Bangkok hospitals again and too much to do...

A hell of a day yesterday. The daughter's school called me and asked if I could collect her, she was running a high temperature and had no energy. Seems that last week's illness is still with us.
I raced into school and scooped her up from her bed where she was just flaked out and off we went in search of a hospital. I decided to try another hospital as I didn't get a great deal of confidence from the last one, who tried selling us antibiotics even though he'd given her a clean bill of health.

Eventually we got to Phayathai Hospital on Paholyothin Road. Nurses were a bit scatty but the doctor was good. We spent several hours there whilst they ran blood tests. Initially he said she should be tested for dengue fever. After a great deal of screaming the place down blood was taken and off they went to analyse it.

An hour later the results came back. How nice, she was negative for typhoid and various other ailments but they'd forgotten to test for dengue! I kid you not. So, it started again.

Eventually we got the all clear. Seems she has a gastric-virus, probably picked up from other kids or from toys. Anyway, she needs rest and lots of water and she'll be mended in a few days - apparently.

The work is mounting up. The things I need to do before we leave are just not getting done at the moment. Yesterday was lost and today I'm entertaining the daughter as she is not in school which means I have a constant distraction whenever I head to the computer. I need to find storage for the Land Rover, ship personal items back to the UK, say goodbye to everyone, tie-up loose ends and on and on... On top of that the wife wants a holiday before we go so she can spend some time with the daughter and I. Life is starting to feel like one big stressful holiday - GIVE ME WORK!!

Bangkok hospitals again and too much to do...

Need help finding a route..

We're looking for an interesting route home. The daughter and I are heading back home next month. Whereas I have enough air miles for the trip the daughter falls short. Short being as close as the edge of Europe or, strangely, South Africa. So, rather than pay the difference we're going to try and fly as far as we can and then make the rest of the journey by methods other than air.

We can both go totally free as far as Egypt, Turkey, Middle East and South Africa. I've looked at South Africa and found a way to go back by sea, on a container ship. Great idea and I can secure a room on the ship but they won't take a child under eleven years. So that's out.

Another option is Egypt. The daughter wants to see the pyramids anyway so we could mooch about a bit and then move on. But I can't seem to get assurances on the sea crossing into Europe. Some sources say it's not available and other it is. So that's in the air at the moment, or alternatively we just fly, in the air, from Cairo back to the UK.

Turkey is another option. We could then either go by train through Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Austria, Switzerland, France and then the UK or take the Turkey, Bulgaria/Greece, Albania, ferry to Italy and then train up through Italy and France route. Question mark on the latter is on Albania. Personally I'd have no problem going there but not sure it would be wise to risk taking a three year old.

Or, alternatively I could find another route. I need help. Anyone got any advice? Any suggestions? It needs to be cost effective (if it is five times cheaper to fly then there's no point to it), interesting, not involve flying if possible, and reasonably safe.

Need help finding a route..

Just nonsense and a funny clip...

Ever wondered who is looking at your blog or how they get there? I'm always curious as to who would want to read anything I've scribbled and occasionally take a browse through the stats and referral lists. The most used keyword is, no surprise, Thailand.

However, I noticed today that I've also attracted interest from Nigeria. Nothing wrong with that in itself. But I was curious as to how there would be several hits from Nigeria. And guess what? Yes, it seems to be in some way connected to the good old west African scam. My Nigerian visitors had come via a Google search of the following words: 2006 email DIRECTORIES and account information of all the board of directors in swiz bank. Search for those words on google.com and I come top of the pile. Of course I've never written anything about Swiss banks or even their boards of directors but those words obviously pop up most frequently in my blog. So, instead of getting sensitive account info from Swiss banks they got me, and I got more spam email. Wonderful.

The government here had proposed a plan to offer lower taxes and duties on eco-cars to encourage their importation, production and usage and thereby help lower fuel dependency and help the environment. However (screech of brakes) they have decided to drop the plan because it might effect sales of regular cars. But that, I thought, was the whole point. Isn't the idea to eventually replace the streets filled with 3litre pick-ups and Mercs with small eco-friendly cars that don't guzzle gas or cause harm to the surrounding environment? Maybe I'm missing something.

Daughter back in school today and seems to have recovered fully. She woke early and wandered in to our room at about half four this morning trying to convince me that it was daylight and I should get out of bed. Having gone out for a drink last night the last thing I wanted was prodding and to be spoken to at that unearthly hour. No amount of ignoring could get the message across so she tried a different approach, "daddy, I love you". Arghh, not easy to ignore such sweet words so I had to reluctantly open my eyes and respond. How do females manage to learn so early how to control men?

Here's an amusing clip from Iraq.

Just nonsense and a funny clip...

Daughter not well and hunting for the blind...

Weekend of the daughter being ill. Oh yes, two sleepless nights so far. She's been burning up with a high fever and sneaked into our room on Saturday night just in time to wake us by vomiting all over our bed. Luuuvely! Non-parents will have no idea of the difficulty in remaining calm and supportive at 3am when you've just been awoken by streams of vomit being splurged all over your bed.

Seems on the mend now but kept her out of school today as she had high temperature again this morning. Normally she gets frog marched into school no matter what and has a more or less unblemished attendance record but she really has had it rough all weekend and I don't think school would be any help today.

Managed to resist going to the doctor's so far. I just know that whatever the problem it will be the usual dispensing of antibiotics. She appears very much on the mend at the moment so hopefully all is well. Any continuation and we'll have to see the quack just in case.

Ever heard of Edmund Kuempel? He's a Texas State Representative who has just announced a new bill to give blind people the "right" to hunt using lasers and lights so, and I quote, they can enjoy the fun of hunting too. Basically this translates as everyone must have the right to needlessly kill animals for pleasure. Well cheers Mr. Kuempel, you really are quite something. Maybe they should tether the animals to short chains and that way the "fun" of needless murder is guaranteed. You'd have to be blind to miss. Oh yeah, I forgot. What a world!

Daughter not well and hunting for the blind...

Gee, I just love your accent...

