I love Thailand. In many ways it is a serious country: a dynamic economy, a big power in South-East Asia, an important tourist destination. Yet there is a deep vein of sillyness in the country’s public life that makes it a great source of entertainment.

Only in Thailand, I think, would a prime minister lose his job for making guest appearances on a television cookery programme. Who knows whether the dismissal of Samak Sundaravej will resolve the country’s political crisis? But the reason for his downfall is delightfully original. Read more