I lived in Thailand for two years and three months, from 2013 to 2015, where I worked as a Primary Teacher Trainer as a Peace Corps volunteer. You’ll find Thailand travel tips, culture explainers and my personal experiences in these posts.
When you think of the culture of a place, what are the things that make up that culture? There are a lot of different things that might come to mind, but one thing that is a part of every culture is music. Humans beating out rhythms and singing are everywhere. However, each locale has their own interpretation and significance applied to music.
more “A Brief Introduction to Music in Thailand”
Outside of Chiang Mai, perhaps one of the most popular place for tourists to go in Northern Thailand is Wat Rong Khun, also known as the White Temple. It was designed and created by Chalermchai Kosipipat after taking on the temple’s restoration in the late 20th century. The sculptures and paintings are heavy with symbolism. Check it out!
In Thailand, a bpai tiao is a trip of any length. I’ve written about some of my more significant bpai tiaos to tourist destinations here, to be used as travel ideas and tips.
After hanging out with my friends in Khao Koh, Petchabun, I made my way northwards. I had plans to meet with my friends Mamie, Sasha-Noel, Mayumi and Yee in Chiang Mai for Songkran, or the Thai New Year celebration. Last year, I spent Songkran in my village, honoring the elders and playing with the kids. But before heading to Chiang Mai, one of the biggest Songkran celebration spots in the country, I stopped over in Chiang Rai to explore the temples there.
One of my closest volunteer friends, Brandon, lives in a village that is a pretty well-known Thai tourist destination in Khao Koh, Petchabun. Last year, some of the teachers at my school were talking about taking a trip there at the end of bpit term, but it never happened for whatever number of reasons. However, I did get to make my way there this bpit term since Brandon invited to his house.
In Thailand, a bpai tiao is a trip of any length. I’ve written about some of my more significant bpai tiaos to tourist destinations here, to be used as travel ideas and tips.
Generally, tattoos are a taboo in Thailand, with the exception of sak yant. Sak yant are Buddhist protection charms that are tapped into the wearer’s skin by a monk. Each year, in Nakhon Pathom, there is an annual festival for people who have sak yant to get the magic of their charms “recharged” in a sense, and for people to get new ones. Check out the video!
Ever since I took a closer look at hearing loss in Thailand, I’ve been thinking about what other major health issues Thailand faces. I decided to do some cursory research. (I visited the WHO’s summary Web site on Thailand and looked at the documents linked there.) more “Health Problems Facing Thailand”
Earlier this year I started using this really neat app called One Second Everyday. Basically, it allows you to pick a second of a video or picture of everyday and then you can export them into a longer video. I thought this was super cool and so I’ve been trying to do this throughout the year, similar to my sentence a day for last year. Here’s a video summary of March!
Thailand is loud and part of that is the music that is seemingly always blasting from somewhere. One of the most popular songs right now is ขอใจเธอแลกเบอร์โทร (Koh Jai Tur Lak Bur Toh) by Yinglee. The song tells the story of a woman who sees a man she’s interested in, but because of culture, she can’t approach him. Here’s the music video with English subtitles.
The Thai Youth Theatre Festival was so much fun and I’m so proud of it! One of the activities we planned was a giant dance party for the 140 kids. It was a blast! Check it out!
For the past few months, Thai politics have been in a bit of a turmoil. It started with protests, that escalated into the prime minister stepping down and dissolving the government. The protests continued, demanding reforms before any election. There was an election last month, however it had some issues. Things have continued to be somewhat unstable and there are a lot of unanswered questions about the political future of Thailand. Here’s a run down. more “Post Election Political Instability in Thailand”