AOB Nov and Dec 2006
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An Occasional Blog
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Bangkok Blogs Bangkok Metblogs - city life Thai-blogs.com - rather serious
2bangkok.com
- not really a blog but always up to date
on Bangkok news
Hong Kong Blogs A Big White Guy in Hong Kong - self explanatory Hemlock's Diary. And people think I am opinionated - try this! SimonWorld - Hong Kong commentary and great links to other Asian blogs EastSouthWestNorth - commentary Glutter.org - Greater China democracy news and many great llinks
In China Danwei - media and advertising news from China Shanghai Diaries - self explanatory
In Macau 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
Asia Travel Circle of Asia a useful commercial site Tales of Asia perspective and commentary on Cambodia and Thailand and other Asian travels Visit Laos a useful guide on getting to and traveling in Laos. Smart Travel Asia useful tips and destination guides. Maybe too up market.
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Author
Robert Scott lives and works in Asia; born in England I have since lived in Canada, Hong Kong and Singapore. I now work mainly in Bangkok.
If you want to know more you only need to ask! ask.
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31 December 2006 My thoughts are with those people and families who have been killed or hurt in tonight's bombings in Bangkok. No cause justifies killing and maiming innocent people. ******************************* A very quiet new year. Tai is in Colombo. I am in Dubai ! I wish we could have had new year together but we have a whole year a head of us and hopefully we will always have plenty of reasons to celebrate. 30 December 2006 Time flies by and it has been a busy few days. I do sometimes make things more difficult and complicated than they should be ! Dubai is nice at this time of year. The weather is kind; mainly sunshine. Maybe 21C - 22C in the day and cooler at night. We have been out to Global Village; basically a large market full of things that you never needed masquerading as an international fair. Last night was a nice dinner at Pisces restaurant at the fabulous Souk Madinat Jumeirah hotel. This is a lovely collection of buildings finished with traditional wind towers on the west side of the Burj al Arab. Tai will be spending her New Year's Eve in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Little known fact - I used to play cricket for the London Sri Lankans. Lovely people. Opposition scorers loved me as I was the only player on our team whose name they could spell..... It will be a quiet new year. I will miss her. 26 December 2006 Christmas Day was spent in Dubai. Emirates were kind to us and Tai was not called up for a flight. So we had our first Christmas Day together.....a nice lunch, a little shopping and a few friends for snacks and drinks in the evening. There really is no where else I want to be and no one else that I would rather spend my Christmas with. And we ski-ed this morning at the Dubai ski dome; the first time that Tai had ever seen snow; and the first time that she had ever been that cold. As always her enthusiasm is joyful and engaging. She liked it enough to want more lessons! It was fun - best advice - get there early - it was getting crowded later in the morning. All I want for Christmas: but where was the white beard??
Or maybe two is better than one:
24 December 2006 Better now; emotional but better! I have never known one person be able to make me feel so good and so certain or turn me into an emotional, unsure, sleepless wreck. I like the former; the latter is life-sucking. ********************** No news from Dubai - and it is past 9am there. I need someone to tell me that everything is OK. Smoke signals, sms, mind meld, msn, a phone call. Anything that would make me feel better than I do right now. 23 December 2006 Scared tonight - really scared. Not for discussion here. Just crossing all my fingers. *********************** Scary !!! Before and after. Worse than going to hospital for major surgery !!!
