Things are getting really bad on the old pollution front, even in Mae Rim which is normally a lot clearer, you cannot see the mountain in fact i think visibility today is at around 10 feet, a slight exaggeration but it is seriously mucky out there and it is now 10.39 and so any early morning mist would have burnt off by now, well it would if the sun could get through the pollution. Masses of burning going on at the moment out here in the suburbs or is that the shrubs, or possibly the sticks. I was amazed at the amount of friends last night at Steve's party with bad chests and throats and i think i am developing one myself today, so am not venturing out into the smog for anything, well maybe stock up on beer a little later.
The thing that does make me howl however is when i see motorcyclists with anti pollution masks on, we know pollution might kill us eventually but when they do not have a crash hat on! Whats going to get you first, my bet's on a 4X4........
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Khun Steve's party
Thanks Khun Steve for a lovely night at the Hillside 4 roof top pool.
There were loads of people there I have not seen much of since my return in January so it was good to catch up.
Not the usual antics it was a very sedate affair, not one person was thrown fully clothed into the cool fresh water of that gorgeous swimming pool, we must be slipping.
More importantly though, Steve held a raffle and utilised some unclaimed prizes from the main January roof top event which were soon to expire, and raised over 4000 baht to next years total.
I had not been to the cash point so Khun Guy kindly bought me some tickets but neither of us won. Personally i quite fancied the 1000 baht D2 voucher, but you can't win them all.
Steve and I did have to rescue 1 very well oiled gentleman and get him down 15 floors to a taxi now that was interesting thank god for the lift, but our reward was meeting a very handsome French man sat on the steps outside waiting for only who knows what, unfortunately not for us.
I may take up residence on the steps and see if he returns.
Ronnie informed me of a mass sterilisation event and invited me, i was a little concerned till i realised it was for stray animals, similar to expats but not quite the same. I think it's a charity fund raising event and i will update you when i have the full SP. I thought they were trying to calm us all down with a quick snip!
There were loads of people there I have not seen much of since my return in January so it was good to catch up.
Not the usual antics it was a very sedate affair, not one person was thrown fully clothed into the cool fresh water of that gorgeous swimming pool, we must be slipping.
More importantly though, Steve held a raffle and utilised some unclaimed prizes from the main January roof top event which were soon to expire, and raised over 4000 baht to next years total.
I had not been to the cash point so Khun Guy kindly bought me some tickets but neither of us won. Personally i quite fancied the 1000 baht D2 voucher, but you can't win them all.
Steve and I did have to rescue 1 very well oiled gentleman and get him down 15 floors to a taxi now that was interesting thank god for the lift, but our reward was meeting a very handsome French man sat on the steps outside waiting for only who knows what, unfortunately not for us.
I may take up residence on the steps and see if he returns.
Ronnie informed me of a mass sterilisation event and invited me, i was a little concerned till i realised it was for stray animals, similar to expats but not quite the same. I think it's a charity fund raising event and i will update you when i have the full SP. I thought they were trying to calm us all down with a quick snip!
Friday, March 9, 2007
Silly things that make us titter
Sorry folks, i hope i offend nobodies sensibilities, but hey ho s**t happens, i was sent this and had to share it with those who have not as yet had the pleasure.
MOre Funnies !Uncle Paul
"Hello?""Hi honey. This is Daddy. Is Mommy near the phone?""No Daddy. She's upstairs in the bedroom with Uncle Paul."After a brief pause,Daddy says, "But honey, you haven't got an Uncle Paul.""Oh yes I do, and he's upstairs in the room with Mommy, right now."Brief Pause."Uh, okay then, this is what I want you to do.Put the phone down on the table, run upstairs and knock on the bedroom door and shout to Mommy that Daddy's car just pulled into the driveway.""Okay Daddy, just a minute."A few minutes later the little girl comes back to the phone."I did it Daddy.""And what happened honey?" he asked."Well, Mommy got all scared, jumped out of bed with no clothes on and ran around screaming. Then she tripped over the rug, hit her head on the dresser and now she isn't moving at all!""Oh my God!!! What about your Uncle Paul?""He jumped out of the bed with no clothes on, too. He was all scared and he jumped out of the back window and into the swimmingpool. But I guess he didn't know that you took out the water last week to clean it. He hit the bottom of the pool and I think he's dead."***Long Pause******Longer Pause******Even Longer Pause***Then Daddy says,"Swimming pool? ...........Is this 555-9731?"
