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Queens of stage and screen: Thailand’s transgender beauty pageant kicks off for 10th year

In many ways, Miss International Queen is just like any other pageant: finalists parade in evening gowns, swimsuits and national dress, and the winner will perform twelve months of promotional and charity duties. There’s one major difference, though: all the contestants are transgender women, and the top prize includes cosmetic surgery for the winner – if she wants it.

As the world’s largest transgender pageant hits the stage in Thailand (where else!) for its 10th anniversary year, we take a look at this unique contest.

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Is the Fountain of Youth in Thailand? 1965’s Miss Universe still looks pretty incredible

Perceptions of beauty pageants in modern society have definitely changed since the 1960s. While we’re sure that there are plenty of varying opinions out there regarding beauty pageants’ place in modern society, we can certainly get behind the idea that there’s more to a person than how physically attractive they are. That said, we’re sure that for winners of the pageants, like Apasra Hongsakula here, who was 18 when she won Miss Universe in 1965, the shows are source of tremendous pride and happiness.

But winning an international beauty contest isn’t the only thing that separates Apasra from the rest of us ugly shmoes–if recent photos are any indication, she’s been practically reliving her glory days for the last 47 years, since the 1965 Miss Universe still looks like Miss Universe today even at the age of 67!

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Bangkok has its own magical moving emporium stuffed with snacks, candies and toys!

Once upon a time in Bangkok, there was a magical moving emporium that only opened its doors to a lucky few. Inside, those who were permitted to enter could feast on every kind of sweet treat imaginable, and when they stepped out of this cave of wonders, they found themselves in a completely different place.

You might think this to be a fairy tale or the stuff of urban legend, but Thai native Kittiphun Khongawatkiat was lucky enough to chance upon this amazing taxi filled to the brim with snacks and candies and took some snaps to prove its existence.

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Come for the toilets, stay for the food and fun at Bangkok’s airport-themed mall “Terminal 21”

Asia is full of wonderful travel destinations. With a mix of rich history and rapid development, it’s far from a boring place to visit. However, the burning question on any traveler’s mind has got to be “Where can I see the greatest toilets of Asia?”

Well, that’s a subjective title but we’d like to submit a shopping center in Thailand’s capital Bangkok as a contender. The huge complex is called Terminal 21 and boasts over six floors of shops and eateries. There’s a lot of fun to be had here but the main attraction has got to be the internationally themed restrooms.

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Thai video claiming corruption at the 2014 Asia Games goes viral

Readers in the West may not have heard much about it, but the 17th Asian Games were held between September 19 and October 4 in Incheon, South Korea. As the largest multi-sporting event after the Olympics, the Asian Games bring together athletes from all across the Asian continent only once every four years. By the end of this year’s competition, China had racked up the highest medal count, followed by host South Korea and Japan. However, this year’s Games were also plagued by rampant rumors of suspicious refereeing, fixed matches, and host country favoritism, leaving many nations with a bitter aftertaste upon their conclusion.

In response to the multiple stories of alleged corruption, one irate Thai viewer created a parody video to vent his frustrations. As of this writing, the video, with its scornful lyrics yet surprisingly bubbly nature, has been replayed over 2 million times on YouTube, despite having been published less than a week ago. Judging by the comments, it seems the rest of the world seems to sympathize with its message…

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Korean cosmetic surgery show treats two Thai women to free procedures

Yeah, yeah, here comes another article about plastic surgery in South Korea. But this time there’s an international twist to it–the story is about two Thai women who received plastic surgery on a Korean TV program.

As reported by Coconuts Bangkok, the September 4 episode of Korean show Let Me In featured a pair of Thai women who received several cosmetic surgery treatments for free and which followed the entire surgerical process from start to finish. The women’s transformed faces were revealed to the public for the first time at the end of the episode. How do you think their procedures turned out?

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Gone are the days when schoolbooks were made up of pages and pages of text. Today’s textbooks are just as likely to be filled with glossy, colourful images to engage and entertain students. This Thai textbook publisher, however, has come under fire for apparently sourcing an image from the internet to use on a book’s front cover – which turned out to be a photo of a Japanese adult video star.

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New ad from Thailand about a mother’s love will inspire you and bring you to tears【Video】

Life insurance commercials from Thailand have been doing the rounds on social media lately, impressing everybody with their beautiful images and moving storylines. Now there’s a new ad from Thailand pulling at our heartstrings, but this time it has nothing to do with life insurance – this is a touching message from the makers of a fibre food beverage.

The short clip shows us the benefits of weight loss, by focusing on the true story of a mother who was determined to lose weight – not for herself but for her son. Why? Make sure you’ve got some tissues handy because the reason will touch your heart.

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Cute d’état! Thousands of ducks take to the streets in Thailand

There’s a lot going on in Thailand at the moment, and you can be sure that those in the tourism industry watching visitor numbers plummet now that the country has fallen under military control are none too pleased, so it’s not surprising to hear of stories of anger and frustration. What we didn’t expect to see, though, were ducks taking to the street en masse as if in protest.

Check out this video of thousands of ducks waddling along together in an adorable yet really eerie demonstration of nature.

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Authentic Thai food in Thailand found in the least expected place

Thai food is fantastic; the flavors of sweet and spicy excite the taste buds like little else. But in a country as diverse as Thailand, how do you know which restaurant to visit? There are so many local eateries, how can you decide which one will be the best? Well, RocketNews24 has a recommendation for you, and it doesn’t matter what part of Thailand you are in, you will probably be able to find it.

