Category: Siam and Beyond

With Thailand now in the middle of an official mourning period following the passing of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej last month, tourist arrivals who haven’t been paying attention to world news may be quite surprised at what they see. Everywhere you go, people are dressed in black and white.

I can’t speak for Bangkok, but here in the northern city of Chiang Mai I’d estimate that well over 90% of the people you see around town are outwardly observing the mourning period to some degree. Many people are dressed completely in black. The majority are wearing some combination of black & white clothing, with shades of gray included. And those in uniform, such as students and 7-Eleven employees, are displaying small black ribbons pinned to their chest or sleeve.

Surprisingly, even many tourists have followed suit. The Tourism Authority of Thailand released a set of recommendations for tourists during

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Whenever traveling to a foreign country it’s a good idea to read up on the culture, to see how it differs from your own in order to not offend the locals. Just about every guidebook for Thailand will inform travelers that you shouldn’t point your feet at a Buddha statue, but you should stand up when you hear the national anthem. You get the idea.

There are many other DOs and DON’Ts that the guidebooks may not cover, but which could save you from embarrassment, from wasting time and money, from losing your sanity, from bodily harm, or just from looking like a dumbass. This is no exhaustive list. It’s just a few bits of advice I wanted to pass along…

DON’T Pet the Tigers

Don’t be like the 2009 version of me

Tigers are carnivores, and one of the few carnivores out there large enough to prey

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A typical Wednesday morning in Chaing Mai took an unexpected turn when I suddenly spotted a 4-meter long reticulated python. I have seen snakes in the city before, but never one so huge.

This animal was a good 20 cm thick and I’m guessing about 4 meters in length. According to Wikipedia, the reticulated python is the longest species of snake, with some individuals growing to nearly 7 meters long.

This particular snake was discovered in the area in front of Chiang Mai University. I just finished having breakfast at the little vegetarian restaurant where I usually eat before going to work. As I was about to get on my motorbike and drive off, I noticed something bright colored under the tree just a few feet away. The yellow and black patterned object at first looked like a piece of plastic because it was so shiny and colorful. Then

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One of the most unique experiences you can have in Japan is to journey to Mount Koya to take part in an esoteric Buddhist ceremony granting entrance into a sacred mandala—a visual representation of enlightened mind. The event is open to the public and held twice a year at the picturesque Garan temple complex—the home of the Shingon school—which was founded in 826 by the great saint Kobo Daishi.

Garan temple complex on Mt Koya

Kobo Daishi traveled from Japan to the Tang Dynasty capital city of Xi’an in search of the esoteric Buddhist teachings which would become the foundation of the Shingon (“true word”) school of Japanese Buddhism. “Shingon” is equivalent to the Sanskrit term “mantra,” and in fact the Shingon school is one of the very few surviving lineages of Mantrayana or Vajrayana Buddhism in East Asia.

Taizokai (“Womb World”) mandala

The imagery

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For foreigners staying in Thailand long-term, the island of Penang in Malaysia is one of the best places to make a visa run. The Thai consulate is small, casual, and efficient. There is a great variety of food available, especially Indian food. And the old Chinatown in the heart of Georgetown is one of the most interesting and authentic you’ll find anywhere.

There’s no need to follow a particular walking route—just step out the door from your hotel or guesthouse and wander aimlessly through Georgetown’s Chinatown, soak up the atmosphere and see what there is to discover.

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Elephants are are a national symbol of Thailand, but lately these beloved animals have been generating some negative press. In the past few weeks, there have been numerous reports of wild elephants running amok in national parks, attacking cars and shops. In recent months there were also a couple cases of domesticated elephants turning on their mahouts. In one such incident, a large bull elephant trampled its handler to death and then ran off into the jungle with a couple of terrified tourists perched on his back throughout the ordeal. While the latest attacks involve a hormonally charged male jumbo in Khao Yai National Park humping a Mercedes Benz until it’s nothing but scrap metal. Luckily no people were hurt this time around—the same could not be said for these cars:

Khao Yai is Thailand’s largest national park, but it is also just a couple hours drive

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It’s pretty common for expats in Asia to bitch and complain about silly little things like road safety and breathable air, and while it might be unreasonable to expect people in every country to use turn signals and not burn down the forests, there are some things that Asian countries do get right that my homeland America gets totally wrong. At the top of this list is tipping—or rather the lack of a need to do so.

Having lived in Japan and Thailand for over ten years, tipping is probably the one aspect of American culture that I miss the least. Many of you might think I’m just being a cheap Charlie, or if you haven’t traveled much outside the US, you might not even be able to comprehend the concept of dining out without tipping the waitstaff. But here’s the deal—I don’t mind paying a fair price for food

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If you missed out on Thailand’s annual vegetarian festival this year, don’t worry because you have another chance to catch it at the end of this month. Vegetarians in Thailand have an extra reason to celebrate this year, as 2014 is scheduled for a double dose of the yearly vegetarian food feast.

If you’re in Thailand this year, consider yourself extremely lucky—the double festival only occurs once every 180 years. Much like sighting a rare comet, it’s something you’ll only experience once in your lifetime.

The reason for the double festival is due to the difference between the traditional Chinese lunar calendar and the solar calendar. Since 12 lunar months of 29-30 days each add up to slightly less than a full 365 day year, the lunar calendar has to add a 13th month every so often to keep the months lined up with the seasons. The extra month

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