Not really that bad ! 20 December 2006 Could someone please make this week go a bit faster. Every day I am away from Dubai seems like a day wasted. The rest of my life is waiting for me there. I am already packing. *********************** Played golf with my pro golf teacher at Subrapruek today - and shot a better gross score than him. Ok he was not felling great and had a bad day ! But I played the back 9 in 39 (6 pars and 3 bogies) and shot 83. Yes the front nine was very untidy at times, mainly because I kept 3 putting! But it was good enough to win by one shot. And it was a windy day so conditions were not easy. The course is in lovely condition. It is a very nice golf course. Shame about the management. ************************* Tai meanwhile had a 4am turnaround flight to Bombay. This meant getting up at midnight and leaving for work at 1.30am. Anyone who thinks this job is glamorous should consider the hours. They can be most unfriendly. I played golf while she worked! I almost feel bad. I should enjoy it while I can! 17 December 2006 Golf today at Bangsai - the weather was great - cool early on and a nice breeze (or was that a two club wind) all morning ! The weather was better than my golf. I am still very distracted. My mind and heart are in Dubai. People are being really nice. They are happy for me and are sure that I am doing the right thing. Someone said they have never seen me happier - I think that is true. ********************** A real thai food blog! Thanks to Dennis for the link! *********************** What is it about the letter B....as AOB's favorite jet-setter visits Bolton, Beirut and Bombay in the course of a week, and Bahrain last week.....what next, Birmingham, Beijing. Better still, Bangkok. And a few friends downunder would say come to Brisbane! 14 December 2006 Strange problems with the AIS mobile network for the last 24 hours - I can send messages but cannot receive any - AIS say this is due to technical upgrades - that is a very strange upgrade. Rather like phoning their help desk. For English Press 2. So I press 2. If you would like to talk to an operator please press 0. To hear this menu again please press 1. This is not much of a menu - I imagine its a bit like dinner in the gulags. There was only one choice. Playing the menu again seems rather unnecessary! 13 December 2006 At least Bolton begins with a B - maybe there were secret thoughts about heading to BKK. It has not been an easy day - I feel a like a kid who went to the sweet shop, was given some candy and then had it taken away immediately. Still - only 11 days to go ! And then back to Dubai. Have had some very supportive messages from friends and family. It is great that everyone feels so positive about Tai and I. Thank you all for your support and encouragement. I hope I make her as happy as she makes me. And I promise not to leave soap suds on the cleaned dishes ! ********************* There is a nice page of pictures from Istanbul now on the site. ********************* Meanwhile as I head for bed someone is still 80 minutes out of DXB. Happy landings ! 12 December 2006 Even I am a little surprised at how personal this blog has become in a short time. This is a really odd day. There is a large part of me that is incredibly at ease and happy. I am certain about moving to Dubai; I am certain about being with Tai. For once in my life I have a dream to pursue. But today she is heading west to Manchester and I am heading East to Bangkok. She was leaving from gate 15 at 7.55am and we were next door at gate 17. So strange. We were due to leave at 8.10am but pushed back at 9.23am. Mentally I have already moved. And I really do not want to be heading back to BKK. 11 December 2006 Saying goodbye to Bunny !
Forgot to mention that I also did the ironing, unblocked the sink..... The TV is now working - no thanks to me - but to a very puzzled looking electrician who kindly gave up two hours of his day to help ! Yesterday I made the bed, vacuumed the apartment, did the washing up, tried (badly) to get the tv working, repaired the garbage bin......it must be love !!! Time to find a real job - cant be a housekeeper for too long ! Must remember to put 3 in 1 Nescafe in a cup - not a mug - apparently this is very important ! But should Earl Grey tea come in a large camel mug!? 10 December 2006 One minute it is 3.30pm - next thing I know it is 5pm. Must have been tired. ************************ A red letter day for Tai - as she makes her first regular flight as EK crew. The last two flights were as an extra crew member for observation and training; though as far as I can tell the supernumerary flights are hard work.....other than sitting in the flight deck for a landing and take off! I am proud of her; she has worked very hard. 9 December 2006 The A380 recently added BKK's new airport to its recent tour of Asia - flying non stop to BKK from Toulouse. Maybe that will save the Thai Air purchase order. Mind you - Thai needs the planes so are unlikely to pull out of the deal. That would hurt them competitively - and some of their old 747s are creaking at the seams. *********************** 5 December 2006 We have internet access - hang out the flags ! Reasons to fly Emirates:
I do like this picture. Personal stuff is fairly rare on this website; but a great deal has been changing in my life over the last few months. All for the good. Tai's move to Dubai has asked a lot of questions about what is best for her and for me. She has a new life and career in a new city. It is a great opportunity. But it is an opportunity that hopefully we can share. I have a best friend, someone that I am completely at ease with. Someone I want to be with rather than away from. I had forgotten how good it is to be in love with someone; to be with someone who makes your heart beat faster every time you are together and who I know I love. I hope I make her happy; not just tomorrow and next week but for the rest of our lives. She is a very special woman. 3 December 2006 Am in Dubai - very limited internet access right now - Sorry ! Dubai International Capital are reported to be bidding for Liverpool FC. And in the most important news of the day Emirates newest, happiest and prettiest flight attendant makes her maiden flight today. The skies will never be the same again. 