Bits and Pieces - Thailand

Email from Thaksins wife

2007-04-11T16:54:00.000+07:00

I just got this very, very urgent email and it really made me laugh:

"DEAR KHUN
PLEASE HANDLE IT' SECRET
MY NAME IS MRS.NOI TAKSIN SHINAWATRA THE WIFE OF FORMER PRIME MINISTER OF THAILAND.WHO HAVE JUST BIENG OVERTHROWN ON POWER BY THE THAILAND MILITARY GOVERNMENT ON THE [19TH OF SEPTEMBER 2006.] RIGHT NOW WE ARE ON EXILE CURRENTLY IN LONDON, WITH MY HUSBAND. I AM CONTACTING YOU TO ASSIST ME FOR SECURING AND INVEST. I' HAVE THIS HUG OF MONEY IN MY CUSTODY WHICH I WANT YOU TO INVEST IT' FORME WITHOUT MY HUSBAND CONCERNCE WITH A TOTAL SUM OF [USD$21,000.000] [TWENTY ONE MILLION DOLLARS].
AS A POTENTIAL INDUSTRIAL MACHINERY INVESTOR. PLEASE NOTE THIS DEAL MOST BE SEAL BETWEEN TWO OF US NO ONE WILL HEAR ABOUT EVEN MY HUSBAND DOES NOT KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT IT' IS A SECRET.
SECONDLY AS A POTENTIALOF YOUR COUNTRY,WHICH GUARRANTEES US GOOD RETURNS AND HUMAN SECURITY AS A RESULT OF THE SOURCE OF THE FUND,I HEREBY BELIEVING THAT YOUR ASSISTANCE WILL BE PROFITABLE TO BOTH OF US.I WILL APPRECIATE YOUR WILLINESS TO CARRY OUT THIS TRANSATIONS THE GRATIFICATION REMARK I DETERMINDED AS I SOON AS I HEAR FROM YOU.I HAVE MAPED OUT 10%,FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE AND THAT MIGHT ARISE ON THE PROCESS OF SAFEGUIDIND ME AND THE MONEYWITH OUT EXPOSING ME I WAITE FOR YOUR URGENT REPLY. SO THAT I CAN UP-DATE YOU WITH INFORMATION AND FEEL FREE TO ASK IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTION CONTACT ME ON MY PRIVATE MAIL
YOURS SINCERELY
MRS.NOI TAKSIN SHINAWATRA."

How often do you get an email from an ex-prime ministers wife? I know this is scam but I like it a lot better than the usual "Nigeria" spam mails I get.

For everyone who is a little bit familiar with Thai politics this is an obvious fake. Beside the bad English I do not think Khunying Potjaman Shinawatra would not part with 10% of 21 Million US$ for just this small favour. And she is not know to be a feminist but to refer to herself as Mrs. Little Taksin Shinawatra?
But maybe I am wrong. What do you think?

Don't get confused - Bangkok Airports

2007-03-22T15:57:00.000+07:00

Don Muang Airport opens again on Sunday, March 25, 2007.

After the opening of the new Suvarnabhumi airport in September 2006, rushed by the old Thaksin administration, problems never ended. Now the new Suvarnabhumi airport already needs some repairs. To easen up the pressure the government decided to re-open the old Don Muang airport for some domestic flights.

Here is a short guide:

Suvarnabhumi airport:

All international flights
domestic flights by Thai airways with a 3 digit flight number to and from Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Krabi and Phuket

Don Muang:

All flights by Nok Air
All flights by One-Two-Go
Thai Airways domestic flights to and from Hat Yai, Udon Thani, Khon Kaen, Ubon Ratchathani, Surat Thani and Phitsanulok
All flights by Thai Airways with 4 digit flight numbers to and from Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Krabi and Phuket

So check your ticket for the flight number and cout the digits before leaving for the airport in Bangkok to make sure you end up at the right one.