I've never been to the US. I've visited many countries, close on twenty I think, but never the US. There's no particular reason for this except I just haven't managed to get around to it yet. There's so many American programs on TV and American films in the cinema that I guess it feels like there's no need to go there as there's a permanent window in to the US in the form of TV and films. And sadly there's rarely anything I see that inspires me to go jump on a plane and check-out the US.

But what really fascinates me is stories of Americans going all gooey over the British accent. It's a common thing we Brits here about and most Brits I know who have either visited the US or made it their home have experienced it at some point.

Recently there was something on the BBC website about all this, triggered by Stephen Fry noting that: .."..a British accent can fool unsuspecting Americans into detecting a brilliance that is not there."

The piece went on to discuss attitudes in the US towards the British accent and Brits in general, generally portrayed on screen as either plummy upper class buffoons or just simply the bad guy. But it seems that Americans have this feeling of the British accent somehow sounding, "better than any American accent - more educated, more genteel," to quote Rosina Lippi-Green, a US academic.

Apparently one of the reasons for Americans associating Brits with high intelligence and a brain the size of Boston is that many actually assume that Brits speak English as a second language and are thereby super-smart for having managed to master the English language so well. Grrr! Whilst hiring a car in Florida a friend of mine was complimented by the woman dealing with the transaction for being from England but being able to speak English so well, "how did you learn to speak English so well?" Any connection between "England" and "English" was simply missed altogether by her.

Then there are those who say that getting a girl in the US is simple if you have an English accent. Is this really true? Certainly I have many friends who have visited the US either for work or pleasure and most have engaged in some kind of relationship with American women, though if it was an accent thing is not known.

Personally I've met many Americans and generally they seem to have a pretty good grasp of British history and certainly understand where their language comes from. Though I guess the average American I meet is probably not reflective of the average American on the street in the US: educated to high level, working abroad. And I've never experienced American women throwing themselves at me or drooling over every uttered syllable, though I guess that could just be a me thing.

Diverging slightly, the only American I've met that I didn't like was a well known blogger who is a dangerously self-opinionated, ultra conservative, extremely right wing Christian and proudly homophobic. He also has trouble stringing a coherent sentence together and thinks Bush is the most visionary leader in the world today.

Having read about this and spoken to many people I wonder if maybe it's just simply an accent thing. People like the sound of accents other than their own. I personally find women with a French, Italian or Japanese accent a big turn-on. And closer to home a woman with a Geordie (from Newcastle) accent does something for me too. So maybe it's not just that it's a British accent but just the fact that it is an accent that Americans find attractive, if in fact they do. Or could there be some deeper more historical explanation to this attraction.

Gee, I just love your accent....

A topical joke (mainly topical if you're a Brit)...

OK, so I haven't got much time this morning and I was going to write a comment about the protest last night and how the army were "preparing" for action or about the policeman who cut off a dancer's arm after she refused to join his table, and the police tried to cover it up. Or the many other things happening in Thailand at the moment. But instead I thought I'd share this amusing story.

You need to know that the Chancellor of the Exchequer is Britain's finance minister and that the current one is Gordon Brown.

A topical one!
A young man named Gordon bought a donkey from an old farmer for £100.00.
The farmer agreed to deliver the donkey the next day, but when the
farmer drove up he said, "Sorry son, but I have some bad news... the
donkey is on my truck, but unfortunately he's dead."
Gordon replied, "Well then, just give me my money back."
The farmer said, "I can't do that, because I've spent it already."
Gordon said, "OK then, well just unload the donkey anyway."
The farmer asked, "What are you going to do with him?"
Gordon answered, "I'm going to raffle him off."
To which the farmer exclaimed, "Surely you can't raffle off a dead
donkey!"
But Gordon, with a wicked smile on his face said, "Of course I can, you
watch me. I just won't bother to tell anybody that he's dead."
A month later the farmer met up with Gordon and asked, "What happened
with that dead donkey?"
Gordon said, "I raffled him off, sold 500 tickets at two pounds a piece,
and made a huge, fat profit!!"
Totally amazed, the farmer asked, "Didn't anyone complain that you had
stolen their money because you lied about the donkey being dead?"
To which Gordon replied, "The only guy who found out about the donkey
being dead was the raffle winner when he came to claim his prize. So I
gave him his £2 raffle ticket money back plus an extra £200, which as you
know is double the going rate for a donkey, so he thought I was a great
guy!!"
Gordon grew up and eventually became the Chancellor of the Exchequer,
and no matter how many times he lied, or how much money he stole from
the British voters, as long as he gave them back some of the stolen
money,
most of them, unfortunately, still thought he was a great guy.
The moral of this story is that, if you think Gordon is about to play
fair and do something for the everyday people of the country for once in
his miserable, lying life, think again my friend, because you'll be
better off flogging a dead donkey!

A topical joke (mainly topical if you're a Brit)...

Photo blog Thailand - pt 1

One of the joys of living in Bangkok, and yes there are some, is its photogenic qualities. Take a stroll anytime of day, or night, and you'll almost certainly find something worth photographing. Look beyond the dust and the chaos of the traffic congested streets and there is charm and character just below the surface.

As I'm leaving Thailand very soon I thought I'd post some of the photographs I've collected on my hard drive over the last few years and share them. There tend to be a lot in black and white simply because I prefer black and white. Please feel free to comment, very interested in feedback on this.

Water at night

The big wheel

Pigeons in the park

Street traders

Mobile bank

Concrete

Clutter

Photo blog Thailand - pt 1

Cinema, where is home and McJob, McBlog....

Took the daughter to see Charlotte's Web at Central World yesterday afternoon. Not the best film I've ever seen but the daughter enjoyed it. Good special effects and mildly amusing, and Dakota Fanning in the lead role was a big draw for the daughter (she was also in Cat in the Hat, her favourite film).

Being an animal lover it seemed to appeal to the daughter who seems to now be viewing spiders and pigs in a new light. Last week she announced out of the blue that she wants to be a vet. I know, she's three and will surely make a thousand changes before she needs to start thinking about her career properly, but this comes as no surprise. She's always been affectionate towards animals and has never hurt so much as a fly (excluding mosquitoes as they are just the spawn of Satan and don't count). She wants to go to Africa to see Lions and India to see Tigers (Kipling and his Jungle Book are responsible for this) and has cried on more than one occasion when she has seen an animal get hurt. Personally I think she will end up doing something animal related but only time will tell.

