Miss Universe lands in Bangkok

16 May 2005

I have no idea what the difference is between Miss Universe and Miss World. After all there do not appear to be any extra-terrestrial girls masquerading as beauty pageant contestants. However the competition, which runs from 13 - 31 May, has taken over Bangkok. For 16 days the girls are being dragged around 30 Thai provinces at the hottest time of the year with daily appearances and functions.

The show itself is live on NBC at 9pm on Monday 30 May. Which means it will be held at 8am in Bangkok.

As a public service this is a link to the missuniversethailand web site with pictures of all the delegates (I think they mean contestants). There is also the girls appearance schedule which is truly grueling. With a dinner each night they are also likely to have put on pounds before the end of month final contest.

The official international site, with better pictures and with profiles of the contestants (sorry, delegates!) is here.

Look out for Miss Ukraine; she paints, writes poetry and plays guitar and appears to have no plan to end poverty or to save the world.

Miss Norway, who is half Thai, will likely do well. Though she looks far from Scandinavian. Miss Puerto Rico has great teeth; Miss Japan is 6ft 1inch, where did they find her? Miss Korea is So-Young Kim; although at 24 she is probably one of the older contestants (oops delegates).

Meanwhile Miss Venezuela, Monica Spear, likes to get to the point. What is it about Venezuela; the country that wins nothing except modeling contests.

Good luck to all the delegates; they will need a lot of luck and a lot of stamina to survive two weeks in this heat. They are all staying at the Dusit Thani hotel. My golf pro (Doug Hood at the Dusit) should be offering discounted classes !

False security!

3 May 2005

In a country where fake goods are still sold on most street corners it is interesting to watch the new security measures being taken at buildings and hotels around the city.

We have new security on the ground floor of potash towers; the security may be there as the building is also home to the embassy of one of the western world's most benign democracies. Photo id is in theory to be shown to enter the building; but one colleague showed his sandwich and I have entered with my Chinese language business card.

Outside the building cars are stopped in the driveway to the entrance. The security guards have flat mirrors on trolleys which they slide under the car; it is unlikely that they have any idea what they are looking for. They do not ask why we are going to the building or examine what we are carrying in the taxi.

The same thing happens at the entrance to the Dusit Thani hotel; drivers are also asked to open their trunks. My golf clubs are there; but they are not examined.

In many ways this is all a good thing; new jobs have been created! The danger is that it gives a false sense of security. It is not for real; it is half hearted.

Air fare fraud; the hidden costs

2 May 2005

As on 1 May Thailand's three low costs airlines have acted in unison to apply fuel charges in all fares; the fuel surcharge is Baht 200 for domestic flights and Baht 400 for international flights. Low cost is no longer so low cost. All the scheduled carriers add fuel surcharges and taxes to their fares and the LCCs have followed suit.

But this pricing verges on the fraudulent for the LCCs; who change their prices all the time to maximise yield. It would be far more appropriate to include the fuel surcharge in the base fare. Instead of advertising domestic fares from Baht 399 in May and June, Thai Air Asia should be advertising fares form Baht 599 plus relevant taxes. The fuel surcharge is even hidden with security and administration costs.

Lets look at a weekend trip to Singapore in May:

Outbound on 26 May a fare is advertised for Baht 1,099; to this add Baht 700 for insurance Baht 50; administration Baht 100; security and fuel Baht 550.  So the total outbound cost is Baht 1.799.

Coming back on 29 May there is a fare advertised at Baht 1,299. To this add Baht 1,075 for a total of Baht 2,374. The extras are as above plus an airport tax in Singapore of Baht 375.

So advertised fares for the round trip of Baht 2,398 add up to a total cost of Baht 4,173. You have been warned.

Tiger Airways meanwhile has no fuel surcharge and will fly you from BKK to SIN on the same dates for a total of S$ 170.96 (roughly Baht 4,126).

Jetstar Asia meanwhile charges extras that include aircraft insurance fees of Baht 220 per flight and an administration fee of Baht 200. Their Singapore Passenger Service Charge is Baht 520 (compared to 375 on Air Asia). Jetstar's return fares for the same days are Baht 4,635.

Best advise for international flights: shop around and check all the extra charges.

