Full moon party and sport club...

Many requests for information are coming in about the upcoming full moon party on Hat Rin, Koh Phangan. The next party is November 5th, 2006. For more info and links check here.

Finally I have found somewhere to get fit. Having weighed up the pros and cons I came to the conclusion that Sports City would be the best option for the moment. Not too difficult to get to from here and great facilities. The price is way above what I had in mind but I need to get started on some kind of fitness regime in order to be able to do this cycling thing.

So, now the pain begins. I will try and go everyday and get tuned and ready for cycling the length of the country, or thereabouts. I'm now thinking perhaps Chaing Mai to Phuket. Seems a good route and avoids any troubled regions. Not quite the whole country but nearly.

Next stage planning the route, sponsorship (any takers?), possible cycling buddies (again, any takers?), equipment, literature, publicity etc.

Full moon party and sport club...

Nigerian scam, Ghana scam, West African scam....

It now seems that on a daily basis I receive scam mail through my inbox. No matter how well it is disguised it is always conected in some way to somewhere in West Africa.

The story usually varies but the idea is the same. Someone is dead/in prison/missing etc and a large amount of money needs to be removed from an account in Nigeria/Ghana/Sierra Leone. The recipient of the mail is known (somehow) as a trusted and honest person. If they can use your account to deposit the said millions in then you get 25-50% of the loot for yourself.

I've even had one claiming to be from the solicitor of a millionairess in Holland. She had no family and wanted to leave her estate to a God fearing Christian who would be a worthy beneficiary. After extensive research they chose me. Huumm. How extensive? I'm not even a Christian!

It seems that this is big business in Nigeria and Ghana. The Nigerian scam (or Ghana or Sierra Leone etc) works on high volume mailing. Basically they churn out these mail by the hundreds of thousands and look for maybe one sucker per 100,000. They can send the mails in a click of a button and when they catch someone they can scam about US$50,000 or more so it is good business for them.

Do people fall for this? Sure. For every 50,000 or 100,000 that bin the mail there is one who falls straight into the trap. When the media have questioned people in Nigeria or Ghana about it they say that it is the recipient's greed that is to blame, not the sender. Humm.

Has anyone found a way to turn the tables on this? Is there a way to fire the scam straight back at the scammers? I'd be interested to know and maybe have a shot at scamming the scammers.

Here's the most recent examples:

From Jefferson / Silvia Awiloba

Dear Sir/ Madam,

It is my pleasure to introduce you to a business that will make the beginning of never -ending family relations and l hope this proposal will not come to you as an embarrassment. l am Jefferson Awiloba, the only son of late Dr Alexander Awiloba who was a famous cocoa merchant. My late father operated his cocoa business in Abidjan Cote d' ivoire under partnership, but unfortunately late father was poisoned by his business associates in order to claims the newly awarded contract and his wealth in a cocktail party held in his honour as the director of the company. When he was poisoned, he was rushed to the hospital. It was in the hospital that he secretly disclosed to me the cause of his sickness and why he was poisoned. There he informed me that he deposited the sum of US$11,500M. (Eleven Million Five Hundred Thousand United Dollars) in a suspense coded account to a bank here in Abidjan Cote d' Ivoire and that l and my little sister was made the next of kin to inherit the money in his record file. He therefore advised me to look for a reliable, trust worthy and God fearing person who will assist me transfer the money abroad strictly for investment purposes. This is because he didn’t want his associate to raise an eyebrow o his fund. He also advised me to avoid his associates and our family members who will be running after our dear lives; he finally died in the hospital after few days of admission. Please, I am soliciting for your assistance to help me and my little sister transfer the money into your account for an investment purpose over there in your country. I hope to travel with you to your country after a successful transfer of this money. The contact of the bank will be given to you as soon as you show your interest and willingness to me. You can now instruct them on where and how the money will be transferred. I am offering you 25% of the total sum as commission for your assistance to transfer the money to your country. May I strongly re-emphasise that this transaction is highly confidential, hitch free and this will be successfully concluded within 10 days according to your willingness. I look forward to hear from you soon.

Thank you and God bless you.

Yours Sincerely.Jefferson/ Silvia.


