(Part 2) Top products from r/Thailand

> not sure what you mean by 'what-about-ing' (still working on my english) but if you are referring to "it can't hurt" argument

I'm not. I mean, your response to some criticism is "ok but what about...". I didn't mention America or Christianity, nor do I represent them, so why is it relevant :/

> it has nothing to do with you. If I'm going to spend $100 on an amulet knowing that the proceed will go into fixing the temple, feeding the homeless or whatever (as mention in previous comment that proceed often go to some great causes) hoping for some good karma, how does that concerned anyone? same goes for following astrologer. if I follow his/her advice without having to crazy/harmful things, again how does that concerned anyone? This is how most Thais think. They don't follow it blindly as they will say "ฟังหูไว้หู ไม่เชื่อแต่ก็ไม่ลบหลู่"

I'm sorry, but changing a child's name when he's old enough to be confused is not harmless. Politicians running the country based on lucky dates is not harmless. A taxi driver scraping by a living covering his cab with amulets instead of educating his child is not harmless. Monasteries asking for donations so they can build yet-another-massive-orange-and-gold-temple is not harmless. They might not be as bad as "risking your kid getting measles" but they add up.

> I was comparing that they're all important part of the culture and religion. However for those magical abilities you're referring to, I believe in Christianity (or catholic), they are called miracles and I believe they're mentioned regularly in mass media. I see it all the time.

'Miracle' is mostly a metaphor for something really, really unlikely. For example, a low football team beating a good one might be described as a miracle, but it's not meant in a theological sense. Actual miracles are associated with Jesus himself, or with saints (i.e. the Catholic equivalent of 'lesser' Buddhas). The "Jesus appeared in my toast" stuff is pretty fringe, tends to appear in specific sects of Catholicism such as Spanish Catholicism and usually mentioned in a widercontex tas a joke.

>> one special part of the Moon
>well that's a new one. I thought we're just talking? why the mockery?

It was a joke, but there really is a free Bible on the Moon. The Americans left it behind them in case anyone 'needed' it. I'm not sure how you'd think it was mockery, I'm just saying how available it is.

you get 10,000 points for "Sightseeing"!

I can't think of too much fiction... The Windup Girl is an excellent book, but the Thai setting feels a little cringey and forced. It doesn't ruin the book but it doesn't have to be in Thailand either.

Three non-fiction books I think are essential for anyone who hates being clueless:

• Very Thai explains a lot of minutiae about life in Thailand that you probably won't figure out on your own. I wish it were easier to find here, but it's worth buying if you ever see.
  
• Siam Mapped by Thongchai Winichakul explains how modern Thailand and the concept of "Thainess" came to be. It's by a famous Thai academic, but was originally written in English because there's a little too much hard truth in it.
  
• The Art of Not Being Governed by James C. Scott explains the fuck out of hill tribes. I don't think any book has colored my understanding of anything quite like that one. It's full of boring, skippable parts but there are some insights about Southeast Asia I don't think you can gain elsewhere.
  
  edit: I remember an awesome hilarious collection of anecdotes/essays by a prototypical farang sexpat in the late 40s but I forget what it's called, I'll look for it tomorrow
  
  edit #2: Lonely Planet's "World Food Thailand" is also excellent and well-researched
  
  edit #3: "Letters from Thailand" is interesting too, it's about a boy who immigrates to Bangkok from southern China in the 1940s and it follows the rest of his life in Thailand.

If you really believe that there is no blatant anti-multicultaralist rhetoric in Thailand you must either live in a nice bubble or not be paying enough attention.

Clearly you are very passionate and love Thailand and ความเป็นไทย, but there have been books written about the Thai nationalist and anti-foreign rhetoric in politics. It does exist and you spouting ad hominem does not change that.

That's a difficult question to answer.

Quite a few Thai dishes have their origins from Chinese dishes, particularly those with flat noodles and around 14-20% of Thai's have some Chinese ancestry; the Chinese diaspora was large in Thailand particularly in the 19th century to the point at one stage it was believed that there were more Chinese in Bangkok than Thai's (source: A History Of Thailand, a good read) whereas today they've all blended in (mostly through inter-marriages) and the Chinese community were forced to take Thai names by Government policy if they wanted citizenship under the rule of King Rama VI.

Thai food, like Indian food and indeed Chinese food has regional dishes.

From a Western perspective many would consider Pad Thai something close to a national dish, along with your base curry dishes (yellow, green and red) but that's both stereotypical and it's Central Thai food.

In the North (Lanna) the most famous dish is Khao Soi, which is very much a spicy and sour experience.

North East food (Isan) tends to have more Laos influences and is spicy. South food has more of a Malay influence.

