Driving in Thailand, traffic queues and a pic...

Here's a picture of a Pad-Thai seller and a satisfied customer, for no particular reason.

I think you can tell a lot about a person, or even a culture by the way people drive. And as someone who drives here on the roads and streets of Thailand it doesn't look good. If by their driving ability shall they be known then Thais are a selfish, inconsiderate, self-centred bunch of twits. Which of course they aren't, so what's give with the bad driving?

Always pushing in, honking the horn for no reason, honking the horn and flashing lights because you are in front of them (and it seems to be every Thais right to have a clear road ahead), never letting you out at a junction, and they don't have the first idea what an orderly queue is. A huge backlog of traffic can be, and general is, caused by selfish people skipping the queue and cutting in further down the line causing chaos. The worst offenders are nearly always taxi drivers and (as is the case in most countries I think) boy racers with totty in the passenger seat and women in big off-roaders (ouch, that'll piss the women off).

You guessed it, I had a crap day. Well, the evening anyway. I drive a Land Rover and because of this it is rare that I drive anywhere other than the daughter's school, her mate's house and the local mall. Today I ventured up to IT Square to buy some software (another headache). Coming back I met the Cheang Wattana rush hour. In fact it was more than an hour and there was very little rushing involved. By sticking to public transport I usually avoid this nonsense and have a much calmer life. I HATE traffic queues!


Driving in Thailand, traffic queues and a pic...

Hot Thailand and trouble with the recycling collectors...

The sun shines and the sky is blue and still no real sign of winter here in the Big Mango. In one of the papers this morning there is the news that Bangkok will only be getting hotter over the next four decades, no sign of temperatures cooling. The effects of global warming, zillions of air-con units, more vehicles than is ever healthy and lots of concrete mean that the mercury will continue to creep up over the coming years.

I think we have competition for our rubbish. Well, not ours exclusively but I can only comment on ours. I mentioned before that a woman had appeared and rummaged through the rubbish for objects and material to recycle. It turns out there are three groups interested in this little earner. The little old lady on the bike, the moo baan street cleaners and the regular rubbish collectors.

I generally separate the rubbish to make things easy so it is clear what is plain junk and what is for recycling. Now there are three parties competing the rubbish disappears almost as soon as put it out. The rubbish collectors come twice a week but the street sweepers do two rounds a day and the old lady is clearly freelance. I go and drop some bottles and cardboard in the basket and it's spirited away within half an hour.

The old lady has asked me to hide stuff behind one of the gate pillars for her. This leaves me with a dilemma. If I piss the street cleaners off they will surely vent their disapproval by missing our bit of the road and leaving dog turd baking in the sun for days outside our gates. I like the old lady but can't afford to run the risk of annoying the street cleaning gang. Solution? I throw the stuff out as usual and let them fight it out and keep some plastic and paper aside for when the old lady appears and go out and give it to her direct. Is throwing out the rubbish supposed to be this complicated?

Hot Thailand and trouble with the recycling collectors...

Thai postal system, Sony video camera and a beach pic....

Here's a pic from the beach. No reason, just like it.

The post from Thailand to Europe is painfully slow. My daughter sent (with a little help) a gift and card to her grandad on the 10th November. It arrived today. Presumably it was carried there by foot. Over the years we've experienced slowness and things simply not arriving, neither there nor here. Once a whole year of National Geographic failed to show up in Bangkok for some reason. They confirmed it was being sent to the right address but not one ever arrived.

After two weeks of banging my head against the wall with this new Sony video camera I think I've discovered the solution to the problem, ie. don't listen to Sony. I took it into the Sony shop I bought it from and they laughed when I told them what the Sony call centre had advised me. Looks like the problem is solved.

Thai postal system, Sony video camera and a beach pic....

Wildlife in our Thai garden...

Today started overcast and refreshingly cool but now the sun has broken through the clouds, the mercury is rising and the sweat is starting to drip. England at the end of next month is going to be a serious blow to the system.

Every time I look out of the window there is a squirrel scampering along the drive, over the grass or along the top of the garden wall. These aren't the big cute red squirrels we occasionally see back home but a small rat-like, mangy squirrel. They don't seem to cause any trouble and aren't too bothered by people. Though I have seen Thais trying to catapult them out of trees before now. I don't know why, unless squirrel is on the menu here too.

Other than the squirrels we still get a lot of birds in the garden and a good supply of toads. I recently almost crushed one as it had taken refuge in my trainers. It was one lucky escape. I had a similar situation with a lizard a few years back. The lizard wasn't so lucky and by the time I realised it was there it was a deceased and decapitated lizard. No sign of any snakes in the garden since the guard and I chased the white lipped pit viper over the wall. I don't want to temp fate but I think we might have persuaded the snakes to move elsewhere. The only one we killed was the red headed krait which really doesn't make for an ideal house guest, especially with a three year old about the place.

Thailand is apparently infested with snakes, even in and around Bangkok. A little known fact is that the new Suwarnabhumi Airport is built on an area that was known as cobra swamp. Fortunately we haven't encountered any cobras yet, a friend nearby did a few months ago, but according to better sources than me the krait is more deadly than the cobra. It just can't spit like a cobra and doesn't look quite so sinister.

Wildlife in our Thai garden...

New business, flying from Thailand and old people in the gym....

Busy planning a new business that will be based in the UK but run from here, in sunny old Thailand. No details at the moment but one of the keys to it is that it will be as close to 100% "green" and ethical as possible. Have you any idea how difficult this is to achieve? Even getting kosher green powered web hosting isn't easy; they're either using a credit system to off-set the pollution or the price is in the clouds. I've managed to find one that looks the genuine real deal though. Why do companies insist on charging a premium for anything with "green" in the title?

Booked up to return to the UK for January, leaving between Christmas and New Year. There are many things I need to do related to above mentioned business that will be easier during the set-up stage over there. The mere mention of leaving the daughter had her in fits of tears and wailing and crying that she didn't want me to leave her so, yes, she's booked up too. The wife can't come, too busy with work so once again dad and daughter head west. I feel I'm getting a double whammy here. I pay for her flight and at the same time I have to pay for her education, that she will be missing by coming with me. I might see if it's possible for her to tag along with her cousin at her school while she's there and get a taste of winter playgrounds UK style.

As usual Singapore Air came up trumps with a good deal. BA and Thai silly price, Etihad was a bit cheaper but Singapore Air is a much better airline, besides which this trip takes my air miles up to a level that might see back home for free or a return flight to Australia, India or Japan. Weather and ground conditions permitting we will be planting a few trees to make up for our flights. Photo evidence to follow.

The gym was full of OAPs today. Where have all the young people gone? That's two days in a row now. I'm starting to wonder if I've missed something and maybe it's an OAP special this week.

New business, flying from Thailand and old people in the gym....

Another day in Bangkok, traffic, and French school...

Another quiet day in the moo baan (village, estate etc). Off to the gym shortly. I had some extra time yesterday so spent time in the pool at my gym, Sports City. A wonderful pool, truly luxurious, great setting and no one using it! I've found this before in Bangkok. Sports clubs and hotels have the most amazing swimming facilities but people never bother using them. I'm not complaining, I had two pools and an outside jacuzzi to myself. I can live with that.

My visit into town yesterday was a reminder of the traffic in downtown Bangkok. Where we live is quiet (well by Bangkok standards it is) and I tend to forget that a short drive away there are queues and chaos on the roads. There's such a contrast of conditions in Thailand. I'm starting to think that living in town would be a good thing. OK so the environment is better where we are but I could sell the Landy and use public transport if we lived in town. Everything would be so much nearer and there's so much more happening.

Ugly Thailand Scenic Thailand

The daughter has mentioned again that she wants to go to a French school. There is a French International school here but not sure how far away it is. The wife is not amused but I'm quite keen on the idea. If she keeps mentioning it I'll do something about it. I'm sure it would be a good thing. As far as I know the French education system is pretty good.

Another day in Bangkok, traffic, and French school...

The trek into Bangkok, shopping malls and annoying sayings..

The daughter and I took a trip into downtown Bangkok earlier this afternoon. There's a photo-exhibition of elephant photography at the Atrium Tower next to the Erawan Hotel, on the ground floor.

