Thailand Blogs – July 2010 Review
I know I keep saying it in most of my monthly reviews but I honestly believe this month’s Thailand blogs review is the best yet. The quality of writing and wide range of topics have in my opinion raised the bar of excellence even higher, and so let’s get straight onto the posts which I’m sure will prove my point. July was a month of high calibre Thai blog posts.
If you enjoy an article written with both vigor and verve, Siam Rick has just the thing you’re looking for on Behind the Noodle Curtain. Thai colours and smiles breakout in Toronto is a post rich with bounce and vitality which Rick unfolds on his visit to Toronto’s annual Tastes of Thailand Festival at City Hall Square.
Canada’s Thai expats give the city a flavour of the Far East with their dancing, singing, Muay Thai boxing and of course their wonderful colourful food. Rick’s post is packed full of panache and his photos contain a few extra calories as proven by some of the girls pictured on the right. Sugar Baby springs to mind.
When a storm blows hard on a Thai island the sea rages and inland trees and forestry take the full force of the high winds. Aftermath of today’s storm over Samui has the words and photographs proving the debris and mayhem Thailand’s freak storms leave behind them. Put on your sou’wester hat, oil skin coat and brave Thailand’s stormy weather on Camille’s Samui Info Blog.
The one thing I have always said about travel and medical insurance is don’t leave home without it, and John author of expat Udon Thani has a post to back up my words. Healthcare worries in Thailand takes an analytical look at the different levels of medical insurance available both inside and outside of Thailand. John’s post is a valuable one for those who are considering visiting Thailand in the near future, or for those luckier ones who are taking up residence in the country.
Johnny Foreigner keeps us on the insurance theme with his July post The Buffalo. Car insurance in Thailand is not unheard of but the country’s car insurance sellers probably do have many lazy office days. John gets involved in a motor prang which boils into an ugly affair when the other driver (Thai) insults Jon and demands big money. Jon’s attempts to settle the affair falls on death ears and in his own words:
” I jumped on a motorcycle taxi and headed out to get my father-in-law, who just happens to be a local police chief and a definite fixer of situations like this.”
Eventually all ends well for Jon, but for those of you considering renting or driving your own car in Thailand this one illustrates the need for having car insurance in place. Either insurance or a pair of damn good ear plugs.
If some of you consider Thailand to be a bit behind the times then have a read of Life in rural Thailand and MeMock’s post Old Ubon Ratchathani video and photos. One of MeMock’s readers sent him video footage and photographs of Ubon Ratchathani as it was back in 1968. The post and footage is proof Thailand has progressed a long way since those days when a steak dinner at a top Ubon hotel was only 30 baht and washing it down with a large bottle of Singha beer cost just 20 baht. Roll back the years with this one.
After a period of inactivity My Jungle Life and Jungle Jill are back with a bang and a post which will tug at your heartstrings. Swimming from Burma documents the story of a teenage Burmese girl whose illegal boat ride to Thailand meets dire consequences. The boat overturns in the waters between Ranong and Thailand drowning five of the fourteen passengers. The young girl is left with no choice but to swim to Thailand through oil filled waters. A brilliant post and an absolute must read.
Hitch a ride on Malcolm and Ciejay’s Retired in Thailand and Loving It and enjoy my pick from their July posts Tuk-Tuk’s Love them or Hate them. Our lovable twosome from Kanchanaburi take a look at Thailand’s most famous mode of transport and Malcolm recalls his first ride on one. The post also reports on the new battery powered Tuk Tuk’s which have hit the streets of Bangkok. Flag down your Tuk Tuk and head over to Malcolm and Ciejay’s award winning site.
This review is reading a little long so if you need to take a break and rustle up a Thai dish or two, you might want to read this next blog first. Thai Life in Phana puts on its white double breasted jacket, checked trousers and chefs hat to serve you up a tasty Thai side dish. Nam Prik Thai Relish is conjured from chillies, garlic, onion, tomato, lemon, soy sauce, salt and sugar. Host Lawrence takes you step by step through a receipe he describes as being aroi mahk (very tasty) when finally prepared and served.
Thailand Musings post Teach English in Thailand in 10 Days (Part 1) is the first of a two part series aiming to walk you through finding a teaching job in Thailand. Blog host Steve has put together an informative article full of tips, tricks and all the necessities needed to secure yourself a teaching post within 10 days of hitting the streets of Bangkok. Steve’s master class doesn’t come with a rubber stamped guarantee, but his text book advice will help anyone determined to chalk up their first appointment in teaching English in the Land of Smiles. I can’t compliment Steve’s post any more than by saying I wish I’d written it myself.
Thailand in the News is a weekly post delivered by Talen and his top ranked blog Thailand, Land of Smiles. Last week’s editorial covered the coming filming in Thailand of a sequel to the popular movie The Hangover but the big story was about violinist Vannessa Mae and her wish to represent Thailand in the 2014 Winter Olympics. The Singapore born British citizen of Thai and Chinese parents (that’s quite a mouthful) is hoping to compete in the ski competition and is now waiting for approval from the International Ski Federation. The post is delivered with some raunchy photos of Vanessa.
