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All links: https://www.youtoocanlearnthai.com***Unlock exclusive & ad-free episodes:Anchor/Spotify: https://anchor.fm/learnthai/subscribe (available in 30+ countries)Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/youtoocanlearnthai (recommended for listeners in Thailand)Detailed tutorial: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1n-tZKW76sT7ULyvOVdH7_3NcPpbWmXRAzIZp7T0_rUM***Transcripts and FAQs: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qG1rvNaTFbjtVlYt7x5RxtUT3fFpuHfN_KAmpVuONsw***Books: https://viewauthor.at/khrunan (Thai alphabet and activity books)Free audio flashcards for basic Thai vocabulary: https://quizlet.com/youtoocanlearnthai***Merch (t-shirts and phone grips):USA: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1EZF44ILW1L5NUK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/14ESIQA0SZ5LLGermany: https://www.amazon.de/hz/wishlist/ls/219DDRPHY347Y***Facebook: www.facebook.com/youtoocanlearnthaiYouTube: www.youtube.com/c/YoutoocanlearnThai***276 Board games บอร์ดเกมผู้คนบนโลกนี้เล่นบอร์ดเกมมานานหลายพันปีแล้วค่ะตั้งแต่เกมโบราณ เช่น หมากรุกไปจนถึงเกมในยุคปัจจุบัน เช่น เกมเศรษฐีแนนรู้สึกว่าตอนแนนเป็นเด็ก คนไทยเล่นบอร์ดเกมไม่ค่อยเยอะค่ะแต่ตอนนี้มีคนเล่นเยอะขึ้นอาจจะเป็นเพราะว่าคนมีเวลามากขึ้น หรืออาจได้รับอิทธิพลจากต่างประเทศมากขึ้นค่ะ 277 Video games วิดีโอเกมธุรกิจวิดีโอเกมเป็นธุรกิจที่ทำเงินมากในแต่ละปีโดยในปัจจุบันเกมบนมือถือได้รับความนิยมมากขึ้นบางคนใช้เวลาในการเล่นเกมวันละหลายชั่วโมงในอดีต ถ้ามีเวลาแนนก็เล่นวิดีโอเกมบ้างแต่ก็พบว่าเวลามักจะผ่านไปอย่างรวดเร็วตอนนี้ก็เลยไม่ค่อยเล่นแล้วค่ะ 278 Card games ไพ่ไพ่เป็นเกมที่ได้รับความนิยมทั่วโลกส่วนหนึ่งน่าจะเป็นเพราะว่าใช้อุปกรณ์ในการเล่นน้อยเกมไพ่บางอย่างต้องใช้สมองและทักษะ เช่น โป๊กเกอร์แต่บางเกมก็ขึ้นอยู่กับโชคในบางพื้นที่ ผู้คนยังชอบเล่นไพ่เป็นการพนันด้วยค่ะ 279 Jigsaw puzzles จิ๊กซอว์จิ๊กซอว์เป็นเกมอย่างหนึ่งที่ต้องใช้สมองและเวลาบางคนมองว่าการต่อจิ๊กซอว์เป็นกิจกรรมที่ผ่อนคลายแต่บางคนก็ต่อจนเครียดสำหรับแนน จิ๊กซอว์ประมาณห้าร้อยชิ้นกำลังพอดีค่ะถ้าเยอะกว่านั้นก็จะไม่ค่อยอยากต่อคนเดียวแต่อยากให้มีเพื่อนมาช่วยกันค่ะ 280 Hide-and-Seek ซ่อนแอบเกมซ่อนแอบเป็นเกมที่เด็กๆ เล่นกันทั่วโลกโดยเป็นเกมที่ไม่ต้องใช้อุปกรณ์เลยวิธีการเล่นก็ง่ายมากค่ะคือมีคนนึงปิดตาแล้วก็นับเลขส่วนคนที่เหลือก็ไปหาที่ซ่อนพอนับเลขเสร็จ คนที่ปิดตาก็จะเริ่มหาคนที่ซ่อนค่ะ
Twitch of Fun New Year's Eve 2025 Special - 6,7 - Twitch of Fun is BACK in this non-canonical episode to celebrate the end of another horrible year and to attempt to tempt some temporary temps to this zenith of Richard's work. There's an attempt to extract an apology from our most perverse character (that could be any of us), plus Henry Hippo's New Year's Resolution and Ally and Rich look back at the Coldplay couple and who we are to judge them, a Thai woman who rose from the dead, the evil plan of Labubus and Katy Perry in space. And if you time this right you get a countdown to the new year at the end. What more do you want?Pre order Right Bollock's autobiography here https://www.gofasterstripe.com/cgi-bin/w.cgi?showfull=67271Become a monthly badger here http://gofasterstripe.com/badgesLet Rich know if you want more Twitch of Fun herring1967@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Send us a textFrom Doing NAILS in the flea market to owning MULTIPLE NAIL SALONS AND OTHER BUSINESSES | Yenlinh Luong & Jimmy Tran | The Thai Lyfe PodcastOn this podcast, it was an honor for me to have this beautiful couple Yenlinh Luong and Jimmy Tran. With their entrepreneur mindset, and how they are very experienced in operating and growing multiple nail salons such as Venetian, Anthony Vince (AV), and MVince Salon can really gives all of us a better picture of the process in operating a nail salon at a high level. It was fortunate that they were able to share their experiences with us to help us grow in different levels in the nail industry. To Follow and Support: Yenlinh Luong & Jimmy Tran*Contact info for Ravo POS Systemwww.ravopos.com(888) 928-8452 Mobile5605 Bellaire Boulevard, Suite B, Houston, TX, United States, 77081tiktok.com/@WeAreRavoinstagram.com/WeAreRavo**Who should my next guest be?*To be a Sponsor for one of the Podcast, please DM or Email for inquiries.*All Podcast Episodes are streaming on Spotify, Apple Podcast, YouTube Podcast @Thethailyfe podcast.*Thank you for your support.Make sure to Follow, Like, and Share.Shop & Support the channel:www.beyondthecream.com**#nailtech #reels #nails #nailart #memeSupport the showFor more content, please follow:INSTAGRAMinstagram.com/thethailyfeTIKTOKvm.tiktok.com/ZTd9RHyUjYouTubewww.youtube.com/@TheTHAILyfe
In a Witchhassle Lost Episode, we bring you an interview recorded over two years ago. Gary Noriyuki of Manticore's Den talks about combining American hoodoo and Thai magical traditions into enchanted tattoos, and about his occult journey. You can learn more about Gary's work (and maybe get some of it on your own body) at https://www.manticoresden.com and on Instagram at @ manticoresden and @ garynori. Be sure to check out Gary's new podcast The Root and the Flame, available on Spotify (open.spotify.com/show/6EZIyiDZEZS5aubDy1nm5O?si=WglnpUO8SnOr0WdSZf2GwA) and wherever else you get your podcasts.
AllMyLinks.com/BBWBadgirl Main site: LosAngelesBBW.com Email: BellaMartinLA@gmail.com Premium Onlyfans: onlyfans.com/BBWBadgirl or BBWBadgirl.com Free Onlyfans: Onlyfans.com/bbwbadgirlbella The BBWBadgirl podcast where Alan Rickman fangirl and supersize BBW Isabella Martin (LosAngelesBBW.com), discusses sex, life, and sexwork (virtual, escorting, phonesex + BDSM domination etc). She explores kinks, desires and shares her experiences while giving valuable tips to men on topics such as having an affair, fat sex, approaching fat girls, weed & sex, sex toys for men and so much more. For open-minded men who love, lust, and appreciate FAT women. Episode #149: Final Countdown 2025 or how Tiktok shop saved Isabella's life Old Topic: * Isabella's Social Media handles and marketingnon X changes New Topics * Best Bites of the year: Homemade & Restaurant picks. 2025 was Isabella's year of Thai food. * Most Interesting sexwork representation: Companion (movie, Amazon Prime) * Best BDSM: what did and didn't work? Babygirl (movie, HBO) vs Dying for Sex (tv, FX found on Hulu/Disney +) * Recommend: Male content creator: James Sexton @nycdivorceattorney on IG * Using social media to connect more with women via Tiktok: What would the holidays look like without women? * Best movie Moments of the Year * Noteable Television recommends: Adolescence, episode 3 + more *and of course how Isabella was saved in 2025 by TiktokShop Twitter: @BBWBadgirlPOD or @IsabellaBBW or @IsabellaCrush IG: BBWBadgirlPOD Contributions to this podcast's development can be made at cashapp $BBWBadgirlPOD
We are wasting no time and getting right to the good stuff. This hour features one of the great moments in recent show history, instantly becoming an all-time sounder: when Zas first uttered the word "Thai food." You will hear all about the bachelor week that featured that iconic meal, eminent domain being a son of a gun, and athletes we thought would be amazing but ended up being terrible. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Everything's coming up snakes!In this episode we explore Tyler's unique connection to a class of ancient serpentine beings known in the Vedas as the Naga. They're deeply connected to the waters that shape the earth, the land itself, and the elements, stretching into the depths of primordial deep-time and the origins of humanity as we know it.Tyler shares some of his incredible and wild experiences with us regarding these awe-inspiring beings, his initiatory relationships with them, and how they have shaped his life and practice. We talk shop about the differences between amulets, East and West, and how Thai magic dramatically opens up the possibilities for variety in enchanted objects, in both function and in formula.Tyler also gives us the rundown on four Naga oils he has been working on for a good while which he is preparing to release to the public very soon in exchange for donations, all four of which sound fantastic. All of Tyler's work at Cormorant Cunning Craft is donation-based and he offers group ceremonies often, which we here at Soapbox recommend! Follow him for updates and details.https://cormorantcunningcraft.substack.com/https://www.instagram.com/cormorantcunningcraft/
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has met his Cambodian counterpart Prak Sokhonn in Yuxi, Yunnan Province. He welcomed the ceasefire reached between the Cambodian and Thai militaries, calling it an important step toward restoring peace.
