How is it Sunday already? The weeks are flying by although we’re still not seeing as much of that promised rainy season as we’d like…
It’s been a tough week in the Thailand news sphere this week.
Most tragically, 17 Chiang Rai schoolgirls were killed by a fire in their dormitory at school. Later in the week, a speedboat accident in Koh Samui took the lives of three foreigners — one British man is still unaccounted for.
Also taking the international news desks by storm was the man who found a python attached to the end of his penis after taking a 30-minute sojourn to the toilet. Yikes.
Let’s see what else has been lighting up the news, views, social media and YouTube channels this week…
News
Lonely Thai elephant dies in Tokyo
This is the sad story of 69-year old Hanako, a present from Thailand to Japan back in 1949, who has never seen another elephant since her installation in the Inokashira Park Zoo at age two. She died this week at the zoo, despite the plight of many campaigners who wanted to see her transferred to a Thai sanctuary.
Koh Samui speedboat accident sees 3 dead and 1 still missing
A tragic accident off the coast of Koh Samui earlier this week saw a speedboat, carrying 32 tourists, capsize in turbulent waters, leading to three deaths – one Brit, one German and one Hong Kong Chinese. A British man, named as James Robert Parnell, was still missing at the time of writing.
Bangkok chef Gaggan Anand coming to Netflix
Owner of Gaggan, Gaggan Anand was featured in the Netflix series Chef’s Table, the second series of which debuted this week. He is featured on episode 6, in an in-depth look at how he progressed from a life of poverty in India to the owner and executive chef of Asia’s best restaurant.
Blogs
The art of tipping a Thai tradesman
This is a look at the curiously British custom of tipping tradespeople – slipping them a ‘bung’, as it were – and how, even in Thailand, it will always ensure that good service keeps on coming. As always, the comments on this article add another entertaining dimension!
Stop with the pretentious hostel reviews!
Hotel reviews are notoriously dry and seldom interesting but this one manages to perfectly capture our feelings towards those who take the time to post unnecessarily negative accommodation reviews. Obviously, it’s one thing if you’re paying a lot and expecting a high standard of hotel. If it doesn’t meet those expectations, then complain away. But if you’ve booked a ฿590 baht bunk bed with a shared bathroom in a hostel next to Don Mueang airport, and that hostel simply delivers everything it said it would, you don’t really have a leg to stand on.
The author describes these reviewers as ‘pretentious hipster assholes’. We couldn’t possibly comment.
Forum Threads
Is my Thai hooker scamming me?
This Reddit thread treads familiar territory: the poster, a wealthy Western man, turns to a Thai prostitute he meets in his home city due to a disinclination towards Western women (too materialistic, apparently. More so than a prostitute selling her wares abroad? We digress). They fall in love and now he wants to know, is he being scammed? Responses are generally considered and helpful, although all ultimately warn the poster to tread carefully.
Remembering your first girlfriend
This Thaivisa thread is a surprisingly sweet reminiscence on first girlfriends. Do you remember yours and does she make your heart still flutter? Sure, there’s a few jibes in here about western women and, somehow, gay guys, but otherwise it’s a pleasant jaunt down memory lane.
YouTube
My taxi has no brakes and is using his handbrake to stop the car, whilst watching a movie in the dash board #Bangkok pic.twitter.com/DRbmdKQaU9
— Glenn (@_GlennCollier) May 26, 2016
It really bugs me that banks in #Thailand charge an annual fee for debit cards. I’m paying them for them to make interest on my money.
— Signore Sammy (@signoresammybkk) May 22, 2016
Some real Bangkok noodle shop noir #Bangkok #thailand pic.twitter.com/80yeqRY1l1
— Jim Algie (@jim_algie) May 25, 2016
That’s been The Week On Sukhumvit – see you next time!
Featured image is by Heiko S and is used under a Creative Commons licence (modified)
