Want to write? Don’t do it!
by Leonard H. Le Blanc III I have been asked by other aspiring writers, since I am doing a lot of book reviews again for Expat Life in Thailand, how can they become a writer? I am immediately reminded what Daniel Craig (James Bond movies) just told other aspiring actors who want to become thespians: […]
A grateful and escapist immigrant
Let me tell you what it is like, so you won’t have any misconceptions… at least, this is how it is for me. Life of an immigrant. Where to start and where to end? The weather for the past few days has been like the early spring days in Lebanon, when the winter’s cold is […]
Reflections on the Covid-19 pandemic
I would be hard pressed to find a single person in Thailand that has not been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic in some way, shape or form. It has been a really wild quadruple corkscrew rollercoaster ride that is now slowly, mercifully, coming to a gradual end. But what about the long historical view of […]
Never give up A Thai Love story or two
Everyone loves a good love story, right? Where do I begin? Let me start at the end, when I met Perry at Maybelle’s Coffee Garden in Phuket. He has just returned from his wedding ceremony in Korat in the northeast of Thailand. A glistening gold ring on his finger engraved with Phichawi ❤ Perry. This […]
My new mattress and topper
Moving home? I have recently moved from a 5 bedroom house on 3 storeys in Bangkok to a much smaller condo on the fourth floor of a condominium in Hua Hin. Was it worthwhile trying to manouvere the quality king sized mattress down the stairs and then onto the fourth floor of the condominium – […]
My new shopping mall of choice in Hua Hin
I have owned condos in Hua Hin for 12 years and rented them out occasionally and stayed maybe 3/4 times a year but recently because of Covid, lockdowns in Bangkok, air quality, traffic gridlock and various other reasons I moved full time to the resort city. I have to date always been a supporter of […]
Letters from Thailand – Issue #3
Welcome back to my weekly newsletter which has now been renamed as “Letters from Thailand”. I really appreciate all the messages of encouragement that I received after the last newsletter went out. It really helps with motivation when it comes to doing things like this. Hopefully you will enjoy the third edition too. Thanks! Better […]
Food for thought – Covid-19
Social distancing, vaccination inoculations, face masks, hand cleansing, testing for the virus. All these actions have become routine, an all-to-familiar part of our daily lives due to the global spread of the Covid-19 Corona virus. These measures have success to a greater or lesser extent, but the variants that keep springing up seem to keep […]
Expat Life leaves Bangkok
As Bangkok is not the safest, or most pleasant place to reside in lockdown I made the decision 3 months ago to move to my weekend retreat in Hua Hin, two and three quarter hours south, south west and 190kms out of Bangkok. I had lived and worked in one of the Duang Prateep Foundation’s […]
For Gladwin Pantastico, running a classical music school in Phuket is a fulfilment
Born and raised in the Philippines, Gladwin Pantastico, 40, was surrounded by musicians in his family. Yet, he discovered his love of classical music at just 12 years old. By the time he was doing his music degree in a Filipino conservatory, he had taught classical music for five years in several schools in the […]