AOB March and April 2006

And then to Jupiter Cafe. Honestly, we did not know it was karaoke night. Our guide, who shall remain nameless, for now at least, says this is the pace to go. On a Saturday maybe; or in a coma; but not after a good midweek dinner.

Truly, truly gruesome.

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Vancouver weather has been great. BTW. This is a nice city. Although if Jupiter is the best night out in Vancouver then I have to go home!

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Villareal are given a soft last minute penalty and Lehmann saves it ! That must get Arsenal through to the European Cup final. They have not played well; but they have kept the Spanish from scoring.

24 April 2006

You can always recognise the American traveler as you go through airport security. Even in Bangkok, as they reach the security scanners they are taking off their jackets, belts and shoes. This is not required in either BKK or HKG. Just empty out metallic objects from your pockets. There is no need for the great US strip.

23 April 2006

I was transiting through Hong Kong airport. In the queue at the transfer desk was a couple, white guy and chinese girl (maybe 50/50 girl). I had no idea what language they were speaking. I was guessing somewhere out of the former soviet union; it was not Russian but had hard tones. So I had to ask them. Dutch. I really should have known.

21 April 2006

Not everyone agrees with my world cup predictions; one wildly optimistic english friend wrote: "I disagree. I think it will be an England v Holland 1/4 final, England v Brazil semi and England v Argentina final - with England obviously winning with a goal in the 93 minute scored by Rooney with the palm of his hand!"

19 April 2006

Jamie Reeves is the man - on Football Focus last night he tipped Watford to win the Championship play off and to take the third promotion place to the Premiership. I always said that he understood football better than any of the other tv pundits!

17 April 2006

In Tibet, that bastion of great journalism, Xinhua, is heralding the erection of a huge statue of Chairman Mao Zedong. This 35-ton, 12 metre high memorial is being built to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Mao's death. It is located in Gonggar County, near the Tibetan capital Lhasa,

The statue will rise 7m from a 5m pedestal strengthened to withstand earthquakes.

Now just how insensitive is this. Mao Zedong ordered the Chinese takeover of Tibet in 1950. Maybe the Japanese could offer a statue of Emperor Hirohito to Nanjing; a monument to bin-Laden in New York; a tribute to Adolf Hitler in Tel Aviv. Very bizarre.

14 April 2006

Strange Singapore. It is so easy to like and so easy to get frustrated.

Shopping in HMV yesterday. The store is quiet. The little guy is tired and wants to it down. There are no seats. He site on the floor.

The baby faced prissy security guy tells us that he cannot sit on the floor because that is the rule. I said show me the rule. He rather forcefully said he cannot sit there. I said he is tired; if you want my business then he can sit where he likes, especially as you have no chairs in the store.

Off he went to annoy someone else.

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We are staying in family rooms in Singapore; two adjoining rooms. One is a kids room with kids bedding on both beds, kids towels, a little table and plastic cups and kids stuff in the washroom. BUT the kids room has a fully stocked standard booze filled minibar and a balcony if the kid decides he or she wants to go walkabout. The adult room has secured windows! Strange.

9 April 2006

I am sorry that I have not been able to update this site for a week.

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I go away for one week - Thailand has an election; Thaksin wins by a mile and promptly resigns. Or does he. Does he just take a rest. Will he continue to lead TRT. Will he continue to set government policy. Is he still PM in all but name. This is going to take a lot of explaining.

A good article from the Australian on this very subject is here.

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I do like updating my website from in flight. This is seriously clever.

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On SQ317 heading back from London to Singapore. This will be easier than the outbound flight. The seat next to me is empty so there is a little more space to spread out.

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Heathrow airport is such a disgrace. A long queue at check in. An even longer queue to show your boarding pass and be allowed to the departure area. And then an even longer queue for security. All of this restricts the BAA's ability to make money as it reduces the time available to your their shopping mall. It really is hard to know that you are in an airport.

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Interesting items in the Sunday Observer. United 93 - a film of the last flight to be hijacked on 9-11 is now opening in the USA. It cannot be easy for the families and friends of the passengers and crew of that flight to see their loved ones living out their final and fateful few hours boarding the flight, being hijacked, fighting for control of the plane and the subsequent crash of the plane with the death of all onboard.

The certain knowledge that had they not fought back that plane would have crashed into Washington must be some comfort.

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Meanwhile in Dubai the hired slave labour out of South Asia and the Philippines is beginning to fight back and demand decent working conditions and pay. And not before time.

2 April 2006

There was an Indian Airlines A320 at Bangkok this morning in the new colour scheme. It is very nice indeed.

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Wow - it is a long way from Singapore. A packed 747; a big guy next to me. No room to move and a mere 13 hrs and 50 minutes to London.

SQ service is beginning to look a little dated. The seat back video screens are old and many have lost their brightness and/or are badly scratched. Food is nothing better than OK.

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On my way to London on Singapore Air. At Bangkok airport the Black Canyon Coffee shop opposite gate 51 needs to be renamed. The one thing they do not have is coffee - the machine is broken. Amazing Thailand. Welcome to Black Canyon Mai Mee Coffee.

