Penfold's South East Asian Odyssey

Having lived in Thailand for several years, I have personally witnessed countless acts of animal cruelty from people running over stray dogs with their cars and failing to stop to give assistance, to live frogs and lizards being sold in plastic bags to cows, buffalos and pigs being transported in the back of a pick up-trucks without shade, food or water. And to show I'm not making these stories up or over-exaggerating what happens, look at the photos below..... This photo was taken from inside our pick-up truck, whilst we were waiting at traffic lights, on the motorway slip-road between Sriracha and Pattaya. I counted at least 6 pigs and you could hear the squealing over the sound of both the engine and the radio. I have now stopped eating pork in Thailand as a result of seeing this!!! The next photo shows some of the live "delicacies" that are on sale at the local market................ Disgusting isn't it? I understand there are enormous cultural...

I've often commented on the appaling standard of driving and lack of road sense displayed by motorists in Thailand and I think it's time I re-visited the topic. To put the problem into perspective, around 30 people are killed every day in road accidents and that compares with an average of 5 in the UK, which has a similar population. I drive frequently here in the Pattaya area, using a range of vehicles (including pick-up truck, saloon car and motorbike). I have also driven to many of the major cities including Ayutthaya, Chiang Mai, Hua Hin and Rayong. I regularly see examples of bad driving, with the most common being speeding, changing lanes without indicating, tailgating and drink-driving. Fortunately, despite witnessing countless accidents, I have only ever seen one fatal smash first-hand. Here is a photo I took of a recent accident involving 2 heavy goods vehicles on National Highway No. 7 between Pattaya and Chonburi. Hardly a day goes by without a television or...

On the 27th of July the island of Koh Samet, in Rayong province, was ravaged by an oil slick from a ruptured off-shore pipeline. In excess of 50,000 litres of heavy crude oil escaped and began washing ashore. The worst affected area was Coconut Bay, known by the locals as Ao Prao, which is one of the prettiest and most popular beaches on the island. Before.........  After......... ( I am not the owner of the 2 photographs above, nor do I hold their copyright. They are reproduced courtesy of National Geographic) Unsuprisingly, the spill has had a dramatic effect on tourism, with boat-loads of visitors leaving the island and many more cancelling their bookings. There are also concerns about long term chemical contamination and the impact on the local fishing industry. The incident has once again highlighted the spectacular ineptitude of Thai government officials. The tourism minister, Somsak Phurisisak, is reported to have said "I'm very concerned, I didn...

Last week,on the 22nd July, we witnessed one of the most important events in the Buddhist religious calendar, Asalha Bucha day. Asalha Bucha commemorates the first sermon delivered by Buddha, in which he explained his doctrine of the "Four Noble Truths" and is seen in the Buddhist faith as the day when "the wheel of dhamma was set in motion". Dhamma is the principle or law that keeps balance / order in the universe. The law was theorised and formulated by Buddha and over time the word "dhamma" has also come to mean his teachings, so essentially Asalha Bucha is celebrating the beginning of Buddhist teachings and of the religion itself. The day after Asalha Bucha is the start of Buddhist Lent, known as "Khao phansa" or "Rains Retreat". It is when monks remain in their temple for a period of 3 months (during the rainy season) to pray, meditate and study Buddhist scripture. Laypeople often participate in Khao phansa by following a veg...

When I first heard about this story I thought it was an April Fool's joke, but then I realised it's July and the story is actually true!!!! There is a Nazi-themed cafe in the Indonesian city of Bandung, which is the provincial capital of West Java, that features German World War II paraphernalia including posters of Hitler, giant Swastikas and even waiting staff dressed as SS officers. (I am not the owner of this photograph, nor do I hold the copyright. It is reproduced courtesy of the Independent & Independent Print Ltd) (I am not the owner of this photograph, nor do I hold the copyright. It is reproduced courtesy of the New York Post & News Corp) (I am not the owner of this photograph, nor do I hold the copyright. It is reproduced courtesy of Facebook) The "Soldatenkaffee" or Solider's Cafe is named after a famous Parisien watering-hole that was popular among German soldiers during the 2nd Word War. I'm sure the Fuehrer would appr...

I remember a few years back that I brought you some of my highlights from a trip to Ayutthaya and having recently returned to the city, to attend a friend's wedding, I thought it would be a good opportunity to show you some more of the sights. For those of you unfamiliar with Ayutthaya, it is to the North of Bangkok and approximately 160 kilometres from my home on the outskirts of Pattaya.The drive is around 3-3 1/2 hours depending on traffic and it's fairly easy to take the wrong turning if you don't have your wits about you. It is also very easy to access the city by train, public bus or minivan. However, most minbuses in Thailand are driven so recklessly that I would rather poke hot coals in my eyes than travel aboard them. But that's a story for another day!!!!    Now we have got the travelling practicalities out the way, allow me to give you a short history lesson....... In the 13th and 14th centuries Thailand was a patchwork of Kingdoms, with Ayutthaya being...

The Thais are a strange bunch, most of them seem to be as poor as church mice and any farang who has spent time in the Kingdom will tell you that they are constantly pleading poverty or asking to borrow your money. But, when it comes to making donations to local temples, then wads of money will quickly appear and be placed in the ubiquitous envelopes. Hardly a week goes by without somebody in the local community coming to your house asking for "money for Buddha". In order to understand this behaviour, you have to understand the importance and prevalence of Buddhism in Thai society. The Thais place great importance on the concept of" karma" and "making spiritual merit". Karma is basically the sum of your actions in this life and in previous states of existence and as Thais believe in reincarnation, this means karma can carry over in to your future lives. The idea of "making merit" is to ensure that your karma is good and that this life...