This answer could become way too long so I'll stop here but if you want more try Wikipedia, and as another commenter noted: Papaya Salad is a common dish, is one of my favorites and well regarded by Thai's as well (my Thai girlfriend eats it several times a week).

Edit: typo

Hope you are still looking for a book about the country. While I was traveling in Thailand, I came across this book, Touch The Dragon

It is a story who lives in a small farming city in Northen Thailand. She is the only non Thain in the community, she has to learn the language customs, and idiosyncrasies of the people the people she is with.

Given a high probability you will be the only non thai in your village I recommend this read to you. It will help you understand why certain things are done they way they are.

https://www.amazon.com/Read-Thai-Days-Bingo-Lingo/dp/1505679524/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1500606267&sr=1-1&keywords=Learn+to+read+Thai+in+10+days

My first Thai teacher in Bangkok wrote this book, and I'm reading, and doing it right now. It's very, very good, and laid out in a very logical manner. If you follow the book you're not going to 100% after you finish, but you will have a great foundation to build upon.

Joe Cummings has a great book on Thai tattoos, I'd recommend it

[Sacred Tattoos of Thailand: Exploring the Magic, Masters and Mystery of Sak Yan]
(http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/9814302546/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=justinmaccart-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=9814302546)

Bangkok: The Story of a City by Alex Waugh is pretty good history wise. It's kinda dense, but really covers everything.

link

I'm not Andrew. I've met him a few times socially, though haven't caught up with him in over a year - we've been in different countries.

I took the dinner party photo that's in the Khaosod article. It would be difficult to take that photo whilst also being in it.

> Any evidence for that?

Andrew has written extensively and exclusively on Thai politics and the Thai monarchy for many years now, covering the issues in detail that no one else is doing, nor is able to do. Given the extreme suppression of speech on the topic and absence of others covering it, that makes his contributions very significant.

There's a lot to read, but perhaps his latest work would be a good starting point: A Kingdom in Crisis.

There's not a lot of history in The Windup Girl but it is set in Bangkok, and it is a good read..

I'd argue you can do just as well by treating the monarchy in its relations with the other founts of power: The Politics of Despotic Paternalism deconstructs the ends and means of Sarit's strongmanship (in a level of detail beyond "his self-interest, of course") - still relevant, given that we'd otherwise have little to appeal to once the military decides Something Must Be Done yet again; while The Soteriology of the State instead describes what occurs should you want to view the monarchy as an extension of state-with-a-small-s Buddhism (the former does more to sustain the latter, but that doesn't deny an interesting relationship from adhering in the other direction.) Both are from the 70s and 80s - but I've in fact had trouble finding sources from even earlier that set out to investigate without using foreign relations as a point to begin and end īth, considering there remains more to be said about the range of democracies Thailand has sustained.

The former, curiously enough, you'll be able to easily get in a Books Kinokuniya. Do it to feel like a rebel - come on...

They're all on Amazon, paperback and/or Kindle.

https://www.amazon.com/Sightseeing-Rattawut-Lapcharoensap/dp/0802142346/

https://www.amazon.com/Fieldwork-Novel-Mischa-Berlinski/dp/0312427468/

https://www.amazon.com/Way-Thais-Lead-Social-Capital/dp/6162151166/

https://www.amazon.com/Jasmine-Nights-Classic-Coming-Thailand/dp/0980014948/

http://www.amazon.com/The-Overture-Anuchit-Sapanpong/dp/B000DN5VTY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1332174355&sr=8-1

Expensive. There is a cheap Thai version but it doesn't have English subtitles. They do that with a lot of Thai dvd releases because they don't want people importing the cheap Thai version, and want them to buy the full priced foreign version.

http://www.mangpong.co.th/eshop/product-detail.php?id=002455

No MSG in the chemtrails.

But yes, all the estrogen in the sewage is definitely having an effect on the frogs and other wildlife.

Since you seem to be so interested in conspiracy theories, you should check out the latest documentary form Jordan Sather, about the secret space program and zero point ("free") energy:

• https://www.amazon.com/Above-Majestic-David-Wilcock/dp/B07JLZL5WF/ref=zg_bs_2958993011_3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=X492ACNETM1F91GY73TC

Yes, it's basically the plot behind the non-fiction book The Confessions of an Economic Hitman. Seems like it's not just the USA and western banks doing this now China is cashed-up. Predatory finance. It's a boring and dry topic, and happens in the shadows because people pay more attention to sports and Kardashian's tits.

This book
https://www.amazon.com/Hello-Shadowlands-Fiefdoms-Bomb-Scarred-Southeast/dp/1785783475

Private Dancer

Bangkok Days

Dead Drunk: Saving myself from alcoholism in a Thai monastery

The Damage Done: Twelve Years of Hell in a Bangkok Prison