AOB May-June 2006

Nothing but rain in Pattaya. And a hotel room that leaks water. My efforts to tell them this morning fell on deaf ears ! I even showed the room maid the leak and the flooded floor - which was cleaned up and a towel left to soak up the lake on the floor !

Obviously the hotel assumed that it would never rain again !!! Sad !

28 June 2006

A contribution from my favourite 9 year old !

If I ran the World

If I ran the World
I'd cancel Homework,
School,
Death
and Vegetables

If I ran the World
There would be
Hovercars,
Jetpacks
and no School Rules

If I ran the World
You wouldn't have
War,
Teachers,
Music Class,
Allergies
And unmanned aerial vehicles

If I ran the World
Dust would be money,
Books would be video games.

And a person who burps
And vomits uncontrollably
Would still be allowed to
Run the World.

26 June 2006

A golf and football weekend. The football you can read about on my world cup blog. The golf is not worth telling you about,

23 June 2006

From the super soaraway Sun newspaper "Hollywood hunk Matt Damon is set to become the new Captain Kirk in the latest blockbuster Star Trek movie.

The film is to be directed by Mission Impossible’s JJ Abrams who is desperate to get Matt, 35, for the part.

Abrams has even got the seal of approval from the first Kirk, played by William Shatner, 75.

A source said: “Shatner gave his blessing.”

The movie will centre on Kirk and Spock’s early days at a space academy."

21 June 2006

It is the longest day in the northern hemisphere today ! Enjoy. And the shortest night. Half way through the year already.

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Forty-two years after the Rolling Stones opened the first show with I Wanna Be Your Man, the BBC is finally calling time on Top of the Pops. The chart show, which made TV stars out of the likes of Noel Edmonds and Tony Blackburn, will run down its last-ever top 40 on July 30.

Long-running Saturday sports show Grandstand is also being axed.

I grew up watching both programmes. Strangely they both have such strong brand names. But in a world of 24hr pop/rock and sports channels viewing numbers had fallen dramatically.

19 June 2006

Poor old Monty. Colin Montgomerie sinks a bomb for a birdie on the 71st hole. He has 171 yards to the pin from the middle of the 72nd fairway and he blew it. Totally blew it. He had a wait; changed clubs; probably took a club less and swatted it short into unplayable rough. A par 4 would have won; a 5 would have been a play off and he double it for a 6. Ouch. Now 0 from 58 in major championships. He may never get a better chance.

18 June 2006

Golf looked ok today until I got to the 18th hole when I blew up completely with a quadruple bogey 8. No idea what I was thinking; just one bad shot and then a catalogue of mistakes

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Do not go and see "The fast and the furious - tokyo drift" - what an astonishing waste of celluloid.

Best part was an ad at the start of the movie for he Mercedes A series - showing it as A=Adventurous; A=Attractive and as I added - A=Accident !

17 June 2006

Bangkok's taxis all seem to have turned off their meters; at least when they see me. Everything is a negotiation again. Very frustrating.

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Interesting comments from a US based newspaper: "Tiger Woods might not ever think it or say it or accept it, but he just paid his father the ultimate tribute. He failed to make the cut at the U.S. Open, his first 36-and-out experience as a Grand Slam pro. What better way for a son to show the world how much he misses his old man. Tiger wasn't ready to play in this tournament, never mind win it. Earl Woods died May 3 after waging an endless war on cancer, and six weeks of mourning wasn't nearly enough."

16 June 2006

Well I am now vacationing !Did go into CP on Wednesday to clear out a few remaining items. The office will also be moving in the next week o the existing home of its new Thai owners. I wish them all well and hope things work out well.

I have been working with this small team for three years now. They are great people. Now all they need to do is learn how to say thank you for lunch !!!

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My visit to Angkor Wat is well documented on the main news page of this web site.

There were fun moments in the gloom - the 14 year old twins who were trying to sell bangles and silk scarves and could make their sales pitch in half a dozen different languages - and could then recite most of the capital cities of the world ! They came unstuck at Uruquay.

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Went to Wat Po today and had a one hour Thai massage. That felt good. The masseuse was built like an articulated truck. Jep maaih? She would keep asking. And I refused to tell her that it hurt. She would have smiled too much.

11 June 2006

The movie Wimbledon is on HBO again....and Peter Colt wins again - I like this movie - must be because Kirsten Dunst is in it !!