She's been tinkering with a camera since she was two and is quite interested, well as much as a three year old can be, in photography and loves animals so we wandered along to check out the offerings. They are predominantly black and white and excellent quality. Some really good shots. Unfortunately there were a few that I feel perhaps shouldn't have been there; two showing young elephants "performing" and one of an elephant's face with the Thai flag painted on it. But that's just me and I'm sure most people wouldn't be troubled by this. Worth a browse if you're in the area.

Christmas and seasonal decorations are up and the lights are on in downtown Bangkok and it's looking good. Gaysorn Plaza is clearly going for "biggest Christmas tree" of the year award with an enormous effort. Central World's contribution is a bit smaller but nice all the same. Haven't been down to Paragon yet but I'm sure they'll be going overboard. Despite not being finished yet Central World is looking pretty good. I prefer it to Paragon and think that it will eventually beat it hands down. It's such a great improvement from when it was the World Trade Centre.

Every time I venture into that part of Bangkok I can't help feeling that that particular corner of Bangkok is becoming more and more like Singapore or Hong Kong, or any other western/developed capital city. It's really smartening up and starting to look something else. I know there are many people who think that this development push is losing Bangkok's character (yes, it does/did have some) but it's inevitable so better that it's done right than half-arsed. Shame Thai people still can't queue to enter the skytrain though.

The expression "..is the new..." is getting on my tits at the moment. Today alone I've read and heard the following: 40 is the new 30, 50 is the new40, casual is the new smart and another equally annoying saying that I've managed to forget. STOP IT PLEASE!


The trek into Bangkok, shopping malls and annoying sayings..

Taxi protest at Thailand's new Suwarnabhumi Airport and the new Thai government...

The latest news from Suwarnabhumi airport is of a taxi protest. If you take a taxi from the airport the deal is that you pay a surcharge of 50baht and then pay the meter fare for the taxi ride. The idea being to stop taxis from scamming newbie tourists and locals alike. In the old days at Don Muang it was common to get charged ridiculous fares above what they should have been.

The police have been trying to enforce this rule and have pulled a number of taxi drivers over who refuse to use the meter. Last night the police did just this. The taxi driver, feeling he'd been wronged, got his mates together and began a protest inside the airport. The crowd grew and it moved outside. One report says there were thousands of taxi drivers protesting which caused utter chaos at the airport and meant people arriving couldn't get away from the airport.

The taxi drivers are quoted as saying that they want justice from the police. Roughly translated this means they consider justice is the right to scam passengers. Hmmm, strange. Basically, if you are using a taxi to or from Suwarnabhumi airport then only get in once the driver has agreed to use the meter. No meter, no passenger. Simple. Alternatively there is a bus service and a limousine service. A limousine will cost 500-600baht from Suwarnabhumi to downtown Bangkok and they won't try to get a bonus for doing their job.

A new poll out shows that the new military installed government is gaining popularity. The poll shows an approval rating of just over 70%. Despite the nature of the government and the fact it goes completely against the idea of democracy I tend to agree, they do seem to be doing a good job. If they manage to achieve their own goals (fight corruption, improve governance, overhaul the justice system and accelerate political reforms) then they will probably go down as one of the best governments this country as had for quite a while. But what then? Should they stay or go? Who will replace them? Will there be a coup every time a government acts out of sorts with the wishes of wealthy Bangkokians? Time will tell.

It's going to be a long day. The daughter wandered in to our room during the night. This is normally the case at about 5.30am or later when she comes to wake us. However, this morning her clock was clearly out of sync and she began bouncing on the bed at 2am! She just couldn't understand why she was getting such a frosty reception.

Taxi protest at Thailand's new Suwarnabhumi Airport and the new Thai government...

Party, cricket and domain names...

As parties go today's was OK. Not such a large and grand affair that the kids were bewildered but rather small and with plenty for the kids to do. Biggest problem for the daughter was that she was tired and just not that sociable. Most of the time was spent around the pool with kids jumping in and generally behaving like kids but, though she can swim, she's got a thing about getting her face wet and being splashed so this wasn't a bonus for her. Hopefully something she'll grow out of.

Fortunately the only Australian there was female and with no interest in cricket so no ribbing over England's abysmal performance down under in the Ashes. I'm sure had there been a bigger Australian contingent cricket would have been brought up in conversation more. The optimist in me likes to think that it will all turn around in the next test and Australia will run out of steam and we'll end up giving them a good thrashing. Sadly I'm more naturally a pessimist and my optimism rarely pays off.

I've got some friends who are going out to Australia for four weeks over Christmas and the new year to watch the cricket. If England continue this level of play and Australia keep up their end then I think they're in for a rough time.

I've been trying to find a suitable name for a website concerning something I'm hoping to be doing in the UK. Planning the business is the easy part but finding a domain name that has not been registered is proving to be almost impossible. Just about every name I think of has already gone, and every conceivable related name too. Frustrating.

Party, cricket and domain names...

Family chores, recycling Thailand, trouble in the south and hot Thailand...

Another Sunday which means the weekly ballet lesson with the daughter and her mate. Today is a double whammy of kids stuff as there's another party this afternoon. Oh joy! According to the invitation this one is a pool party, great. The mercury is hitting read which means us parents can stand around in the garden and sweat like buggery. Where the hell is winter????

The trouble in the south shows no sign of abating. News from the Bangkok Post today is the murder of the head of a community school, three monks and the closure of more than 300 schools in Pattani because of the high risk of violence. Local businesses have been forced to close on Fridays and Sundays because of demands by Muslim terrorist groups. It's getting harder to see how this will end, if ever.

Up here in Bangkok it is easy to read about the body count and forget. It's easy to become desensitized to the reality of what is going on. The papers report another killing but that's all it is from here. It doesn't affect the person reading the paper so they don't worry too much about it. Imagine living somewhere where your kids can't get an education, not because of floods or any extremities of weather but because the chance of one of the staff or pupils getting decapitated or burnt alive is too great. From the comfort of my home office up here on the edge of Bangkok it is a situation impossible to fully comprehend.

There was some good news too. Recycling. In a previous post I mentioned recycling in Thailand and the men and women who cycle around collecting recyclable products from rubbish bins. Now there's a big drive to recycle drinks cartons. Millions of drinks cartons made from expensive imported European pulp are trashed daily because people just don't know any different. Things are changing. The great carton recycle is upon us. There's money in it which means people will take note. And, the environment will benefit. Great news.


Family chores, recycling Thailand, trouble in the south and hot Thailand...

Dentists in Thailand and Kula Shaker

Mixed bag of the usual family stuff today. Wandered off to a new detist earlier. The wife recommended this woman and said it would be half the price of the hospital where I've been going to date with the broken tooth.

She insisted on an xray, yet another one, first and then started to contradict most of what the other place has been saying. Losing all confidence I declined her offer of treatment and said I'd go back to Mongkut Wattana General Hospital. This is something I've encountered often over the years in Thailand. You can have a simple ailment and get three different verdicts from three different doctors, each with contradictory ideas about treatment.

By leaving this dentist I managed to piss the wife off. I've broken one of the cardinal rules in Thailand: doctors and dentists are not to be questioned. Personally I feel it's my mouth and I'm stumping up for the treatment and I'm the one who will get the pain if she messes things up so I exercised my right to choose.

OK, so they turned out to be a bit one hit wonderish and Crispian Mills got quoted completely out of context but Kula Shaker did one tremendous album (they did a follow up which wasn't quite in the same league) and had a one off hit that really is a gem. It's called Hush and it's a cover of a Deep Purple hit but as covers go it's a belter. I found a link to this video by accident, check this out:



Dentists in Thailand and Kula Shaker

Cars, schools in Bangkok and Brunswick...

The wife's car had a flat tyre this morning. At lunchtime I took it to our trusty garage up the road after changing to the spare. The guy there put down his rice, removed the offending screw from the tyre, and fixed the hole in six seconds flat. Cost: 100 baht (about GBP£1.40 US$2). Great service.

As the daughter gets older and most of her classmates are turning four (her turn next year) we are more frequently getting the questions about her education. What school will she go to after the kindergarten? As yet there is now answer to this. There are many international schools to choose from in Bangkok and of varying price and quality. There are British schools, American schools, French, German, Japanese, Chinese, Korean and even schools that cater for Sikhs. Alongside this there are obviously Thai schools. I think an international school will be the choice though.

