Thailand Blogs – September 09 Review
My recent holiday in Thailand took me to Kanchanaburi for the first four nights and my visit to the seven tier Erawan Waterfall was one of the best days of my whole holiday. For those of you who have yet to visit this picturesque province situated 130 kilometres from Bangkok on the west side of Thailand then if the chance comes along then I would recommend you grab it with both hands.
Kanchanaburi has so many tourist attractions that four days was never really enough but myself and Wonderful Wi have been convinced by its beauty, charm and steeped history to revisit this delightful part of the Kingdom in the not to distant future. The photos accompanying this month’s blog review were all taken in Kanchanaburi.
We start September’s review with a story about one of those places that sometimes us foreigners visiting Thailand just don’t want to go inside….a Thai style village toilet. Thailand, Land of Smiles and Hazards of the Hongnam gets down on its haunches, bolts the door and tells the story about something nasty that appeared out of nowhere. Sssssss might be a clue.
Staying with the toilet theme but moving away from the villages and into the cities My Thai Friend looks at one of the services offered in some of the swankier clubs and restaurants in Thailand. Unzip your interest and try a Thai Toilet Massage and discover what really goes on inside the posher side of Thai nightlife.
Respect is a very big thing in Thailand and losing it comes much more easily to some people than others. A Harley Davidson, gymnasium and a total ass make up the content of Johnny Foreigner and my pick of his best post for September in Earning and losing respect in Thailand.
Women Learning Thai…. and some men too continued throughout September adding more and more Thai language learning resources and Glenn Slayden’s thai-language.com is a well written overview of a site that will be a powerful tool to anyone’s quest to master the Thai language. I bookmarked Glenn Slayden’s informative site and if your interest is learning Thai then I’ll bet my bottom baht that you’ll do the same too.
In the villages of Thailand and surrounding areas work opportunities are fairly scarce and making ends meet can mean running your own small business. Retired In Thailand and Loving It takes camera in hand and looks at the ways and means of earning a living in the Kanchanaburi village of Wang Pho. “I’m the Boss Here” has lots of photographs which show the everyday kind of working life that many tourists will rarely see.
I’m not sure if the next post is one for the ladies or one for the boys, perhaps ladyboys might be best. Ben Shillington’s blog The Thai Pirate is funny, informative and sometimes plain bizarre. Looking for love in Thailand? – Thai Time Trial Test is funny, bizarre but for some it may contain a little too much information. Not one for the fainthearted and don’t put down your Mills and Boon novel to read this one.
Behind the Noodle Curtain is a new entry to my sidebar blogroll and I think it is an excellent blog which is penned to perfection by its author Rick. Thai film ‘Nymph’ screens at the Toronto film festival is a splendidly written review of a Thai made movie that starts in Bangkok and heads out to the jungle and plots a couple who encounter a mysterious tree which leads to the ladies husband being abducted by a jungle nymph. My review of Behind the Noodle Curtain is check it out yourself because it’s a superbly scripted, well presented blog.
That completes a shortened write up of my monthly blog review which is a slimmed down version due to my recent trip to the Land of Smiles on which I very infrequently browsed the internet. My apologies to the writers of the sites I have omitted from this month’s review but next month the post will return to its normal full length format. Best wishes and enjoy your read from my Thailand Blogs – September 09 Review.
Once again a great roundup and accompanied by some beautiful pictures I might add.
Looking forward to more great pics and stories you’ve collected from your recent trip.
.-= Talen´s last blog ..Raw Footage Released of Phuket Jet Ski Scam-Gun Incident =-.
Talen thanks for the story about the hongnam, I could relate to that one 100%. The pics are a better quality than the ones produced from my last camera but still way short of being perfect but the standard will do for me. I’m quite looking forward to writing my posts from now to Christmas and it’s nice to have pics and plots in the bank.
Kanchanaburi is one of my haunts too. I started staying at the River Felix many years ago and haven’t found anything better for relaxing and watching the river float by.
Better yet, the deck chairs can only lean back, making it pretty uncomfortable to work on a laptop. This means that my trip is usually guaranteed to be more of a rest than a work holiday (fess… I have figured out how to work flat back… but not for long periods).
Great to see ‘Behind the Noodle Curtain’ added here as I’m also a regular reader.
.-= Catherine´s last blog ..Thai 101 Learners Series: Vocabulary Acquisition =-.
Catherine what a lovely life you lead. Laid down horizontal and tapping away on your computer watching the river float by. Kanchanaburi was a marvellous experience with so many things to see and do, I really want to go back there next year…however. Wilai has since told me that next year she wants to go back to Hua Hin and Christmas 2010 to Chiang Rai or Mai. I can hardly upset her and say no. That would cost me money afterall, at least a few thousand baht to get the bottom lip back in. Perhaps the year after, we’ll see.
:o) Sometimes life does get in the way of blogging, doesn’t it??
I love that first photo of the waterfall – looks like paradise!!
.-= Emm´s last blog ..New York day 5: The Metropolitan Museum of Art =-.
Emm a while back I used to think life was blogging but nowadays if a post comes to me then great but if not, so what, although I do still enjoy writing very much.
The Erawan Waterfall was very beautiful and even my new but still cheapish camera captured it quite well but you really do have to see it to believe it. Thanks.
Thanks for the great overview once again. I’m always so chuffed that you mention a blog post of mine at the end of each month in your review – it’s like a real bonus, so no need to apologise!!
See what you mean about the picture in the Looking for Love post…I was easily under six seconds!
.-= Frances´s last blog ..The chestnut fair in Saint-Caprais =-.
Thanks Martyn! V appreciate you highlighting my blog, and all the gory details!
.-= Ben Shingleton´s last blog ..Bangkok – City of……… Green? =-.
Frances my apologies for not being able to get round to including your blog for September but this month I will be reading on a more regular basis. At least I know you won’t be chucking precious tomatoes at me.
Ben I thought the post was great and even put a link to it on one of the smaller Thai forums but after about one hour it got removed. Balls to them.
Ooops, late to the party, as always . . .
I don’t know what to say Martyn except deepest thanks for the review and very kind words. But you must have been reading Talen’s. Similar colour palette only his is much more interesting than mine! Overall, though, I have to say the blogs I read (mostly from commenters found right here) are of a very high quality. How do I know? I just followed a blog trail the night before and was rather underwhelmed. I prefer my own only little patch of pen pushers.
I think it’s a great thing that there are bloggers to keep up with. When you get to the point one day that you are about to shove out a rather mediocre post, the fact that there’s better and more interesting out there makes you give that one another go. Why? Because you want to do your part in keeping the standard high and garner attention and respect for the Thailand blogging community. I imagine there are those who couldn’t or wouldn’t believe that there’s far more general Thailand web sites than those devoted to the naughty life.
OK, now, back to reality, which is to say snowy forecasts and frigid temps. (8 more weeks!)
.-= Siam.Rick´s last blog ..Toronto Asian film festival only glow in grey November =-.
Rick no problem with the review as I consider it to be well deserved and your site a real credit to the Thai blogging community. I know what you mean about following the trail as it often leads to the back end of a buffalo….however there are some excellent blogs that I haven’t as yet included in my sidebar due to its rather long length. Andrew Hicks Thai Girl and My Thai Village life by the Village Farang are both excellent in content and the writing awesome but sadly I can’t in include them all.
Eight weeks until you hit LOS again is great news and an opportunity to stock up on photos and stories. I’ll be one week behind you but my trip is nowhere near as long. Best wishes.