Beyond The Mango Juice » Monthly blog reviews http://www.thaisabai.org putting together life's jigsaw in North East Thailand Mon, 06 Sep 2010 09:55:29 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 Thailand Blogs – August 2010 Review http://www.thaisabai.org/2010/09/thailand-blogs-august-2010-review/ http://www.thaisabai.org/2010/09/thailand-blogs-august-2010-review/#comments Mon, 06 Sep 2010 09:31:56 +0000 Hoo Don http://www.thaisabai.org/?p=15928 My monthly blog review is a little bit late this month due to me putting together my fourth blog site. Six Two Four is my new baby and I'm not going to tell you its theme, I'll just give you a clue. If you say the numbers real quick you should guess its topic. If you can't, then it probably won't appeal to you, but if you can guess its content then please click on the above link and have a read. The photos in this month's review were all taken in Wonderful Wi's garden in Udon Thani. Last month I added a new site to my Thailand Blogroll and it is written by published author Paul Garrigan. Here's how Paul explains a little about himself, "I'm an ex-drunk who has found that living sober is better than anything I could have imagined previously. I’m originally from Ireland but now live in Thailand; a wonderful place to be free of addiction. I like to talk about recovery in the hope that it will inspire other people, but mostly because I just like to talk. Join me on this wonderful journey and see where it takes us." Paul's published book Dead Drunk tells the story of his life as a teenager who loses his battle against alcoholism and follows his adventures in Dublin, London, Saudi Arabia and finally to a village in rural Thailand. Paul's blog paulgarrigan.com offers excellent advice for those battling alcoholism but also covers many aspects of general life in Thailand. Paul's writing places a lot of emphasis on Thai culture and the psychological and philosophical side of living in the Land of Smiles. My pick from Paul's blog for August covers culture and Thai peoples absolute belief in the power of Buddhist charms. The Day the Buddha Tried to Kill My Car is a great introduction to Paul's writing style. Talen and Thailand, Land of Smiles have finally made it to the Land of Milk and Honey and the start of a new life in Thailand. Before departing America Talen wrote a post explaining how he first discovered the charms of Thailand and his path to eventual settlement there. Each Journey Begins with One Single Step is a brilliantly constructed piece of script and is my pick as the best Thai blog post I read in August. Make sure you read it too. Talen may have made his move but Siam Rick has Mountains to climb before I exit stage, Far East. If you are planning to move to Thailand or any other country then there are many loose ends to tie up before you depart. Visit Behind the Noodle Curtain and check out Rick's anxiety levels as he goes through the motions of renting his apartment, securing his visa, setting up a Thai bank account and much much more. Mike Rose has been Looking for the Thai Silk King. Jim Thompson was a former OSS (CIA) agent whose operations eventually took him to Bangkok. At the end of World War II, Thompson made Bangkok his permanent home and set up the famous Thai Silk Company, he later became known as the Thai silk king. In 1967 Thompson died whilst visiting modern day Malaysia and there was mystery surrounding his death. Mike and Thailand-Blogs.com investigate the many theories which have surfaced since Jim Thompson took a jungle walk and was never seen again. Have you ever been in Thailand and wondered what those small red boxes are for on the outside walls of some homes and businesses. Women Learning Thai...and some men too has the answer, eventually. Most people assume the red boxes are mail boxes, I know I did, but like so many other people I was wrong. The mystery of the red boxes explores the possibilities of their use and eventually their reason is revealed and later confirmed in of all things, the post's comment box. Catherine should of made it a red one. Malcolm was less active on Retired in Thailand and Loving It during August because of serious illness. Thankfully the tough talking American expat residing in Wang Pho, Kanchanaburi, has now made a good recovery. I know his wife and best friend Ciejay will have helped him on the road to better health. Acquaintances old and new are the topic of Malcolm's post Friends "before and after" Retirement as a much fitter Malcolm got back to his computer desk. The Karaoke King from Kanchanaburi best sums up the post's theme in his opening shot from the bows "There comes a point in your life when you realize who really matters, who never did, and who always will." The Thai Pirate, otherwise known as Ben, recently swapped his gardening tools for a long haul curry. Yes I did spell that right. Ben, his wife and young baby recently took a holiday in England and Ben gives a smashing review of his flight choice in Jet Airways and Thailand. Young Aiden is smothered and mothered by the Jet Airways stewardesses (lucky Aiden), which gives Ben the chance to settle back and enjoy a curry. Ben's summing up of his first flight with Jet Airways was good price, great curry. Check it out yourself. Steve has gone numbers crazy. Thailand Musings has statistics galore in Thailand Ranked #58 of World's Best Countries in a post about data released last month from the online Newsweek. Crunch yourself through the numbers and see how Thailand ranked in Newsweek's category rankings on Health, Education, Quality of Life, Economic Dynamism and Political Environment. The last one in the list should make interesting reading. MeMock and Life in rural Thailand once again take us back to olden days long gone by in View from the Ubon Hotel in 1968. MeMock has been sent video footage from one of his regular readers and has been posting clips from time to time of how Ubon Ratchatani was back in the sixties. Swing yourself along to Life in rural Thailand and view Ubon in an era when a steak dinner cost just 30 baht. If you enjoy eating from the street stalls in Thailand then there's every chance you'll find my pick for August from Camille's Samui info blog right up your street. Camille continues his meals on wheels series by serving up a another tasty treat in Food on Wheels, Soup from a car. Camille's post includes some great photos of a soup wagon he saw on a recent trip to the Fisherman Village's popular Walking Street. Don't forget to take some bread with you. Jonny Foreigner puts the X Factor into the Thai police force with his post The Thai police as you've never seen them before. The boys in brown dance up a storm in a video accompanied by music from Korean Pop band Super Junior. The YouTube video included in Jon's post received over 250,000 hits shortly after its release onto the popular video sharing website. Make it one more with a left click on your cute mouse. How would most Thai people react to snow. My guess is they wouldn't be able to get enough layers of clothing on fast enough, and then they'd still have to make a bonfire afterwards. Thai Life in Phana author Lawrence recalls the time when his family spent a few weeks in Spain and France, and shared a week in the Pyrenees mountains earlier this year. Thai people abroad has photos and commentary of Lawrence's family's reaction to the cold crunchy white stuff called snow. That's it once again from my Thai blog monthly review. Catch you next time.
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