Category Archives: Pattaya

Noblesse Ne’er-Do-Wells

May 2, 2012 – 11:26 am

Two years ago the red shirts targeted the shopping malls of their political rivals, the yellow shirts. The drama between the classes was a mystery to most foreigners and a widely accepted way of life to the majority of Thais. I googled ‘thailand five families rule’ and the search engine offered thousands of five-star hotel [...]

By Peter | Also posted in 90s, Education, Rich, Thailand, Traditions, farangs, revolution | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments (0)

HOT AS BLAZES by Peter Nolan Smith

April 30, 2012 – 9:46 pm

Last year I flew from JFK to Haneda in Japan. The segment of my trip lasted 14 hours. The lay-over in Japan was two hours and the final hop to Bangkok took 6 hours followed by a 90-minute taxi ride to Sriracha. Sitting for twenty-six hours straight had flattened my ass, so my coccyx felt [...]

By Peter | Also posted in Thailand, animals, family, semi-fiction | Tagged , | Comments (0)

Dry Season

April 30, 2012 – 11:59 am

E My wife Mam tells me that the water is running from the tap and the Sri Racha water authorities are promising no water shortages in the present heat wave, but in Pattaya old water mains are failing to keep up with demand and funky old water trucks are sucking the Jomtien lagoons dry. City [...]

By Peter | Also posted in Environment, Thailand, weather | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Thailand’s Happiness Index Deficit

April 30, 2012 – 9:46 am

In 1972 Bhutan’s King Jigme Singye Wangchuck attempted to reform his country’s feudal economy on a Buddhist spiritual level rather than a capitalistic model. To best judge his efforts the king created a Gross Domestic Happiness Index based on life satisfaction, life expectancy at birth, and ecological footprint per capita. The Wall Street Journal ignores [...]

By Peter | Also posted in Sex, Thailand, farangs, semi-fiction, weather | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Songkran Sanuk

April 18, 2012 – 10:31 am

The Songkran celebration ushered in the Thai New Year as well as the coming of the rains ending the hot season. This year’s festival has been focused on Wan Parg-bpee April 14, when homage is paid to ancestors, elders and other persons deserving respect because of age or position. Traditionally younger people poured scented water [...]

By Peter | Also posted in Thailand, Traditions, holiday | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments (0)