Category: Blog Post

  • Silom Carnival – December 19, 1999

    Silom Road party that had parades, music, beer gardens under the newly opened Sky Train. The sky train made it all accessible as you could just arrive at the station and drop down into the action.

  • Full Moon Party Jun, 1999

    As I have to move hosts, and now no longer an expat, I figured I’d throw up some photos of life in Thailand, thru the years. Better late than never… Hat Rin To stay in Thailand required 3-6 month visa renewals that could be had by leaving the country. Great excuses for taking a trip […]

  • How to Pay a Late Overdue Thai Electricity Bill

    How to Pay a Late Overdue Thai Electricity Bill

    One, two or 3 days over – it doesn’t matter once you go past your due date, you can’t pay you Electric Bill thru the same channels.  Normally you can pay your 7-Eleven or Tesco Lotus, but they’ll just give you blank look and a “mai Dai” if you bring it in late.  Your only […]

  • LongBoarding in Thailand

    LongBoarding in Thailand

    On my recent trip to Venice, California I picked up a long board from the local Arbor skate shop. I have not skated in for a long time but after seeing what a smooth ride the new boards with big wheels give, I was sold.  I settled on the 33″ Zeppelin Cruiser as it was […]

  • Quadcopter Journalism in Thailand

    Check out this year’s Thailand protests from the comfort of your home with video feeds from overhead quadcopters.

  • Buy Bitcoin with Thai Baht

    Buy Bitcoin with Thai Baht

    Get yourself some Bitcoin with Thai Baht on Localbitcoins.com The process to buy is simple: Find a seller that is selling at a price you are willing to pay. Choose the amount of BTC you want to get or THB you want to send. Submit that amount and the seller will display their Thai Bank […]

  • Killer Karaoke Thailand – If you hate Karaoke, you’ll love this

    This is fun. Thailand’s killer karaoke is a weird and wonderful divergence from all the talent singing shows.  Much like what My Big Fat Obnoxious Boss did to the Apprentice,  this is  Fear Factor meets American Idol.  Not to spoil it for you, but try singing with a cow tongue in your face or a […]

  • Compare searchs for Thailand’s top cities

    Compare searchs for Thailand’s top cities

    Take a look at Thailand’s top cities using Google Search Trends to look at the popularity of each major Thai city in worldwide search trends over the last year.

  • New Thai Tourism ad

    New Thai Tourism ad

    Thailand cultural ambassador Dan Fraser in the latest TAT ad.  

  • Why Thailand may be the best place in the world to ride motorcycles

    Why Thailand may be the best place in the world to ride motorcycles

        Limited road animals.  While sad for the planet, Thailands is very low on most western road kill candidates.  No need to watch out for critters like opossums  skunks, beavers or raccoons.  While dear seem to roam north america freely, Great quality of roads. The tarmac thru out thailand is quite good, and northern areas can be quite […]

  • Bitcoin gaining traction

    Bitcoin gaining traction

    With all the talk of Bitcoin gaining traction connecting with a bank and debit cards to follow, people may forget that Liberty Reserve and Webmoney have been going strong as the digital currency without borders. It seems, however, the more popular the currency gets, the more restrictions come along with using it. We can only […]

  • Cool morning time time-lapse of the river in Bangkok

    Did this with the iLapse app on the iPhone 4s.  This was a photo every 2 seconds.

  • Nokia Maps launches with with Santika Club

    Sporting nearly 4 year old data, Nokia’s answer to the failure of iOS6 maps gives us the opportunity to visit Club Santika, which burned down Jan 1, 2009 killing 66 people.  If you are a historian, you can find several other places that long since shuttered their doors.  Here are a few I found.  Lets see what […]

  • Bangkok traffic apps compared

    Fighting traffic in Bangkok is part of living here.  As a city with an ever growing car population, many people are looking to apps to save themselves from the long waits in cars.        First the app that has shown a bit of promis is BMA livetraffic.  But how does it compare with […]

  • The 2012 NFL season in Bangkok

    Last year I dabled with a new way of watching NFL games in Thailand – NFL Game Pass.  The quality was pretty good, but obviously it depends on your internet connection.  I ended up watching more DVR games rather than live games.  The live games have commercials which once you are used to watching TV without them, […]

  • “It’s not, but it can be.”

