Welcome to Sunday, Bangkok!
It’s been another busy week in Thailand: there’s been a lot of attention on a mysterious months-old death on Koh Tao, for starters, no doubt stirred by the gruesome revelation that the body was found half devoured by lizards.
Better news includes the story that the Blue and Purple lines of the MRT will finally be joined up in mid August, and the viral video of a Thai policeman calming down a knife wielding man in his station with a hug.
Let’s see what else has been entertaining and enraging Bangkok this week…
Post Contents
News
‘Suicide’ of Belgian tourist on Koh Tao is investigated
Much attention this week has been shone on the death of Elise Dallemagne, a 30 year old Belgian tourist who was found dead on Koh Tao in April of this year. Despite the death being ruled as suicide, there has been plenty of speculation from the woman’s family and other people on Koh Tao that there might be something less cut and dry at work here. Her mother was apparently told that Elise’s body was found hanging, half eaten by lizards, while another rumour has said she was wrapped in something resembling T-shirts. Koh Tao police have apparently been tasked to find more information by the Deputy Police Commander for Surat Thani.
Shocking video of farang groping, attacking woman in Rayong
A disturbing video emerged this week from Bottoms Up Bar in Ban Chang, Rayong, of a foreign man apparently groping then attacking a Thai woman outside the bar, after she slapped him in retaliation. There’s a lot of context missing here, and the identity of the man and the victim have not yet been publicised, if known.
Spotlight on the Isaan dish responsible for liver cancer cases
Koi Pla — the popular Northeastern Thai dish of raw fish, lime and spices — is under the microscope right now as doctors highlight its contribution to the number of liver cancer cases in the region. The cancer is Cholangiocarcinoma and is thought to be the cause of death for 20,000 Thais a year. It’s caused by a parasitic flatworm in the raw fish, which embeds into the bile ducts, causing inflammation and then potentially triggering the cancer. It’s thought that up to 80% of some Isaan communities are infected with the parasite.
Blogs
28 things you’ve never done in Bangkok before
Some great suggestions for what to do in Bangkok when you’ve done everything else from BK magazine this week. A couple of mundane offerings but a few goodies to sign up for too: whale watching, PTT Green in the City, VR Cafe and sand baths are just a few!
Thailand’s most beautiful trans women
If there’s one thing Thailand’s known for all over the world, it’s their impressive kathoey — also known as ladyboys — population. Here, Coconuts has rounded up 10 of the country’s most gorgeous trans women, many of them models and pageant queens. Hopefully this will help dispel the myth that many are caught up in the country’s sex industry. These 10 certainly look a long way from Nana Plaza…
Forum Threads
Can Westerners be friends with Thai guys?
An interesting discussion on Reddit that week on that most elusive phenomena: friendships between Western men and Thai men. Whereas it’s generally very easy to make friends with Thai women, it’s not so often that we come across real, meaningful friendships with Thai guys and foreigners — beyond just the superficial anyway.
Why is this? Redditors give their theories, including cultural differences, problems with status recognition and a wariness that foreign men are here to ‘steal their women’.
How to humiliate your Thai wife 101
Thaivisa have outdone themselves this week with this post. The poster, who sounds like a really great husband, tells of a game he likes to play with his wife, where he pulls up Google image searches of famous and influential people and asks her to identify them. Apparently he’s had some success with Michael Jackson, but she’s been unable to name people like Hitler, Stalin, Bush, Kim Jong Un, Einstein and others. He blames this on the Thai education system.
We think the truth lies somewhere in this reply though…
YouTube
Thailand #mobilehome #chillchill #thailand #4point0 pic.twitter.com/xxhmrN09R2
— full covfefe briefs (@handle_it_stina) June 29, 2017
I’ve been interviewing a lot of random Bangkok bar-goers for a feature story and I just thought this quote was worth sharing. pic.twitter.com/mKxCN6vrXg
— Choltanutkun (@issheonanything) June 29, 2017
Wise words from Japan. pic.twitter.com/tVPM1PA4zr
— Ian (@iamKohChang) June 30, 2017
Funny bunch those Germans pic.twitter.com/hxKEiEJksq
— Chrome Crumpet (@ChromeCrumpet) June 29, 2017
And that’s been The Week On Sukhumvit — see you next time!
Featured image is a still from ‘Ladyboys: Inside Thailand’s Third Gender’, a documentary filmed in 2014 (photo by Sandysjyoon CC BY-SA 4.0 licence)
