The Lunar 7th month has just started. The Chinese believe that the gates of hell are open at this time. Believers burn paper offerings for the “good brothers” or ghosts which have been granted permission to visit the mortal world. Lavish dinners and stage performances are held during this time.
It is also a time when writers get inspiration to pen romantic ghost stories. Do you have one to tell?
Finally, do take a look at the following video shot in Varanasi. It’s rather enlightening, or even interesting, but far more interesting I find, are the responses from Thais who have seen it.
From these responses, it would seem that the messages embedded in the video are:
1. Be grateful that you were born in Thailand
2. Never go to a sok ga prok (filthy) place like India
Have you got a good book to read this weekend? Try Spellbound In Chiangmai. Check out our locker at Hako at Nex or call up your nearest bookstore and bug them to stock up.
Heard this song while shopping at a minimart near my place. Very interesting theme. Love is more than intoxicating. It does the impossible. It can turn a vulgar Ah Beng into a romantic poet. I wonder how many artists were made this way.
FOREIGNERS WHO do regular visa runs in order to extend their stay in Thailand have less than a month before a crackdown by the authorities to enforce immigration laws more strictly.
From August 13, people will not be able to re-enter the country, regardless of their choice of transport.
The Immigration Bureau has already instructed officials to deny entry to foreigners doing visa runs as a measure to stop the exploitation of tourist visas and visa exemptions to live or work here.
Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/No-more-visa-runs-30238504.html
Three university students were shot this morning in front of a bar on Kaset-Nawamin Road in Chatuchak district after they exchanged numbers with women at another table. Three students, all 21, from Kasetsart, Bangkok and Ramkhamhaeng universities said when they stepped out of the App-Radkaset bar, a pickup truck stopped in front of them, and a man in the back fired four to five bullets at them before escaping.
The three students each caught a bullet, but were not seriously wounded. They hailed a cab and admitted themselves to Vibhavadi Hospital. Weerawit Mageen, one of the students, told the police they were drinking at the bar before the incident and flirted with women at a nearby table. It was believed that the man who shot the students was with the women they flirted with in the bar. Investigations are ongoing.
You don’t want to embarrass a Thai, especially one who has a gun.
An apparent misunderstanding led to a shooting incident close to a Buddhist Shrine on the railroad in East Pattaya on Monday Night.
Khun Dumrongsuk aged 30 was riding on his motorbike with his Girlfriend Khun Walapon aged 26. The pair were on their way home after visiting his Mother in the Huay Yai area. The pair drove past a Shrine where it is customary to use the horn on the vehicle three times as a mark of respect.
Driving in front of the pair was a car full of people who heard the horn and assumed it related to their driving which angered the driver of the car who decided to slow down and then follow the motorbike which soon pulled into a small petrol station to refill the tank of the bike.
As the pair left the car continued to follow and then drove up beside the bike and a passenger shouted at the driver which was followed by two gun shots.
Khun Dumrongsuk was hit twice in his arm and shoulder but was able to bring his bike to a controlled stop before calling the Police and medics to the scene. The injuries are not thought to be life threatening as Police search for the offending car, its driver and passenger who fired the shots.
– See more at: http://www.pattayaone.net/pattaya-news/134966/use-of-horn-at-buddhist-shrine-leads-to-shooting-in-east-pattaya/#sthash.BiwBaBq4.XiDUIdnL.dpuf
Many people who have had an unforgettably wonderful holiday in Thailand may be shocked to read this. How can this be the same friendly, hospitable paradise that enthralled them? Are such cases one in a million? Or are they common enough to frighten those of us who don’t know better?
It takes time to discover some of Thailand’s deadly secrets. Have you read our book?
Anyone familiar with Chinese culture will know that Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a great Chinese classic. Notwithstanding their territorial disputes with the Chinese, the Japanese adore this saga so much that they’ve created games and even cartoons to celebrate Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Indeed, this classic gives excellent insights into the trials, tribulations, morals, code of honour, cruelty and pure ingenuity of the Chinese people.
The trouble is, this piece of work can also be fiendishly difficult to read, even for Chinese readers. Translating every chapter, word for word and in chronological order, will definitely not help the non-Chinese reader. The subplots are too complex, not to mention the dizzying numbers of names and characters. What’s more, the original author Luo Guan Zhong had made the assumption that the readers at his time understood the cultural and historical background of the Eastern Han Dynasty.
I shall be devoting the next 12 months of my life attempting to translate and interpret this piece of work in a way that even Western readers can understand or appreciate. The beauty of this classic lies in the fact that there are no real good or bad guys, no permanent friends and foes – just like in real life.
© Chan Joon Yee
Aspiring model Candy Koh on her first modelling assignment. Here’s one candy that won’t hurt your teeth.
More about our book, Dental Phobia