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Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will meet his counterparts from Cambodia and Thailand in Yunnan. Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn and Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow will lead delegations to meet in the southwestern Chinese region from Sunday to Monday.
A look at Thai Political Parties Email: whydocountriesexist@gmail.com Website: https://whydocountriesexist.libsyn.com/ Patreon: patreon.com/Whydocountriesexist797 Paypal: paypal.me/whydocountriesexist Feedback and request forum: https://forms.gle/H5hG9zcZbFPBAz8t7 Intro 0:00 Background and political structure 0:53 People's party 6:11 Pheu Thai 10:09 Bhumjaithai party (Proud Thai party) 14:33 United Thai Nation (UTN) 17:51 Kla Tham Party 21:12 Democrat party 22:23 Palang Pracharath (PP) 26:09 Chart Thai Pattana (CTPP) 28:17 Prachachart 29:45 Thai Sang Thai 30:46 Other parties 31:27 Conclusion and outro 32:55
We're looking at what's happening inside Cambodia, amidst that border conflict, with incursions going deeper into the territory from the Thai military. What are the economic consequences for Cambodia? Also we're looking at the sliding global oil price, and what Nigerians do for fun at the year's end.You can contact us on WhatsApp or send us a voicenote: +44 330 678 3033.
improve your listening skills by comparing different versions of "The Bundle of Sticks"
learn 10 high-frequency expressions, including words for describing the body
The most downloaded episode this year within our Friday food segment featuring a Melbourne-based culinary instructor Mayu Tomaru. Mayu took a train journey for about an hour from Bangkok, Thailand's capital, to explore a local night market. The episode covers traditional Thai sweets and edible insects. Originally broadcast on 21 March 2025. - メルボルンの料理講師・都丸真由さんのコーナーの中で今年最もダウンロードされたエピソード。 タイの首都バンコクから電車に揺られて約1時間、地元のナイトマーケットに潜入しました。タイの伝統スイーツや昆虫食を取り上げています。2025年3月21日放送。
It's a Christmas-week episode of The LA Food Podcast, and we're celebrating with one of the most joyful restaurants in Los Angeles.This week, Luca Servodio sits down with Eric Bedroussian and Josh Hartley, the hospitality-driven duo behind Budonoki, the wildly popular Virgil Village izakaya that started as a roaming pop-up and grew into one of LA's most electric dining rooms.In this How I Built This–style conversation, Eric and Josh walk us through how they met, how Budonoki evolved from college dinner parties to pop-ups at Melody and Ototo, and how they partnered with chef Dan Rabilwongse to create a restaurant that blends Japanese izakaya spirit with Thai, Vietnamese, and distinctly Angeleno influences. We dig into the details that define Budonoki — from front-of-house philosophy and menu experimentation to building a “party restaurant” that still takes food and hospitality seriously.We also talk candidly about the realities of running a restaurant in 2025, how tough the year has been for hospitality, what it's like to receive glowing critical praise while being left off certain lists, and how the team stays grounded amid the hype. And, of course, we close with our holiday tradition: Eric and Josh share the three Los Angeles restaurants they're loving right now.Consider this your Christmas gift if you love LA food, restaurant origin stories, and the people who make this city such a special place to eat.
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24日、バンコクで、タイ人少女の母親の逮捕を発表する警察幹部ら【バンコク時事】東京都文京区のマッサージ店でタイ国籍の当時12歳の少女が違法に働かされていた事件で、タイ警察は24日、少女の母親を人身取引などの容疑で逮捕したと発表した。 Thai police said Wednesday that they have arrested the mother of a Thai girl who was forced to work illegally at a massage parlor in Tokyo on charges of human trafficking.
SPONSORS: 1) RIDGE: Take advantage of Ridge's Biggest Sale of the Year and GET UP TO 47% Off by going to https://www.Ridge.com/JULIAN #Ridgepod (***TIMESTAMPS in description below) ~ Gus Gonzalez is a prominent scuba instructor and technical cave diver, widely known as the co-host and producer of the popular YouTube channel and podcast, "Dive Talk GUS's LINKS: - YT: https://www.youtube.com/c/ORCATORCHWorldwide - IG: https://www.instagram.com/OrcaTorch/# - X: https://x.com/orcatorch - WEBSITE: https://www.orcatorch.com/info/orcatorchambassador-10.html JULIAN YT CHANNELS - SUBSCRIBE to Julian Dorey Clips YT: https://www.youtube.com/@juliandoreyclips - SUBSCRIBE to Julian Dorey Daily YT: https://www.youtube.com/@JulianDoreyDaily - SUBSCRIBE to Best of JDP: https://www.youtube.com/@bestofJDP FOLLOW JULIAN DOREY INSTAGRAM (Podcast): https://www.instagram.com/juliandoreypodcast/ INSTAGRAM (Personal): https://www.instagram.com/julianddorey/ X: https://twitter.com/julianddorey ****TIMESTAMPS**** 00:00 – Intro 01:36 - Diving in 2018, cave diving, Iceland, Silfra, wetsuit vs drysuit, nitrogen narcosis 13:03 – Dry suit danger, off-gassing, decompression sickness, stigma, first dive, 250 dives 24:08 – 10k cave divers, gatekeeping, technical vs recreational, oxygen pressure 34:02 – Commercial diving, certifications, deepest dive 58:47 – Cavern to cave diver, guidelines, Gainesville, 4k ft lines 01:06:42 – Virgin caves, danger, Thai cave rescue, Rick Stanton 01:26:22 – Rick Stanton, Sheck Exley, narcosis, near death 01:35:13 – Mental training, problem solving, lifelong commitment 01:43:18 – Rogan cave story, lost line, backlash, ocean vs freshwater 01:55:36 – Artifacts, bones, Blue Hole Belize, bodies 02:04:09 – Blue Hole depth, rescues, Edd Sorensen, robots can't dive 02:19:51 – Orcas, sharks, expeditions, Titanic sub 02:31:38 – USA migration, Venezuela 02:40:30 – Bonne Terre Mine, DiveTalk, private caves 02:53:16 – DiveTalk mission CREDITS: - Host, Editor & Producer: Julian Dorey - COO, Producer & Editor: Alessi Allaman - https://www.youtube.com/@UCyLKzv5fKxGmVQg3cMJJzyQ - In-Studio Producer: Joey Deef - https://www.instagram.com/joeydeef/ Julian Dorey Podcast Episode 368 - Gus Gonzalez Music by Artlist.io Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
This plant-forward salad is inspired by a Thai green papaya salad. Chef Toni Sakaguchi from the Culinary Institute of America makes a base of shredded green papaya, and tosses that with shredded purple cabbage and romaine lettuce, and tops it with fried dumplings for a heartier entrée salad. Get the Southeast Asian Salad recipe here!
DMN486 9 เทคนิคจิตวิทยาการตลาด by CREATIVE TALK
เปิดหมด! กับเบื้องหลังของเทรนด์ธุรกิจอีเวนต์มาแรงในไทย ที่ถือว่ากราฟพุ่งเร็ว และมาแรงมากในช่วงที่ผ่านมา นี่จะเป็นขาขึ้นของกลุ่มธุรกิจอีเวนต์จริง ๆ หรือเป็นแค่เทรนด์ตามกระแสที่จะมา ๆ หาย ๆ มาฟังคำตอบรวมถึงเบื้องหลังตัวเลขที่น่าสนใจของธุรกิจในอุตสาหกรรม ‘MICE' กับคุณกฤษณา จรรยาสกุลวงศ์ กรรมการผู้จัดการ บริษัท สยามอัลไลแอนซ์ แมเนจเม้นท์ จำกัด, ผู้บริหาร ICONSIAM HALL, PARAGON HALL
In this heartfelt and inspiring episode, Dr. Stephanie J. Wong talks with filmmaker and sports producer Jon Hill to explore how identity, loss, and creativity have shaped his life and work. Jon opens up about his mixed-race heritage—growing up with a Thai mother and an American father whose love story began in Thailand during the Vietnam War—and how that unique background inspired his film Above the Clouds, now available on streaming platforms. The conversation takes a deeply personal turn as Jon reflects on losing his father at 25 and the long, unexpected journey of grief that followed. He shares how a chance encounter and a miraculous experience during his father's final moments sparked a short film that eventually became a feature-length comedy, created over 13 years. Through humor and honesty, Jon offers thoughtful insights into coping with loss, acknowledging emotions, and understanding that healing is never linear. We also dive into Jon's professional world—from covering major events like the Super Bowl and World Cup at Fox Sports to navigating independent filmmaking and advocating for Asian representation in media. The episode wraps with stories of resilience, work-life balance, a surreal Michael Jordan birthday party moment! This episode blends laughter, reflection, and inspiration, offering listeners a powerful reminder of how personal stories can become meaningful art—and how connection can emerge from even the most difficult experiences. ========================================== Jon Hill's Full Bio: Jon Hill is the writer and director of the film Above the Clouds, currently streaming on Amazon Prime. He is also a 2x Emmy Award winning sports producer that travels the world covering the largest sporting event such as the World Cup and the Super Bowl. His film talks about the struggles of losing a parent, and dealing with loss through comedy. It's based on the true events after his father passed when he was 25. Instagram: @jhill_aka_da_streaming_king ========================================== For more mental health and entertainment content, Follow us: https://www.instagram.com/color_of_success/ https://www.facebook.com/colorofsuccess https://www.tiktok.com/@colorofsuccesspodcast Subscribe to our YT channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiaS5_HScsbFOJE5lYrEsxw To purchase Dr. Wong's book: Cancel the Filter: Realities of a Psychologist, Podcaster, and Mother of Color
Episode #453: Patrick Phongsathorn is a human rights advocate and Fortify Rights advocacy specialist working on Myanmar. Raised near London by a Thai–Irish–South African family, he pairs legal rigor with practical savvy about how ministries, courts, and donors move. After abandoning an early push toward medicine, Patrick rerouted into politics and human rights, studying at SOAS and Sciences Po's Human Rights and Humanitarian Action program. He learned by doing: Human Rights Watch work on detention and refugee children; IOM in TimorLeste's smallstate bureaucracy; UNHCR in Lebanon at the height of the Syria crisis. After settlingin Thailand, he joined Fortify Rights in 2019, built monitoring systems, and now leads advocacy while training partners to craft evidencedriven strategies. Patrick's approach is simple and demanding: investigate carefully, argue from law, and listen first. As he puts it, “the most important people that I've spoken to about Myanmar are Myanmar people.” In Myanmar he sees a twotrack mission— minimize harm now and make justice possible later— because “if you don't reconcile the injustices that people face, then they will come back.” Fortify Rights has documented a pattern of indiscriminate airstrikes on civilians and protected sites—churches, IDP camps, hospitals, schools—often rising when the junta loses ground. Patrickcalls for an arms embargo and restrictions on aviation fuel alongside individual command accountability. The red lines are nonnegotiable: “It's never right to bomb a hospital, it's never right to bomb a school, it's never right to kill civilians in times of war.” Accountability, he insists, binds all parties, including the NUG, PDFs, and ethnic forces. He is also skeptical of sham elections and “safe zones,” urging instead a real Thai asylum system and sustained international pressure through the UN and universaljurisdiction cases. He also reflects on ‘the day after' the military's anticipated defeat, noting that they must avoid victors' justice while building institutions that can fairly try atrocity crimes. And as the global order frays, he reminds that Myanmar is a test of whether law can still restrain power, reminding listeners that “even if you're not interested in international politics, international politics will be interested in you.”
