It is very pleasant to be at home with Luna in front of the TV watching Hull City versus Liverpool in the English Premier League. Luna, bless her, is huge and the boy looks as if he is going to pop out at any moment. I have jokingly asked Luna a few times recently if she forgot to tell me she was two or three months pregnant when we got married in October last year! Mind you Luna insists on wearing short trousers and they do tend to enhance the bulge. A further scan and visit to the doctor beckons tomorrow, Sunday, and we both hope and pray all will be will.
This time last week I had been having a very busy day following a busy week. We played Dragon Hills early Saturday morning to round off a week of golf with my friend Greg who returned to Canada last Monday. This was followed by a quick dash back to Ratchaburi for a massage, 2 hours for a mere 250 baht and very fine quality I hasten to add; thereafter a snack in Coffee & Steak, one of Ratchaburi's trendy coffee shop/eateries and then we took a lift down to Hua Hin with our friends Greg & Julie and stopped for a little bit of bird watching to the east of Khao Yoi; there is an excellent pool there where recently we have seen little grebe, cotton pygmy-geese,pheasant tailed jacana, bronze-winged jacana, common moorhen, purple swamphen, Indian cormorant, and they did not disappoint us on this occasion.
It was farewell to Greg & Julie, back to Canada to open up their inn in Nova Scotia for the start of the summer season. Greg has been a great companion on the golf course these last few months, a kindred spirit. So hopefully they will enjoy a bumper season and head back here November to avoid the bleak northern hemishpere winter. We had a final meal in one of our favourite restaurants in Cha am, right on the main drag, nameless but it does a fine crab curry and fried sea bass.
Unfortunately Friday previously my car broke down but fortunately it did not die until we got to Royal Ratchaburi golf course. Greg & I took advantage of the special offer and played 36 holes with a cart. After golf the repair vehicle arrived and towed our vehicle away and dropped us at home in Ratchaburi. The towing vehicle was a very old Datsun, probably about 1975, and I reckon pigeons usually live in it! Funny really. Couple of youngsters in it and whenit stopped they had to fill it with oil! So I picked up a replacement vehicle Saturday night and drove it back to Ratchaburi.
Sunday we did a little bird watching in the Khao Yoi area once more, I have a weakness for the pond. Later in the day we attended the perfection of Sister Appichayah, who became the first Thai national to join the Carmelite Sisters; in effect this was a mass where she took her final vows. What a ceremony, three bishops, one bishop elect, 50 plus priests and members of all manner of religious communities plus parishioners and teachers. I often ponder how those early missionary priests, mainly Italian, who established the original mission in Ratchaburi about 100 years ago, must be turning somersaults in heaven when they look at what their original efforts have in turn created. I also understand how proud the Thai clergy are that Sister Appichayah becomes the first Thai national to join the Carmelite Sisters - a very pleasant ceremony and evening.
We then had a few days away as reported above and Friday we took Mimi & Flor to the airport with a stop on the way home in Putthamonton Park in the western suburbs of Bangkok. This really must be one of the great parks of the world and a real gem for birds. We got sight of a small minivet, a really beautiful bird but hard to get the tools on as it was on the move. There will be many more trips to this park.
So I have been busy and it is boiling hot, so it is nice to sit here at home and watch the football and take it easy.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
A Few Days Away
With the New Year celebrations finally over and with the start of a new school term in sight we had a very pleasant few days in Ban Pu Noi, aka Dolphin Bay, about 20 kms south of Pranburi. We stayed at Blue Beach Resort and I am glad we are not in the tourism business. I think our hosts had been reasonably busy in March/April but we were the only guests there for the three days we stayed and that must be depressing. The owners are genuinely decent people and if they can weather the storm they may do well with this place. We were comfortable, slept well, ate well and had a great time.
I have a pile of new species to report: Malaysian plover on the beach at Ban Pu Noi, very amusing and droll as they scurry about; on the rocks on the main island opposite the beach we spotted a pacific reef egret, unmistakeable due to its very obvious egret shape, but confusing as it is dark grey.
On Tuesday we went into Tesco's in Pranburi to stock up on insect repellent and things we had forgotten and made a detour to the Pranburi Forest Park and I would recommend this for birds. Not the park proper but if you follow the signs from Pranburi (as opposed to Hua Hin) for the forest park you will come to a dirt road, as you get near to the sea, on the left which has a wooden sign in Thai. We drove down that road and from it we saw quite a few species some of which I have not been able to recognise but we did see two new species: green peacock with wonderful trains, really awesome and in some respects the even more impressive and unmistakeabke tail of the asian paradise-flycatcher. You can hear the peacocks' calls and they sound almost like cats. In addition we spotted some coucals and green-billed malkohas. Today we stopped on our way back and there was a black shouldered kite hovering and we saw a very elegant white-throated kingfisher sunning himself. The peacocks could be heard but not seen today!
Yesterday we had a trip to Sam Roi Yod National Park and the highlight was seeing a pair of pied kingfishers perched on posts in the freshwater marsh. I come form a country which has one species of kingfisher, there are 42 species recorded in Asia as a whole, and 16 in Thailand. For good measure later in the day in the main park we saw a common kingfisher, the same species that can be found in the UK, and I can assure you from observing it the last word you would use to describe it is "common"! Once more my tools did the work for me.
I was actually quite disappointed by the marsh initially as some locals had taken over two of the three salas that are connected by a walkway leading out into the marsh and they had radios blaring and noisy children and dogs! Through the binoculars I thought perhaps there was a tern on the post but once I got the scope on it the kingfisher emerged in contrasting black and white. Luna panned a bit and came up with a second pied kingfisher on the next post.
A bit later we became aware of a new species bee-eater, the chestnut-headed bee-eater, who lacks the tail prongs but in most other respects could be taken as the blue tailed bee-eater.
Today on our way back we stopped off in the Laem Pak Bia area near Petchaburi. There were some isolated shorebirds in and around the deserted building, but I am not going to guess other than to say there was either a godwit or a dowitcher but it went before I could get the big fellow onto it and there was a very light headed greenshank sort of bird that had me thinking it was a Nordmann's Greenshank but I couldn't in all conscience state that it was as a certainty! (The more I have researched the less likely this is!) As I have said before there is a lot of work to do on shorebirds!
I am completely certain that there were great cormorants in the saltpans to the northwest of the deserted buildings; one huge fellow who was actually standing as if he were a goose, and in fact when I scoped the area I was expecting to see ruddy shelduck! He had the size and the fairer markings under his chin to leave me certain he was a great cormorant.
Into the Kings Project further north we added another species of kingfisher to our collection for this trip, this time the collared kingfisher. Once more a darker feathered bird had me thinking as I could not place this time a heron look alike; the book told me it was a little heron, another new species. Luna then spotted a great egret with its distinctive red legs and bushy back plumes, another new species. We then had a bit of a feast spotting greater painted-snipe, both male and female, yet another new species and ruddy breasted crake a further new species.
What a fantastic trip. The only downer is I have lost my notebook! Saturday we are driving south to Krabi and I am really looking forward to a bumper crop of new species and interesting sightings.
I have a pile of new species to report: Malaysian plover on the beach at Ban Pu Noi, very amusing and droll as they scurry about; on the rocks on the main island opposite the beach we spotted a pacific reef egret, unmistakeable due to its very obvious egret shape, but confusing as it is dark grey.
On Tuesday we went into Tesco's in Pranburi to stock up on insect repellent and things we had forgotten and made a detour to the Pranburi Forest Park and I would recommend this for birds. Not the park proper but if you follow the signs from Pranburi (as opposed to Hua Hin) for the forest park you will come to a dirt road, as you get near to the sea, on the left which has a wooden sign in Thai. We drove down that road and from it we saw quite a few species some of which I have not been able to recognise but we did see two new species: green peacock with wonderful trains, really awesome and in some respects the even more impressive and unmistakeabke tail of the asian paradise-flycatcher. You can hear the peacocks' calls and they sound almost like cats. In addition we spotted some coucals and green-billed malkohas. Today we stopped on our way back and there was a black shouldered kite hovering and we saw a very elegant white-throated kingfisher sunning himself. The peacocks could be heard but not seen today!
Yesterday we had a trip to Sam Roi Yod National Park and the highlight was seeing a pair of pied kingfishers perched on posts in the freshwater marsh. I come form a country which has one species of kingfisher, there are 42 species recorded in Asia as a whole, and 16 in Thailand. For good measure later in the day in the main park we saw a common kingfisher, the same species that can be found in the UK, and I can assure you from observing it the last word you would use to describe it is "common"! Once more my tools did the work for me.
I was actually quite disappointed by the marsh initially as some locals had taken over two of the three salas that are connected by a walkway leading out into the marsh and they had radios blaring and noisy children and dogs! Through the binoculars I thought perhaps there was a tern on the post but once I got the scope on it the kingfisher emerged in contrasting black and white. Luna panned a bit and came up with a second pied kingfisher on the next post.
A bit later we became aware of a new species bee-eater, the chestnut-headed bee-eater, who lacks the tail prongs but in most other respects could be taken as the blue tailed bee-eater.
Today on our way back we stopped off in the Laem Pak Bia area near Petchaburi. There were some isolated shorebirds in and around the deserted building, but I am not going to guess other than to say there was either a godwit or a dowitcher but it went before I could get the big fellow onto it and there was a very light headed greenshank sort of bird that had me thinking it was a Nordmann's Greenshank but I couldn't in all conscience state that it was as a certainty! (The more I have researched the less likely this is!) As I have said before there is a lot of work to do on shorebirds!
I am completely certain that there were great cormorants in the saltpans to the northwest of the deserted buildings; one huge fellow who was actually standing as if he were a goose, and in fact when I scoped the area I was expecting to see ruddy shelduck! He had the size and the fairer markings under his chin to leave me certain he was a great cormorant.