Domestic Flights
I have just been reliably informed by Khun Warren that as from Sunday 25th March most Domestic flights between Chaing Mai and Bangkok ( the budget carriers) will be reverting to the old horrible and dirty Don Muang airport. Thai airways may also be diverting some of their flights there.
So if your connecting with International flights it Will not be worth being cheap with the likes of Air Asia as you will have to get all the way to the new airport when you land.
Of course if Thai airways move some flights to Don Muang the connection times may be longer than usual, so all i can say to those of you that had nothing good to say about the new airport! Be careful what you wish for, because now it is going to be a real nightmare, and if you didn't like the facilities before you are going to hate having to spend longer in them waiting for your connection to international.
Personally i wish you had all wished we could be happy, healthy and terribly rich, since the mass wishing for the old airport seems to have worked!
Please check with respective airlines if you already have tickets booked, things can change so quickly, maybe the week after they will swap again!
REMEMBER NEXT TIME WISH FOR A LOTTERY WIN
So if your connecting with International flights it Will not be worth being cheap with the likes of Air Asia as you will have to get all the way to the new airport when you land.
Of course if Thai airways move some flights to Don Muang the connection times may be longer than usual, so all i can say to those of you that had nothing good to say about the new airport! Be careful what you wish for, because now it is going to be a real nightmare, and if you didn't like the facilities before you are going to hate having to spend longer in them waiting for your connection to international.
Personally i wish you had all wished we could be happy, healthy and terribly rich, since the mass wishing for the old airport seems to have worked!
Please check with respective airlines if you already have tickets booked, things can change so quickly, maybe the week after they will swap again!
REMEMBER NEXT TIME WISH FOR A LOTTERY WIN
Songkran 13th - 15th April
Not to be confused with a very popular and inexpensive Thai whiskey, Songkran is Thai New Year.
Love it or hate it it is going to happen and many expats here are already planing their escape.
For 3 days if you are lucky and 5 if you are not, the streets will be full of happy fun people drowning each other with water.
Traditionally a time for children to return home and pay respect to their Parents and bring gifts, big family feasts and visits to the temple.
People go to a Wat to pray and give food to monks. They also clean Buddha images in temples with water and gentle Thai perfume, as it is believed that this will bring good luck and prosperity for the New Year. In many cities, such as Chiang Mai the Buddha statues from all of the Wat's in the city are paraded through the streets so that people can wash them as they pass by. People carry handfuls of sand to their temple to in order to recompense the dirt that they carry away on their feet during the rest of the year. The sand is then piled into large, tiered piles and decorated with colorful flags. Later in the day, people also do community services. Going to Wat and doing community service teach people to give, the most basic way to happiness in Buddhism.
Traditionally lustra water, see wikipedia.com, is this a Betty quiz?, was poured over the hands or the shoulder in a calm and gentle fashion to show respect. Over the years and probably with the asistance of foreigners taking it one step beyond, Thailand is now the annual host to the worlds largest and longest water fight. Outside of just about every home and shop there will be barrels of water and people with buckets and water pistols aiming at anyone they can. From around 7am to 6pm the place is literally awash with fun and antics. Families fill up the pick up trucks with barrells and drive around and hoards of motorcycles with water pistols, it is very dangerous as many come off their bikes due to the extremely slippery surface.
Around the moat in chiangmai every inch is taken up with people selling food, drink and blocks of ice. The ice is for the barrels of water not the drinks, as it seems the colder the water the more fun it is to get people, how cruel?
It doesn't matter if you are young or old in shorts or on your way to work in a suit if you are not in a covered car with your windows closed, you are considered fair game and you are going to get WET. People even run up behind the red two bench buses and throw water inside!
One day of play can be fun but 3 gets a bit much.
Do's: wear shorts, buy the biggest water pistol you can, wrap mobile phones and wallets cameras etc in a plastic bag and do not get them out in the street, only use waterproof cameras and videos preferably waterproof to 2000 ft! Have fun.
Dont's: Try to avoid riding a motor bike during the day as it is extremely dangerous with many deaths each year, just because your a foreigner isn't going to get you off the hook, in fact i think it's more points!
Do not get upset about getting wet, it is a local tradition and it would only spoil peoples fun, if you want to stay dry STAY INDOORS.
Having said all that it is fun and everybody shares, if you have run out of water there will be plenty of offers to fill you back up, it is very community spirited and you will be made to feel more than welcome.
