I heard about this village while strolling in EmQuartier. I was chatting with a seller of handicraft items about an upcoming colourful parade event in downtown Mae Hong Son at the end of Buddhist Lent (ออกพรรษา).

Who would have known that he would tell me about Mueang Pon, a small Tai Yai village where the most traditional way of celebrating the festival, which they call Poi Len, is still preserved. The village doesn’t have much media presence, but after having a phone call with Fongjun, a homestay owner with great reviews on Google Maps, I decided to book a room.

Fongjun is a retired school teacher in her 60s. A few days before the festival, she cut banana leaves in her garden and picked flowers around the village to make traditional flower bouquets in advance. She picked home-grown vegetables to cook delicious Tai Yai meals that I had never seen elsewhere. Her friend, Kalaya, invited me to observe how she and her mom cooked Tai Yai rice cake, a dish prepared only twice a year. Meanwhile, the men, also in their 60s, were busy with bamboo work at the temple.  

Poi Len reminded me of both Halloween and Christmas. In an era when sugar was expensive, it was one of the few festivals in a year for the children to taste different kinds of desserts and snacks, which were prepared to worship Lord Buddha and ghosts. The early morning of Poi Len was supposed to be the time when children woke up to help prepare desserts in the kitchen, and everyone in the family was together to celebrate. Nowadays, due to the popularity of sugary desserts and drinks, Poi Len is no longer well known among children. Most villages are old, and their grandchildren are in big cities. 

 If you google the word Poi Len (ปอยเหลินสิบเอ็ด), you will see photos of comparatively high-budget parades with fancy clothes in the downtown. The Poi Len I was experiencing was nothing like that. It was a completely different festival from what I saw online.

We woke up around 3:30 in the morning, brought our desserts and flowers to the temple, and offered them to temple shrines. The serene atmosphere, with Tai Yai people wearing traditional costumes and bringing desserts to the temple, gave me goosebumps. At one point, I felt like going back in time to the early 1900s.

When I asked Fongjun about why I couldn’t find any photos of what Poi Len is like online, she said that, as far as she knew, no documentary maker or mainstream journalist had ever come to the village to learn about Poi Len before. Months later, I found an article in an old book about how villagers in Muang Pon celebrated Poi Len. It was written in the 1980s, long before Fongjun returned to the village.

In the long run, I hope that this beautiful tradition will be remembered.

_______________

Notes:

- This trip took place in October 2025. I'm now living in the U.S. This year, the end of Buddhist Lent is next week.

- I love cultural tourism and wrote similar posts on this sub last year. I have confirmed that this style of posts is okay.

I'm planning to study nursing science in Thailand and shinawatra was one of the universitiy I picked out of two others. (Assumptions, and Asia Pacific which is in Malaysia) I've searched around a bit and heard some bad stuff about them but I'm not sure what to make of it. Any thoughs or comments would help since Im planning to study there soon.

It’s been 2 years and I still can’t find a decent replacement in Thailand. I miss their wraps and that spicy cheesy sauce

Any recommendations ?

I’ve been getting increasingly frustrated with the expat bubble here. So many relationships feel superficial, and I struggle to connect with people who have completely different priorities.

I lived in the same condo as a guy who claimed he made $50,000 on a single trade. He showed everyone screenshots and even gave financial advice to the woman working at the local shop. Two days later, I asked if he wanted to attend an event costing 500 baht. He told me he had no money.

Another guy told me he’d lived in Asia for two years without working. When I asked how he funded his lifestyle, he just giggled and avoided the question.
What bothers me isn’t that people have money from their parents or don’t work. It’s the lack of honesty, the obsession with appearances, and the fact that so many seem to have no intention of building anything here.
When I suggest learning Thai or getting involved in the local community, the response is often: “I’m only staying for a year anyway.”

Meanwhile, I’m planning to spend the here the ten years here, learn the language, and potentially build a family. I don’t want to keep investing time in friendships with people who are just passing through.

