Welcome to rascott.com.
This is a personal site that reflects my interests in news, current affairs, aviation and travel.
email me at robert@rascott.com
Photo Albums
My
photographs have been moved off this site and are now stored on Picasa. They
were simply taking up too much space on my web host.
Please use this link to see my list of photo albums.
Some
Useful links:
Information:
Met Office Volcano watch
World Time Clock
Exchange Rates
Journalism:
Nationsonline.org
Project Syndicate
Amnesty International
Reporters w/o borders
The Guardian - UK
BBC World News
CNN Asia
Bangkok Post
Daylife.com - news
Gulf News
Arabian Business
Good causes:
Sister
Joan - Bangkok
Regional Info:
BKK Magazine
HK Magazine
In
Singapore Magazine
TimeOut Dubai
Travel:
Circle of Asia
Tales of Asia
Smart Travel Asia
Finance:
FinanceAsia
Aviation:
Amadeus (airline
schedules)
Airliners
- aviation forum
Thailand Info
thailand.com
learningthai.com
sawadee.com
bangkok a-z
Back in the UK:
Newton Ferrers
Government:
The
"new" White House
Photography
Denis Olivier - black and white
And for fun:
Lin Ping live panda tv
EarthCam
The opinions expressed on these pages are entirely personal unless they are credited; you may not agree with all, or anything, that I write. So please use the feedback page to respond, comment or berate me.
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An Occasional Blog
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Thailand Blogs Bangkok Pundit - politics Bangkok Metblogs - city life Thai-blogs.com - rather serious
2bangkok.com
-
not really a blog but always up to date on Bangkok news
BKKOK.com
Thai
Girl The exotic adventures of a literary
sexagenarian.
Thai
Films
Al - Emarati - English language
UAE blog In China Danwei - media and advertising news from China
Shanghai
Diaries - self explanatory My Olive Tree - Macau blog In Singapore: Xiaxue - self-confessed mean, bitchy, sex goddess who says "wah" a lot!
Mr Brown
- colourful commentary from Singapore Aviation Amadeus (airline schedules) Airline meals - see it b4 you eat it !
Airliners
- aviation forum, trip reports and pix
archive Planenation - commercial aviation news Airchive - a web museum of commercial aviation.
CrankyFlier
- mainly US commentary
Sharjah - 1937 News The Guardian - UK
Arabian
Business China sites Bangkok info sites Worthy Sites Niall Ferguson - my favorite modern historian
Rconversation - from Rebecca
MacKinnon, ex-TV reporter-turned-blogger. Fun Sites
Penguin baseball Technology Ideas
Stuff -
gadgets
Author
Robert Scott lives and works in Dubai; born in England I have since lived in Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore and Bangkok. I am very happily married to Tai.
If you want to know more you only need to ask! ask.
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28 February 2010 I met John the Bangkok taxi driver today; what a nice man. He drove us from Sukhumvit 22 to Chinatown. Longer would have been interesting. He is 63; he graduated from High School. He learned English from watching movies. His favourite - Mary Poppins - and anything with John Wayne in it. He is the first (and only) taxi driver I have ever met in BKK who can do a passable Cockney accent - copying Dick Van Dyke. He has views on Australian convicts. He thinks the rich have forgotten the taxi drivers. And that someone is pulling Abhisit's strings. Such a character. He also volunteered that I am 42 - so while his judgement may be good; his eyesight may be fading ! ***************************** Tai has given up her April vacation - more work - and the optimistic hope that Emirates will make good her vacation in the second half of the year. **************************** ***************************** He has been in hospital since mid-September. 27 February 2010 Meanwhile - the Guardian on John Terry - "Terry seems like a peculiarly English streak of odiousness; the sort who, despite being guilty of some palpably indefensible behaviour, is able to ignore all logic and manufacture their own grievance so that they can behave like they have been wronged. All very strange." ************************ ************************* ************************ The design is clever, creative and attractive. The furnishings and decoration are good quality. It makes me even sadder to think of how poor the work is in our Dubai apartment by comparison. 26 February 2010 Emirates Airline will hold an Open Day in Thailand on March 6 at the Tawana Ramada on Surawongse Rd. from 9- 4pm to recruit the air crew. **************************** **************************** 25 February 2010 How many does it take? Dubai is hunting for at least 26 people over the killing of a Hamas commander in a Dubai hotel. 23 February 2010 The original extreme winter sport - ski jumping has been in the winter olympics from the beginning: this is one of the Austrian team jumping at Whistler yesterday - on a perfect blue sky winter's day....