Have fun, be safe be happy and share.
Love it or hate it it is going to happen and many expats here are already planing their escape.
For 3 days if you are lucky and 5 if you are not, the streets will be full of happy fun people drowning each other with water.
Traditionally a time for children to return home and pay respect to their Parents and bring gifts, big family feasts and visits to the temple.
People go to a Wat to pray and give food to monks. They also clean Buddha images in temples with water and gentle Thai perfume, as it is believed that this will bring good luck and prosperity for the New Year. In many cities, such as Chiang Mai the Buddha statues from all of the Wat's in the city are paraded through the streets so that people can wash them as they pass by. People carry handfuls of sand to their temple to in order to recompense the dirt that they carry away on their feet during the rest of the year. The sand is then piled into large, tiered piles and decorated with colorful flags. Later in the day, people also do community services. Going to Wat and doing community service teach people to give, the most basic way to happiness in Buddhism.
Traditionally lustra water, see wikipedia.com, is this a Betty quiz?, was poured over the hands or the shoulder in a calm and gentle fashion to show respect. Over the years and probably with the asistance of foreigners taking it one step beyond, Thailand is now the annual host to the worlds largest and longest water fight. Outside of just about every home and shop there will be barrels of water and people with buckets and water pistols aiming at anyone they can. From around 7am to 6pm the place is literally awash with fun and antics. Families fill up the pick up trucks with barrells and drive around and hoards of motorcycles with water pistols, it is very dangerous as many come off their bikes due to the extremely slippery surface.
Around the moat in chiangmai every inch is taken up with people selling food, drink and blocks of ice. The ice is for the barrels of water not the drinks, as it seems the colder the water the more fun it is to get people, how cruel?
It doesn't matter if you are young or old in shorts or on your way to work in a suit if you are not in a covered car with your windows closed, you are considered fair game and you are going to get WET. People even run up behind the red two bench buses and throw water inside!
One day of play can be fun but 3 gets a bit much.
Do's: wear shorts, buy the biggest water pistol you can, wrap mobile phones and wallets cameras etc in a plastic bag and do not get them out in the street, only use waterproof cameras and videos preferably waterproof to 2000 ft! Have fun.
Dont's: Try to avoid riding a motor bike during the day as it is extremely dangerous with many deaths each year, just because your a foreigner isn't going to get you off the hook, in fact i think it's more points!
Do not get upset about getting wet, it is a local tradition and it would only spoil peoples fun, if you want to stay dry STAY INDOORS.
Having said all that it is fun and everybody shares, if you have run out of water there will be plenty of offers to fill you back up, it is very community spirited and you will be made to feel more than welcome.
Have fun, be safe be happy and share.
Suvarnabhumi Airport
Having read so many damming reports of the new airport and recently, and having had 3 very good experiences myself, i thought it was time to balance the scales and wrote to the Bangkok post POSTBAG, they chose not to publish the item, maybe because it would have taken up the post bag space for 2 days, i can rabbit on when i get the bit between my teeth, they could have given it the front page though.
Anyhow a little while after another damming report appeared so i slightly amended the item to include the concerns of this disgruntled contributor, see the first 2 paragraphs, they relate to his experience and my retort for him, if you please, UPSET over a perfume advert! Whatever next? Upset he had to walk to immigration but the disabled get a ride!? Who's faults that? break a leg!
After that is my rantings on what i have so far found to be a great place, admittedly with lots of room for improvement but has anyone been home lately, it's not just the airports in chaos.
Is your cup half full or half empty?
Dear Amazed in Thailand, post bag 1st March 2007.
I am sure it is frustrating having to take a bus from the aircraft to the terminal, but believe me Bangkok is not the only place in the world where this occurs, every time I land at Dubai, and believe me that is often, I have been bussed to the terminal, they are rectifying this as I am sure are Bangkok
In the mean time I am sure you would not want them to suspend Domestic and International fights to resolve this problem because believe me taking the bus from Chiang Mai to Bangkok would be far more inconvenient. I am really not sure how a perfume advert has any bearing on the issue of busing people to the terminal unless of course you would be happier to see an advertisement listing all the perceived failures of the new airport, negativity does not breed progress.
It certainly makes the world a more interesting place with peoples different
perceptions to the same situation, and mine regarding the new airport in Bangkok certainly seems to be different. In November 2006 I left this fine and pleasant land for a trip to the UK, a nightmare thought at the best of times, and all the comments on how poorly the new airport was performing made it no easier.
