Yet more on the Manila bloodbath

President Aquino is quoted as saying he was too busy with "rescue efforts" on Monday  afternoon to be able to take a call from the Hong Kong Chief Executive. He is also quoted as saying "someone is going to pay" for this. Well to my mind it seems the President ought to resign if he is going to be true to his own words.......

Back on Topic! Some Photographs

Some recent pictures: a bit of everything. I don't know what type of orchid the flower is so please tell me if you know. The orchid was Benedict's gift to his mother on the occasion of Mothers Day!

4 school girls loaded onto a motorbike

Benedict Panya

Child protection Thai style - you'll be pleased to see the rider is wearing a helmet!

Yet more

Follow this http://www.facebook.com/pages/Benigno-Noynoy-Aquino/202891759514?v=wall to see some of the rage and you'll also be able to view a few pictures that have understandably added to the rage

More on Manila's Bloodbath

From the South China Morning Post. This really gives a good indication of how the police completely bodged the situation. SCMP Manila . More comment from SMCP Opinion 1 and more here SCMP Opinion 2

Bloodbath in Manila

My condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in Monday's massacre in Manila. It really pains me. I want the Philippines to be a great place to visit and travel in. I want the people to be happy and prosperous. My interest: my wife is from the Philippines and our son is half-filipino. We visit regularily.

The simple truth in my humble opinion is this: the Philippines is a horrible, dangerous place to visit. My experience of being in the Philippines is that I am fair game. I am a "'cano", an "Americano", and I get screwed accordingly for everything. I have to be careful about how I react because there is a menace in the atmosphere, guns are never far away, MacDonalds, for instance, have armed security in their outlets. Most people live behind high walls, to keep intruders out. This place isn't just bad for "'cano"tourists, it is bad for Asian tourists and it is bad for filipinos too.

The aggressor in this bloodbath was a former police officer, a middle ranking officer, reportedly aggrieved for being dismissed for extortion. AFP report he had once been regarded as a model officer and named as one of the top ten officers in the country. There is a can of worms here that really needs to be opened and if need be painfully exposed. It is quite difficult to get fired from the police for extortion because unfortunately it is an unwritten part of the job description. Did this guy get fired because maybe he resisted extortion and was set up?  Something is badly wrong here. We need to be told the whole story.

South China Morning Post reports that the Philippine president could not be reached on Monday by Hong Kong's Chief Executive. Why not? I think we should be told why Mr Aquino was unavailable. I mean he is the President and it would hardly be unreasonable to expect him to take a courtesy call from someone with such a clear interest in events. Where was he? They also report that the gunman reacted violently because he saw his brother being forcibly arrested live on TV while onboard the bus with the hostages. This beggars belief.  If a sharp shooter could take the gunman out after the carnage began, why not earlier. There is a real sack of foul-smelling crapulence developing here.

I hope some good comes from this. I hope we really get to the bottom of it all. I hope the Philippines becomes a better place. It needs to become acceptable in this society not only to criticise institutions and condemn incompetence and corruption but also to actually out the wrong doers, name and shame them, and allow the overwhelming majority of decent Filipinos to live peacefully in their homes and for people to be able to visit the country and enjoy the real charm of the people and the place.

Royal Springfield Golf & Country Resort Hua Hin

I took advantage of the Hua Hin Golf Festival and played here Sunday for 850 THB pluys caddy and tip, about 1300 THB in total. The advertised green fee is 3500 THB! The course was designed by Jack Nicklaus and of course I come from a generation of golfers who still hold Jack as the living version of the greatest golfer of all time. I played Mission Hills in Kanchanaburi, another Nicklaus designed course, and I have to say Springfield is nasty in comparison! The facilities at Springfield are truly splendid, the course is excellent, the service is very good but sadly it rained and for about 90 minutes it was a washout so my companion,Duff, and I only managed about 13 holes. More to the point I played very, very badly to the point of asking myself : "Why bother with this?" I really couldn't put two decent shots together. However it was an interesting experience as the rain break took us back to the club house where I was able to observe expat life a little. I am glad I don't live in Hua Hin although the expats, retirees and holidaymakers appear to be having a great time and if you have the money and like golf I am sure Hua Hin would make an ideal bolt hole. Springfield is recommended so long as you can get the promotional price.