And now Jodie Foster in Contact - which I had not seen before. Interesting. The universe is a pretty big place and if there is no one else out there it is a pretty big waste of space!

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So, so, so hot today. Did I tell you how hot is was. It was so hot. The temples need to be taken in two or three hour spells, with breaks for rest and recovery.

Lots of power failures here...not long; just frustrating.

10 June 2006

First impressions of Siem Reap are not good. The gulf between the cocooned tourist in the aircon bus and 5 star hotel and the beggars waving their stumpy arms or legs in your face is simply too great.

Then there are the endless parade of adults carrying babies asking for milk money and then the older kids selling anything; and who are probably the most aggressive. What starts as a polite no soon becomes get lost or worse.

The FCC Angkor is a 31 room zen like escape for which I am rather embarrassed to be so grateful.

There is no escape. I am sitting in the temple bar and restaurant. I have eaten good ginger chicken and am settling into a beer to watch England v Paraquay. And sure enough an ex colleague and his wife come and join me......fifteen minutes from the end of the game his wife asks which team is England....I guess it must be the team with players called Santacruz etc. Very funny.

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11.10pm Cambodian TV. Cockfighting. ANd its a big crowd. The feathers are flying....guess bird flu is not a concern?

9 June 2006

Today is officially my last day at Chateau Potash; if that is the case why are my colleague (also leaving today) and I the only people here in the office at 7pm. Sad !!

We took the CP team out for lunch today - by popular request we went to Fuji. It was their choice. It is a Thai thing never to say thank you - the only three who did were the two senior staff and our administrator. It is something that I never get used to to in Thailand.

It seems an auspicious day to be leaving.

7 June 2006

Dinner last night at the Deck by the River, the restaurant at the Arun Residence, a small boutique hotel by the Chaophraya River and overlooking Wat Arun.

Last night was one of two final full dress rehearsals for the Royal Barge Procession that takes place on 12 June 2006.

You can see the pictures on the "Today" page. What the pictures do not tell you is just how wet it was last night.

The fifty barges take 40 minutes to pass any point on he procession. There are over 2,000 crew on the barges and honestly, these guys must have been soaked. It was a fearsomely heavy storm last night yet with serene precision the boats made their way down the river. As the boats pass by the baritone chanting song of the oarsmen can be heard clearly and this adds to atmosphere.

An hour or two after the procession the boats are then towed back up river with the crews still on board. By this time they must be wet through, cold and hungry; one boat was being gassed by exhaust fumes from their tug boat which made walking along RamaIV look breathable.

Hopefully the weather on the 12th June will be much friendlier. It is a wonderful and elegant show.

And dinner by the river was fun. Here I am - soaked and merry by this stage !

5 June 2006

Dating tips from AOBMAT (AOB's man about town) - Starbucks Chitlom is a good spot for bumping into singles and pairs of young ladies who shop (ie a better class of girl than you usually meet!). Get a table and a tall latte, bring your laptop and update your web site there - I guarantee you'll be able to make a new friend within the hour........

Sadly this is not true of Starbuck's Silom where you just meet a better class of thief!

To be continued.............

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It is almost like a Thai version of Pretty Woman. The world can be a good place. I first met this girl along time ago on Soi 33 in Bangkok. She was a bit different. Animated; inquisitive; playful yet with a gentle heart. She was basically a family girl who would do all she could to support her parents.

She met am American guy. She is now married. Living in Washington, D.C. Her US government husband travels a lot. She has been to Bali, Singapore, Vietnam, Japan and Australia so far.

Wonderfully she wrote to me that "my eyes were closed seeing only Thai before. I am lucky girl."

Lucky yes, but his is one girl that deserved to be happy and to live well.

4 June 2006

Three nights on my own at home at the weekend. How to get very depressed very quickly. Do I really know so few people in BKK after three years? Is this my choice? I

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Golf handicap is now down to 11.4 (paying off 11). This is the lowest it has ever been. Can I get to single figures before my 50th birthday !?

3 June 2006

Would anyone like to know about today's golf at Bangsai. 59 golfers and your truly was the overall winner. With a gross 78 less 12; net 66. And it could have been much better.

