You Go Thai

Muay Thai is a Thai Martial Art. It is an art steeped in tradition that can be seen during the ceremonial null-fight Wai Kru.

Wai Kru courtesy Frédéric della Faille

Muay Thai is the national sport of Thailand, and can be seen at stadiums all over the country and regularly on TV. The main venues for it in Bangkok are null National Stadium(near null) and null Stadium(near null null Rd.)

Fights are between two competitors and are usually set to last five, three minute, rounds. Although many fights don’t go the distance!

Many people don’t enjoy Muay Thai as it is perceived as a brutal sport with little or no rules. This couldn’t be further from the truth.

Muay Thai is built on respect - the fighters’ respect for one another and each other’s trainer; the respect of the fighters for the spectators; and the respect of the fighters for the traditions of the art.

The Wai Kru is a spectacle in itself. Each fighter performs a ritualistic dance in honour of the trainers, the spectators and their opponent.

After the fight the competitors will again pay respect to one another and each other’s trainer.

A trip to a fight night is highly recommended.

You can find out more about Muay Thai at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muay_Thai

http://www.lannamuaythai.com/

http://www.mymuaythai.com/

The oxen have spoken.

This year Thailand can expect a year of abundance in rice, fruit and water.

Life is good.

The prediction comes from the traditional Royal Ploughing Ceremony which was held today in Bangkok.

This year the oxen ate a meal of sesame seeds and grass which gave the Royal Astrologer the information he needed to make the prediction.

Oxen predicts a good year

As the old cartoon’s, Tiger Balm (now in Technicolor), theme tune used to go:

“Tiger Balm
Tiger Balm
Radioactive Tiger Balm”

This article will look at Tiger Balm - Its background, uses, and abuses.

Now, on with the show.

Read the rest of this entry »

Thai people can be very direct in their speech (they also have a flair for indirectness, but that’s a subject for another article). This directness can sometimes cause offence and embarrassment.

Most of the times there was no offence intended as, generally speaking, Thais prefer to avoid confrontation and will rarely say something to you with the objective of causing you pain.

This article looks at Thai directness in general and specifically at the way Thai people tend to discuss weight and size (specifically YOUR weight and size!). Read the rest of this entry »

What’s the story? Morning Glory.

On menus in Thailand you will often see the cryptically named - Fried Morning Glory.

While most of the male readers shuffle uncomfortably in their chairs, (see Wikipedia entry for Morning Glory), I’ll explain . Read the rest of this entry »

His name's probably not Joe

My first experience in Thailand, back in 2002, was getting ripped off at the airport for a taxi fare to the Train station. So when trying to come up with a subject for my first proper blog post about Thailand, I thought “Why not start at the start”.

This post focuses on taxis in Bangkok. I’ll look at pricing, some practical tips and a brief note on personal safety. Read the rest of this entry »

Yougothai.com is an attempt by a Westerner living in Thailand to make sense of life in the Land of Smiles. Read the rest of this entry »