Into the Kings Project further north we added another species of kingfisher to our collection for this trip, this time the collared kingfisher. Once more a darker feathered bird had me thinking as I could not place this time a heron look alike; the book told me it was a little heron, another new species. Luna then spotted a great egret with its distinctive red legs and bushy back plumes, another new species. We then had a bit of a feast spotting greater painted-snipe, both male and female, yet another new species and ruddy breasted crake a further new species.
What a fantastic trip. The only downer is I have lost my notebook! Saturday we are driving south to Krabi and I am really looking forward to a bumper crop of new species and interesting sightings.
Monday, April 20, 2009
The Aftermath
I am grateful to my good friend Davies for sending me two articles about the current Thai political imbroglio. I have posted one here here and the second you can click on this link to The New York Times. I do not know the source of the first article so apologise up front if I have inadvertently infringed copyright. However in the spirit of liberal democracy and free speech I have published the article and will be happy to remove it if the owner so requests.
"Why Thais Are Angry
By THITINAN PONGSUDHIRAK
Bangkok
MONDAY was the Thai New Year, a public holiday. Normally you would see people in the streets, having fun and, in keeping with tradition, throwing water at one another. But this year hardly anyone was celebrating in downtown Bangkok. Instead, protesters were clashing with soldiers; at least two people were killed and scores were wounded. I had never seen anything like it. This was raw anger, expressed in wanton violence.
The demonstrators claimed to be protesting systemic injustices and differing standards for rich and poor. But the rebellion reflects a deeper problem. Westerners think of Thailand as a democracy, ruled by the will of the majority. In reality, our country is governed by an establishment made up of the monarchy, military and bureaucracy. Elections are held, but if the establishment doesn’t like the winning party, the government is dissolved. Unable to rely on the ballot box, people take to the streets.
The protesters this time are known as “red shirts,” supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted by the military in 2006. Last year, the protesters were “yellow shirts,” members of the People’s Alliance for Democracy Party; most notably, they seized two Bangkok airports. Soon after that, the Constitutional Court abolished the red shirts’ ruling People Power Party, leaving a vacuum to be filled by the current prime minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva. Few would call this democracy.
On Tuesday, the protest leaders called it quits. But Mr. Abhisit and his backers still seem reluctant to recognize the red shirts’ grievances. This is a mistake. Thailand, a constitutional monarchy, must find a path to real democracy. It should not emulate Nepal, a monarchy turned republic, because the unifying symbol of our king is integral to Thai identity. It shouldn’t follow the Philippines, where periodic people’s power movements have brought neither political stability nor economic vibrancy. The last thing we need is a military dictatorship like Myanmar’s. For all the country’s troubles, Indonesia’s transition to democracy after decades of autocratic rule may offer the best model.
The onus rests on Mr. Abhisit and his backers. The elite must stand aside and let the power of the ballot carry the day. We need to discard the undemocratic provisions of the 2007 Constitution and replace them with elements of its popularly drafted 1997 precursor. We need a fully elected legislature, courts that can make impartial decisions on election outcomes and independent watchdog agencies.
By Tuesday afternoon people were out everywhere, celebrating what was left of the New Year. But don’t be fooled by this uneasy calm. Until Thailand becomes a true democracy, we can expect more chaos in the streets.
Thitinan Pongsudhirak is a professor of political science at Chulalongkorn University."
I will repeat my own view: I wouldn't touch Mr Thaksin with a barge pole. Perhaps I am naive but I like my politicians clean and in a Thai context that means a very rare species. I do not deny that there is a deep fissure in Thai society I do not believe our friend can be part of the solution because he is such a major part of the problem.
"Why Thais Are Angry
By THITINAN PONGSUDHIRAK
Bangkok
MONDAY was the Thai New Year, a public holiday. Normally you would see people in the streets, having fun and, in keeping with tradition, throwing water at one another. But this year hardly anyone was celebrating in downtown Bangkok. Instead, protesters were clashing with soldiers; at least two people were killed and scores were wounded. I had never seen anything like it. This was raw anger, expressed in wanton violence.
The demonstrators claimed to be protesting systemic injustices and differing standards for rich and poor. But the rebellion reflects a deeper problem. Westerners think of Thailand as a democracy, ruled by the will of the majority. In reality, our country is governed by an establishment made up of the monarchy, military and bureaucracy. Elections are held, but if the establishment doesn’t like the winning party, the government is dissolved. Unable to rely on the ballot box, people take to the streets.
The protesters this time are known as “red shirts,” supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted by the military in 2006. Last year, the protesters were “yellow shirts,” members of the People’s Alliance for Democracy Party; most notably, they seized two Bangkok airports. Soon after that, the Constitutional Court abolished the red shirts’ ruling People Power Party, leaving a vacuum to be filled by the current prime minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva. Few would call this democracy.
On Tuesday, the protest leaders called it quits. But Mr. Abhisit and his backers still seem reluctant to recognize the red shirts’ grievances. This is a mistake. Thailand, a constitutional monarchy, must find a path to real democracy. It should not emulate Nepal, a monarchy turned republic, because the unifying symbol of our king is integral to Thai identity. It shouldn’t follow the Philippines, where periodic people’s power movements have brought neither political stability nor economic vibrancy. The last thing we need is a military dictatorship like Myanmar’s. For all the country’s troubles, Indonesia’s transition to democracy after decades of autocratic rule may offer the best model.
The onus rests on Mr. Abhisit and his backers. The elite must stand aside and let the power of the ballot carry the day. We need to discard the undemocratic provisions of the 2007 Constitution and replace them with elements of its popularly drafted 1997 precursor. We need a fully elected legislature, courts that can make impartial decisions on election outcomes and independent watchdog agencies.
By Tuesday afternoon people were out everywhere, celebrating what was left of the New Year. But don’t be fooled by this uneasy calm. Until Thailand becomes a true democracy, we can expect more chaos in the streets.
Thitinan Pongsudhirak is a professor of political science at Chulalongkorn University."
I will repeat my own view: I wouldn't touch Mr Thaksin with a barge pole. Perhaps I am naive but I like my politicians clean and in a Thai context that means a very rare species. I do not deny that there is a deep fissure in Thai society I do not believe our friend can be part of the solution because he is such a major part of the problem.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Thai Birds
It's a time of transition in the bird world marked by the departure of the huge flocks of migratory shorebirds which, during the northern hemisphere's winter, populate the salt fields, marshes and shores of the Gulf of Thailand around Petchburi and further north to Bangkok and the Chao Phaya estuary. Now as a novice I find it very difficult to distinguish shorebirds and to assert with any confidence that such and such a bird is a little stint as opposed to a sanderling, a red-necked stint, a Temmick's stint or a long-toed stint; it might also be a green sandpiper, a wood sandpiper, or a common sandpiper though these birds tend to be larger! This is even allowing for the fact that I have the help of a turbo charged top of the range scope from Kowa of Japan. I guess this is the great challenge of watching birds here and anywhere else: confidently spotting the species.
One helpful factor is that may of the remaining shore birds have started to sport their breeding suits and this has made me reasonably confident that in the last few days I have been looking at little stints and pacific golden plover. The male of the species in general wears the best threads! We have seen a lot of birds in the last few weeks: some delightful oriental pratincoles guarding a nest in a dry rice paddy from yellow wagtails, cotton-pygmy geese, little grebes, purple swamphens, pheasant tailed jacanas, bronze winged jacanas, brahminy & black shouldered kites, wood sandpiper, common moorhen, little stint, pacific golden plover,ruddy shelduck, asian openbills, painted stork and the full range of usual suspects, often referred to as "commoners"; what is common about a collared or white-throated kingfisher I ask?! I have seen these all within a 25 km radius of Petchaburi from my car!
There is a lot of breeding activity and noise. Little terns are particularly loud!
We are going south for a few days so expect reports of further new species and sightings. I have to say how much fun this dalliance with Thai birds is giving me. Watch this space.
One helpful factor is that may of the remaining shore birds have started to sport their breeding suits and this has made me reasonably confident that in the last few days I have been looking at little stints and pacific golden plover. The male of the species in general wears the best threads! We have seen a lot of birds in the last few weeks: some delightful oriental pratincoles guarding a nest in a dry rice paddy from yellow wagtails, cotton-pygmy geese, little grebes, purple swamphens, pheasant tailed jacanas, bronze winged jacanas, brahminy & black shouldered kites, wood sandpiper, common moorhen, little stint, pacific golden plover,ruddy shelduck, asian openbills, painted stork and the full range of usual suspects, often referred to as "commoners"; what is common about a collared or white-throated kingfisher I ask?! I have seen these all within a 25 km radius of Petchaburi from my car!
There is a lot of breeding activity and noise. Little terns are particularly loud!
We are going south for a few days so expect reports of further new species and sightings. I have to say how much fun this dalliance with Thai birds is giving me. Watch this space.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Golf Update
Today I played Dynasty Golf Course in Nakhorn Pathom province to the east of Kamphaeng Saen on the road towards Bangkok, Highway 341 methinks. I played there over two years ago and remembered it was quality. A great course notwithstanding the fact that I played very poorly today. It is in fantastic condition, wonderfully landscaped, plenty of water, beautiful plants, trees and shrubs and abundant bird life, (nb indian rollers everywhere), wonderfully maintained and really well managed. I think it was 1000 baht for the round and caddy plus tip; we paid a further 500 baht for a cart. A real cracker and I recommend it to you. It gets into the Dragon Hills and Royal Ratchaburi class. The restaurant is fantastic too
I am playing pretty well in general at the moment, on the verge of going sub-100 and I have no doubt sub-90 will follow. Prior to going to the UK I had a little break and of course I didn't play at all in the UK and I have no doubt the break did me a lot of good. Driving consistently well, big improvement in my putting, and my iron play is better too. I still get slaughtered at some holes and I have temperament issues but I feel far more confident and optimistic about my golf at present. I am playing some nice holes. So watch this space with news of a sub-100 round.