21 February 2010 We are staying at the S31 hotel in Bangkok and have a nice Duplex suite; the only thing they get wrong his is having two large flatscreen TVs with nothing at all to watch. No BBC, CNN, no sport, no movie channels, no cartoon network. But if you like Russia Today or CCTV9 you will be happy. And there are the Thai domestic networks for a dose of Lakhorn. But what has really made me sad is how much thought has gone into the hotel design and into the quality of the product. The materials used are classy throughout. The workmanship or high standard. If just 1/10 of that care and attention had been used on our Dubai apartment we would be living somewhere that does not make me upset every time that I think about it. *************************** *************************** "Veteran rocker Rod Stewart is to play a ‘greatest hits’ show in Dubai
this spring, it was announced today. 19 February 2010 Two inches of snow brings Birmingham to a halt and diverted Tai's flight to Manchester for the night. The local press is reporting traffic chaos and that flights out of Birmingham International Airport were suspended at 5pm because of the weather. Some flights were diverted to Manchester. 18 February 2010 A guy sacked from the dodgems is taking his ************************* One of the responsibilities of sports administrators is to save athletes from themselves. To build facilities that are as safe as they can be. And to allow the competitors full practice access. An inquest into the Vancouver Games will be needed to see if commercial interests are being put ahead of safety. 15 February 2010 As the Canadians go slightly loopy having won their first Olympic Gold on home soil (remember Ben Johnson blew it in drugs) this is a great time to celebrate Australia's first winter olympics gold medal - Stephen Bradbury! - 2002 at Salt Lake City. ******************************
These bombs never seem to go off: a bag containing 1.3kg of C4 explosive, which was wired for operation and packed inside a fruit juice box by beside the fence of the Supreme Court's compound, about 250m from the court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions. The Nation reported that a security guard alerted police at 9.30am that a box wrapped with electrical wire was found inside the court compound. Police rushed to the scene and sprayed water on the box, which contained some three pounds of C4 explosive. Poured water on it ??? Is it real - or just a smear campaign in a bitterly divided nation? ************************** *************************** And the last episodes of True Blood series 2 on DVD. I bet Eric has had Bill kidnapped? You wont be able to see series three until June 2010.......in the meantime: Sookie to Eric: “He's your maker isn't he?” Eric: "You've killed a man." Sophie-Anne: I haven't enjoyed sex with men since the Eisenhower administration 14 February 2010 Tai has gone off to Lagos - her first Lagos flight after 3 years at Emirates. And it is Chinese New Year and Valentines Day. A good day to be home alone ! I could celebrate with the sms that I just got from Pizza Hut - " For the first time Pizza in a sandwich" Try the new Pzone from Pizza Hut". Pzone. Such a dreadful name. Sounds like a high tech lavatory! 13 February 2010 Lots of rain in Vancouver - and possibly fog in Whistler. They should have been racing in Washington after last week's snow storms - 140cms of snow in Washington ! But the Games were off to a subdued start after the death of a Georgian luge rider in practice. The bobsleds race at up to 150km/hour or a track that is considered very fast and technical - and in this case is now lethal. The luge may not be as fast but offers much less protection. Which sadly is why we take part in and watch some of these winter sports - they are fast and scary. The Winter sports and very different to the Summer Olympics - these sports (except curling !!) are for thrill seekers - the original extreme sports. Some of the teams have already complained about the limited training access they have had to the track. The Canadians need to do a bit of soul searching here - the only host country never to have won an Olympic gold they may be going too far to win at any cost: according to the British Olympic Association's chief executive, Andy Hunt, the British skeleton sliders have had just 10% of the practice time on the stretch that the Canadian team has enjoyed. Similar complaints had been voiced by the Americans. "I think it shows a lack of sportsmanship," Ron Rossi, the executive director of USA Luge, told the New York Times 12 February 2010 From another commentator on current affairs in Thailand: "These are dangerous and confusing times. Talk of coups, new governments and so on are everywhere and it now seems almost inevitable that something will happen. There are more signs than just the reported events. There are threats against activists seen as pro-red shirt or anti-monarchy. Academics are being watched and some have been intimidated." ************************ "Can anyone here help? Willing to purchase the entire uniform even if it is the old one (to roleplay with my new BF who is flying into CDG for a V-day rendezvous). Please help with ideas. Thanks!" What does she have in mind - and can we have pictures ! 10 February 2010 Bizarre reports in the Nation newspaper in Thailand - a paper that makes up its own news and then tries to justify it as fact. The latest: "The government is checking for a flow of funds allegedly destined to finance the violence-prone red shirts, but there has been no confirmation of any transfers so far, Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said yesterday." Meanwhile PM Abhisit and the giovernment smear by innuendo and create this atmosphere of alarm and uncertainty: "Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said the government
