Sunday again, Bangkok! Another week older…
These past 7 days have seen the dawning of a new era in Thailand as Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn became King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun. Foreign dignitaries have sent their congratulations to Thailand and her new King in the past few days.
Other news includes how tourist visa fees have been waived by the government across all nationalities through to the end of high season. Time to get yourself over to Penang pronto…
Here’s the best of the rest from this week’s news, blogs and social media updates.
News
Thailand’s greatest love story could have been cut short by heart attack sex fears
Former porn star Nong Nat has confessed that she once considered divorcing her western husband Harold after worrying their their coitus may induce in him a heart attack.
The well publicised relationship — Harold happens to be an aging millionaire — was also confirmed by Nong Nat to have survived a few of her “other men” at the start of their marriage, although everything is running smoothly now.
Plenty of backlash for American YouTuber My Mate Nate
Last week saw the emergence of a controversial video from YouTuber My Mate Nate who — in an apparent bid to reform Thailand’s education system (surely not just to generate clicks for his YouTube channel) — filmed various Thai students as he spoke nonsense questions to them in English and waited for their confused replies, before sticking it online.
We’re not sure whether asking a group of male students, “Are you on your period?” with a big grin on your face is a particularly good measure of a country’s English proficiency, truth be told. Surely such a linguist as Nate realises that context is everything when it comes to language.
Needless to say, netizens have voiced their immense displeasure at the video.
Words without borders: Thailand edition
Those interested in Thai literature but who don’t quite have the linguistic ability to read it in the original should take a look at this online series of English translations of work by Thai authors. Literature available spans the genres of poetry, fiction, interviews and non-fiction writing. Fascinating stuff for lit nerds.
Blogs
Chatuchak home to million dollar tropical fish collection
We’re all probably very familiar with the sprawl of Chatuchak market, but did you know that there’s a tucked away section devoted entirely to fish — from the common or garden bagged varieties to some expensive man-made hybrids and other such rarities.
This Atlas Obscura blog details where to find the fish as well as their position in Thai culture and history. Interesting specimen include the platinum Gar (pure white in colour thanks to a rare mutation) and the beautiful Red Dragonfish that can sell for over $20k and is shaded with scales of Shanghai red.
This Lampang man is the future of Thailand
The Tan Your Mind blog features an interview with Lampang-based Win, the owner of a Western-Thai fusion burger shop in the city. This is an interesting origin story of a Thai entrepreneur and how he is one of many artisans in Thailand making their mark on the world.
An Australian and an American fly to Bangkok for a blind date…
This is the story of how a Sydney-based journalist flew to Bangkok to go on a four day blind date with a woman from Miami, as arranged by ‘travel dating website’ MissTravel.com. Sounds a little mental and, quite frankly, reads like it — but is very entertaining nonetheless.
Proving that a holiday is really only as good as your companion for the trip, it sounds like our hero had a bit of an awkward time in Bangkok…
Forum Threads
Is the Thailand expat community happy?
A Redditor wades into the crocodiles’ den by asking if expats in Thailand are generally happy with their lot. As a few people point out, it depends who you ask — it’s easy to judge the vitriol spewing from the depths of various expat forums when most happy expats are doing their own thing without making a song and dance about it on the internet.
And, as one commenter points out:
The eternal mysteries of Thailand
An amusing thread from Thaivisa here as members discuss what things continually serve to surprise them in Siam. Mysteries include:
- Why western men continue to buy houses in their wives’ names
- Why there are so many ladyboys
- Why hard drinking expats are still alive into their late 70s
YouTube
Have an 18 month old miniature Yorkie bitch, free to a good home. #Bangkok pic.twitter.com/A7DKo5NThN
— Steve Gell (@steviegell) December 1, 2016
Just when Thailand is pissing you off a swarm of bats glide past your balcony
— Glenn (@_GlennCollier) November 29, 2016
Bizarre pet trend for gophers at JJ Park #bangkok #chatuchak #market. In Canada we kill them as pests. pic.twitter.com/jLkyaMgmXa
— Jim Algie (@jim_algie) November 27, 2016
And that’s been The Week On Sukhumvit — see you next time!