I am playing pretty well in general at the moment, on the verge of going sub-100 and I have no doubt sub-90 will follow. Prior to going to the UK I had a little break and of course I didn't play at all in the UK and I have no doubt the break did me a lot of good. Driving consistently well, big improvement in my putting, and my iron play is better too. I still get slaughtered at some holes and I have temperament issues but I feel far more confident and optimistic about my golf at present. I am playing some nice holes. So watch this space with news of a sub-100 round.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Where is John Humphries?!
I am really pleased to learn that the protests and potential mayhem in Bangkok and elsewhere in Thailand appears to be over if news reports are to be believed. I must say the BBC's reporting has raised a number of issues for me.
Firstly the BBC did not seem able to appreciate that this is the Thai New Year and that Bangkok, like London on Christmas Day, empties as people return home for celebrations. I believe this in itself is newsworthy in the context of the protesters being bused to the various bus stations around Bangkok to enable them to get home now that their leaders have surrendered and effectively called off the protests. Moreover as yesterday, the first day of the new year, progressed the real story was that local Bangkok people started to attack the protesters mainly because they do not support their cause but also because they are extremely peeved that the protesters have made life intolerable in the city. Now that the protests are over the BBC is reporting that Thais are celebrating their New Year! The point is I do not really believe many people had a great appetite for this protest.
I find it astonishing, secondly, that the news channel, BBC World interviewed our old friend Thaksin, allowed him to evade answering any questions, like clarifying the precise nature of his supprt of and for the protesters, and did not actually ask him what right he has to comment on anything to do with Thailand because of his official status as fugitive from justice. Now you might say his criminal status is political, but l can assure you there is an abundance of evidence to support his criminal convictions as opposed to them being the whim of disgruntled and jealous politicians. Moreover most major countries have openly imtimated that Mr Thaksin is persona non grata; the UK does not close the door on people simply because they have been successful as captains of industry!
I am happy for Thaksin to be interviewed but I remember the hammering, no the humiliation, the celebrated BBC Radio 4 news journalist John Humphries, gave to the head of the Catholic Church in England & Wales, the recently resigned Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, over allegations of mismanagement of child abuse cases. It was a job well done and deserving to be done but Thaksin, au contraire was allowed to wriggle, clearly an area where he has very considerable expertise.
Thirdly I don't get the BBC's editorial stance. They seemed happy to associate the protesters as a collective of the poor, an underclass you might say, and that their actions were a grass root, genuine reaction. My point here is they did not attempt to challenge this assumption. Now I want to assure you I would support the poor in most circumstances but this protest has no real political,philosophical or moral basis to it: it is the mob incited by Thaksin and his henchmen, (there are reports saying the protesters were being paid 500 baht per day), and the only thing Thaksin is interested in is money and power; the latter leads to the former and you can bet if he ever gets back into power he will fleece the coffers of the Thai nation once more. For the record there were as many poor people on the yellow side when they were protesting.
Finally there is a real issue about how effective this 24 hour news programming is. These programmes need new and news content and it is clear that blood,bullets, disorder, riots,casualties and deaths captures the imagination in a way few other things can. Perhaps this is more of a problem on a quiet Bank Holiday Monday as it was in the UK when this stuff was being broadcast and perhaps the big hitters, like the John Humphries, were having a day off. My point is these guys were looking for, perhaps wanting it to go off large, you know the sensational stuff and overlooking the very obvious detail that some elementary research would have made immediately clear.
I am sorry for the people that were killed and for their families and for the people who were injured as a result of these protests. I have no doubt that innocent and at worst naive people were hurt. As I understand it there were two fatalities, possibly three. Balance this with the report from The Bangkok Post that after four days of the Songkran celebrations a total of 220 people have been killed and a further 2658 injured in road accidents, mainly caused by drunk driving. I personally think that is a major story but you won't hear it mentioned on BBC World.
Notwithstanding any of this I love this country, it's special, unique, at times exasperating, at other times exhilirating, the people are unique and I am glad that the current troubles are over and that we can get on with the party. The New Year public holiday has been extended by a further two days and I sensed as I drove around Ratchaburi today that there was greater enthusiam for the water throwing and partying probably due to a sense of relief.
Firstly the BBC did not seem able to appreciate that this is the Thai New Year and that Bangkok, like London on Christmas Day, empties as people return home for celebrations. I believe this in itself is newsworthy in the context of the protesters being bused to the various bus stations around Bangkok to enable them to get home now that their leaders have surrendered and effectively called off the protests. Moreover as yesterday, the first day of the new year, progressed the real story was that local Bangkok people started to attack the protesters mainly because they do not support their cause but also because they are extremely peeved that the protesters have made life intolerable in the city. Now that the protests are over the BBC is reporting that Thais are celebrating their New Year! The point is I do not really believe many people had a great appetite for this protest.
I find it astonishing, secondly, that the news channel, BBC World interviewed our old friend Thaksin, allowed him to evade answering any questions, like clarifying the precise nature of his supprt of and for the protesters, and did not actually ask him what right he has to comment on anything to do with Thailand because of his official status as fugitive from justice. Now you might say his criminal status is political, but l can assure you there is an abundance of evidence to support his criminal convictions as opposed to them being the whim of disgruntled and jealous politicians. Moreover most major countries have openly imtimated that Mr Thaksin is persona non grata; the UK does not close the door on people simply because they have been successful as captains of industry!
I am happy for Thaksin to be interviewed but I remember the hammering, no the humiliation, the celebrated BBC Radio 4 news journalist John Humphries, gave to the head of the Catholic Church in England & Wales, the recently resigned Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, over allegations of mismanagement of child abuse cases. It was a job well done and deserving to be done but Thaksin, au contraire was allowed to wriggle, clearly an area where he has very considerable expertise.
Thirdly I don't get the BBC's editorial stance. They seemed happy to associate the protesters as a collective of the poor, an underclass you might say, and that their actions were a grass root, genuine reaction. My point here is they did not attempt to challenge this assumption. Now I want to assure you I would support the poor in most circumstances but this protest has no real political,philosophical or moral basis to it: it is the mob incited by Thaksin and his henchmen, (there are reports saying the protesters were being paid 500 baht per day), and the only thing Thaksin is interested in is money and power; the latter leads to the former and you can bet if he ever gets back into power he will fleece the coffers of the Thai nation once more. For the record there were as many poor people on the yellow side when they were protesting.
Finally there is a real issue about how effective this 24 hour news programming is. These programmes need new and news content and it is clear that blood,bullets, disorder, riots,casualties and deaths captures the imagination in a way few other things can. Perhaps this is more of a problem on a quiet Bank Holiday Monday as it was in the UK when this stuff was being broadcast and perhaps the big hitters, like the John Humphries, were having a day off. My point is these guys were looking for, perhaps wanting it to go off large, you know the sensational stuff and overlooking the very obvious detail that some elementary research would have made immediately clear.
I am sorry for the people that were killed and for their families and for the people who were injured as a result of these protests. I have no doubt that innocent and at worst naive people were hurt. As I understand it there were two fatalities, possibly three. Balance this with the report from The Bangkok Post that after four days of the Songkran celebrations a total of 220 people have been killed and a further 2658 injured in road accidents, mainly caused by drunk driving. I personally think that is a major story but you won't hear it mentioned on BBC World.
Notwithstanding any of this I love this country, it's special, unique, at times exasperating, at other times exhilirating, the people are unique and I am glad that the current troubles are over and that we can get on with the party. The New Year public holiday has been extended by a further two days and I sensed as I drove around Ratchaburi today that there was greater enthusiam for the water throwing and partying probably due to a sense of relief.
Monday, April 13, 2009
The Masters 2009 from Thailand
Woods has just eagled the 8th to serve notice of his intentions and then scrambled outstanding pars at the 9th & 10th, which takes him to -7 and four off the lead; Mickelson has shot 30 to equal the record for the lowest outward nine in the Masters,taking him to joint second at -10; the overnight leader, Cabrera has carded two consecutive bogeys. This is exactly why I have got out of bed at 0215h in the morning. Tournament on or what! Kenny Perry at the sixth, seeking to become the oldest winner of the Masters at 48, is going along steadily having knocked out five consecutive pars and leads the tournament at -11. I think he might be hard to budge but with Woods & Mickelson paired together and both on fire this promises to be a classic finish. So the only Redshirt you'll be hearing about for the next couple of hours is Tiger!
The drama unfolds! Mickelson ends up in Rays Creek at the par 3 12th so will play his third from a drop zone 67 yds from the pin and will do well to make a double bogey and drop two strokes; confirmed he drops back to -8; Chad Campbell has produced a birdie at 8 to join Perry as co-leader on -11; the latter has missed a very makeable putt from about 4 ft at the 7th to take the outright lead. Cabrera's day gets worse: he has just shanked it at 8 and he has my sympathies, I shank it on a fairly regular basis. Nevertheless Cabrera is holding it together and makes par to stay in second place at -10. One John Merrick moves to -8 after pars at 15 & 16 and looks set to become clubhouse leader. Woods steps forward at 12, needing another eagle here to really stir it up and send fear into his rivals' souls! Perry makes another par at 8 and remains co-leader. The excitement builds!
Campbell bogeys 9, Woods & Mickelson get birdies at 12, Furyk double bogeys at 9 to probably end his Masters, Perry makes an important sandy par at 9 to stay one shot ahead of the field at -11. Cabrera appears to have stopped the rot so to speak and is one off the lead. The afore-mentioned John Merrick sets the pace by posting a clubhouse lead of -8 so the others now have a target. Steve Flesch at 17 look sets to join him and can set the standard at -9 if he birdies the last. Back to 15 where Woods and Mickelson need to make it happen but in fairness both are struggling to conjure up some magic and are both running out of holes. 15 is in theory an eagle prospect. Perry impresses with his steady uncomplicated golf which is underlined by the fact that he is not dropping shots.