Speaking with a German friend who has two kids here (both parents German) the other day and we were talking about how the kids view Thailand. Both his kids see Thailand as home and Germany as a cool holiday destination. I've noticed that with our daughter she has never made the distinction of either country as home. To her the UK and Thailand are both home. She refers to England as home and Bangkok as home. She always says she's from England but lives in Thailand. When we're here she's home and when we're in England she says she's home. Don't know whether that is a good thing or not. I feel it is good but does it show lack of stability in her life? Hmm

McDonalds are getting annoyed with the Oxford English Dictionary for putting in the word McJob: an unstimulating, low-paid job with few prospects, esp. one created by the expansion of the service sector. They say this is unfair and demeaning to the many people it employs. Not sure what to think of this one, just find the cheek of it quite amusing. Here's one I just thought up, McBlog: an unstimulating, no-pay blog, with little or no prospects, esp. one created by the gargantuan expansion of the blogospere. Wow, that's my blog!!!!

Cinema, where is home and McJob, McBlog....

Housewife's work, park life and Canadian clubbing....

I'm feeling the pressure and I'm going to eat some humble pie. I always thought that women complained about role of mother and housewife unnecessarily. I mean, how time consuming could it be? Take the kid/s to school throw some dirty laundry in the machine, put the coffee on and wait for the end of the school day. You know, that kind of thing. OK, I was wrong.

I'm basically playing the mum and dad role in our house. I look after the daughter, take care of the house (red faced embarrassment here) and do all the dad things with my daughter. I never seem to have any time. Admittedly I'm crap at time management but still there is more to this housewife lark than meets the eye.

In my defense I'm also trying to start a business 6,500 miles from where the business will be located, I have to generate an income as I pay for all our travel and the daughter's school fees and the two of us are heading back to live in the UK soon. There I will have to be a single parent and generate an income in a country where the average house price is GBP£240,ooo (about US$450,000 or 15,600,000 baht) (we do have a house but whilst there are paying tenants in there we won't be moving in). I've got to find somewhere for us to live, work, take care of her and also stump up for the school fees. The wife will be joining us later in the year. Yes, the pressure is building and life is about to challenge me to the extreme.

I took the daughter to Chatuchak park yesterday afternoon. Quite good for kids. There's a playground with some kind of assault course affair, a lake and boats for hire and a reasonable environment. We took a paddle boat and I paddled whilst she fed the fish. She loved it. There's the usual flocks of pigeons you get at parks anywhere and locals jogging and doing exercise.


It's the clubbing season in Canada. By this I don't mean nightclubbing, I'm talking clubbing baby seals type of clubbing. If you want to help stop this by spending a few seconds typing in your details click here and get the letter off to help stop this atrocity. Alternatively, if you don't know what I'm talking about check out the video here. Be warned it's not nice, the video contains graphic images of brave Canadian men bludgeoning innocent and defenseless seal pups so that brainless bimbos can wear seal fur. Ahh, what wonderful people! Please do spend a few seconds to send the letter. This is nothing short of barbarity and cruelty in the extreme, these people are very sick individuals and the seals need all the help they can get.

Housewife's work, park life and Canadian clubbing....

Thailand's u-turns, more trouble and a crashed Bugatti Veyron....

In its quest to be the hub for everything and anything in this region Thailand appears to have found a new hub to aim for. The hub for u-turns. Anyone who has driven in Bangkok will know how much Thais love a good u-turn, the road system is alive with u-turn lanes and u-turn bridges. But the love affair with the u-turn is not restricted to the roads, oh no. Following such monumental about faces as the great exchange control u-turn which saw the value of the Thai stock market plummet like never before, and the banning alcohol advertising double u-turn we now have the "they bombed me, they bombed me not" u-turn.

After the confusion of the new year bombing extravaganza the government categorically denied the possibility of the southern Muslim extremists being involved. The country's military supremo, and also a Muslim, even pointed out that the insurgents in the south didn't know Bangkok and would get lost if they tried coming here (I jest you not). So it wasn't them, no way, no how, not possible, couldn't be, put it out of your mind, it wasn't them. Or so you might have thought. Now, as most will already have read, the screech of brakes is once again coming through loud as the government bus pulls another tyre-burning u-turn.

It was them!! It was them all along. The government was only teasing after all. The bomb material which wasn't the same was the same in the end. Where the MO was different now it is the same. Well there we go, another fine mess sorted and a classy u-turn that even the Dukes of Hazzard would be proud of.

On a serious note it is quite worrying the amount of people that are being killed here in Thailand at the moment. It seems that daily there is a slaughter of innocent people in the south, on both sides. It has even got to the stage where I find that I skim over the headlines of yet another bus load of innocent people slaughtered because they were of a different faith or whatever the reason and barely give it a thought. It's become so commonplace that I find myself desensitized. Ten bombs gone off, twelve people killed, three schools set alight, children forced to watch their parents beheaded and on and on and barely more than a tut of disapproval. I notice that one again there is almost no mention of these acts in the international media. Don't quite understand that one.

More Thais are protesting about the atrocities on both sides and at the weekend there was the makings of a serious protest, with eight hundred people taking to the streets in an anti-government protest. With the violence in the south, concerns about the military government in Bangkok and the appalling pollution in the north Thailand doesn't appear to be having its finest hour at present. You can't help feel that as the current junta comes under more pressure to restore democracy, give power back to the people and then bugger off they might just return to the bad old ways of the bad old days when innocent protesters were cheerily gunned down in the streets. Lets hope that it never comes to that.

Remember that Bugatt Veyron I mentioned before, here. Fastest production car in the world, costing US$1.5million etc. Well, some guy in the south of England has had his first crash in one. Apparently he is devastated and not taking it too well.

Thailand's u-turns, more trouble and a crashed Bugatti Veyron....

The pain of development...

Many years ago I was having a pint with a friend and his step-father. The step-father was giving a sermon on the ills of the tourist industry and its effects on different parts of the world, whilst reminiscing about a journey he'd made as a young lad through Spain.