The government did not rule out that in furture some International flights mights also go to Don Muang airport.

For this is good news. I always loved the direct connection of the old airport with the train station just across the road. Coming from Nongkhai by night train I could store my luggage at the train station which is much cheaper than at the airport (or better forward it by train), spend a few hours in Bangkok and be back for my late evening flights. Flying from the nearest airport (Udon Thani) safes some time, but not much. If you take into account that you wait for the limousine service Nongkhai - Udon Thani, 1 hour drive, wait for check-in to start, check-in and the one hour flight, you easily neeed 3 - 4 hours. The train takes 12 hours, but you get a bed to sleep in. And it is much cheaper after the tax rise and high oil prices.

What I miss most in Thailand

2007-03-22T13:52:00.000+07:00

I love to read. One book per week is minimum and I try not to run out of new books. When I managed to pick up a whole bunch, it makes my day. One of the things I miss most in Thailand are books or better bookstores where one can spend hours looking for new reading material. Sure, there are bookstores in many places and they also have some English books, but the selection is limited. I do not talk Bangkok or the tourist areas, where one might find second hand book stores where travellers exchange their reading material. It needs some patience but sometimes you find something really worth the effort.

Upcountry, the picture is completely different. The bookstores carry very few English books and the used books available are often the typical holiday read, not what I am looking forward to relax with. One can only digest a limited number of John Grisham, Dan Brown or simiar books. And any textbooks are impossible to find. Inside the expat community there is some book exchhange going on in the place I live, but most books are not exactly what I would have choosen had I another option.

So I rely a lot on Internet bookstores like Amazon - and fortunately import of books is taxfree and normally the parcels do not get lost on the way. Maybe simply because nobody here is interested much in English or German books.

One could say I shoud learn to read Thai better and stick to Thai books. Let me tell you, that would not really be an alternative. It took me some time before I really enjoyed reading English books, my native language is German. With Thai I am far from this stage of mastering the language.

Students become monks

2007-03-20T04:45:00.000+07:00

In March 12 students of Guanwan Highschool decided to start their holidays with some time as novices in the village temple. We joined the two days event in Baan Prao to watch normal boys change into monks.

You might have seen pictures of Thai monks. They all have very short or no hair. The first step for a boy or man to take is the shaving of his head. Not only the hair, but eyebrows too. Most Thais do not have as much facial hair as Westerners, but it would have to go as well. This changes the appearance of a person noticeably.

The parents will start with cutting a symbolical piece of hair. Then elder relatives and other respected persons, like village elders, teachers or volunteers will be asked to follow suit. The monk to be holds a big lotus leaf in which all cut off hair is collected so it does not fall on the floor.

Then the boys kneel in front of their parents and hand them a plate with three orange candles and white thread and thank them. The parents in return fasten the thread around their sons wrist with good wishes. Now the roles are reversed. The boys take their parents place and the parents return to their seats. Elders and respected people now have a chance to bless the future monks as well and wind a white thread around their wrists.

All boys get a set of white clothes to change into the next day from their parents. The monks to be then go home and have a huge meals with their families. The next morning everyone comes back to school to accompany the boys on their way to the temple. The parents carry the new orange robes and alms bowls to hand them over later.

At the temple the group walks three times clockwise around the bot. The boys now dressed in white and barefoot, holding three lotus flowers in their hands walk under huge orange umbrellas carried by parents or elders.

Now boys and parents moves inside the temple while some friends stay outside to prepare a meal. The boys sit in the front row, close to the monks. After some chanting, the robes are handed over in a traditional way and the monks take the boys aside to help them to change into the robes. Not an easy task to fix all the different items around your body in the proper way.

The boys have to answer some questions by the abbot in Pali. It sounds as if they practiced the questions and answers for some time.

Like most other ceremonies, this one ends with a meal for all guests and the new novices sit together separated from their families.