Another one:

Dear Sir/Madam,

First and foremost I would like to apologize for infringing on yourprivacy by sending you an unsolicited email, I decided to contact you viaan email to get us acquainted since it is a safer way of privatecommunication. If you must know, I came about your contact informationthrough a chamber of commerce and industry directory on the Internet whiletrying to locate any link to my deceased client.I am Abdulla Ibrahim., an attorney at law. A deceased client of mine, byname Mr. Edwards J. Donald, who were in after shall be referred to as myclient, died as a result of heart related illness in November 1999.I have contacted you to assist in distributing the money left behind bymy client before it is confiscated or declared unserviceable by thefinance company where this deposit valued at US$16.400, 000.00 Dollars islodged. This finance company has issued me a notice to contact the nextof kin, or the account will be confiscated and the fund remitted to theFederal Reserve. My proposition to you is to seek your consent topresent you as the next-of-kin and beneficiary of my named client; so thatthe proceeds of this account can be paid to you. Then we can share theamount on a mutually agreed-upon percentage.All legal documents to back up your claim as my client's next-of-kinwill be provided. All I require is your honest cooperation to enable ussee this transaction through.This will be executed under a legitimate arrangement that will protectyou from any breach of the law. If this business proposition offendsyour moral values, do accept my apology. Please contact me at once toindicate your interest.

Best regards,

Barrister Abdulla Ibrahim.

Nigerian scam, Ghana scam, West African scam....

Bangkok sport clubs and gym, worrying pollution...

Haven't exactly confirmed a new gym in Bangkok or Nonthaburi yet but I had a free try at Sports City. No faulting the facilities there, top notch. Excellent and great staff. Only problem is the price, bloody expensive. 28,000 baht per year, about £400 GBP or US$720. I don't know if this is expensive but it certainly seems it to me.

To be honest there doesn't seem to be much choice as the only good one nearby is Sports City. Make that, the only one nearby period. I called Clark Hatch but between their directions and my Thai I couldn't find the place.

Lots in the news at the moment about the threat of global warming and climate change. Seems that if people don't change their ways pretty soon things are going to get tough in the coming years. With all this so widely known I wonder why car companies continue to churn out ever larger vehicles with monstrous engines? Why are budget airlines continually setting up making te plane ride almost comparable to the train ride. Do we need virtually free flights? Do we need to nip off to another country for a day's shopping or night out? Do countries the size of the UK and Ireland really need inernal flights? I know people who take a plane from Liverpool to London. Madness.

Probably sounds a bit hypercritical coming from one who owns a Land Rover. In my defence I rarely drive it, it runs on LPG and don't always use the air-con. I also make an effort to limit my effect on the environment: recycle where possible, don't waste, plant trees and plants whenever an opportunity arises, use sustainable web hosting, turn lights of that aren't being used, use public transport whenever possible and car share when I can. My weekly mileage must be no more than 20km, if that. I walk or cycle to local shops and use the train and mass transit system when I can.

I don't understand why countries like Thailand with such a regular supply of sunlight don't make more use of PV cells. My wife goes to work and puts a jacket on in the office because the air-con is so cold. All the staff do too and sit there moaning about the cold. Because it's a large building they have no control over the temperature. Knocking it down a few notches would save a fortune and sooo much fuel if replicated throughout the country.

Anyway, enough grousing for now.


Bangkok sport clubs and gym, worrying pollution...

Sports facilities in Bangkok, Nonthaburi..

Now things are ack to normal I need to get back into my daily routine of exercise, more important now if I'm serious about this cycling adventure through Thailand. The problem is that the sole running machine in our moo baan's gym broke over a month ago and has still not been fixed. What's more it doesn't like being fixed anytime soon.

Generally sports facilities and gym's in Thailand are in abundance. There's a good range of local offers, international franchises and hotel facilities available. But, we live in border territory, Bangkok/Nonthaburi border and things are a little slower.

There's a branch of Sports City not far from my daughter's school but it usually involves a long sit in traffic almost any time of day. Sports City is good and their facilities are good. Membership is a bit pricey but worth it I guess. I've noticed that it's usually empty so maybe it's good that it is pricey.

When I lived in this area before I used Clark Hatch on Cheang Wattana Road. That has been closed down for some time now so that's out of the running. Clark Hatch, like Sports City, is part of a chain. Probably aimed at a lower level and usually situated in hotels it is none the less a good company. Facilities are generally good and the staff well trained.

My quest for new gym facilities will continue.