At 15 Woods hits it from 197 yards to within 15 feet for an eagle putt, Mickelson produces an even better shot to within 4 feet! Both have eagle putts and Mickelson's surely is nailed on and could take him into the lead with Perry. In this context Woods has to make his eagle putt to stay in the tournament!! How do these guys produce such shots under such pressure? If I hit a green anywhere from that distance I am deliriously happy regardless of how close or far it is from the pin! Woods misses and makes a birdie.... is this the end of the road in this Masters for Tiger? Mickelson sensationally misses his tiddler and he too has to settle for birdie. Woods is still in the tournament. Meanwhile Cabrera has dropped a shot and goes back to -9.
So it reads Perry -11, Mickelson -10, Woods, Cabrera and Campbell at -9.....and Tiger has hit it to within 6 feet at 16 to give him a very makeable birdie. Now does Perry have the bottle? Remember he has more holes left! Perry drops it on at 11 for a makeable birdie putt which sadly stays up. Is a Woods & Mickelson play off possible?! Woods makes birdie and joins Mickelson at -10, joint second, one behind Kenny Perry at -11. Chad Campbell knocks in a birdie at 13 to go to -10 and join the party. This is awesome!
At 440 yards 17 is a comparatively short par 4 and Woods hits it to the side of the fairway and may have problems with overhanging trees. He plays up. Mickelson's drive is awesome and his 2nd shot is about 6 feet from the pin. Perry opens his shoulders and registers his first birdie of the day by sinking a 25 foot putt at 12. That puts 2 strokes between him and the pack. I think Kenny may need these shots. Chad Campbell has an eagle putt at 13 . Woods looks likely to bogey 17 as he has hit his third shot about 15 feet past. Confirmed. Exit Woods methinks. Mickelson fluffs another tiddler, this is not championship winning putting. Exit Mickelson methinks as well. It is over to Perry and Campbell it is definitely Perry's to lose now and Chad Campbell can win if he has the golf and the nerve starting with this eagle putt. Perfect read but the putt stops agonisingly short. The birdie takes him to -11 and undisputed second behind the leader Kenny Perry at -12.
Woods & Mickelson show the pressure with poor drives at 18 which confirm the end of their challenge at 17. Perry has an eagle putt at 13, albeit a very difficult one but a birdie would help him stretch the lead. Cabrera, if he has the nerve and the golf, has enough holes to win this tournament from -9 especially as he has an eagle putt at 13. Woods takes an unfortunate ricochet off a tree and ends up a long way from the green. Perry hits his eagle putt 6 feet past so is struggling for birdie. Yup Perry makes par and Cabrera has a birdie putt to reduce the deficit to 2 strokes which he does.
The focus is now very much on Perry, Campbell and Cabrera. The 2009 Green Jacket will surely be worn by one of this triumvirate. Mickelson bogeys 18 to post a clubhouse lead of -9, Woods also bogeys to finish one behind his great rival. So Mickleson in theory could win if the others mess up which is by no means inconceivable.
Kenny Perry is playing steady golf and is not showing any real nerves. Campbell plays a nice straight drive at 15. This is a par 5 so this is a great opportunity to apply pressure to Perry who is putting from about 20 feet at 14 for a birdie; he sends it 3 foot past and comfortably sinks the return putt to make par and stay. Campbell plays an excellent second to have a realistic eagle putt which will put him into the outright lead. Birdie gives Campbell a share of the lead at -12 and puts pressure on Perry.
Meanwhile at 16, Shingo Katayama, Japan, makes birdie to move to -9 and gives himself a squeak and certainly puts himself into contention for highest finishing overseas player with Angel Cabrero from Argentine. This would be a major boost for Asian golf.Graham MacDowell, N Ireland, finishing at -4 is the leading European Player in this year's Masters. A special mention should be made of a real blast form the past, Sandy Lyle, aged 51, the 1988 Masters winner, who finished at -2 for the tournament, tied for 20th place. Sandy will also receive a decent pay cheque for his efforts!
Campbell has the same putt at 16 as Tiger Woods. Perry is putting for eagle at 15,a remote prosepct in real terms and his effort should yield a par which he may need to retain his share of the lead. Campbell misses his opportunity at 16 so Kenny Perry has the outright lead by one stroke at -13. Cabrera birdies 15 so he is still in contention from -11 and he should be the leading overseas player as Katayama has finished at -10, making birdie at 18 to become leader in the clubhouse. Cabrera has a makeable putt for birdie at 16.
Kenny Perry at 16 hits the ball to within 3 inches and has a nailed on birdie. Is this the shot of the competition? I think he has one arm in the Green Jacket and will only fail to get the second arm in it if he encounters disaster in the remaining two holes. Perry moves to -14 and Cabrera also makes an impressive birdie to try to stay with him two strokes behind at -12. Cabrera is certainly capable of spoiling the party. Meanwhile at 17 Campbell plays his approach into the bunker and nullifies any prospect of a birdie. So with two to play Kenny Perry leads by 2.
Perry has missed the green with his second at 17 and has hit his third shot well past the hole, in fact off the green and is poised to make bogey for the first time in this round. Cabrera could reduce the gap to one stroke if Perry misses. Perry's putt is about 3 foor short so he has an awkward tiddler for bogey which he makes. As if sensing the opportunity Campbell plays an excellent approach at 18 and leaves himself a makeable birdie putt. Cabrera makes par and closes the gap to one single stroke with one single whole remaining. What incredible tension and excitement! Cabrera has the honour at 18 and his tee shot is superb and Perry drives it into a bunker. Campbell meanwhile fails to make birdie at 18 and posts a final total of -12 for the clubhouse lead.
We have two players left in it, Perry in a bunker at -13 and Cabrera at -12 with a perfect position for his approach shot. Campbell is by no means out of it as he could feature in a play off if Cabrera pars and Perry makes bogey. Cabrera has failed to cash in and has left himself an awkward third shot from just off the green. Now can Perry conjure up some magic form the sand? He plays and turns away in disgust and has left it to the left of the green. A very awkward shot, and bogey 5 is by no means guarnateed. I am sure Chad Campbell is the happiest man in Augusta right now.
Perry is below the green with little room to stop the ball and he has a bunker to his right which he must carry. He hits it twenty foot past and in the circumstances this is a great shot. Cabrera needs to pitch in to win but misses. Perry has one putt to win the Green Jacket but this is a hard one, he is 20 feet from the whole. The TV cast shows a smiling Chad Campbell. We have a play off, Perry misses to the left by inches. Cabrera has a three foot putt to join the play off which he makes. Well done! So Perry bogeys 17 & 18 to let Cabrera and Campbell back in and we have a three way sudden death play off for the 2009 Masters. It is 0545 in Thailand but hey who cares?! This is vintage stuff!
I rather fancy Chad Campbell in this final shoot out. He has had a little opportunity to catch his breath and I reckon Kenny Perry is probably in bits as the tournament was his to win and it looked that way right up to 16 when he almost made an ace ... then disaster struck in a way which can only really happen in golf. Cabrera has been too inconsistent but he is in the play off. So here goes.
The play off starts at 18.Campbell strikes a beautiful drive leaving him in a good spot to approach the green, Cabrera hits a stinker and is right behind a large tree and surely has to play percentage golf and take the punishment; Perry also hits a beauty; the latter looks remarkably composed; clearly he has a great temperament as he appears to be strolling up the fairway as if he was playing a jolly at home. Cabrera tries to play the shot and the ricochet leaves him on the fairway as if he had just pitched out. Perry hits another stinker this time he is to the right of the green. Advantage Campbell subject to a decent strike. Oh no! Campbell pitches into the right hand bunker and then Cabrera plays a great third to 8 feet from the flag and this probably means he is still in the tournament.Perry has just played a great saving pitch to within inches so basically Campbell needs to pitch in to win. He hits it about 6 feet past and Cabrera is now putting from about 8 feet. It is definitely advantage Perry. Cabrera holes from 8 feet to stay in the tournament. What an amazing par! What great pressure putting! Campbell misses his putt from 6 feet so he is out and for the record will finish at third in this years Masters.
So we proceed to 10 for the second hole of the play off and it is Kenny Perry versus Angel Cabrera head to head. Cabrera's par at that first play off hole was sensational. Cabrera hits it down the right side and has a clear approach to the par 4 green. Perry plays a little bit short of Cabrera and starts off down the fairway with a big smile on his face as if he is really enjoying this! It is 0615 in Thailand and day has broken! Perry plays first and his caddy tells him to be aggressive; oh dear he has hit to the left and could be in trouble. This opens the door for Cabrera who hits it to within 15 feet for a very definite birdie putt. Advantage Cabrera. It looks as if Perry has a shot but not much space to stop the ball. He is likely to overshoot indeed does by about 25 feet so it is very much advantage Cabrera. Looks like we are going to have an Argentinian Masters Champion. Perry really needs to drop this but he misses. Cabrera has two putts to be Masters Champion and to win his second major. He misses and marks and lets Perry put out,
Well done Angel Cabrera. What a great night's golf. I shall head back to bed. Let me wish you all a Very Happy New Year...today is the start of the Thai New Year.
The drama unfolds! Mickelson ends up in Rays Creek at the par 3 12th so will play his third from a drop zone 67 yds from the pin and will do well to make a double bogey and drop two strokes; confirmed he drops back to -8; Chad Campbell has produced a birdie at 8 to join Perry as co-leader on -11; the latter has missed a very makeable putt from about 4 ft at the 7th to take the outright lead. Cabrera's day gets worse: he has just shanked it at 8 and he has my sympathies, I shank it on a fairly regular basis. Nevertheless Cabrera is holding it together and makes par to stay in second place at -10. One John Merrick moves to -8 after pars at 15 & 16 and looks set to become clubhouse leader. Woods steps forward at 12, needing another eagle here to really stir it up and send fear into his rivals' souls! Perry makes another par at 8 and remains co-leader. The excitement builds!