Going to a Thai school is almost out of the equation. It would be a good way to strengthen her Thai speaking ability but I'm no fan of the Thai education system. Without going into too much detail the rule of thumb is: don't think. Students are encouraged to follow and obey and not be free thinking. On top of that Thai kids can be very racist, especially towards half-Thai kids (until they become pop stars or famous actors/actresses, sports personalities), and my daughter is very European looking.

I've no strong feelings about her going to a British school, I just want her to get the broadest education possible and one that encourages her to be independent and free thinking. Ideally one that follows the British curriculum as I would like to think that she will go to school in the UK at some point and hopefully she will go to university there. I've been thinking about the French school recently, or one of the Singaporean schools.

I took her bowling earlier, by that I mean bowling in the American sense of the term. Not sure what the name of the bowling hall was but the name Brunswick was everywhere so I guess there must be some involvment with Brunswick. I know they are major producer of bowling equipement and machinery but I don't know if they actually run bowling lanes/halls. Managed to get a light ball for her and she enjoyed it. It's her second time and she was excited that, with a little help from dad, she managed to get a strike last time. It wasn't to be this time though.


Cars, schools in Bangkok and Brunswick...

Eating dogs in Thailand

Sadly it seems that the once frowned upon practice of eating dogs in Thailand is on the rise again. Chiang Mai is leading the way in the dog eating department with sales apparently soaring; black dogs and foreign breeds being the most popular. Maybe it is no coincidence that Chiang Mai is also a popular destination for Chinese tourists. A simple case of supply and demand. Street sellers have even admitted that they lie to customers who don't want dog, saying that the meat is either lamb or beef. Be warned, when eating in Chaing Mai you might not be getting what you ordered. What you think is lamb or beef could in fact be man's best friend.

Eating dogs in Thailand is not new. It has always been around, but generally in rural pockets in the north and the east. A general revulsion towards this archaic practice and growing acceptance that man's best friend is in fact man's best friend and not for the dinner plate led to it almost being wiped out. The traditional way to kill a dog for the plate in Thailand was to drop it in a bag, hang the bag from a tree and then beat the dog to death with sticks. The belief being that this would make for better tasting meat. Personally I think that is ridiculous and anyone who would do such a thing is seriously sick in the head. But that's just me.

About ten years ago there was a scare as it was discovered that some roadside noodle vendors were substituting dead street dog for more expensive meat in the meat balls (look-chin). The general revulsion towards dog eating aside this presented a health risk. Have you seen the average street dog? Scabby and mangy and riddled with god only knows what.

Once this trend gets a hold and increases in popularity, also fueled by "hardcore" travellers wanting to prove their no holds barred approach to travel (yawn), then surely another little abhorrent industry will spring up. Dog fur fashion. And then there'll be people selecting the prettiest pooch based on their fur and sittng comfortably whilst the fur is ripped from the back of said pooch and the meat prepared for the plate and fur cleaned for delivery to the customer. How civilised.

Eating dogs in Thailand

Bond everywhere, fitness and injury....

Having seen the excellent new Bond movie last week I now find I'm getting an extra fix of Bond at the most unlikely of places; the gym. Every treadmill and running machine has a tv. Star Movies is currently in it's Bond season so everyday when I go there's an old Bond movie on. We're currently up to Roger Moore in the series and today's was Octopussy. Ok, agreed, a low point in the series but difficult to turn off none the less.

Back into the old routine again and managing the running and cycling no problem. However I think that today's efforts with lifting machines has started the whole chest injury thing off again. An afternoon of pain once more.

Spent an hour in the swimming pool with the daughter, which added to the pain. She's slowly coming on with her swimming and can do almost two lengths of the pool on her own (well, with a small rubber ring). She's managing to use both her arms and legs now too, though the arm movements are still a bit basic. The conversation with her is becoming more and more centred around what Santa might bring her. She keeps mentioning that her good behaviour will make Santa bring her LOTS of presents. Hmm. Sanata is not amused.

Bond everywhere, fitness and injury....

Heat in Bangkok, recycling in Thailand and Burberry...

We appear to be having hotter than usual weather for this time of year. Today is another scorcher. The Land Rover once again suffered a slight ailment this morning, and something worse than if it had not started at all. The air-con stopped working. This would have been tolerable on any normal day but today the road to my daughter's school was completely gridlocked. We were stuck in the mother of all traffic queues with no air-con and virtually no breeze at all, and an enormous amount of heat being generated by the engine. The inside of an oven springs to mind.

I stopped at our local garage on the way back and they fixed it for free as it turned out to be nothing more sinister than a loose wire. Problem solved. Quite refreshing having something done for free. We've put quite a bit of work their way in the past so I don't feel I'm taking advantage. Owning an old Land Rover you need to have a friendly garage on hand at all times.

Thailand is not somewhere that is normally associated with recycling. However, quite a lot of it quietly goes on. When the rubbish collecting lorry and it's team make their twice weekly visit they have a selection of bags and bins attached to the rear of the vehicle and seperate the plastic, metal and paper before trashing the rest. Because of this I have bought several bins and generally try to seperate the rubbish for them. Today I found a lady rummaging through our bins looking for things to recycle. I went out and offered her some things and she cycled off with a large bag of plastic bottles and paper. She explained that she was collecting it to make merit at a local temple, where they will presumably sell it and use the money for a good cause.

I had an email from PETA today with a link here. They have asked Burberry if they will stop using fur in their clothing. Burberry refused and continue to use fur so PETA are stepping up their campaign. They have launched the site BloodyBurberry as part of this campaign. Worth a look. You would have thought Burberry would have enough trouble already with their new found image as outfitters to the Chav without trying to get more negative pubicity.


Heat in Bangkok, recycling in Thailand and Burberry...

Cruelty in China, PETA and Heather Mills McCartney..

[Disturbing video, watch in full]

I recieve regular email updates from PETA [here]. I'm a vegetarian and also concerned about animal welfare. I didn't become a vegetarian because I think that it is not natural to eat animals, it is perfectly natural and man has been doing it since the dawn of time. My concern is the way we treat animals, all animals, and our attitude towards them, even the ones destined for our plates.

I come from a farming background, I grew up on a farm with animals and have been aware of the destiny of certain species of animal since I was a kid. I've always accepted that this is the case for the lowly cow or sheep and never felt comfortable with it. Since I was a kid farming techniques have changed and the demand for meat is greater than ever before, which has led to the introduction of more intensive and disgustingly cruel methods of "industrial" farming. I honestly believe that if most of the customers were to see how their KFC chicken was treated prior to landing on their plate they wouldn't eat it.

The fur trade is another contentious topic. I have never, even in my meat eating days, supported the fur trade and have nothing but utter contemp for the selfish, ignorant people who will pay highly for the privilege of wearing something torn from the back of an animal. I fully appreciate that leather is a natural by-product of the meat industry and having eaten the animal it only makes sense to use all of the carcass so there is no waste. But fur?

Thanks to the likes of dear Beyonce Knowles and idiots like Wayne Rooney's girlfriend the fur industry is alive and kicking. At what cost should we look good? Is the torture and skinning alive of an animal justified because it "looks good and feels great"? Heather Mills McCartney (regardless of personal opinions about her and her relationship with Sir Paul McCartney) has made a short film with PETA, highlighting the sickening and barbaric conditions of Chinese fur farms in a country that is now the biggest supplier of fur to the west. I warn you, this is disturbing and I challenge anyone not to moved by what it shows. Please watch it.

Cruelty happens everywhere and all countries share the responsibility but China seems to specialise in animal cruelty. In the name of entertainment, fashion and cuisine the Chinese torture, maim, humiliate, degrade and slaughter animals on a gigantic scale. Maybe there is something in the Chinese gene that makes them this way, maybe it is just culture that is yet to develop but whatever it is I certainly hope that it stops soon. If there are any Chinese readers then maybe you could share your view, and maybe explain why the Chinese seem to get so much pleasure from the torture of animals.

Further link link

Cruelty in China, PETA and Heather Mills McCartney..