The trip was in the fifties at a time when Spain was still very much a country of quaint hamlets and peasant farmers full of hospitality. Comparing it to Spain as it had become by the early nineties he was full of sadness for the "terrible" development that had taken place.

At the time I could understand but it's only recently that I've begun to appreciate fully what he meant. In the early nineties I discovered paradise, well as close as I ever thought I'd get to it anyway; and actually I didn't discover it as that had been done many centuries before.

My paradise was Koh Samet. It was quiet, traffic free, free from pollution and all the noise and vulgarity you normally associate with tourist spots. The beaches were of spotlessly clean white sand and the sea crystal clear, warm and full of life. Accommodation was relaxed, cheap and generally of the bamboo hut variety.

I've just returned from a yet another weekend on Koh Samet. Now when I visit I feel nothing but sadness seeing how it has developed in the last few years at break neck speed. Every beach is developed, piles of rubbish are dotted all over, the sea is alive to the sound of jet skis and speedboats and the beaches infested with discos that churn out deafening music until the wee small hours (really sounding old now).

The best beach was always the one at the southern most tip of the island, I forget its name. Being the most narrow part of the island you could wake up in your beach-side bamboo hut to the sun rising and a five minute stroll in the evening would see you immersed in water watching the same sun disappearing over the horizon. The beach was the best I'd ever seen and with water to match. Whenever I spoke of Koh Samet, and that beach in particular, to others I found myself running short of superlatives, it really was something else. That same beach is now home to a five star resort that charges up to 60,000 baht per night! And they've put a swimming pool on the beach!! I'm equally short of superlatives in my description, but could probably muster a few expletives.It's nothing unusual and the development is actually par for the course and a natural progression. It's just sad when you know what it used to be like. I have some very fond memories of Koh Samet, and had some great times there. For someone going there now for the first time then maybe they see it as their paradise and their ideal beach location.

This trip was OK. We paid more than normal and stayed in one of the better resorts which doesn't have loud music and jet skis and, despite it's luxury, has been developed sympathetically with the surrounding environment. But, whilst lay in bed last night watching satellite TV in air-conditioned comfort, sipping cold beer from the fridge by the side of the bed with the wife reclining on the balcony outside I couldn't help think of when I'd first stayed on this particular beach before, fourteen years ago.

Then the room was made of bamboo, had a small fan just about tethered to the side of the room that offered limited protection from the heat, and electricity was only for part of the evening. Over the mite-infested bed hung a torn mosquito net and beer needed to be drunk quickly before it reached room temperature. I spent a week there with my girlfriend of the time and did nothing but read, swim, work up a sweat in bed, smoke, drink and sleep - and not necessarily in that order. Happy Days!!

The pain of development...

Nearly at the beach, Imax, Bangkok hospitals and other things...

I should be on my way to a sunny beach with the daughter now, but I'm not. She's off school today, teacher's day or something. Yesterday I was called in to collect her from school in the morning due to her complaining of stomach pains.

Normally I wouldn't have bothered but she's complained of pains in the stomach a lot in the last few days so I scooped her out of school and made for the hospital on Chiang Wattana Road. She was examined, against her will, and given a clean bill of health. The doc said there was no evidence of anything being wrong. Wonderful.

But then he said he could prescribe two kinds of pill. For what said I. Because said he. I quizzed him, didn't he just give her a completely clean bill of health? Yes, he said. There's nothing wrong. So why the pills? Just routine. I declined and we left. Absolutely shocking. Nothing at all wrong but still they give you pills and he couldn't even give a reason for the pills he was prescribing! In Thailand the doctor's word is law and must be obeyed. So, had I been Thai I wouldn't have questioned but gone along with his recommendation, wasted money and my daughter would now have been popping pills for no apparent reason.

We're keeping an eye on her and assuming it's indigestion for now. To cheer her up I took her to the Imax at Paragon to see Open Season. Not a bad movie for the kids and impressive in 3D. There were six people in the screening altogether, including us, which made it quite a nice experience. Quite funny watching the daughter reaching towards the screen trying to touch the characters as they appeared to be coming towards her.

I don't like to harp on about shopping malls but I really think that, with the exception of the True shop at Paragon, Central World Plaza beats Paragon hands down. I find Paragon with it's heavily segregated parking based on social status and pretentious clientele just a tad too ostentatious for my liking. I think Central hits the spot just right. Paragon has better bookshops and that wonderful True shop but apart from that I see no positives.

Anyway, back to the beach. As a result our heading off to the beach this morning is on hold for the moment. She's looking fine now so it could be on for this afternoon. All we need to do now is locate a good beach and head forth towards sun, sea and sand.

On a more grisly note I read about the hearing of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. He's quoted as saying: "I decapitated with my blessed right hand the head of the American Jew, Daniel Pearl, in the city of Karachi, Pakistan." And: "For those who would like to confirm, there are pictures of me on the internet holding his head."

I can't begin to comprehend the hatred involved here, that this guy must obviously be feeling, and the callous attitude towards what was essentially an innocent life. I would dearly love to understand what makes someone like this tick, what his real motivation for such an act is and how he can feel so clearly justified in having committed these acts.

Nearly at the beach, Imax, Bangkok hospitals and other things...

Sticky moments involving race..

The daughter had a friend here yesterday and they both wanted to watch The Chronicles of Narnia, the daughter's current obsession. Fine, I have no problem with that. They got comfy and I started the DVD.

The opening credits and then the film started. The first scene involves shots of London being bombed during WWII and frightened kids being separated from their mother and whisked away to far off parts of the UK for safety. My daughter's friend asked what was happening. Why are they doing that? I started to explain that the German's were blowing up London during WWII when it dawned on me that she is in fact German. Suddenly I felt the need to come up with new words to explain what was happening. Basil Fawlty suddenly came to mind, "Don't mention the war."

I know it's probably not a big deal but I just don't think three year olds need to have war explained to them just yet. A similar situation arose last year when the daughter got the Valiant DVD. Pigeons working tirelessly for the war effort against...the Germans. She kept asking me who the bad guys were and I just couldn't bring myself to tell her they were Germans, two of her closest friends being German of course. Maybe it wouldn't register but it seemed better to leave the race of the bad guys out of the picture and wait until she's older.