Campbell bogeys 9, Woods & Mickelson get birdies at 12, Furyk double bogeys at 9 to probably end his Masters, Perry makes an important sandy par at 9 to stay one shot ahead of the field at -11. Cabrera appears to have stopped the rot so to speak and is one off the lead. The afore-mentioned John Merrick sets the pace by posting a clubhouse lead of -8 so the others now have a target. Steve Flesch at 17 look sets to join him and can set the standard at -9 if he birdies the last. Back to 15 where Woods and Mickelson need to make it happen but in fairness both are struggling to conjure up some magic and are both running out of holes. 15 is in theory an eagle prospect. Perry impresses with his steady uncomplicated golf which is underlined by the fact that he is not dropping shots.
At 15 Woods hits it from 197 yards to within 15 feet for an eagle putt, Mickelson produces an even better shot to within 4 feet! Both have eagle putts and Mickelson's surely is nailed on and could take him into the lead with Perry. In this context Woods has to make his eagle putt to stay in the tournament!! How do these guys produce such shots under such pressure? If I hit a green anywhere from that distance I am deliriously happy regardless of how close or far it is from the pin! Woods misses and makes a birdie.... is this the end of the road in this Masters for Tiger? Mickelson sensationally misses his tiddler and he too has to settle for birdie. Woods is still in the tournament. Meanwhile Cabrera has dropped a shot and goes back to -9.
So it reads Perry -11, Mickelson -10, Woods, Cabrera and Campbell at -9.....and Tiger has hit it to within 6 feet at 16 to give him a very makeable birdie. Now does Perry have the bottle? Remember he has more holes left! Perry drops it on at 11 for a makeable birdie putt which sadly stays up. Is a Woods & Mickelson play off possible?! Woods makes birdie and joins Mickelson at -10, joint second, one behind Kenny Perry at -11. Chad Campbell knocks in a birdie at 13 to go to -10 and join the party. This is awesome!
At 440 yards 17 is a comparatively short par 4 and Woods hits it to the side of the fairway and may have problems with overhanging trees. He plays up. Mickelson's drive is awesome and his 2nd shot is about 6 feet from the pin. Perry opens his shoulders and registers his first birdie of the day by sinking a 25 foot putt at 12. That puts 2 strokes between him and the pack. I think Kenny may need these shots. Chad Campbell has an eagle putt at 13 . Woods looks likely to bogey 17 as he has hit his third shot about 15 feet past. Confirmed. Exit Woods methinks. Mickelson fluffs another tiddler, this is not championship winning putting. Exit Mickelson methinks as well. It is over to Perry and Campbell it is definitely Perry's to lose now and Chad Campbell can win if he has the golf and the nerve starting with this eagle putt. Perfect read but the putt stops agonisingly short. The birdie takes him to -11 and undisputed second behind the leader Kenny Perry at -12.
Woods & Mickelson show the pressure with poor drives at 18 which confirm the end of their challenge at 17. Perry has an eagle putt at 13, albeit a very difficult one but a birdie would help him stretch the lead. Cabrera, if he has the nerve and the golf, has enough holes to win this tournament from -9 especially as he has an eagle putt at 13. Woods takes an unfortunate ricochet off a tree and ends up a long way from the green. Perry hits his eagle putt 6 feet past so is struggling for birdie. Yup Perry makes par and Cabrera has a birdie putt to reduce the deficit to 2 strokes which he does.
The focus is now very much on Perry, Campbell and Cabrera. The 2009 Green Jacket will surely be worn by one of this triumvirate. Mickelson bogeys 18 to post a clubhouse lead of -9, Woods also bogeys to finish one behind his great rival. So Mickleson in theory could win if the others mess up which is by no means inconceivable.
Kenny Perry is playing steady golf and is not showing any real nerves. Campbell plays a nice straight drive at 15. This is a par 5 so this is a great opportunity to apply pressure to Perry who is putting from about 20 feet at 14 for a birdie; he sends it 3 foot past and comfortably sinks the return putt to make par and stay. Campbell plays an excellent second to have a realistic eagle putt which will put him into the outright lead. Birdie gives Campbell a share of the lead at -12 and puts pressure on Perry.
Meanwhile at 16, Shingo Katayama, Japan, makes birdie to move to -9 and gives himself a squeak and certainly puts himself into contention for highest finishing overseas player with Angel Cabrero from Argentine. This would be a major boost for Asian golf.Graham MacDowell, N Ireland, finishing at -4 is the leading European Player in this year's Masters. A special mention should be made of a real blast form the past, Sandy Lyle, aged 51, the 1988 Masters winner, who finished at -2 for the tournament, tied for 20th place. Sandy will also receive a decent pay cheque for his efforts!
Campbell has the same putt at 16 as Tiger Woods. Perry is putting for eagle at 15,a remote prosepct in real terms and his effort should yield a par which he may need to retain his share of the lead. Campbell misses his opportunity at 16 so Kenny Perry has the outright lead by one stroke at -13. Cabrera birdies 15 so he is still in contention from -11 and he should be the leading overseas player as Katayama has finished at -10, making birdie at 18 to become leader in the clubhouse. Cabrera has a makeable putt for birdie at 16.
Kenny Perry at 16 hits the ball to within 3 inches and has a nailed on birdie. Is this the shot of the competition? I think he has one arm in the Green Jacket and will only fail to get the second arm in it if he encounters disaster in the remaining two holes. Perry moves to -14 and Cabrera also makes an impressive birdie to try to stay with him two strokes behind at -12. Cabrera is certainly capable of spoiling the party. Meanwhile at 17 Campbell plays his approach into the bunker and nullifies any prospect of a birdie. So with two to play Kenny Perry leads by 2.
Perry has missed the green with his second at 17 and has hit his third shot well past the hole, in fact off the green and is poised to make bogey for the first time in this round. Cabrera could reduce the gap to one stroke if Perry misses. Perry's putt is about 3 foor short so he has an awkward tiddler for bogey which he makes. As if sensing the opportunity Campbell plays an excellent approach at 18 and leaves himself a makeable birdie putt. Cabrera makes par and closes the gap to one single stroke with one single whole remaining. What incredible tension and excitement! Cabrera has the honour at 18 and his tee shot is superb and Perry drives it into a bunker. Campbell meanwhile fails to make birdie at 18 and posts a final total of -12 for the clubhouse lead.
We have two players left in it, Perry in a bunker at -13 and Cabrera at -12 with a perfect position for his approach shot. Campbell is by no means out of it as he could feature in a play off if Cabrera pars and Perry makes bogey. Cabrera has failed to cash in and has left himself an awkward third shot from just off the green. Now can Perry conjure up some magic form the sand? He plays and turns away in disgust and has left it to the left of the green. A very awkward shot, and bogey 5 is by no means guarnateed. I am sure Chad Campbell is the happiest man in Augusta right now.
Perry is below the green with little room to stop the ball and he has a bunker to his right which he must carry. He hits it twenty foot past and in the circumstances this is a great shot. Cabrera needs to pitch in to win but misses. Perry has one putt to win the Green Jacket but this is a hard one, he is 20 feet from the whole. The TV cast shows a smiling Chad Campbell. We have a play off, Perry misses to the left by inches. Cabrera has a three foot putt to join the play off which he makes. Well done! So Perry bogeys 17 & 18 to let Cabrera and Campbell back in and we have a three way sudden death play off for the 2009 Masters. It is 0545 in Thailand but hey who cares?! This is vintage stuff!
I rather fancy Chad Campbell in this final shoot out. He has had a little opportunity to catch his breath and I reckon Kenny Perry is probably in bits as the tournament was his to win and it looked that way right up to 16 when he almost made an ace ... then disaster struck in a way which can only really happen in golf. Cabrera has been too inconsistent but he is in the play off. So here goes.
The play off starts at 18.Campbell strikes a beautiful drive leaving him in a good spot to approach the green, Cabrera hits a stinker and is right behind a large tree and surely has to play percentage golf and take the punishment; Perry also hits a beauty; the latter looks remarkably composed; clearly he has a great temperament as he appears to be strolling up the fairway as if he was playing a jolly at home. Cabrera tries to play the shot and the ricochet leaves him on the fairway as if he had just pitched out. Perry hits another stinker this time he is to the right of the green. Advantage Campbell subject to a decent strike. Oh no! Campbell pitches into the right hand bunker and then Cabrera plays a great third to 8 feet from the flag and this probably means he is still in the tournament.Perry has just played a great saving pitch to within inches so basically Campbell needs to pitch in to win. He hits it about 6 feet past and Cabrera is now putting from about 8 feet. It is definitely advantage Perry. Cabrera holes from 8 feet to stay in the tournament. What an amazing par! What great pressure putting! Campbell misses his putt from 6 feet so he is out and for the record will finish at third in this years Masters.
So we proceed to 10 for the second hole of the play off and it is Kenny Perry versus Angel Cabrera head to head. Cabrera's par at that first play off hole was sensational. Cabrera hits it down the right side and has a clear approach to the par 4 green. Perry plays a little bit short of Cabrera and starts off down the fairway with a big smile on his face as if he is really enjoying this! It is 0615 in Thailand and day has broken! Perry plays first and his caddy tells him to be aggressive; oh dear he has hit to the left and could be in trouble. This opens the door for Cabrera who hits it to within 15 feet for a very definite birdie putt. Advantage Cabrera. It looks as if Perry has a shot but not much space to stop the ball. He is likely to overshoot indeed does by about 25 feet so it is very much advantage Cabrera. Looks like we are going to have an Argentinian Masters Champion. Perry really needs to drop this but he misses. Cabrera has two putts to be Masters Champion and to win his second major. He misses and marks and lets Perry put out,
Well done Angel Cabrera. What a great night's golf. I shall head back to bed. Let me wish you all a Very Happy New Year...today is the start of the Thai New Year.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
So far so good
I am happy to report that everything in Ratchaburi is quiet and calm and in fact everything seemed normal when we ate out on the street on the main drag earlier this evening. The bars are quiet which strikes me as normal on the eve of a three day bender. The water festival kicks off early tomorrow morning. We are fairly yellow here so insurrection is not expected. There is no state of emergency here, no tanks on the street but the situation in Bangkok is reported as tense. Let us pray for sanity and common sense during these troubled times.
