thaiphile.com » General

Why Thai Bribes?

boem — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 17:19:52 +0000

We are seeing the trend that more and more Westerners choose to marry Thai women in the last 5-10 years. Although we Thais have heard about the trend for sometime, I was quite surprised when a Thai guide who took us around a small town in Germany told us that there were a good size of Thai community even in that small town. In fact some tens of thousand Thai wives are living in Germany. Got on a plane to a North-Eastern city of Thailand one day, I was overwhelmed by a cheer number of “farang” (Westerner) passengers travelling with their Thai wives and kids apparently visiting the wives’s home towns.

So why are Thai brides so popular among Westerners?

I asked that question to a Dutch guy, a friend of mind, the other day. “Is is because Thai women are more obedient and service-minded?”, I suggested to my Dutch friend. His answer was that is only part of the reasons. The more important reason, he opined, was that Westerners found Thai ladies to be more beautiful, more precisely, to have higher sex appeal. I was a little stunned with the answer.

The types of looks of the Thai women well liked by Westerners do not necessarily conform to our norm of pretty women among Thai men. But other Western men seem to confirm my Dutch friend’s observation.

Some opinions of Western men:

“Thai ladies are the most beautiful women in the world, and Thai women are the most beautiful in Asia. For many decades Western men have been captivated by the sheer beauty and femininity of the Asian Women.”

“I find Thai women in general to be less self-centered and family-oriented than I find in Western women.”

The Westerner’s feeling is well reciprocated by Thai women. Many Thai girls are disappointed by Thai men who are famous for womanizing, drinking and gambling. Thai women believe Caucasian men are more responsible and sincere.

This trend is likely to continue for some time.

More on Romanizing Thai Words

boem — Mon, 28 May 2007 06:22:41 +0000

Passing by the Old Bangkok International Airport the other day, I noticed the new airport sign that read “Don Mueang International Airport”. What annoyed me was the fact that they decided to use “Mueang” instead of the usual “Muang”. I know they try to tell foreigners that ‘mueang” should be pronounced differently than “muang”, but will that help?

I’m not the only person who feel uneasy about the flexible approach that people take when writing Thai words in roman alphabets. (See my other post.) Here is a proof.

A post at website www.luchtzak.be is complaining: “The airport exists 93years and its name was always spelled Don Muang. So it was, so it will remain, for us.”

Actually, the spelling of the name of the new internal airport of Bangkok “Suvarnabhumi” is also a little too strangely elaborated. They probably try to reflect the old Indian Pali origin of the name but it may have been “Suwannapoom” if the closest Thai pronunciation were given priority.

The bottom line is Thai writing and pronunciation is a little tricky to have a unified rule for romanization. So, I guess we will have to live with this little annoyance for sometime.

Latest Addition (June 10, 2007)
I can confirm now that there is actually a set of official rules for romanizing Thai language established by the Royal Institute. The latest version dated January 11, 1999 replaces the former version which was announced 60 years earlier. One of the changes was actually the introduction of “uea” sound to differentiate from the “ua” sound. So, the Airport Authority of Thailand just followed the rules by using “Don Mueang” instead of the more common “Don Muang.” You may check out an English summary of the rules in Wikipedia.

Well, few Thais know or care about the official Thai romanizing rules and there is no attempt to enforce them so far.

Romanizing Thai Words

boem — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 12:41:06 +0000

I don’t know who is to blame but you may find names of Thai places, recipes or anything Thai get translated into English slightly differently sometime. For example, Chiang Mai may be referred to as Chieng Mai or Chiangmai and Koh Samui as Ko Samui, Samui Island. Similarly, the popular Thai recipe Pad Thai can sometime be Pat Thai. Don’t worry they are the same

Well, we Thais are flexible “saby saby” people, aren’t we?

Thai handicrafts – the spirit of freedom

boem — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 00:45:40 +0000

Thailand is famous for its handicraft, and not without reason. Thailand has long tradition of handicraft influenced by Indian, Chinese and ancient Khmer cultures. But probably most importantly, the skills handed down over generations and the relaxed and free minds of Thai people combine to make Thai handicrafts one of the world’s best.