Race to date has never been a problem. She's in a multi-cultural environment, from a mixed marriage and neither parent is in any way discriminatory. However, there are only two black kids at the school, both black-American and both boys. She's never even mentioned any difference and is good friends with one of them, the other is older and in a different group. At school the kids are all just kids.

But when we were in Singapore airport earlier in the year she was bouncing around the play area when a Sri Lankan family came in with a daughter, who was clearly the darkest person my daughter has ever seen. My daughter looked a bit shocked and then smiled to me, "Daddy, look at the chocolate girl." My jaw hit the floor. The mother smiled and I apologised. But what do you say? She didn't mean any offence and actually played with her for a while until it was time to go. I couldn't tell her off because she didn't know that anything was amiss. I also didn't really want to draw her attention to it too much. I quietly took her aside and tried to explain that it was not polite to say things like that and that the girl might have been upset.

It's the one and only time that she's ever made any reference to people being different and I think it just came out without any thought process. Certainly embarrassing for me at the time. Don't you just love kids?

Sticky moments involving race..

Security in Bangkok, somewhere for the weekend and photos....

Visited Paragon shopping mall yesterday and discovered that in the name of security all shoppers have to be scanned and have their bags searched. Seems OK, no problem with that. However, I went through with my camera backpack thingy from Lowepro which has a lower section for cameras etc. In mine I had a movie cam and a digital SLR and various things like batteries and remotes and whatnot. The guards searched the upper empty areas and didn't bother to question why such an empty bag was heavy. I could easily have been concealing a bomb or something more sinister in there and they would have been none the wiser. Did make me wonder if it is a serious measure or just a confidence building PR gesture.

Looking for somewhere to go this weekend, other than making our regular pilgrimage to Koh Samet. I spoke to someone recently (Thai) who said there is a huge problem on Samet at the moment with flies. Rubbish is continuing to pile up in the hedges and forested areas and no one is bothering to move it. Result is an abundance of flies and increase in food related illness. Good to see the authorities making good use of the extra income from doubling the entrance fee to the island.

Here are some views of Bangkok, for no particular reason.

Security in Bangkok, somewhere for the weekend and photos....

New blog for a good cause and full moon party on Koh Phangan...

Found a new blog here in Thailand, worth a look and a very worthy cause. Ally is a retired English woman who has made Chiang Mai her home and devotes her time to caring for street dogs. As volunteers Ally and helpers work to improve the welfare for dogs on the streets in Chiang Mai, Thailand. There motto is: "Saving one dog won't change the world, but surely the world will change for that one dog" I've added this blog to my "Daily Read".

Many people have sent me emails asking about the famous full moon parties on Koh Phangan. I've never actually been but it's not possible to live here and not know anything about them. As far as I know the schedule for the coming months is as follows.

Full moon party, Koh Phangan:

April 2nd - May 1st - June 1st - June 29th - July 31st - August 28th - September 26th - October 26th - November 24th - December 24th.

That's the rest of the full moon parties on Koh Phangan for this year, as I understand it. Probably worth checking when you arrive too.

There are several ways to get there which involve bus, train, boat and plane, or a mix of all. Air Asia flies to Surat Thani and Bangkok Air flies to Samui. Boat/bus transfers are available from both locations. Trains run regularly from Bangkok to Surat Thani and there are coach companies that offer coach/boat package. Try any of the agents on Khao San Road.

New blog for a good cause and full moon party on Koh Phangan...

Growing concern about the impending move and beach scene, Koh Tao..

Both pics Khao Tao, Songkran 2006

With the end date drawing closer there's an increasing amount to do. Moving country is quite a big thing. It's amazing how you manage to accumulate crap over the years. I try to keep things minimalist but the wife is one of those who just seems to live for acquiring pointless objects. If there's an empty space in the house then she has to buy some object or item to fill it. Result: we've got a lot of junk to clear out.

On the subject of moving, I had an email from a friend in the UK today reminding me that the house prices are still rocketing out of control at a rate of 10%. He was wondering where we're going to live. Having not worked for nearly three years now getting re-started is going to be very difficult.

I think food, clothes, cars and most electrical items are cheaper in the UK than Thailand but where it is definitely more expensive is the other costs: property purchase, utility bills, council tax, school fees, fuel, tax (the shed load of "stealth" taxes that Labour have sneaked in through the back door), and transport (rail etc).

We still have a house there but there but we rent it out and whilst someone is in there and paying it seems sensible to leave them there for the moment. It will definitely be a struggle to buy another one but if we can then hopefully it will be worth it, certainly in the long term. We Brits do have an obsession with property and property ownership. Europeans seem to be more content with renting and don't seem to attach such importance to property ownership as us Brits. Maybe they have a point, maybe struggling all through your life to achieve land and property ownership is, in the end, pointless.

I guess that despite the enormous uphill struggle we have to face in the coming months, and probably years, and combined with protestations from an angry mother-in-law, it should all be worth it. Time will tell.

Growing concern about the impending move and beach scene, Koh Tao..

Japanese restaurant and inter-racial family turbulence...

Discovered a great little Japanese restaurant last night. Just across Sukhumvit Road from Emporium tucked away inside a soi, same soi as The Bull's Head I think. It's called something like Tan Tan Men.

Nothing special to look at, very basic in fact but the food is excellent. Had a veggie Wakame Ramen for 150baht a bowl which was delicious. Generally I need two bowls of noodles to feel that I've eaten but the portions here were generous to say the least. Clientele seems predominantly Japanese and the atmosphere quiet. Definitely going there again.

The wife broke the news to the in-laws over the weekend that we're off soon. The wife's father and sister were understanding and took it well, general feeling of "your life, do what you think is best", which I really appreciate. The mother, however, did not take it well. To say she is not happy about it is would be a huge understatement.

I am officially enemy number 1. I am the worst kind of rat there is and my wife is been selfish, apparently. We had expected some resistance but not the weekend long barrage of abuse we've received. The mother's idea is that I should leave and take my daughter with me and the wife should stay here, and we see each other once a year. Completely f###### deranged!! (Sorry about the language there but often a well placed expletive can convey the feeling better than a string of flowery adjectives).

