When I told my friends that I was moving to Thailand there was a fairly standard response – not about the richness of Thai culture or the beauty of the landscape, rather that I was going to live in a country full of cross-dressers. Even my Gran, bless her, responded by saying, “That’s where them men-girls come from, isn’t it?’

It was quite a shock, therefore, when I began my new teaching job to find out that what I had thought was just a stereotype for cheap gags was, in fact, a very camp reality.

Standing in front of a class of 60, 15-year-olds I found that the eyes fluttering flirtatiously at me from the first row were more likely to belong to a boy than to a girl. In every class I taught there were at least three or four boys who were so incredibly effeminate that they made Julian Clary look like Chuck Norris.

Since the beginning of June, Chatuchak Weekend Market, which is sometimes also referred to as Jatujak or JJ Market, covering more then 1.13 km² (35 acres) has turned into a healthier place, as the Chatuchak authorities have introduced a complete ban on smoking for the whole market. Violations to the smoking ban would be fined 2,000 Baht.

Chatuchak Market Officials have prepared two smoking areas in front of the Chakuchak Market restrooms.

Still everyone seems to love a bargain and there are plenty to be had at Chatuchak Weekend Market, a happening that occurs in Bangkok every Saturday and Sunday from 9:00 to 18:00.

Items sold at the Chatuchak Weekend Market include everything imaginable and much that is unimaginable, including clothing, flowers, plants, massive goldfish, rare tropical fish, handmade candles, modern paintings, ceramics and kitchen ware, used magazines and books and virtually every kind of handicraft produced in Thailand.

It seems utterly amazing that the Strat, the archetypal electric guitar, is over 50 years old. The Rickenbacker ‘Frying Pan’ may have got there first, and even Fender’s own Telecaster was a precursor, but the Strat was the guitar that became the true king of rock ‘n roll.

Those stratchplate horns, that curvaceous scratchplate, the three single-coil pickups and , yes, oh yes, the tremolo bar.

Why has this shape become ubiquitous? Because it was so ergonomic right from the start, with those twin cutaways giving access to the full length of the rosewood fingerboard. Yet despite more me-too products than the iPod will ever have to suffer, the Fender ‘twang’ is a sound that has proven impossible to replicate.

Thai people across the entire social stratum have been familiar with the popular game of Thai chess since the Ayutthaya Period.

The game requires a 'wooden' chessboard divided into eight vertical and horizontal columns producing 64 squares upon which opponents amass Thai chess pieces arranged according to their positions and importance. Pieces include Khun (King, Met (Queen), Khon (Bishop), Horse (Knight), Boat (Castle) and Bia (Pawns).

Each Thai chess piece is restricted to its own discrete moves on the board, similar to Western chess. For example, Khun may move in all directions while Met may only move diagonally. Boat may go in a vertical and horizontal direction.

Continued increasing rice prices in the Thai market have prompted numerous farmers and middlemen to slow, stall or altogether stop selling paddy rice to millers, a move which eventually affects exporters, according to a Bank of Thailand (BoT) official who is deeply acquainted with the rice trade.

Benjamas Kotenongbua, a senior economist at BoT's Northeastern Office in Khon Kaen, said that this year's rice prices have soared unexpectedly to a new record high.
The government-sponsored mortgage program for the 2007-2008 rice season saw only 240,000 tonnes of rice being committed to it, compared to earlier estimates of 8 million tonnes, she said.

The major reason for the sharp drop of rice participation in the program was the result of soaring of rice prices which persuaded farmers and middlemen not to sell rice to millers.

Temples that appear on Thai banknotes reflect the studied significance of national identity. Among such important temples is one noted for its outstanding architectural attributes and exceptional murals: significant enough for such qualities to be reproduced and printed onto a 1 Baht banknote during World War II. The temple in question is none other than Wat Bhumintr of Nan Province.

Although no documentary evidence is available to account for the reasoning behind the government of the day's decision to designate Wat Bhumintr as the favored design for the banknote, some interesting information has emerged. The Thai government determines banknote designs, although the design of the banknote itself differs from generic printing patterns, so designers must be knowledgeable about the printing of banknotes as aside from general printing.

Each time I visit Myanmar (formerly Burma) I never fail to be charmed by the people’s lifestyle and culture activities along the Ayeyarwady or Irrawaddy River: the people’s strong faith in Shwedagon in Yangon “the land of a thousand Chedis” in Bagan, and the serene life of the folk living on Inle Lake. All are quite fascinating, particularly for first-time visitors.

Myanmar’s current junta seized control of the government in 1988 after violently suppressing nationwide pro-democracy protest. Some people ask, me why I not support a boycott of Myanmar. The answer is simple, only the people, who already live on absolute minimum, get hurt.

In life, the people of Myanmar and Buddhism are inseparable. Local folk start their daily routine by taking food to monks at temples, pray, and then go to work. At the end of the day, on their way back from work, they stop by the temple to pray again before returning home.

A land of diversity and refinement, Thailand is recognized for its strong export potential. Exports from Thailand cover a wide-range of products including food, jewelry, accessories, electrical appliances and electronic goods, textiles, leatherwear, processed agro-products and other industrial goods.

International importers and consumers have expressed confidence in these products for their excellent quality and standards.

In response to increasing demands for Thai export, the Department of Export Promotion established around 8 years ago a center, called the Thailand Export Mart, to allow foreign importers to meet directly for discussions with Thai producers and exporters.

Designed to facilitate and support international trade, the Thailand Export Mart serves as merchandise display and export center to enable Thai exporters and foreign importers to finalize deals on the spot.

Tata Group will launch the brand new Tata Xenon 1-ton pickup at the 29th Bangkok International Motor Show. The launch of the Thailand-made Tata Xenon is to be the chairman's second launch this year after he personally launched the Tata Nano, the world's cheapest car, at the Delhi Auto Show in January.

Tata Motor (Thailand) Co last year set up a factory in Samut Prakan province, which borders Bangkok, to manufacture 1-ton trucks for the domestic and export market. Production of the Tata Xenon with a Dicor engine using common-rail diesel technology began earlier this year.

The Tata Dicor 2956cc common-rail diesel engine is capable to produce 114 horsepower and a 300nm torque. The first model introduced will be equipped with 5-speed manual gearbox.

Avoid buying Kingston memory distributed by Ingram Micro. We love Kingston memory; we use Kingston memory modules in most of our computers.

It not happens that often, but it happens sometimes, a memory module broke down, we think no problem the memory module is 2 years old and we have life-time-warranty on Kingston.

But to our surprise, life-time-warranty is less then 2 years at Panthip Ingram-Micro service center. So we, paid extra for believing we bought something like 5 to 6 years warranty and ended up with nothing other then what you get with regular cheapest memory modules.