Today is of course election day in the land of smiles. The choice being between Thaksin and "No Vote". How bizarre. I have friends in Bangkok who are returning today to their home province where they are registered to vote and who are going all that way just to tick the "No Vote" box on their ballot.

31 March 2006

I missed most of this day. Take off was 2am from Vancouver; arrival was 7.00am in Hong Kong on Saturday 1st April

30 March 006

Back on 21 March I wrote a little about my father's losing fight with cancer. Sadly he died at around 11.00am in the UK today, 30th March. He was 73.

I miss knowing that he is there.

27 March 2006

As I scan the Nation newspaper for news from home (well from Bangkok) I came across the following little gem:

"Tomorrow, Paragon is scheduled to kick off its first summer sale since the mall opened its doors in December. "The 1st Midnight Phenomenon" will run from 6pm to 10pm."

Err; isn't midnight usually at 12am. Or is this another example of Thailand's early closing or all forms of nightlife - including shopping !

26 March 2006

White Rock feels like a very long way from Bangkok ! It is a fairly prosperous Canadian seaside community close to the US border and about one hour south of Vancouver.

One of the great travel bargains. The bus brought me from Vancouver for $2.25; the standard Sunday fare.

There is a white rock. On the beach. There is a long boardwalk between the beach and the rail line and ocean front road.

There are litter bins painted by classes at the local school.

Stores sell cuban cigars; presumably to the US tourists who cannot but Castro's best known products.

The air is great. It was cool today; and there were showers. But a long walk clears the cobwebs. They probably have great sunsets here.

The rail line is the single track line from Vancouver to Seattle. A silver Amtrak train just went in a stately way past the hotel.

25 March 2006

I am at 33,000 feet out of Hong Kong heading to Vancouver. After last week's rather fraught trip in the back of the plane to London it is nice to be back on business class. And Cathay Pacific is comfortable. It is also full. They must make so much money on the Vancouver run.

I am heading for White Rock; down near the US border. And there is an alarming story on the front page of the West Coast News, section B of the Vancouver Sun. Headline - "White Rock woman nominated, twice, as worst driver". Me, I am going to stay locally and walk to the office. Looking carefully first in each direction!

24 March 2006

Are you thinking of running a business in China; foreigners should read this first: and then think about investing somewhere else.

That said, a similar article could be written about Thailand!

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Visitor watch:

The undersized briefs appear to be getting smaller. Made me choke on my breakfast cereal.

People still fall for the Thai gem scams. Despite all the warnings.

Finding the iron is impressive. Dropping it on the floor and breaking it is not so good. I know; accidents do happen!

22 March 2006

There should be a book of rules about what should and should not be done when staying with a friend: some suggestions:

Inviting yourself is OK. Adding the girlfriend some weeks later as an afterthought is something of a deception.

Wandering around a friend's apartment in nothing more than undersized briefs should be discouraged unless you have the body to go with it.

Locking your host out of the apartment is probably unwise.

Any additions?

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England win the third test by 212 runs in Bombay ! Wonderful.

21 March 2006

Back in BKK; that was a long way to go for a weekend.

Qatar Airways are good from Doha to London and vv but quite awful from Doha to BKK and vv. It is like two different airlines. The flight from Doha had a very large contingent of partying Turkish males; think Midnight Express meets Airplane and you get the picture.

I watched "Elizabethtown" on the inflight movies; Not a great movie but it felt comfortable and a little familiar!

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Watford won 3-1 at Southampton. Suddenly second place in the premiership appears to be a genuine possibility as Sheffield United blow up.

20 March 2006

No wonder the Brits are getting so large. The size of the chocolate bars sold at London Gatwick is just frightening ! Queues for everything at LGW on a Monday morning.

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London was cold. Winter weather rather than spring weather. And I am tired - I have slept so badly the last few days.

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A walk around London's west end on Sunday evening. Borders inexplicably closes at 6pm on Sundays. This is not Vancouver or Singapore I guess.

17 March 2006

On my way to London - Qatar Airways via Doha. This will be a short trip; arriving on Friday evening and returning on Monday morning out of London.

But it is a necessary trip and I will write more about it after the weekend.

Bangkok Airport is just horrible first thing in the morning. The check in queue was sort; the immigration queue was horrendous. All the airlines are trying to get their planes out of BKK first thing in the morning. But the BKK authorities have not worked out that this is peak time.

16 March 2006

I am impressed - my little guy who is 8 years old has a web site!

When I was 8 years old I was making mud pies and reciting multiplication tables.

15 March 2006

Just back from an overnight trip to a cool and grey Hong Kong.

Hotels in Hong Kong are packed; room rates are going through the roof. The city is in boom time. But it is not clear why. I do think some companies are saving cost by keeping staff overseas and flying them into Hong Kong as needed.

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Has anyone tried to walk from U Chu Liang to the Dusit Thani hotel recently? The pavement has been dug up and replaced by a sand pit.

The sandpit is slowly being covered by cobbled stones; to make walking even easier than normal in BKK?