This is beyond culture and even disparities in generational thinking, this is just about a selfish old woman who can't understand that people have their own lives to lead the best way they can. She even had the audacity to tell the wife that I don't love her and that she should not love me, and certainly not more than she loves her family or herself. She has now refused to see me or our daughter. Whilst I'm tempted to cheer at this last one I think it is very sad for the daughter, the innocent one in all this who is now going to be ostracized because of her blood.

On a happier note, the sun is shining and I'm off to the gym. With all this bad feeling about is a calming picture I took last year in the UK.

One of the peaks in Snowdonia, near the Cantilever. I might not have been a big fan of living in Wales but the countryside is beautiful - stunning. In Snowdonia you can always find somewhere to be alone.

Japanese restaurant and inter-racial family turbulence...

Muay Thai boxing (kicking boxing) near Khao San Road and weight loss..

Interesting day. Spent the whole afternoon down Khao San Road way filming Thai boxers at Sor. Vorapin Gym with John from khaosanroad.com।

Having been in the ring with a couple of Muay-Thai (Thai boxing or kick-boxing) boxers and a regular boxing world champion I can safely say I now have a new found respect for these guys। It looks so easy on the TV but when you're in the ring with them, literally inches from them hammering the hell out of each other you get the full effect।

I was sweating buckets just watching but these guys seemed to be handling the heat pretty well। I'm inspired, i might go and give it a go. Certainly looks like the way to get fit - and lose some aggression at the same time.

The video and interview will be up on khaosanroad.com soon(ish) and I'll drop a version here too.

Talking of exercise, I mentioned about four weeks ago after returning from the UK that I'd managed to add on about 7kg whilst over there। I vowed to get it off and I have. Yep, 7kg now eradicated and I'm back to my previous weight. All gone through a mixture of controlling my diet and daily exercise. My aim now is to shed another 5kg and continue getting fit.

Muay Thai boxing (kicking boxing) near Khao San Road and weight loss..

Safety guarantee Thailand, US$25million prize and mummies with too much spare time..

For anyone worrying about security in Thailand, don't. The dear old PM has guaranteed safety for all foreigners visiting Thailand, and I quote: "..we confirm that we will provide full security for our tourists.." Quite a statement to make. I wonder if that is FULL security or just from terrorists. Does that cover tourists murdered by criminal gangs, thieves etc and female tourists raped and killed? A full guarantee is quite something. Lets just hope it doesn't come back and bite him in the arse.

Fancy winning US$25? Britain's Richard Branson (the Virgin empire) is offering just that for anyone who can come up with a way of, "..scrubbing greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere.." Thinking caps on, get to it.

I was talking to some of the mothers at school today. Now the kids are staying later in the day and by start of school year August they will have to be there all day and some mums are wondering what they will do with their spare time. There's only so many tennis lessons and facials you can get in a day before you get bored I guess. I guess this is the time that the child's carer (whichever parent that may be) start to feel surplus to requirements.

Been discussing with the daughter about our return to the UK. I'm trying to sell the idea of an all girls school to her. I think she's up for it, though hesitant at first. Today she was pushed over by a boy at school which is kind of swinging her to my way of thinking.

Safety guarantee Thailand, US$25million prize and mummies with too much spare time..

Sunburn in Bangkok, teeth and terror warnings for Thailand...

With temperatures today in the mid to high thirties I made the mistake of going cycling in the middle of the day. It was hot, very hot. Wouldn't normally be a problem but I didn't put any sun cream on so now I have burnt arms and burns on the backs of my hands. Note, not on the fingers just the backs looking like beetroot. Ouch!

The missing tooth which I'd all but forgotten about is now attracting my attention. Missing my opportunity to get the gap filled back in the UK I returned here and managed to forget about it completely. The daughter's stopped mentioning it, old news now, and I'm not the kind of guy who spends much time looking in the mirror so it just slipped my mind. Now there's pain. Since last night it's been bothering me on and off and now it's looking like I'm in for painful night. Might have to turn to the whisky bottle for some pain killing help this evening.

Seems Australia has issued terrorist threat warnings for Thailand and warned its citizens of potential attacks in Bangkok, Pattaya or Phuket. Everyone here knows about this ongoing threat so is this something to worry about? Is this based on new information? It seems you never know when to worry or not here.

Sunburn in Bangkok, teeth and terror warnings for Thailand...

Book review No.1

I read quite a lot and have decided to write the odd review here as a read them. So, first off is one I read last week.

Piers Morgan - The Insider.

The Insider is a telling insight into the workings of British tabloids, told by one of their youngest and most controversial editors. Full to the brim with juicy gossip and inside information about just about everyone who made the news during Piers Morgan’s reign as editor of both the New of the World and The Mirror.

Morgan provides a breathtaking look behind the scenes of the tabloid press and its relationship with British government and the celebrity world, and the thinking behind the front page splashes that are both loved and loathed throughout the world.

Having survived various controversies including allegations of insider dealings and a very public falling out with the PM’s wife, who allegedly tried her best to get him sacked, he finally got dropped after publishing hoaxed pictures of British soldiers mistreating Iraqi prisoners. Ironically, while he was leading his crusade against the war through the pages of The Mirror his own brother was fighting in Iraq.

Morgan is entertaining throughout but be warned, he never actually kept a diary which leaves you wondering if all the clever predictions and witty asides are genuine or simply the benefit of hindsight.

He once famously described Kate Winslet as having “lost her head up her own arse”, but by the time I reached the end of the book I was starting to wonder if Morgan was suffering from the same.

By his own admission he is guilty of hypocrisy; killing stories about those close to him whilst being savage towards others. And by the end it is clear that some of the Mirror’s more shocking headlines were largely personal attacks rather than being out of a genuine need to inform the public.

Though unlikely to win any literary accolades, Morgan’s style and passion make for an entertaining read.

Book review No.1

Bangkok photo exhibition, southern beheading and murdered Russian girls....

Downtown Bangkok, from Pan Road

Took the daughter to the Kathmandu Photo Gallery on Pan Road, off Silom, this afternoon. They have a small exhibition on the first floor called Imagine the Sky.

