Sathorn Surprise - an authentic local Bangkok experience

 I didn’t expect to warm to Sathorn quite so quickly. On paper, it reads like Bangkok’s corporate engine room, all glass towers and embassy blocks. In reality, it’s one of the most comfortable and practical places I’ve stayed in the city, especially when you want a base that works rather than overwhelms.

We stay at the new Dusit Thani Bangkok

Bangkok’s beloved legend has rebooted itself with flair: the new Dusit Thani Bangkok isn’t just another skyscraper hotel — it’s like the city’s classic nodding graciously to the future. After a stellar transformation and grand reopening in September 2024, Dusit has taken its rich heritage and wrapped it up in slick modern design and views that make you go “wow” every morning. 

Dusit Thani Bangkok among the world’s top 100 hotels

 Dusit Thani Bangkok, the reimagined flagship of Dusit Hotels and Resorts under Dusit International, has earned global acclaim by ranking #60 on the inaugural extended list of The World’s 50 Best Hotels 2025. This newly introduced list highlights 50 exceptional hotels across six continents, chosen by over 800 independent travel professionals—including hoteliers, journalists, and seasoned luxury travellers—for their innovation, service excellence, and guest experience.

"Eat Spain Drink Spain" at LUZ Bangkok this Friday

Spanish market-themed evening on Friday at INNSiDE by Meliá Bangkok Sukhumvit

 LUZ Bangkok Tapas Bar is set to celebrate its second anniversary in style with an "Eat Spain Drink Spain" evening on September 26, 2025. This rooftop venue, located on the 33rd and 34th floors of INNSiDE by Meliá Bangkok Sukhumvit, will transform into a Spanish spectacle, showcasing premium products and entertainment.

Flashback: Bangkok 25 years ago

 Bangkok is very different from the rest of Thailand. It has a population of six million and a totally dysfunctional transportation system, which they are trying to fix by building raised freeways. As if that had helped any anywhere it was tried... During Bangkok's extensive rush hours, car exhaust forms a swirling smog in the main streets, and the noise is deafening. There is lots of construction, but the noise of the jackhammers is drowned out by the traffic. Crossing a street becomes a matter of courage, timing, and good judgment of the potential homicidal tendencies of the drivers. Unless everyone is hopelessly tangled again and nothing moves. Policemen wear smog masks here.

Same Same Buddha

 'You from India? Same, same Buddha!' the driver exclaimed happily as he helped me with the luggage. I had a day to kill during transit in Bangkok, so I took one of the numerous tours around the city before flying back to our home in Bangalore.

Bangkok's Siam@Siam Design Hotel revamped and reinvented

There’s something about hotels and I’m always particularly excited to see a major refurbishment or even an old decrepit building transformed into a swank new establishment.

Read more »

SO Sofitel Bangkok - Like nothing you’ve seen before

 

Sofitel SO Bangkok

The mighty French AccorHotels hospitality company knows a thing or two about hotels, with more than 4,500 hotels, resorts and residences across 100 different countries. Sofitel has been their marquee brand since acquiring the company in 1980, sort of like Lexus is to Toyota. Yeah, Sofitel is Accor’s ‘show off’ brand and the new ‘SO’ extension is the ultra-hip side they describe as “highly creative and fashion-led, each SO Hotel is an avant-garde masterpiece imaginatively inspired by an iconic, signature designer.”

Banyan Tree Bangkok - Reach for the Skygarden

Skygarden

Bangkok is a city overflowing with amazing quality accommodation and dining options. The choice can be overwhelming, but some properties just keep shining through. One such beacon is iconic The Banyan Tree, located in the upmarket Sathon district.

The 61-floor, 5-star all-suite hotel has recently completed upgrades to its signature Saffron offering which includes the acclaimed fine dining venue and Sky Garden on the 52nd floor.

Whether dining inside or out, the unobstructed view is spectacular right across the city and provides the perfect location to enjoy their Award-winning contemporary Thai cuisine which includes such stand-out dishes as seared Tasmanian salmon with crisp pork crackling and a spicy citrus dressing, banana blossom salad with perfectly grilled and marinated prawns served with a coconut dressing and fried banana flowers.

Resident guests can further enjoy the newly upgraded products of Serenity Club, located on the very top floors. These expansive suites also afford exclusive access to the 19th floor Club Lounge with complimentary happy hour, buffet breakfast, laundry as well as express check-in and out among other benefits.