The wishful thinking hub

22 March 2005

Perhaps the most mis-used English word in Thailand is "hub." A quick scroll through newspaper articles on the last week and there are reports that Thailand wants to be the hub of all hubs !! The mother or all hubs! Where else in the world would a country seek to be a hub for all of the following?

Thaksin's landslide (2)

7 February 2005

Prime Minister Thaksin heads into his second term in office with an overwhelming mandate to rule. He needs no coalition. Thai Rak Thai appears to be heading for 375 of the 500 parliamentary seats; including 32 of 37 seats from Bangkok.

It is only the South of Thailand that rejected TRT. This will become a major and potentially divisive issue for the second term. The overwhelming TRT support in the rest of Thailand indicates support for the TRT's strong arm policies in the South; the lack of support in the South suggest high levels of disaffection.

Two surveys in Thailand indicate that all was not well with the democratic process as candidates spent nearly 10 billion baht (US$260 million) to buy their way to victory in a campaign marked by corruption, gambling and vote-buying. The Electoral Commission is toothless.

One of two polls by Bangkok's Assumption University showed that more than one in three respondents believed massive vote buying was among the greatest concerns for the election.

Vote-buying and other corrupt practices have marred past balloting in Thailand despite efforts in recent years to curb such tactics by an Election Commission and non-government organizations.

Prime Minister Thaksin said last week that "only a buffalo would spend (billions of baht) for an election. My party has the advantage and there is no need to buy votes."  Yet on Wednesday night last week family members of a friend were offered Baht 200 each by TRT campaigners for their vote. Some families in the same village were apparently holding out for Baht 500 each.

Thaksin has a fabulous mandate. The biggest question of the next few years is how he uses that mandate. With greater power comes greater responsibility.

Thaksin's landslide

4 February 2005

His effective management of the Tsunami crisis has removed any lingering doubts about Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's coming landslide win in Sunday's general election in Thailand. There are 500 seats in the legislature; Thai Rak Thai could win as many as 350. With political allies in other parties and a likely slew of defections the opposition voice would be quiet indeed.

Frankly the opposition voice deserves to be quiet. There is no evidence of leadership. There appear to be no clear policy alternatives.  The Thai economy is booming again. Unemployment is low; incomes are rising.

Thaksin's CEO talents make him want to run the country as he sees fit without the checks and balances of an effective parliamentary opposition. The opposition parties do not expect to win. They have resorted to pleading for enough seats on parliament to still be heard.

Thaksin has led from the front; he has worked hard for the country, the country has benefited. And so, argue his critics, have the companies that he and his family own  through Shin Corporation.

The concern that many people have is that to get things done Thaksin ignores, or over rides, the very institutions that are put in place to provide balance. There is little respect for the Electoral Commission and the Constitutional Court.

Thaksin understand well that popularity matters in Thai politics; as long as people believe they are benefiting then they will stay loyal to the hand that feeds them. Thai Rak Thai's base is largely in the rural communities; but a second term plan for road and mass transit construction and other mega projects could win the hearts and minds of the capital as well.

My greatest wish is that he would lead a forceful drive that eliminates corruption throughout Thai society; that invests in education; that defends human rights; that rewards good management and that does not tolerate bureaucratic inefficiency or incompetence, that provides clear transparency between political actions and business benefits.

The plea from Phuket

21 January 2005

www.phuketmagazine.com

Least appropriate Tsunami charity efforts !!

21 January 2005

Full marks to the following for making an effort - though they might have chosen different ways to show their concern:

A new Year message from last week's disaster

1 January 2005

It has been an appalling, extraordinary and unbelievably grim week for those living around the Indian Ocean. The death toll from last week's tsunami now approaching 125,000; the number increasing by thousands daily.

And it is a disaster where the only emotion can be great sadness. There is no one to be angry at. This is simply nature's wake up call. It is not the product of terrorism or of strife.

It is also a massive reminder that in the end we are all equal. The rich and the poor, the tourists and the villagers. Millionaires in low-lying beachfront villas were as vulnerable as fisherman. Back-packers in off-the-beach bungalows were often unaffected. The dead from this tragedy, lying disfigured in their makeshift coffins waiting for identification look much like one another; except that in this case so many of the dead are children, who were not strong enough to be able to run from or stand up to the force of water.

