My Thai Life

Is it just me or did anyone else notice that it got dark quick and then just poured down? LOL.

Man, you got to love Bangkok rain.

MyThaiLife

I recently read a news report that says Thailand is not allowing a couple Long Neck Tribe (Kayan) families to leave to go live in New Zealand. They have denied their exit visas.

This is just unreal. I kind of think, like some people, that this is due to tourism. I can’t believe it. I have been one of many farangs that have traveled up to North to see these tribes. I’m as guilty as the rest of them. I found the tribes to be very interesting and was completely respectful to their culture but I can’t believe that Thailand won’t let them leave. If they want to leave and have been granted permission from the New Zealand government, then that is fine by me and they should be allowed to

With this news, I kind of feel guilty that I paid to go see them. I wish them the best in their journey.

MyThaiLife

Well, i knew it would be a matter of time before this would come out. It’s long been rumored that there was a secret camp around Bangkok. I’ve heard many people talk about it for years now but no one could really say for sure but it would seem now that it might all be true.

As for the torture or water boarding of those two guys that they got in Pakistan, whatever is what I say. These are guys that wanted to kill westerners and not think twice about it. Believe me, i have no problem with the water boarding and apparently it works and works well. Khaled Sheikh Mohammed starting talking just after two seconds of water boarding. Singing like a bird in a cage my friends. If you don’t know what water boarding is, it’s where they put you on a board on your back in an angle with your head down at the end of the board. Then they put a cloth over your mouth and noise and start pouring water over it. It’ simulates drowning and it’s not a nice thing. So, for someone to give up in 2 seconds and start talking says a lot about the technique or it says he is a complete sissy! I believe the latter!

We have heard about the notorious Bangkok Hilton and how these guards used to treat the inmates in those prisons. I can see why they chose Thailand. Beautiful beaches and pretty women! LOL.

MyThaiLife

Is it just me or does anyone else see what is happening to the Baht? It’s not the Baht that concerns me but more the dollar. The Thai Baht has hit an all time high against the dollar. It’s sitting at 33. something right now and won’t be long before it’s at 33 baht to the dollar. This is great news for Thai currency exchangers but it sucks for people like me living in Thailand that get our income from the US.

You see, i have to pulse out money from an ATM in Thailand from my bank in America and the conversion is killing me. It sucks beyond belief. I can remember when the Baht was at about 38 to the dollar but it’s now just crazy.

Recently a friend of mine was coming to Bangkok and decided to exchange some money at a currency exchange at LAX. That exchange rate was a freaking 24 Baht to the dollar. Why the hell is the exchange rate lower than the buy rate? Anyway, it’s just crazy. I think it would be better to use the ATM machine in Thailand than try to convert dollar at an exchange counter. You will lose so much money on it. The buy rate is 33. something Baht. That is like almost 10 Baht lost to the dollar. SUCKS ASS!!!

Anyway, just my little rant today…

MyThaiLife

I’ve had a few people lately ask me about the future of MyThaiLife.com and the answer is really I don’t know. LOL. When i started MyThaiLife it was for showing photos and videos of my life in Thailand and it quickly grew into more of a portal of information about Thailand. I’ve added news, blogs, groups, classifieds, travel, events and a lot more stuff. There are over 500 people on the site now and each one has their own little area here on the site. Some ask questions about Thailand and some are expats living the great life in the Land of Smiles.

As for the future of the site, i’m quite happy where it is and how it’s growing. I love getting emails from you guys telling me how beautiful the beaches are and that you can’t wait to visit Thailand. I love helping people learn more about the country that I fell in love with a long time ago.

I love Thailand and I always have. Some people claim that Thailand is 100% perfect. Well, it almost is. What people don’t tell you is that Thailand is like any country and while the people here do smile at you, some of them want your money! They have to survive too you know! lol. Tourism is a big deal in Thailand and the way the Baht is these days, it’s all good for the Thais. Not so much for us Americans living here! Damn the exchange rate!!!!

We are also posting more information about how to get Thai visas as well as things related to having a business in Thailand. So, be sure to check those out.

More to come…

MyThaiLife

Hey guys and girls, hope you’re all doing well. I’m now back from a short trip down to Trang. I stayed at the Amari Resort there in Trang. Wasn’t all that excited once I got there. I’ll explain that later.

