This travel article was an attempt to understand the boom in Thailand’s tourism industry, and how tourist ghettos such as “Khao San Road” originate. This research involved tracking down decades-old Lonely Planet guidebooks, and then physical visiting the locations mentioned to see the impact and change. (more…)
What is the nature of tourism? How does it contribute to globalization? What are the politics of being a Western expatriate in Asia? This intro lays down the general premise of Road Rash. (more…)
This section looks at the power of schools to bring people together. It explores the advantages of student exchange programs and also addresses some of the negative drawbacks suffered by some foreigners experience at US universities. (more…)
This story is about my private ritual on Jomtien Beach to honor a friend who had drowned there earlier. It looks at the concepts of faith, ceremony, and spirits. As a side plot, I explore the rapid growth of tourism in Thailand and wonder about the ghosts of the country’s past. (more…)
Sometimes you have to let your students go to see what will happen. After taking them on tours for several months, I decided that they had to design one of their own. They had to create a real tour based on community resources that I had introduced them to. Moreover, they had to introduce another group of students to the canals, rivers, and temples within Ayutthaya. They had to pass their the torch of learning onto the next round of students. (more…)
Ayutthaya was destroyed by Burmese invader in 1767. The new capital was moved to Thonburi, and then later to Bangkok. Most Thai textbooks ignore Ayutthaya after 1767, and Western historians too often forget that it is still a thriving city today. I wrote this article to explain the rebirth of Ayutthaya, and how it became repopulated once again. In order to remind my students that history can be found everywhere, I required them to interview their grandparents about how the environment of the city has changed over recent decades. Their data was incorporated into this material. (more…)
This article is about my attempt to get students to design three original tours in Sena. We track the the remains of a floating village, visit a flooded homestay, and try to spot a female ghosts that lives in a tree. (more…)
This is the introductory article to my novella about teaching in Ayutthaya. It first appeared on www.ajarn.com. I start by describing all the ghosts that float around this city and ask if my students can bring the town back to life. (more…)
This chapter focuses on Korea’s tourism industry and explores the potential to draw young backpackers. (more…)