was not accusing anyone in particular over alleged funds to finance
red-shirt rallies, but information suggested the reports were true. Of course yellow shirts are not violent or prone to taking over airports! **************************** And now I know why: Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov toured the world's tallest tower, Burj Khalifa on Wednesday. The Gulf News reports that he is the first world leader to visit the iconic tower. You have to love the paper's use of adjectives! 9 February 2010 Tai is in Sydney - once again escaping the hard work in the apartment. More painting today - and the curtains were installed as well. Maybe a good night's sleep at last. ************************ 8 February 2010 Through friends of friends we had a visit yesterday from a Finnish journalist and photographer - working on a magazine feature on post financial crisis Dubai ! They had seem some of my pics and comments on the apartment and Dubai properties and I think enjoyed the view! And they must be the only thing that is "Finnish - ed" in Dubai !! Anyway they stayed for an hour - took a few pictures and we had a good chat - i tried (really, really tried) to be balanced ! **************************** 7 February 2010 How about this wonderful note on the Etisalat price list - "Installation: Installation of the service is within seven working days, depending on the waiters." ***************************** Well I have painted walls in the living room and main bedroom and put a bit of colour in the place. And made far less mess in the process than the contractors. The floor tile grouting is cleaned easily using spare hotel toothbrushes - just don't ask Tai to get any for you. Because she may give you toothpaste instead. It remains unclear to me how to use tubes of toothpaste to clean the floor tiles. The bathrooms were all designed by very small people. A dwarf's bathroom. Which makes little sense in a 1,550 square foot apartment. The bath is so small that it does comply with Dubai's rules on conservative behavior. Because there is no way in the world that you could get two people into the bath or shower. The built in wardrobes in the spare bedroom have been finished (again) - but they have taken tiles off the skirting board and plaster off the surrounding walls.....more work for the working men to do - if anyone remembers old Flanders and Swann songs. Still no working cooker....though update from later on Sunday is that this has now been fixed after some gentle persuasion. ************************* ******************************* Hit some lovely iron shots yesterday - and the 5 wood was working well - even the putter behaved. Was not driving as well as I like to - and not consistent. But close......and after so much rain the bunkers were almost unplayable.... ********************************* ************************* 4 February 2010 The one advantage of moving and unpacking while Tai is away - I get first go at all the storage space - for a big two bedroom apartment there is a woeful lack of storage space and the built in cupboard units were obviously designed by a man who has only one suit and one pair of shoes....and must have been designed by a man - a woman would have known better. ************************* *************************** My humble view - after only one day it really does not look bad at all. If only I had internet and tv I could put my feet up and have a nice rest and a glass of wine. ******************************** Last night I had to go to bed listening to the Fillipino rythm on Dubai One radio - 103.8. Not much rythm - so many sad sounding songs...it was suitable music for me! I will get online - but that will mean hiking to Millennium Tower or to a wired coffee shop. Someone has to explain to me why a building that is two years late has not already been wired by Du. These were apartments that were supposed to "come equipped with modern amenities, high-tech facilities" according to the Dubai (take your money and run) Properties. There is only one elevator operating in the building. Which is a real problem for removal and delivery people. But it is leading to some fun conversations with other owners and tenants in the elevator. No one has a good word to say about the building or DP. Anyway someone must want an update on my move - though judging by the number of phone calls and SMS I