Effective 21 December 2009, the application fee for a work-permit in Thailand rose by 600%.
There are two fees to be paid for a work-permit in Thailand, an application fee, and a successor issuance fee.  The former is controlled and set by the Work Permit Section of the Employment Division of the Ministry of Labour.  The [...]

One of the little pleasures in life, when I lived in Chiang Mai, came from the organic produce wholesaler where GazLanNaThai herb and spice stocks were bought.
They supplied porridge oats by the large sackful, although I generally restricted myself to buying them by the kilogram.  Maybe it’s my Northumbrian heritage, but during the winter and [...]

You know you’ve been an expat too long when you can’t think of anything to blog about, that you would have in common people back home.
At least, that’s how it sometimes feels.  At other times, you know you’ve been in Thailand too long when you can’t think of anything serious to write about, or when [...]

It’s a long time since I took part in a pub-quiz. Last night I went along to one at The Pub – ChiangMai’s longest surviving expat watering hole, somewhere around a century old now – and had a great time, even though it left me wondering what’s happened to my brain.

I’ll admit to having a great time, and the manager, Graham – a long time friend, introduced me to a couple of tourists needing to make up a quiz team. We did our best, and just avoided the wooden spoon at the end of the night, but what has happened to my memory?

Rice cuisine around the world has several constants, which may have appeared due to the nature of the grain itself. Possibly they appeared due to movements of peoples and the migration of recipes, but whatever happened, travellers are sure to find familiar fare if they stay with the world’s most eaten seed.
The most obvious [...]

I was told a long time ago that part of the reason Thailand is called “The Land of Smiles” is not because so many people smile so much of the time, but because Thais have over 1,000 different identified smiles, each for a different situation.
After almost a decade living here, I reckon I can clearly [...]