Took the trip from Bangkok to Krabi and then a 1.5 hour car ride down into the seaside resort of Amari Trang. I’ve been to Trang before back in 2001 and this hotel was not there. It was merely a small fishing village with one small restaurant. In fact, while sitting there in 2001 and having a Singha and eating some steamed fish in Banana leaf that lightning struck the top of the roof from out of no where. I mean not a cloud above us and a huge bolt and flash. knocked a few people out of their chairs. Was a bit frighting.

But now there is a huge resort. I really wouldn’t call it a resort but more like a 3 star hotel on the water with outrageous prices. They know you can’t really walk to a food place so they overcharge for everything and I mean everything. It’s quite ridicules if you ask me. It’s basically price gouging.

The sand is not white and the beaches are a bit dirty and the water is a murky brown. You have to take one of the longtail water taxis out to Koh Wan and Koh Chuek if you really want to see some beautiful beaches. A lot better than Phi Phi if you ask me. Not so many tourist there.

I was at the Amari Trang resort for New Years celebration and after a $110 charge per night for the hotel and $120 I was thinking it was just going to be a money trap. Well as it turns out, the New Years celebration was quite fun. Live music and a huge buffet of food. I mean tons of it. There were about 300 guest attending the festivities and they had a huge countdown to midnight, set off some huge fireworks from a very unsafe distance which is not out of the ordinary and they set off about 100 huge bags with candles underneath them. I’m not sure what this is called but some said they do it every New Year for respect to those lost in the Tsunami.

Despite the high inflated prices of the Amari Trang Resort, it was an ok stay. The New Years celebration made it bearable.

Be sure to check out the new photos and videos I took of Trang, Thailand in the Videos and Photos section under my username “MyThaiLife”.

Thanks and enjoy,

MyThaiLife

The Thai New Year “Songkran” is celebrated every year on 13 April to 15 April. It is also celebrated in Laos called Songkan in Lao, Cambodia, Myanmar Burma where it is called Thingyan, and by ethnic Dai in Yunnan, China. Sri Lanka also celebrates a similar festival called Sinhalese and Tamil New Year on the same dates.

The date of the festival was originally set by astrological calculation, but it is now fixed . If these days fall on a weekend, the missed days off will be taken on the days immediately following (But Sri Lanka still uses an astrological calculation to set the dates and times based on the sun’s positional change and those dates and times are used to start the festival events). Songkran falls in the hottest time of the year in Thailand, at the end of the dry season. Until 1888 the Thai New Year was the beginning of the year in Thailand; thereafter 1 April was used until 1940. 1 January is now the beginning of the year. The traditional Thai New Year has been a national holiday since then.

The most obvious celebration of Songkran is the throwing of water. People roam the streets with bowls of water, water guns or even a garden hose, and drench each other and passersby. This, however, is not the heart of this festival. Not many people, even the new generation of Thais, realize that Thai ancestors started this festival to teach their descendants some important things. This festival teaches people to come home to visit their parents, pay respect to them, and usually bring them a small gift. Mother and Father have given to their children so much, and this is the time that children show them that they recognize their parents’ favor. People also visit their older neighbors to keep the good relationships and to pay respect to the elders around the neighborhood. For these reasons Songkran days are also considered the family days and the elderly days.

People go to a wat to pray and give food to monks. They also clean Buddha images in temples with water and gentle Thai perfume, as it is believed that this will bring good luck and prosperity for the New Year. In many cities, such as Chiang Mai, the Buddha statues from all of the wats in the city are paraded through the streets so that people can wash them as they pass by. People carry handfuls of sand to their temple to in order to recompense the dirt that they carry away on their feet during the rest of the year. The sand is then piled into large, tiered piles and decorated with colorful flags. Later in the day, people also do community services. Going to wat and doing community service teach people to give, the most basic way to happiness in Buddhism.

Some people make New Year resolutions – to refrain from bad behaviour and to do more good things. Songkran is a time for cleaning and renewal. Many Thais take this opportunity to give their home a thorough cleaning.

The throwing water part was originated as a way to pay respect to people, by pouring a small amount of lustral water on other people’s hands as a sign of respect. The youths also do it in a more fun way. They splash others with water to relieve the heat, since April is the hottest month in Thailand (temperatures can rise to over 100°F or 40°C on some days). This has changed to water fights and splashing water to people on vehicles, a hallmark of Songkran as tourists know, as Thais assimilate more western cultures and technologies.

Nowadays, the emphasis is placed on fun and water-throwing rather than on the festival’s spiritual and religious aspects, which sometimes prompts complaints from traditionalists. In recent years there have been calls to moderate the festival as there are many road accidents and injuries attributed to some extreme behavior – water being thrown in the faces of travelling motorcyclists and elephant riding elders.