The exhibition is by a well known Thai human rights campaigner and one time senator called Kraisak Choonhaven. One of the many things he's campaigned for, other than human rights, is for Thai people to take their country more seriously and try to preserve it in the face of brash excessive consumerism.

Anyone who has visited Thailand, and especially Bangkok, can't have failed to notice that the skyline is littered with enormous billboards. The Imagine the Sky exhibition is a series of pictures taken by Kraisak showing scenes of giant advertising boards. Beneath each picture is the same picture again but with the offending visual atrocities airbrushed out and replaced with trees or sky. The effect is quite stunning. His point being that the country is being rubbished for the sake of a few advertising dollars.

There was a big piece about Kraisak in the Outlook section of the Bangkok Post today. He sounds like a really interesting guy who is very vocal about human rights abuses in Thailand, specifically in the south under Taksin, treatment of elephants, continuing destruction of Thailand's most beautiful areas in favour of unchecked development, and the obsessive consumerism of the financial haves in Thailand whilst so many of the have nots go hungry and ignored. I don't think I've been so interested in a Thai person since discovering the late Kukrit Pramoj just before he popped is clogs back in the 90's.

The 25th beheading has taken place in the south today. That's 25 people beheaded since 2004. It's a real shame that this continues to happen, a senseless waste of life. Sadly this never seems to make the headlines outside of Thailand, maybe if it did get more international attention there would a greater effort to prevent it or find a lasting solution. The Bangkok Post listed all the beheadings here. It makes for seriously gruesome reading.

The acting Chief of police in Pattaya is tackling crime head on. Convinced that the murdered Russian girls story has more to it than meets the eye he's demanding more arrests. Since stating this there have been two more arrests and he wants more still. Investigations are now looking into the lives of the girls and their backgrounds to try and establish if they had any connections here in Thailand. not sure what to make of this. Is it a commendable effort to tackle the well documented gang criminality of Pattaya or the beginning of blame shift towards the victims? Cynical as ever!

Bangkok photo exhibition, southern beheading and murdered Russian girls....

Fastest production car in the world....

Just had to share this, something that was mailed to me. Ever heard of the Bugatti Veyron? It's a monster.

Alleged to be the fastest production car in the world and coming in at a staggering US$1.4m this beast is packing a 16 cylinder power plant and punching out 1001hp! They're only going to make 40 of them and a deposit to get you on the one and a half year waiting list will set you back a cool US$250k. It's got a top speed of 254mph and drains a full tank of fuel in 12 minutes at that speed.

It's against everything I believe in as regards the environment and being responsible about fuel and to own one would be nothing short of a disgusting display of wealth. However, watching it actually make that top speed for the first time is compelling viewing and you can see it here, turn the volume up! I feel I need to plant a tree as penance for watching it.

Fastest production car in the world....

Sightseeing in Bangkok and Expat interviews.....

Buddha's feet, Wat Pho

Once again it's just the two of us. The wife's away on business for a few days so it's the old daddy and daughter team flying solo again. Maybe do a bit of sightseeing this afternoon, or alternatively cop out for an afternoon in the pool.

We spent the afternoon mooching around Wat Pho yesterday. I'll write more about that soon and post a few pics. Amongst other things it has the largest reclining Buddha in Thailand. Worth a visit. I recently added a few articles to the site here. One about a recent weekend in Ayutthaya here and another one that's been sitting on my hard drive for ages about Shwe Dagon in Burma here. As ever they are also available in similar format at khaosanroad.com.

I was contacted by Lizza at Expat Interviews a few weeks ago and she asked me to do an interview for her site. It's now live and you can take a peek here. She's got a great site there. It's definitely worth a look if you're in the mood for a new location.

Getting ever more nervous about the impending move back to the UK and wondering if it really is for the best. Life used to be so easy.

Sightseeing in Bangkok and Expat interviews.....

Can anyone explain?

I'm appealing for some explanation here. There are two things that caught my eye in today's paper. There's an opinion piece about the growing Islamification of Indonesia and a letter from a foreigner in the Postbag about Muslim unrest in the south of Thailand.

The letter argues that tolerance and understanding are central in ending the violence in the south of Thailand. The writer argues that Thailand should follow other countries in being tolerant towards the needs and wants of the Muslim population.

The opinion piece is about the recent move towards a more sharia based system of governance in Indonesia. The result already is that women are fined for being out after dark or without headscarves, Christians are forced to wear headscarves and cover up and churches are being fined and closed. A married mother was fined, given three years in jail and branded a prostitute for waiting for a bus at 8pm without a headscarf and having a stick of lipstick in her bag.

Am I alone in thinking that whilst we're all being told to be more tolerant towards Muslims the Islamic world seems to be nothing short of intolerant.

I come from the UK where it feels that a new law is emerging everyday to make life easier for Muslims. Public swimming pools have to have Muslim only days because Muslims don't want to have to bathe with non-Muslims, Christmas is all but banned in public places and any sign of Christianity is removed for fear of upsetting Muslims; traditional Christmas decorations in the streets are a thing of the past and one member of the Labour government even suggested changing Christmas to Wintermass so as to cause less offence.

Integration is a wonderful thing and I'm all for having mixed societies (I'm a product of mixed blood, my wife's Thai/Chinese and our daughter is a mix of all that). However, it does seem that non-Muslims are being all tolerant and the Muslims are anything but.

I have Muslim friends and one in particular who regularly sends me emails trying to convince me that Islam is very much misunderstood. In a bid to try to understand more I bought a copy of the Qu'ran. I haven't read it in its entirety yet but whenever I flick through it I always seem to come upon a page mentioning how us non-believers will burn in hell etc. "Argh", says my friend, "then you need to read another book to explain what you are reading in the Qu'ran in case you don't understand what the book is really saying". Hmm

Thailand has committed some terrible acts of revenge in the south against Muslim insurgents but at the same time they have not been shy in beheading people, setting off multiple bombs and burning down schools. With this heightened level of violence it's not hard to see why tolerance is in short supply.

I'm curious. I've asked this question to various Muslim friends who can't answer. Where is a true Muslim country? Where can I go and see Islam practiced in its true sense, complete with tolerance and understanding towards others? Iran? Saudi Arabia? Pakistan? Syria? Which Muslim country encourages people of different faiths to live side by side in harmony?

