Introduction
For more than 2,500 years, the religion we know today as Buddhism has been the primary inspiration behind many successful civilizations, the source of great cultural achievements and a lasting and meaningful guide to the very purpose of life for millions of people. Today, large numbers of men and women from diverse backgrounds throughout our world are following the Teachings of the Buddha. So who was the Buddha and what are His Teachings?

Tags: Buddha,Buddhism,Rebirth,Thailand,Truth
Categories: Buddhism
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I går morges satt jeg og leste på studiene mine i senga. I øyekanten så jeg en bitteliten mørk skygge som beveget seg sakte i ett sikk-sakk mønster. Prøvde først å få tankene bort fra denne skyggen og tilbake på bøkene, men da det ikke gikk måtte bøkene vike plass for nysgjerrigheten. Når jeg fikk fokusert øynene på skyggen viste det seg å være en mygg med altfor god matlyst. Den hadde tydeligvis hatt buffè på beinet mitt og var nå så full av blod at kroppen holdt på å sprekke. Noe som gjorde at jakten på den ble en enkel affære. For selv om den gjorde fortvilte forsøk på å komme i luften gikk det rett i buklanding etter et par centimeter.

Tags: C4,LK Metropole,Pattaya,Studier,Thailand
Categories: My Diary
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On the left side of the main highway towards Samut Prakarn is an awe-striking image of a three-headed elephant almost the size of a football field. The new structure, said to be as tall as a 14-story building, is creating a stir among people in the province and in nearby Bangkok. But the stir has nothing to do with the distinct honor of having the world’s biggest elephant relief sculpture. Or with the fact that it is home to a vast collection of priceless arts and antiques built over the years by one of the country’s most avid antique collectors, Mr. Lek Viriyaphant, otherwise known as founder of Ancient City, another awe-inspiring cultural shrine located further down the road.

Tags: Elephantine,Museum,Samu Prakarn,Sukhumvit,Thailand
Categories: Bangkok
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This is a Book Review!

Can you make a good “publication” better? Yes you can, and this, the updated and upgraded ‘e-book’ CD from Yves Masure, previously called the Thailand Lexicon of Cultural History, but now re-titled as Thailand Digital Travel Guide and Lexicon, is better than before. For starters, the CD now gives you a choice of three languages – English, Dutch and French, as well as being more ‘user friendly’ with its internal links.

Tags: Buddha,Digital,eBook,Gift,Guide,Photo,Travel
Categories: Thailand
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Pattaya – Reputed to be the two best dive destinations in the area are a pair of shipwrecks: the Hardeep and the Bremen. But the Hardeep is numero uno. It sunk in 1942. This 40 metre long freighter from Indonesia now rusts in peace some 25 metres below the surface, between the isles of Samaesan and Chuang. For divers who enjoy a heady dose of fear along with adrenalin, you can now explore inside the hulk. Best of all, wrecks attract an abundance of fish and coral. The two aforementioned islands are also wealthy in hard and soft corals. For beginners Koh Kruk is the prime spot, and for middleweights its Koh Rin, replete with boulder-strewn swim-throughs.

Tags: Diving,Koh Tao,Pattaya,Phi Phi Islands,Similan Islands,Thailand
Categories: Thailand
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Pattaya lies 150 kilometres to the southeast of Bangkok, less than two hours by road, and stretches for some 15 kilometres along the Eastern Seaboard. Thailands’s largest resort, shares the coast with traditional fishing villages, other resorts such as Bang Saen and Rayong, new industrial centres, the towns of Chonburi and Sriracha, and the port and naval base of Sattahip. Pattaya beach is a palm-fringed, sandy bay with a view of coral islands on the hoizon. Nearby are other cliffs and other bays, while inland, the region is rich in agricultural products including sugar cane, tapioca, rubber and fruit trees.

Tags: Bangkok,Jomtien,Ko Larn,Pattaya,Thailand
Categories: Pattaya
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This is a Book Review!

This week I was presented with yet another book about life in Thailand, and a side oflife that most of us would publicly shun. Written by Derek Sharron, My Name Lon – You Like Me? (ISBN 974-92721-5-3, publisher Bangkok Book House), claims to be a true story following the life and (mis)fortunes of Lon, a girl from Esarn.

In essence, at age 13, Lon runs away from her family in the province of Ubon Ratchathani and comes to Bangkok. To be able to do this, she steals some money from her family home, and that almost sets the tone for this book. Lon explains this saying, “I had nothing, therefore I had nothing to lose, so I ran away.”

Tags: Girl,Lon,Pattaya,Prostitution,Sex,Thai,Thailand
Categories: Thailand
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With the majority of the world’s surface covered with water, and more known about the moon’s surface than the ocean’s bottom, and man’s tireless efforts to explore it all, the sport of scuba diving allows anyone of average fitness to experience the briny blue and its watery wonders. A relatively new sport born from research by the US Navy, scuba diving is an increasingly popular recreational activity for holiday-makers and the adventure hungry. Southeast Asia, and in particular Thailand, offers worldclass training and diving with some of the region’s bst dive sites accessible from its shores.

Tags: Diving,Pattaya,Scuba,Thailand
Categories: Odds And Ends
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Hangovers have been a curse on the human race since before the beginning of recorded history. But modern science, along with building nuclear bombs and MP3 players, has dedicated some serious research time to the subject.

The Cause – For light to moderate drinkers, it takes about five to seven drinks over about five hours to bring on a hangover. Hangovers can be made worse by drinking on an empty stomach, dancing, not having had enough sleep, being dehydrated, and so on. The science of hangovers is myriad. One of the big things is the diuretic effect of alcohol. Once you start drinking, you urinate more than you consume. To make it worse, you also pee away salts like potassium, plus vitamin B and C, which work together with the liver.

Tags: Alcohol,Beer,Drinks,Gin,Hangover,Vodka,Wine
Categories: Odds And Ends
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The cosmopolitan capital of Bangkok is home to Asia’s first dental spa offering aromatherapy and relaxing foot, body and head massage in an avant garde spa-style setting as part of the dental treatment package. Most patients shudder at there mere though of a visit to the dentist. Time spent in the waiting room is an anxious and traumatic experience. The monotone whirring and hum of the dentist’s drill typically heard in the waiting room heightens the element of fear as patients vividly “re-live” memories of their last session in the dentist’s chair.

Tags: Asia,Bangkok,Dental,Dentist,Spa,Thailand
Categories: Bangkok
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