The Mob,Pattaya & Anarchy
I am sorry to say that recent events in the Holy City of Pattaya have caused huge damage to Thai PM Abhisit Vejjahijiva. The TV footage was ugly, mobs generally are, and I guess we have to be grateful it did not spiral hopelessly out of control. However Khun Abhisit's reputation is in tatters as he is now being portrayed as a laughing stock, inept and definitely not in control. The cancellation of the ASEAN summit, due to the mob, is a major victory for the Redshirts and unfortunately may encourage them to regroup and come back for more after the Songkran break.
The cancellation of the summit is also a huge blow to Thai prestige. It would seem that if adequate security and leadership had been in place then this need not have happened. I understand the summit hotel was on a cliff top and theoretically easy to defend. it seems the mob quite literally walked in.
What embarrassment for the leaders of China and other countries having to be evacuated from the conference hotel by helicopter amidst the declaration of a state of emergency.
Loss of face is a big gig in this country, it justifies retaliation, reaction and response and my concern is that it may lead to over reaction, some brutal bloodshed on the government's part. No doubt a few senior policemen will be fired but I worry that as Abhisit is increasingly portrayed as a lame duck and laughing stocking that he may decide to show that he really is in charge.
As a general rule people here in most situations go out of their way to avoid confrontation. You can see this on the roads where people generally only use their horns to greet each other and there is a give and take approach! But when face has been lost, some insult sustained, then beware!
Of course one of the effects of inappropriate over reaction would be to broaden the appeal of the Redshirt cause.
I am happy to report that outside of Pattaya there does not appear to have been any problem. Life goes on as normal. People are in serious holiday mode getting ready to celebrate Songkran.
Of course these events are slaughtering the Thai economy. This should be one of the busiest periods in the year for the Pattaya tourist industry. I hear reports that Khao San in Bangkok is pretty quiet too. Poor old Thailand
The cancellation of the summit is also a huge blow to Thai prestige. It would seem that if adequate security and leadership had been in place then this need not have happened. I understand the summit hotel was on a cliff top and theoretically easy to defend. it seems the mob quite literally walked in.
What embarrassment for the leaders of China and other countries having to be evacuated from the conference hotel by helicopter amidst the declaration of a state of emergency.
Loss of face is a big gig in this country, it justifies retaliation, reaction and response and my concern is that it may lead to over reaction, some brutal bloodshed on the government's part. No doubt a few senior policemen will be fired but I worry that as Abhisit is increasingly portrayed as a lame duck and laughing stocking that he may decide to show that he really is in charge.
As a general rule people here in most situations go out of their way to avoid confrontation. You can see this on the roads where people generally only use their horns to greet each other and there is a give and take approach! But when face has been lost, some insult sustained, then beware!
Of course one of the effects of inappropriate over reaction would be to broaden the appeal of the Redshirt cause.
I am happy to report that outside of Pattaya there does not appear to have been any problem. Life goes on as normal. People are in serious holiday mode getting ready to celebrate Songkran.
Of course these events are slaughtering the Thai economy. This should be one of the busiest periods in the year for the Pattaya tourist industry. I hear reports that Khao San in Bangkok is pretty quiet too. Poor old Thailand
Saturday, April 11, 2009
A Major Party is Brewing!
Forget the reports of Red Shirts bringing Bangkok to a standstill and imminent revolution and insurrection. There is a big party brewing in Thailand as The Thai New Year, the festival of Songkran, approaches. This is a three day holiday, (binge!) which starts on Monday.
Now in my experience Thais don't like anything getting in the way of their sanook and on the party front it doesn't come much bigger than the new year. Stores like Tesco are selling all manner of water container and projector as New Year here is a so called festival of water. You wish your fellows a Happy New Year by pouring water over them and this in fact turns into a full pitched water fight and lasts for three days. I remember being in Chiang Mai about 8 years ago and having to change my clothes about 4 times every day!
So PM Abhisit Vejjasjiva's sudden decision to declare the Friday prior to Songkran a public holiday, and he did this on Wednesday last week, was very clever. In effect it means than many people will have a ten day holiday as many businesses will close all next week and not reopen until the following Monday. And this means sanook mahk!
Unfortunately there is a down side. It is not just about getting wet, blind drunk and having a ball. Hundreds of people will sadly lose their lives in the carnage that ensues on the roads, when alcohol excess and overladen motor cycles meet. It has become such a big problem that there has been a debate in the last few months about restricting alcohol sales. Nothing materialised from this in respect of this year's event but rest assured the head count of dead and injured during this year's Songkran will be a huge story. As I understand it there were in the region of 290 fatalities on the roads over the three days of last year's event.
The United Front for Democracy, ("the UDD"), aka The Redshirts or The Reds, the Thaksin front that is spearheading the much reported protests in Bangkok, took the mob to Pattaya where an ASEAN summit is scheduled this weekend. After a little bit of cockfackery they have dispersed and promised to resume with increased vigour after Songkran! You see not even the mighty Thaksin and The Reds can expect their followers to give up their New Year celebrations! With any luck the UDD folks will get so completely out of it they will forget about the protests and go back to work with sore heads after the new year festivities.
Songkran is the one time of the year when Bangkok is quiet in much the same way as London empties for Christmas. People flock home to their villages to celebrate New Year with their families and with the extra days' holiday this year's version promises to be a real bumper. Stages are being constructed in Ratchaburi so there will no doubt be a major bash here too and by virtue of being a very obvious foreigner in these parts I expect to get extremely wet! Watch this space.
The additional Friday holiday was in actual fact Good Friday and Luna and I had a quiet day and went to a beautiful Veneration of the Cross service. As at Christmas there was a beautifully choreographed Stations of the Cross which removed any linguistic issues arising from the service being conducted in Thai. Standing room only at the church and after the service we spoke with Bishop Panya and told him we were thinking of including Panya in Benedicts's full name....he very modestly told us Benedict was a good choice! We also learned that our friend Fr Siripong who recently said mass in our home and blessed our house has been elevated to the Bishop of Chantaburi and will take up that office in July. So we will be on very good terms with the Catholic heirarchy of Thailand!
In the midst of this Easter/Songkran cross over festival I am up at 0330h in the morning watching the concluding part of Day 2 of the Masters which is being piped in live form Augusta, GA in the US of A. Clearly the greatest golf tournament in the world and it is probably too early to call at this stage but I am delighted to note that one Sandy Lyle has finished at -2, will make it for the weekend and while unlikely to win has the prospect of picking up a decent pay cheque. The Tiger boy is about the same, -2, I think, which currently is about sevens strokes off the lead and if you know anything about golf you know the Tiger can win the tournament from such a position! I have just watched Padraig HArrington sink an eagle put to go to -3 so that brings him into contention for winning a third consecutive major. Wow!
Not such a bad life especially when I am playing golf myself at 0630 this morning.
Now in my experience Thais don't like anything getting in the way of their sanook and on the party front it doesn't come much bigger than the new year. Stores like Tesco are selling all manner of water container and projector as New Year here is a so called festival of water. You wish your fellows a Happy New Year by pouring water over them and this in fact turns into a full pitched water fight and lasts for three days. I remember being in Chiang Mai about 8 years ago and having to change my clothes about 4 times every day!
So PM Abhisit Vejjasjiva's sudden decision to declare the Friday prior to Songkran a public holiday, and he did this on Wednesday last week, was very clever. In effect it means than many people will have a ten day holiday as many businesses will close all next week and not reopen until the following Monday. And this means sanook mahk!
Unfortunately there is a down side. It is not just about getting wet, blind drunk and having a ball. Hundreds of people will sadly lose their lives in the carnage that ensues on the roads, when alcohol excess and overladen motor cycles meet. It has become such a big problem that there has been a debate in the last few months about restricting alcohol sales. Nothing materialised from this in respect of this year's event but rest assured the head count of dead and injured during this year's Songkran will be a huge story. As I understand it there were in the region of 290 fatalities on the roads over the three days of last year's event.
The United Front for Democracy, ("the UDD"), aka The Redshirts or The Reds, the Thaksin front that is spearheading the much reported protests in Bangkok, took the mob to Pattaya where an ASEAN summit is scheduled this weekend. After a little bit of cockfackery they have dispersed and promised to resume with increased vigour after Songkran! You see not even the mighty Thaksin and The Reds can expect their followers to give up their New Year celebrations! With any luck the UDD folks will get so completely out of it they will forget about the protests and go back to work with sore heads after the new year festivities.
Songkran is the one time of the year when Bangkok is quiet in much the same way as London empties for Christmas. People flock home to their villages to celebrate New Year with their families and with the extra days' holiday this year's version promises to be a real bumper. Stages are being constructed in Ratchaburi so there will no doubt be a major bash here too and by virtue of being a very obvious foreigner in these parts I expect to get extremely wet! Watch this space.
The additional Friday holiday was in actual fact Good Friday and Luna and I had a quiet day and went to a beautiful Veneration of the Cross service. As at Christmas there was a beautifully choreographed Stations of the Cross which removed any linguistic issues arising from the service being conducted in Thai. Standing room only at the church and after the service we spoke with Bishop Panya and told him we were thinking of including Panya in Benedicts's full name....he very modestly told us Benedict was a good choice! We also learned that our friend Fr Siripong who recently said mass in our home and blessed our house has been elevated to the Bishop of Chantaburi and will take up that office in July. So we will be on very good terms with the Catholic heirarchy of Thailand!
