The Thai New Year – One Big Water Fight!!!

Celebrating the Thai New Year in Bangkok was one crazy experience! It’s traditionally a religious festival in which Buddhists bathe Buddha images, monks, and elders and there is a procession of principal Buddha images. “Songkran,” the Thai word for the New Year, means “to move into” and refers to the orbit of the sun moving into Aries. It marks the end of the 12-month cycle and the beginning of a new solar year. Thais give thanks for acts of kindne.. Read More »

Bangkok’s Red Quarter and Prostitution:

We walked along Silom Road and wandered into the Patpong district. Clothing and jewellery stalls lined up in the middle of the avenue all sold exactly the same things. But the biggest attraction was the go-go bars, discotheques with paid dancers in bikinis, strip clubs, and sex shows. This was Bangkok’s infamous Red Quarter, where Thais, and mostly tourists, come to catch a glimpse of some bare skin (or a lot of it!) and to see live shows of young, na.. Read More »

The City of Angels:

Bangkok’s official name is translated into English as “Great City of Angels, Repository of Divine Gems, Great Land Unconquerable, Grand and Prominent Realm, Royal and Delightful Capital City Full of Nine Noble Gems, Highest Royal Dwelling and Grand Palace, Divine Shelter and Living Place of Reincarnated Spirits.”

Shortened for everyday use, this becomes simply, “City of Angels.” It is also called the “City of Mangoes.” It is considered by many to be Southe.. Read More »

From India to Thailand – Stepping into another World

From India to Thailand:

Myanmar (Burma) is officially off-limits to overland travelers, so we had no choice but to fly over that country to reach Thailand. Our trip from Calcutta (India) to Bangkok (the capital of Thailand) went something like this: 18 km. of biking through Calcutta just after dawn, then a 2