have had (precisely none) most people dont give a flying fig ! The movers did the best they could in the circumstances - given dodgy elevators. I have no idea what they did with the laundry basket - though I did find the dirty laundry! But when they finished at 6.30pm yesterday I was left unpacking what it had taken 4 guys to pack! The cooker and washing machine were both delivered - one Italian and one Korean. It was the Japanese who screwed up. A call from Hitachi said they would deliver between 4.30pm and 5pm. She called 15 minutes later to say they would deliver the next day instead. I gave her an earful. She said I will call you back and never did - and three calls to there office went unanswered. So it came today instead. After I had thrown out a collection of rotten fruit and veg. Useless. And I already have a spectacular orange wall in the living room. Two coats of paint. The contractors are proving to be highly entrepreneurial. They seem to have a period of overtime that starts at 5pm precisely. My favorite curtain contractor was in this morning and will deliver new curtains on Monday. Expensive but I think he does a good job. But - the contactors are still here rebuilding the spare bedroom. The closets have all been taken out and rebuilt. They were crap. But they should have been finished before the move and are still working away. And they are not going to finish tonight - too busy earning their overtime doing things that they get paid for ! As tomorrow in Friday I guess it will be Saturday before the second bedroom can be used.... And the cooker has no switch yet. So I cannot cook. And they are supposed to clean and polish all the door frames and doors. One day! My cleaners also came in today. They cleaned all the surfaces and scrubbed the floors and bathrooms and cupboards etc. Good job. But there will be more for them to do on Saturday. Still it actually does feel like it could be home for a while. But for the moment - not much privacy - the contractors come and go when they want....lunch breaks, tea breaks, and a burst of activity when it is time for overtime! And who put the toilet roll holder the far side of the bidet rather than next to the toilet - you need extra long arms and the flexibility of a contortionist to get anywhere near to it. 3 February 2010 Concerned at his declining popularity President Obama has entered the second year of his term with a presidential makeover:
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2 February 2010 This will be my last night in Falcon Tower. I was meant to be here for a year - and have been here for 33 months. It is a nice, well finished apartment. But the building still has no road access and there is a permanently leaking sewage pipe at the back of the car park. The area has been transformed with new buildings all around. The movers will be here in the morning - the new apartment is not really ready to move into. The fitted wardrobes in the spare room have all been gutted to be re-installed. And hopefully they will make a better job second time around. There will be no internet or tv access until at least the end of the month. Bizarre really. The building is two years late. So Du - the sole telecom provider should have got the fibre optic network installed. Guess I will be doing a lot of reading. And start listening to the radio again. Will be able to use the wireless access at Millennium. But dont seem to spend much time there now. ************************** 31 January 2010 Tai has gone for the week - to SIN and MEL. We really do not seem to have much time together. ************************** *************************** 30 January 2010 A final note on Blair's performance at the Chilcott enquiry - from Simon Jenkins in the Guardian - "Chilcot did finally ask Blair if he had any regrets. It was an invitation to humility. Blair blew it, spoiling a near faultless performance. No, he had no regrets, not for toppling a vicious dictator and not for bringing a better life to the Iraqi people. He would do it again, and even let slip the word Iran. For an audience which he knew included bereaved families it was too much. The room lost its self-control in boos and tears. The ghost face returned, and it stormed grim-faced from the room chased by bodyguards." 29 January 2010 Old Jokes Home: I went to a casino last night and was stood next The constant debate in the Thai media of a potential coup makes for depressing reading - the old adage of no smoke without fire seems appropriate - something is going on but what ? The Nation's take on this is simple: Why, by who, against who: "If you want an ulitmate "yes" or "no" to the question whether a coup can happen, here's my take: So many questions are still up in the air. By whom? Against whom? On what grounds? To help Thaksin? To pre-empt possible return of his assets? To destroy the reds? To destroy the yellows? To destroy them both and risk the birth of a united front against the military?" The Bangkok Post sees the coup as a coup against the opposition (Thaksin) rather then the Abhisit government that the army installed to deal with Thaksin! The