When Heath Insurance Means Life, Death or Bankruptcy

When Heath Insurance Means Life, Death or Bankruptcy

When a young Brit fell off a train going from Bangkok to Surat Thani in April 2017, it brought back a similar accident that spawned this story and underlined the need for health insurance, writes Jim Algie.    Riding the night train from Penang, Malaysia to Bangkok, a...
The Sexiest Thai Ghost Story of Them All

The Sexiest Thai Ghost Story of Them All

Without a grounding in the supernatural one is unable to understand the daily effects of Thailand’s ancient animistic culture. In this retelling of the infamous Thai ghost story Jim Algie untangles the historical truths from the fantastical legends.   The Thai...
Eco Apocalypse

Eco Apocalypse

Weather patterns have gone schizo and loco lately with unheard of days of downpours in Bangkok during the dry season, cold snaps and lashes of wintry wind and frost in Europe, and even blizzards and school closures in normally balmy but rainy Vancouver. As one media...
Facebook for the Dead and Dying

Facebook for the Dead and Dying

A growing number of people are reconnecting with ailing Facebook friends even as they lay dying, or mourning their loved ones online, and the reality is not as ghoulish as it sounds On November 9th, 2010 an old friend posted the following status update on Facebook:...
One Bloody Night with the Bangkok Corpse Collectors

One Bloody Night with the Bangkok Corpse Collectors

The rescue work of the Bangkok corpse collectors has been featured on the BBC, CNN and National Geographic TV, inspiring books like The Cars that Ate Bangkok by Philip Blenkinsop and a chapter in Bizarre Thailand, which is where this extract comes from.    Poh Teck...