If Thailand bends to the will of the insurgents in the south will it bring peace? Will the lower three provinces become cut off from the rest of Thailand and become strict Islamic provinces run by the rule sharia? Will Thais from Thailand's predominant Buddhist population be able to live freely in those provinces and practice Buddhism openly without fear of persecution, as Muslims in other parts of Thailand can do now?

Can anyone explain?

Living in Thailand, the positives, and silly price for Take That tickets...

So, with my departure now imminent I am going to try to ignore all the things that annoy me about Thailand and focus on some of the positive aspects to life here. Yes, there are some. Despite my obvious annoyance with the state of politics here, xenophobic attitude etc etc there are many things that I will miss about life in The Big Mango.

Food - Thai food is very nice and there's lots to choose from. Being a vegetarian choice is somewhat limited but if you eat meat and enjoy spice then it's a great place for eating and costs are generally low. Ironically my favourite restaurant, apart from various street stalls, is not Thai but French/Taiwanese vegetarian which I've mentioned more than once before, Tamarind Cafe. You can also get food pretty much any time of the day or nigth which is nice too.

Weather - The heat at this time of the year gets me down and makes me feel lethargic. However, I will miss not having to wear more than one layer and also being able to go to the beach and swim in the sea any day of the year regardless of season. I think this is something I do take for granted but don't take advantage of enough. This weekend was supposed to be a beach trip but for various reasons it got cancelled.

Bangkok - Yes, I will miss Bangkok. It's chaotic, polluted and has way too much traffic but it grows on you. Amongst all the dirt and the grime there is character. Hard to explain but I don't think I could get bored of Bangkok. It's a wonderful place for walking and cycling and there's always something interesting to see for western eyes, you just have to look.

Red Tape - Thailand is king of bureaucracy. Everything that involves officialdom takes a long time and is frustrating in the extreme. However, on the other hand you are generally left to your own devices here. Unlike the nanny state that the UK is fast becoming here you can just get one with your life unhindered. People build more or less where they like, build what they like and how like. You want to extend your house, you do it. You want a cowboy builder to do the job on the cheap then it's your lookout. In the UK you can't put a garden shed up without planning approval these days and now the local council tax will take into consideration things like garden sheds and new kitchens (basically if you improve your house you will be taxed more, kind of like a punishment for wanting a better life).

Another thing that I guess is not unique to Thailand is the mix of nationalities you get to meet. I know very few Brits and mix with even less (I've got nothing against Brits, I am one, I just don't seem to know any). My daughter goes to school with people from about a dozen or more nationalities. Today we'll be taking her to ballet with her German friend and then go out for the day with her family. In the last week she's been to parties of a Spanish, Caribbean and Australian flavour. The list goes on. Back home she'll probably be the most exotic person in her class and one of only a few non 100% Brits at the school. This worries me. I want her to grow up as a citizen of the world not a little Englander or Thai-centric.

I'll post more as I think of them and try not to read to much into what's in the paper and on the news. I know I'll miss this place despite everything.

And now for something very silly. Take That concert tickets with a face value of GBP£45 have reached GBP£100,000 on Ebay!! Can you believe this? Who in their right mind would pay that for a concert ticket, and Take That too??? I mean, if it was Led Zep or the Stones I could understand, but Take That?? World gone mad.

Living in Thailand, the positives, and silly price for Take That tickets...

Killer of two Russian girls found and powerless malls...

Day five of the saga and the police have announced they have found the killer of the two Russian tourists. He is Thai and his ex-girlfriend put the police on to him.

His motive: robbery. Yep, he tried to rob the girls as they lounged in deckchairs on the beach. They screamed so he shot them both. How much money would you expect someone to have with them on the beach? Most people don't take more than enough for a few drinks so it can't have been a lot anyway. So they were killed for a few dollars basically.

Having committed the deed he raced off on the bike to his ex-girlfriend's apartment and asked to hide for a few hours. Then off to Chon Buri, where he comes from, to sell the gun. The girl said she wanted to tell the police so she couldn't be connected with the crime and get into trouble at a later date. So presumably it wasn't because she thought that murder is wrong and she wanted to do the right thing.

The police were going to give 500,000baht to anyone with information but it looks like she won't be getting her hands on that money. The Governor of Pattaya has offered the families of the dead girls 100,000baht in compensation (about US$3,000). I think sometimes such offers would be less insulting if they simply weren't made. I mean, money can never replace a loved one but to be offered such a small amount is nothing short of an insult.

Now I know this is wrong, but I can't help thinking that the whole ugly incident would have been handled differently if the victims had been American or Australian or European. No nasty suggestions that the girls were hookers, no Clouseauesque police investigation involving game show contestants and no pitiful offers of compensation. Stereotypes are rife in Thailand and sadly the Russians have a pretty bad image, due to a minority of badly behaved ones, especially in Pattaya (so I'm told).

He had been arrested earlier in the year for robbing a couple of Korean tourists, found guilty and then released.

The heat is getting me down now. I'm feeling lazy and lethargic all the time and totally uninspired. It's just too warm to move. Sleep is all I feel like at the moment.

The power went when I was at Central earlier. It's funny but you take things like light and cool air for granted in these enormous shopping malls. When the power went it suddenly got very dark and I was reminded that these large buildings generally don't have windows. And then the heat came. Within minutes it went from being almost cold to warm and then hot and sticky. As soon as the power went there was a mad rush from shop assistants as they pulled down shutters, presumably to stop any opportunists from taking advantage of the situation.

Killer of two Russian girls found and powerless malls...

Images of Bangkok - Travel (short movie)

OK, so here's another attempt at a short film. This one focuses on transport in Bangkok, the river, Banglamphu and Khao San Road. As a first for me I've put subtitles on this clip. It was shot to DVD quality but quality, as ever, is lost the moment I upload to www.youtube.com. Still, can't complain, it's a free service. The music is from an up and coming band in the UK called MonkieJamm, the track - Rest of my Days. Comments welcome as ever. Enjoy!

Images of Bangkok - Travel (short movie)