paper optimistically opines the "bottom line is that the military, the Bangkok elite and intellectuals must learn to respect the will of the people. Power must be shared. They must trust the people's judgement and learn to live with the result of what the majority of the people want." Dreamers ! *************************** 27 January 2010 Why does David Miliband sound so like Hugh Grant? ************************* It appears to be a large sized I-Phone - so works well for people with very large pockets or bad eyesight. The stats: - 0.5 inches thick ************************** This is the Bangkok Post's history of coups: 26 January 2010 Crystal Palace football club heads into administration. There will be others that follow. Maybe including Watford. ************************* "Ahmed Al Sheikh, the head of a new media affairs unit set up earlier this month to coordinate the emirate's communication's strategy with the press, was unreachable for comment and didn't reply to phone messages." He is only the head of the media affairs unit. In the middle of a financial melt-down in Dubai I think he might want to talk to the WSJ. He can ignore the Sun if he likes - but not the heavyweight press. 24 January 2010 We went to Executive Towers to day to see if there was any progress on our apartment. Sadly the answer is none. In 16 days they have done no work since the handover. It is a continuing charade of broken promises. Pathetic. *********************** ************************ ************************* It is just worth a note that in the last 6 months, Charoen Foods PCL stock has gone from 5.25 to 11.8. Current PM Abhisit's father is a Director of CPF. In addition another minister is the former son-in-law of CP's major owner and according to one Dem MP, CP made an 80 million Baht donation to the Democrats; so should anyone be investigating whether there is policy corruption? 22 January 2010 These guys are worth a listen and probably great fun live - The Heavy ************************** It was the weirdest of acceptance speeches. Mamma Mia on TV for the hundredth time. Chick flick. But just caught the end - and the credits at the end are seriously funny. Pierce Brosnan in the 70s Abba outfit singing Waterloo. A classic. 21January 2010 Outbound on EK 373 from Bangkok to Dubai - a half full A380. It really is a nice airplane to fly on - quiet, spacious, no silly boxes under the seat in front of you. It has been a rather strange few days in BKK. A bit purposeless. But it is always interesting to wander Bangkok's streets - though around lower Sukhumvit they appear to have become rather lawless. Every street and sidewalk is now littered all day with carts selling everything. And this goes on all day - with a change of shift later in the evening from food stands to streetside bars. Tai meanwhile is in Mauritius - and having a beach BBQ. 20 January 2010 Had a very enjoyable dinner with Dennis and Edward last night - so good to catch up and talk and talk !! MiniBar at Citardines soi 23 has a nice patio that you can sit in for dinner or drinks - or both. And they serve a very nice chardonnay by the glass. 19 January 2010 Sign of the times _ Gatwick airport has a "Passenger shoe repatriation area." Meant to write more - but went for a 2 hour massage instead. Sorry. ************************ Other airlines need to think about expanding beyond the big three of Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou. ************************ The network carries some 75 channels - with nothing (except some if its sport) to watch. 18 January 2010 Emirates is developing its A380 plans for 2010 - now take thes with a pinch of salt. Plans can change - and so can delivery dates - but there is an interesting focus on China. The following routes are currently planned to be served
by Airbus A380-800, replacing 777-300ER: *********************** 15 January 2010 I am on my way to Hong Kong and then onto Bangkok. The flights are so full to BKK that it is easier on standby to go through Hong Kong and onto Bangkok tomorrow. There is a huge Russian guy in the seat in front of me. He cannot have washed for weeks. Every time he moves the smell floods back down the airplane. It is not good. And the guy sitting to my left - fortunately there is an empty seat between us must be a heavy smoker. The joys of travel. **************************** The airport is so small and the damage so widespread that the relief agencies cannot get planes and equipment into the airport. The solution will be to transport through the Dominican Republic which share the island of Hispaniola with Haiti and appears shaken but unaffected by the quake. 14 January 2010 This is a bit obscene - A man named Said Abdul Ghafour Khouri has agreed to pay AED 52.2 Million (US $14.3 Million) for Abu Dhabi license plate labeled "1" at an auction at the 7-star Emirates Palace Hotel here, making it the world's most expensive license plate . Would be nice if that money was quickly diverted to Haiti... ****************************** An Emirates spokesperson confirmed there had been an incident involving