Sports club, gym Links - Bangkok and surrounding area

• http://www.sportscity2002.com/ Sports City
• http://www.clarkhatchthailand.com Clark Hatch
• http://www.californiawowx.com/ California Wow
• http://www.fitnessfirst.co.th/ Fitness First
• http://www.thebangkokclub.com/ The Bangkok Club
• http://www.balancefitnessspa.com/ Balance Fitness
• http://www.bangkokrf.com/ Revolution Fitness
  
  Sports facilities in Bangkok, Nonthaburi..

Kid's parties, wifeless and blogging trouble...

Not strictly speaking wifeless but she's out the country on business for a few days. With the daughter in bed the house is quite and it seems that, yes, the wife will be missed. My home time conversations will now be at the level of a three year old for the next four days.

Today's party was a mixed blessing. For the kids it was great, a really good party but for me it was a struggle for several hours. Interestingly enough this was the party of a Thai kid and only Thais were invited, with the exception of two of us who are mixed families. Seemed a little segregatory (if that is even a word) given that the foreigners at the school never seem to distinguish when it comes to parties. I guess there were reasons.

Given up on the new beta blog. When I changed over all the links vanished and had all sorts of problems. So after hours of tinkering I realised I don't know enough about this nonsense and reverted back to this "classic" style. Works a treat now.

No plans for the week yet.

Kid's parties, wifeless and blogging trouble...

New blog, arghhh!!!

Changed to Blogger/Google's Beta blog thingy and everything has just been dropped from the site so apologies to anyone who has lost a link. I'll try and get it all figured out and back to normal tomorrow.

Kid's parties again today and yet another tomorrow along with the weekly nallet class for the daughter. Wife abroad in the morning for a few days on business so I can't get out of it. Term starts again on Monday so I can get back into the old routine.

New blog, arghhh!!!

Bangkok food and restaurants...

Having handed the daughter over to the wife early evening I managed to get away for some free time and an evening out. Nothing too exciting, no wild parties or hedonistic evenings of madness. I met a friend for a meal and to discuss business.

The good thing about Bangkok, and I guess most capital cities, is the abundance and variety of food available. Eating out in Bangkok is always a treat. There are restauarants in Bangkok catering to all tastes.

Both of us are vegetarians and that's the one thing that Bangkok lacks a lot of. There are vegetarian resaurants in Bangkok but they are few and far between. Luckily there is a vegetarian festival going on at the moment so options are vast for a short period and many Thais play at being vegetarians for a few weeks.

We ended up on Sukhumvit road in one of the many Arabic restaurants in that area of Bangkok. Around the Nana junction there are numerous Indian and Pakistani restaurants and, as we discovered, Arabic restaurants, complete with authentic middle eastern waiters.

The food was good, and the price wasn't too high. A big meal for two including thre or four nan breads and biryani rice came to 800baht, about £11 (US$20). I can't remember the name of the restaurant but you can miss it, it's got more chrome decor than a gypsies caravan and a strong smell of middle eastern incense.

As a side note one of my favourite restaurants in Bangkok remains Tamarind Cafe. This french/Taiwanese owned vegetarian resaurant is on Sukhumvit Road soi 20 and combines Gallery F-Stop's photo exhibitions. Pricey by Thai standards but excellent food and great freidnly service.

Bangkok food and restaurants...

Political uncertainty, Thai floods and the new airport....

All seemed quiet but now looks like there could be some of the smelly stuff hitting the fan after all. Ex-PM Taksin (or Toxin, Tax'in, Tax-swiz etc as he seems to be known) is rumoured to have moved closer, Singapore actually. Word is he might senak in across the border with Malaysia.

His wife has managed a meet with Gen Prem, much to the annoyance of many. Pro-Taksin literature and flyers have been doing the rounds, especially in the north and east where many still see him as a hero and the army have made movements - and then changed their minds. And what's left of his party in Bangkok is planning to get a thronging mass of people to the airport to greet him, should he opt for the air route home.

If he doesn't give up his passion for holding the keys to the till this could very well get ugly.

More letters in the Post slating the new airport. It seems there's an almost fool proof way to get in the country un-noticed. Fly in from abroad on a flight that stops somewhere else in Thailand first and then goes on to Bangkok. The flight will land in Bangkok as a domestic flight and there is no facility for immigration control in the domestic part of the new airport. See letters page of Bangkok Post for more.

