Category: The Siamese Puzzle Box
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The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Temple: Wat Baan Den
Wat Baan Den is the Electric Cool-Aid Acid Temple of Thailand.
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Confessions of an International Thai Pillow Dealer
This blog post is about my personal journey into the world of Thai pillows. I write about how I first got started buying Thai pillows and becoming an international Thai pillow dealer. I wrote an extensive tutorial about Thai pillows where I discuss their history, where they’re made, who makes them, quality, fabrics, kapok and…
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The Siamese Enigma of Uneven Floors
Trip. Stub your toe. Almost fall, as you place your foot where you think the floor is (or should be) but isn’t. The culprit is the all too common uneven floor in Thailand . At first you’ll think the uneven floor is an anomaly. An architectural faux pas. But they’re far too common throughout The…
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Boobs, Siam & You
This post was updated on Nov. 26, 2018 Boobs, Buddha and Thailand. Let’s discuss. Thailand Is Boobland…right??? A casual observer of Thai society could easily think that the country has a laissez-faire attitude about how women dress in public. Boobs are pretty harmless in the Land of Smiles, right? After all, as soon as you…
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Jim Thompson: The Thai Silk King
This post was updated on Nov. 11, 2018. Jim Thompson & Thai Silk Jim Thompson is rightly considered the father of the contemporary Thai silk industry (post 1950). He is often referred to as the King of Thai silk. He disappeared mysteriously in 1967 in the jungles of Malaysia and was never heard from again.…
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Is There a Doctor in the House?
The bad news is that while on vacation in Thailand, you need medical treatment. The good news is that at least you’re in Thailand. The above statement certainly holds true in big and medium-sized cities. Thailand has modern hospitals and competent doctors who speak very good English. You may well die on the way to…
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Elephants!
The only thing more revered in The Kingdom than elephants is The King himself. Elephant icons are often plentiful at the altar of most statues of Lord Buddha. They have their own shrines where people kneel and pray. A long deceased war elephant even has it’s own stupa in Lamphun for worship! Elephants bring luck. Elephants repel…
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Death in Buddha Land
There are these small temples (wats) that dot the rural landscape of Thailand-especially in the North. From a distance, these little wats look almost identical to their bigger counterparts which are often nearby. The difference, from a distance, is that the “little” wats have a long, tall chimney that protrudes into the sky. The “little”…
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The Old Dog and the Wat
I attended a Buddhist Lent ceremony at a very old, important Wat in Lamphun Province years ago. My father-in-law was still alive, but very old and in poor health. With great effort, he came to the ceremony. He was an important person in the community and a benefactor of the Wat. His attendance gave the…
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Kao Jai Mai? Understand?
Don’t visit The Kingdom without knowing just a little bit of Thai.
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Thai Temple Manners
Going to Thailand without visiting a Thai Wat is like going to Yosemite and not seeing Half Dome.
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About This Blog: My Thai Life
Welcome to my cultural blog about Thailand. You should always know something about the captain before boarding the ship. So let me introduce myself. I never gave the country of Thailand a second thought until I was 42. Then one day, I was introduced to my soon-to-be Thai wife and my American life took an…