The rest of us live on; giving thanks that we were not there and for so many people doing what they can in their own way to offer aid and support. The global response has been frenzied. Good can come from adversity. New Year celebrations have been reduced to fund-raising events. There has been a phenomenal outpouring of corporate and individual donations to help provide relief. Maybe that in part is due to the number of foreigners who died in this tragedy. It is not a localised crisis. The dead come from Europe and North America as well as the nations of the Indian Ocean. The response is very different from the earthquake in Bam, Iran, a year ago.

Meanwhile Messrs Blair and Bush appear so fixated with Iraq that they have missed the outpouring of public empathy for this tragedy and failed to provide clear leadership and direction to their official leading to accusations of poor judgment and miserly aid. The US initially offered a meagre US$15m in aid. It was not unto Wednesday (29th) that Bush offered his condolences to the leaders of India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Indonesia. Bush and Blair are both holidaying and remain on holiday.

US aid is now up to US$350 million but compare this to the daily cost of remaining in the Iraq war. The cost each year of the US military is approx US$ 450 billion (yes, billion). The US non military development aid in 2003 was US$16 million.

The US is not alone in its misplaced spending. But if the US wants to continue to declare its leading world role then it needs to take a lead role in fighting poverty and leading aid.

At a new year we all wish for peace and prosperity. On a global scale peace and prosperity comes from the world's wealthy nations taking real action to help the poor, the weak, the hungry and the sick. There are many words. There are also opportunities. Blair has committed that the G-8 summit in Britain in July will make the fight against poverty and long-term climate change tow of the priorities of the summit. The events of last week show just how much action is needed.

Why was there no warning?

29 December 2004

This is not a time for recrimination and finger pointing. It is a time for doing as much as possible to rescue, aid, comfort, and support those in need.

But questions are rightly being asked about why the death toll needed to be so high. The following opinion piece from today's Nation newspaper in Bangkok should serve as a wake up call to many. The article needs no further comment.

How much is a life worth?

28 December 2004

With the death toll now close to 60,000 the Australian Foreign Secretary has said that Australia will lead a Tsunami warning system for the Indian ocean.

The Australians are already party to a warning system for the Pacific. But guess what, the Pacific nations are among the wealthiest nations in the world; Japan, Canada, the USA are all a part of the Pacific warning system.

But the Indian Ocean is surrounded by the nations of Africa, South Asia and South East Asia. The technology existed to warn people to get to high ground. And it requires huge investment to implement, educate, monitor and operate such a warning system; which in itself may only be used once a generation.

This is one investment that should have come earlier; and while the Australian initiative may be for the long term good it looks like a belated assessment that the wealthy nations of the region should have done something earlier.

Death toll reaches 23,000

27 December 2004

CNN's coverage of the Tsunami was awful yesterday with Andrew Brown in Hong Kong being roped in to provide local commentary despite the fact that Hong Kong is 1,500 miles away from the Thai and Malaysia crisis points and further form India and Sri Lanka.

Today the coverage is improved although Larry King needs to learn how to pronounce Phuket. Sadly the international media has largely fixed on Thailand as Phuket's dead includes a large number of foreigners. And guess what, there are phone lines and English speaking people in Phuket so they can be summoned to talk with Larry King. Thailand's dead is now estimated at 1,000. The number of dead in the coastal communities of South Asia is far far greater.

I mentioned Phuket Laguna yesterday; apparently the resort complex has been wiped out.

A friend who flies for Air Asia said that Phuket airport was reopened at about 5pm yesterday and that airlines were running extra flights; she had been called for two extra flights finally getting back to Bangkok at 5am.

I am too far away; and have no internet connection here to be able to provide effective updates.

Killer tsunami waves hit Thailand and South Asia

26 December 2004

I woke this morning to messages from Thailand and India telling me of the massive disaster to hit South East and South Asia last night.

The massive earthquake in Sumatra at around 8am drove tidal waves across the Indian Ocean. The first tidal wave hit Phuket just over two hours after the earthquake.

