Category Archives: Thailand
Never far from home
The global spread of American culture is well documented, and there is little novelty these days in seeing the familiar logos of Coke, Pepsi, McDonald’s or Starbucks overseas. (Although 7-Eleven’s omnipresence in Thailand is something to behold.) But half a … Continue reading
Top five Southeast Asian accommodations
Here are our top five favorite places we stayed in Southeast Asia, in chronological order: Old Town Guest House, Melaka, Malaysia 45 ringgit (US$13.61)/night Basic, but clean, this popular guest house was run by a young family out of their … Continue reading
Thailand by the numbers
Days spent in the country: 38 Tuk tuk rides: 13 Street elephant sightings: 3 Water guns purchased: 2 Motorcycle taxi rides: 4 each Islands visited: 3 National parks visited: 2 Mangoes consumed: Too many to count
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Isaan brings the bacon
Attention meat lovers: Come to Isaan. We’d been a bit disappointed with the pork in Thailand so far. Usually, we’d get a lean cut that had been sliced thinly and cooked on high heat in a wok. That left us … Continue reading
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An unexpected detour
“Hey, want to go to a real Thai party?” We turned to see an Australian guy running up to meet us. Behind him, the loud, colorful procession we’d seen coming down the street inched by. “My cousin is becoming a … Continue reading
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The Bangkok dilemma
Our original plan had us returning to Bangkok before continuing on to Cambodia. Unfortunately, while we were in Laos and Isaan, the Red Shirt protests in Bangkok started heating up. We’d encountered the protests on our first visit to Bangkok, … Continue reading
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An afternoon with pachyderms
The elephant is one of the emblematic symbols of Thailand. You see it on temples and monuments, beer labels and street signs, and an endless array of souvenir carvings, clothing and tablecloths. Few of these giants still live in the … Continue reading
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Soaked in Surin
Ah, Songkran. We’d heard that a big part of the Thai New Year celebration involved water fights in the streets. As we made our way through Isaan, we’d started to see groups of children stationed curbside ready to throw buckets … Continue reading
Ice-cold beer
Beer is popular in Thailand. The domestic brands Singha, Chang and, to a lesser extent, Leo are readily available everywhere — in cans, bottles (big and small) and on draft. What struck us Westerners as odd, however, was the custom … Continue reading
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Have you seen this woman?
WANTED: American tourist seen regularly squirting water at Thai children. Weapon of choice is a colorful Chinese-made water pistol. The suspect has at times been seen using two such guns at once. She was last seen boarding a bus toward … Continue reading
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