Two Bedroom Suite

The pick of the rooms is certainly the Two Bedroom Suite with space for up to four guests, making it perfect for either families or good friends. Rollaway beds can even be added and each bedroom enjoys its own ensuite bathroom and comes with a rain shower, and jumbo bathtubs.

The Banyan Tree Bangkok also offers outstanding event and meeting spaces as well as the Spa with such signature treatments as the Thai Blossom Romance and Tropical Rainmist for a total mind and body experience.

The Banyan Tree Bangkok is rated 4.5/5 by TripAdvisor.

The Jim Thompson House

Jim Thompson House (bangkok.com)

Jim Thompson, an American who was born Greenville, Delaware, in 1906 practiced architect prior to World War 11, he volunteered for service in the U.S. Army, campaigned in Europe, and came to Asia as part of the force that planned to liberate Thailand. However, the war ended before the operation. He arrived in Bangkok a short time later as a military intelligence officer attached to the O.S.S. After leaving the service, he decided to return and live in Thailand permanently.

The hand weaving of silk, a long neglected cottage industry, captured Jim Thompson's attention, and he devoted himself to reviving the craft. Highly gifted as a designer and textile colorist, he contributed substantially to the industry's growth and to the worldwide recognition accorded to Thai silk. He gained further known through the construction of this house combining six teak buildings which represented the best of traditional Thai architecture. Most of the houses were at least two centuries old and were easily dismantled and brought to the present site, some from as far away as the old capital of Ayudhya.

SEE ALSO: Jim Thompson House: Much more than silk

In his quest for authenticity, Jim Thompson adhered to the customs of the early builders in most respects. The houses were elevated a full story above the ground, a practical Thai precaution to avoid flooding during the rainy season, and the roof tiles were fired in Ayudhya employing a design common centuries ago but rarely used today. The red paint on the outside walls is a preservative commonly found on many old Thai buildings. The chandeliers were electrified as a concession to modern convenience, but even they belong to a past era, having come from 18th and 19th century Bangkok palaces.

Jim Thompson at home with his silk. His disappearance remains a mystery to this day.

All the traditional religious procedures were followed during construction of the house, and on a date in the spring of 1959, decreed as being auspicious by astrologers, Jim Thompson moved in. The house and the art collection soon became such a point of interest that he decided to open it to the public with proceeds donated to Thai charities and to projects directed at the preservation of Thailand's rich cultural heritage.

On March 27th 1967, Jim Thompson disappeared while on a visit to the Cameron Highlands in Malaysia. Not a single clue has turned up in the ensuing years as to what might have happened to him. His famous Thai house, however, remains as a lasting reminder of his creative ability and his deep love of Thailand. In 1976, the Thai Court appointed administrator for the property of Jim Thompson received permission from government ministries of the Kingdom of Thailand to legally establish the James H W Thompson Foundation.

By virtue of its presence and the dictates of its charter the Foundation is committed to the preservation of Thailand's rich artistic and cultural heritage. The foundation supports a wide variety of research, publication and seminar projects in furtherance of this aim. All these activities require funds, and the James H W Thompson Foundation welcomes any contributions.

==

Open everyday from 9 AM - 6PM
Last tour begins at 4:30 PM
Jim Thompson House and Museum
opposite The National Stadium (BTS exit 1)
6 Soi Kaseman 2
Rama I Road, Bangkok
Tel: 02-216-7368

Well Hotel Bangkok - It’s your lifestyle

Thailand-based hotel management company, Well Hotels & Resorts, opened the first of its four properties in Bangkok in late 2015 with a focus on lifestyle and wellness. Located in the heart of Bangkok on Sukhumvit 20, just a short walk to shopping at either EmQuarter or Terminal 21 and BTS Asok and MRT Sukhumvit.

With just 235 4-star rooms and suites across five categories contained in two low-rise buildings, Well Hotel is almost boutique by Bangkok standards. We liked the bright and airy public spaces which are something of a sanctuary from the cut-and-thrust of this lively neighbourhood surrounded by high-rises, cafes, convenience stores and the ubiquitous massage salons.

Executive suite (supplied)

Well-equipped (pun intended) with business and event space, Eat Well Café & Restaurant, The Bar & Grill, Pool Bar, 24-hour in-room dining, Well Spa, fitness centre and swimming pool. To further reinforce the wellness theme, both Executive Rooms and Executive Suites are fitted with private exercise bikes and a Well Fit Box with yoga and stretching kit including mat, block, massage ball, exercise ball and resistance band and - yes - an electronic scale.