Busking on Khao San Road, patio heaters and Sony handycam.....

Have a look at this clip. I filmed this guy the other night on Khao San Road after the Singha Taste of Thailand Challenge. He was drawing the crowds in with his performance of riffs lifted from Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple. He said his name is "Out", pronounced the same way as a Canadian would say "out". Not the world's greatest guitarist but a great laugh.

I've just been listening to the Jeremy Vine show on BBC Radio 2 here. He was debating whether or not patio heaters are a good thing. Apparently this is the latest daft craze imported from the States, a gas powered heater for the patio. I saw these when I was back earlier in the year and they've been in pub gardens for some time but now everyone wants to pollute the atmosphere at home and burn fuel with them. I grew up in the country and if it was cold we either didn't go outside or simply put a jumper or jacket on. The idea of heating the garden is the most ludicrous and selfish thing I've heard. Well almost. One caller to the show added that he has imported a garden air-conditioner from the States because it sometimes gets to hot in the summer! What is happening to us??

Whilst on the subject of crazy things. I mentioned buying a Sony SR60E earlier. It turns out that the Sony handycams use a different format to others, and one which is not recognised by just about every editing suite. Wonderful. I find now that I have to download the clips from the camera on to my laptop. I then have to individually convert the audio files and then convert the video on each clip. Barking mad. I really can't understand this from a company as innovative as Sony. Had the shop pointed this little gem of information out when I was looking into buying it I would have thought twice about it and gone for a Canon or JVC. Which is probably why they didn't.

Busking on Khao San Road, patio heaters.....

Flights from Bangkok and possible return to England's green and pleasant land...

Contrary to what is widely believed Bangkok is not such a cheap place to fly from. You can at times get bargain flights, usually involving many stops on the more dubious airlines, but in general I don't think it compares with the UK. Even on the same airline the flights from the UK are generally cheaper than flying out of Thailand.

I've just been searching into flights from Bangkok to the UK, either Heathrow or Manchester. The daughter and I might be make the pilgrimage back at the start of January. Singapore Air, my personal favourite, is fully booked until halfway into the month. Thai are busy too, but available seats are priced outrageously, as is usual for Thai. British Airways is also largely busy but showing a few possibilities. The price however is in the sky with Thai Air's prices. Even Etihad Airways is showing a dearth of seats.

I had an idea. Recently formed Oasis air of Hong Kong has been shouting about their long-haul budget model for the Hong Kong to London route. They've been quoting Hong Kong to London seats at GBP£71 o/w and GBP£450 o/w for business class. In economy you get no food for free and pay as you go entertainment, but for the price it sounds great. I could get a cheap flight from Bangkok to Hong Kong and then "budget" it over to the UK. However, the price they are charging is over GBP£400 o/w in economy, and still no thrills at all for that. At that price I can't quite see the advantage of using them. Most airline can do a return flight for that and you get food and TV thrown in.

There are a few reasons for going back, including property sale and setting up a new venture that I would eventually run from here (not too much detail at this point). It would mean being there for a few months. The daughter burst into tears at the mere mention of me going and said she wanted to go too.

If we do this then she will, hopefully, be able to enroll at a school in the UK for a term whilst we're there. Should be interesting to see how that works out. The wife has agreed to this but I feel really bad about it. Though in agreement she's not happy about it, what mother/wife would be? And I feel shitty about taking the daughter away for such a long period of time. Unfortunately this is the nature of our existence, being a mixed marriage and not having completely settled in any country yet.

I also worry about un-settling the daughter but she seems completely happy about the whole thing. She's quite excited at the prospect of trying school in the UK for a while. I guess she might change her mind a bit when she experiences January weather conditions in the playground. One thing is for sure and that is that she'll be very unhappy if I go without her, as she was when I last went back.


Flights from Bangkok and possible return to England's green and pleasant land...

Rains in Bangkok and video clips....

Having written earlier about the lack of rain around here seemed to do the trick. Within a few hours there was an almighty downpour and yours truly got soaked. It was just as I was collecting the daughter from school. She was grumpy about something already so getting an uninvited shower on her head didn't go down too well. Note to self: buy an umberella.

As is often the case with tropical rains it only lasted for a few minutes and then the sun came out again. It has cooled things down a bit though, in fact it is very nice this evening. Bloody mosquitoes are out in full squadrons and vicious as hell but at least it's bearably cool. As soon as this is done I will be sat outside with a cold can of Asahi beer(favourite beer of the moment - japanese) and swatting mozzies.

I've updated the site with a video clip page. No new articles at the moment just starting a collection of clips. Most of the ones there at the moment were taken with a stills camera but as soon as I get all the gremlins sorted with the new handycam I'll be making regular posts, courtesy of www.youtube.com.


Rains in Bangkok and video clips....

Termintes in Bangkok, no rain and the winter is coming..

The termite guy has just been here doing his regular spray of the place to keep us free from termites. Earlier in the year we discovered that we did in fact have termites here. Whilst vacuuming, a whole section of skirting board just came away and revealed the honey-combed mess left by these dear little creatures. The house was treated and now we are apparently safe. He drops by once a month to spray the place. The whole house now stinks of chemicals, even outside. Still better than having the little guys eating their way through the floors.

It's a shame that there is no similar solution for mosquitoes. I guess it is because of the cooler weather this time of year but there seems to be an increase in the number of these bloody annoying things. As vegetarian and animal lover I'm against mindless killing of any creature; except mosquitoes. With these guys it's open season. I can't see any positive points of the mosquito. Any suggestions?

I'm not complaining but still our little corner of Bangkok remains rain free. The garden is desperately dry and I'm having to soak it every few days. I guess the rainy season is well and truly over, at least for us anyway. Everything very dry and, with the exception of Saturday, it seems to be cooling down towards the pitifully short Thai winter. This is usually a two week period in December/January when the weather is glorious but Thais wander around wearing thick jumpers and moaning about the cold and worrying about getting hypothermia. Though it can get a bit chilly up north.

Termintes in Bangkok, no rain and the winter is coming..

Football busking on Khao San Road..

Have a look at this guy busking on Khao San Road. He's got some serious talent. Apparently he's trying to raise money to get to Europe with an ultimate ambition to play for Arsenal. Whilst I don't agree with his taste in football club there's no doubting his ability with a ball; one smooth operator!

Football busking on Khao San Road..

Bodies and cracks at Bangkok's Suwarnabhumi Airport..

The papers are full of shocking news about Bangkok's new airport today. The Bangkok Post is fresh with the news that the new military government has decreed that the airport is not fit for opening for another six months! But hey, didn't it already open in September?

It turns out that the cracks on the taxiways and parking bays might be on the runway too. One of the two runways is mysteriously closed for four hours every evening. Hmmm! Having big cracks in the runway is not a good thing, this is quite worrying. Other causes for concern include sexual harassment of female staff by construction workers, lack of toilets, unfinished work, late or lost luggage etc etc etc and also it turns out that there might have been a not inconsiderable dollop of corruption when it came to awarding various contracts. Starting to get de-ja vu now.

One of the Thai papers has reported a body. Passengers claimed they could see a ghost near a large concrete pillar in the airport. Closer inspection has shown that the pillar does contain a body. And guess what? It's the body of a Burmese worker and so they decided that it wasn't worth removing. There are two stories from people in the know. One says that she fell and it was decided that removing her before pouring the concrete would be too much effort so they left her there, presumably dead already. The other story is that she was raped and thrown in before concrete was poured to prevent anyone getting into trouble. Hmm. I wouldn't trade anything to be a Burmese worker in Thailand. Poor sods get the shitty end of the stick all the time.

Usual Sunday of ballet and entertaining kids ahead. I've got a get out card for part of the day, have to meet someone later.

Bodies and cracks at Bangkok's Suwarnabhumi Airport..

Ploenchit Fair Bangkok

Spent far too long at the Ploenchit fair but the kids enjoyed it. First time I've been since it has been at the new location of BEC-Tero. More space than the British Embassy but I felt there wasn't quite the same atmosphere.

Took the daughter, wife and mother-in-law and we met up with one of my daughter's friend's and her family there. The kids had a great time. Just like a fair back home with lots of activities and rides and great kid-centred entertainment. Between the lot of us we managed to win quite a bit and I bagged a bottle of Johnny Walker just as we were leaving.