According to Thai TV floods are all around us and chaos reigns. However, we've not had a drop of rain for a few days now, the sun is shining and it's bloody hot where we live. I guess we're one of the lucky ones. No flood, no rain.

Daughter has friends here this afternoon so I have an afternoon of loud noise and madness. Should be fun.

Political uncertainty, Thai floods and the new airport....

Cycling through Thailand and ex-girlfriends

I mentioned in a post some time ago now, on a brave and stupid day, that I was thinking of entering the London Marathon next year. Yes, well, er, no. Having given it serious and considered thought I've binned that madness, accepting that I would be able to finish it but not in a respectable time and I'm just not going to get the time to train sufficiently.

However, now I have another plan. Possibly more ridiculous but more feasible. I've had this desire to cycle the length of Thialand for some time now and I'm going to make it a reality. I've been inspired by Lek and the guys at the elephant sanctuary I visited a few months back, here.

These guys are currently looking for funding for flood defences. They have already raised something like US$60k but need about the same again. Having visited them and written a few articles here and here I decided that it would be a good idea to go ahead with the cycling mission and try to raise some funds and awareness for this VERY worthy cause.

Anyone got any tips on long distance cycling? Cycling in Thailand. Thailand, north to south in less than two weeks. That's approx 2oookm and quite a few hills. Possible? Advice? All info and feedback much appreciated on this one.

Quiet day with the daughter today. Went into town with the aim of taking her to the snake farm but she went cold on the idea when it came to it. Long story. We've had a snake problem in the garden.

Relaxing having a coffee when an old girlfriend from many years ago spotted us. Normally she's working abroad, UN or something, but today she sat and had coffee and played with the daughter, who liked her very much and, in turn, just couldn't wait to tell mummy about her new friend. I aimed to tell her about it anyway but dear daughter pipped me to the post which has left a cold chill in the air this evening. Don't you love kids?

Interesting Thailand blog here.

Cycling through Thailand and ex-girlfriends

Bangkok, Trains, Library...

Latest on Suwarnabhumi here. Info on walking in Bangkok here.

After years of being in Bangkok I finally made the effort to visit the Neilson Hays Library today.
As the father of a three year old with an insatiable appetite for books it seemed a good idea to introduce her to a proper library.

Founded in 1869 by the Ladies’ Bazaar Association the library is still going strong. It's located on Surawong Road just down from the British Club. It's a beautiful old colonial style building with air-conditioning and an old world feel to it. The staff speak English and are very helpful. Membership is steep, for a library, at 2,800 baht for a year but necessary for the place to operate.

They have readings and drawing sessions for kids on Saturday mornings and there's a cheap coffee shop on the grounds. Glad I finally made the effort.

It always amazes me how Surawong Road (parallel with Silom Road) manages to stay in a timewarp whilst all around develops. With the exception of the odd building here and there and alterations and additions to the road infrastructure not a lot has changed since I first walked down the street in 1992. I'm not complaining, I like it. That part of town, like Chinatown, has a great deal of character and a good feel about it.

Whilst in the area we grabbed a tuk-tuk to Hua Lamphong station and got the regular commuter train back to Bang Sue. There is an underground station at both these locations and the ride between the two will set you back about 50 baht. the cost for the train was 2 baht! From a Thai point of view I can see why there are more people on the train than the underground system. Admittedly the 15.20 train didn't set out till 15.45 and there was no air-con and it lingered in Samsen for an eternity etc etc. But still, that's a huge difference if your daily wage is only a few hundred baht.

Bangkok, Trains, Library...

The Usual Stuff

Ordinary day. Looking after the daughter as she's on school holidays, writing when she's painting and watching kids stuff on TV and half an hour in the pool.

Found this picture in my inbox today, thought it was quite amusing. kind of sums up roadworking UK style.


In the process of writing a piece about walking in Bangkok, should be on here soon.

Seems we have a weekend of parties ahead. Unfortunately they're parties of the three year old variety. the wife will be out of the country on business from Sunday so I'll be the lone parent at one of them. Oh what joy!

The Usual Stuff

Bangkok Sky

All weekend the weathermen, and women, have been predicting torrential rain and flooding for Bangkok today. Well, it's been a great day. Not too hot and a no sign of so much as a drop of the wet stuff. Though as I write there is the sound of buckets of rain hitting the concrete in some order. earlier on in the evening the skies looked like it was on the way.