My first shock is that there appears to have been no warning. There seems to be no effective coastguard.

CBC Newsworld has decent coverage of the disaster. The US networks including the domestic CNN service are predictably ignorant.

The west coast beaches on Phuket will have been the most exposed. The main beach area of Patong, together with Kara and Karon beaches all have beachside roads and beachfront hotel blocks. Phuket airport, which is currently closed, is next to the island's northern beaches. Big resort complexes like the Phuket Laguna are on the waterfront. Their are reports of people in their hotels as waves of water swept into their rooms. Others on the beaches saw the waves approaching and ran.....

One friend in Bangkok still cannot contact one of her holidaying friends. She has been able to contact others after hours of trying. Telephone networks are predictably overloaded.

As I write this it is approaching 2am in Thailand; rescue work has slowed down overnight. Tomorrow the extent of the damage will be clearer.

Meanwhile Sri Lanka appears to have been hit hardest; some of the low lying Maldive islands may have been literally washed away.

Crane mail in Thailand

23 November 2004

The Thai Prime Minister's latest gesture to appease the troubled south is a massive littering exercise involving plane loads of origami peace bombs.

Supermarket trolley drivers terrorise Bangkok

November 4 2004

You can tell a great deal about how people might behave behind the wheel of a car when you watch them wheeling their shopping trolley around the supermarket.

The latter is a particularly alarming experience in Bangkok and a good reason why the best advise is to keep off the streets.

My local supermarket is the TOPS market at the Silom Complex. It is a little older than some of the newer stores; the aisles are relatively narrow and the store is busy.

The situation is not helped by a large number of promotional stalls that sit in the centre of the widest aisles encouraging shoppers to stop, park their trolley and have an extended social chat with new friends. The seafood girl dressed as a mermaid looked particularly in need of a new job.

It is also a trolley driver's nightmare. On a recent visit the following arrestable offences were seen:

All of this could be avoided by an effective one way system; wider aisles; effective training programmes for new shoppers or on the spot fines for reckless endangerment with a shopping cart.

You have been warned.

More real life from Pattaya today

November 1 2004

Pattaya remains Thailand's most bizarre town - a melting pot of weirdness!  And Pattaya Today yes it is still every fortnight so should not be Pattaya Today) has all the best stories: here are a few headlines:

British Visitor dies of stroke after coffee. I know it should not make me smile; at least he was not in Starbucks.

Police Impersonator rapes woman. This ought to be a worrying story; But this is a Thai girl allegedly duped by a Thai impersonating the brown uniform of a police officer who took her to a remote area near a rail track and attacked her. She cannot remember what his uniform looked like or check his id. He then apparently returned her to rejoin her boyfriend in South Pattaya. But the boyfriend was not much use because he was "drunk from a lengthy binge." I smell a rat !

Crippled man falls off pier; friend left holding wheelchair. A French national was being pushed along Bali Hai pier by his Thai girlfriend. She was distracted. She looked around and the wheelchair was empty. The man, who had taken a drink or two" might have lent forward to obtain a better view. "He could not swim and proceeded to call out for salvation from a watery end."

Ladyboy bandit chooses victim; don't be cuddled by strangers at night. "The gender bender (named Boy) offered to accompany Mr. Wright back to his hotel for a gay time; an offer which the farang courteously but firmly refused." As the foreigner tried to move away Boy threw both arms around him in a move faking undying affection for strangers. His wallet gone, Mr. Wright reported to the police. "Not surprisingly the thief in high heels had disappeared from view to count his ill gotten gains."

Unlucky farang almost ends up in dump area. "He was unconscious, probably drugged as well as drunk and had no ID description of any kind. It was noted he had black hair but this could describe most men in Pattaya."

Fears for Thailand's south

Bangkok Subway Guide Update

Your Bangkok subway guide

12 September 2004

Bangkok's clean, efficient and Singapore like subway system only has one line at present but it can take you to some of the city's more interesting sites.