Hard to say if there was the usual amount of people as there was much more space so probably deceiving. As a guess I'd say they did well and raised quite a lot for the charity. The beer was certainly flowing well.

For this time of year it was very hot, positively sweltering. Sweat was dripping most of the day.

Ploenchit Fair Bangkok

New James Bond, another coup, Khao San Road and more bloody techie probs..

Went to see the new Bond movie last night. Opted for luxury seating at the cinema, a pair of wide reclining seats with drinks tray and headrest. I like Daniel Craig already but still went with an open mind about his suitability as Bond.

The good news is, he's bloody brilliant! One of the best Bond movies for a long time, especially after the last effort that was just off the scale of stupidity. Casino Royale (2006) is a breath of fresh air. Raw, gritty and 100% more realistic than previous films. Personally I've always been a big fan of Roger "eyebrows" Moore, despite the cheesiness he brought to the role, but Craig looks like being the best ever. Great cars, great fighting, great women, respectable amount of one liners and no ridiculous invisible cars. You can believe that this guy is an assassin. One comment though, the Bond song is not up to much and doesn't seem to have the words "casino" or "royale" in it anywhere. Is it me or is a Bond theme better when performed by a woman?

It seems there has been a reshuffle within the Thai military government, in order to counter a counter-coup. So having had yet another Thai coup there were plans afoot to have a counter-coup to counter the coup that had already couped (if that is the right word). Thailand is a funny old place. Whilst we're living under the threat of yet more coochi coups dear old Taksin is skipping around the world playing golf and having a gay old time.

Still have movie cam problems. I can take film from the Sony SR60E off and on to the laptop and that is fine. But then it goes pear shaped. The clips play but I can't edit them anywhere without losing the sound. Frustrating!

Here are some pics from the do at Khao San Road the other night




New James Bond, another coup, Khao San Road and more bloody techie probs..

Singha Taste of Thailand Challenge, movie problems and who is this guy in Khao San Road?

The Taste of Thailand was a success. Quite a crowd turned out in the end and a good night was had by all. First foreign band Diamond Jack Remixed, the challenge, and then T-Bone. I'll write more soon and get some clips up here but I'm having video problems. Camera doesn't seem compatible with Microsoft software, Pinnacle software I've been and bought won't work, and the daughter is demanding attention more than ever.

Check this out though. Late last night I found this guy busking on Khao San Road. Who is he? Surely a Jimmy Page that never was. What a star!

Singha Taste of Thailand Challenge, movie problems and who is this guy in Khao San Road?

Singha Beer Taste of Thailand Challenge and The Ploenchit Fair...

Tonight is the Singha Beer Taste of Thailand Challenge on Khao San Road. I'll be making a rare trip to Khao San Road for the occasion to help a friend film the event. It starts at 7pm at the Brick Bar, behind Buddy Lodge on Khao San Road. The organiser and MC of the event is a Brit who goes by the dubious title of Worathep na Banglampu, hmm. Should be fun I guess. Hopefully have a clip of the madness up here in the next few days.

My offer to help out means that I won't be able to go to the opening night of the new James Bond movie, which is a bugger. Looks like it could be tomorrow for that.

Saturday, as mentioned already, is the Ploenchit Fair at the Suan Lum Night Bazaar and BEC-Tero hall. It's a few years since I've been so I'm quite looking forward to it. We're going with some German friends so it's an opportunity to introduce them to the delights of fine English cuisine and British beer, by which of course I mean bangers and mash, fish and chips and bitter!

Singha Beer Taste of Thailand Challenge and The Ploenchit Fair...

Saving paper, and problems at Bangkok's Suwarnabhumi airport...

It's not often that I say, "hey, here's a great idea from Thailand", but I'm going to now. Hey, here's a great idea from Thailand. We get our water bill every month and I've never really given it much thought. However, yesterday I was sat at my desk when the guy from the water company arrived. He pulled out his little computer device, scanned the water meter, processed a bill immediately and dropped it in the letter box. Amazing!

Back in the UK the guy will come and read the meter, quarterly rather than monthly, and then a bill is generated at the office which gets mailed out along with all kinds of junk at the same time. Surely the Thai way of doing this presents not only a financial saving but also an environmental saving.

The 2001 census showed that there are something like 22.5million households in the UK. Even if we assume 2% have their own water supply (bore hole), which is probably a generous estimation, that still leaves just over 22million homes. Every one of those will receive a quartely bill. If we say that each bill with its envelope, bill, and junk mail is approximately 2 sheets of A4, 4 times a year, to 22million homes that comes to the equivalent of 176million pieces of A4 paper a year. Assuming the weight of a piece of paper is 4 grams that calculates to approximately 704 tonnes of paper a year. I'm neither economist nor mathematician so there maybe need for adjustment here.

Here is the Thai bill, with advertising on the back:

The financial saving is in manpower from the back office bill generation, paper, ink, and postage. The environmental saving is in paper, ink, electricity producing the bills and creating the junk they insist on sending with the bill, and the postal saving. Extra income can be gained from advertising on the back of the bill like the Thai version above. Maybe there's a good reason they don't do this back home but it makes sense to me. Just imagine the commulative saving from all utilities going down the same route! How many trees is that?

More bad news from Suwarnabhuni Airport, Thailand's shiny new airport. Authorities are drafting in more security staff to protect Thai staff and air hostesses during the evening. As the airport is not yet complete there are quite a few construction workers still milling around. Story goes that these guys have been sexually harassing Thai ladies in the quieter areas of the airport and in the car parks. Someone has also been drilling peep holes in the ladies loos too. I'm guessing that if there are peep holes then there's almost certainly going to be, or have been, cameras too (as regularly happens here). So soon there will be news about clips of air hostesses and female tourists performing their daily functions on the internet. What a strange world we live in. The same thing happened recently at a Starbuck downtown.

Saving paper, and problems at Bangkok's Suwarnabhumi airport...

Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme and washing elephants in Thailand..

Here it is, as promised. Sorry if this isn't your thing. I just love this beast. For environmental reason they shouldn't be allowed but it just look at it. Some research has shown the car in question is a second generation which was produced from 1973-1977.

Here's a short clip of elephant washing at the Elephant Nature Park earlier this year.

Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme and washing elephants in Thailand..

Moo baan life, American cars in Thailand and new email scam, from Iran ....

Life in the moo baan is quiet. Now the Thai kids are back to school there is silence. It's 9am and the only sounds I can hear are the fan in my office, birds chirping in the trees and the occasional bamboo or metal wind-chime gently chiming. Soon the husband and wife street cleaning team will be walking down the street with their barrow and brushes, clearing away leaves and various debris deposited by uncaring locals.

The silence has now been broken by the neighbour's dog barking at nothing in particular. Every half an hour one of the guards will cycle by to check all is well. The neighbour on the other side uses his house as a temporary home, kind of weekend home when he's in town. He got back from the UK last night and left for the south of Thailand this morning. He's a Thai doctor and practices in the south. His son and daughter went to public school (that's private school for any American readers) in England, then uni then did their Masters there and now they're both working in London and seem to have adopted England as their home. His wife lives in their apartment in London and keeps an eye on them. He visits a few times a year. He's lost his whole family to the UK but seems happy enough with the situation.

Ironically his kids were educated in the same county I come from and we just happened to buy a house next door to him. My family have lost a son to Bangkok and he has lost his family to the UK. Funny old world. We used to have long chats but, unfortunately, I made him lose face, inadvertently, and now he rarely speaks to me. He was busy telling me he was going to Russia and visiting Johannesburg in Russia. I made the obvious correction that Johannesburg is in South Africa but he wouldn't have it and argued. I was polite and tried not to be too forceful and in the end he realised that he meant St Petersburg. That was the end of our little chats. Silly really.

A few sois (small road) away there's an old American car. It's been there since we moved in and never been moved. It's for sale. The owner got fed-up with not being able to park it and the high price of running it. Now, I'm British and I've never liked American cars. They're big, ugly and ostentatious. The Americans can do many things but in my opinion making cars has never been their strong point. Europeans and Japanese, but not Americans. That said there are two American cars that have always liked, I think since my Top Trump playing days of childhood: the Corvette Stingray and the Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme.

