Happy Sunday, Bangkok!
It’s been a tense week of waiting with all the world’s eyes on Thailand after the football team were finally found in Tham Luang cave complex — and now the difficult work of getting them out of the cave begins. One diver has tragically died in the rescue effort — hopefully his death will be the only one.
Phuket has also seen tragedy this week after a tourist boat sank in stormy waters. The death toll currently stands at 41.
In lighter Thailand-related news, however, British comedian David Walliams received this charming note from a Thai fan:
A fan letter from a lady in Thailand who likes me because I am in her words ‘quite fat’- pic.twitter.com/6H1BokMu11
— David Walliams (@davidwalliams) July 5, 2018
Let’s see what else has been entertaining and enraging Bangkok this week…
Post Contents
News
Cave rescue latest: boys learning how to swim and dive
Monday evening came the incredible news that the 12 boys and soccer coach trapped in Tham Luang Nang Non cave in Chiang Rai had been found by some expert English cave divers. Of course, now comes the challenge of actually getting them out — especially hard when the boys are weak swimmers and the cave terrain, current and water levels demand technical diving skills.
Currently, the boys are being taught to swim and dive, practicing with dive masks, but the authorities are busy trying to locate alternative, less risky routes to extract the boys from the cave. They are being supplied with food and medicines — vital considering their weakened state.
Jealous wife cuts off husband’s penis after affairs
A harrowing tale from Sri Racha this week where a jealous wife cut off her husband’s penis after growing frustrated with his affairs. The wife, a 24-year old from Cambodia, at first refused to tell the attending emergency services where she’d stowed the severed penis — and by the time she did, it was too late for it to be reattached. The husband is recovering in hospital while the wife has naturally been arrested.
Hell hath no fury…
Medical marijuana launching in Thailand April 2019
Next April will see the availability of medical marijuana in Thailand, it was announced this week.
This follows a wide variety of international studies, as well as studies conducted inside the Kingdom, that found marijuana to be useful in treating children’s epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, and side effects like nausea and appetite loss for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.
Blogs
If you moan about Thai people, maybe the problem rests with you
If you scroll down through any of the Thailand expat forums (*cough* Thaivisa *cough*), you’ll see a whole load of rants about Thai people — from girlfriends, wives and in-laws, to service persons, people walking in front of you and just about anyone. For many expats, moaning about Thais qualifies as a hobby.
But we’re inclined to agree with the author of this blog — the problem doesn’t actually rest with the Thai people, but rather the individual moaner and their own response to the people around them. Now, don’t get us wrong, we’re inclined to moan whenever we perceive something as annoying or simply not up to our standards. Is that the Thai subject’s fault though? No, of course not — it’s our fault for bringing across our Western values and expectations to Thailand, and assuming that everyone else will abide by them as well.
We’re all responsible for our own emotions, reactions and state of mind. If you can’t manage yourself, that’s not the fault of the Thai person pissing you off — it’s yours.
A Yorkshireman explores Bangkok
A very well written travel blog here on one man’s trip to Bangkok — the last being back in 1999, the changes in the city are almost monumental. There’s nothing particularly mind blowing or even new in this nevertheless insightful post, but this Yorkshireman really manages to capture the frenetic excitement of Bangkok as seen through a tourist’s eyes.
Forum Threads
Are Thai people racist towards Indians?
An interesting thread on Reddit here about an oft-discussed issue: are Thai people racist towards Indians?
While it’s a widely accepted phenomenon that groups of Indian men are sometimes refused entry to certain clubs and bars in the Sukhumvit area, many of the Western expats who believe that Thai-Indian racism is alive and well tend to forget that there is a very large and well-settled Indian population in the city who have assimilated very well.
There are lots of differing viewpoints in this thread, but the major piece of advice for the original (Indian) poster seems to be that he won’t have much trouble so long as he’s polite, well groomed and not cheap — good advice for any tourist, regardless of nationality.
YouTube
A former SEAL diver who was helping in #ThamLuang has died due to losing consciousness. He started his dive last night at around 8:30pm. Diving partners tried to resuscitate him. He was declared dead at 1am. Source: FB Wassana Nanuam #13ชีวิตรอดแล้ว #ถ้ำหลวง #Thailand pic.twitter.com/hQU6Q9RKAv
— Richard Barrow in Thailand (@RichardBarrow) July 6, 2018
and one cartoon that is going to make Thai people feel good pic.twitter.com/iwSfIAVFCN
— stephff cartoonist (@stephffart) July 4, 2018
According to Facebook, I took this photo 11 years ago on Silom. Don’t see this anymore. pic.twitter.com/gMKBVmXt36
— Greg (@BkkGreg) July 5, 2018
Do Thais simply have a far greater tolerance of noise than farangs do? The supermarket MC, skytrain ads, notification sounds, those gaily colored buses. Does the total peace and quiet that so many of us crave unnerve and unsettle them? Or do they hate the noise pollution too
— Phil / Ajarn.com (@Ajarncom) July 4, 2018
The world has just found its most inspiring and courageous football team [in Thailand].
Cartoon by @chrisroytaylor #ThamLuang #13ชีวิตรอดแล้ว #ถ้ำหลวง #Thailand #WorldCup #FIFA #WorldCup2018 #WorldCupRussia2018 pic.twitter.com/hpwIkKk1PK
— Richard Barrow in Thailand (@RichardBarrow) July 4, 2018
Bangkok is Hell pic.twitter.com/caWFN0tBIG
— 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘮𝘢𝘯 (@NeilShelley) July 4, 2018
Assholes of the day on Sukhumvit soi 20. “Gee, let’s drive on the wrong side of the road for 300 metres because I can’t wait to turn right. What could possibly go wrong?” Oncoming traffic and no where for you to go, you morons. Thanks for the gridlock! Grrrrrrrrrr. pic.twitter.com/s28ltOD2kU
— Big Dan (@ExpatDanBKK) July 4, 2018
Heading to @NanaPlazasoi4 tonight to subtly suggest that I am a British cave diver.
— Somchai the Dog (@bkksomchai) July 3, 2018
And that’s been The Week On Sukhumvit — see you next time!