And worse still the work is being done by the lowest possible tender. Considering how many people walk here and the location this is shockingly slow and poor work.

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Rumours from Singapore that UA is rehiring its Singapore crew base some 3 and 1/2 years after they were let go shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Good news for UA and the crew.

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Rumours also of Air Asia basing two planes in Chiang Mai to fly routes to India and Bangladesh. Interesting to see whether there is a big enough market in Chiang Mai to start a small local hub.

The model has worked for Air Asia in Johor Bahru. Can it work at CNX?

13 March 2006

Weekend golf report. I had a friend in town from Vancouver over the weekend. A perfect excuse for a weekend of golf and a night out in Pattaya.

We played St. Andrews 2000 on Saturday. It really is a magnificent course and it is wonderful condition. Long - par 74 - with two par 6 holes. Over 7,000 yards off the gold tees; the first par six is 836 yards with water everywhere.

Sunday was a less extravagant parkland layout at Treasure Hill near Chonburi. It is still quite long at 6,600 yards. And it was hot. All pars and birdies on Sunday with two blow out holes.

As for Pattaya - a good foot massage; a light Italian dinner, and a few drinks. A rather late night; but well paced and a good night's sleep with no hangover!

10 March 2006

For a friend:

Oh, it's carnival night
And they're stringing the lights around you
Hanging paper angels
Painting little devils on the roof

Oh the furnace wind
Is a flickering of wings about your face
In a cloud of incense
Yea, it smells like Heaven in this place

I can't eat, can't sleep
Still I hunger for you when you look at me
That face, those eyes
All the sinful pleasures deep inside

Tell me how, you know now, the ways and means of getting in
Underneath my skin,
Oh you were always my original sin
And tell me why, I shudder inside, every time we begin
This dangerous game
Oh you were always my original sin

A dream will fly
The moment that you open up your eyes
A dream is just a riddle
Ghosts from every corner of your life

Up in the balcony
All the Romeo's are bleeding for your hand
Blowing theater kisses
Reciting lines they don't understand

9 March 2006

Sick this morning; food poisoning; was up at 5.30am in a dreadful sweat and sick. Not a great start to the morning.

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But it is the opening day of the second test in Mohali where my India correspondent assures me that anything can happen!

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2.00pm news. Bangkok Post

Amid rising political tensions in Bangkok, a bomb exploded Thursday outside the home of former Thai prime minister Prem Tinsulanonda, damaging a car and injuring a British tourist, police and hospital sources said.

The explosion occurred at 2 p.m. local time near a security box outside Prem's house compound in Bang Lamphu district.

8 March 2006

More insanity from the USA ref the Dubai Ports deal. "We do not believe the U.S. should allow a government-owned company to operate American ports," said a spokesman for Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dennis Hastert. The Washington Post adds that "House Republican aides and Senate Democrats" predict the Senate will soon follow suit. The bidding for PandO was between the ports authorities of Dubai and Singapore. And for those who live in dark rooms cut off from the real world the Singapore ports authority is also government owned. Oops

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Bye Bye Chelsea - you will not be missed.

7 March 2006

That was a busy weekend - golf on Saturday morning (would have been OK except for two disaster holes !). Then caught the late Saturday afternoon Air Asia flight to Macau - and came back to BKK on Monday night. It is nice to have a passport again and to be able to travel.

The weather in Macau was very average - grey with drizzle or rain. And the SAR is a huge building site. But it is fun to do go somewhere different. Plenty of walking and a couple of good meals.

Macau is a Chinese Sodom and Gomorrah..it is bright neon next to old style parks with old folks practising tai chi. It is the click-clack of the mah jong tiles and the metallic flood of a slot machine payout.

2 March 2006

Our auditor just arrived from Vancouver - and certain female members of our office are swooning already - the poor boy has only been here a matter of hour - is a jetlagged wreck - and already details of his Vancouver love life are being shared around the office.

A380 inflight at Asean Aerospace. Sadly not my picture as I was not able to go this year.

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I was having this amazing dream last night - and then the phone rang - it was 3am - and it was a wrong number. The dream never came back.....but from what I remember it was more fun than I have fantasised about for a long time !

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Just got my Centrepoint bill for February. Electricity and laundry charges have increased by some 20%. Now what was the rate of inflation in Thailand? Most depressing of all - there are 18 room service vouchers for dinners in what is already a short (28 day) month. Given that I was also away for two weekends I am spending too many nights stuck in my apartment. Not a healthy existance.

1 March 2006

England win the toss and bat in Nagpur on the first day of the three match test series in India.

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The Silom RotiBoy queue is still there; no matter that the temperature is in the mid 30s. Maybe the supposedly unique flavour is from the street pollution.

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Have one new passport - and joined the throng at Bangkok's immigration office today to get a new entry visa in my new passport to prove that I really am here.

Please get copies of each of these four documents I was told. I trudged over to the photocopy shop over the road; which must pay a commission to the immigration office as it is such a well trodden path.

Then of course they only need one of the four photocopied documents.