The restaurant we recommend for you to try some authentic Thai food is…McDonald’s!

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Local thugs forced to fight pro Muay Thai fighters as punishment during Thai New Year festival

Songkran, or the Thai New Year, is held annually between April 13-15. It is also known as the water-throwing festival because the tradition of washing Buddhist statues for good fortune has evolved into a tradition of throwing water on other people as well. In other words, it’s like a giant free-for-all water fight throughout the country!

Naturally, by human nature not all of the citizens are well-behaved, and the festival always leads to some fights and drunken brawls between irresponsible revelers. This year, however, it looks like the ingenious idea of one politician in Buriram City may stop local gang members from stirring up more trouble at future festivals…and it might just shock you. 

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Revisiting Songkran: the best water festival EVER!!!

From the ball drop in America, to the first shrine visit in Japan, each culture rings in the New Year in their own special way. Thailand’s Songkran, or commonly known as the water throwing festival, may be the most carefree and fun tradition though. RocketNews24 has brought you the story from last year’s festival, but we couldn’t resist sending a crew back this year. Click on through to see if they were able to avoid getting wet this year, and the plight of their electronic equipment!

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Doraemon in Nirvana: Chiang Rai’s White Temple like a beautiful, bad pop culture pipe dream 【Photos】

Approaching Wat Rong Khun, Chiang Rai’s so-called White Temple, is a surreal experience. It looks like a massive sculpture of ice and snow shimmering through Thailand’s tropical heat. But that effect barely scratches the surface of the weird at this Buddhist wat, where Doraemon hangs out with the Buddha, bushes are decorated with the decapitated heads of Freddie Kruger and Pinhead, and the penalty for smoking is eternal damnation.

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Not again! Thai insurance commercial hits us right in the feels【Video】

You know it’s a cynical sales technique, so you try to be sensible and hold yourself apart, but sometimes commercials really know how to pull the heartstrings. We dare you to watch this spot for a Thai life insurance company and not get a little misty eyed.

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Experience the ultimate moe flight with Asian Air x Mirai Airlines

Danny Choo, founder of Culture Japan and inexhaustible ambassador for all things moe, announced the collaboration between his mascot Mirai Suenaga and the Thai airline Asian Air on his website this week. Read on to find out just how far their plans for anime-themed air domination go.

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35 fascinating photos of Korea from 100 years ago (before K-dramas took over Asia)

A picture is worth a thousand words. That’s certainly the case with the following collection of stunning photographs taken in Korea between 1890 and 1903 by visiting foreigners. The diverse, everyday scenes they depict shed light on the lifestyles of people at the time. Interestingly, this pictorial set was circulated around the Internet in Thailand, where people were surprised to see such vast differences in lifestyle as compared to the lives of South Koreans portrayed in modern-day K-dramas…a lot can change in a hundred years! You don’t want to miss a single one of these photos or the reactions of Thai people after seeing them!

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Cute 13yo Thai-German talent speaks five languages and sings with the best of them

Meet Jannine Parawie Weigel. Like any 13-year-old girl, she enjoys lemonade, pizza, the color pink, and Hunger Games (the movie not, you know, actual hunger games). She also speaks five languages, plans to get a bachelor’s degree by the time she’s 16 and was already signed to GMM Grammy, Thailand’s largest media company.

And if you don’t feel like you’re underachieving enough yet, she also has the face and voice of an angel, and by all accounts seems like a genuinely well-mannered young woman. Now before you pick up that revolver, enjoy the song-stylings of this up-and-coming Thai-German wunderkind.

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We knew elephants could paint, but we didn’t expect them to be so good at it!【Video】

We’re all talented in ways that others aren’t; some of us are born artists, while some can barely draw anything more complex than a stick man. It seems that would be the case with elephants too. It is said that in every 200 elephants trained to paint, only about four manage to master the skill.

Of course, in the case of elephants, painting is skill they are trained to remember, not an inborn talent. Even with that said, some of the drawings they make are so impressive, we can’t help but wonder if some natural talent is involved!

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We get a taste of the high-life at a Thai mega-mansion equipped with giant chicken altar and Marilyn Monroe

While staying in Thailand, one of our reporters came across an expansive estate littered with colossal buildings. This was said to be the property of the Chairman of Saha Farms Group, Dr. Panya Choititawan.

As we will soon see, Dr. Choititawan seems to be a devout Buddhist and has opened his home, called Sukhawadee, to the public for a nominal fee of 200 bahts (US$6). It’s said the purpose was to give people a feeling of being a joint owner and treat them to the images of Buddha it contains. Kowloon Kurosawa, wanting to get a taste of success decided to take a look around.

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  • Dec 6, 2013

Hello Kitty delights fans in Southeast Asia — by cosplaying as fairy tale characters!

We all know that Hello Kitty is one busy little cat, but it looks like she’ll be in particular demand in the coming weeks … in Thailand! In what is yet another collaborative effort involving the hard-working Ms. Kitty, McThai has recently started their “Hello Kitty Fairy Tales” promotion.

Beginning last Friday, McDonald’s all over Thailand are selling adorable plush Hello Kitty dolls. But these aren’t just any ordinary plushies. This time, our beloved Ms. Kitty has been fitted with colorful costumes from the world of fairy tales!

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