    This is funny that it’s hard to hear, but it’s time to accept it.  The USA is not the greatest country in the world anymore. This clip from the first episode of the new HBO show Newsroom.

  • Video from end of Don Muang Tollway – Oct 29

    This is the view from Google maps: View Larger Map The current coming in to the city is moving at about walking speed. That said, I’ve checked the Wat Laksi / IT Square / Chengwattana / Vibawadi area for the last 3 days and the Channel 7 van has been in the same place. Here […]

  • Oct 25th aeiral footage of Thai flooding

  • Aerial video of Ayutthaya from Sat, Oct 15th

  • Photos of the Thai flooding in Ahyuttaya

        More

  • GPS track and photo locations of the Thai flooding from Sat, Oct 15th

    Flight over Ayutthaya EveryTrail – Find the best hikes in California and beyond

  • NFL Game Pass review in Bangkok

    Tried out the NFL.com Game Pass for the weekend.  Cost is $25 for the weekend.  $210 for the whole season.  Check out all their packages here. Quality on an 8mb DSL connection from True was quite good.  There are 6 levels of quality ranging from 400 Kbps to 3000 Kpbs.  If you set the quality […]

  • What would YOU grab if your house was flooding?

  • Monkey vs. Dog

    Monkey has his way with this lazy dog

  • DTAC, True, and AIS don’t think you know the iPhone4 is already here

    All three networks have dedicated their front pages to allowing you to register your interested in knowing when they will know the price, and time that they will be able to actually sell you an iPhone4.  I think anyone that interested has already made their way down to MBK to see iPhone4’s everywhere.

  • 25Satang.com – Pay to bid auctions

    This is a new one.  The Thai auction site 25Satang.com launched earlier this year, lets you buy bids by the pack, like 10 bids for 90 Baht or 700 Bids for 4,800 Baht.  The average price per bid comes out to 7 baht.  The bid increment? You guessed it, 25 satang.  This means to get […]

  • 2010 Kawasaki ER6-N ABS Review

    If you are looking for a suitable big bike for Bangkok or anywhere in Thailand, look no further than the Kawasaki ER6-n. Besides looking as good or better than anything in it’s class (SUZUKI GSR600), it’s assembled in Thailand.  As with all vehicles in Thailand that are subject to a nearly 100% tax rate, at […]

  • It’s over – a bike ride thru the protest zone

    Great video showing the aftermath of the Bangkok protests two days after it’s completion. Red shirts left a bit of a mess behind, but it won’t take long to get cleaned up. Thankfully the bad example, started by the PAD, of protesting till the PM steps down, won’t become a Thai habit.

  • Events of May 19th – The redshirt crackdown (video)

    The protests are over, for now. Reds, upset with the outcome, take it out on the city of Bangkok. It will take a while to wash themselves of their tarnished image. Taksin’s hope of setting foot in the country ever again, has faded. Boston Globe has some great large sized photos of the day.

  • Things have gotten worse since Thursday

    There is a good article at the Economist called No End In Sight, but I think an even better comment by Felix Qui.  Also some really great photos at CNN. Felix Qui wrote: May 16th 2010 6:43 GMT I live on Silom Road, near the blockaded area. Until Thursday evening, things were daily becoming more […]

  • Video of yesterday’s stand off

    The best video coverage of yesterday’s skirmish on Bang Na Trat road: BBC:

  • How To Video: Build your own bamboo tire barricade

    Grab a few friends, some long bamboo and used tires, and you can make your own defensive barricade. Watch how:

  • The government will win the waiting game

    Is the best solution for the government to wait it out? From a piece by Imtiaz Muqbil: In what could be an entirely new new chapter in the history of handing public protests, the Thai government has effectively stalemated the red-shirts. Far from buckling, as the red-shirts had expected, the government now believes that time […]

  • Honda PCX upgrades the scooter market

    Launched in September 2009 and produced locally, the streets of Thailand are starting to see more of the upscale scooter, the Honda PCX 125. Why is this significant? The price for the transport of choice for the non-car set in Thailand is a 110 or 125cc scooter with an average price tag of 50,000 Baht. […]

  • Video: Silom violence, the people fight back

    Some of fighting against the Red Shirts at Silom Road. This report shows Silom business owners and workers fighting back against the Red Shirts, in order to keep them away from Silom. Red Shirts seem to be running out of friends. BTW, this is right next to Dusit Thani Hotel, so avoid staying at this […]

  • Blogger video coverage of the Red Shirt skirmish

    Some well shot video on the scene of the Red Shirt / Military skirmish from Thai blogger Thai-faq.com.