The car in my moo baan is an Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, and I love it. Before I bought the Land Rover I seriously considered making an offer for this whale of a car. Two things stopping me were the difficulty of parking the thing, the cost of putting fuel in it and the threat of divorce from me wife. It just oozes pimpness. It's a classic. I don't know what image these things have in the States but it just does it for me. I can't take it seriously, it looks like a fun car, a second car for rolling out on a fine Sunday morning just for the hell of it.

There are quite a few American cars in Thailand but this is the only Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme I've seen. Just say that again - Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme. Only in America could you get a car with a name like that. When Europe and Japan were offering the Escort, Fiesta, Cavalier, Sunny and Cherry the States were getting cars with names like that. I'll try and get a pic of it for posting later.

Yes, yet another scam email in the inbox, running at about two a week at the moment. Usually it's the same old West African scam claiming to be from Nigeria, Ghana etc etc. recently there have been a few claiming Dutch origin but today's was a new spin on an old idea. This one is from Iran of all places. Sad widowed Iranian lady who is being persecuted by her late husband's family, yawn, and hey, guess what? He just happened to have deposited US$15million just before th Iraqis dealt him the final blow and now the poor old widow needs to get out of the country to find herself a better life and.....you guessed it. She's going to share all that money with me! Wow! I'd better get a reply back as soon as possible and give he my bank details and loads of personal info so she can share the money with me! Easy street here I come!! Are people really still falling for this old crap?

Moo baan life, American cars in Thailand and new email scam, from Iran ....

Sony SR60E handycam...

Finally did it, made the plunge and bought a new handycam/moviecam or whatever they're called these days. Our existing Canon job is broken and it seems that to repair it would cost more than buying a new one, which is what the shops say about just about everything these days.

Having spent some time browsing the enormous offering of handycams on the market I settled on the Sony SR60E. It's not high definition as the cost of the high definition Sony is nearly double and I can't justify running to that. It's compact, has a hard drive memory with 30gb storage, Carl Zeiss lens, spare battery etc etc. Looks pretty good. Maybe now I can add some motion to the site and this blog. youtube.com here I come.

Just as I was looking forward to an afternoon tinkering with the new toy I find the daughter has arranged an afternoon at her friend's house. So dad's taxi has got to go kick into gear and get moving.

Updated the site with more info about transport to/from the aiport to Pattaya, as that seems to be most people's interest.

Sony SR60E handycam...

Suwarnabhumi airport, flooding in Thailand...

[pics below]

Whilst complaints from tourists using the new airport seem to have abated new complaints from locals are coming with increasing volume. An old guy living 5km from Suwarnabhumi has died of a heart attack, allegedly brought on by the noise pollution from airplanes flying overhead every few minutes. Local villagers are united in their anger over the building of Suwarnabhumi and the fact nothing was done to make life beneath the flight path more bearable.

Surprisingly the government has agreed that there is a problem and said that there simply wasn't any consideration given to these guys in the planning process. Compensation has been approved. This willingness of the new government to make criticism of the Thai system when it is clearly necessary is very refreshing. I'm starting to think that maybe these guys in green will be good for Thailand.

The AOT, who are responsible for the airport, are obviously not in agreement. There statement said: "Airport noise can't kill people. It will only destroy their hearing.." Well that's nice. I'm sure the locals will be chuffed to bits when they read that one.

I've mentioned before that where we live seems to be free from rain while reports from all around suggest heavy rain and flooding. The flooding throughout Thailand has been very serious but we continue life with no effect from the rains. The Bangkok Post reported today that 118 schools around the country remain closed because of flooding. It's so easy to live in your little corner of the world and not notice what's going on around you.

Compensation has been mentioned for flood victims too. Whilst this is obviously a good thing me thinks that maybe Thailand is on the slippery road to the dreaded compensation culture that is eating up the UK.

I did find some signs of flooding when I was last out on the bike, before THAT accident. Here are a few pics.

Suwarnabhumi airport, flooding in Thailand...

Dusit Palace and Park, Bangkok...

The daughter and I were tourists today. Taking advantage of the fact that her teachers were having their teacher's day meeting we heading down to Dusit Palace and Park. It's located on Rachawhiti Road which is not far from Khao San Road. Well, maybe a tuk-tuk or taxi might be in order but from khao San Road I would guess it would be less than half an hour's walk.

Entrance was 150baht which included entrance to the Abhisek Dusit Throne Hall, Ananda Samakhom Throne Hall, Vimanmek Teak Mansion, and various residential halls, carriage halls and royal photographic exhibitions. All in all a good day and nice place to relax.

The teak mansion is the biggest in the world, though I've never heard of any competition for the title, and was built by King Rama V in 1900 following his tour of Europe. This was followed by the Abhisek Throne hall in 1903 and the Ananda Samakhom Throne Hall in 1907. The European and classical influence is clearly visible and there are vaious gifts from overseas and interesting objects throughout.

The gardens are very well laid out and provide an excellent setting for the whole day. Included in the entrance price is a compulsory guided tour of the teak mansion which proved quite informative, when I could hear what the guide was saying; there were hundreds of noisy school children also on a tour at the same time.

Three buildings provide displays of royal photographs taken by the present king which were quite interesting and give a window into royal life, mainly from the sixties.

The only real annoyance was the need to continually remove shoes and lock bags, cameras etc away in lockers. Mostly this was free but for the teak mansion there was a 30 baht charge for storage which felt a bit of a con.

The daughter seemed suitably impressed and had a good day though much of it must have gone over head I'm sure.

Still not fully recovered from the accident so I guess the gym is still out of the question.

Dusit Palace and Park, Bangkok...

Thai coup, Bond movie, Khao San Road, and something I found in my inbox...


I read somewhere that there is a possibility of upcountry Thais unhappy with the loss of Taksin moving in on Bangkok in the coming months. This would obviously create quite a situation. Personally I don't think it will happen. Despite the military government the coup seems to be very much yesterday's news and life is plodding on quite happily. This is the view from our particular part of Bangkok anyway.

I wonder if anyone really is missing him that much. I was never an admirer of Taksin but credit where it's due he certainly made an effort to modernise the country and drag it forward. His methods were maybe a bit askew and he tried hard to get the country running well before it could walk but he made a good effort. Anyway, along came the another Thai coup and he's history now.

This week brings the opening of the latest offering of Bond movie in Thailand. Casino Royale opens on 16/11/06 with the all new James Bond actor Daniel Craig in the driving seat. His performance in Layer Cake was excellent and, despite what many of his critics are saying, I really think he'll give the role a more realistic feel. Just hope I don't end up eating those words at a later date.

Might make the pilgrimage down to Khao San Road later this week. On Thursday evening Khao San Road is host to the second Singha Taste of Thailand challenge. I missed last year's but I've heard it's worth a visit. Quite a few live bands and the chance for foreigners to try and be Thai and make fools of themselves on stage. Sounds good fun. For more info see here.


I found this in my inbox and thought I'd share it with you..









Thai coup, Bond movie, Khao San Road, and something I found in my inbox...

Indian Restaurants in Bangkok....

Had an Indian down in the Pratunam area of Bangkok this evening. Tandoori Hub, on the second floor of a cheap guest house/hotel tucked away down one of the scruffy backstreets near the Baiyoke Sky Hotel. If you're looking for a no thrills Indian Restaurant in Bangkok then that is certainly the area. We've been to a few of them now. Most are pretty good if a touch basic.

This particular Indian restaurant offers Indian, Pakistani, Nepali and Bangladeshi food. Layout is basic at best, something like transport cafe with spice. From our table we could see equally well straight into both the lavatory and the kitchen which was a bit disconcerting. Whilst it is never going to win food hygiene of the year the food was ok and there haven't been any undue trips to the bathroom. Several dishes of curry, garlic naan, biryani and drinks and tea and all for 500baht (about GBP£8 or US$11).

Teacher's day tomorrow so it's daddy/daughter day all day. She is expecting a fun packed day of excitement so the pressure is now on.

Indian Restaurants in Bangkok....

St Martin's Day, Ploenchit Fair, and recovery..

