Tag: peace corps

Bpai Tiao: Attending Lopburi’s Monkey Festival

December 2, 2014

Earlier this year, I posted about the different festivals in Thailand that I was looking forward to attending. After this weekend, I can gladly say that I made it to all five of the festivals I was excited about this year, which was topped off with a trip to Lopburi for the Monkey Festival.

The Monkey Festival is held annually on the last Sunday of November in the city of Lopburi, a province in central Thailand a couple hours north of Bangkok. The festival falls right around the same time as people in the States are celebrating Thanksgiving, which is convenient as the festival itself is a bit of its own kind of thanks giving feast.

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Bpai Tiao Video: Lopburi Monkey Festival 2014

November 30, 2014

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.

I love Thai festivals and I’ve made it a point to go to as many as I could this year, like the Rocket Festival, the Candle Festival and Phi Ta Khon. Recently, I made it to Lopburi to go to the annual Monkey Festival. There are Khmer ruins in the middle of Lopburi, and they have been overrun by macaques. Considering the macaques as agents of the Hindu god Hanuman, they are left alone. Each year, the city holds a festival for the macaques and provides them with a veritable feast. Check it out!

Planning a trip to Thailand? Check out my 2 Weeks in Thailand itinerary. It will take you to all the best spots, making sure you don’t miss any of the highlights.

Exploitation and Trafficking of People In Thailand

November 28, 2014

Earlier this year the U.S. State Department downgraded Thailand to the same level that is shared by North Korea and Iran in regards to their human rights and trafficking record. They were moved from the Tier 2 Watch List to Tier 3, meaning that they do not fully comply with the minimum standards of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act nor are the making significant efforts to do so. According to the Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, Thailand is a source, transit and destination country for both sex and labor exploitation.

Earlier this week, the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime released the 2014 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, covering 128 countries and looks at the pattern and flow of trafficked persons in the world. Each country report only included official numbers from convictions and prosecutions provided by the government, which for Thailand was 62 and 270 respectively.

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A Closer Look at Rape Culture in Thailand

November 25, 2014

Today is the U.N. designated International Day for Elimination of Violence Against Women, a scourge that is a worldwide problem that needs to be addressed and a noble cause to bring awareness to.

This is also a topic that has been on my mind a lot recently with some of the stories that have been garnering headlines here in Thailand: a video clip of a Thai rock star beating his wife, the romanticization of rape in Thai soap operas and the rape and murder of a 13-year-old girl on a train. 

Couple these incidents with recent comments by the junta-appointed Prime Minister, former General Prayuth, that women in bikinis are not safe – that is unless they are ugly – and it’s clear that what is referred to as rape culture is very much alive and well here in Thailand.

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A Taste of Biking through Rural Thailand

November 23, 2014

While most Thais get around on a motorcycle, I have a bicycle that I ride throughout my village. Most of my bike rides are to and from work at the primary school. The school is about 2 kilometers from my house and the ride is through lots of fields. Check it out!

Planning a trip to Thailand? Check out my 2 Weeks in Thailand itinerary. It will take you to all the best spots, making sure you don’t miss any of the highlights.

Awesome Orgs in Thailand: Save Elephant Foundation

November 21, 2014

When people think of Thailand, often what comes to mind includes elephants. I mean, King Rama IV did offer to send some elephant to Abraham Lincoln to help the Union fight the Civil War. However, the number of wild elephants in Thailand has dropped from around 100,000 at the turn of the century to between 3,000 and 4,000 today.

Many elephants in Thailand are domesticated, working elephants. In the 80’s, when legal restrictions were placed on logging in Thailand, many mahouts, or elephant caretakers, and their animals were put out of a job, and many turned to begging on the streets. The elephants that remain a part of the logging industry are often overworked and prevented from breeding, as an elephant’s pregnancy lasts nearly 2 years and the baby needs at least three months with the mother.

Seeing the plight of the elephants in Thailand, Sangduen Chailert, known as Lek, opened the Elephant Nature Park in 1996 as a sanctuary for elephants, and an extension of the Save Elephant Foundation.

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Awesome Orgs in Thailand: Brighter Thailand Foundation

November 18, 2014

There are some amazing organizations doing awesome work here in Thailand. One of them is the Brighter Thailand Foundation. While I have not personally experienced a camp sponsored by BTF, many other Peace Corps Volunteers have and seeing the pictures and hearing the stories from the week-long Global Leadership Camps is all I need to know that this organization is doing some amazing things here.

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Bpai Tiao Video: AWC’s English Camp for Girls

November 16, 2014

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.

There are some awesome organizations doing some great work in Thailand. Recently, I had the opportunity to partner with one of them, the American Women’s Club of Thailand. They hosted an English Camp for the recipients of the scholarships they provide. I had such a blast, and so did the girls. Check it out!

Planning a trip to Thailand? Check out my 2 Weeks in Thailand itinerary. It will take you to all the best spots, making sure you don’t miss any of the highlights.

Awesome Orgs in Thailand: Books for Thailand

November 14, 2014

In my previous posts, I highlighted organizations that put on events for youth in Thailand, focusing either on education or leadership skills. These events are wonderful and fit excellently into the Thai culture and concept of sanuk. 

Yet, these events require a lot of people power to make a difference here – from the planning to the coordinating to the volunteering to the facilitating. The Books for Thailand Foundation is a bit simpler than that, but makes just as much of an impact.

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Awesome Orgs in Thailand: AWC of Thailand

November 11, 2014

As a Peace Corps volunteer in any country, we have a pretty unique and in depth perspective on the problems that face our host countries. As such, we also have many opportunities to partner with other organizations that are also doing good work in our respective countries. I’ve had a chance to see and hear about some of the real, on the ground differences that a variety of organizations are making here in Thailand, and thought I would share their good work with you.

First, I’m going to highlight the American Women’s Club of Thailand, because I got to spend this past weekend working with them at their annual English Camp in rural Isaan (northeastern Thailand).

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