Well Hotel certainly has a youthful and ‘hip’ persona, but that shouldn’t deter guests from all walks of life. Perhaps just gauge your own ability before launching into an energetic routine.

www.wellhotelbangkok.com

Amara Bangkok - an extra sparkle in 4-star

Bangkok’s new wave of 4-Star hotels shame many properties of the same rating in other cities around the world. Bright, modern architecture and design, great locations as well as services and amenities more in keeping with the upper echelon bring a little bit of luxury within reach of regular business and leisure travellers.

Amara Bangkok is not a name that immediately springs to mind when scouring the internet for decent accommodation in Bangkok. The brand grew up in Singapore and has roots back to the 1930s when founder, Teo Teck Huat, started his family construction business. Today Amara Hotels & Resorts also own this property in Bangkok, opened in 2015 and another in Shanghai, opened in 2018.

Amara Cabana Room (supplied)

The swank 250-room hotel is located in the vibrant neighbourhood of Surawong, parallel to Silom and Sathorn Roads and just a short walk to Patpong Night Markets. Rooms come in Deluxe, Executive, Club and Cabana and Suite, plus there’s a rooftop infinity pool and bar on the 26th floor, a Grand Ballroom and two function rooms, a 24-hour Sky Gym, and Amara’s own 24-hour mini bar boutique in the lobby.

We liked the compact rooftop Club Lounge as well as the basement eatery, Element, that offered a surprising variety of Southeast Asian cuisine in a space that did not feel at all underground. Importantly, service standards were excellent and our few queries handled promptly and politely.

Bangkok.amarahotels.com

137 Pillars Promotion - enjoy a free night

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137 Pillars Suites & Residences Bangkok 59/1 Soi Sukhumvit 39 Klong Nua Wattana Bangkok 10110 E: stay@137pillarsbangkok.com | W: www.137pillarsbangkok.com | T: +66 (0)2 079 7000

Cycling the back roads and back alleys of Bangkok

Words: Jill Varley

It’s challenging enough to keep your equilibrium in check in a taxi or motorised Tuk-Tuk through the streets of Bangkok, let alone get behind the wheel of a car. So navigating this metropolis on a bike is not for the fainthearted. Especially when you consider that this is a city where two million vehicles cram onto the roads and the daytime population rises to more than nine million.

The trick to cycling here I was told is to do it on the back roads and at the right time of day. Not knowing what constitutes the right time of day and indeed which roads to take I sought the advice of the concierge at the Shangri-la Hotel where I was staying. He recommended Dutchman Co Van Kessel’s company Bangkok Bicycle Tours “they know the city like the back of their hand,” he assured.

When Co started his business he had a hunch the city wasn’t all about gridlocked traffic, concrete towers, and choking pollution so he made it his goal to re-discover Bangkok. What he found lurking between the main urban thoroughfares was a vast network of local streets, alleyways, footpaths and canals – hidden worlds of peace and tranquillity, largely unknown to outsiders.

The beauty of cycling in Bangkok, confronting traffic notwithstanding, is the city is as flat a pancake and so it makes any real effort a breeze.

We started from the Grand China Princess Hotel in Samphantawong escorted by experienced and knowledgeable guides who wear distinctive yellow baseball caps. Their bright colour makes them easy to identify and are waved in an assertive manner to stop traffic so the group can scurry single file across a busy road. I start the adventure a mite wobbly as we headed into the narrow laneways of Chinatown, my right foot ready as a foot brake to stop me falling into the steaming woks of breakfasting locals.

After the colour, movement and the potential pitfalls of Chinatown we cycled to the Chao Phraya River and board a waiting ferry which took us to the other side of the river. Back on our trusty ‘steeds’, we rode along narrow elevated boards, criss-cross canal villages, drove through the courtyard of a temple and watched as a Buddhist monk in saffron robes brought food to a gathering of stray dogs and cats. Two hours later we were back where we started with all body parts intact and feeling particularly lightheaded at having survived the experience.

To book a Bangkok Cycling Tour, talk to your travel agent or call 1300 640 373.

Bangkok's oldest bar: Check Inn 99's colourful history

It began as a remote bolthole for ex-pats and spies and became a Bangkok institution attracting Hollywood elite.