We celebrated St Martin's Day with some German friends last night. Until yesterday I'd never heard of it. We "marched" to an Australian pub with the kids carrying their lanterns and not quite knowing if they should be singing or not and then spent the rest of the evening eating and drinking whilst the kids caused chaos and mayhem. A good evening.

This is what www.wikipedia.com says about St Martin's Day:

The day is celebrated in the evening of November 11 in Flanders, parts of the Netherlands and most areas of Germany and Austria. Children go by the doors with paper lanterns and candles, and sing songs about St. Martin and about their lantern in return for a treat, very similar to the American tradition of Halloween. Often, a man dressed as St. Martin rides on a horse in front of the procession.

For obvious reasons we decided to do without the horse.

Next week is the Ploenchit Fair. Organised by the British Community in Thailand Foundation for the Needy this has been an annual event since 1956. It was traditionally held in the grounds of the British Embassy Bangkok but recently changed location from the British Embassy Bangkok to Suan Lum Night Bazaar and BEC Tero Hall. It's hugely popular and is the biggest one-day charity event in Asia, attracting more than 20,000 people.

I've never been to the new venue before but it was a great day when it was held at the British Embassy. Presumably the location change has done nothing to alter the feel of the day. Highly recommended.

Despite still being in pain I appear to be on the road to recovery, and hopefully able to get on the road from Chiang Mai to Phuket some time early next year.

Sunday again which means the weekly trip to ballet school for the daughter. Roughly translated this means I get an hour of free time to sit in a coffee shop with a good book.

St Martin's Day, Ploenchit Fair, and recovery..

The road to recovery, dental treatment in Thailand...

Best day since the dreaded accident. Chest feeling much better today and generally feeling some improvement.

Appointment with the dental section of the hospital today. Great dentist, she spoke English really well and did a good job on the tooth. Opened it up again, removed the nerve from the root and filled the cavity with whatever it is they fill nerve cavities with. All that remains now is to get a cap/crown. Though I am getting used to the toothless look so maybe wait a while before that stage.

If this dentist is what all dentists in Thailand are like then I recommend them. Today's little lot cost 3,500baht which I guess is not too bad, though expensive for Thailand. I can see why Thai dentists have their ads everywhere and why generally dentists in Thailand are trying to draw in foreign money.

Celebrating St Martin's day with some German friends this evening; one of the daughter's school friends. According to wikipedia.com this is a catholic tradition which I knew nothing about (I'm not a catholic, or anything else for that matter). Should be interesting, sounds a bit like the Halloween tradition of trick or treating.

The road to recovery, dental treatment in Thailand...

New website at last and the gym....

Yeah, got the problem sorted with the hosting company at last and now the new website is up and running. Check it out at: www.lifeouteast.com Just somewhere to put articles I've had published and store details of the ride through Thailand. Your comments, honest but constructive, are always welcome.

Talking of riding through Thailand it is looking like I will have to pospone it. The chest injury is getting a lot worse. If the current situation continues I won't be recovered for a long time. Feeling very miserable. What makes it worse is that I've just paid for mebership to this new gym and now I can't do any exercise. I might have to go an make use of the sauna, steam room and pool if nothing else.

Long weekend for the daughter as there is another teacher's day on Monday. I've often wondered what teacher's days in the middle of term are for. Might take the daughter for a picnic on Monday and let her do some painting in the park. She's still saying she wants to go back to the UK to live. That'll piss the wife off no end.

New website at last and the gym....

Net problems, chest problems and Thai rappers....

Still haven't got this web problem sorted. Starting to get some action from the hosting company now but their efforts have so far proved unsuccessful. Note to self: learn more about this techie stuff and get more web-wise.

More pain than ever today and really starting to worry that cycling adventures might be put on hold. This is starting to look like a long term injury. I just hope that I'm wrong.

I'm not a fan of rapping though there are a few acts I quite like. As rap seems to be spreading around the world there are, inevitably, local rap acts in every country. Now in my mind rapping is a black thing. Nothing wrong with that, they just do it a lot better than anyone else. They've got the attitude for it and make it work. Just marvel at Jay Z, Dr Dre, 50 Cent, Outkast and even that ghastly Snoop bloke. With the exception of Eminem, white rappers just ain't got nuffin' on their black counterparts. I guess it's horses for courses.

But if you think white rappers aren't quite hitting the spot check out the Thai rappers. Thais do good cheesy love songs, traditional Thai music, and they're good at kick boxing but PLEASE quite the rapping. There's something very unconvincing and pantomine-like about a 7 stone skinny Thai bloke trying to give it the ghetto attitude and singing with a weedy voice.

Net problems, chest problems and Thai rappers....

Making contact...

Another long and painful day and still no sign of recovery. If this continues into next week then I could be looking at late January rather than early January for the cycle through Thailand. Not good.

Turned out that there were a few teachers who my daughter hadn't told about my accident yesterday so she made up for it today and filled them in on the hilarious story of her silly daddy and his missing tooth. As I arrived to collect her she once again she called a teacher over and pointed to my gap, laughing hysterically. You give your kids all the love in the world, show them sensitivity when they fall and this is how they repay you!

I've had some kind words of advice from some well known world cyclists: Anne Mustoe and Dave Stamboulis. I read Anne's first book, A Bike Ride - 12000 Miles Around the World, some years ago. It's a wonderfully well written account of her first cycling adventure, which takes her on a solo around the world journey. Thouroughly inspiring. Dave Stamboulis is another round the world cyclist who has written about his experiences; Odysseus's Last Stand. I haven't read this yet but I've read extracts from it and it's on my booklist. Looks good.

Making contact...

Internet problems and more pain...

I took this at Shwe Dagon, Rangoon, Burma

last year. No relevance, just like the pic.

I have a domain name, I have a hosting package and I've created a site but I just CAN'T publish the wretched thing. Normally there isn't a problem with this but for some reason, beyond my limited techie knowledge, it won't work. Just can't seem to shake the files off my computer onto the site location. At present I'm getting NO support from the hosting company.


Woke today with more pain than before. I'm starting to think this is going to drag on a lot longer than I thought. My efforts at the gym will have been wasted if I can't get back into my training schedule ASAP. If only I'd pulled the back brake instead of the front brake!!


Started to contact people concerning the trip and so far had some good replies. Some haven't bothered but nevermind, there's plenty more. Next job while I'm lay low and suffering in a loud silence is to knock off some sponsor forms and info about the Elephant Nature Foundation, my challenge and raising money. I'm going to try and do this in Thai and English too.

The daughter is talking more frequently about going back to live in the UK now. Hard to fathom out if she is serious of just rambling. I know she likes it there but does she really know what she's saying? I've explained all the negative points about living there and she's still not put off. I can think of at least one person who will be unhappy if we move back - the wife!

A few months ago I'd have gone back at the drop of a hat but I think I've settled here more now, I've gone through the transition period and now feel more confortable. It would be nice being back in Europe though and able to work and earn money again. And have delicious, warm English beer, cricket, The Daily Telegraph, no mozzies, no snakes in the garden etc etc. Arghh! Still, Thailand always seems to have this big hot yellow thing in the sky that England only gets for a few weeks in the year. A lot of thinking to done and a big bike ride before any movement.

Internet problems and more pain...

Promoting the event, continual pain....

The pain in my chest is continuing and seems worse if anything. The lack of tooth is just annoying and, surprisingly, not painful at all. Starting to feel miserable now; moving hurts, breathing hurts and I feel I can do nothing about my attempts to get fit. Chest injuries generally take a long time to heal, or so I'm told.

Having more or less decided on a route for the cycle through Thailand I guess that apart from gathering together all equipment and getting fit I'll need to start promoting the cycle ride and trying to raise both cash and awareness. This is a new area for me but I'm sure it's not beyond the realms of possibility. I'm thinking first everyone I know, then papers, magazines, websites and blogs, and related businesses ie. bike shops, gym, maybe tour operators. Whichever way you look at it there's a lot to do.

Time to pour a large scotch to help the painkillers and go be miserable in bed.

Promoting the event, continual pain....

Cycling accidents, hospitals in Bangkok and so much to do...