In the midst of this Easter/Songkran cross over festival I am up at 0330h in the morning watching the concluding part of Day 2 of the Masters which is being piped in live form Augusta, GA in the US of A. Clearly the greatest golf tournament in the world and it is probably too early to call at this stage but I am delighted to note that one Sandy Lyle has finished at -2, will make it for the weekend and while unlikely to win has the prospect of picking up a decent pay cheque. The Tiger boy is about the same, -2, I think, which currently is about sevens strokes off the lead and if you know anything about golf you know the Tiger can win the tournament from such a position! I have just watched Padraig HArrington sink an eagle put to go to -3 so that brings him into contention for winning a third consecutive major. Wow!
Not such a bad life especially when I am playing golf myself at 0630 this morning.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Helter Skelter & Everyday Life
I got up Thursday morning, 2nd April, and quite literally hit the ground running. I used my new telescope to check out my old avian friends in the trees and bushes around the house. We have an abundance of pied fantails and they are a joy, albeit very noisy, but a pleasant, melodious song. I love the way they stoop as if to rudely show off their nether regions to all and sundry. The scope brings the fantails and everything else into very sharp bright relief.
The lady who sells breakfast food near the house was happy to see me back and she gave me a delicious coconut dish for my pregnant wife. No car so it was the local songthaew, a shared taxi/local bus costing 8 baht (c £0.13) to the school where I expect to start work imminently. Now that I have a Non-Immigrant "B" Visa the school can obtain a teacher's license and work permit so I needed to let the administrator take a copy of the visa to proceed with the next round of the paperchase.
After this I hopped on a motor cycle taxi, 20 baht, to the railway station and after a long wait the Hua Hin train came and at a cost of 24 baht I had the privilege of standing for almost 2.5 hours on an extremely crowded train. I think the State Railway of Thailand is offering free travel on some trains and I believe my train was part of the deal. This was a classic situation where back home in the UK due to a combination of the heat, the crush and the delay, people would have started screaming at the staff or each other and being loud, objectionable and otherwise unbearable and possibly violent. Not one word of complaint was uttered. We stood and smiled at each other and when the daft boys lit up cigarettes in the partition and the smell started to waft through the carriage no one so much as stirred.
I spotted a fair number of birds as we rolled through the rice paddies: painted stork, asian open bills, greater racket-tailed drongo, an abundance of egrets, mynas, bee eaters, black winged stints, drongos and so on.
Notwithstanding these problems I have no hesitation in recommending the railwaywith the proviso that you just don't treat the timetable too seriously. For long distances a booking is necessary and that guarantees you a seat. Moreover my journey was a fraction of the price of travelling by bus from Ratchaburi to Hua Hin especially as there is no direct service; a change at Petchaburi is required and the service to/from from Ratchaburi is very unpredictable. There have been occasions when I have been stranded in Petchaburi unable to get a bus and my only option has been to take a taxi. Ouch!
The purpose of my trip was to pick up a rental car. If you need to hire a car in this area Hua Hin Car Rental comes very highly recommended, quality vehicles, good value and proper insurance. I count the owner Steve as a personal friend and I am delighted that his business is flourishing. Sometime in the next few weeks Steve is going to take me to the car auctions in Bangkok to purchase a motor and as you will appreciate I will be a bit out of my depth in such a place. Anyhow I drove off in a nice big Ford sedan with a bit of oomph.
Of course I brought my new toy with me so first stop was the deserted building and there were plenty of birds: terns guarding a nest in relay, a few bee eaters and then I took a stroll out into the salt pans and scoped a whole variety of waders: greenshanks, redshanks, curlews, plovers, and such like. I am really lousy at identifying shorebirds so I won't even try to be more specific. Obviously a lot of work to be done in this department.
Onwards to the wader hotspot further up the road and nothing dramatic to report: a beautiful brown headed gull and the avian equivalent of a folly: an escaped flamingo that hangs out on the shore! Then home where I cleared out our bedroom in preparation for painting the next day.
I spent Friday morning painting our bedroom and I must say the room looks so much better thanks to a coat of paint. It will need another coat. Lunch at my favourite kow mun gai restaurant and a leisurely afternoon at home even allowing myself the luxury of a little nap. Come evening we went to Stations of the Cross and Mass all in Thai and nice to see Fr Siripong and Sr Cecilia.
Saturday we headed into Bangkok to Chatuchak market to look at blinds and see if we could get some Japanese style paper lantern lamps. Chatuchak is billed as the biggest outdoor market in the world. It is an amazing place and they say you can buy virtually anything there. I was saddened by the brisk trade in exotic birds but it is one of these situations where I reckon it is better to say nought and move on. These particular traders were not regulars, their set up was impromptu. There is an enormous section on exotic fish and aquatics. Is this the same as keeping caged birds or animals?
The market was blitzed mid afternoon by a major rain storm but we found what we wanted and went home with the two lovely lamps and a whole range of ideas for our blinds. We'll be back next weekend with the measurements. I was very pleased with myself because I drove in and out today and did not miss a turn or get lost! Saturday night we had a beautiful meal at one of our favourite restaurants, beautiful fried fish and morning glory.
Sunday we hit Hua Hin again for mass and I met up at lunchtime with some friends. In the afternoon we had a leisurely stroll through the rice paddies north of Cha am and spotted oriental pratincoles guarding a nest in a field, yellow wagtails and three black shouldered kites among about 27 species identified.
Monday applied the second coat to the bedroom and started tidying up and moving back the furniture. It looks good but it is hot sweaty work. I guess I have a few kilos to shed so mustn't grumble. We had a pleasant stroll round the market in Ratchaburi looking for curtain hooks and came back with some absolutely scrumptious, ripe mangos.....8 large ones for £1.60, £0.20 each. More rain storms this afternoon taking down a neighbour's banana tree. I think this rain is a result of the high humidity and heat.
We have also hung up a bird feeder loaded with peanuts but no takers so far; it is being eyed up suspiciously, maybe the birds fear they might end up for sale in Chatuchak! Luna tells me our orchid has four spikes and we are getting very excited about imminent flowering. In fact the garden looks really good.
So it is really domestic bliss. Lovely to be home and to be able to spend some time with Luna building our little nest.
The lady who sells breakfast food near the house was happy to see me back and she gave me a delicious coconut dish for my pregnant wife. No car so it was the local songthaew, a shared taxi/local bus costing 8 baht (c £0.13) to the school where I expect to start work imminently. Now that I have a Non-Immigrant "B" Visa the school can obtain a teacher's license and work permit so I needed to let the administrator take a copy of the visa to proceed with the next round of the paperchase.
After this I hopped on a motor cycle taxi, 20 baht, to the railway station and after a long wait the Hua Hin train came and at a cost of 24 baht I had the privilege of standing for almost 2.5 hours on an extremely crowded train. I think the State Railway of Thailand is offering free travel on some trains and I believe my train was part of the deal. This was a classic situation where back home in the UK due to a combination of the heat, the crush and the delay, people would have started screaming at the staff or each other and being loud, objectionable and otherwise unbearable and possibly violent. Not one word of complaint was uttered. We stood and smiled at each other and when the daft boys lit up cigarettes in the partition and the smell started to waft through the carriage no one so much as stirred.
I spotted a fair number of birds as we rolled through the rice paddies: painted stork, asian open bills, greater racket-tailed drongo, an abundance of egrets, mynas, bee eaters, black winged stints, drongos and so on.
Notwithstanding these problems I have no hesitation in recommending the railwaywith the proviso that you just don't treat the timetable too seriously. For long distances a booking is necessary and that guarantees you a seat. Moreover my journey was a fraction of the price of travelling by bus from Ratchaburi to Hua Hin especially as there is no direct service; a change at Petchaburi is required and the service to/from from Ratchaburi is very unpredictable. There have been occasions when I have been stranded in Petchaburi unable to get a bus and my only option has been to take a taxi. Ouch!
The purpose of my trip was to pick up a rental car. If you need to hire a car in this area Hua Hin Car Rental comes very highly recommended, quality vehicles, good value and proper insurance. I count the owner Steve as a personal friend and I am delighted that his business is flourishing. Sometime in the next few weeks Steve is going to take me to the car auctions in Bangkok to purchase a motor and as you will appreciate I will be a bit out of my depth in such a place. Anyhow I drove off in a nice big Ford sedan with a bit of oomph.
Of course I brought my new toy with me so first stop was the deserted building and there were plenty of birds: terns guarding a nest in relay, a few bee eaters and then I took a stroll out into the salt pans and scoped a whole variety of waders: greenshanks, redshanks, curlews, plovers, and such like. I am really lousy at identifying shorebirds so I won't even try to be more specific. Obviously a lot of work to be done in this department.
Onwards to the wader hotspot further up the road and nothing dramatic to report: a beautiful brown headed gull and the avian equivalent of a folly: an escaped flamingo that hangs out on the shore! Then home where I cleared out our bedroom in preparation for painting the next day.
I spent Friday morning painting our bedroom and I must say the room looks so much better thanks to a coat of paint. It will need another coat. Lunch at my favourite kow mun gai restaurant and a leisurely afternoon at home even allowing myself the luxury of a little nap. Come evening we went to Stations of the Cross and Mass all in Thai and nice to see Fr Siripong and Sr Cecilia.
Saturday we headed into Bangkok to Chatuchak market to look at blinds and see if we could get some Japanese style paper lantern lamps. Chatuchak is billed as the biggest outdoor market in the world. It is an amazing place and they say you can buy virtually anything there. I was saddened by the brisk trade in exotic birds but it is one of these situations where I reckon it is better to say nought and move on. These particular traders were not regulars, their set up was impromptu. There is an enormous section on exotic fish and aquatics. Is this the same as keeping caged birds or animals?
The market was blitzed mid afternoon by a major rain storm but we found what we wanted and went home with the two lovely lamps and a whole range of ideas for our blinds. We'll be back next weekend with the measurements. I was very pleased with myself because I drove in and out today and did not miss a turn or get lost! Saturday night we had a beautiful meal at one of our favourite restaurants, beautiful fried fish and morning glory.