Fourth day back in Thailand and I'm not sick of it yet. Can't understand it. I was all keyed up to bail out and head somewhere else but having returned after a month's absence I'm feeling really mellow on this place. Nothing has pissed me off yet. This is strange. At this rate I'm going to be arguing for staying here! Maybe I need to give it more time. I'll see if I can say the same next week.

Spent the afternoon in Lumphini Park with wife and daughter. Rowing a boat gently on the lake, feeding the fish, daughter playing in the playground etc. It's one of the nicest areas of Bangkok and well worth a visit if your in the area, even if just for a stroll for ten minutes. hard to believe it's Bangkok.

Noticed in the shops that Hasbro have brought out a Thai edition of Monopoly. For some reason they've missd off some obvious placenames: Khao San Road, Patpong and Phuket to name but a few. I would have thought that Khao San Road would have been a sure thing but no.


Bangkok Sky

Shopping in Bangkok

It's a holiday weekend here in Thailand so Bangkok has been refreshingly quite by comparison to its usual chaotic madness.

Having done the weekly chore of taking the daughter to ballet class we headed out into town to check out the latest addition to Bangkok's seemingly endless collection of shopping malls. Since Paragon opened its doors in December, claiming to be the biggest shopping mall in Asia, the Central Group have given the old World Trade Centre (WTC) a refurb and opened with the same claim. the place isn't finished so it's luxury shopping combined with a strong aroma of various chemical, paints and adhesives.

It's an improvement on the dated WTC that it has replced but let's face it, Bangkok needs another shopping mall like it needs more cars on the roads. The draw for us, being parents of a three year old, was Bangkok's first Toys R Us. Though the prices are enough to make anyone wince. Once again Bangkok's residents are being fleeced because of their passion for all things luxury and modern.

What remains a mystery to me is how Gaysorn Plaza has remained open for so long. It's a mall that is home to all the mega-pricey brands like LV and the like and has shops selling expensive wines and imported cigars. It's been going for about ten years now and always seems empty whenever I go there, no to mention the fact I've never once seen anyone buying anything. It once had an excellent French restaurant but that seems to have gone now.

Nice as these places are they just haven't got the charm of the street markets and places like Khao San Road. OK, so you might not get the same selection of quality items on Khao San Road but doing the rounds there is a lot more fun than trawling through endless floors of expensive shops. The Night Bazaar (soon to be replaced by yet another shopping mall) remains an old favourite, as does the hot and sweaty Chatuchak Market.

Early morning Khao San Road before the hordes awake

Tomorrow's a holiday so we have another day as a family before I take the reins again for my parenting duties for the half-term break. According to news reports we will be graced with torrential rain and flooding tomorrow. Nice!

Shopping in Bangkok

Return to Bangkok and Dodgy Airlines

[www.gretra.com]

Well, after my month-long spell in the UK I have returned to Bangkok. Oddly enough it feels nice to be back. I mean of course it's great being with my wife and daugther again but I actually feel happy to have 'returned' to Bangkok for a change. Normally I return here feeling wretched for a few days. Maybe I've just had a lucky first two days.

The military coup seems to have rapidly become a thing of the past. As far as I can tell the military presence has gone from the streets and normality has been returned. Or as normal as can be with a militarily appointed ex-general at the helm of the good-ship Thailand. Still no sign of old tax-dodger Taksin on these shores yet. I just hope he's forced to do a f###ing visa run to France every few months from the UK.

I flew back with Etihad. This was my first trip with Etihad (not sure if I mentioned this before). Normally I have loyalty to another airline that I consider to be the best, and no that isn't Thai Airways, but decided to try the airline that all have been raving about. Not too impressed to be honest. Reasons:

• Customer service from the Bangkok office is shit - rude and incompetent staff.
• When I got to the UK I discovered they had nicely taken for my flight TWICE!
• Staff in UAE offices are rude and made no attempt to help me recover the money thay had liberated from my card;
• Tried to change the return flight day and was told the flight was packed - it wasn't. In fact it was more like half capacity.
• Entertainment system was great, but only when it worked.
• Male staff and half of the female staff were rude and un-helpful on the return leg.
• Despite having pre-booked vegetarian meals for all legs of the trip they still managed to give me regular on one leg.
• Food is just not up to scratch and is limited in choice and quantity.