Upcoming Thai Festivals and Holidays

2006-09-05T21:27:00.000+07:00

7. October 2006 Ok Phansa & Thot Kathin

The End of Buddhist Lent Festival - This day is the end of the Buddhist Lent that lasts three month every year. Buddhists will make merit and offer food and other necessary goods to the monks. Time for the robe offering ceremonies ("thot kathin"). These ceremonies are performed during one month.

Many activities originated on this day and have been passed on to the present generation such as the wax castle offering and illuminated boat procession to worship the Naga king.

7. October 2005 Naga Festival

Bang Fai Phaya Naga is said to be a natural phenomenon. Fireballs can be seen rising up from the Maekhong River on the night at the end of the Buddhist Lent. Many people come to Nongkhai every year, hotels are booked out a long time in advance, and traffic that evening is like Bangkok at rush hour. There is also a friendship boat race between Thailand and Laos during this time.

23. October Chulalongkorn Memorial Day
King Chulalongkorn or Rama V. is memorated for the modernisation of Thailand and thanks to his politics Thailand did not become a colony.

5. November 2006 Full moon night of the 12th lunar months Loy Kratong
Not an official holiday, but a festival you should not miss when in Thailand. People float little containers with a candle, joss sticks and a coin to thank the river goddess and get rid of their past years sins.
Kratongs were originally made from natural matrials, using banana trunks and leaves. In modern times people often replaces it with artificial floats from styrofaom. The government launched an initiative to preserve nature and encurages people to go back to the natural material to avoid polution.

Search and help

2006-08-25T10:32:00.000+07:00

An interesting concept: Make Isara your homepage, use the search function and Isara gets paid by advertisers and promises to donates the money to charity projects in Thailand.

One might question if buying cheap (and not safe by any standard) helmets that do not really fit is the best use one could make of the money, but the school cleaning or computer donations for schools look good.
Isara.com

Tags: Thailand, charity, Isara, projects

Visited by a snake

2006-08-20T12:30:00.000+07:00

I had a snake in my house yesterday. It was just staring at me when I opened the door downstairs. Quite scary. I closed the door again to get my camera. Last time I got bitten by a snake they asked me in the hospital if I brought the snake so I thought, just in case I take a photo. But the camera did not work. I tried to chase it out, but that didn't work either. So I went to my neighbors to ask them if they could have a look at it and tell me if it is poisonous or not. Guess what, when we came back, the snake was gone. It is a strange feeling now each time I am downstairs, not knowing if it left for good or is just hiding somewhere.

Tags: Thailand, snake, animal

Condiments

2006-08-14T10:12:00.001+07:00

Did you ever wonder what the condiments are you find in many street restaurants?

Prik Nam Bpla - Fishsauce with chopped chilies, salty and a little bit spicy. It is used to add flavour to rice and noodle dishes.

Namtaan - Sugar, seems Thai people love sweet food (if combined with spicy taste).

Prik Phon - Dried chopped chilies to add more taste to otherwise non spicy rice or noodle dishes and soups. Often the powder is not really spicy. The fresh chilies from the Prik Nam Bpla add more taste.

Prik Nam Som - Copped chilies in rice vinegar; adds a sour taste to your rice or noodle dish. I prefer lime if available.

Tags: Thailand , Thai food, condiments

Snacks in all flavours

2006-08-01T18:03:00.000+07:00

In a shop I found potato chips with 'German sausage'-flavor a few days ago. Being German I had to try it. Strange thing. It tastes like the typical Berlin curry sausage mixed with French fries. After dinner I wanted some ice cream, went to the nearest 7/11 and I saw potato chips with 'French Salad' flavor. Haven't tried that one yet.

Thai people seem to love snacks. Home made or by one of the major snack companies. The later often contain a lot of fat and / or sugar and MSG. At schools you can see children skipping lunch and eating snacks acompanied by a sweet soft drink instead. It slowly becomes a problem and Thailand starts to face a problem with obese kids.