However to my pleasant surprise I certainly had a different story to tell. I flew from Chiang Mai to Bangkok to connect directly with an Emirates flight to the UK via Dubai and was concerned about the luggage appearing on time along with, will I find my way and GOD FORBID I may need to find a toilet! Amazement, not only were my bags on the carousel before I got there, I found a toilet and a very clean and empty one at that. The airport staff pointed me without hesitation to the connection for International departures and although it looked like it still needed a lick of paint, it was organised efficient and had a calming effect, unusual to say the least for any busy international airport.
Having kept up to date with current affairs during my absence I was once again dreading the mayhem promised to me by various articles and comments on web sites. A double whammy I returned to the same smooth operation I had left. It took a lot less time to get to immigration which unlike the old airport had most of the booths opened and manned. I cleared immigration within minutes not hours, and thanks to the signage ( yes it is there if you open your eyes) was soon by the luggage carousel, admittedly I was travelling in Business class and am a Gold member of Skywards, but my luggage was there within 5 minutes and I was off. From the Aircraft doors opening to my arrival at my hotel in Bangkok took a whole 65 minutes, maybe something to do with more road connections.
Well if your not envious yet, the next day, having had my one obligatory night of fun in Bangkok I gave myself plenty of time to reach the airport, it was a Friday and did not wish to risk missing my flight and trying to get on another, and what a surprise when it took less time than in THE GOOD OLD DAYS!
Check in was swift and courteous, thank you Thai airways, and again finding my way from check in to the business class lounge with nothing more than signage to guide my way was swift. The facilities were beautiful and after a spot on the Internet and a bit of snacking, I went off to explore and find some of the reported nightmares.
Oh shock horror, the food court is magnificent, the selection vast and my first let down, the first and last, it’s not cheap, but find me an airport that is.
Having had a mooch around the shops it was time to head to the gate for boarding, but en-route that Singha beer made itself known and a toilet stop was required, like an oasis in the desert the SIGN showing me the way, and the way lead to an admittedly small but clean facility that I only had to share with one other and she was there to clean, and was certainly not holding up the proceedings.
A few minutes later I found myself at the departure gate, and unlike the nightmare of Don Muang, I did not see one person having to stand, sit on the floor or share their seat with a friend, there was a copious amount of seating until the flight was called to board.
I appreciate that human beings are not a great one for change, unless it’s their mobile phone or car, but I really feel people are just not comfortable with the new surroundings yet. People were so used to the old airport and navigated its facilities on autopilot, it is suddenly a shock to the senses to not know where you’re going, and I have the same experience whenever I visit a new airport wherever it is in the world
I worked in travel for many years and have travelled extensively myself and I find the new airport to have the most calming effect of any I have visited even on a busy Friday afternoon. The gardens are stunning and accessible to all and I am sure with time things will be sorted.
To put things into prospective, the opening of a new restaurant, a much smaller occurrence, at least has the chance for a burn off, a night or several where friends and family of the staff can eat for free so they may test the systems, not even David Copperfield could magic up several days of flights and passengers to test the new systems to capacity and find the flaws, and face it on a size basis pro rata they could do with it.
As far as missing baggage is concerned check out the UK news on British Airways failure to repatriate 7000 bags with their owners after 2 days of freezing fog. Several weeks later they are still miles apart.
One thing that cannot be changed is the fact that some greedy moron decided to build the whole new airport on a swamp, there is an old fable of a man who built his castle on sand, and as much as it is a fable great heed could be taken form it’s sentiment, but isn’t that part of the reason for the events in Thailand of September last year? Be proud of your airport and give the new regime chance to resolve what was inherited form the last.
Anyhow a little while after another damming report appeared so i slightly amended the item to include the concerns of this disgruntled contributor, see the first 2 paragraphs, they relate to his experience and my retort for him, if you please, UPSET over a perfume advert! Whatever next? Upset he had to walk to immigration but the disabled get a ride!? Who's faults that? break a leg!
After that is my rantings on what i have so far found to be a great place, admittedly with lots of room for improvement but has anyone been home lately, it's not just the airports in chaos.
Is your cup half full or half empty?
Dear Amazed in Thailand, post bag 1st March 2007.