30 November 2006 It is graduation day for Tai and her friends at the Emirates Training College. And everyone is relieved that the 5 weeks of training is finished and excited that their new career is beginning for real, The excitement is infectious. Graduation is a big event attend by senior management of the airline; presentations are made in the theater at the college. Family and friends are allowed so I will report form there later. 29 November 2006 The Guardian reports today that : European internet usage is booming with surfers across the region spending over 11 hours a week - an hour more than last year - sending emails, visiting websites, holding online chats and downloading music, according to new research released today. Am I the only one surprised that it is only 11 hours a week. Or am I addicted? ********************** So at long last I find a fast internet connection to update the videos on the web site - and as I am uploading youtube goes offline for scheduled maintenance and upgrades. Growl !!! *********************** Good flight from Istanbul. A bit chaotic in Dubai but that is another story for another day. People can be very frustrating! Big meal on the plane - a chicken tikka appetiser, greek salad, spiced, fried cod fish, cream cheese, chocolate dessert, wine from full bottles. All accompanied by a cd of Monty Python's greatest hits. Michael Palin has come a long way ! 28 November 2006 The only problem with Istanbul Airport is how dark the departure areas are. There are plenty of places to shop, or sit or have a coffee. But there is no where that you can read because the light is so bad. *********************** There are shoe cleaners all over Istanbul. And for the first time in my life I sat down and had a professional shoe clean. He insisted that I needed to change the shoe laces to a colour that he thought was a better match...but he did a great job on my shoes. They look and smell new ! *********************** We should be away from Istanbul on time. Good news as the flight does not land until 1.15am. *********************** Why am I always sat at the front of economy - seem to get an aisle seat at the front of EY without even needing to ask for it. Is it from being a Skywards member; or just being a white guy??? I wonder. *********************** Glad I have seen Istanbul. But it is time to go somewhere with blue sky and sunshine. ********************** It had taken over 90 minutes to upload 92% of video 8 of my travels and then I lost the wireless connection! Arrghhhhhh |
27 November 2006 The local laundry is a strange establishment. You walk into the basement of a local home. There are two women who appear to supervise and one guy who appears to do all the work, It was not cheap. But that might have been the foreigner rate! I have never thought it necessary to haggle over the laundry cost? But as I left they gave me a small English book - Belief and Man; basically an English translation of chapters of a Turkish book explaining the relevance on the Qur'an in the modern world. That's the first time that my laundry has hinted the need for salvation ! ************************** The number of men fishing on Galata bridge is staggering. Even in the cold they look like they spend the day there. And they don't catch much other than a few small sardine like fish. But the hotel owner where I am staying says that they are not there by choice. They have been thrown out of the home by their wives. And the choice is fishing or the coffee shop. The Sunday Yeni Safak newspaper reported on the use of coffee houses as a male refuge. Here in the "kahvehane" or "kahve" they drink tea and play cards. There are about 40,000 such coffee houses in Istanbul and 450,000 across Turkey. They are there because their wives do not want them at home while they clean the house, watch soap operas and gather with other women. One owner told the newspaper that "this is not our place for fun, bit rather an exile." *********************** My travel videos seem reasonably popular: to date there have been Video Views: 162 and Channel Views: 33. More updates to come but the wireless connection is slow - sorry. ************************* Anyone see Ronaldinho's goal this weekend against Villareal? Amazing. ************************* Meanwhile in Dubai yesterday winter finally arrived as rain and wind swept into town and temperatures plummeted. City-goers reached for their knitwear as temperatures plunged from 28.6 degrees to a refreshing 18.5 degrees within the space of four hours. I guess there are different definitions of winter ! 26 November 2006 It is a worry: A 23-year-old James Bond fan, David Fearn, of Walsall, has changed his name to James Dr No From Russia with Love Goldfinger Thunderball You Only Live Twice On Her Majesty’s Secret Service Diamonds Are Forever Live and Let Die The Man with the Golden Gun The Spy Who Loved Me Moonraker For Your Eyes Only Octopussy A View to a Kill The Living Daylights Licence to Kill Golden Eye Tomorrow Never Dies The World Is Not Enough Die Another Day Casino Royale Bond. Bet that looks good in his passport! ********************** Walked miles today exploring Istanbul. It is cold here and dark by 5pm. Spent most of the day in Sultanamet; in the Blue Mosque and Aya Sofya. You can read all about these in a guide book or travel site so there is little that I can add. Walked around the sea wall (Sea of Marmara) to Galata Bridge; crossed that - dodging the fishermen - and went to Taksim Square (looks like it was built by the East Germans - it is ugly). 25 November 2006 Yesterday was a good day. We had lunch at the art cafe in Bastakia; walked along the creek; then went out to the Mall of the Emirates - and searched Carrefour for something that resembles a white carrot ? Dinner was at home with a some wine and a lot of chat. A good day. Then today I caught the EK 77-300ER to Istanbul. It is a four hour flight from Dubai. The plane was not full so the service was fairly relaxed. The food not bad. The 300ERs are newer planes; the seats are more comfortable and they are equipped with EK's ICE video and music on demand system. Some 600 channels of films, video and music and there is still nothing to watch! I am staying in old Istanbul, Sultanament. A good walk around the neighbourhood and down to the Galata bridge. This is like nowhere else I have ever been. It is also quite cold ! 24 November 2006 Christmas is coming even to Dubai. In The Mall of the Emirates the decorations are everywhere, stores have Xmas trees and gifts and it is all jolly festive. So strange ! 23 November 2006 Had a nice dinner by the beach in Dubai last night; but it was a reminder of how expensive this city is!!