  • Buying a BBQ Grill in Thailand

    So you finally moved into a big enough place or far enough out of the city that you can entertain the idea of a barbecue. Congrats, however, you’ll be pleased to find that you will be paying more for fewer features.  But of course, if you’ve made it here this long, you are used to […]

  • Red shirt solution: Pay them 3,000 baht to leave.

    As the Ted Shirts are getting 2,500 Baht a day to hang out and protest, why don’t the shop owners of Gucci, Louis Vuttion, and EGV pay the Red Shirts 3,000 baht a day to leave?

  • Against the law for Thai retailers to charge 3% on Visa purchases?

    Here’s what the Tourism Authority of Thailand suggests: “You may be better off paying cash than using a credit card. While it’s technically against the law for the Thai vendor to pass onto you the fee that the credit card company charges them (approximately 2.25% to 3.5%, depending upon card type), it’s quite common for […]

  • Pay for True Wi-Fi with Skype Credit?

    According to this page, you will be able to use your Skype credit to pay for wifi access with wifi networks around the world, including True Corporation Public Company Limited. Other majors include KSC, Boingo, Airborne Access, Starhub, Singtel and about 150 others.  This is great news as the current state of pay for wifi […]

  • 4amexpat blog update

    Technology Upgrade Have a been away from blogging for a while, but haven’t been idle.  I have put up a couple of sites that while not perfect, I think make some improvements on what is out there.  The first is a Thai classifieds mashup from some of the local classifieds sites.  Rather then checking the […]

  • In case you missed it, bikini thailand magazine vol5 is out.

    Written in a language we can all understand.

  • Big Trouble in Tourist Thailand

    Check out the the episodes here. Shown on Bravo UK.

  • What’s up with the BNE tag? CNN & ABC don’t know.

    Here’s a story ripe for the breaking… the mystery BNE tags that have shown up in Bangkok, New York, Tokyo, Madrid, San Fransisco and Prague. Who’s behind it and what does it mean? Don’t ask CNN or ABC.. they have no clue. Embedded video from CNN Video So what is this BNE tag? Here’s some […]

  • Urban Exploration – Imperial World Lat Prao (Big C)

    Having seen the defunct water park on top of the Big C Lat Prao many times on my way by, I was always curious about what was up there. Well last Sunday I got the chance. First, a bit of background. The mall used to be called Imperial World Lat Prao, but as Big C […]

  • Stem Cell donation: Private vs Public

    If you are having a baby anytime soon, you’ll be presented with the choice of extracting blood from the ambilican cord at the time of birth.  Most likely though, you’ll only be presented with the option of private cord blood banking as this is where the money is made.  Private cord banking companies will, well, […]

  • I Love Tuk La Dee

    Cheap Thai and Western food, prepared with flair right before your eyes. Best vanilla milkshakes in town and gives you that old school diner feel. Located inside select Food Land grocery stores. Oh.. and if their menu bores you… you can go into the grocery store, pick out a fresh t-bone and they’ll prepare it […]

  • Political marketing? Central’s red shirt message

    2Bangkok finds this: This Central billboard has some rather odd, and certainly unintended, Red Shirt references. The picture contains a red flag, defiant-looking youth, one wearing a red cap, and a burning city in the background.It reads: Armed equipped readily before the tournament for the best golf tournament of the year – See more than […]

  • Fitness Centers 3rd, behind property and auto firms for complaints

    Looks like the high pressure sales tactics finally attracted enough attention: CPB secretary-general Niroth Chadhroenprakob said that finalising fitness centre contracts this year was its priority. During the first 10 months of last year, 297 complaints were filed about fitness club services not meeting commitments by sales representatives. “Fitness centres rank third in complaints received […]

  • Blog hosting offer:139 Baht / year

    As I have some extra hosting space, and hosting bills were due, thought I would throw this out there to my loyal readers. It’s not exactly going to make me rich, but it seems like many people want to have a blog, and this is the perfect package to host your own WordPress, Drupal or […]

  • Funny Korean political cartoon

    More… Is this the way Korea sees the problems here?