I’m considering stepping away from the expat scene and focusing on meeting Thai and Chinese speakers instead. The problem is that my language skills aren’t good enough yet to build deep relationships.

For those of you who genuinely plan to stay in Thailand long-term, how have you built meaningful friendships? Did you leave the expat bubble, find a particular community, or approach things differently?
I’d love to hear your experiences.

Nice ~7.3km morning run, and a cool piece of Strava art. Good way to explore the old city a bit, loads of cafes along the way so if you're not a keen runner or just want to take it easy could stop at some of them. Credit to Chaing Mai City run for the idea and the route. (They had an organised run last weekend but I couldn't attend so did my own). Go early for the cooler air and more atmosphere.

Chinese actress Bai Lu’s studio has announced the sudden cancellation of her fan meeting in Thailand, disappointing and shocking fans.

WeTV, a leading video streaming platform featuring entertainment from across Asia, had planned a major surprise for Thai fans by bringing Bai Lu, its newest WeTV Global Ambassador, to meet them as part of the WeSpark project. The exclusive fan meeting, titled “MEET & LOVE BAILU SPECIAL FANMEETING,” was scheduled for October 25 at ICONSIAM HALL.

However, on the morning of October 19, the 32-year-old actress’s studio officially announced the cancellation after careful consideration and discussions. The decision was made due to safety concerns following a new travel warning issued by the Chinese Embassy in Thailand.

To compensate fans, ticket holders will receive full refunds, along with compensation for airfare and accommodation expenses incurred for October 24-26, subject to specified conditions. Further details will be announced later.

Bai Lu’s studio also apologized to all fans for the situation and expressed regret that she would be unable to meet them as originally scheduled. It urged everyone to take care of themselves and travel safely, while expressing hope that they would have another opportunity to meet in the future.

On October 16, the Chinese Embassy in Thailand published a notice on its official website urging Chinese citizens to exercise greater caution when traveling to Thailand amid ongoing reports of kidnappings and scams.

The embassy also warned influencers, artists, and actors to be wary of falling victim to human trafficking networks, which often lure people with job offers promising unusually high pay.

ช็อกแฟนคลับ! &'ไป๋ลู่&' ยกเลิกแฟนมีตฯ ในไทย หลังสถานทูตจีนออกประกาศเตือน พร้อมชดเชยค่าตั๋ว-ที่พัก

I've been shopping alot since I arrived in Krabi, Thailand and spending alot of money. I'm wondering how does the process work and what do I Ned exactly to claim tax back from the airport?

If someone could shed some light on this and point me in the right direction please.

Tnx!

Our team can no longer attend due to a change in our work schedule, so we’re selling our tickets at a discounted price.
📍 Venue: Rajadamnern Stadium, Bangkok
🎫 Category: Club Class — Sections 8 & 9
👥 Available: 6 tickets — can be purchased individually
💰 Price: THB 1,500 each (originally THB 1,800)
✨ Open to offers if purchasing multiple tickets.
Purchased directly through Ticketmelon. Booking proof available with QR codes hidden.
Payment via PromptPay–PayNow if supported by your bank.
Please DM me if interested!

I’m looking for a good psychiatrist. I’m not looking just to get my script filled but someone to review my medication and mental health plan.

Any recommendations?

Im visiting Thailand/Bangkok for the first time to see some local friends. They will be at work I believe during the Bangkok Gamescon. Oct 29 and 30.

Do yall plan to meet up anywhere? Before, after, or during?

Anyone here in the know?

I want to order some things but don’t want to be hit with a big import tax bill.

I'm doing my finances. I have calculated about 30k baht for 2 people on groceries and food (including street food and sometimes ordering) every month. My girlfriend is a bit specific on some drinks and her yogurt so those are the biggest expenses. Out of 30/31 days a month, I had this budget in mind for 26 days, as once a week we will have *no particular* budget.

