Thailand
Let Go of Dirty Asia
August 19, 2010 by Melinda Skea
Outside of the dusty smog roundabouts are some of the most pristine forests, breathtaking vistas, blue waters and exotic colors--and a few animals--you'll ever find.
Let go of the Europe, and step into a grittier, cheaper, heavenly place. I’ve had a lot of discussions with Americans about traveling over the years, and I always chuckle at how well we, as a society, have been indoctrinated. I’m not sure where the love of Italy and London come from or at what exact age the propaganda starts… but Americans are OBSESSED with them.
Now, I will admit that yes, the first place I wanted to go on my own dime was Italy (and I did.) I ate up all the propaganda…and a lot of gelato along the way. But since then I’ve branched out, and boy oh boy am I glad I did.
Where else could I get an hour massage for $6 (and at roughly 9,000 rupiah to a USD, how can you not get at least one a day)? Or–sorry copyright lovers– a [fake] Louis Vutton carry-on bag for $15? Or buy a black pearl necklace/earrings/bracelet set for $30? Or hire a guy to drive…
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Thailand: History, Culture and Economy
July 31, 2010 by Victoria Levy
Thailand (pronounced /ˈtaɪlænd/ TYE-land or /ˈtaɪlənd/; Thai: ราชอาณาจักรไทย Ratcha Anachak Thai, IPA: [râːtɕʰa ʔaːnaːtɕɑ̀k tʰɑj](formerly Siam Thai: สยาม) is an independent country that lies in the heart of Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and the southern extremity of Burma. Its maritime boundaries include Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand to the southeast and Indonesia and India in the Andaman Sea to the southwest.
The country is a kingdom, a constitutional monarchy with King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the ninth king of the House of Chakri, who has reigned since 1946, making him the world’s longest-serving current head of state and the longest-reigning monarch in Thai history. The king is officially titled Head of State, the Head of the Armed Forces, an Upholder of the Buddhist religion, and the Defender of all Faiths.
The largest city in Thailand is Bangkok, the capital, which is also the country’s center of political, commercial, industrial and cultural activities.
Thailand is the world’s 50th largest country in terms of total area (slightly smaller than Yemen and slightly larger than Spain), with a surface area of approximately 513,000 km2 (198,000 sq mi), and the 21st most-populous country, with approximately 64 million people. About 75% of the population is ethnically Thai,…
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RIP Saigon Digital Marketing Conference: How not to Market in Asia IV
May 30, 2010 by David Everitt-Carlson
We hardly knew ye – A little over a year ago I wrote a post called, “A Tale of Many Marketing Conferences in Vietnam”and this year there is at least one less, The Saigon Digital Marketing Conference, or SDM. And unfortunately, that’s not a surprise. I had laid out the warning signs well before the actual event, starting with the idea that they had nicked the entire concept from a worldwide series of conferences called ad:tech and ending with the idea that if they didn’t pay speakers, they would get rubbish for content. And so that has come to pass. 
In a conversation recently with one of the still standing Saigon digerati he summed it up like this: “They went belly up. They spent too much money, charged too much money, not enough interesting content and nobody behind it seemed to know anything about digital.”And wow, a year before, I had said this:1) Concept (1 star) – Nicking a business model from the US and just sticking it in Vietnam is not a concept”. And the organizers weren’t even from Vietnam – Singapore it seems.
But I had outlined three other key points to organizers…
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Facebook and Faux Friendship
May 25, 2010 by Christopher Herot
While Mark Zuckerberg waits for the latest Facebook privacy controversy to pass, it may be worth considering the larger issues of why so many of us find social networking services to be useful.
Recently, a friend passed on an article by former Yale Professor William Deresiewicz on Faux Friendship which decried the way he saw people replacing real interactions with real friends with simulacra of his friends – “little dehydrated packets of images and information, no more my friends than a set of baseball cards is the New York Mets.” While I loved his metaphor of the “loneliness of our electronic caves” where we rearrange the “tokens of connection like a lonely child playing with dolls” I found myself thinking he should just go out and visit some of his friends instead of brooding about it.
