THAISiDE|PRAJUMSOOK.COM

A recent survey of 23,088 Thai students from Pathom 5 up to doctorate level in all provinces across Thailand show that more students are turning to alcohol. According to the survey, the average age of drinking students is 19 years. The youngest drinker is only 10 years old. Up to 56.7 per cent of Thai students with a grade lower than 2.00 in the previous academic semester have been drinking in the past six months

One of the questions that we sometimes receive in our mailbox and over at the ThailandQA.com forums is this one: “How do Thai people celebrate their birthdays?” Well, they don’t often celebrate in the way that we do in the West. This often means no cake, no presents and no party for your friends if you are a child. Birthdays are not usually marked in the same way here as we did with birthday parties when we were younger.

The tragic news over the weekend of the two speedboats that collided near Koh Samui brings back bad memories of my own boat trips. I think just about every time I have been on a boat in Thailand I have always worried about overcrowding and the seemingly lack of life-jackets. There are of course laws in Thailand which limits the number of people

If you want any proof that superstition and black magic is alive and well in Thailand then you don’t need to go further than the front page of the Thai Rath. This is the most popular newspaper for Thai people and its front pages are often filled with colour pictures of road accidents and murder victims. On the front page of yesterday’s newspaper was this photo of a policeman looking at 14 jars containing the pickled remains of foetuses. Yes, you heard right.

After a string of bad luck, the Thai government has decided that the best way to bring about national reconciliation in Thailand is to move around some furniture and potted plants at Government House. I don’t want to belittle the beliefs of the people in government, but wouldn’t it be better if they paid a little less attention to feng shui and more to the hard work of solving the problems that the country is and has been facing for the last four years or so? Here is the news according to MCOT: “The Thai government has readjusted its feng shui at Government House according to Chinese cosmological understandings to enhance luck and prosperity as well as to create peacefulness. Six potted plants of one species were placed on the lawn in front of the Thai Ku Fah Building, opposite its entrance, where Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva enters the Government House compound

According to an article in the Bangkok Post, the Fine Arts Department plans to register 25 sites as areas of historical interest in Thailand this year. Most of the sites are in Bangkok and many are Buddhist temples, although there are also palaces and residences. Registration will entitle them to allocations from the conservation budget

Thai cuisine involves the balancing of contrasting flavors, spicy and subtle, sweet and sharp. It is also concerned with aesthetic value, for the Thais believe that food should please the eye as well as the palate.

Whenever we have new foreign teachers at the school, I always take them out to a restaurant as part of their orientation. This is partly to introduce them to my favourite Thai food on a menu. But, I also want to point out to them some of the finer points of Thai dining.

Thailand’s first population census was conducted in 1909 by the Ministry of Interior. Four subsequent censuses followed in 1919, 1929, 1937 and 1947. Since 1960, the National Statistical Office (NSO) has been responsible for undertaking population censuses every ten years under the 1952 Statistical Act (revised in 1965). In accordance with the United recommendation that countries should undertake national censuses every the year ending with 0 (zero) for the purpose of international comparison, Thailand has conducted its census in 1970, 1980, 1990 and 2000.

If you go to Thailand on holiday, you will most likely find that the local food is one of your highlights. You will find this both delicious and cheap. Here are some of my favourite Thai food dishes. 1.

People are already planning their holidays in Thailand for 2010 and so we thought we would help out by letting you know the dates of the main events and holidays. I know so many people keep asking “When is Loy Krathong in 2010?”.

If you have ever been to Thailand then you would have surely seen Thai people by the side of the road playing takraw. This is a very informal game of about half a dozen people standing in a circle. They then have to kick a rattan ball to each other trying their best to keep it off the ground. Every part of the body is allowed to be used apart from the hands.

The Ministry of Culture has planned many cultural activities to promote Thai culture and stimulate confidence in Thailand among international tourists and investors. Culture Minister Teera Slukpetch said that Thailand, in the eyes of in the world community, is a land of peace and that Thai people are generous and apply religious principles in leading their life. The violent incidents that have taken place recently, however, came from differences in political views and seriously tarnished the image of the country, thus affecting confidence in Thailand

The Office of the National Economic and Social Development Board has issued a report on Thailand’s social outlook in the second quarter of 2009. The report, which was acknowledged by the Cabinet, covers four major areas, namely the quality of human resources, social security, people’s behavior and living conditions, and the environmental situation.

In Thailand, one of the cheapest places to buy and eat food is by the side of the road. These are the mobile stalls which vendors wheel to their locations every day. Sometimes they might leave the cart there and then bring all their working tools in a pickup truck