I am sure it is frustrating having to take a bus from the aircraft to the terminal, but believe me Bangkok is not the only place in the world where this occurs, every time I land at Dubai, and believe me that is often, I have been bussed to the terminal, they are rectifying this as I am sure are Bangkok
In the mean time I am sure you would not want them to suspend Domestic and International fights to resolve this problem because believe me taking the bus from Chiang Mai to Bangkok would be far more inconvenient. I am really not sure how a perfume advert has any bearing on the issue of busing people to the terminal unless of course you would be happier to see an advertisement listing all the perceived failures of the new airport, negativity does not breed progress.
It certainly makes the world a more interesting place with peoples different
perceptions to the same situation, and mine regarding the new airport in Bangkok certainly seems to be different. In November 2006 I left this fine and pleasant land for a trip to the UK, a nightmare thought at the best of times, and all the comments on how poorly the new airport was performing made it no easier.
However to my pleasant surprise I certainly had a different story to tell. I flew from Chiang Mai to Bangkok to connect directly with an Emirates flight to the UK via Dubai and was concerned about the luggage appearing on time along with, will I find my way and GOD FORBID I may need to find a toilet! Amazement, not only were my bags on the carousel before I got there, I found a toilet and a very clean and empty one at that. The airport staff pointed me without hesitation to the connection for International departures and although it looked like it still needed a lick of paint, it was organised efficient and had a calming effect, unusual to say the least for any busy international airport.
Having kept up to date with current affairs during my absence I was once again dreading the mayhem promised to me by various articles and comments on web sites. A double whammy I returned to the same smooth operation I had left. It took a lot less time to get to immigration which unlike the old airport had most of the booths opened and manned. I cleared immigration within minutes not hours, and thanks to the signage ( yes it is there if you open your eyes) was soon by the luggage carousel, admittedly I was travelling in Business class and am a Gold member of Skywards, but my luggage was there within 5 minutes and I was off. From the Aircraft doors opening to my arrival at my hotel in Bangkok took a whole 65 minutes, maybe something to do with more road connections.
Well if your not envious yet, the next day, having had my one obligatory night of fun in Bangkok I gave myself plenty of time to reach the airport, it was a Friday and did not wish to risk missing my flight and trying to get on another, and what a surprise when it took less time than in THE GOOD OLD DAYS!
Check in was swift and courteous, thank you Thai airways, and again finding my way from check in to the business class lounge with nothing more than signage to guide my way was swift. The facilities were beautiful and after a spot on the Internet and a bit of snacking, I went off to explore and find some of the reported nightmares.
Oh shock horror, the food court is magnificent, the selection vast and my first let down, the first and last, it’s not cheap, but find me an airport that is.
Having had a mooch around the shops it was time to head to the gate for boarding, but en-route that Singha beer made itself known and a toilet stop was required, like an oasis in the desert the SIGN showing me the way, and the way lead to an admittedly small but clean facility that I only had to share with one other and she was there to clean, and was certainly not holding up the proceedings.
A few minutes later I found myself at the departure gate, and unlike the nightmare of Don Muang, I did not see one person having to stand, sit on the floor or share their seat with a friend, there was a copious amount of seating until the flight was called to board.
I appreciate that human beings are not a great one for change, unless it’s their mobile phone or car, but I really feel people are just not comfortable with the new surroundings yet. People were so used to the old airport and navigated its facilities on autopilot, it is suddenly a shock to the senses to not know where you’re going, and I have the same experience whenever I visit a new airport wherever it is in the world
I worked in travel for many years and have travelled extensively myself and I find the new airport to have the most calming effect of any I have visited even on a busy Friday afternoon. The gardens are stunning and accessible to all and I am sure with time things will be sorted.
To put things into prospective, the opening of a new restaurant, a much smaller occurrence, at least has the chance for a burn off, a night or several where friends and family of the staff can eat for free so they may test the systems, not even David Copperfield could magic up several days of flights and passengers to test the new systems to capacity and find the flaws, and face it on a size basis pro rata they could do with it.
As far as missing baggage is concerned check out the UK news on British Airways failure to repatriate 7000 bags with their owners after 2 days of freezing fog. Several weeks later they are still miles apart.
One thing that cannot be changed is the fact that some greedy moron decided to build the whole new airport on a swamp, there is an old fable of a man who built his castle on sand, and as much as it is a fable great heed could be taken form it’s sentiment, but isn’t that part of the reason for the events in Thailand of September last year? Be proud of your airport and give the new regime chance to resolve what was inherited form the last.
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