Kanom Jeen Nam Ngiew (ขนมจีนน้ำเงี้ยว) might be Chiang Rai’s most famous dish. There are a countless number of delicious local menus that are little known to tourists or even local people today. While some dishes can be widely available in restaurants, some are available seasonally only, and some can be extremely hard to find due to the shortage of ingredients and people with the right…
April 19th Americans receiving social security, veterans or federal retirement benefits can now have them directly deposited free of charge in their Thai bank accounts, the US Embassy announced this morning. The US Treasury Department now offers direct deposit of federal benefit payments from the Social Security Administration, Veterans Affairs Department and Personnel Management Office, according to an email sent out by the embassy. “The…
Chiang Rai has an expat population that appreciates the quiet, laid back atmosphere of this little northern city. Quiet, stress free streets, incredibly friendly locals and a warm atmosphere make a winning combination for those in search of the quiet life. However, Chiang Rai is not the traffic free place of years ago when the only smells were buffalo dung and incense… The two stroke…
“In America, you can say anything you want as long as you don’t DO it. In Thailand, you can do anything you want, but don’t SAY it!” This was one of the lines in a talk last Sunday by Dr. Sunyarat (Ton) Ratjatawan, PhD, a Bangkok psychologist. Dr. Ton during his presentation to the Pattaya City Expats Club on Sunday, May 26, was explaining some…
Not quite a Top Ten but some good straight-talking about buying condominiums in Thailand. One of the most commonly read or spoken summary of foreign ownership of property in Thailand is along the lines of “Foreigners can buy a foreign freehold condominium in their name”. At this sentence, many foreign investors switch off, and assume that the rest of the detail provided by the author…
The Signs on the Road. In today’s article, I will tackle the specific differences between Western culture and Thai culture. Believe me, there are A LOT of differences in the two cultures and not just in wording and spelling! It goes waaay deeper than that, in so many areas, and the differences could actually surprise you. This is only natural because as human beings, we…
Although they total only a fraction of a percent of Thailand’s female population, there is a large number of Thai women who prefer to have foreign husbands and boyfriends. I don’t have any facts and figures, but my guess is the percentage of Thai women seeking foreign husbands and boyfriends is higher than in most other countries. But why ? I’m not going to argue,…
Thai expat and entertainment forums seem to have far too much utter nonsense in threads and posts about Thai Visas and Thai Immigration. Some forums have new threads that are uploaded several times a day – the subject content is always the same Thai entry and exit rules and regulations. Embellished with various threads about Thai Work Permits – Retirement Visas and more, on and…
Trying to decide where to eat in Chiang Rai? The most obvious evening options for visitors to Chiang Rai tend to be concentrated in a small area, so correspondingly, many of the bars and restaurants are to be found within a short radius of the Night Bazaar and Jedyod and Phaholyothin Roads. Perhaps, with the excuse of high rents in this central location, prices are…
Motorbikes and scooters are the most popular mode of transport in Thailand, and most of south east asia. The 110cc step-thru is ubiquitous. Most just go and go and go – they’re astonishingly reliable. Whilst you’re meant to change the oil once a month we suspect most don’t get their oil changed once a year, or ever. Getting around on a motorbike is easy enough…