatever I can do to help the foreign prisoners in Thailand, but something urgent interfered with my well intended plans.

My wife called on her way back from work and said that she might have chicken pox! So, when I came back from school, we went to a nearby private hospital. I’ve been here before (my wife too), and I have put down two stories that are worth my blog, but I couldn’t find the time to type them (it’s always the same excuse, but it so happens to be true too!).

We took the motorbike to the hospital, parked in the parking lot behind the hospital, went to the front desk, answered some questions and then we were showed to an area where there were a few patients waiting. The nurses took my wife’s pulse, temperature, weight and something else and then they asked us to wait. After about 15 minutes I kind of lost my patience especially that this was a private hospital. But wife calmed me down and said that other people arrived before us first, so I should sit quietly and wait. Ok, fair enough. But, after another 15 minutes, my wife was the one who said, “If they won’t call my name next, I’ll go and talk to them!” And guess what? It was HER name they called next.

The doctor, a bespectacled middle-aged man in his 50s, voiced our fears. She had the chicken pox virus. The doctor prescribed my wife some expensive medicine that the insurance company would not cover unless my wife spent at least 6 hours in the hospital! When she told the doctor about this problem, he asked her if she’d rather spend a night in. He said that would be better for her (I wondered if he meant financially or physically).

Bottom line, my wife decided to stay in the hospital until tomorrow morning. Anyway, she must stay at home for 7 days. Now, you see, that’s a problem. I have never had any contagious childhood illness, so I am also prone to catching the virus. And I don’t want that. So, I was happy that she decided to stay in the hospital, but she wasn’t happy to find out that I won’t spend my night with her!

She was brought in a nearby saloon, where a nurse drew some blood and set an IV dripping into her vein. Another nurse came with the hospital’s offer, and asked us to choose the room my wanted to spend the night in. We went for the 2900 baht/night VIP room. The insurance covers up to 3000 baht/night.

Up on the 7th floor, some nurses helped my wife change into the green striped hospital pajama, and informed us that the canteen was closed so they wouldn’t be able to bring any food for my wife for the night. So much for the VIP treatment! I went out to but some food from a nearby street restaurant, came back to the hospital, looked at my wife eating, went to the 1st floor to buy some pastries from an empty bakery, returned back to my wife’s room, and after we had a pie together, I went home and did some blogging.

Overwhelmed

Last night I finished “Welcome to Hell” by Colin Martin. When I turned the last page of the book I felt overwhelmed by the injustice that was done to this man. He served 8 years in 2 Thai prisons, one from Chonburi and the other from Bangkok, where he witness to things no man should have seen (beatings, humiliations, rapes, the degradation of human beings, etc). He was tortured by the police, beaten by the guards and other prisoners, and was refused medical treatment by the doctors. He lived in unimaginable conditions, and had to pay for all his toiletries, food, and all other items of personal use. He had to bribe guards and prison captains to be allowed to play in the prison football team or to practice Muay Thai.

He was convicted to more than 13 years in prison after a trail that can only be described as a joke. The prosecutor’s main witness died during the trial, but his statement was accepted by the judge, the body of the man Martin had allegedly murdered was never found, the knife he allegedly used to kill the victim (in self defense, after he had been attacked by the bodyguard of a man who stole from him 460.000 USD!) was never presented to the judge (just a photocopy of a rusted knife). He was refused his right to appear in front of the judge in a suit, and was obliged to wear prisoner’s clothes and chains around his legs, his lawyers constantly asked for money to bribe the judges and huge commissions for themselves! The Thai police also asked for money he could not pay! His Thai wife stole the money his family sent to pay the bail, and when he was finally free, she literally sold their son to him.

But Martin was strong. He fought and fought until, after 8 years incarcerated in one of the most dangerous prisons on Earth, in January 2005, he was set free and with the help of his friends, retuned to England to start anew. His sentenced was reduced after the Supreme Court of Justice from Thailand admitted that the prosecutor had a questionable evidence, but still the Supreme Court THOUGHT that he killed a man, although the COULDN’T PROVE anything!

It is a book that changed me profoundly. More about this soon.

Link to us

If you have a blog about Thailand, then check if you're on my Life in Thailand Blogroll. If you're not listed there, then leave a comment with all the necessary details and I'll have your blog on the blogroll asap.

If you write a blog about your teaching life in Thailand and you are not listed in my Thai EduBlogroll, then leave a comment. The same holds true for teachers who blog from other countries. Check out my International EduBlogroll, and drop me a line if you're interested.

If you would like to do a link exchange, then, again, leave a comment.

Life in Thailand Blogroll

The list of blogs below was complied using the comprehensive Thailand Blogroll created at Thailand Voice (blogs which are part of Paknam Web's mandate to promote Thailand to the world).

Travel blogs:

A Farang in Thailand - The adventures of an American on holiday in Thailand.

Alan - Chiang Mai travel news, reviews, hotels and travel guide. A place to see what's on in Chiang Mai as well as encouraging thoughts and debate about current affairs in Chiang Mai. Also a place to come if you looking to travel to Chiang Mai for the first time.