I was level par after 13 holes and dropped 6 shots in the last 5 holes as I got a little too cautious and started to make a few mistakes ! Still if someone had said take a net 66 at the beginning I would have said thank you.

But it really could have been a gross 74 or 75 !

The lessons must be working !

1 June 2006

At Chateau Potash there has been an informal footwear code; the love of fluffy, colourful slippers is hard to explain and when worn with a smart two piece suit or office skirt the slippers do make a certain fashion statement!

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Today's big question - who has more fun - the virtual Robert or the virtuous Robert?

31 May 2006

It is hard to imagine that Udon Thani was once a major centre of US military activity in South East Asia. It is a sleepy and rather nice place now. Even in the middle of the day you can cross any road without fearing for your life. The air is cleaner; the temperature a little cooler. The people calm and friendly.

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Air Asia back to BKK on Tuesday morning; Left 10 minutes early; arrived 15 minutes early. Only 34 pax. Easy flight.

One of the flight attendants was leaving AA the next day and heading to work for United via a five week training course in Chicago. Her first ever visit to the USA. She loves flying and I hope she has a great career at UA.

28 May 2006

35 points in the Londoners Stableford at Bangprakong Riverside yesterday. Starting on the 10th the round was spoiled by a poor start. Only 4 points on the first four holes.

Was a weird day.

Am going to Udon Thani for two nights. Wont be taking the laptop. So no updates until I get back on Tuesday morning. Have fun!

27 May 2006

26 May 2006

The Millennium Hilton has its formal grand opening in Bangkok tonight. This new five star hotel on the Thonburi side of the river is quickly becoming a must visit place for its f and b outlets. Where was my invitation?

Mind you the invitation says "if you are stylish. you'll never miss it." Guess that explains everything!

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Here is an area that I am not well qualified in. Past attempts have floundered miserably. So I can but offer these words of advice:

It's not difficult. To make a woman happy, a man only needs to be:

1. a friend
2. a companion
3. a lover
4. a brother
5. a father
6. a master
7. a chef
8. an electrician
9. a carpenter
10. a plumber
11. a mechanic
12. a decorator
13. a stylist
14. a sexologist
15. a gynecologist
16. a psychologist
17. a pest exterminator
18. a psychiatrist
19. a healer
20. a good listener
21. an organizer
22. a good father
23. very clean
24. sympathetic
25. athletic
26. warm
27. attentive
28. gallant
29. intelligent
30. funny
31. creative
32. tender
33. strong
34. understanding
35. tolerant
36. prudent
37. ambitious
38. capable
39. courageous
40. determined
41. true
42. dependable
43. passionate

WITHOUT FORGETTING TO:
44. give her compliments regularly
45. love shopping
46. be honest
47. be very rich
48. not stress her out
49. not look at other girls

AND AT THE SAME TIME, YOU MUST ALSO:
50. give her lots of attention, but expect little yourself
51. give her lots of time, especially time for herself
52. give her lots of space, never worrying about where she goes

IT IS VERY IMPORTANT:

53. to never forget:

* birthdays
* anniversaries
* arrangements she makes

24 May 2006

My nine year old in HKG does not have time to chat on the phone because he is in HKG watching the telecast of the American Idol final !!! He thinks Taylor Hicks will win. Who can argue !

23 May 2006

It is hard to focus on work right now for reasons that will become clear over the next week.

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Had dinner with one of my favourite ex Reuters people last night. It was good fun to catch up on what we have both been doing and it was the liveliest and most entertaining conversation that I have had for a while.

There is not much that I miss about Reuters - but for a long time it was a very interesting place to work with some of the brightest minds that you could possibly meet. The constant word play was great fun. It would be hard to imagine a more articulate place to work.

But that was then; and now Reuters has changed and many of us have moved on.

21 May 2006

I was dreaming about my Dad last night. I never dreamed about him while he was alive - and now he has gone there he is popping up in my sleep !

He would have been delighted to see Watford move into the Premiership after a 3-0 win against Leeds today ! That was special.

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Two days of golf at the weekend - Saturday at the badly over rated Thai Country Club and Sunday at Royal Golf Club.

Thai Country Club is nicely maintained and manicured but feels terribly artificial !

The club house as great showers - you could wash the whole family at the same time and it has great bath towels.

Maybe I just did not play the course very well so felt grumpy about it !