Sunday we hit Hua Hin again for mass and I met up at lunchtime with some friends. In the afternoon we had a leisurely stroll through the rice paddies north of Cha am and spotted oriental pratincoles guarding a nest in a field, yellow wagtails and three black shouldered kites among about 27 species identified.
Monday applied the second coat to the bedroom and started tidying up and moving back the furniture. It looks good but it is hot sweaty work. I guess I have a few kilos to shed so mustn't grumble. We had a pleasant stroll round the market in Ratchaburi looking for curtain hooks and came back with some absolutely scrumptious, ripe mangos.....8 large ones for £1.60, £0.20 each. More rain storms this afternoon taking down a neighbour's banana tree. I think this rain is a result of the high humidity and heat.
We have also hung up a bird feeder loaded with peanuts but no takers so far; it is being eyed up suspiciously, maybe the birds fear they might end up for sale in Chatuchak! Luna tells me our orchid has four spikes and we are getting very excited about imminent flowering. In fact the garden looks really good.
So it is really domestic bliss. Lovely to be home and to be able to spend some time with Luna building our little nest.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Home sweet home
It is wonderful to be back home in Ratchaburi with Luna. She laid on the welcoming committee for me with Flor and Mimi and I had a delicious lunch, green chicken curry and fried pork and vegeatables with some rice followed by some delicious fruit. I slept for a lot of the afternoon as I was pretty tired after the flights. It seems as if I left Stansted airport and Barack Obama and his cavalcade flew in.
It is just great to be back surrounded by smiling, happy people going about their business with great gusto. I sometimes comment about Thais piling on to their motorbikes, for instance a little boy being allowed to sit between his dad's legs holding the handlebar. I saw a new one yesterday..... a little boy sitting on his dad's lap in the driver seat of his car steering the wheel as it drove by!
I guess I even missed the soi dogs although the amount of noise they were making last night ensures that was short lived! It is very hot, very hot, uncomfortably so, but I am happy.I am back home with my wife who looks very,very pregnant. I think I can say Thailand is my home for the immediate future which is likely to be for over a year now.
It is just great to be back surrounded by smiling, happy people going about their business with great gusto. I sometimes comment about Thais piling on to their motorbikes, for instance a little boy being allowed to sit between his dad's legs holding the handlebar. I saw a new one yesterday..... a little boy sitting on his dad's lap in the driver seat of his car steering the wheel as it drove by!
I guess I even missed the soi dogs although the amount of noise they were making last night ensures that was short lived! It is very hot, very hot, uncomfortably so, but I am happy.I am back home with my wife who looks very,very pregnant. I think I can say Thailand is my home for the immediate future which is likely to be for over a year now.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
From Home to Home
My justification for coming over to the UK was that it wouldn’t cost too much and that it would be good to see family and friends. When I arranged my ticketing Luna was also planning to visit her family in The Philippines and I intended to join her there on my return to S E Asia. A further incentive was my ticket from Bangkok to London Heathrow was already paid for being the return portion of the ticket I purchased to come out last October for our wedding. Use it or lose it in other words!
Well the return is underway.
First up some criticism of Trailfinders, one of the UK’s leading independent travel agents and a company I have used a lot over the last 20 years or so. I phoned from Thailand in February to say I would like to rearrange my flight home and to check the validity of my ticket with Eva Airways. I had specifically purchased a ticket with long validity to keep my options open and had paid extra for this privilege. I was told that there was no note on their system to indicate I had rearranged my original return date and that in consequence of this my ticket was void. Boo! Hoo! I thought I would need to purchase a new ticket if I wanted to travel. The Trailfinders’ “consultant” I dealt with sounded like a miserable wretch so I left it.
Then I called Eva Airways direct in Bangkok, quoted an e-ticket reference number and hey presto: “When would you like to return, Mr B?” So for the return back to Asia I booked a one way ticket with Air Asia with additional leg room, meal, comfort kit and additional baggage to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for about £283.00. I have also booked a connecting flight with Air Asia to Bangkok from KL for another £66.00 with additional baggage and a “hot” seat. The alternatives were a one way ticket direct to Bangkok with a scheduled airline for about £700.00 or a similarily priced return ticket which I reckon is surplus to requirements right now.
More about the long haul budget later but I flew Bangkok – Melbourne about 18 months ago with JetStar and it was excellent, and previously I flew Hong Kong - London Gatwick with the now defunct OasisHongkong and that too was impressive.
Easyjet did a great job getting us smoothly to London Luton on time. The problem was the security clearance at Edinburgh Airport: very long queues and a process of virtually undressing. Anyhow the staff were in good humour and it wasn’t such an ordeal.
Easybus from London Luton to London Victoria prebookd online for just shy of £11.00. A very helpful and obliging assistant at the EasyBus arrivals counter printed my tickets for today and tomorrow to Stansted with a smile. Please note, Trailfinders. A smooth journey in to London with a little delay in the middle due to some state occasion around Buck House and Parliament.
Through Laterooms.com I booked a cheap room in Victoria for £30.00. I wasn’t quite expecting a room that smelled of gas but when I pointed this out they moved me to another room, straightaway. I felt sorry for the poor cleaning girl…..the boss man shouted at her in front of me as if to say it was her fault for not letting him know. I am pretty sure the boss man was well aware of the situation because he agreed to move me straightaway without further investigation. Whatever, I wanted a cheap room near the bus station and that is exactly what I got. Other than the fact it was up many flights of stairs it had everything I needed, clean bedding, hot water and a shower with TV and tea making facilities.
Easybus once more, to Stansted on this occasion, another £11.00 and a travel time of 75 minutes. Quite literally fell out of bed onto the bus. Check in at Air Asia was completely effortless, no queue, no hassle and now waiting to board. I was subjected to an extraordinary rub down at security but if that is what it takes….
I am actually carrying quite a lot of baggage for once and I was mightily fearful that I was going to fall foul of excess baggage limits and be liable to pay huge amounts. Groundless neurosis! All boarded and ready to go and as I write this the Boarding Gate has just been added to the departures board. Here we go. More later.
Sitting here in the LCC (Low cost carrier) terminal at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Wednesday 1st April. The flight was ok, nothing more. Food was meagre but delicious and they were extremely stingy with water. Otherwise perfect really. Left late arrived early! And the LCC terminal has free wifi so can’t be bad. Flying time here was about 12.5 hours so it was a long one. Not long now and as this is a freebie I will post and write at a later stage to tell you about arriving home.
Well the return is underway.
First up some criticism of Trailfinders, one of the UK’s leading independent travel agents and a company I have used a lot over the last 20 years or so. I phoned from Thailand in February to say I would like to rearrange my flight home and to check the validity of my ticket with Eva Airways. I had specifically purchased a ticket with long validity to keep my options open and had paid extra for this privilege. I was told that there was no note on their system to indicate I had rearranged my original return date and that in consequence of this my ticket was void. Boo! Hoo! I thought I would need to purchase a new ticket if I wanted to travel. The Trailfinders’ “consultant” I dealt with sounded like a miserable wretch so I left it.
Then I called Eva Airways direct in Bangkok, quoted an e-ticket reference number and hey presto: “When would you like to return, Mr B?” So for the return back to Asia I booked a one way ticket with Air Asia with additional leg room, meal, comfort kit and additional baggage to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for about £283.00. I have also booked a connecting flight with Air Asia to Bangkok from KL for another £66.00 with additional baggage and a “hot” seat. The alternatives were a one way ticket direct to Bangkok with a scheduled airline for about £700.00 or a similarily priced return ticket which I reckon is surplus to requirements right now.
More about the long haul budget later but I flew Bangkok – Melbourne about 18 months ago with JetStar and it was excellent, and previously I flew Hong Kong - London Gatwick with the now defunct OasisHongkong and that too was impressive.
Easyjet did a great job getting us smoothly to London Luton on time. The problem was the security clearance at Edinburgh Airport: very long queues and a process of virtually undressing. Anyhow the staff were in good humour and it wasn’t such an ordeal.
Easybus from London Luton to London Victoria prebookd online for just shy of £11.00. A very helpful and obliging assistant at the EasyBus arrivals counter printed my tickets for today and tomorrow to Stansted with a smile. Please note, Trailfinders. A smooth journey in to London with a little delay in the middle due to some state occasion around Buck House and Parliament.
Through Laterooms.com I booked a cheap room in Victoria for £30.00. I wasn’t quite expecting a room that smelled of gas but when I pointed this out they moved me to another room, straightaway. I felt sorry for the poor cleaning girl…..the boss man shouted at her in front of me as if to say it was her fault for not letting him know. I am pretty sure the boss man was well aware of the situation because he agreed to move me straightaway without further investigation. Whatever, I wanted a cheap room near the bus station and that is exactly what I got. Other than the fact it was up many flights of stairs it had everything I needed, clean bedding, hot water and a shower with TV and tea making facilities.
Easybus once more, to Stansted on this occasion, another £11.00 and a travel time of 75 minutes. Quite literally fell out of bed onto the bus. Check in at Air Asia was completely effortless, no queue, no hassle and now waiting to board. I was subjected to an extraordinary rub down at security but if that is what it takes….
I am actually carrying quite a lot of baggage for once and I was mightily fearful that I was going to fall foul of excess baggage limits and be liable to pay huge amounts. Groundless neurosis! All boarded and ready to go and as I write this the Boarding Gate has just been added to the departures board. Here we go. More later.
Sitting here in the LCC (Low cost carrier) terminal at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Wednesday 1st April. The flight was ok, nothing more. Food was meagre but delicious and they were extremely stingy with water. Otherwise perfect really. Left late arrived early! And the LCC terminal has free wifi so can’t be bad. Flying time here was about 12.5 hours so it was a long one. Not long now and as this is a freebie I will post and write at a later stage to tell you about arriving home.
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