  • Sondhi and car photos after the hit attempt

  • Batman sighting at the Red Shirt protests

  • Tony Cheng of Al Jazera thinks he works for Fox News

    Come on. Being a tad over-dramatic don’t you think Tony? See his alarmist article here. “The people of Bangkok wake to a city scarred with the wounds of war.” “These huge uncontrollable missiles smashed everything in their path from trees to an electricity pylon, which snapped and sent sparks on to the battle raging below.” […]

  • Siamese Cojoined Crocodiles

  • Slashdot coverage of ProtectTheKing.net

    ProtectTheKing.net makes Slashdot: “In a move that would make the old eastern German Stasi green with envy, the Thai government has modernized a system that allows citizens to snitch on fellow citizens. ‘Internet users are being urged to show their loyalty to the king by contributing to a new website called protecttheking.net, which has been […]

  • Suggestion: Build a Park

    Does Bangkok need another mall? The big empty lot next to Gaysorn Plaza would be perfect for a park.

  • SF World Cinema Fail

    SF World Cinema Fail captured by Thanh-BKK. One thing to have a virus scan, another to be infected by a worm.

  • DTAC Pushmail :How To

    Want Blackberry like functionality on your average phone? Check out DTAC’s PushMail at dtac.co.th/pushmail or smart-sync.com. First month is free, then it’s 30 baht per month. Pretty easy .. here’s how I did it for my Nokia 6300. Get to wap.dtac.co.th on your phone’s browser. (didn’t work on opera mini) Find the pushmail sign up. […]

  • Arab Nana vs. Nana Plaza

    I wonder how it would be go grow up with the last name “Patpong” or “Nana”. Guess if you’re loaded .. who cares. Or ask Lek Nana. Nana is actually split into two, and the South Nana of beers and bargirls is a world away from North Nana and its “Soi Arab,” with Middle Eastern […]

  • BBC story on escape from Bangkok prision 13 years ago

    Nice read about a prison escape from a Bangkok prison in 1996 by David McMillan: I started at midnight with hacksaw blades that had been sent over in a care parcel, carefully hidden, so I took those out and began working on the bars. In fact only one bar was cut, and only partially at […]

  • Monkey Girl – another great Pattaya Daily News find

    If you ever forget you are in Thailand, a quick dose of the Pattaya Daily News should jerk you right back to the Thailand you know and love. Thais who believe in Karma, claim that Nong Pin is the result of bad karma: Mrs. Mayuree explained that her father used to hunt animals when he […]

  • 3G iPhone in Thailand for 24,500 baht (668 USD) from True

    Great news. The best multimedia phone out there right now, is now officially for sale in Thailand. If you want to buy it outright, not using the True network, it’s 24,500 baht for 8GB and 28,500 for 16GB. There is no 3G yet in Thailand, but there are plenty of True WiFi hotspots around the […]

  • Guy steals cop statue on a dare

    The photo is priceless and I think should prove punishment enough: Thaweewut, who saluted the effigy as a gesture of apology, told police that after drinking with friends until midnight Tuesday, he made a delivery of parts to Mor Chit Bus Terminal. On the way back, he spotted the effigy, stole it to meet a […]

  • Santika nightclub fire video

    Warning, some people in really rough shape in this video. More from people’s camera phones and AP and others…

  • New Bangkok Post website

    Well, the long, behind the times Bangkok Post website finally has a new design. Good job guys. And also, thanks for this long winded introduction to RSS. It’s about time you got RSS.. was that 2 or 3 years behind the Nation? Also finally good forum software, but classifieds and jobs are still seriously lacking.