Rep. Adriano Espaillat on Immigrant Detention
"Inspired by my time in the Thai islands, this set marks the one year anniversary of Resonance and takes us through the deep sounds of house, from organic to progressive island energy. Set List // Teahupoo - Nora En Pure Blink - Bob Moses My Soul - Avesie Groove La Afrika - Mele Watermark - Nora En Pure Water - Bicep Lean into Light - Qrion, pinkpirate Dancing in the Night (Lucky Shot Mix) - CIOZ, Eleonora The Runner - Rufus Du Sol Remix - Foals & Rufus du Sol Snake Charmer - Dennis Cruz Moments - Ben Bohmer & Nils Hoffmann Remix - Kidnap, Leo Stannard, Ben Bohmer, Nils Hoffman Burning Sun - Georgio, Darno, Cafe De Anatolio La Brisa - Ail Griga Reason - Bedouin, Marieme Isla (Aevion Remix) - Felon ft. Kaleem Taylor Jardmi (Dott Remix) - Marginal "
We're back with another episode of ghost stories. This one includes several funny ones! Momogu's weird worm on his head. Revisiting a dead family member through a medium. Corner room that is forcefully added to a hotel floor with shower noise. [ratings] http://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/penanghokkien.com/media/PgHkn-2025-12-22.mp3 Support PGHK Follow me on: Clubhouse @JohnOng Penang Hokkien Podcast House Global Hokkien Speakers House TikTok (PGHK) @PenangHokkien TikTok (John's) @John.Ong Instagram (PGHK) @PenangHokkien Instagram (John's) @John.Ong Watch this episode on YouTube: (((DOWNLOAD AUDIO FILE)))
Send us a textEp 83---Welcome to another episode of the Voices of Boyle! We're joined by Colin & Aethel Beirne for this one. Highlights from this episode:- Aethel's move from rural Galway to city life, adventures in America, and her journey to settling in Boyle- Colin's childhood memories growing up in Termon, the outdoor games that shaped local youth, and the changing face of Boyle over the years - Stories about iconic Boyle shops, street leagues, and legendary disco nights- Insights into community, friendships, and what makes Boyle so special to raise a family- The town bridge and the hot air balloon festival- Lulu the Thai rescue dog's journey to her forever home Make sure you tune in for some laughs and memories. Whether you're Boyle born or a blow-in, this episode celebrates all the little things that make our hometown unique.Check out the blog post to accompany this episode for photos: https://www.voicesofboyle.com/colinaethelbeirne/Join us on:( Facebook ) ( Instagram ) ( YouTube )( Website )If you'd like to be on the show or if you know someone who would like to chat with us, then drop us an email at ( info@voicesofboyle.com ) Thanks to Brendan O' Dowd for creating and recording the musical piece for the podcast.
Savory and spicy, kimchi fried rice is a popular dish in South Korea that has endless variations. The tart and spicy kimchi, and sweetness and heat of the chili paste make kimchi fried rice a beloved dish all over the world. This vegan take on kimchi fried rice has a bit of an Asian fusion twist, with the addition of Thai herbs and crispy fried egg roll strips for a garnish. Get the Kimchi Fried Rice recipe here!
Easton Muay Thai Program Director Sean Madden joing Eliot to break down the class structure and ascension model that allowed Easton's striking program to grow across multiple academies. They discuss why American students need a different approach than traditional Thai training, how Kickboxing can serve as the on-ramp into Muay Thai, and why Fundamentals and Intermediate classes are essential steps that build both skill and community. If you want a Muay Thai program that's safe, scalable, and built for long-term student progression, this episode lays out the blueprint. Watch or listen to the full podcast on our blog: https://www.easton.online/blog/ Visit https://www.easton.online to sign up for our mailing list!
improve your listening skills by comparing different versions of "The Little Red Hen"
learn 10 high-frequency expressions, including common action-related verbs
Episode #452: “We still had a lot of ideals… but we had some illusions, so to speak.” François Nosten has spent decades on the Thai-Myanmar border, where war, disease, and displacement overlap endlessly. He arrived in the 1980s, a young doctor from Toulouse with Médecins Sans Frontières, drawn by a sense of purpose. What he found was devastation: malaria sweeping through camps, killing faster than bullets. “There were more of the student dying of malaria than from the fighting,” he recalls of the post 1988 movement. Nosten met British scientist Nicholas White, and their work helped pioneer artemisinin-based treatments, which transformed malaria care worldwide. “If you test and treat systematically, early, quickly, then the people don't die anymore,” he explains. For a moment, it seemed victory was possible: “One year later, malaria was gone from the Thai side.” But the disease returned, mutating and persisting through poverty and conflict. When Myanmar's 2021 coup collapsed its health system, millions were displaced. Aid stopped, clinics closed, and outbreaks flared again. “Tuberculosis is still very serious worldwide… more than HIV,” he warns. “If funding is being cut… I think that tuberculosis will explode again.” Nearby, scam compounds now imprison thousands in unsanitary, lawless towns. “They are like towns,” he says, almost as big as Mae Sot itself.” Nosten still reflects on the conviction and purpose that drove his early ambition as a young doctor. “I did my medical school to be able to travel and to do something that I think was useful,” he says. Now, decades later, he continues that same work, even as the border he serves teeters once again on the edge of collapse. “If you have a stable country… you can control malaria,” Nosten says. “But here, everything conspires against stability.”
Christmas in the sun, swimming in hot water, imagine living in a warm area? Can taming salons give you skin cancer, drugs aren't attractive, Fatal seduction, the crystal cuckoo, safe, the are murders, but and run, pieces of her, bodkin. Red rose, tourist, the wallander, the woods, the glass dome. The best pasta is homemade, Mexican street tenders, salmon chipotle bowl, seafood chowder, chicken Al pastor, Thai steak salad, spinach artichoke dip. Happy Friday stars
SBS Hebrew hears from Australia's multicultural community, where a plethora of vigils were held across Sydney to honour the fallen. We hear from Arabic, Thai and Turkish speakers, amongst others.
learn how to make unequal comparisons
Episode #451: Marte Nilsen, senior researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo, joins the podcast to explore Aung San Suu Kyi's central role in Myanmar's political life. Drawing on decades of research across Myanmar and Thailand, she also reflects on Norway's complex engagement with Myanmar—from early solidarity movements and reform-era optimism to today's challenges of diplomacy, reversals, and rebuilding. Norway's involvement began in the wake of the 1988 uprising and Suu Kyi's 1991 Nobel Prize, when exiles and NGOs forged ties across the Thai border. The devastating Cyclone Nargis in 2008 highlighted the capacity of local civil society, prompting Oslo to expand support in that direction. Then when President Thein Sein launched reforms in 2011 and Suu Kyi contested the 2012 by-elections, Norway began engaging state institutions more directly again. Suu Kyi's NLD triumphed in 2015 and 2020, though ethnic groups criticized her Bamar-centric focus, and her stance the Rohingya crisis posed a very serious dilemma for Western nations otherwise wanting to support the country's democratization process. The 2021 coup, of course, ended the reform era. Nilsen stresses that Myanmar's current junta bears no resemblance to the military of 2010, back when foreign nations were willing to deal with the junta. Today, it is widely seen as a desperate, illegitimate regime that is waging war on its people. She rejects any notion that the 2025 elections could be free or fair. In the end, Nilsen insists that while outside solidarity and support matter, “the changes on the ground, it comes from the Burmese people.”
South East Asia's biggest sporting event winds up tomorrow, and playing for the Thai women's side has been Wellington's Natalie Olson.
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Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has urged Cambodia and Thailand to make decisions to realize a ceasefire as soon as possible and rebuild mutual trust. Wang made the remarks in separate phone calls with his Cambodian and Thai counterparts.