two passengers on flight EK0028 before arrival on Monday. Golf today at Al-Hamra. My game is slowly coming back and I played ok today - especially over the front nine holes. My short game is still poor. But it was a lovely sunny 25C day; a little breeze and a deep blue, cloudless sky. Very nice. *************************** One thing the world does well is disaster response. To their credit the Americans are always there. They were for the Tsunami. They are in Haiti. So are the Brits and Canadians. You have to admire the Search and Rescue teams from around the world which head to these disaster zones - real heroes ! ***************************** ***************************** That's an example of the sort of chaos that the weather causes the airlines. And extra cost. 12 January 2010 If you had to choose:
Or:
11 January 2010 EK cabin crew rant - brilliant! I get this every month when the roster comes out - although in Thai ! ********************************** "Will there really be a general election? Why would the military brass allow another election when they will then want to overthrow the outcome, exactly as they have done on the last two occasions - first by a coup, and the second time by a parliamentary manoeuvre? A third demolition might be technically more difficult, and politically more risky. A safer route might be simply not to allow a vote to take place. This will take some effort in coming up with the pretext, but several scenarios can be imagined." 10 January 2010 Funny!
*************************************** "Avatar is a phenomenon you can't ignore, monumentally imposing and done with extraordinary expertise – but the same could be said of the Dubai skyline, and I'm not sure that represents any future worth investing in." 8 January 2010 Very nice indeed - the 787 in flight: from Boeing:
******************************************** ************************** 5 January 2010 The visitors gallery will open today at the Burj Khalifa - but not much else - the Armani Hotel Dubai announced today that it will open its doors to guests on March 18. *************************** **************************** "After taking the brief ride to the 124th floor in one of the smoothest elevators I’ve ever travelled in, visitors are met with a bird’s eye view of the sprawling city - patches of desert, skyscrapers that appear tiny from such a height, unfinished buildings, the city’s Sheik Zayed road and interchanges - and perhaps the most impressive view of all - the Burj’s own shadow stretching out to the sea. “It’s like a huge sundial,” I heard one reporter say. Even though you’re almost 2600 feet in the air, it surprisingly doesn’t feel that high. Despite my own fear of heights, I felt more grounded than I have done on other vertical tourist attractions such as the Eiffel Tower or the Empire State Building. Perhaps the dirty windows helped. I was told that they had been cleaned just days before but that given their height they are prone to attracting dirt. I was also told that it takes six months to clean the towers windows from top to bottom so I couldn’t complain too much. Inside the skydeck, there isn’t much to see. There is the obligatory souvenir shop and some trick viewing binoculars which allow you to see the view by day or by night, or in a live shot, but little else. Some information on what you can actually see from the viewing platform may be welcomed by the untrained eye, but like most things in Dubai, I put the lack of information down to the fact that the building is being opened when it’s not 100% complete." 4 January 2010 Must remember - BK is Burj Khalifa and not Burger King ! That was a last change - the building has been known as Burj Dubai for six years ! But I guess Abu Dhabi's support does come with a price. *******************************
***************************** ****************************** Some interesting graphic/art pictures of Dubai and its major buildings can be found here. 3 January 2010 It is almost 2am - and the folks preparing for tomorrow night's Burj opening party are clearly determined to impress the neighbours. So they are practising. The water fountain is going full blast - it sounds like cannon being shot ! ***************************** ****************************** Kraft Foods is preparing to sweeten its hostile 10
billion pound ($15.9 billion) takeover bid for British confectionery maker
Cadbury, reported the Sunday Times. There will be a price where enough of the shareholders will take the money and Cadbury will no longer be a British company. Strange - 2 British companies that have dominated my
life - Cadbury - my Dad's company and Reuters (where I had 16 years) -
will both be foreign owned. Alex's last day in Dubai - and a quiet day after a late new year's eve. We went out to the mall of the emirates for dinner - and who should walk into the Butcher's Shop and Grill - Thaksin Shinawatra and entourage! As we left he was gracious when we interrupted their dinner - shook hands and had his picture taken with Alex! *************************** ***************************
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