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Sale of ‘Ultraman Buddha’ paintings rise to 2.6M Thai baht
Nothing adds values to art like a scandal. It happened with the Mona Lisa when stolen in 1911 and it happened this weekend when a second controversial painting in the so-called Ultraman Buddha series, depicting the religious leader as a Japanese superhero, sold for a staggering THB2 million (US$65,600.) After the first painting was auctioned ...
Thai hardliners wanted this art destroyed. Instead it just sold for 600,000 baht
As Buddhist hardliners demand the destruction of paintings depicting the Buddha as a Japanese superhero, a patron announced today that he’s flipped one at auction for a whopping...
Monk sheds orange to throw fists of fury at Bangkok’s Hua Lamphong (Video)
Shrugging off his orange robes to throw some big-man punches, a Thai monk is going viral today for starting a fight with another man at a Bangkok’s main railway terminal. People...
Censored and censured art student wanted Thais to see Buddha as hero (Photos)
One of Thailand’s top artists has come to the defense of a senior university art student who was forced to apologize for depicting the Buddha as a Japanese superhero. After the...
Half a sack of MSG in somtam totally normal, viral vendor says (Video)
A food vendor in Thailand’s northeast says there’s nothing unusual about cooking with half a sack of MSG in after a video of her pouring, pouring, pouring the stuff into a...
Weather ‘wizard’ wows Thailand with Facebook filter fail (Video)
It’s hard to take storm warnings seriously when they’re coming from a talking raccoon. A top government meteorological said today that he was “extremely embarrassed” by a...
Mystery skeleton in deserted Bangkok building stumps police (Photos)
Bangkok police today were trying to identify a body found inside an empty water tank atop an abandoned building. Phahon Yothin Police Station said a Sunday tip led them to find...
Thai woman explains weird rooftop selfie that’s going viral (Photos)
In one photo, a woman’s grimacing face peers into the camera from the corner of the frame. In the next, she is seen reclining on the roof of a large truck beside a wrecked...
For the Birds: Chiang Mai woman whips up feathered frenzy for tourists (Video)
Chinese appetites for perfect Insta-moments at Chiang Mai’s Tha Pae Gate are creating a whole new career for some industrious locals: bird-spooking. Because the pigeons who...
3 young Thai monks crowned esports champions (Photos)
When the average citizen pictures esports champions, they probably don’t imagine three youths draped in saffron robes. Three novice monks went internet famous today after being...
Enjoy art, pop culture, and traditions in these five emerging destinations in Southeast Asia
Coconuts Bangkok Weird
Some people’s eccentric way of thinking will always be a mystery, and sometimes it’s just as easy to blame the famous Thai ghosts. From a witch hunt in the upcountry to a cute doll cult, we attempt to explain eccentric Thainess here. Sometimes, it’s the locals worshipping old trees that they believe can predict lottery numbers. Other times, it’s foreigners who have had too much to drink and are doing the things they would never do back home. Of course, before they know it, they end up in a police press conference, forced to do a wai. We’ll cover that story too.