Christopher ByrdFounder & Managing DirectorAdventure Cycling Thailandhttps://adventuretravelmarketing.com/guest/christopher-byrd/A formerly enlisted U.S. Marine that originally came from Maryland, Chris lived in Washington, DC for the last 12 years that he was living in the United States. Chris moved to Bangkok in April of 2002 and resided there until August of 2008 when he moved down to Hua Hin to include day tours and multi-day tours as part of his bicycle touring business. He plans to continue living in Thailand and work on growing the popularity of his Tour de Thailand Charity Rides and his Hua Hin Bike Tours / Royal Coast Bicycle Adventure Tours. Chris has over 25 years experience in the hotel and restaurant business as well as many years working in sales and customer service. His time in the Marine Corps gave him the strength to be a leader and to motivate his staff and fellow riders while understanding the physical limits of individuals. Chris is a caring person that loves to have a good time and help others.summaryIn this episode of the Big World Made Small podcast, host Jason Elkins interviews Christopher Byrd, founder of Adventure Cycling Thailand. They discuss Christopher's journey from his early life in Maryland to his passion for cycling and how it led him to establish a bicycle touring business in Thailand. The conversation explores the philosophy behind cycling tours, the impact of hospitality experience on running a business, and the life changes that brought Christopher to Thailand, including the aftermath of 9/11. In this conversation, Christopher Byrd shares his transformative journey from bartending in Washington, D.C. to establishing a life in Thailand. He discusses the challenges he faced during his initial move, the inspiration behind his charity bike rides, and the evolution of his bike tour business. Byrd reflects on the lessons learned from his experiences, including the physical and mental challenges of long-distance cycling, the importance of community support, and the impact of COVID-19 on his business. In this conversation, Christopher Byrd shares the journey of establishing Adventure Cycling Thailand, detailing the challenges faced during the COVID pandemic and the subsequent rebranding of the company. He discusses the importance of safety and security in Thailand, highlighting the welcoming nature of the culture. Additionally, Byrd reveals future plans for community engagement, including charity rides and a Pride event, emphasizing the significance of inclusivity and support for local charities.takeawaysAdventure Cycling Thailand focuses on single-day & multi-day bicycle tours.Christopher prefers a leisurely cycling style over competitive racing.His early experiences with cycling were influenced by his father.He transitioned from the Marine Corps to the hospitality industry.Customer service skills from hospitality are essential in tourism.Christopher's life took a turn after losing his job in tech.He sought a fresh start in Thailand after personal losses.The kindness of Thai people made him feel welcome during his visit.9/11 had a profound impact on his perspective while abroad.Christopher's journey reflects resilience and adaptability. Christopher transitioned from bartending to living in Thailand.He was inspired to start a charity bike ride after moving to Thailand.The first charity ride was filled with unexpected challenges.Byrd learned valuable lessons about cycling and sponsorships.He successfully built a bike tour bu Learn more about Big World Made Small Adventure Travel Marketing and join our private community to get episode updates, special access to our guests, and exclusive adventure travel offers on our website.
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The Bangkok Podcast | Conversations on Life in Thailand's Buzzing Capital
Greg and Ed discuss the long, strange and complex history between Thailand and Cambodia in an attempt to shed some light on the tragic current conflict. Greg begins with some early history. The majority of Southeast Asia was once part of the Khmer Empire based in Angkor. Eventually Thai kingdoms in Sukhothai and Ayutthaya achieved independence, but tension between the two powers was constant. In a complex maelstrom of alliance and conflict, each power borrowed, copied and outright stole selected cultural artifacts from each other, such that untangling the exact pedigree of multiple shared cultural touchstones can be difficult. Like many empires in history, the Khmer power began to wane in the face of territorial integrity, outside threats, inside warring, and eventually, the rise of Thai kingdoms (as well as Viet ones), all of which led to the slow decline of Angkor. In the late 1800s, the Khmers sought the protection of France, who bullied Siam into ceding territory that would eventually become modern Cambodia. Japan played a similar role in World War II. After the war in Vietnam, radical communists took over Cambodia and destroyed many institutions of modernity, but their extreme nature led them to be invaded by Vietnam, who eventually installed Hun Sen as prime minister. When Vietnam faltered in the 80s and 90s, Cambodia turned to China as a patron. When Thaksin Shinawatra, an outsider among the Thai elite, rose to power, he formed an unlikely bond with the Hun Sen clan in Cambodia. However, the recent Shinawatra foray into legalized casinos in Thailand was too much for the friendship, and Hun Sen betrayed Thaksin's daughter, leading to the downfall of her government. Both countries used the incident and long-gestating disputes over the border to stoke nationalist fervor, and provocations eventually led to all out conflict. Greg and Ed agree that while the two countries have clear issues to settle, the ongoing violence can only make matters worse, and diplomacy, with or without the help of Donald Trump, must prevail. Note that this episode was recorded on December 10, so there may or may not have been important developments by the time you hear this.
Hey before I begin I just want to thank all of you who have joined the patreon, you guys are awesome. Please let me know what other figures, events or other things you want to hear about in the future and I will try to make it happen. If you are a long time listener to the Pacific War week by week podcast over at KNG or viewer of my youtube channel you have probably heard me talk about Tomoyuki Yamashita, the Tiger of Malaya quite often. It goes without saying when it comes to Japanese generals of WW2 he stands out. Not just to me, from the offset of the war he made a large impression on westerners, he achieved incredible feats early on in the war. Now if you look up books about him, you will pretty much only find information in regards to his infamous war crimes trial. Hell it was so infamous the legal doctrine of hierarchical accountability for war crimes, whereby a commanding officer is legally responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by his subordinates, was created. This is known as the command responsibility or “the Yamashita standard”. His court case was very controversial, he remains a controversial figure, certainly to the people of territories he campaigned in, but I think what can be said of him the most is he was special amongst the Japanese generals. Anyways lets get the show on the road as they say. So who was Yamashita? When he was 59 years old commanding forces in the Philippines against General Douglas MacArthur, he weighed 220 ls and stood 5 feet 9 inches. His girth pressed out against his green army uniform. He had an egg shaped head, balding, wide spaced eyes and a flat nose. He wore a short mustache, sort of like Hitlers, until it grayed then he shaved it off. He was not a very attractive man, Filipinos referred to him as “old potato face” while Americans called him “a florid, pig faced man”. Tomobumi Yamashita was born in 1885, he was the second son of Dr. Sakichi Yamashita and Yuu Yamashita in Osugi village, on Shikoku island. Like most males of his day he was indoctrinated into military preparatory school from a young age. Yamashita had no chosen the army as a career, in his words ‘my father suggested the idea, because I was big and healthy, and my mother did not seriously object because she believed, bless her soul, that I would never pass the highly competitive entrance examination. If I had only been cleverer or had worked harder, I would have been a doctor like my brother”Yamashita would graduate from the 18th class of the IJA academy in november of 1905, ranked 16th out of 920 cadets. In 1908 he was promoted to the rank of Lt and during WW1 he fought against Imperial German and Austro-Hungarian forces in the famous siege of Qingdao, which if you are interested I did an episode over on my Youtube channel about this battle. Its a very overlooked battle, but many histories firsts occurred at it like the first carrier attack. In 1916 he was promoted to captain and attended the 28th class of the Army War college to graduate sixth in his class that year. He also married Hisako Nagayama in 1916, she was the daughter of the retired General Nagayama. It seems Yamashita's brush against the Germans in 1914 had a huge influence on him, because he became fascinated with Germany and would serve as assistant military attache at Bern and Berlin from 1919-1922. He spent his time in Germany alongside Captain Hideki Tojo, both men would run into each other countless times and become bitter rivals. Both men toured the western front, visiting Hamburg and witnessed first hand the crippling inflation and food prices that came from Germany's defeat. Yamashita said to Tojo then “If Japan ever has to fight any nation, she must never surrender and get herself in a state like this.” He returned to Japan in 1922, was promoted to major and served a few different posts in the Imperial Headquarters and Staff College. Yamashita became a leading member of the Kodoha faction, while Tojo became a leading member of the rival Toseiha faction. In 1927 Yamashita was sent again to Europe, this time to Vienna as a military attache. Just prior to departing he had invested in a business selling thermometers starting by one of his wife's relatives, the business failed horribly and Yamashita was tossed into debt, bailiffs literally came to seize his house. As told to us by his biographer “For a regular officer to have contracted such a debt, however innocently, was a disgrace. He felt he should resign his commission.” Yamashita's brother refused to allow him to quit, instructing him to leave for Vienna, while he resolved his debts. His days in Vienna were the best of his life, professed Yamashita. He studied economics at Vienna university and made friends with a Japanese widow, who introduced him to a German woman named Kitty and they had an affair. This would spring forward his reputation as an eccentric officer. Yamashita was obsessed over hygiene,and refused to eat fruit unless it was thoroughly washed. He avoided ice water, hated dancing and never learnt how to drive a car. One of his most notable quirks was his habit of falling asleep often during meetings where he legendarily would snore. Like I may have said in previous podcast and youtube episodes, this guy was quite a character, often described as a big bear. Now this is not a full biography on Yamashita so I cant devolve to far into things, such as his first fall from grace. During the February 26th coup incident of 1936, Yamashita was a leading member of the Kodoha faction and helped mediate a peaceful end to the standoff, however in truth he was backing the coup. He simply managed to not get caught red handed at the time doing too much for the mutineers, regardless he lost favor with the outraged Emperor and many young captains whom he loved like sons killed themselves