Start  at HUA LAMPHONG. One exit goes directly into Bangkok's main railway station. You are also a few minutes ride from Chinatown. SAM YAN the next stop gets you to Chulalongkorn University and to the Wat Hua Lamponh temple. Onto SILOM which is a short walk to the Saladaeng BTS station. Plenty to eat around here on Silom, Saladaeng and Convent. Also close to Patpong but why would you want to go there? At LUMPINI you can jump out and watch the boxing; go to the splendid park, or jump on a motorcycle taxi down Wireless Road to the embassies and All Seasons Place. There is also access from the station to the night market at Suan Lum Night Bazaar.

At Klong Toey there is little to mention beyond a late night market. So go onto the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre. The next stop SUKHUMVIT gives access to the BTS at Asok. Soi Cowboy is close by. The Westin and Sheraton are nearby. Heading north now the next stop is PETCHABURI. I really do not know what is here. Though the Amari Atrium is not far away and Petchaburi has a variety of soapy to get a good bath and massage.

The RAMA IX stop lets you exit to the Fortune Hotel and to the IT Mall and the Tesco/Lotus store. The THAI CULTURAL CENTRE is in fact thirty minutes walk away from the centre. Nearby are Jusco, Home Pro, Carrefour and Robinson.   

The subway has been nicknamed the soapy express and the next couple of stops explain why. The HUAI KWANG stop is next to the Emerald Hotel and to an assortment of massage houses and Chinese seafood restaurants.

SUTTHISAN is the stop for the one stop service center for visas and work permits. Plenty of male oriented entertainment here as well.

RATCHADA is close to the Chaophya Park Hotel. There are Korean BBQ restaurants here.

LAT PHRAO and PRAHON YOTHIN are residential areas and also offer park and ride access to the subway. Then MORCHIT's exit one takes you into the park at Chatuchak; it is a short walk to the weekend market. There is also nearby BTS access. This station gets very busy at the weekend. Two more stops at KAMPHAENG PHET and BANG SUE.

Wait till the rainy season stops and then go our and explore....

Thailand's airport greed

7 September 2004

One of the most worrying aspects of living and working in Thailand is seeing how unregulated short term greed drives away the country's longer term growth prospects.

Increases in landing fees at Bangkok are a great example of short term profiteering. It cost airlines 75 per cent less overall to fly to Singapore than to Bangkok, IATA (the International AIrline Transport Association) said. Landing a Boeing 737 in Bangkok currently costs US$549, compared with US$313 in Singapore.

After the Bangkok airport's Oct 1 hike, it will be US$603. From Oct 1, the government intends to raise by 20 per cent the fee that international airlines must pay every time one of their planes lands at Bangkok.

Another 15 per cent hike is planned for next year, in what the IATA fears is to prepare the industry for another fee increase when Suvarnabhumi opens for business.

Meanwhile the Association has publicly said what many people in Bangkok have long known, that Bangkok's delayed US$3.7 billion (S$6.3 billion) new airport has little chance of opening in September next year as scheduled. IATA said the opening of the Suvarnabhumi airport, designed to handle up to 45 million passengers a year, was likely to be delayed for 12 to 18 months.

The association also claims that 13 airlines had stopped flights out of Bangkok during the past four years because of costs it said were significantly higher than those of key airport competitors in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

Because of the high costs of doing business in Bangkok, British Airways has moved its hub operations to Singapore. Italy's Alitalia also suspended operations, as did South African Airways.

Thai had a dream

7 September 2004

In another bold bid to distract the nation form more pressing issues The Ministry of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) announced at the weekend that it was launching round-table discussions aimed at developing the nation's space operations, with the eventual aim of sending Thailand's first astronaut up into space within the next ten years. Do I hear the ghost of JFK?

Mr. Kraisorn Pornsutee, Deputy Permanent Secretary for ICT, said that the ministry's 10-year plan would focus on the development of both technology and personnel.

The ministry, which hopes to see Thai astronauts participating in international space missions, will also propose the establishment of the National Space Operations Development Committee, to be chaired by the country's prime minister.

Members of the Committee would be drawn from a variety of bodies, including the Ministries of ICT, Defence, Agriculture and Cooperatives, Science and Technology, and Foreign Affairs.
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The Committee's work would include the amendment of legislation to facilitate Thai space operations at home and abroad.

This sounds like another fine way to create a lifetime of paper work for civil servants without having a commitment to deliver anything. A true space oddity!