  • Thailand’s black list leaked

    There is a recently released black list of sites being blocked in Thailand. From Wikileaks: A total of 860 YouTube videos have been blocked, far in excess of the blocking conducted by The Official Censor of the Military Coup; a further 200 pages mirroring those videos are also blocked. Curiously, Hillary Clinton’s campaign videos, and […]

  • Police check point gold mine

    So what happens when you get stopped at one the the police check points, and you don’t have the right bribe to offer or the right ‘friend’ to call? Police checkpoints are out in force in December. Why? This basic formula. For every drunk driver the police nab, they will get fined starting at 5,000 […]

  • Thailand way behind – in Facebook membership

    When compared to some neighbors Thailand seems to have plenty of Facebook members: But against others: Some facts: Average user has 100 friends on the site 2.6 billion minutes are spent on Facebook each day (worldwide) More than 13 million users update their statuses at least once each day More than 2.5 million users become […]

  • One good thing about not having an elected prime minister?

    At least the new prime minister doesn’t sound like an idiot speaking English like Taksin did. More on Abhisit Vejjajiva.

  • Great article on the Royal backing of the PAD protests

    From W. Scott Thompson in his opinion piece in the IHT: And the demonstrators know that the king is plainly on their side. This time, more than 1974 and 1992, it would be trivial to say that democracy is what is at issue. It’s whether or not those others, “unworthy to bear the dust under […]

  • Office staff wearing yellow down 50% today

    Yellow shirts, which used to stand for support for the revered Thai King, have now become a symbol of lawlessness and extremism – which most Thais tend to avoid. On a Mondays over the past several months, a ride on the sky train meant seeing walls of yellow. Now you might not even notice as […]

  • Chamlong Srimuang and PAD screwing more than just Thailand?

  • The Sexy Women of the PAD protests

    Yeah, I know we are all upset with the People Against Democracy, but there’s always time to look at sexy women.

  • It’s time for action against the PAD

    The PAD (People Against Democracy) have gone to far. By their actions, they have held this country hostage. The ability to move freely, to practice religious beliefs, to support your self and your family have all been taken away by the hostage situation playing out a the airport. Their reasons for doing so now need […]

  • The PAD are starting to piss me off

    The People Against Democracy (PAD) have really messed up this time. Messing with the lively hood of the country? Basically withdrawing the rights of hundreds of thousands of others to make a living or function freely? This ill-conceived disruption of one of the main roads leading to the country’s most important international airport will get […]

  • Never before seen LIFE photos of Thailand

    Time Life Magazine and Google have teamed up to put some 10 million historical images online – most never before seen.

  • Kratongs go green

    While there there were still mostly foam and banana tree bast kratongs, the bread kratongs made a strong showing and hopefully are here to stay. Lets hope birds and fish will find them edible, and they will dissapear nicely into the bellies of living things. On another note, what’s with the kratong robbers? Young boys […]

  • What Obama means to Bangkok

    Good Article on what Obama means for Thailand… It is precisely in places like Thailand that Obama will need to repair once strong, now strained bilateral alliances and reaffirm the US’s commitment to democracy and human rights in its foreign policy, both to restore America’s flagging credibility as a force for democratic good and to […]

  • Thais gear up for cool season with hot water heaters

    Many Thais go with room temperature showers most of the year since it is plenty hot. But you don’t want to be caught in December with without a warm shower.

  • The Great Firewall of Thailand

    Yeah, like we really trust you to do this… Communications Minister Mun Patanotai said his ministry is considering spending between 100 million and 500 million baht ($2.9 million and $14.6 million) to build a gateway to monitor and block such Web sites. The ministry has received more than 1,000 complaints about Web sites that are […]

  • A bike ride thru PAD protest grounds

  • Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Lego Airport

    I must have missed this one, but better late than never: Suvarnabhumi Airport And of course the YouTube vid:

  • What happens to all those election signs?