in disgrace. If you want to know more about the February coup of 1936, check out my series on Emperor Hirohito or General Ishawara, they both talk about it in depth and touch upon Yamashita's role a bit. The coup led to the dissolvement of the Kodoha faction and the dominance of the Toseiha, led by Tojo. Yamashita tried to resign from the IJA, but his superiors dissuade him. He was relegated to a post in Korea, which honestly was a punishment. Yamashita would say “When I was posted to Korea, I felt I had been given a tactful promotion but that in fact my career was over. Even when I was given my first fighting company in North China, I still felt I had no future in the Army, so I was always on the front line, where the bullets flew the thickest. I sought only a place to die.” He had some time to reflect upon his conduct while in Korea, he began to study Zen Buddhism. He was promoted to Lt General in November of 1937 and when the China war broke out he was one of those speaking out that the incident needed to end swiftly and that peaceful relations must be made with the UK and US. He received a unimportant post in the Kwantung army and in 1938 was assigned command of the IJA 4th division. He led the forces during in northern china against insurgents until he returned to Tokyo in July of 1940. His fellow officers lauded him as Japan's finest general. Meanwhile Tojo had ascended to war minister and one of his first moves was to send a delegation to Germany. Tojo considered Yamashita a ruthless and forceful commander and feared he would become a powerful rival against him one day. Yamashita would go on the record to say then “I have nothing against Tojo, but he apparently has something against me.” You see, Yamashita had no political ambitions, unlike Tojo who was by nature a political monster. “My life, is that of a soldier; I do not seek any other life unless our Emperor calls me.” In late 1940, Tojo asked Yamashita to lead a team of 40 experts on a 6 month train tour of Germany and Italy, a move that kept him out of Tokyo, because Tojo was trying to solidify his political ambitions. This is going to become a looming theme between the two men. He was presented to Adolf Hitler in January of 1941, passing along messages from Tojo and publicly praising the Fuhrer, though privately he was very unimpressed by the man “He may be a great orator on a platform, with his gestures and flamboyant way of speaking. But standing behind his desk listening he seems much more like a clerk.” Hitler pressed upon him to push Japan to declare war on Britain and the US. At the time of course Japan was facing China and had two major conflicts with the USSR, thus this was absolutely not in her interest. “My country is still fighting in China, and we must finish that war as soon as possible. We are also afraid that Russia may attack us in Manchuria. This is no time for us to declare war on other countries.” Yamashita hoped to inspect Germany's military techniques and technology to help Japan. Hitler promised open exchanges of information stating “All our secrets are open to you,”, but this would prove to be a lie. “There were several pieces of equipment the Germans did not want us to see. Whenever I tried to persuade the German General Staff to show us things like radar—about which we had a rudimentary knowledge—the conversation always turned to something else.” Yamashita met with field Marshal Hermann Goring who gave him an overview of the war in europe. Goring would complain about Yamashita falling asleep during lectures and meetings and he believed the man was drunk often. Yamashita met Benito Mussolini in June of 1941 receiving a similar rundown to what he got in Germany. Yamashita visited Kitty in Vienna for a quick fling, but overall the trip deeply impacted Yamashita's resolve that Japan should stay out of the Europeans war and that Germany made a grievous error invading the USSR in June of 1941. This is what he said the members of the commission “You know the results of our inspection as well as I do. I must ask you not to express opinion in favor of expanding the alliance between Japan, Germany and Italy. Never suggest in your report that Japan should declare war on Great Britain and the United States. We must not and cannot rely upon the power of other nations. Japan needs more time, particularly as there may be aggression against us from Russia. We must have time to rebuild our defense system and adjust the whole Japanese war machine. I cannot repeat this to you often enough.” His report was similar, and it really pissed off Tojo who was trying to develop plans for a war against America. Yamashita would then get exiled to Manchuria in July of 1941, but Tojo's resentment towards him could only go so far, because Yamashita was one of their best generals and in his planned war against Britain and America, he would need such a man. Yamashita's time in Europe reshaped his views on how to conduct war. He saw first hand blitzkrieg warfare, it seems it fascinated him. He consistently urged the implementation of new proposals calling for the streamlining of air arms; to mechanize the Army; to integrate control of the armed forces in a defense ministry coordinated by a chairman of Joint Chiefs of staff; to create a paratroop corps and to employ effective propaganda. Basically he saw what was working for the Germans against the allies and wanted Japan to replicate it. Tojo did not like many of the proposal, hated the fact they were coming from Yamashita, so he obviously was not keen on making them happen. Luckily for Yamashita he would be given a chance to implement some of his ideas in a big way. On November 6th of 1941, Lt General Yamashita was appointed commander of the 25th Japanese army. His orders were to seize the Malay Peninsula and then the British naval base at Singapore. The Malaya Peninsula snakes 700 miles south of Thailand, a rugged sliver of land that constricts at its narrowest point to about 60 miles wide. It hold mountains that split the peninsula in half, some going as high as 7000 feet. During this time Malaya produced around 40% of the worlds rubber, 60% of its tin, two resources vital for war. At its very southern tip lies Singapore, a diamond shaped island connected to the mainland by a 1115 stone causeway. Singapore's largest asset was its naval base guarding the passage from the Pacific and Indian oceans. Together Malay and Singapore represented the key to controlling what Japan called the Southern Resource Area. Singapore was known as the gibraltar of the east for good reason. It was a massively fortified naval base. The base had been developed between 1923-1938 and cost 60 million pounds, around 2 billion pounds today. It was 21 square miles, had the largest dry dock in the world, the 3rd largest floating dock and enough fuel tanks to support the entire royal navy for 6 months. She was defended by 15 inch naval guns stationed at the Johre battery, Changi and Buona vista battery. And despite the infamous myth some of you may have heard, these guns were fully capable of turning in all directions including the mainland. For those unaware a myth perpetuated after the fall of Singapore that her large 15 inch guns could not turn to the mainland and that this spelt her doom, no it was not that, it was the fact they mostly had armor piercing shells which are using to hit ships and not land targets. Basically if you fire an armor piercing shell at land it imbeds itself then explodes, while HE shells would have torn any Japanese army to pieces. Alongside the 15 inch monsters, there were countless other artillery pieces such as 9.2 inch guns. By December of 1941 Malaya and Singapore held 164 first line aircraft out of a total of 253 aircraft, but many of the fighters were the obsolete Brewster F2A Buffalo, a pretty slow, fat little beast that could take a licking as it was armored, but against the Zero fighter it was unbelievably outmatched in speed and maneuverability. The Japanese acquired a major gift prior to the outbreak of war. On november 11th, 1940, the SS Automedon, a German raider attacked the HMS Atlantis which was carrying documents intended for the British far east command. The documents indicated the British fleet was not going to help Singapore; that Britain would not declare war if Thailand was invaded and that Hong Kong was expendable. The Germans gave the documents to the Japanese who were very excited by the information. Starting in January of 1941, Colonel Masanobu Tsuji led the Taiwan Army Research section based on Formosa to investigate how a campaign could be waged in Malay and Singapore. His findings on the defenses of Malay and Singapore were summed up in these 3 points: 1. Singapore Fortress was solid and strong facing the sea, but vulnerable on the peninsular side facing the Johore Strait; Newspaper reports of a strong Royal Air Force (RAF) presence were propaganda; Although British forces in Malaya numbered from five to six divisions (well over 80,000 men), less than half were Europeans. Now just a little bit about Tsuji as he was to become the chief of staff operations and planning under Yamashita. Tsuji was extremely insubordinate and a political schemer. He was a Toseiha faction fanatic, loyal to Tojo and thus definitely an enemy to Yamashita. Yamashita wrote of Tsuji in his war diary “is egotistical and wily. He is a sly dog and unworthy to serve the country. He is a manipulator to be carefully watched.” Tsuji would go on to have a infamous reputation for ordering atrocities in the name of his superiors, often without them knowing and this would be very much the case under Yamashita. Now using Tsuji's intelligence Yamashita began plans at his HQ at Samah, a port on Hainan island, starting in November of 1941 on how to launch the campaign. He was initially offered 5 divisions for the invasion, but he felt he could accomplish the objective with only three. There are a few reasons why he believed this; first, Tsuji's research suggested the peninsula roads would be the center of the battlefront and that the flanks would extend no more than a km or so to the left or right due to the dense jungle terrain (in fact Yamashita was planning to assault from the jungle specifically); 2nd intelligence indicated the defending troops were not of the highest caliber (the British were busy in Europe thus many of the troops in southeast asia were poorly trained, half were british regulars the rest were Australian, Indian and Malayan); 3rd Yamashita was aware “the Japanese army were in the habit of flinging more troops into the battle than could possibly be maintained” boy oh boy tell that one to the future boys on Guadalcanal. Thus he calculated 3 divisions was the maximum to be fed, equipped and supplied. Based on his recommendations the 25th army was created with 3 divisions; the 5th under Lt General Takuma Matsui; 18th under Lt General Renya Mutaguchi and the Imperial guards division of Lt General Takuma Nishimura. Supporting these would be two regiment of heavy field artillery and the 3rd tank brigade. Something that made Yamashita's campaign quite interesting was the usage and amount of tanks. He was invading with around 200 or so tanks consisting of the Type 95 Ha-Go light tank, type 97 Chi-Ha and Type 89 I-Go medium tanks and Type 97 Te-Ke tankettes. For aircraft he had the 3rd Air division, 459 aircraft strong with an additional 159 aircraft from the IJN to support them. The 3rd air division had a variety of aircraft such as Nakajima Ki-27 Nate's, Nakajima ki-43 Oscars, Kitsubishi ki-51 Sonia's, Kawasaki ki-48 Lily's, Mitsubishi ki-21 sally's, Mitsubishi ki-30 Ann's, Mitsubishi ki-15 babs and Mitsubishi ki-46 dinahs. For the IJN it was the 22nd air flotilla using Mitsubishi G3M1 Nell's, Mitsubishi A5M4 Claudes and some A6M Zeros. To say it was a lot of firepower at his disposal is an understatement, Yamashita was packing heat, heat he could use in a blitzkrieg fashion. His staff at Samah identified 5 operational objectives: 1 Simultaneous capture of Singora and Patani, Thailand and Kota Bharu, Malaya. 