More Thai 7-11 Curiosities
So the other day as I was faithfully drinking a beer in Bangkok with a straw which the 7-11 cashier had provided me with, I started to read the information…
The Traumatic Origins of Modern Thai and Vietnamese Historical Writing
River Books in Bangkok has just published a new volume entitled, Southeast Asian Historiography, Unravelling the Myths: Essays in Honour of Barend Jan Terwiel. The first chapter is an essay…
The Thai 7-11 Straw Fetish
Every time I purchase something which comes in liquid form at a 7-11 in Bangkok, the cashier always gives me a straw. It does not matter what the liquid is,…
Tự Đức and the Translation of the Past
In the nineteenth century, the Nguyễn Dynasty commissioned the compilation of a new official history of the kingdom. Emperor Tự Đức read this history and commented on various episodes. His…
The Siamese Sore in Late Imperial Vietnam
I was reading a manuscript today called Random Accounts from a Mountain Residence (Sơn cư tạp thuật). It is supposed to date from the late 18th century, but I found…