Sunday was at Royal with the Wanderers. After a very average start and a poor front 9 I shot 41 in the wind on the back 9 and played much better !

18 May 2006

It has been raining all day !

17 May 2006

The rainy season has started with a vengeance - big storm in BKK this evening just as I wanted to leave the Silom Complex. So I stayed and went to Coffee World and asked for a hot low fat cappuccino. We don't have low fat said the guy at the counter. I suggest that I walk 10 yards to the TOPS supermarket and buy it for them. He checks with the manager. She says "we are starting a low fat promotion from tomorrow."

"So if you have a promotion from tomorrow you must have low fat milk." "Yes, but the promotions starts tomorrow. Many customers ask for low fat milk." But if you have low fat milk then can I have a low fat cappuccino today?" "The promotion starts tomorrow." "But I would like my coffee today." "OK, you can have a low fat cappuccino today; but the promotion still starts tomorrow."

16 May 2006

I have not mentioned Steven Gerrard's superman impersonations in the FA Cup Final on Saturday. 3-3 after extra time, Liverpool won on penalties; Gerrard made the first for Cisse, rifled in the second with a great volley and scored the third from fully 30 yards in the last minute of normal time.

Form like that in the World Cup must give England every chance of doing very well. He was sensational.

15 May 2006

I do have to start thinking about what to do next with my life. The Chateau Potash assignment is coming to a natural conclusion; maybe by the fall.

A very wise friend wrote the following to me in an email:

I have been thinking of potential jobs for you, and for some reason, I keep thinking of fantasy jobs. You could become a soap actor, roadie, journalist, librarian, musician, pilot, writer, the list is endless! LOL You've been in serious jobs for a while - is there anything you've always wanted to do that you could do now? I would love to see you doing something fun. Maybe you could travel the world and write travel books - I would buy any book that you wrote!

Think I have been in a tv soap opera for the last few years so maybe that is not the best choice. But the note is a great kick start. I am flattered by the confidence in me.

Exploring my fantasies - what a great way to spend the next 10 to 15 years !!!

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I know that the seas around Hong Kong can get a little bit rough - but I thought first ferries title for their sick bag was unnecessarily explicit !

14 May 2006

Am just back from a short weekend in Hong Kong. Really nice day there today. Clear blue skies, how often do we say that about Hong Kong? About 24C or 25C. Lunch at Stanley.

Bumped into an old Reuters Toronto colleague on the bus back from Stanley. Someone that I have not seen for at least 8 years. Curious. Small world.

More tomorrow - it is after 4am!

10 May 2006

Classy guy, Iain Dowie, the Crystal Palace manager: “There was pushing and shoving but that’s all. If the FA ask, I will back Aidy. I don’t want this to overshadow a great night for Watford, who thoroughly deserved to go through.”

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I have little to say about last weekend's elections in Singapore which saw the ruling PAP gain 82 of 84 seats in Parliament. it is worth noting that the opposition parties did win a third of the votes in Saturday’s election, despite the Government's customary law suits, offers of welfare bonuses and promises of extra spending for neighbourhoods that voted PAP.

Clearly PM Lee is not expecting a threat to the PAP's authoritarian rule; days before the election he said "Suppose you had 10, 15, 20 opposition members in Parliament. Instead of spending my time thinking what is the right policy for Singapore, I'm going to spend all my time thinking what's the right way to fix them, to buy my supporters' votes."

He later apologised, saying he had meant he would have to spend time countering the opposition rather than addressing issues of state.

"Fixing" the opposition - there is a leader who understands democracy !!!!

9 May 2006

Here is a Bangkok event that we can all look forward to: courtesy of the BTS web site:

The 14th Hosing & Condo Exhibition

Start date : May 4 - 7, 2006
From : 10.00 - 20.00 hrs.

Location : Queen Sirikit National Convention Center

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So Leeds are in the Championship play off after a brutal match at Preston that saw Leeds collect 10 bookings and 2 sendings off. They also broke the leg of Preston's key forward player, Ormerod.

Watford play their second leg against Crystal Palace tonight. The final at the weekend is going to need a referee who understands what is at stake (about gbp20 million) and ensures that it is a game of football not a free for all.

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All the fuss over why Bent and Defoe are not in England's preliminary world cup squad. Sven did well for once. They are simply not good enough. 17 year old Theo Walcott is in the squad; he has still to play a first team game for Arsenal. But Arsene Venger says that he is good enough and that is good enough for me.