2 Capture of all enemy airfields in southern Thailand and Malaya. 3 Occupation of Kuala Lumpur, Malaya. 4 Occupation of Johore Bahru, and control of Johore Strait. 5 Conquest of Singapore. Colonel Tsuji, appointed Chief of Operations and Planning for the 25th Army, proposed the following plan which was readily approved: Land the main strength of the 5th Division simultaneously and without warning at Singora and Patani, and at the same time land a powerful section of the 18th Division to attack Kota Bharu. The troops disembarked at Singora and Patani to press forward immediately to attack the line of the Perak River Hand capture its bridge and the Alor Star aerodrome. The troops landed at Kota Bharu to press forward along the eastern coast as far as Kuantan. The landing at Kota Bharu, the only one in Malaya was expected to be opposed and quite risky. But if it was successful, it would create a useful diversion away from the main force landings in Thailand. The landings took place around 2:15am local time on December 8th, about an hour and 20 minutes before the attack on Pearl Harbor. The landings went largely unopposed, except at Kota Bahru where the Japanese saw heavy resistance. The British had anticipated this landing point and created operation Matador, a plan to pre-emptively invade southern thailand to secure defensive lines against the Japanese, however this plan was never accepted by British high command for obvious political reasons. But on December 5th, with a Japanese invasion looking certain, suddenly London gave permission to the Far east commanders to decide if Operation matador should be activated or not. The commander in Malaya, General Arthur Percival recommended forestalling it, fearing to violate Thai sovereignty, which ultimately would be the doom of a defense for Malaya. At the battle of Kota Bharu, the 9th infantry division of Major General Barstow attempted holding off the Japanese from taking the important Kota Bharu airfield. The 8th brigade of Billy Key had fortified the beaches with pillboxes, barbed wire and land mines. The Japanese took heavy losses, but they were able to find gaps and fill them up until Brigadier Key had to ask permission to pull out. The royal air force at Kota Bharu tossed Hudson bombers to hit the troop transports, but it was a suicide mission to do so. Meanwhile the IJA 5th division landed at Pattani and Songkhla in Thailand while the Imperial guards division marched over the border from French Indochina. The Japanese encountered very little resistance, the leader of Thailand Plaek Pibulsonggram had been trying to get assurances from the allies and Japanese all the way up until the invasion, once the Japanese landed he knew his best option was to play nice and sign an armistice. This basically spelt doom for malaya as the Japanese were given access to Thailand's airfields which they used to smash the forward airfields in Malaya. The first day of aerial encounters were a catastrophe for the British. General Percival would comment “The rapidity with which the Japanese got their air attacks going against our aerodromes was quite remarkable. Practically all the aerodromes in Kelantan, Kedah, Province Wellesley, and Penang, were attacked, and in most cases fighters escorted the bombers. The performance of Japanese aircraft of all types, and the accuracy of their bombing, came as an unpleasant surprise. By the evening our own air force had already been seriously weakened.” Brigadier Key withdrew after causing an estimated 800 casualties upon the Japanese while taking roughly 465. While Kota Bharu was being fought over, Percival unleashed Operation Krohcol, a 2.0 of Matador seeing British forces cross into Thailand to intercept the incoming enemy. It was an absolute disaster, the British attackers were defeated not only by the Japanese 5th division, but some Royal Thai police also defended their territory. The operation had basically become a race to who could seize the important focal point first and the Japanese took it first thus winning decisively. To add to that misery, force Z, consisting of the battleship HMS Prince of Wales,, battlecruiser Repulse and 4 destroyers tried to intercept the Japanese invasion fleet only to be utterly destroyed by overwhelming Japanese airforces. Within 4 days of the landings, the 5th division advanced from Singora through the town of Jitra to capture the RAF airfield at Alor star, around 100 miles away. Yamashita managed this using flanking techniques that saw his army take town after town and airfield after airfield. There were numerous natural obstacles to the advance such as dense jungles, very long supply lines, torrential rain and heat, but he had a secret weapon, bicycles. At Jitra Percival made his first major stand. Holding Jitra would safeguard the northern airfields of Malaya, but it was a folly to do so as the airfields in question were not provided adequate aircraft and the British lacked something extremely important to be able to defend themselves, tanks. Colonel Tsuji saw the fighting at Jitra first hand and reported “Our tanks were ready on the road, and the twenty or so enemy armored cars ahead were literally trampled underfoot … The enemy armored cars could not escape by running away, and were sandwiched between our medium tanks … It was speed and weight of armor that decided the issue.” The British had spread themselves far too thinly across a 14 mile front with jungle on their right flank and rubber plantations and mangrove swamps to their left. Yamashita used a innovative blitzkrieg like tactic, he combined his air, artillery, tanks and bicycle infantry to punch holes in concentrated attacks forcing allied defenders to withdraw. As Percival would write later in his memoirs “This withdrawal would have been difficult under the most favorable conditions. With the troops tired, units mixed as the result of the fighting, communications broken and the night dark, it was inevitable that orders should be delayed and that in some cases they should never reach the addressees. This is what in fact occurred … the withdrawal, necessary as it may have been, was too fast and too complicated for disorganized and exhausted troops, whose disorganization and exhaustion it only increased” Yamashita had ingeniously thought of employing large numbers of bicycles for his infantry so they could keep up momentum and speed with his mechanized forces. Oh and he didn't bring thousands of bicycles over to Malaya, the real genius was that they were there ready for him. His intelligence prior to the invasion indicated nearly all civilians in malaya had bicycles, so when the Japanese came over they simply stole them. Half of Yamashitas troops moved in motor vehicles while the rest road on 18,000 bicycles. As noted by Tsuji “With the infantry on bicycles, there was no traffic congestion or delay. Wherever bridges were destroyed the infantry continued their advance, wading across the rivers carrying their bicycles on their shoulders, or crossing on log bridges held up on the shoulders of engineers standing in the stream.” They Japanese overwhelmed the defenders who were forced to fight, flee into the jungles or flee along the roads where they were simply outsped by the faster Japanese. The defenders left numerous stores of food, abandoned vehicles, and supplies that Yamashita's men would dub “churchill's allowance”. British Lt Colonel Spencer Chapmanwas forced to hide on the sides of roads watching Japanese pedal past remarking “The majority were on bicycles in parties of forty or fifty, riding three or four abreast and talking and laughing just as if they were going to a football match.” The Japanese had the ability to carry their gear on the bicycles, giving them an enormous advantage over the allies fleeing on foot. The Japanese could travel faster, further and less fatigued. When the British destroyed 250 bridges during their flight, “the Japanese infantry (to continue) their advance, wading across the rivers carrying their bicycles on their shoulders, or crossing on log bridges held up on the shoulders of engineers standing in the stream”. The British could not escape the bicycle blitzkrieg as it became known, countless were forced to surrender under constant pressure and relentless pursuit. Alongside the bicycle warfare, whenever Yamashita faced terrain unsuitable for his tanks, he ordered amphibious landings further south to outflank the enemy's rear. Meanwhile the war in the air went equally terrible for the allies. The RAF had pulled back its best pilots and aircraft to deal with the war for Britain against the Luftwaffe. 21 airfields were in Malaya and Singapore, few of them had modern facilities, only 15 concrete runways. The heavy rain made the grass airstrips unusable. All the airfields were allocated around 8 heavy and 8 light anti aircraft guns. Quality radar units were completely inadequate. The Super Spitfires and Hyper Hurricanes were mostly in Britain fighting the Germans, while Buffaloes were allocated to Malaya. The Japanese airforces easily overcame the allied opposition and established air superiority quickly. Launching from airfields in Vietnam, they bombed all the airfields into submission and continuously applied pressure to Singapore. . The aerial dominance of the Zero and ‘Oscar' fighters served to undermine the morale of the British infantryman on the ground. As historian H. P. Wilmot has observed, “in the opening phase of the war the Zero-sen was just what the Japanese needed, and the Allies were devastated by the appearance of a ‘super fighter.' To add insult to injury, every airfield taken starting at the most northern going further and further south towards Singapore offered the Japanese new launching points to make for faster attack. Yamashita's forces reached the southern tip of the peninsula in just 8 weeks, his men had covered some 700 miles, about 12 miles a day on average. They fought 95 large and smaller battles doing so. Multiple lines of defense were erected one after another to try and halt the Japanese advance, to kill their momentum. Starting at the beach landings, to Jitra, then to Kampar, over the Slim river, then Johor. The British failed to employ “leave behind forces” to provide guerilla warfare in lost territories leading not only the Japanese to easily consolidate their gains, the Thai's also came down and grabbed some territory. At the battle of Muar Major General Gordon Bennet deployed the allied defenders south of the Muar River and it was widely believed here they would finally halt the Japanese. Then the Imperial Guards division outflanked them performing an amphibious landing and advancing down the coastal route. The 5th Japanese division followed a parallel route through the center and the 18th division landed near Endau. The allies were thus surrounded and took heavy casualties, countless were forced to flee through swamps and thick jungle abandoned their stuff. Gordons 45th brigade were absolutely shattered, effectively disbanded and left north of the Muar river as the rest of the allies fled south. The defeat at Muar broke the British belief they could hold even a toehold on Malay. Percivals strategy to fight delaying actions until the arrival of reinforcements to Singapore had fatally undermined his troops ability to hold onto defensive positions. As the British governor of the Johore straits settlement, Sir Shenton Thomas would say on January 6th ‘“We … have gone in for mechanized transport to the nth degree. It is a fearsomely cumbersome method. We have pinned