There are vast varieties of Thai handicrafts. The most well known is hand woven Thai silk. Other than Thai silk, there are arrays of products ranging from woodcarvings to metalwares, ceramics, lacquerware and etc. Different parts of Thailand have their own original handicraft products. Thai handicraft products may be kitchenware, home decor items, clothing and accessories or art pieces.

Thai massage – something not to be missed

boem — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 00:26:25 +0000

The art of massage is believed to have been practiced in Thailand since as long ago as 200 BC when it was introduced from India. Due to its long history, Thai massage is referred to as “nuad paen boran” or Thai ancient massage. The traditional Thai massage is sometime known as Thai bodywork, passive yoga, or assisted yoga.

A Thai massage is a surprisingly physical experience because of its emphasis on stretching and loosening the body. It is designed to help energy flow more freely through the body. A good massage should therefore leave you rejuvenated, full of beans and ready for the next day’s activities.

SIDEBAR
If you can’t face the rigors of a full Thai massage but still want to pamper yourself after a day’s trekking, perhaps a foot massage is the answer. Reflexology, is a great way to treat the body as a whole. It is believed that by manipulating different parts of the foot you can cause a reflex action in another part of the body. Not only is a foot massage a great way to relieve sore foot after a day’s sightseeing, it can also treat ailments as diverse as aches and insomnia. Foot massage is offered at hotels, spas or event airports in Thailand

Muay Thai – The Martial Art of Eight Limbs

boem — Sun, 10 Dec 2006 16:06:30 +0000

Muay Thai or Thai Boxing has become incresingly well-known outside Thailand as an exciting form of martial art. Apart from Thailand, Muay Thai is also practised in several other southeast Asian countries including Cambodia (where it is known as Pradal Serey) and Myanmar where it is generally known as Lethwei. Muay Thai gyms are also popping up in some Western countries.

Muay Thai has a long tradition in Thailand as a martial art used by the military. The military style of Muay Thai is called Lerdrit, while today’s “Sport Muay Thai” slightly varies from the original art and uses kicks and punches in a ring and with gloves similar to those used in boxing. Muay Thai is referred to as “The Science of Eight Limbs”, as the hands, feet, elbows, and knees are all used extensively in this art.

On your next trip to Thailand, find some time to experience the excitement of Muay Thai in action. There are 2 Muay Thai stadiums in Bangkok, Lumpini Stadium and Rajdamnoen Stadium which organize competitive Muay Thai matches every week.

Retirees’ Paradise Thailand

boem — Sat, 09 Dec 2006 09:56:58 +0000

Many foreigners have chosen Thailand as their retirement homes. Some move to Thailand to live and start businesses. Relatively low cost of living, good climate, Thai hospitality are among the reasons. Broadband Internet and other telecommunications infrastructure in Thailand has become more of international standards and very affordable pricing. Many international schools have popped up lately in Bangkok and major cities of Thailand to cater for both Thai and foreign children.

In fact, more people have bought properties in Thailand for the purpose of moving to and living in Thailand or for pure investment. See my previous post about Thailand property market here.

Thailand Property Booming Again

boem — Sun, 19 Nov 2006 12:55:02 +0000

8 years after the Asia financial crisis and just 2 years after the Asian Tsunami, Thailand property or real estate is booming again. Thanks to the financial crisis, the Thai government has relaxed rules and regulations for foreigners to acquire property in Thailand. The recent coup seems to have very minimal impact on the Thai real estate market condition.

Condominiums are selling fast, especially those in top locations. Sukhumvit Road is always popular. Phuket property is still popular, despite the Tsunami. Prices are high, but that’s what you pay for your lifestyle in paradise! Pattaya, Hua Hin, Chiang Mai, Samui, Phangan and Chang islands are all growing rapidly with some fantastic bargains available if you snap them up now!

ThaiPhile.com is Going Through A Major Redesign.

boem — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 10:03:01 +0000

If you happen to have visited this site before, you definitely would have noticed the big changes this site has been going through. First the site has become more lively with 10 photos about Thailand from flickr.com on top of the each page. These photos will be picked ramdomly from over 500,000 photos with the tag – Thailand on flickr.com so they will keep changing. You never know what will come up next.

Thaiphile Blog is now the main content of the site. Once you have registered, you may add comments to the posts.

And lastly, there are less ads on the pages.

This is still an on-going process which may take another month or two. Please come back often to be the first to enjoy our new developments.