I'm curious, how do you budget these things? How much do u usually spend per day per person on food? One note, my girlfriend usually eats her lunch at work and thats not calculated in the budget. I don't eat much for breakfast too. And I'm not in Thailand right now to test things out.

My rough calculations:

Son is deathly allergic to shellfish. My doctor seems a bit flaky. He told me today that you cannot get an EpiPen in Thailand. Just looking for a sanity check.

On October 17, 2026, the South China Morning Post reported that on October 16, the Chinese Embassy in Thailand issued a warning urging Chinese citizens to plan their trips carefully and exercise extra caution regarding their personal safety while traveling, following several high-profile kidnappings of Chinese nationals in recent months.

The warning, published on the embassy’s website, also urged influencers and artists to be particularly wary of scam networks that lure victims with offers of high-paying jobs.

In recent months, several high-profile cases have involved online personalities and tourists being kidnapped in Thailand and subsequently handed over to criminal groups operating online scam businesses in Myanmar.

The Chinese Embassy urged tourists to “be cautious about travel arrangements made by others” and to “plan their trips carefully and use authorized transportation services and legitimate service providers.” It also warned them against accepting free rides from acquaintances or strangers. Travelers were advised to refuse sudden changes to their destinations or routes and to keep their families informed of their whereabouts.

Although the embassy issued a similar warning in April, its latest advisory places particular emphasis on growing concerns over the increasing number of artists and influencers being lured to Thailand and trafficked.

The latest statement also provides detailed warnings about using transportation services in Thailand.

Billions of dollars' worth of transnational criminal networks operating along the Thai-Myanmar border use fake advertisements for high-paying jobs to lure foreign victims into forced labor, human trafficking, and online fraud.

The South China Morning Post, citing Thai media reports, also reported that a 30-year-old Thai man was arrested on October 10 in Tak Province, near the Myanmar border. He was suspected of being part of a human trafficking network that had lured three Chinese nationals to Thailand with fake job offers before transporting them to a border area.

In another case, an urgent message was posted on social media on October 1 to alert the public to the disappearance of a music teacher from Shanghai who had gone missing in Thailand on September 25.

In August, The Beijing News reported that a Chinese tourist had been kidnapped in Thailand after mistakenly boarding a vehicle she believed belonged to her tour guide. She managed to escape after shouting for help at a police checkpoint.

All of these individuals reportedly returned to China with assistance from the Chinese Embassy in Bangkok.

Thanapol Cheewarattanaporn, president of the Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA), said in June that the projected number of Chinese tourists visiting Thailand this year had been revised down to approximately 7 million, from an earlier estimate of 9 million.

He said safety concerns had become Thailand’s biggest challenge in the Chinese market because they directly affected travel decisions.

“These stories spread rapidly across Chinese social media and short-video platforms, further damaging Thailand’s image as a safe destination,” he said.

**** Chinese media is at it again. The victims were lured by Chinese people from the beginning. No victims were offered a free ride by strangers.

I’m currently registering to see a psychiatrist in Thailand while I am there for 3 months. Due to medication regulations, I can only bring in a one month supply. Can you obtain Zopiclone in Thailand, if you see a registered psychiatrist, with prescription?

Last year saw a psychiatrist in RAM who advised unavailable and offered zolpidem. Which was not a safe alternative for me.

Thank you in advance.

I’m looking for a good psychiatrist. I’m not looking just to get my script filled but someone to review my medication and mental health plan.

Any recommendations?

I am considering relocating to Thailand, part-time, on an LTR Wealthy Pensioner Visa. Coming from the US, I have a drivers license to operate cars and trucks. I will bring my license and a copy of my IDP to obtain my Thailand drivers license. I have all of that down. The question I have is this, if I want to add a motorcycle endorsement for Thailand, how hard is that? I know how to ride motorcycles and am comfortable on them however, I just never went to obtain a license. Wondering if it is easier to get the endorsement in the US or Thailand. I’m sure the answer is Thailand. Just not sure what they require