MangoZeen

My friend Fabo has heart of gold. This young Belgian is happiest with a Heineken in his hand and his eye on Gai, the rubenesque beauty of the Buffalo Bar. He’s loved her forever. She loves him too in her own way. A long time.

   
I like drinking with Fabo, because he doesn’t talk the usual […]

Thaksin swears that his legal hassles in Thailand won’t interfere with his purchase of Man City FC and has resorted to his time-tested tactic of whacking his attackers with a legal suit to free his frozen bank assets. He also claims the Assets examiners are harassing him and harming his good name as well as his […]

Bangkok Happiness Index has plummeted to 3.71 in comparison to 5.02 for national average. The present political unrest is causing stress, as families argue opposing views. My father would tell them. “Don’t watch the news. Never has anything good on it. That stuff makes you crazy.”

What makes a Bangkok man happy?
A bottle of Johnny Walker Black, his mia noi […]

The earliest exposure to gout came from movies showing Henry VIII hobbling about the set with his foot swathed in bandages. The disease came from rich foods. Only the very rich or obese were supposedly prone to such an ailment, although in recent years friends have limped into restaurants or parties to explain, “I have […]

When I first visited Cambodia in 1998, I arrived at Phnom Penh’s airport on a brutally sunny day. My sunglasses offered little protection against the glare. I stumbled toward the terminal seeking relief from the heat, then stopped upon seeing a small bus deboarding its young passengers. Every child dressed in their best clothes. They were […]

Morals 101 will be a new lesson for Thai teachers, as the nation’s Education Minister warned that state school teachers found in extra-marital liaisons will be severely punished by a civil service tribunal. Present penalties for transgressions of lak-lop must be ineffectual and the proposed strictures have been upgraded to permanent dismissal from the civil service and all the creature comforts […]

Civic ambition combined with corporate greed sometimes create mega-projects boogling the minds of common man.
No more so as when the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) agreed to install closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras in a major shopping hub for the supposed public safety.
Against shoplifters?

No, even worse. Shoplifting terrorists.
The Bangkok governor signed with the Ratchaprasong Square Trade Association to […]

Bad news cascades on Thailand for farangs and Thais alike; a coup, rising gas prices, visa confusion, nightclub raids, falling value of the baht, collapse of the real estate market ad nauseum. Bad luck is contagious and many farangs have jumped ship for Cambodia where the welcome mat is not so trodden as in the Land […]

On Saturday I rented a car from Charlee at Buffalo Bar for the drive north to visit my wife and daughter.

At Chonburi I decided to cut through Bangkok instead of wrapping around the megatropolis on the outer ring. The cityscape was clear under a peerless sky. Traffic was minimal. The direct route saved gas and time. […]

Thai auto dealers have confirmed that their cars and motorcycles can run on Gasohol 95 and 91 without any engine damage. Thousands of rai are being converted to sugar cane production to answer the predicted surge in demand for Gasohol. Sugar sweeter than candy to free the world from Gas.

I had been a hippie in […]