It was a simple enough invitation. Serial renegade ex-pat, motorcycle riding buddy, best-selling author, would-be pop star and all-around likable rogue, Stu Lloyd, says “Join me for a quiet ale at Check Inn 99. It’s open mic afternoon.”

Of course, I had no idea just what the scheming Rhodesian had in mind, but to say it turned into a rich and rewarding afternoon would be a gross understatement.

As I wandered into the little hole-in-the-wall establishment, the Sunday afternoon crowd was just warming up. A local Thai chap was ripping some serious blues chords on a big semi-acoustic Fender while sax and jazz keyboard players were taking their supporting roles very seriously. Stu wasn't kidding, some substantial talent already in the swing of things.

Band gets into the swing

With red wine and tuna sandwiches laid on, Stu introduces me to Chris Catto-Smith, a former RAAF fighter jock who has run Check Inn 99 with his Thai wife, Jiraporn, known to her many friends as "Mook". Mook is the orphan of a slain senior Thai police officer and holds a high position within the force herself.

She’s not to be trifled with either. The Bangkok underworld plays a complicated game with a convoluted hierarchy that would take hours to explain. Suffice to say that when a posse of goons tried to shake down her newly reopened establishment, they left down-in-the-mouth, empty-handed and thoroughly chastened. Never to return.

I say ‘newly reopened’ because for nearly 60 years, Check Inn 99 occupied the same location on the now famous Sukhumvit strip between Sois 5 and 7, originally under the name ‘Copacabana’. Chris and Mook tidied up the place in 2011, turning the former go-go bar for US servicemen on R&R from Vietnam into a serious nightclub with good food, a well-stocked bar and quality live (musical) entertainment.

Sunday revellers settle in for 'just the one' L-R Stu Lloyd, guest, Chris Cato-Smith, Rod Eime. Stu is holding the Kevin Cummings book, Bangkok Beat, while I'm flashing Stu's soon-to-be-released 5th edition of Hardship Posting

“The Copa was something of an institution back in the day,” Chris tells me over another red wine, “celebrities would hang out here and relax away from prying eyes. Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Rachel Welch and David Bowie to name just a few. Not bad considering it started out with what were basically farm girls in ball gowns.”

20-something Noi with Bob Hope in 1968

When a long-running struggle to save the original premises was lost, Chris and Mook took the name and the ghosts with them to a new spot in Soi 33 and did their best to revive the spirit. And the effort seems to have been largely successful.

A fresh-faced Noi in the 1960s

One ghost that will never leave the Check Inn 99 is that of celebrity ‘mamasan’, known simply as Noi, or later Mama Noi. Noi passed away suddenly in 2016 after a career in the Bangkok nightlife scene that began as a feisty 17-year-old in 1960 at the ‘Copa’. Noi hailed from Ubon Ratchathani in the rural province of Isan to the northeast of Bangkok, a region that supplies much of the varied workforce in Bangkok.

Imbued with a classic Thai/Khmer beauty and oodles of spunk, the young Noi made rapid strides in the business and was largely responsible for the success of first The Copacabana and then Check Inn 99. The glitterati came to see her as much as hang out with their Hollywood cliques. She was frequently seen in close quarters with Bob Hope and his entourage and even ‘vacationed’ with them in the USA. She even briefly became something of a muse for the pop legend, David Bowie.

During the intermission, keyboard player, Keith, rocks up to our table and embraces Stu - as one does - like a long-lost pal. The three of us trade yarns from our time in the Australian music scene and discover much-overlapped history. It’s a small word.

Keith and William, the sax player, are whisked away for another jam session, joined by a mysterious and glamorous woman of colour. She belts out R&B, blues and gospel that fairly makes my spine tingle. The room is transfixed as her voice dominates. We’re in awe for a full 30 minutes.

As she leaves the stage to enthusiastic applause, she wanders nonchalantly to our table and chats effortlessly with the drinkers. I compliment her on a stellar performance and she smiles appreciatively before resuming the small talk. Stu elbows me in the ribs and whispers, “you know that’s Deni Hines!”

Miss Deni Hines with admirers

Deni tells us she’s been in Bangkok for almost a year (who knew?) while still pursuing an active career in music as well as charity work.

Boy, she still has the goods and Check Inn 99’s reputation for impromptu A-Listers remains.

By now I should know what to expect when Stu asks me out for “just the one”.

- Roderick Eime

Check Inn 99 website: http://checkinn99.com/

Sources and further reading:
Bangkok Beat by Kevin Cummings ISBN: 0692396454

Does Vietjet Thailand have the Worst Airline Service in Thailand?