Mothers Day & A Trip South to Chumphon

Luna & Benedict on Sai Ri Beach, Chumphon Province

14.08.10

The Queen's Birthday is Mother's Day in Thailand and as well as being a lovely occasion it resulted this year in a very nice long weekend off. Wednesday's timetable was taken over by school activities to celebrate Mothers Day.Thursday was the actual Queen's Birthday, a public holiday,Friday was a sandwich holiday, Saturday classes were cancelled, Sunday & Monday are normal days off for me. In effect I had a nice 5 day break. You bet, I love the Queen.

The school activities were a pleasant start to a very pleasant weekend. The Thais are completely unrestrained when it comes to sentimentality. I enjoyed watching  a doting mother and her gobby and cheeky daughter, reduced to tears, when it came to her turn to pay respect to her mother. Nice to see the daughter, a student from last year, in a different light. So the school closed and we had a peaceful Wednesday evening at home and headed south on the Thursday.

Our first stop was Hua Hin to see a few friends and have a bit of lunch. I like Hua Hin but I am glad we don't live there. It is undoubtedly hurting as tourist numbers have dropped significantly. However Hua Hin and more so, nearby Cha-am, are popular with Thais, about a 2 hour drive from Bangkok. So it is not quite a ghost town.

After lunch we drove on through rain to Chumphon where we had decided to spend the break. About a 400 km drive door to door, taking 6 hours or so with plenty of stops including the purchase of a wicker chair for Benedict and the obligatory purchase of a bunch of bananas in the roadside market as we entered Chumphon province. Basically the main highway is line with stalls selling bunches of bananas.

We  stayed at the Suan Hin Nam Resort where we had been before and liked it as it was clean and comfortable and not too expensive; 600 THB a night this time with a warm welcome and the people remembered us as the teachers from Ratchaburi and of course were only interested in Benedict! I have to say a particularily comfortable bed.

We had a lovely weekend the highlight being the food: crab, fish, fresh oysters, mussels and prawns. Absolutely fantastic seafood at ridiculous prices...... and no adverse reaction to the oysters. There are some lovely beaches in the locale especially Hat Thung Wua Laen to the north of the town. Must be one of the cleanest beaches in Thailand, post card stuff really and not too busy. We also had a lovely meal on Sai Ri Beach, a smaller beach and not quite as beautiful.

Street food at the Night Market

Chumphon 14.08.10

The Night Market in town is good and the street food, in particular, is excellent. We also took a trip to Mo Kho Chumphon National Park and our teacher ID cards secured entry for 40 THB as opposed to the normal 200 THB for "foreigners". There is a new mangrove walkway in the park which I reckon will be the best of its type in Thailand at present. It covers an extensive area including a bridge over the river. All in all a good day out and the park has excellent facilities: toilets, restaurants and the mangrove itself provides great shade.

My edition of the Lonely Planet guide to Thailand, (2005), says of Chumphon: "There's little reason to linger in this junction town........ . The provincial capital is a busy place, but of no particular interest...... . Most people only stay long enough to catch the boat to Ko Tao." All I can say is: Alleluia! Thank God they got it so wrong. Means it is a really pleasant, laid back, traditional Thai town where there is a warm welcome and a polite curiosity from the locals. Thank God it is not thronged with Western tourists seeking a meaningful, authentic Thai experience and whinging about getting turned over as happens in most parts of Thailand where they are in significant numbers. Thank you Lonely Planet!

On the mangrove walkway

Mo Kho Chumphon National Park

14.08.10

Of course Benedict is the star of the show. He arouses so much interest. In the Seacon shopping mall in Chumphon he had the sales assistants at his mercy. One of my mates in Hua Hin, on witnessing the enthusiasm the waitresses in the restaurant had for Benedict, asked if he could borrow him for an hour as it would improve his ability to hit successfully on the girls!

Me and my boy

Chumphon Night Market 14.08.10

I did a bit of birding and you can read about that on botab.blogspot.com .

We also made it to mass on Sunday at St Paul's Church, Chumphon and again received a very warm welcome from the priest who remembered us from our previous visit. I don't know this guy's name but he actually made the effort to say a little in English during his sermon. I think was a very nice gesture. Luna also met one of her former students from Ratchaburi  and they hadn't seen each other since before our wedding and before Benedict.

So all in all we felt very comfortable in Chumphon and we will undoubtedly be back. Reasonably uneventful drive home saw us back Sunday about 17:30h.

Sai Ri Beach

Chumphon Province 14.08.10

The Current Situation

I like this article form the BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11013665

Grumpy Ben!

I just thought I'd post this as sometimes I may give the impression that our beautiful baby boy is the personification of joy. Benedict can be grumpy and miserable too!!!! This was taken on our recent trip to Chumphon.

