"The palace is closed." If you've been anywhere near the Grand Palace in Bangkok, you've likely heard those words. No matter what day you heard them or who said them, I can guarantee one thing: the palace was not closed. You don't even have to be near the palace to hear those words. On my second day in Bangkok, I was approached by a well-dressed man while waiting to … [Read more...]
Why Couldn’t My Train Just Derail Like Everyone Else’s?
Trains in Thailand have a hard time staying on the tracks and the route from Bangkok north to Chiang Mai seems especially prone to derailments, judging by news reports and even a few first-hand accounts on other blogs (like this one by That Backpacker, which actually sparked my memory of the incident in today's post). Personally, I've only embarked on five train journeys in … [Read more...]
An Elephant Gets Revenge
I recently wrote a post about the mistreatment of elephants in Thailand, so I thought I'd balance that out by recalling a time an elephant got a bit of revenge on us humans. Apart from the ones that work in logging and those forced to carry tourists around a little loop in the jungle all day, there are also elephants who are marched up and down the busy streets of touristy … [Read more...]
Bargain Prices on Elephant Torture in Chiang Mai
Most visitors to Thailand have a good-sized list of things they want to experience in the country and riding an elephant is usually one of them, but if they knew the treatment those elephants are forced to endure, most would probably make a new list. The problem isn't the riding itself, though. Unless, you top the scales somewhere around the 'morbidly obese' range (that's a … [Read more...]
Hard Truth for Us Good-Looking Slackers
Don't I know it......numerous little snippets of wisdom pepper the trees on the Phra Singh temple grounds in Chiang Mai, Thailand, but this one was obviously meant specifically for me... … [Read more...]