Vietjet scores just 3/10 on Skytrax and 5/10 on airlineratings.com

Dear Readers

As you know my name is Stu Lloyd.

Only my mother calls me Stuart.

When she's angry.

But today is my turn to be angry.

You see, I've just been rejected by Vietjet Thailand to board my domestic flight because my assistant had inadvertently booked me as 'Stu' ... three whole letters short of 'Stuart'.

I've already explained that if another person by the name of Stuart Lloyd turns up, I am prepared to give up my seat for him.

Otherwise, in all probability that's me, not some cheap imposter.

Especially as I have a confirmation email, a passport, and a phone number which all tally with the information supplied.

"Even one letter wrong we don't board people," said the smug manager -- who I'd summoned in the vain hope of getting some sense out of -- with a sense of petty power and pedantic pride.

Understand, this is a new airline presumably looking to establish market share in the super-competitive Thailand market.

What I got was policy, policy, policy.

With so much seeming pride in her own disempowerment by process.

I asked her for other alternative solutions but was stonewalled.

"So there's no other solution, possibility or alternative way to sort out this situation?"

"No, we are a low-cost airline."

And that makes what difference to the need to delight customers???

When pressed on what other alternatives, options and solutions there were? Blank.

I asked her to call the most senior Vietjet person in the airport.

Then it escalated. Suddenly she's threatening to call airport police and they are here ... all -- count them -- six of them. Because I was "so impolite".

As I might well be, knowing I've been dumped from my flight, will lose my return tickets with zero refund, and will miss my specialist dental appointment that evening.

An interesting customer service strategy.

The officers are bemused when they see me: so THIS is your trouble maker??? The guy standing at the counter tapping out this blog on his laptop.

It seems she's most aggrieved by the fact that I took her photo which might identify her by her ID badge. (Which it didn't.)

The police ask me to delete it from my phone. Which I do right in front of their eyes.

She then, in Thai, accuses me of lying.

I surprise her by responding to her accusation in Thai, which rather shocks her.

"So now you're calling me a liar. Fantastic! This just keeps getting better."

No wonder Vietjet scores just 3/10 on Skytrax, 5/10 on airlineratings.com and 2.5/5 on TripAdvisor

The standoff just kind of fizzles out, I glower at her and return to writing this. The police shuffle off.

Net result: I missed my flight. That ticket and the return a few days later were deemed "invalid". (As worthless as the 500 Rupee notes I was issued in India a few days earlier.)

My assistant later spoke to the reservations department in Vietjet, who was a little surprised by that decision and action by their front liners.

And an airline veteran friend I spoke with laughed at the treatment meted out to me, incredulous that I should not be boarded, especially on a domestic flight, for that reason.

Anyway, I enjoyed a fantastic flight from Bangkok to Chiang Mai on Thai Airways and returned with the super perky smiles and energy of Thai Smile.

I can also fly between Chiang Mai and Bangkok with Thai Air Asia, Thai Lion Air, Nok Air and possibly others too.

So, Boo to you, ThaiVietJet. You clearly stated you did NOT want any of my future regular business, and you sure as hell will NOT get it.

And hopefully you, dear readers, won't support such behaviour either.

I may have been three letters short in my name. But I suggest VietJet is three letters short too ... in the A.R.T. of customer service.

Chiang Mai service counter looking closed (Nomadic Notes) 

#vietjet #thaivietjet #worstairlineservice #shitservice #vietjetthailand #boo

Summer in Siam by John Borthwick

Summer in Siam by John Borthwick

"I walked out the door, a bit dazed. I had ten dollars and two not-quite diamonds, and it was summer in Siam." John Borthwick's first day in Thailand seemed far from auspicious — but it has been uphill from then on. Dropping him in the middle of everything from three-day tribal weddings, elephant polo follies and pristine islands to Pattaya's bacchanalian nightlife, Thailand has kept John and his pen constantly on the move.

One of Australia's leading travel authors, John Borthwick has gathered here the best of his years of Thailand adventures, plus a swag of vivid tales from his wanderings in India, Xinjiang, the Himalayas, Borneo, Bali, Laos, Vietnam and the Philippines.

New website: Summer In Siam

Paperback
Bangkok Books
Bangkok 2006
232 pages 395 Baht
ISBN 974-85129-2-4

books about Thailand: Hardship Posting - true tales of expat misadventure in Asia ...

