In Thailand going from one place to another is done by motorcycle. That is a law of nature from which you don’t deviate or it could be detrimental to your health. So if your motorcycle is broken or a motorcycle is not available to you for whatever reason, you are really bound hands and feet. Last Sunday this crystal clear truth became very clear to me.

We were going to visit a lady with the three of us, Wongduan, Mali and me. Since a couple of weeks both Wongduan and Mali are totally immobilized because neither one of them has a motorcycle at the moment. Now they cannot go any place, life is very tiresome and inconvenient. Unfortunately, (more…)

Thai people have beautiful names. Only they are seldomly used. They are written in documents and said at official occasions. But in everyday life, only the nickname is used.

To outsiders, the nicknames can have a funny ring. ‘Bird’ is the most common name, followed by ‘Small one’. From a western perspective, that is quite accurate to describe most Thai, yet something doesn’t seem quite all right when a sturdy guy with a beer belly is called ‘Small one’. Yet it is as common as hearing a teeny-weeny woman being addressed as ‘Fatty’. (more…)

For six years I lived among the Thai, and now since 3 years I am living among the Isaan. Isaan is a region of Thailand, the northeast, but it is much more than that. The Isaan have an identity that can clearly be distinguised from the Thai.
Of course, the first question is: Should you write about Thai and Isaan as two different ethnic groups? Or are the Isaan a subgroup of the Thai? The Isaan themselves are clearly talking about it as two groups. They are talking about the Thai (so not the Central-Thai) language and the Isaan language. And you can hear things like: “My mother will not allow me to marry a Thai.” (more…)