On the good side the staff in their London office were great and a girl there managed to get my money returned very quick and apologised, which no one in either Bangkok or the UAE bothered to do. The seat back TVs are large and there is a great system but, as mentioned above, it only seemed to work when it felt like it. The ground staff in the UK weren't much to write home about either, in terms of customer service.

Despite ther reputation for being a cheap airline they aren't always the cheapest and some of their flights come out quite high. If they've got a good deal on offer take it but don't pay over the odds for this lot. And don't trust their online booking system, it can be expensive.

The daugther is on half-term break next week so I have a week of child entertainment to look forward to. thinking of maybe heading up country for a few days to get some air. Though I'm not sure that rural Thailand has much to offer a three year old so it could end up being a beach.

There is serious talk now of us returning to the UK or settling in another country. Looks like next year could see us pulling up the roots and moving off these sandy shores in search of seomwhere to live. We, make that I, have been looking at various options, including France, Laos, Cambodia and even Vietnam but I would say the highest probability would be a move back to the UK. I've got mixed feelings about all this. It needs some serious thought. The romantic, idyllic option would be any of the above mentioned countries but the head says the UK - more money, good education and easy for all of us to live there with proper status (resident status).

Anyway, a lot to think about so I'm going to sit outside with a beer and listen to frogs/toads and crickets make a noise.

Return to Bangkok and Dodgy Airlines

Walking in Snowdonia, Wales. [Photo blog]

Well, a long and tiring day. Having got to bed at 2am after a night in the pub it was a 6am start, three hours of driving and a day's hiking up Glyder Fach and Glyder Fawr.

Having done Snowdon several times we opted for the second highest peak next to snowdon.

Wales is one of those places that is great when the weather is good and dire when, as is usually the case, it is not. Luckily it was a good day and despite a thick cloud covering at about 800 metres.

Me on the 'Cantilever'

Glyder Fach has a natural cantilever at the peak which is a draw for hikers and makes for a good photo op.

After reaching the peak the clouds were below us.

The scenery is breathtaking. Hard to believe that there is such an almost Martian-like environment hidden at the roof of Wales.

Great day, great walk, wonderful place!

Walking in Snowdonia, Wales. [Photo blog]

Nothing much

Here's an autumnal pic from the garden. In a few days this will be just a memory as I return to the heat and mosquitoes of Asia.
Early start tomorrow as I'm making my annual trek up Snowdon. Snowdon is the tallest peak in England and Wales (tallest in England being Scafel Pike and tallest overall in the UK is Ben Nevis) and usually pretty cold this time of year. I make the annual pilgrimage every year with an old mate.

Joke

Two nuns are driving down a road late at night when a vampire jumps onto the bonnet.
The nun who is driving says to the other, "Quick! Show him your cross."
So the other nun leans out of the window and shouts, "Get off our fucking car."

And Another One

Three very macho mice are standing around trying to outdo each other. The first mouse says: "You know those little pellets they put out around the house trying to poison us? I love those things. I eat 'em like candy."The second mouse, not to be outdone says: "Oh yeah? Well, you know those mousetraps they put out to try to catch us? What I do is get on the trap, grab the cheese, and then flip over onto my back, and when the steel bar comes swinging down, I grab it and do bench presses with it." The third mouse says: "You guys are really a couple of tough mice, and I'd love to keep hangin' out with you here, but I gotta go screw the cat."

Enough nonsense for now.

Nothing much

Autumn, great TV and a joke.

Well, just heading into my last week back in the UK and then back to Thailand. Autumn is just kicking in, leaves are turning and it's getting colder - despite reports of this heading towards being the warmest October on record.

I'm going to miss the TV. Nothing in particular and there's a lot of crap on TV here but when it's good it's real good.

Reports today say the population of England will rise by nearly 7million over the next twenty years. Total UK population is now at 60million (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales).

Been looking into possibility of relocating from Thailand. Cambodia, which I know little about, is starting to look interesting. I've never been there but I might take a trip and check it out soon. Sounds interesting. I'd like to come back to Europe but there's a still a draw in Asia. We'll see.