Let me start with full disclosure. The author and editor of the Hardship Posting series is someone I know really well. Have done for years. In fact, all of my life. We grew up together, went to school together, and are practically inseparable as adults.

Well, it's um ... me. Jing jing!

I am blogging about this series of books now because they are just being released for the first time ever in an e-book format on Amazon. Click here to see inside the book online [insert subliminal ad message here -- Buy it! Buy it! buy it!]

Some have said it's the best Thailand travel guide because it deals with Bangkok bars, notorious Thai nightlife, airport and immigration stories and so on. But it's not really a travel guide to Thailand like the Lonely Planet. Nor is it a novel set in Thailand. Instead, it is a collection of 400 amazing and amusing stories collected from expats in Asia, covering the full spectrum of life. It just happens that most of the craziest episodes seem to happen in the Kingdom, for whatever reason (such as the British gent who posed as the High Commissioner to impress Bangkok bar girls).

There are bent police, slimy con-men, corrupt officials, and shady taxi drivers -- in other words just another day in Bangkok or Pattaya! There are also philandering expat husbands, language boo-boos, moving company dramas, etc.

I could go on and on raving about it ... it makes me feel a little awkward to do so. Honestly. Rather, listen to what various readers and reviewers have got to say about the best-selling series of 3 volumes which has already topped 70,000 sales.

"Sleazy, disgusting, politically incorrect and shockingly insensitive; I loved it" - Nury Vittachi of the HK Standard raved.

"Good fun. Everybody gets the shaft. Indeed the 280 page book isn't long enough. This reviewer often chuckled out loud." - Bernard Trink, The Bangkok Post

And, finally, one more from The Expat Magazine Singapore, who said:

"A mighty collection of tales. The bawdy humour comes thick and fast throughout. A rib-tickling read for the not-so-faint hearted."

Those last two words are important. Don't even open the cover if you are the least bit thin-skinned. You WILL be offended. No wonder it's banned in China, and unwelcome in polite society just about everywhere else.

So luckily you can buy it and download it from the privacy of your own computer now.


[The cartoons in Hardship Posting Vol 1 above, are by Larry Feign, the whizz behind the long-running World of Lily Wong strip.]

If you like the 'Washing your balls' cartoon, I have plenty of Thailand golf course stories and reviews on this blog. Such as this one from Phuket.

.

Thailand travel rated 2nd most popular destination 2013

The folks at UK tour company Kuoni have just put out a report based on their 2013 Travel Trends (hey February is better late than never!) and forward bookings.

Good news is that long haul travel to Thailand comes in 2nd most popular for the Brits. So where is more popular this year for the dentally challenged sandal wearers? Only travel to the Maldives. And after Thailand comes Sri Lanka. I've been to both, and they are undeniably magical in very different ways. For me, Maldives is purely about honeymoon. A week of indoor bedroom sports, coming up for air occasionally to go scuba diving or to drink a champagne toast to the glorious sunsets. But frankly not much local indigenous culture (or even local people) to see or enjoy or experience on your distant atoll.

I will blog soon on how Thailand fared in the top 10 Wedding destinations and top 10 Honeymoon destinations section of the report.

In making the announcement on Thailand, Kuoni's report talks about Bangkok as a captivating city, the floating markets, and the small island hideaways,"overlaid with a friendly, open culture."

Personally I would have questioned the use of a word like "overlaid" in the context of Thailand! ;)

But this should not detract from the enjoyment of perennial favourites such as Phuket, Koh Samui, and the up-and-coming Koh Chang.

Oh, and I'll leave with a little language pronouncing lesson for all our British visitors to the Kingdom in 2013. Koh Chang is pronounced "got chung" (rhymes with hung). Otherwise your boat driver may not know where you want to go.

How to speak in Thai - according to Rosetta Stone and Saturday Night Live

This spoof clip from the popular comedy show Saturday Night Live is ruffling feathers.

According to the Bangkok Post, the Thai authorities are apparently requesting for it to be removed from You Tube.

Watch it. Do you think it warrants the fuss??? Is it any better or worse for the country's image than Hangover 2 which I blogged about last year?

If nothing else, it should encourage a hell of a lot more people to learn the Thai language. But frankly I think the government should concern itself with much bigger issues ... such as teaching Thais to speak English and engage with the global economy to get the country moving ahead so that it is not so reliant on the sex industry to provide jobs.

Otherwise it continues to provide comedic fodder for the outside world ...