Ask any tourists what image they have of Pattaya and you’ll be met with something along the line of cheap beers and girls. And the city knows it. That’s why over the recent years Chonburi City (which Pattaya is a part of) has come up with a variety of attractions that you don’t need neon lights to enjoy. However, the newly built mega-malls, wax museum, ocean-view movie theater and theme park hotels are no match to what Pattaya’s Floating Market has to offer.

Floating markets are common in Thailand. Think Venice, but instead of the canals full of leisure gondolas, the Thai version is filled with wooden boats that double as floating shophouses, selling everything from a bowl of noodles to Thai desserts and souvenirs.

But what makes Pattaya’s one so special is that, despite being very commercialized where vendors are paid tenants and not your neighborhood cooking mamas, it does make a refreshing sight in this party beach town with its traditional Thai-style architecture, old-school waterside coffee shops, Thailand’s famous spicy boat noodles and rows of shacks offering snacks and gifts for locals and curious tourists.

The full name is Four Region Floating Market, which reflects the concept of bringing things from all corners of Thailand to one spot. Here you can try Northern spicy sausage from Chiang Mai, favorite som tum papaya salad from Northeast Isaan, arrays of curries from the South, and Central’s signature wicker handicrafts and funky hippie fashions.

Besides the goodies, there are also elephant shows, traditional performances, boat rides along its makeshift canals, and even a little extreme adventure on its rope obstacle course over the water.

The place is huge, you can easily waste away your afternoon, and money, here. And unlike other tourist attractions in Pattaya that aim to drain your wallet even before you set foot inside, the entrance to the floating market is absolutely free.

Pattaya Four Region Floating Market

451/304 Moo 12, Sukhumvit-Pattaya Road

Tel: (+66) 3870 6340

www.pattayafloatingmarket.com

Read more:
The Real Phad Thai: where (not) to find it
Remixing Thai folk music: Morlam DJ

Thanks to the internet you don’t need to travel to see what people are wearing in other parts of the world. Here are five sites to take in the different street styles on five continents.

North America: New York, USA

The king of street fashion blogs for many people is The Sartorialist. He has been photographing stylish New Yorkers since 2005, and The Sartorialist is now a design influence in its own right.

Europe: Poland

Pretty and stylish Lula Street shows that Poles have plenty of individuality when it comes to dressing.

Africa: Johannesburg, South Africa

Nontsikelelo ‘Lolo’ Veleko lives and works in Johannesburg. She featured young South Africans from the streets of Johannesburg in her series “Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder”. See some of the portraits on Afronova.

Asia: Tokyo, Japan

We’ve written before about the original fashions on display in Tokyo. But different districts of Tokyo have a distinctive style of their own. On Tokyo street style you can find fashions from Harajuku, Shibuya, Omotesando, Daikanyama and Ginza.

South America: Buenos Aires, Argentina

On the Corner shows colourful and alternative fashion found on the streets of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Agostina, a 23 year old cook, from On the Corner

Do you have a favourite site for street fashion that we haven’t included here? Share it with us in the comments.

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Fashion freedom in Japan

The traditional dress of Japan is the kimono and if you take a walk around Tokyo these days you will still see someone wearing kimono now and again, normally an older person.

Younger Japanese people are more likely to be wearing western style clothes, and in districts like Shibuya and Harajuku there are some very original styles on display.

In her blog Tokyo Kawaii etc Kirin says that Japanese fashion is “free from rules or fixed ideas”. In this post she talks about foreigners who go to Japan to enjoy Japanese fashion freedom. There’s also a video if you understand Japanese.

Nihon Sun captured some great photos of young fashionistas like the two below, out and about in Shibuya, Tokyo. Go here to look at the rest of the photos.

Image credit: Nihon Sun

Read more:
Ever tried making your own Mongolian boots?
Street style from Finland
Japan rediscovers healthy food

When was the last time you took a pair of shoes to the cobbler?

According to this article from BBC News, more and more Americans are rediscovering the advantages of repairing their shoes instead of buying a new pair.

Will she mend them when they get old?

Repairing worn out shoes is a lot cheaper than replacing them, and so this is one business which is benefitting from the current economic situation. It’s good for the environment too, although probably not as good for shoe makers.

The use of beads in Africa can be traced back at least 12,000 years. The oldest known beads have been found in the Kalahari desert, Sudan and Libya. The earliest beads were made of eggshell, clay, twigs, stones, ivory and bone - glass beads were introduced later by traders from Europe, India and the Middle East.

Beads were used in various parts of Africa as adornment or works of art. In some African economies they also served as currency. As adornment they were important in defining and identifying someone’s status, as well as what tribe or group they belonged to.

Photo: African beaded art: power and adornment exhibition

The introduction of glass beads inspired works of art based on the new medium and this is the main focus of the African Beaded Art exhibition held earlier this year at Smith College museum of art in Massachusetts. The site also contains a lot of historican information on the use of beads in African art.

This article from Afrol News writes about African Heritage, a gallery in Kenya which has built a sucessful business selling modern day adaptations of traditional beaded jewellery designs, and also contains a museum about the history of beads.

Modern day Mongolians may be steadily migrating towards the cities, following similar trends in developing countries around the world, but in the past they belonged in the Central Asian steppes and spent much time on horseback.

Traditional Mongolian clothing reflects this lifestyle. It is simple, practical, comfortable and uses materials like wool, silk, felt and sheepskin for keeping warm in winter. Discover Mongolia has this article about traditional Mongolian clothing.

An interesting essay from Designing Art Studio’s website explores the way Mongolian dress has changed through history. In the past Mongolian horsemen and women carried out raids into China, Persia, Russia and Turkey and the essay illustrates the way these conquests affected traditional attire.

Photo: Mongolian boots from Laohats

Once you’ve digested all the background info, take a look at Laohats, where Heather has dissected a pair of Mongolian boots (see photo) so she can explain how to make them. That’s right, you too can be the proud owner of a pair of hand-made Mongolian boots …made by your very own hands!

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Professional Mongolian women photographed by artist Grace Gelder

Some entertainment for the weekend: Hel Looks is a gallery of Helsinki street fashion, showing off the uniqueness of Finnish style.

The project is by Liisa Jokinen and Sampo Karjalainen and shows photos of ordinary people encountered on the streets of Helsinki. In a short interview the subjects share their inspiration and favourite sources of clothes, which range from famous designers to mum’s wardrobe!

More posts about the Baltic / Scandinavian region:
Norwegian design inspiration with Hei Astrid
Life in Sweden with Fine Little Day
Estonian cooking at Nami Nami