Every man loves a girl in uniform and Thailand-Blogs.com has a photo to prove my point. Mike Rose (blog author of My Thai Friend) posted a staggering 42 times during July on his new site Thailand-Blogs.com as he set about making it the new information station for all things Thai. Mike’s post looks at the connection between Thais and uniforms and a possible theory linking them to social status. Fall in and take a military quickstep to view those pretty Thai girls in Thai Uniforms-A Thai Obsession.
It’s hard times and harsh reality for the Thai Pirate in my pick of Ben’s best post during July. Ben wakes one morning to find one of his beloved dogs, Pinky, has been killed by a snake. A harsh reality in Thailand narrates the sad loss of one of Ben’s very best friends and hits home hard about the dangers of snakes in Thailand. Ben asks for no sympathy but I’m sure a few extra hits to this post will cheer him up a little bit. Rest in peace dear Pinky.
Last but by no means least we take a trip to the best Thai language classroom in town. Women Learning Thai…and some men too offer you the chance to win David Smyth’s updated version of his excellent Thai language course. Catherine’s post Complete Thai: David Smyth Updates Teach Yourself Thai runs the rule over David’s new book and CD language course. David’s original Teach Yourself Thai language program is rated very highly by polygots Stu Jay Raj and Luca Lampariello, and Catherine has a competition with the prize to the winner being a boxed set of David’s updated work. It’s a fantastic prize but you’d better be quick because the competition closes this Thursday (August 4th) at 8 am Bangkok time.
That’s it until next month, enjoy.
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Martyn I see you have left the comments open this month which gives me the opportunity to thank you for the plug and the excellent review of all those other blogs.
The blogging community continues to grow here for sure.
If I had to pick a top post I guess it would be Jungle Girls excellent blog on “swimming from Burma.”
Mike our community sure is growing and with the recent addition of some more excellent blogs it proves Thailand is as popular as ever. How many more are out there.
Jungle Jill’s post was superb and for me it was possibly the best post of the month.
Martyn,
Again, thank you for a wonderful month review. I often don’t have enough time to get to everyone on your favourite blog list so I count on you to nudge me in their direction.
And a double thanks for picking that post. Although it’s Monday, the days flash by and soon the competition will be over.
Now that I’ve gotten my giveaway feet wet, there will be more free goodies after this. I’ve been contacted by companies asking to give their products away on WLT, so those participating will have a good chance of coming away with something useful.
Catherine I’ve just checked your competition post and I see there has been 50 comments posted, that’ll taking some sorting through by your judges to arrive at the winner. The prize is well worth winning too. I’m sure any future competitions will be just as popular and those language companies may just keep on sending you lots of freebies, it’ll be just like Christmas Day every time you open one.
I noticed a Tuk-Tuk in the local garage the other day!
Adullamite, there was a Brit, possible two of them who travelled a few thousand miles for charity a couple of years back in a Tuk Tuk. I’ll google it……It was two British women named Ants and Jo and they travelled from Bangkok to Brighton to raise money for the UK mental health charity MIND. Their Tuk Tuk was a shocking pink colour. Here’s a link: http://travelhappy.info/thailand/tuk-tuk-from-bangkok-to-brighton/
The nice thing was that I managed to read all these posts last month. It’s good to know that I’m not missing out on anything 🙂
Paul thanks for the read, the quality this month was awesome.
All the posts come from my Thailand blogroll in my sidebar and due to its rather long length the review takes a while to compile, and because of that I haven’t added any new blogs to it (Thailand blogroll) in a long time. However I have since added an Xtra Thai Blogs category and your excellent site is listed there.
Martyn,
Thanks for mentioning me in this months roundup. I know how hard it can be to pick posts to feature in a monthly round up, especially with such a great group of blogs, writers and posts to choose from. And I can’t think of any better praise than what you’ve given saying that you wish you had written the post yourself. But I don’t see any picks here from ThaiSabai.org??? Don’t be so humble my friend, your posts should be features as well as the rest of us :>)
Steve your two part series was a great read and must have and will be sound advice for those uni kids thinking of taking a gap year in Thailand and teaching. It is also an inspirational piece for those who wish to take up residence in Thailand and teach for a living. Lots of good solid information and tips.
All my recent posts are clickable from my homepage and so I don’t include anything from myself in the review. Thanks.
Very good post. I like the list, alhtough I’ve been to most of these Thai blogs
Great blog, I am travelling to Thailand next month! can’t wait!
Thanks,
Laura
Hi Martyn,
Thanks for the mention and yes, it was a good blogging month. It sure does take a lot of time writing down all those posts but if it helps getting traffic to other great blogs, I’m all for it!
Keep up the good work!
Camille
Camille- Thanks for the read, and yes it takes a bit of work putting the review together as you already know from your own monthly look at the Thai blog scene. The review is getting more popular each month and I’m pleased about that.