A common mistake made by visitors to Thailand is to assume that Brahma shrines are a “four faced Buddha”. This is probably a natural assumption made on the grounds that Thailand is a Buddhist country, indeed, Thailand has the highest percentage per population of Buddhists in the world, so it’s a mistake which can easily […]
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Thai Fighting Cocks
Cock Fighting or Gamecock Fighting is still an immensely popular pastime in Thailand, especially in rural Northeast Thailand. Fighting Cocks, called “Gai Chon” are kept for the sole purpose of cock fighting. In terms of Thailand’s cultural heritage, cock fighting is often placed alongside Muay Thai, you could almost say it is a way of […]
Continue ReadingGhostly Encounters and Spiritual Offerings
First of all, the fact that most Thais believe in ghosts is unquestionable. You can see evidence of this in the form of the Thai Spirit Houses outside most people’s homes and dwellings, hotels, and businesses in Thailand. Thai Spirit Houses are homes for ancient spirits and protective deities; offerings of food and drink are […]
Continue ReadingThailand Land Of Face
There’s a lot of talk about “face” in Thailand, but what is this thing they call a face? Let’s take a look at this strange quirk of Thai culture, let’s “face up to face.” Maintaining face, gaining face, and “saving face” is a bit of an enigma, an unseen but ever-present reality of social life […]
Continue ReadingThailand Land of Mai Pen Rai
Never mind, “it’s nothing”, “no problem”, “it’s not a problem” they are all common translations for the famous Thai phrase “mai pen rai”. When faced with a problem, no matter how large or small, the initial response of most Thai people is “mai pen rai”, but that does not necessarily mean that the problem is […]
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