Tag Archives: thailand

May Day Thailand

Thailand has an amazing galaxy on public holidays, mostly religious or honoring the royal family history. Many farangs are befuddled by this unexplained cosmos, especially since the nation celebrates three different New Year’s Days. Western, Chinese, and Thai. Today is a bank holiday in Thailand, but few Thais or westerners know the origin of this […]

THE END OF RICE by Peter Nolan Smith

Thailand has many superstitions. One concerns rice. Never joke while eating or else a ghost will steal your rice. The ghosts will have to wait, for this is the beginning of the rainy season and throughout the Kingdom aging farmers are planting rice. The current price for jasmine rice per tonne from the wholesalers is […]

Going Up Country – Thai Style

Back in the 60s during their Woodstock concert Canned Heat had a small hit GOING UP COUNTRY. “Going up country, baby, do you want to come along?” After Altamont longhairs abandoned the rip-offs, bummers, and downers of the big cities to establish Aquarian communes in the hinterland offering free love, organic food, and reefer to […]

Den’s Rice Paddies

No one works the paddies anymore. The old gave up the game. Enough Work like slaves. Good season, Bad season. Always the last baht in the pocket. Never the first. Work sunrise. Sunset. Breaking back Breaking feet Come home at night The radio on Playing Luk Thong. A good day Today. Children’s bellies full Wife […]

Thai White Elephant

Many Asian cultures regarded fatness as a sign of wealth, however with the advent of 7/11 consumerism in the Orient obesity is fast becoming a health issue for the region. The Thais like to joke about fat people, whom they call ‘chang-nois’ or little elephants. “Why are farangs so fat?” An old rice farmer asked […]