our faith to the few roads but the enemy used tracks and paths, and gets round to our rear very much as he likes.”” Yet alongside the conquest came a series of atrocities. At the Parit Sulong Bridge south of the Muar, Captain Rewi Snelling was left behind with 150 wounded Australian and Indian soldiers not able to trek south. The Imperial guards division herded them into buildings, denied them medical treatment, many of the Indians were beheaded, others shot. This become known as the parit sulong massacre. Its hard to saw what Yamashita would have known about this incident, it technically was under the command of Takuma nishimura. On January 22nd, Nishimura gave the orders for prisoners to be forced outside, doused with petrol and set on fire. Nishimura would be sentenced to life in prison by a Singapore court, but on a flight back to Japan he was hijacked by Australian military police in Hong Kong who grabbed him and held a trial for the Parit Sulong massacre, finding him guilty and hanging him on june 11th of 1951. When the Japanese reached the straits of Johore, Yamashita took several days to perform reconnaissance, allowing his forces to regroup and prepare to attack the massive fortress. His plan for the invasion would see the Imperial guards perform a feint attack on the northeast side of Singapore, landing on the nearby Palau Ubin island on february 7th. The 5th and 18th division would remain concealed in the jungle until the night of the night of the 8th when they would cross the Johore and hit the northwest side of Singapore. The causeway to Singapore had been blown up by the retreating British, but the ability for Singapore to defend itself from a northern attack was lackluster. When Churchill was told by Wavell the Japanese sat on the other side of the Johore strait ready to attack the fortress he said ““I must confess to being staggered by Wavell's telegram. It never occurred to me for a moment that … Singapore … was not entirely fortified against an attack from the Northwards …”” With barely enough supplies or logistical support for his campaign, Yamashita's rapid advance down the Malay peninsula walked a tightrope of what was possible. His 70,000 men of which 30,000 were frontline troops had overcome a British force double their number. In Japan he garnered the epithet “Tiger of Malaya”, which ironically he was not too happy about. Later on in the war he would bark at a German attache “I am not a tiger. The tiger attacks its prey in stealth but I attack the enemy in a fair play”. By this point Singapore had swollen from a population of 550,000to nearly a million. Percival had a total of 70,000 infantry of mixed experience plus 15,000 clerks and support staff to man lines if necessary. 38 battalions, 17 Indian, 13 British, 6 Australian and 2 Malayan. He placed his weakest troops west of the causeway, near the abandoned naval base rather than nearby the airfield which he considered was going to be Yamashita's thrust. He placed his best forces over there, which would prove fatally wrong as Yamashita hit west of the causeway. Yamashita meanwhile could only muster 30,000 troops, he was outnumbered 2:1 and amphibious assaults called for the attacker to hold a 2:1 advantage for success. Yamashita's men were exhausted, they had suffered 4565 casualties, roughly 1793 deaths in their 55 day advance south. Worse yet, Yamashita had a critical supply issue. He had greatly exceeded his supply lines and had been surviving on the abandoned churchill stores along the way. His ammunition was critical low, it is said he was down to 18 functional tanks, allowing his men to fire 100 rounds per day, the fuel ran out, and as Yamashita put it “My attack on Singapore was a bluff—a bluff that worked. I had 30,000 men and was outnumbered more than three to one. I knew that if I had to fight for long for Singapore, I would be beaten. That is why the surrender had to be at once. I was very frightened all the time that the British would discover our numerical weakness and lack of supplies and force me into disastrous street fighting.” He told his men of the 5th and 18th division not to build any cooking fires so they could conceal their positions in the jungle as he gathered hundreds of collapsible boats and other crafts to ford the strait. He gathered 40 divisional commanders and senior officers to a rubber plantation and with a flushed red face read out his attack orders while pouring them Kikumasamune (ceremonial wine). He made a traditional toast and said “It is a good place to die; surely we shall conquer”. He had to get the British to surrender quickly, he had to essentially ‘bluff” his enemy. He had to make the British think he was fully armed and supplied for a prolonged siege, how could he do so? He fired his artillery like a mad man, knowing full well they would run out of shells. Starting on February 3rd, Yamashita's artillery supported by aerial bombings hit Singapore for 5 days. On the night of the 7th, 400 Imperial Guards crossed to the Ibin island performing their feint attack. Percivals attention was grabbed to the east successfully, while on the night of the 8th the 5th and 18th divisions assembled carefully at the water's edge. At 8:30pm the first wave of 4000 Japanese troops crossed the Johore strait aboard 150 small vessels. The noise of their engines was drowned out by artillery. The thinly spread Australian lines, 3000 or so men led by Major General Bennet were breached fast leading to pockets of surrounded australian troops. As Lewis Gunner cliff olsen recalled “We were horribly spread out and it was pitch black and they [Japanese troops] were very hard to see. They walked through us half the time.” A beachhead was formed, a soon 14,000 Japanese had crossed by dawn. Communications broke down for the allies, Percival unwilling to believe the Japanese's main thrust was in the west declined to send reinforcements there. When he did finally realize the main thrust was in the west he began to withdraw troops from quiet sectors and built up a reserve. The Japanese held air supremacy and their artillery was fierce. The big 15 inch guns of singapore held mostly armor piercing shells designed to hit ships, there were few HE shells available. When they fired upon the Japanese the shells would hit the ground they would embed deeply before exploding doing little damage. The defenders had no tanks, basically no more aircraft. The last departing ships fled the scene as everything was burning chaos around them. Morale was breaking for the defenders. By the 9th, Japanese bombers were raining bombs on allied positions unopposed. Bennet was forced to pull men back to a new line of defense from the east of the Tengah airfield to the north of Jurong. Poor communications hampered the northern sector of Brigadier Duncan Maxwell whose troops actually battered the hell out of the Imperial Guards who had landed at 10pm on the 9th. The Imperial guards gradually managed a foothold on a beach, but Maxwell feared encirclement and withdrew his men against direct orders of Bennet. The retreat opened up the flank of the 11th indian division who were overrun. All of the beaches west of the causeway fell to the enemy, when they did Yamashita brought over his tanks to smash the new Jurong line. The Japanese could have potentially stormed the city center at this point, but they held back, because in reality, Percival had created a formidable reserve in the middle. The Australian 22nd brigade took the brunt of the fighting. Yamashita was running out of reserves and his attacks were reaching their limit, but he needed the battle to end swiftly. Yamashita was shocked and shaken when he received a report that the British troop strength within the city was twice what they believed. With covert desperation, Yamashita ordered his artillery to fire until their last rounds and sent Percival a demand for surrender. “In the spirit of chivalry we have the honour of advising your surrender. Your army, founded on the traditional spirit of Great Britain, is defending Singapore, which is completely isolated, and raising the fame of Great Britain by the ut¬ most exertions and heroic feelings. . . . From now on resistance is futile and merely increases the danger to the million civilian inhabitants without good reason, exposing them to infliction of pain by fire and sword. But the development of the general war situation has already sealed the fate of Singapore, and the continuation of futile resistance would only serve to inflict direct harm and in¬ juries to thousands of non-combatants living in the city, throwing them into further miseries and horrors of war. Furthermore we do not feel you will in¬ crease the fame of the British Army by further resistance.” Singapore had received another order prior to this from Churchill “It is certain that our troops on Singapore Island greatly outnumber any Japanese that have crossed the Straits. We must defeat them. Our whole fighting reputation is at stake and the honour of the British Empire. The Americans have held out on the Bataan Peninsula against far greater odds, the Russians are turning back the picked strength of the Germans, the Chinese with almost complete lack of mod¬ ern equipment have held the Japanese for AVi years. It will be disgraceful if we yield our boasted fortress of Singapore to inferior enemy forces. There must be no thought ofsparing troops or the civil population and no mercy must be shown to weakness in any shape or form. Commanders and senior officers must lead their troops and if necessary die with them. There must be no question or thought of surrender. Every unit must fight it out to the end and in close contact with the enemy. ... I look to you and your men to fight to the end to prove that the fighting spirit that won our Empire still exists to enable us to defend it.” What was Percival to do? The Japanese had seized control over Singapore water reservoirs, the population would die of thirst within 2-3 days. Japanese shells were causing fires and death everywhere. People were panicking, trying to get on the very last boats leaving the port, even though that surely meant death to the IJN. An American sailor recalled “There was a lot of chaos and people killed on the docks during these bombardments. Everywhere you looked there was death. Even in the water there were dead sharks and people floating all around.” Defeatism was endemic. Australian troops were overheard saying “Chum, to hell with Malaya and Singapore. Navy let us down, air force let us down. If the bungs [natives] won't fight for their bloody country, why pick on me?” Sensing a complete collapse Percival formed a tight defense arc in front of the city, and by the 13th his commanders were telling him they believed Singapore was already doomed. Wavell was asked for approval for surrender, but he replied “to continue to inflict maximum damage on enemy for as long as possible by house-to-house fighting if necessary.” Percival then told him the water reservoirs were taken, so Wavell sent back “YOUR GALLANT STAND IS SERVING A PURPOSE AND MUST BE CONTINUED TO THE LIMIT OF ENDURANCE” On the 15th, Percival held a morning conference reported there was no more fuel, field gun nor bofor ammunition. In 24 hours their water would be done. He told them he would ask for a ceasefire at 4pm, by the end of the day Wavell gave him permission to surrender. Over at his HQ on the Bukit Timah heights, Yamashita was staring at a Union Jack fluttering over Fort Canning. Then a field phone rang, and a frontline commander reported the British were sending out a flag of truce. Meanwhile back on February the 14th, Japanese forces reached the Alexandra Barracks hospital at 1pm. At 1:40pm a British Lt greeting them waving a white flag and was bayoneted on the spot. The Japanese stormed the hospital and murdered the staff and patients. 