My colleague and friend (in real life as well as Facebook) Steve Patterson had a good retort:
Most of the time I use social media to keep
track of social media. I have been updated daily for at least 6 months by Bob
Metcalf’s internet connected bathroom scale that he has not lost weight and is
Photo of the Week – Ao Nang, Thailand
May 20, 2010 by Sherry Ott
Paddle Through – Ao Nang, Thailand
While traveling solo in Ao Nang, I decided to take a kayak trip and was treated to an adventure of caves and monkeys…and a few bats. I loved the small town of Ao Nang, a little beachy tourist community that I would have loved to spend a few extra days or weeks in.
If you want to view more Photography this Friday, then check out the Briefcase to Backpack Photo Friday
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A Heartbreaking Email from Bangkok
May 19, 2010 by Gayle Keck
Just two months ago, I was in Bangkok, zipping around on the Skytrain – often passing through the Siam area or headed for the Siam Paragon mall (“The Pride of Bangkok,” its website proclaims) to shop, see a movie or graze at the street food court. The area is modern Thailand at its most vibrant, packed with hip young people, loads of restaurants and shopping, shopping, shopping.
Or I should say, WAS.
It’s almost impossible for me to imagine, but the entire area is being destroyed in the political struggle that has been going on since before I left in March. The protest started out peacefully, and on several occasions it looked like a resolution had been reached – but things have turned chaotic and ugly.
My friend, Dao, who lives in Bangkok sent me this heartbreaking email today. So far, news about Bangkok’s strife has been a mere footnote in the media.…
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A Floating Feast in Thailand
March 17, 2010 by Gayle Keck
Thailand’s original road system was a complex series of canals, flowing into rivers like Bangkok’s Chao Praya and the nearby Mae Klong. You can experience life on the water by traveling just over an hour outside of Bangkok to sample all sorts of tasty treats served up canal-side from the floating “kitchens” of traditional Thai boats.
Skip the early morning floating markets that have become a tourist cliché and head for the small town of Amphawa, where Thais themselves go to buy seafood and sample the local cuisine.
The Friday-Saturday-Sunday markets here run from noon to 8:30 pm, with nearly 200 boats gathered along a canal lined with old houses.
I lunched on noodle soup, after watching it cooked to order quayside, complete with sliced pork, fishball, tofu and toppings of spring onions and cilantro – all for…
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Thyagaraja in Thailand
February 27, 2010 by Kiran Vaka
It was a deeply moving experience for many as Indian expatriates came together to organise the first-ever Thyagaraja Aradhana in Bangkok…
Perhaps it’s the spirit of Thyagaraja Swami that “looks East” now after having set exotic regions of the world awash in Carnatica.
The Pros and Cons of Working Abroad
January 13, 2010 by Marianne McPhee
I’ve worked abroad a few times. Just like most people who do it, I seek labour to help me fund the rest of my traveling – hostels, food, drink, transport, and everything else in between. It can add up to be a pretty big bill.
I’ve taught English, handed out flyers on the street and sold promotion packages. Soon (fingers crossed…) I’ll either be employed in a bar, or on a farm.
To work, officially, you need a work visa. But there are PLENTY of places who will overlook this small detail. In fact, of the three jobs abroad I have held up until now, only one required any proof that I was legally eligible to work. One. The others? They’ve decided to take the calculated risk, which of course means that you do too.
Thailand
My Thai working visa was organised through a company called CIEE – the people who also found my teaching placement. I paid them a fee (which I found to be very reasonable) which covered all the costs of my visa, plus a great deal more, and it took away the headache of going through all the paperwork myself. Not bad. Because CIEE…
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South Africa one of top-10 countries to live in, say British expats
November 25, 2009 by Nic Haralambous
Who’d have thunk it right?
I know, I was fairly taken aback reading this too. Those of us who choose to live here know why we do (or can’t leave for whatever reason) but many of us can recognise the great reasons that keep us here. I didn’t think that many other countries shared our views what with all the terrible media coverage we get abroad.
But we beat out France and the USA in an HSBC poll recently. Here is the top ten list:
1. Canada
2. Australia
3. Thailand
4. Singapore
5. Bahrain
6. South Africa
7. France
8. USA
9. Spain
10. Hong Kong
Nice. Nifty. Moving on.
source.
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