Joke (heard this the other day)

President Bush is sat in the Oval Office. An advisor walks in and says, "Mr. President we have bad news. Two Brazilians have been killed in Iraq."

Bush puts his head in his hands and sighs. "Oh god, oh christ that's terrible." And then he looks at the advisor and says, "Say tell me, exactly how many are there in a Brazilian?"

Autumn, great TV and a joke.

Camcorders, phones and moving country

I'm looking to get a new camcorder. I'd like to get the Sony HDR-HC1. It looks great, a real neat little pack of tricks but it's expensive and 'she who must be obeyed' would moan if I went home with near to a grand's worth of cam. I've got a Canon mini DV but something is wrong with it and trying to get it fixed meets with the usual response; cheaper to buy a new one. JVC do a range of neat little cams with hard-drives onboard. That seems like a great idea to me and they're a lot cheaper. Any opinion on this would be welcome. PLEASE!

While I'm still in the UK where electrical items are cheap (er than Thailand) I might as well try and stock up on essentials. I'm in need of a new mobile phone. I'm using a Sony Ericsson V802 from Japan at the moment. I've had this longer than any other phone before. I generally stick with Ericsson because they're good. I've had this one for three years, or there abouts, and it's been kicked, dropped, wet, covered in dust, and generally treated with a total lack of respect and still it goes on. It's now tatty and starting to play-up.

I'd like the Sony Ericsson K800i. Occasionallly they appear on Ebay but seem to be as hard to get hiold of rocking horse shit. Looks like a great little number.

I've been asked about moving to Thailand on the message board and I've posted a few questions about moving to Cambodia on another board. Seems getting long term visas in Cambodia is a doddle and doing business there is much easier than in Thailand. Sounds good. Anyone got any stories of comments on this?

Camcorders, phones and moving country

Joke

Two old guys are sat talking. One asks the other if he thinks there is cricket in heaven. Neither know so they agree that whoever dies first will come back and let the other one know.

Months later and one of them dies. About a month after he's been buried he visits his living friend. "Hey, it's me", he whispers in his old mate's ear. "So, what's the verdict?" says his friend.

"Good news and bad news"
"Go on"
"Good news; there's cricket in heaven"
"Great, and the bad news?"
"You're opening the batting on Friday"

Joke

Which Airline?

I'm going back to Thailand next week. Nice as it is I'm not really looking forward to landing at the new airport. If the news is anything to go by thery've managed to lose thousands of pieces of luggage since opening and generally shown a complete lack of organisational ability. Just hope the guys in that record breakingly tall control tower are organised and don't get things in a muddle, or get vertigo.


I'm a sucker for brand loyalty. Not becuase of any marketing spin or promo offers but because I think if a company is offering a good service then stick with them. unless the price is prohibitive. I make the pilgrimage back and forth between Thailand and England many times a year and I've tried many of the different airlines. I've come to the conclusion that Singapore Air is the best option. BA is usually too expensive and ditto for Quantas, Thai is overpriced rubbish, Malaysia is overpriced, Garuda is .... er, well, is Garuda.

There are many airlines making the journey direct or not and varying prices. I've tried lots of them and for average price, best service, best system you'll have to go some to better Singapore Air (SIA).

I strayed from my loyalty this time and tried Etihad, following many recommendations from friends. I booked from home and when I got to England found they'd decided to charge me twice. No apology and it took several calls and heated discussion to get the money back. The staff in London were very good but the staff in Bangkok and the UAE are very rude and couldn't give a toss. Their online system is a bag of shit and doesn't do half of what they say it will do and the food onboard is less than average. The price is ok but not that good that it is worth suffering for. This will probably be the last time I fly with Etihad.

Which Airline?

The Madness of Britain

Immigration

The open door policy towards inward immigration from Islamic countries is now proving a real headache for the government, and country as a whole. For years it has been increasingly difficult even to talk about Muslims without fear of offending someone. Public debate about the increasing numbers in the UK and their reluctance to integrate has been all but banned for fear of charges of racism being thrown.

This week a senior politician, Jack Straw, admitted he asks women in his constituency wearing a niqab to remove it before talking to him in his office. Understandably he said he found it difficult to talk with someone if their entire face is hidden from view.

British Muslims wearing the niqab

The unspeakable has been spoken and the country is fast becoming divided on the subject. Many people are in agreement with him, even about half the Muslims in the country. Others are venomously against him and haven’t been slow in branding him a racist etc.

