That’s a mighty sobering video of the burning of Central World, Asia’s second largest shopping complex. Especially interesting is the cheering of the red shirts as Central World burns at 2:35 into the video, applauding no doubt the hundreds, maybe thousands of jobs lost at the center to middle and lower middle class workers who […]
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Bangkok Profiles: the Irrepressible Dave the Rave, Bangkok’s nightlife guru
Spend enough time in Bangkok’s nightspots, and you’re sure to run into Dave the Rave. Living in Bangkok since 1988, Dave is a former Muay Thai boxer who fell in love with the country, eventually began managing bars, and now hosts a popular Bangkok nightlife entertainment website, now one of the most visited in Thailand. […]
Read the rest of this entry »Are red shirts winning the Bangkok propaganda battle in international media? Where’s the critical analysis?
Watching the international media coverage on CNN and BBC, it’s apparent that the redshirt side is winning the propaganda battle. As we reported several weeks ago, protesters fall into four main camps: Thaksin and his supporters, Radical Leftists (including Maoists), the country poor, and soldiers who have crossed over into the pro-Thaksin camp, looking to achieve […]
Read the rest of this entry »Possible origin of “starfish” sexual performance by some Thai women is under investigation
The term “starfish” is used by many western men in Thailand to refer to women who are completely unenthusiastic during sexual activity. This practice, in which women throw open their arms and legs, and turn their faces away from their partners while passively allowing them to finish the sexual act, provides the starfish metaphor, and the word […]
Read the rest of this entry »Military clashes with redshirts at Bangkok’s Sukhumvit Soi Nana intersection as bomb explodes
Early Friday morning at approximately 3 am, UDD red shirts, beginning near the BTS Nana skytrain station, began an attempt to take over Sukhumvit-Ploenchit Road, thereby extending the protest area now bounded by the BTS Chitlom station to the north. They were rebuffed by the Thai military and chased out of the area, which included […]
Read the rest of this entry »Grilled buffalo penis Thai delicacy has westerners scratching heads, animal rights groups on the warpath, and Chinese visitors asking for more
Thai animal rights groups are up in arms over the proliferation of hot spiced buffalo penis snacks on the outdoor grills located in Bangkok’s adult entertainment zones. Rot kan cart owners generally agree that Khun Mot’s grill just outside of Nana Plaza on Sukhumvit Soi 4 was the first to offer this delicacy, which is […]
Read the rest of this entry »Backstreet Bangkok: the family factories of Oven Street
Have you ever wondered where that woman who sells those delicious fried beetles and grubs bought her cart? Or who makes those beautiful mortars and pestles that we all see being used to make tasty plates of som tam(Papaya salad)? Well neither had I until I moved to Kluai Nam Thai, a neighborhood near Phra […]
Read the rest of this entry »Loi Krathong Festival in Chiang Mai, where lighted lanterns fly skyward
Every November on the evening of the full moon, a spectacle of lights can be seen in the skies of Thailand. Like oversized fire flies, thousands of paper lanterns (cohm) slowly fly over every town and city in the country. Below, the rivers are aglow with small Krathong boats made from bamboo, banana leafs, and […]
Read the rest of this entry »Shoplifting scam at Bangkok’s airport nabs unsuspecting tourists
Allegations of an elaborate and expensive extortion scam operating out of Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport have shaken Western visitors. England’s Sunday Times reports that in this scam, visitors are allegedly accused by airport shop owners of shoplifting, are arrested, detained, and “encouraged” to pay a hefty bribe to be released, which can amount to $13,000 USD. […]
Read the rest of this entry »Update on the UDD red shirt hospital raid: Is Thailand now ready for martial law?
With UDD redshirts commandeering military trains, setting up checkpoints on expressways, and conducting armed searches in hospitals, people are beginning to ask if a state of anarchy can be far behind? And if it is, will full martial law be the only effective way to stop it. This past week, United Front for Democracy (UDD) […]
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