Well, I've recovered from yesterday's accident all but my chest. I still can't take a full, deep breath without feeling a lot of pain. I guess this is just the bruising and muscular damage that will take time to repair. Cuts and grazes are healing well and I'm getting used to life without one of my teeth. The treatment for that will take many months I'm told and then the dentist will cap it and I'll start loking normal again.

My three year old daughter finds the whole thing quite amusing and keeps asking to see my gap. She keeps telling me, "Be careful daddy. I fell off my bike once and now I'm careful. Mustn't lose your teeth." She assures me that she will be my doctor when she comes home from school today and take care of me. Arghh!

I have to mention the hospital and its staff. Mongkut Wattana General Hospital on Chaengwattana Road. The service was excellent and the staff wonderful. I've been in hospitals in Bangkok before, including the biggest, grandest and most expensive hospitals in Bangkok but there's no faulting the guys at Mongkut Wattana. It's not a new hospital and probably not the most well equiped but they were quick, attentive, thourough, and polite. Cheers guys!

On the down side of all this I won't be able to visit the gym for some time. Because of the chest injury there's no way I can resume the fitness training; can't breathe or move my arms properly. Hmmm. Time is moving on and I'm not as fit as I'd like to be.

At the same time as doing all the preps for this cycling I'm also trying to set up two other projects which will hopefully give me an income. If and when they materialise I will post more info. But for now I just don't seem to have enough hours in the day for everything, unless I start to ignore my daughter; which isn't going to happen.

Onwards and upwards!

Cycling accidents, hospitals in Bangkok and so much to do...

First cycling accident since I was about seven years old...



Instead of going to the gym I took the new bike out today. It's a Trek 3900, a pic was in a previous post.

The bike went really well, no problems. It has two features that my old mountain bike lacks: good brakes and shock absorbers. About 22km into my first journey on the bike and I was happily racing along, weaving in and out of a road full of cars, all resonably slow moving thankfully when disaster struck.

A gap between a bus and a car I was heading towards quickly closed and I hit the brake. I hit the wrong brake, the front one. Being used to my old bike which took its time about slowing down this one didn't. The front wheel stopped the front dipped because of the shock (which I'm not yet used to) and I flew over the handles and ploughed shoulder and head first into the road. I was lucky the cars weren't going too fast otherwise it would have been a lot worse.

The accident happened on the other side of the river in Nonthaburi. Fortunately roadworks meant the traffic wasn't flowing at it usual speed on this three lane highway.

The bike is ok but I'm cut and bruised, having trouble breathing because of internal bruising around the heart and chest and I managed to break a tooth. The hospital have pulled the broken half out and taken the nerve and root with it so I now look like a street fighter with half a tooth missing. I'll have to visit the dentist regularly now for treatment until, finally, they will put a cap on it.

For amusement value here is a before and after shot of the offending tooth. Apologies to nayone who finds this tasteless.

Other than this drama everything was going ok. The bike is good. I think a wider seat is in order if I'm to spend 10 hours a day sitting on it. Something of armchair dimensions springs to mind. I will also be investing in a cycling helmet before long. I almost passed out from the hit to the head and it took about five minutes to get a clear view of the world. So, whereas a helmet won't help against car wheels it should lessen the likelyhood of head injuries from falling off. I feel I should mention that I have cycled a lot in Bangkok and I haven't fallen off a bike since I was seven.

I'm going to take my bandages and aching bones and get an hours sleep.

First cycling accident since I was about seven years old...

Cycling in Thailand (pt2)

I'm really starting to get concerned about the health issues associated with cycling in Thailand, or anywhere hot for that matter. I'm hoping to cycle for 8-10 hours a day in order to complete this challeneg in less than two weeks. There are a few issues to consider here, apart from the obvious one about my fitness for such a challenge.

Firstly I'm a vegetarian. Whilst I have no problem with that at the moment and feel quite healthy being a vegetarian I'm not currently cycling up and down hills in the sweltering heat. Will I have enough energy on board and will I be able to produce enough energy from a veggie diet whilst on the road?

Secondly I will need a lot of water. Will water be readily available throughout the trip? I'll obviously need to carry water with me but weight and space will be restricted. I'm not going to be cycling the length of Thailand with a 5 gallon can of water on the bike. I've passed out through dehydration before and it's not a pleasant experience. Serious consideration.

Something that is going in my favour is the time of year and starting point. It will likely be January and so cool, or as cool as this place ever gets. And I'll be starting in the coolest part of Thailand so hopefully will be able to acclimatize to life in the saddle in relatively good climate before hitting the heat of the south.

Anyone with info on this kind of endevour, please offer advice.

As a side thought I'm sure my hearing is getting worse. The effect of many years listening to Walkmans and now the iPod too loud.

Cycling in Thailand (pt2)

Cycling in Thailand...

Starting to figure out a route for the sponsored cycling. Going to stick with the Chiang Mai to Phuket route rather then a complete border to border journey. According to maps I have this is something like 1,600km. I'm aiming to do it in two weeks or less so that works out at about 114km per day of cycling. I think this is quite feasible. Ideally I want to do it in much less than two weeks but I need to allow for weather change, actual distance, hills, break downs and just plain old exhaustion.

The route I'm looking at at the moment:

Chaing Mai - Lampang - Sukhothai - Kamphaeng Phet - Nakhon Sawan - Ayuthaya - Bangkok - Hua Hin - Chumphon - Ranong - Phuket.

I'm sure this will alter before the kick-off. I need to look into exact distances, road types, availability of accommodation, trouble spots and terrain. I'd like to take an interesting route but at the same time I'm keen to avoid too many hills; though I guess in theory Chaing Mai to Phuket is pretty much downhill all the way, haha. Not so silly actuall as I'll be starting at something like 2000m and finishing at 10m above sea level. Free-wheeling all the way to the finish line. Hmm.

My cycling in Thailand experience is limited. I've cycled extensively in Bangkok and I've cycled in Phuket but other than that, nothing. I've found one or two sites of people who have cycled around the world, including Thailand, so I'm going to try to get some advice. I've not actually found anyone who has cycled the route I'm taking, they generally do parts of Thailand.

I seem to have gone from having very little to do and too much time on my hands to having loads to do and not enough time. I'm trying to start a business at the moment, get fit for this cycling in Thailand adventure, devote as much time the daughter, take care of the fast growing garden, blog, have a life of my own and try to give attention to the wife. Just not enough energy or hours in the day.

Cycling in Thailand...

Loy Kratong

So, after all our plans failed to materialise we did get to float the daughter's kratong but not on a river. Being late and sure that she would have slept by the time we reached the Chao Phraya we opted for the lake within our moo baan.

The daughter's kratong

We weren't the only ones, there were lots of people there doing the same thing. Not quite the river but nice all the same and I really don't think the daughter will lose too much sleep over it. It would have been nice to see the fireworks and get some good pics of the river and all its many kratongs but there's always next year.

In action

The competition

News is that this is one of the most romantic festivals for Thais. According to the news reports there should be lots of marriage proposals floating about the place tonight. Oddly enough I proposed to my wife on Loy Kratong night in 1999. Hmm.

No chance for a practice ride on the new bike yet, other than around the moo baan. Upped the tempo in the gym and managing to do more each time. Just hope it's not tempting fate mentioning that. Probably get there tomorrow and find I can't run for toffee.


Loy Kratong

Lazy Sunday and Loy Kratong......

Another lazy Sunday with the usual family orientated stuff. Ballet in the morning but no kid's parties this week. There's yet another home and garden exhibition at Muang Tong Thani so the wife is going up there with the daughter to browse and see how our house should look according to the style gurus.

It is of course Loy Kratong time, as anyone with a 1000mile radius of Thailand will surely know.

That said it has been noticed that there doesn't seem to be as much fuss made this year as in past years. And for anyone who doesn't know what Loy Kratong is there should be an article up here soon to tell you all about it.

Here's the "kratong" my daughter made at school. We'll be floating "loy" this later this evening.

Had to soak the garden again today. Despite the flooding that is causing chaos in other parts of Thailand our little part of the country is suffering its own drought. We've not seen so much as a drop of rain in a week. The garden has been seriously lacking in water and the plants have started to wilt.

Here's a few pics from downtown taken yesterday.

Lazy Sunday and Loy Kratong......