    We’ve all seen the signs, during the election… but where do they all go once the election is over? Bangkok has quite a healthy industry of recycling for money. Garbage is picked thru most everywhere for ANYTHING of potential value. The recyclers or “salang” in Thai, are famous for cruising Bangkok streets with their modified […]

  • Apirak stays mayor of Bangkok

    Apirak Kosayodhin, the leader of Thailand’s opposition Democrat Party, won re-election Sunday as governor of Bangkok, defeating the ruling party candidate as well as a one-time sex tycoon, exit polls showed. A Suan Dusit University exit poll showed Apirak with 52 percent of the vote, followed by Prapas with 23 percent and Chuwit with 12 […]

  • Video completion of motorcycle crashes in Thailand

  • Old but still funny Sylvania ad

  • Model Thai wins dance competiion

    “My aim in joining this competition isn’t just to win the lucrative prizes, but also to introduce pole dancing to people in Asean countries.” – Lili Ussaraporn Kosin, Thai winner of the Clorets Amateur Pole Dancing Competition in Kuala Lumpur. More…Nice work, we are proud. But couldn’t they have found a more stable pole… the […]

  • 13th best place to start a small buisness – CNN

    While Singapore is still number 1, Thailand has made moves in the right direction: This year, Thailand moved six places up the ranking from 19th position, thanks to recent reforms in registering property, protecting investors, trade and paying taxes. These days, transferring property takes only two days and two procedures. Thailand also strengthened the rights […]

  • PAD = People Against Democracy

    as PeterS Says: The ‘D’ in PAD is one of the most funniest things I’ve read the last few years. Looks more like “People Against Democracy”

  • Sorry no interent for you, we must go protest

    Please don’t mess with my internet… CAT Telecom labor union which earlier planned to cut the country international circuit telecommunications gateway Wednesday afternoon in support of the demonstrators demanding for the ouster of the coalition government has postponed the decision until 9am Thursday. The CAT Telecom labor union had said it would make a decision […]

  • Electric Motorcycles

    Thanks to the Chinese, you can now buy an Electric motorcycle in Thailand. These silent savers come in at 800 and 1200 watts. A charge of 6-8 hours gets you 70-80 km of travel. Top speed about 40 km/h. The model shown is a Vestor-b 2008 and runs 38,500 Baht. One that looks more like […]

  • Crown Property Bureau holds 3,493 acres in Bangkok

    Valued at $35 billion, the King and the Crown Property Bureau is placed at Forbes richest monarch. World’s longest-reigning monarch. His Crown PropertyBureau, through which he holds wealth, grantedunprecedented access this year, revealing vastlandholdings, including 3,493 acres in Bangkok. More… Some say it’s not an accurate report.

  • First Thai Gold Medal

    Good to see Thailand on the board with a Gold from Ms. Prapawadee in weight lifting. Her mom passed out during the competition.. hope she’s ok.

  • Bangkok Dangerous – the remake

    In theaters soon the Nicolas Cage movie Bangkok Dangerous, the remake of the 1999 movie Bangkok Dangerous. From IMDB: Both this version and the 1999 version of Bangkok Dangerous were directed by Oxide Pang Chun and Danny Pang. Jason Richman has joined the original writers with this screenplay. This new version is in English; the […]

  • Thai Town gets funding

    Recent article about how Thai Town was granted $250,000 in Preserve America grants, along with another $250,000 in other public and private matching funds.“…Thai Town, which runs along Hollywood Boulevard from Normandie to Western avenues, is home to about 46 Thai business, including silk shops, massage parlors, bookstores and restaurants. About 10,000 Thais live in […]

  • Goverment Shake up over Temple issue

    I just saw this email that has been floating around on the whole Cambodian World Heritage, temple issue. The fallout is quite drastic as Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama became the third top official in the ruling People Power Party (PPP) forced out of office in less than 48 hours. More..This email show a large Thai […]

  • How to avoid Google in Thai Language

    Are you sick of Google showing you what they think you want to see just cause you are in Thailand? Here’s a quick fix to get the non-regional results Google would give if it didn’t try to guess where you are. Instead of just doing your search at google.com, enter this instead: http://www.google.com/ncr This little […]

  • How far has Thai retailing come in 20 years?

    In just two decades, retailing in Thailand has evolved from a traditional model to the global model seen today. The first 7-Eleven opened in 1989 in Bangkok’s Patpong area, and the format proved a huge success. There are more than 4,400 locations in Thailand currently. The Japanese chain Family Mart came to Thailand in 1993. […]