9 May 2006

Here is a Bangkok event that we can all look forward to: courtesy of the BTS web site:

The 14th Hosing & Condo Exhibition

Start date : May 4 - 7, 2006
From : 10.00 - 20.00 hrs.

Location : Queen Sirikit National Convention Center

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So Leeds are in the Championship play off after a brutal match at Preston that saw Leeds collect 10 bookings and 2 sendings off. They also broke the leg of Preston's key forward player, Ormerod.

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6 May 2006

My golf was truly horrible today ! I was at Bangsai for the regular gathering of the Wanderers. A dreadful start - a shanked short sand wedge on the first for a double bogey and a massive eight on the second.

It was an incredibly hot day. Yes it was nice to be outside in the sunshine. But now I am home I feel like have been in a toaster all day.

Not helped by a bout of flu that I cannot shake off and far too little sleep. I am not sleeping well at the moment - and it is not because there are any distractions.....

4 May 2006

Earl Woods, green beret and father or the mercurial Tiger Woods, died today. Must be a very hard day for a close family. Tiger's mother, of course, is from Thailand.

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Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger has revealed the club is considering legal action against Sunderland defender Dan Smith after his foul on Abou Diaby which fractured the young player's ankle and has ruled him out of action for nine months.

The 19-year-old will miss the Champions League final and is expected to be sidelined until February. It was a terrible two footed lunge, not just late but vicious. Arsenal are hardly footballing saints but the yellow card was insufficient punishment.

It was a badly (appallingly) refereed game where some dreadful tackles were tolerated.

There really is no place for this sort of attack in the modern game. It was potentially a career ending tackle. The FA (it really should be FU for f***ing useless) say they cannot upgrade the yellow card to a red card and a long punishment. Pathetic. Instead they will probably berate Wenger for telling them that they are incompetent.

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Michelle Wie's bid to become the first woman to make the cut in a major men's tour event since 1945 got off to a solid start with a two-under-par 70 in the first round of the SK Telecom Open in Incheon on Thursday. She is 5 shots behind the Australian leader whose name frankly does not really matter !!! Sorry.

The girl has such talent; it is just a shame that she is limited by the the short sighted LPGA to just a handful of tournaments. In Korea she has added huge numbers to the press and public galleries.

3 May 2006

What is it about Thais and nose-picking? How many times have you been chatting to someone in Thailand and they quite happily go about major nostril excavation and examination during the conversation.

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I walked home down Saladaeng last night. This street will be so busy when all the new condos are occupied.

Walking past Legend Saladaeng this guy steps into the pavement ten yards in from of me and spits onto the pavement. He then holds his nose and expels the contents onto the ground. Wipes his hands on his short and retreats back into the building.

I have fell unwell ever since. Going home to bed. I feel rather average.

2 May 2006

Is Rotiboy dead? I walked past there twice at the weekend and there were no queues. Will there be redundant rotiboys?

And talking of dead - what happened to Papa Alfredo in U Chu Liang building. This was a large new york style italian restaurant. Trouble is it never seemed to be that busy and it presumably ran into financial problems. It is well and truly closed now!

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Dinner last night at the "Deck by the River." Lovely small restaurant on the river looking directly across to the Temple of Dawn. The restaurant is part of a five bedroom hotel called the Arun Residence www.arunresidence.com - you may need to ask them to change the music; bad versions of bad disco pop were in danger of ruining the evening until they were sent in search of some gentle jazz.

The food is good quality western (french influenced) and thai. A limited menu. Beware of an average tiramisu to finish.

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Watford vs Crystal Palace in the Championship play-offs. Over two legs next Saturday and Tuesday. The winners play the winner of Leeds and Preston at the Millenium Stadium. Whatever the result Watford have had the most surprising of seasons.

1 May 2006

A good game of golf with the foreign correspondents club yesterday at my favourite course Subraphreuk, Two birdies, on 8 and 17 hlepd an Ok score.

My favourite caddy was still sad after the death of her grandmother. This was her first day back at work after almost a week away.

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It is also starting to rain in the evenings. I have the beginnings of a cold today. Not good. Cough; itchy throat. It is another holiday here today; there are a lot of these at the moment !

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