Alex goes to Thailand - Alex goes to Thailand is a blog written by Alex Porter about his trip to Thailand in May 2007. Read about his travels starting with jungles, caves and elephants in the North by Chiang Mai, continuing with beautiful tropical ocean beaches including Patong, Phuket, Ko Phi Phi, and Krabi and wrapping up with two nights in vibrant Bangkok.

Bus Goldberg - Essays on natural history and nature tourism in the tropics, travel commentary and anecdotes. Featured destinations are Thailand and Costa Rica.

JOTAZINE - Healthy and safe travel in Southeast Asia; travel equipment; good places to visit, stay, and eat.

Living in Bangkok - Where to do & see? What to eat? This blog provides selected information for friends who love Bangkok.

Moving to Bangkok - Read about my progress on moving from the United States to Bangkok, Thailand.

Life in Thailand:

4amExpat.com - Blog from a local farang about life in Bangkok.

A Daugther of Thailand - A memoir awaiting publication. The true and inspiring story of a young Thai girl's life away from home.

A Product of Silence - Bangkok boy's recollections on life and everything else in between.

A Thai Teenager's Life - Starting from the age of 12, Gor has been blogging openly and honestly for ten years about his troubled teenage life. A newspaper columnist, a monk, a father, a drug addict and now a prisoner at the age of 21, Gor has done and seen it all.

Absolutely Bangkok - The Portal for the Bangkok Connoisseur.

Alex Har - Reveries about life and situations in Bangkok where things go up and down but keep flowing.

Andrew Biggs - Weblog for Andrew Biggs, who is the most famous and easily recognized "farang" in Thailand.

Aventures d'un metis - A day in the life of a half-breed (luk-krung).

Bangkok Dazed - Don Gilliland's Bangkok weblog.

Bangkok Diaries - The diaries of a South African expat living in Bangkok, Thailand.

Bangkok Expat Mama - Cheap pad thai and expensive Pull-ups: An American woman's experiences while rearing her kids in Thailand.

Bangkok Mom - A mom in Bangkok.

Bangkok Parlour - The richness, shades and tones of modern-day Bangkok, as seen the prejudiced but gently prying eyes of a 28-year-old occidental outsider.

Bangkokker - Rants, travel, culture, life abroad, Thailand, Southeast Asia, and other antics of an expat living in Bangkok.

Bitslice's Web Log - A Thai guy from Bangkok who is training to be an airline pilot.

BumbleBoTuna - A Thai guy in his early twenties from Bangkok.

Chris Parker - The life blog of an ex-pat living in Thailand, starting a family and now living back in the UK.

Chris' Islands of Corn - Adventures in Bangkok and beyond.

Irish Expat returned from Thailand - After spending 6 years working as an Expat in Thailand I have recently returned to Ireland. Follow the trials and tribulations of leaving Thailand and adapting to life back in Ireland.

Joel's Journey - The journals of a New Yorker living in Bangkok and travelling the region.

Journals of Rabbit - The matter for thoughts of life, travel, culture and pleasure.

Laurie: Lost in Translation - Laurie lives in Bangkok and writes for the Bangkok Recorder.

Letters from Thailand - The random musings, bitchings and shallow & meaningless observations of an English diva living her second life in Bangkok.

Life Out East - Trying to make it in Asia. From the UK to Thailand. Travelling, writing, playing and moaning, and living life out east.

Living in Thailand - Notes from a retired Canadian programmer living in Thailand.

Village Life is Southern Thailand - Thai Village life: a woman marooned in a rural Thai village.

Maxasia - Farang' insights into his day to day life in Thailand.

Blogs in French about Thailand:

Blog de Beton - That blog is in French but there are pictures. I post in English from time to time and comments are welcome in any language of course.

Laurent -Another blog about Thailand? Yes but in French! A sweet and spicy Thailand. Un blog en francais.

Thai culture:

artThailand - artThailand is a leading dealer in Thai contemporary art. We put the world of Thai art within reach, as it deserves to be. Our blog is about much more than Thai art. We talk about many aspects of Thai lifestyle, culture and society. We also provide travel reviews across Thailand.

Bangkok Jungle - The music scene in Bangkok.

Expatgirl's South-Thai Blog - Exploring cultural diversity in southern Thailand.

Thai language:

Journey to Thai - The experiences and reflections of Scott Imig while studying the Thai language.

Thai food:

Chef Tummy - His travels in Thailand learning about the food and language.

Writers in Thailand:

Christopher G. Moore - A prolific writer in Bangkok.

Gary James - Leeds author and frequent visitor to Thailand, Gary James, brings his unique and legendary brand of comic observations to the web.

Photographic blogs from Thailand:

Gregoire Glachant - A photographer roaming the streets of Bangkok.

Making like Cain - Thailand and world travel photographic blog, with witty musings and observations.

News, opinions, politics:

2Bangkok - Daily news and views from Bangkok and beyond. You will find summaries of the local Thai newspapers and pictures of the latest engineering projects in the Kingdon.

Baan Jochim Phuket - News and opinion from Southern Thailand.

Bangkok Events - Get all the news and headlines with our RSS service. Get the news in a personal touch and know the true Thai News.

Bangkok Pundit - A blog about Thailand with a focus on Thai politics and the problems in Southern Thailand.