Sunday, Sunday…
Another raucous week in the Land of Smiles — we’ve had Miss Universe contestants arriving from all over the world, a chill in the air with the tip of Doi Inthanon plummeting to -1°C and a classic #ThailandOnly road situation featuring a pick-up truck attempting to carry cargo roughly double its size:
God loves a trier.
Let’s see what else has been entertaining and enraging Bangkok this week…
Post Contents
News
This is the good news that the 6-month ban on tourists entering Maya Bay on Koh Phi Phi has seemingly lead to an increase in the number of sharks residing in the area.
Marine park officials have spotted over 60 blacktip sharks in the area surrounding Maya Bay, and some had been seen swimming just 2 metres from the beach.
Worapot Lomlim, chief of National Parks in Krabi province, described the sightings as a wonder that hadn’t been seen in decades. He believes the tourist ban has had a direct impact on the issue as the lack of people in the bay have encouraged such creatures to return to their original habitat.
Sukhumvit BTS extension opening 6 December
The extension to the BTS Sukhumvit Line (officially known as BTS Green Line) is due to open on 6 December, promising to bring an extra 60,000 people aboard during the first year, and 100,000 during 2020.
The extension covers an additional 9 stations, extending from Samrong to Kheha in Samut Prakan. While folks residing in these parts will doubtless be grateful for their new direct line into central Bangkok, others are more concerned that this will lead to yet more overcrowding and congestion on the already packed trains.
A few more carriages alongside the new horde of passengers would have been nice…
‘Six pack monk’ wanted by Office of National Buddhism
An unidentified monk came under fire this week after photos of him working out topless, in his monk’s robes, with an impressive six pack, were published to social media to some acclaim.
The Office of National Buddhism have ordered an investigation into the photos, deeming them inappropriate and have asked the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society stop their distribution.
The investigation could find the photos to be in violation of the Sangha Act of 1962– if indeed they are of a ‘real’ monk. The photos do not show the man’s face.
Blogs
Why do some expats hate their home countries?
An interesting blog post on Life In A New Country on that most curious phenomenon: expats who hate their own countries.
The author hits the nail on the head in the first few paragraphs when he says that whether or not you hate your home country or not is probably predicated on the reason that you moved abroad in the first place.
If you’re fleeing a bad situation — whether that’s a bad marriage or relationship, debt, persecution, the list goes on — you’re probably not feeling too rosy about the place where this happened to you. But if you moved abroad to see the world in search of new opportunities, it’s much likelier you’re still on good terms with life ‘back home’.
And we have to agree with the author about the irony of the expats who say that they never want to return home but then can’t stop talking about their homeland to anybody that’ll listen. It always seems to be the Americans…
Why Ari is the best Bangkok neighbourhood
A fun little article here by a travel blogger about why she loves spending time in Ari compared to other Bangkok neighbourhoods. And while we can’t quite agree with her assertion (we’re pretty much married to Sukhumvit at this point), she’s right that it is a great neighbourhood that does seem to fly under the radar for tourists, despite being a hotspot for locals and expats.
Some good restaurant and street food picks in here as well that even more seasoned Bangkokians might benefit from.
Forum Threads
How do Thais negotiate with each other?
A long Reddit thread here on how and why Thais negotiate with each other, and why it’s definitely not only Westerners haggling with vendors at the market. As one respondent notes, in the 15 years he’s known his Thai wife, he has never known her pay full price for anything.
Now that’s impressive.
Included in the discussion is the average percentage of a discount, for what items it’s worth negotiating over (i.e. not over cooked meals) and ultimately, why it’s worth learning Thai to accrue the most financial benefit at the market!
Why I’m in love with Thai women
An amusing and nonsensical Reddit thread here on how and why one man has fallen in love with a Thai women he met in Patong (cue: alarm bells) that he can only communicate with by using Google Translate.
Worth reading for the comments alone.
Amen
YouTube
Me shopping at any store in Thailand. pic.twitter.com/dvg1QNEL3N
— Greg (@BkkGreg) November 28, 2018
So Villa has given up plastic bags. Hooray! It’s a start, Thailand… pic.twitter.com/4Xg1eYLK4N
— Big Dan (@ExpatDanBKK) November 29, 2018
My Thailand retirement plan is when I get too old to work I’ll just get caught dealing yaba or something and spend a few years in a Thai jail. Then boom, instant book deal. If I’m still alive obviously.
— Somchai the Dog (@bkksomchai) November 25, 2018
Bangkok pedestrians.
Please give way to motorcycles as you exit BTS stations. pic.twitter.com/6NoxrFyiMP— 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘮𝘢𝘯 (@NeilShelley) November 28, 2018
Price of coconut on street = 25 thb. Price of bottle of water at 7-11 = 10 thb.
Price of motasai taxi to end of soi = 20 thb.
Asking price of Sukhumvit street vendor to take pic of outdated Halloween masks, fake 💩, and plastic cockroaches = 150 thb. #Bangkok pic.twitter.com/xEYVG5SQ7k— Justin Dunne (@justindunne) November 25, 2018
Road trip. Drove up to Khao Kor this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/vBEKyG9CY3
— Ian (@iamKohChang) November 29, 2018
Apparently this is what Tesco Lotus thinks is a ‘French Baguette’.. Oh la la!! ! Look like a mishaped turd 🥖🥖 @StickboyBangkok pic.twitter.com/22zdxeCZT9
— Bangkok.eye (@krungthepeye) November 29, 2018
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Traffic Jam in Bangkok 😅การจราจรสาหัสบนถนนสาทร มหานครกรุงเทพ สู้ๆนะทุกคน 😎✌️
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And that’s been The Week On Sukhumvit — see you next time!
Featured photo by Peter Hershey on Unsplash