Border crossing and paper work

2006-08-01T17:55:00.000+07:00

In the bus crossing the Thai-Lao Friendship bridge over the Mekong on my way back from Laos I overheard a German couple. When we arrived at the Thai border post, she complaint about all the paperwork. I had to smile. She seems to have no idea how much more difficult it is for Thai people to visit Germany or any other Schengen country. It is not just filling in a form, you have to proof you have a health insurance, enough money, a ticket back to Thailand, and if you are not traveling on a tour you need someone to guarantee for you. And even then your visa application might be rejected, if they have the feeling you do not have enough reason to return to Thailand and might try to stay in Europe. What is this trouble compared to filling in a simple form, handing over your passport, getting a few stamps and smile from the immigration officer?

Thai food today: Jim Jum

2006-07-24T22:46:00.000+07:00

I met backpackers who thought that pancakes and fruit plates are Thai food and their only acquaintance with real Thai food was Pad Thai and noodle soup. Both are fine, but if you not go out and try to eat all these delicious dishes that are around, you really miss something. Eating plays a major role in the average Thais life and sharing a meal with friends is an experience not to miss. Finding food is no problem. Any time of the day you find street vendors or small restaurants on the street.

Last night we went out for Jim Jum, a kind of soup prepared at the table in an earthen ware pot on charcoal fire.

If you go to a place where the specialize in Jim Jum, the main selection you have to make is the sort of meat you want to add. You order beef, pork, seafood or organ per chute. It will be served raw on a plate together with a basket containing sweet Thai basil leaves, cabbage and glass noodles and spring onion ( combination of vegetables can vary a little bit) and you add it to the boiling broth yourself. Every restaurant has its own recipes for the sauces you later add to your food. Some are very spicy, especially the combination of lime juice, garlic and chilies while others are milder or even sweet. Usually you get three different kinds of sauces.

When the soup is boiling you first add the vegetables and stir with your chop sticks. This will lower the temperature in the pot a little and you better wait until it boils again before you add the meat. The meat comes in thin slices and is ready within a minute.

Now all you have to master is to fish the now slippery noodles and other ingredients out of the pot with your chopsticks, add you favorite sauce and enjoy. The soup becomes richer the more meat and vegetables are boiled in it and is best at the end.

Tip: As you can not regulate the temperature of the fire under the pot, if it gets too hot, add some of the ice that normally is served in a small bucket with your drinks.

Tags: Thailand, Thai food, jim jum

50,000 people disabled through accidents every year

2006-07-15T09:30:00.000+07:00

The Nation, an English newspaper for Thailand, has a short item about traffic causalties today.

Estimated 50,000 people end up mentally or physically disabled after a traffic accident every year. 976,357 people were injured in accidents 2005.

The article does not say if these numbers include tourists or expats. Thailand has about 62 Million inhabitants. Put that into relation and it sounds as if there are accidents all the time.

So is Thai traffic very risky? Maybe. The article does not mention the number of accidents.

Students got to school, three kids on one motorbike, songteaws, these pick-up trucks with two benches along each side, are often packed with people and totally overloaded, whole families go to town on one motorcycle, in peak time busses are crowded.

One accident usually means there are lot of people involved even if only two vehicles crash.

The risk is certainly higher than in countries where people can afford the regular maintanance of their vehicles and government pulls unsafe transportation off the streets.

The Thai government reacted with new laws the last years. I.e. now motocycle riders have to wear helmets. If they do, once the traffic police has gone home, is a complete different story. And the foreigner here are not much better.

Tags: Thailand,traffic

2006-07-15T09:03:00.000+07:00

Thailand - the land of smiles?

Well, yes,
but there is much more. And I do not talk about beaches or good weather. I will write about the daily life, the bits and pieces often unnoticed by the average tourist.

I try to get a grip on Thai culture, to understand Thai people. The longer I am here I the more I have the feeling that is very long learning process.

Tags: Thailand,travel