Hogs for the Gods: Appeasing Thai Spirits
byEvery home and business in Thailand is inhabited by spirits—both good and evil—and the Thais believe these beings must be acknowledged and appeased, whether…
Thailand
Thai Tigers and the Tourism Trail
by“The floating market, palm sugar refinery, World War II Museum, Death Railway, Bridge on the River Kwai, and Tiger Temple.” Thus reads the catalog…
High-Country Hanukah and a Very Buddha New Year
byWat Prathat pokes majestically through the forest on a hill high above Chiang Mai. According to legend, it was built over 700 years ago…
“Keep stirring! Keep smiling!†Thai Cooking Class in Chiang Mai
byNo visit to Chiang Mai would be complete without at least one day of Thai cooking class. There are 12 formal schools throughout the…
Quickly-Slowly in Northern Thailand
byThailand’s northern capital, Chiang Mai, is a city of either 200,000 or one million, depending on who you ask and who you include in…
Lingam of Life: Bangkok, Buddha, and the Ber-Mom
byBursting from our Banglampoo bubble, we finally escape this faux-Bangkok barrio which has confined us for more than a week. We’ve been saving the…
Eva: The Airline that Stole Christmas
by“Sit! Down!” Those were the compassionate words of the Eva Air employee to my soft spoken mother-in-law in the San Francisco International Airport the…
Puppets, Klongs, and Missing Moms
byFrom the Gulf of Thailand, we come raging back into the urban landscape with all kinds of missions at hand, chief of which is…
Ko Chang Chillin’: Time well spent
byOn our first night in Bailan Bay, Tay and I are taken in by a group of souls with whom our friendship immediately transcends…
The Writer’s Life and a Singha Sunset
byWe find our quiet spot, an unassuming curve of coastline called Bailan Bay, on southwest Ko Chang, “Elephant Island.†Bailan is somewhere between the…