Richard Barrow in Thailand

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Popular Tweets about Thailand in November 2016

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The following are my most popular tweets about Thailand for November 2016. They are not necessarily the most retweeted, but they are the ones that got the most engagement on Twitter.

1. After the death of King Bhumibol, the national flag was flown at half mast across the nation for 30 days. My most popular tweet for November was just informing people that the last day for this would be 13 November.

2. Everyone expected the Crown Prince to be proclaimed the new King straight away. But, there was a delay. However, things are now back on course to proclaim the Crown Prince as King Rama X.

3. There is no official portrait or even emblem for the soon-to-be King, but the very next day after the Thai Cabinet acknowledged the Crown Prince as the next King, the front pages of the newspapers were dominated by this news.

4. Since the passing of King Bhumibol, countless thousands, if not millions by now, of people visited the Grand Palace to pay respects. One of the more unusual visitors were these elephants who had come from nearby Ayutthaya.

5. The Fine Arts Department decided to make all national museums and historical parks in Thailand free until 31 January as a way to honor the King.

6. The good thing about drone photos is that they give you a new perspective. I particularly like the shots straight down of ancient ruins and seeing how symmetrical they are.

7. New train carriages have been arriving in the Thailand over the last few months. They are now being put into service on various routes. This is the night train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. I already tried to book a sleeper but the new carriages were all booked up.

8. Loy Krathong is one of the most popular festivals in Thailand. However, the downside to this event is the environmental impact. Thousands of people float foam based krathongs which pollute the waterways. Over recent years, that has been a growing campaign to encourage people to use krathongs made from biodegradable materials. One event I visited this year, most krathongs were made from bread.

9. This is a problem at the airports that never seems to go away. There never seems to be enough Immigration staff on duty. However, it is not like this all day. If they did increase the number of staff, they wouldn’t have a fulltime job. The majority would only be needed for peak times. Their argument is that there is no money available for more staff.

10. After the death of King Bhumibol, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha and the Grand Palace was temporaily closed to tourists. However, it has now re-opened.

11. I went during the first week the Emerald Buddha Temple was re-opened. Unlike previous visits, it was easier to take photos without people getting into your shot. The number of tourists has now returned to normal.

12. Some more drone photos. These ones are of my visit to Lopburi for the annual Monkey Party. The palace is presently free to all visitors until 31 January 2017.

13. One of the most amazing tourist attractions in Pattaya is the Sanctuary of Truth, a wooden palace. They have been working on this for many years and it seems far from finished.

14. Variety is always good as it makes life more interesting. The previous week I had my own villa and private pool. Then I went to this! But, it was alright. I only stayed here for one night and checked out early in the morning. 

15. A fun festival that takes place every year in Thailand is the Monkey Party in Lopburi. This city is famous for the monkeys which attract thousands of tourists every year. As a way to say thank you to them, local businesses put on a buffet meal for the monkeys every year at the end of November.

16. One of the most unusual temple buildings in Thailand is this one at Wat Niwet Thammaprawat. On the outside it looks like a Christian church. But inside there is a Buddha image and monk.

17. One of my favourite floating markets around Bangkok is Khlong Lat Mayom in the Western suburbs. 

Thanks to everyone who engaged with my tweets during November. I got an average of 460 retweets per day, 373 likes per day and 28 replies per day. The majority of my tweets are about Thailand, where I have lived for twenty two years. I tweet the good, the bad and the ugly about the country, but as many people have noted, I mainly only see the good. Please don’t blame me for that. I don’t get paid to tweet, nor do I accept payment for tweets. If I like it, I will tweet it. If you have an upcoming event or have opened a new attraction that might be of interest, then please let me know. See you on Twitter at @RichardBarrow.

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