In Windsor there has been violent trouble involving white locals and a Muslim dairy. The dairy is now planning to build an Islamic centre and bring more Muslims to the area. This is a dairy that, allegedly, refuses to sell milk and other produce to white locals and where the ‘security’ guards regularly insult locals.

Suddenly the country has woken up to the fact that many smaller towns are now almost exclusively Muslim by population. In Bradford the muezzin can be heard five times a day through the streets, alcohol is difficult to buy, nearly all women are veiled and it is rare to see white people.

The majority of people in Britain accept immigration. We need more people for the economy. The welfare system needs more new people to help pay into the system because of falling birthrates among the present population. And, generally, people like a bit of diversity. This is a country where the most popular food is Indian.

However, one group of immigrants is refusing to integrate and this is seen by many to be a real problem. It is quite worrying to see this and has all the ingredients for some serious, and possibly violent, hiccups further down the line.

Personally I am pro-immigration. My blood, like most white Brits, is a hotch-potch of genes from all over and I’ve married an Asia woman. I’m not racist at all and I think controlled immigration is a wonderful thing that benefits the host country enormously. But to move to another country and create your old country and culture there is just the same as what the empire builders of a time now gone used to do. Integration is the way forward, not segregation.

Property Madness

With the property boom of the last eight or so years showing no signs of abating London is now the most expensive place in the world to buy property. £1,750 (GBP) per/square foot, with Tokyo coming a distant second place at £1,100 (GBP). Formerly expensive Hong Kong is in fifth place at approximately half the price of London.

The average price of a house is now fast approaching £200,000 (GBP) with average income throughout the land somewhere in the region of £22,000 (GBP). Given that most mortgage lenders are reluctant to lend more than 4 times your annual salary it is becoming almost impossible for newbies to get a foot on the property ladder.

The problem is that the boom in property has increased public wealth enormously and many have borrowed against their property using equity release loans and spent like crazy. If the prices were to drop significantly there would be one almighty recession.

The madness goes on but life is too short to list them all. It remains a great country but has some serious issues just burning away and a few potential time bombs ticking not so quietly in the background.

The Madness of Britain

The Only Place to See Elephants in
Thailand

Regular readers will remember that I visited The Elephant Nature Park in the north of Thailand recently where old and injured or maltreated elephants are given refuge. Well, for more info on the incredible woman running the place have a read of this.



Her name is Sangduen Chailert, or Lek for short. She really is a remarkable woman who has devoted so much of her life to the caring for elephants and fighting their cause. There will be another article coming soon, more focussed on the 'going there' aspect of the park at www.khaosanroad.com


If you want to see elephants being elephants in Thailand make the park a must see during your stay. There are no shows or glitzy touristy attractions, luxury accommodation, or any kind of elephant exploitation - it's just nature and elephants. It's a great setting and Lek and her team of volunteers will make sure you learn a lot about these wonderful beasts before you leave.

www.gretra.com/elephantwhisperer.htm
http://www.elephantnaturefoundationonline.com (The Elephant Nature Park)


The Only Place to See Elephants in
Thailand

Vegetarian Cooking

Being back in the UK alone I’m having to start cooking for myself again. Being a vegetarian in the UK is so much easier than in Thailand, it is generally geared up to veggies a lot more than Thailand. Oddly enough Thailand doesn't seem to be big in the whole vegetarian thing; either eating out or cooking at home. It’s a very meat centred diet over there.

Tonight's home cooked vegetarian invention was pasta with broccoli, onion, garlic, ginger and tomato, soaked in a tomato and basil sauce with vintage cheddar grated over the top, sprinkled with salt, pepper and marjoram and baked. It turned out very well and was washed down with an excellent red wine. Beats rice any day of the week!

I recently discovered soya milk. It's not bad. It's quite nice actually. I'd thought of stepping up the vegetarianism to veganism which is why I was trying soya milk. I don't mind the milk but not sure if I could be completely without all dairy products. No cream ever again!! No cheese!! Don't want to think about it.

I'm curious. By not eating any meat at all, including fish, I guess I'm missing lots of important oil (omega 3 to name but one). Anyone have any suggestions as to how I can naturally supplement the diet to compensate for this loss? Answers on a postcard please.

Vegetarian Cooking