Love them or hate them I reckon Thai neighbours are pretty unique. True they are just ordinary folk like you might find back in the UK or US but they seem to possess this ability to operate at the extremes of human tolerance. Often they demonstrate great acts of kindness or on the other hand acts of selfishness and a total disrespect for anyone else.Take this morning for instance, Saturday, no school and a planned lay in before a trip to Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park for a bit of wildlife wa... Read Full Story

Two seemingly unconnected stories, one from the Thai media and one from a UK local newspaper, involving Thai women and marriage caught my eye today.In the first case reported in the Harborough Mail(Northants,UK) under the headline, "Thai woman and lover jailed over murder," the paper reports the life sentences handed out by a Thai court to the murderers of Ian Beeston a British Expat who was married to a Thai woman and living in Thailand at the time of his death. The convicted couple were Be... Read Full Story

Thai jasmine rice or hom mali is in my opinion one of the best types of rice for both quality and flavour. It is renown throughout the world and the product bearing the name Thai jasmine rice can only be grown in Thailand, or to be more specific certain areas of Thailand.Since Thai jasmine rice is such a unique product it is perhaps not surprising that the Thai authorities are getting a little hot under the collar with the arrival on the rice growing scene of Jazzmen Rice from the USA. Althou... Read Full Story

Wikizines are interactive magazines that anyone can create or edit - and this one is called "Thai Visa". Here you can find fresh voices and respond in real time. Some members write articles about recent news and trends related to the wikizine's topic, others recount relevant personal stories or share their favorite pictures and video clips. Got an interesting idea or story to share with other members of this wikizine? Well, then put on your journalist's cap and add your own article! Read Full Story

I apologise this morning for doing a blogging post here, but I need this to go to a wide an audience as possible in the hope that someone can help.Until around August this year the traffic had being growing nicely on MTF and I was getting around 6000 hits a month. Since that point traffic has declined considerably and last month (October) hits had almost halved. Google Analytics in August was indicating 57% of traffic from search engines (mostly Google)which is down to 30% in October. Clearl... Read Full Story

Loi Krathong the Festival of Light took place in Thailand last night. As part of the celebrations we headed into the nearby Tabon of Khlong Wan where the local authority had laid on some entertainment to accompany the ceremony of launching our krathongs into the sea.Depending where you are in Thailand, you will find the Loi Krathong celebrations taking place on any convenient water, be it river, pond or as in our case the sea.Sadly last night the weather was not brilliant, although it was cl... Read Full Story

You can bet its a no news day in the Thailand media when you see under "breaking news" on the front page of the Bangkok Post that Manchester City and Birmingham City fought out a goalless draw in the UK yesterday! Thank God I didn't stay up to watch it.Of course here on the news desk of MTF we are never short of editorial copy but things have been put on hold as the household prepares for the Loi Krathong Sai Festival tonight. Now since I am the sort of guy who likes to share things I though... Read Full Story

Yesterday I happened to stumble upon the local Muay Thai training camp in Prachuap Khiri Khan. Its housed at the back of the football stadium in the town and I was unaware it existed.Muay Thai is often referred to as Thai boxing or kick boxing although the hands, feet, shins and elbows may be used in the sport when fighting a opponent. Muay Thai, the art of eight limbs, is also big business in Thailand and yesterday I was lucky enough to watch two local fighters training for a while.Each fi... Read Full Story

October in Thailand is the end of the rainy season, signalling a cool period of weather across the country. This might well have arrived at just the right time as far as Thailand's politicians are concerned since much of this month has seen them exhaling a lot of hot air over issues such as climate change, Thai Railways and the ASEAN summit in Hua Hin. Sadly this month has also seen HM the King hospitalised were he currently remains although the latest reports suggest he is on his way to rec... Read Full Story

I first met a Thai girl named Doy back in 2007 when I visited the family home of my partner Duen in Samut Sakhon, Thailand. I was taken with her from our first meeting, a fantastic smile, a happy go lucky kid who bonded easily with myself and Duen.Later I learned of her unsettled life, abandoned by her mother with no one really taking responsibility for her. Whether I unconsciously made a decision to help her there and then I don't know but once we settled in Prachuap Khiri Khan we invited h... Read Full Story