Thailand, you’re wonderful but weird as hell.
That’s thanks to your authentic belief in superstitions and random Thainess which gave us the opportunity to write headlines like “Men bury dog alive and feed it coconut milk for sweeter meat,” and “ICT Ministry hosts ceremony to evict ghosts.” Enough said.
We can’t let 2015 pass without rounding up some of its weirdest headlines. So here they are, all equally weird and not organized by weirdness level whatsoever.
1) Men bury dog alive and feed it coconut milk for sweeter meat
Oh boy.
Dam the dog was discovered and rescued from a very unique situation in Kanchanaburi – he was half buried in the dirt. People believe Dam was being prepped for the authentic dish “coconut milk dog.”
What’s coconut milk dog? See our helpful recipe card in the story.
In case you’re worried, Dam is doing fine and should have been adopted by his new owner by now.
2) Magic Monk simmers in stew pot
A show-off monk demonstrated his invincibility by praying calmly in a kettle of boiling oil. This happened at a religious rite which usually involves passing objects to the monk for him to imbue himself with sacred power.
The objects, often amulets or fabric, are then sold to the blind locals to worship the hell out of.
But of course, this monk turned out to not be magical at all, as a Chulalongkorn professor came out and exposed the science behind the sorcery.
3) Ministry list of farang forbidden jobs is a barrel of laughs
Did you know that jobs like “paper hand job,” “Berth blanket mitt work,” and “some hand-twisting spiral” are strictly prohibited for foreigners? That’s what the Ministry of Labor said on its official website.
We tried putting the Thai version onto Google Translate and found out that even Google couldn’t come up with a translation like “Not alien to the professional set of career. Professional and not an alien to do. Set in professional video and tea alien life.”
4) Crocodile on the loose in Bangkok village, almost eats soi dogs
Just when you thought the worst thing that could happen to you in a Bangkok alley was getting mugged, this crocodile that randomly showed up in a residential soi took things to the next level.
Yes, just another case of a wild animal miraculously appearing in the middle of the city with no one knowing where it came from.
5) Thailand’s tuk tuk dress wins best national costume
In a more recent story, everyone was talking about the Miss Universe pageant last week where our awesomely tacky “tuk tuk dress” won the best national costume in the world.
We’re not crazy about the outdated beauty pageant idea but we gotta admit the costume was pretty well-done… and weird.
6) ICT Ministry hosts ceremony to evict ghosts (VIDEO)
The Ministry of Information and Communication Technology, aka the supposedly most advanced government agency, desperately turned to sorcery after their staff believed they were attacked by Ghost.exe. Of course.
7) Farang girl strolls around Soi Nana naked in broad daylight (VIDEO)
What is it about Thailand that makes tourists want to flash their private parts so frequently?
Also, remember when this British guy showed off his water gun at a Songkran party on Khaosan? And when this Hong Kong girl bungee-jumped naked?
8) Yoga granny wows world with splits (PHOTOS)
Grandma Buasorn is badass.
The granny’s aptitude at doing the splits and other advanced poses will shame you. Besides drawing admiration from the internet, she also inspired other seniors in her community to exercise.
9) Batman busted: Dark Knight detained by Bangkok traffic police
The true identity of Batman was unveiled in Bangkok this year after he got pulled over by local traffic police.
It turned out the Dark Knight was actually an ordinary toy shop owner who frequently volunteers in charities. A photo of his Batmobile sitting in the traffic was pretty cool, too.
10) Bees build magical goatee for Buddha
A giant bee hive was strangely built on the chin of a big Buddha, creating a new gesture — the goatee.
The photos were widely spread among Buddhist Thai netizens who all commented, “sa thu,” the rough equivalent of “Amen.”