Recent Golf

I have started playing golf on Mondays as a result of having this day off by virtue of teaching Saturdays. This means Mondays  I can head for Royal Ratchaburi with my dear friend and neighbour, Lars Olav, from Sweden. The current promotion is 660 THB for a round and a 200 THB tip to the caddy. That is about 17.50 GBP or 27.50 USD. When you factor in the caddy and that the course is top quality then it is in my view a sensational deal.

Lars recently played Dragon Hills, another Ratchaburi course that comes highly recommended, and the deal there is about 700 THB. I should point out that the Royal deal allows you to play a second round for a 200 THB caddy fee and an additonal tip of 200 THB!

Now I am as bad as ever but there are encouraging signs of improvement although I do scatter it around a bit and I am not the most placid person on the golf course especially when I am being hammered. I reckon sub-90 is feasible in the next few months especially if I make it to the range for some practise. But regardless, I am loving my Monday morning golf.

Over the last few weeks I have played at nearby Sawang and Kaeng Krachan in Phetchaburi province. Nice courses but not on the same par as Royal which is my favourite course in all of Thailand.

Now if you have too much money you can drive down to so-called Golfers Paradise in Hua Hin and play for 1000 THB and the caddy tip. Personally I don't think you will do much better than Royal. It is a really tough course. However if you can hit the ball straight then it is a very fair course. Moreover it is well maintained and generally the staff are helpful and pleasant.

Lars brought me some new grips back from Sweden on his recent trip home, made by Golf Pride. A bargain at 2,000 THB for ten and the guy in my local golf shop regripped them for me for 300 THB. Cheap as chips. First time I played with them, last Monday,  I shot a 96 but yesterday I hit 107, 61 out but an encouraging 46 in. So the sub-90 is on........ with time. Watch this space!

On Being a Father

Benedict and I with Mum behind us

8th August 2010

It never ceases to amaze me that I became a father for the first time a few days short of my 51st birthday. I have to say I love the experience so far and my son, Benedict, is a rare joy. Today is Sunday and it is just the two of us together for most of the day. Luna has some friends here and they have gone into Bangkok for the day. We shall reconnect later in the day. I have a dose of the shits so was happy to stay home. By the way I am taking medicinal charcoal for my ailment, black tablets with charcoal and milk of magnesia.

Benedict is a happy little fellow. He doesn't seem to be too bothered by Luna's absence. I think this is good news for both of them as I am really more than happy to look after Benedict. In fairness he doesn't need a lot of looking after. Benedict has a few anti-social habits, bless him! He loves tissue paper and could happily spend a day pulling tissues out of their packaging and then shredding them. He also likes emptying shelves of their contents which in our case means books and CD/DVDs. He has a worrying enthusiasm for electrical wiring and likes to play with plugs.

An additional feature is Benedict is now walking and like  most things he approaches this with gusto and is learning, sometimes painfully, to avoid hazards. He really impresses me as he grabs a hold of whatever support is available to facilitate his movement. He is also a very good climber and is currently attempting to climb onto the rocking chair in our bedroom to retrieve a piece of rubber which is the object of his attention right now. He is singing an incomprehensible song and periodically his attention is caught by the cartoons on TV. In real terms Benedict is a picture of contentment.

I am really not sure what went wrong with my relationship with my father but from my perspective it was a poor relationship and it deteriorated progressively until his untimely death, aged 53, in 1978. My memories are of my father's rage and anger at me, of being hit and shouted at, in real terms of being abused, never being good enough. Now I would happily concede that these are simply my perceptions and as such could be completely off the mark.

I am very fearful my relationship with Benedict might deteriorate. I sometimes think if I knew what was wrong with the relationship I had with my own dad then I could avoid repeating it with Benedict. I hope it stays as is and indeed flourishes as I love the little man, I love everything about him, and I know he feels very comfortable around me. Long may it continue!

In real terms I get a very good deal as a father. I get these bijoux moments like today whereas the bulk of the parenting is done by Luna. I am glad she is getting a little more respite. It is a tough call being a mother, so much to do no matter how easy the child is. Luna does it very well, combining it with her work, ably assisted by our new assistant, Thong, who cares for Benedict when we are at work.

So just for the record I bathed Benedict this morning, changed him, gave him some milk and we are about to go downstairs and have some solid brunch and some more milk and then a little sleep, I hope. He's being very well behaved. Mid-afternoon we will head into Bangkok and meet up with Mum and her pals and take them to the airport for their flight back to the Philippines later tonight. Right now it is a joy being a father and Benedict is a real pleasure.