200 male staff and patients, badly wounded were bound over night and marched to an industrial estate half a mile away. Anyone who collapsed was bayoneted. The survivors of the march were formed into small groups and hacked to death or bayoneted. For a few days over 320 men and women were massacred. Only 5 survivors would give recounts of the event. It is suspected by historians that Tsuji was the architect of the Alexandra hospital massacre. This is because he was the instigator of countless atrocities he ordered unbeknownst to his superior commanders such as Yamashita. Percival was ordered to go to the Ford motor factory to where he met with Yamashita. Yamashita was hiding his surprise that the surrender party came and as he glanced at the surrender terms he said through his interpreter “The Japanese Army will consider nothing but surrender,” Yamashita knew his forces were on the verge of running out of ammunition and he still held half troops Percival did, he was anxious Percival would figure it out. Percival replied “I fear that we shall not be able to submit our final reply before ten-thirty p.m.,” Percival had no intention of fighting on he simply wanted to work out specific details before signing the surrender. Yamashita was sure Percival was stalling. “Reply to us only whether our terms are acceptable or not. Things must be settled swiftly. We are prepared to resume firing.Unless you do surrender, we will have to carry out our night attack as scheduled.”” Percival replied ““Cannot the Japanese Army remain in its present position? We can resume negotiations again tomorrow at five-thirty A.M”. Yamashita screamed “Nani! I want the hostilities to cease tonight and I want to remind you there can be no arguments.” Percival replied ““We shall discontinue firing by eight-thirty p.m. Had we better remain in our present positions tonight?” Yamashita said yes and that firing would cease at 8:30pm and that 1000 allied men could keep arms to maintain order within the city. Yamashita stated “You have agreed to the terms but you have not yet made yourself clear as to whether you agree to surrender or not.” Percival cleared his throat and gave a simple nod. Yamashita looked at his interpreter “There's no need for all this talk. It is a simple question and I want a simple answer.” He turned to Percival and shouted, “We want to hear ‘Yes' or ‘No' from you! Surrender or fight!” Percival finally blurted out “Yes, I agree. I have a request to make. Will the Imperial Army protect the women and children and British civilians?”Yamashita replied “We shall see to it. Please sign this truce agreement”. At 7:50 the surrender was signed off, 40 minutes later Singapore was in the hands of the Japanese. In 70 days Yamashita took at the cost of 9824 casualties, had seized Malaya and Singapore, nearly 120,000 British surrendered. It was the greatest land victory in Japanese history. Churchill called the fall of Singapore to the Japanese "the worst disaster and largest capitulation in British history" Churchills physician Lord Moran wrote The fall of Singapore on February 15 stupefied the Prime Minister. How came 100,000 men (half of them of our own race) to hold up their hands to inferior numbers of Japanese? Though his mind had been gradually prepared for its fall, the surrender of the fortress stunned him. He felt it was a disgrace. It left a scar on his mind. One evening, months later, when he was sitting in his bathroom enveloped in a towel, he stopped drying himself and gloomily surveyed the floor: 'I cannot get over Singapore', he said sadly With the fall of singapore came another atrocity, the Sook Ching massacre. After February 18th, the Japanese military began mass killings of what they deemed undesirables, mostly ethnic Chinese. It was overseen by the Kempeitai and did not stop in Singapore, but spread to Malaya. It seems the aim of the purge was to intimidate the Chinese community from performing any resistance. According to postwar testimony taken from a war correspondent embedded with the 25th army, Colonel Hishakari Takafumi, he stated an order went out to kill 50,000 Chinese, of which 20 percent of the total was issued by senior officials on Yamashita's operations staff, most likely Tsuji. It is certain at the behest of Tsuji the orders were extended to Malay. The death toll is a tricky one, the Japanese went on the record to admit to 6000 murders, the Singaporean Chinese community and the Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew allege 70,000-100,000. Historians analyzing the scale of discovered mass graves after some decades think around 25,000-50,000. How much Yamashita knew of the massacre is debatable, the orders came from his office after all, but it seems Tsuji had orchestrated it. Many of Japan's generals wanted Yamashita to be appointed war minister, a move that obviously threatened then Prime Minister Hideki Tojo, who feared his rival. Tojo retaliated, ordering Japan's new war hero back to Manchuria. On the surface, the assignment appeared worthy as Yamashita would serve as the first line of defense against a possible Soviet invasion. But since the two nations had signed a neutrality pact in April 1941, and Soviets were bogged down fighting the Germans, immediate war appeared unlikely. In reality, Tojo had parked Yamashita on the war's sidelines. Tojo went even further, he barred Yamashita any leave in Tokyo, preventing him from visiting his wife as well as from delivering a speech he had written for the emperor. No worries though, an aide of Yamashita's sent him three geishas. Allegedly he said this “I know they want to please me with these girls. But send them back—and don't forget to tip them.” The Tiger of Malaya would maintain a low profile in Manchuria where he received a promotion to full General. As months fell to years Yamashita sat on the sidelines helpless to aid the Japanese forces. His exile would come to an end in 1944 when Tojo was outed and the Tiger was required to try and save the Philippines from General Douglas MacArthur.
Episode #450: Over three days, Insight Myanmar led a Digital Storytelling Workshop with academics and activists, where we explored how presence, curiosity, and the simple invitation “tell me more” can open real dialogue in a polarized Myanmar. What they created was tender, courageous, and deeply human — conversations that welcome not only each other, but also the unseen listener they hope to reach. This is the second of three episodes in this series. Sarah, a former international relations student, describes how the coup abruptly ended her studies and forced her from academic ambition into survival mode. Realizing she might never return to university, she fled Myanmar for Thailand, where initial safety gave way to fear once she became undocumented. Repeated police harassment and bribery threats left her anxious and isolated, struggling with unstable finances and the emotional strain of living alone. She relies on counseling to cope, yet continues supporting Myanmar's revolution however she can. Despite everything, she hopes to someday return home, resume her studies, and urges exiles to show kindness to one another. Alex, an academic advisor with the online Parami University, traces her path into humanitarian and transcultural education through formative experiences in multicultural and miultilingualsettings. Working with children in India and later in a refugee camp in Athens showed her how education can create trust and stability, even in crisis. She now advises Burmese students in Chiang Mai, many of whom face displacement and legal insecurity, and has also visited Kenya's Kakuma camp. Her long-term commitment is centered in her students: their determination, cultural pride, and efforts to build community. Elsa, a student from Yangon now living in Thailand after fleeing the coup, reflects on the foods she grew up loving—especially sweet and spicy Burmese dishes and the many regional versions of mohinga she cannot easily find in Thailand. She notes the overlap between Thai and Burmese flavors and imagines creative blends using coconut cream. Her long-held dream is to open a Burmese tea shop that recreates Myanmar's communal, welcoming atmosphere with simple wooden furniture, shared spaces, and small acts of hospitality. Although she anticipates challenges with Thai regulations and staffing, she remains committed to building a place that shares culture and kindness through food.
Send us a textWhat if the love you need isn't a feeling at all? We sat down with Rob and Stephanie to unpack a winding adoption journey that began on mission trips and led to a Thai orphanage, a handful of miracles, and a daily practice of surrender. The story starts with simple compassion for children overseas, grows through years of closed doors and waiting, and arrives at a moment in Haiti when a small hand and a sharper question from God changed everything.You'll hear how “anchor moments” confirmed their path—an agency email from Bangkok, their daughter serving nearby, and an orphanage only a mile and a half away—culminating in a yes on a little girl's seventh birthday. Bringing Mali home didn't match the warm picture they imagined. Cerebral palsy wasn't the biggest hurdle; navigating grief, fear, and rejection was. Stephanie speaks candidly about the trenches, the day she wrote “God, I hate this,” and the shift that came when she asked God to love through her instead of chasing feelings. That prayer marked the start of a steady, durable love that held when nothing else did.This conversation is a field guide to agape: letting go of expectations, practicing surrender when comfort collapses, and remembering the gospel when love isn't returned. We talk about how journaling anchors your memory, why joy is different from happiness, and how adoption mirrors the heart of God—He loved us when we resisted Him. If you're discerning adoption, wrestling with a hard yes, or simply trying to love better at home, these stories and takeaways offer clarity and courage.Listen, share with someone who needs hope, and if the message resonates, subscribe and leave a review to help others find the show.New episodes every Mondaywww.lifehousemot.cominfo@lifehousede.com Join us Sundays at 9 & 11 AM Intro music by Joey Blair
After more clashes on the Thai-Cambodian border, we ask a Cambodian official whether the dispute will escalate.Also in the programme: four months ahead of the elections in Hungary, why has child protection become such a key issue? And as Israel plans to build a new road and barrier in the occupied West Bank, we hear from the head of the UN's Human Rights Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.(IMAGE: A handout photo made available by Agence Kampuchea Presse (AKP) shows a bridge destroyed by Thai F-16 fighter jets in Pursat Province, Cambodia, 13 December 2025 / CREDIT: Handout /EPA/Shutterstock)
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Tensions escalate again between Thailand and Cambodia after violent clashes on the border. The Thai military says it is hitting military targets to suppress attacks by Cambodian forces. Both accuse each other of breaching a ceasefire agreement brokered by President Trump just two months ago. Also: as Syria marks the first year anniversary of the fall of the Assad regime, our International Editor, Jeremy Bowen, looks at how Syrians are dealing with challenges after the civil war. An attempted coup in Benin is thwarted with the help of Nigeria and other West African countries; Lando Norris is the new Formula One champion after a dramatic race in Dubai - his mentor Trevor Carlin tells us all about him; and the British documentary photographer Martin Parr - known for his humour and capturing the quirkiness of British life - has died.