But I could not complain about the view! 22 November 2006 Good morning dear reader from Dubai! It takes just over six hours of Emirates Airlines purgatory to get from BKK to DXB on a packed, sardine like, 777-300. With three late night flights to Dubai the check in at BKK was very busy and that took about one hour in an unruly queue. The 777-300 is a dreadful plane when it is full. The 3-4-3 seating in simply one seat to many and a sense of claustrophobia takes over ! A rather overly English crew made it sound like a bad British Airways flight as announcements were delivered in a broad yorkshire accent. Still, I am here in Dubai. The weather is stunning. The local cafe has free wireless internet. And someone was pleased to see me ! I am trying to keep a videoblog of this trip. It does take a long time to upload the videos. So please be patient if the updates are not too frequent ! The videos are on Youtube and this is the link! 18 November 2006 Portsmouth vs Watford today; David James, who was a junior and then first team 'keeper at Watford before moving to Liverpool is in goal for Portsmouth. James probably should still be England's goalkeeper. Meanwhile Ben Foster is in goal for Watford. OK, so he is on loan from Liverpool but he was in our promotion side last year so is Watford through and through; and Ben is now the youngest 'keeper in the England squad. And Watford lose to another last minute penalty for the second time this season. The rub of the green (for a mixed sporting pun) has not been in Watford's favour this season. ************************* Strangely we have a thunderstorm in Bangkok today. It has not rained here for a few weeks; blue skies and great weather recently. But the rains have returned. 16 November 2006 Why is George Bush in Singapore? I know he is going to Vietnam for APEC but he flew from the USA to Moscow and then onto Singapore. Singapore is hardly a stop on the way to Vietnam. Strange. Was Singapore the only country that wanted to see him? ************************* Very feverish last night - hardly slept. Every bone on my body was aching. Not good. 15 November 2006 More Christmas carols - deck the halls with lots of junk - ************************** Across Thailand there is a national debate about Coyote Dancing and promotion girls - pretties as they are known here. But what would a major event be without a few good looking girls dressed up as advertising hoardings....try this! http://www.luckystiffasia.com/sports/supercar-girls.html The one stop lubricant girls are certainly the best named. 14 November 2006 Heard my first Xmas carol today - in Siam Paragon. *************************** Shopping in department stores in Thailand can be such hard work. I have never understood the need for the store attendants to swarm over me as soon as I stop to take the slightest interest in a product. Given the limitations of language the best they can usually so is tell me what the signs say - 'discount yih sihp per cent' for instance. And then they stand there and hover. Maybe it is cultural. Maybe a Thai shopper likes this very personal attention. Me - I find it claustrophobic and have to walk away. There goes another sale. Thaksin watch: He is in Hong Kong; shopping with the Mrs. **************************** Here is a little question for you. Is the act of tricking unsuspecting victims and sharing it with millions of people for your own significant profit acceptable behaviour. The Borat film is taking millions at the box office. But it is making money at the expense of Joe Blow US citizens who come over as multiphobic and ignorant. Or is the premise of the movie simply cruel and/or funny. Do the "victims" simply get what they deserve. I am sure they would all be happier with a share of the movies royalties. ***************************** Had a fun night out with one of my old HKG friends who was visiting BKK. Actually he was traveling (allegedly for business) with a friend so the three of us had a good dinner at Giusto; and found a lot to chat about. I miss the mental gymnastics of lively, intelligent conversation. 12 November 2006 Jay Leno in good form this week: "It has not been a good week for the Republicans. This election was kind of like a bad divorce –- they got rejected, insulted, and lost the House." –Jay Leno "President Bush warned Democrats not to celebrate too early. This is from the guy who put up the 'Mission Accomplished' sign three years ago." --Jay Leno "You got to give (Rumsfeld) credit it though. It might have taken him
six years, but he finally came up with an exit strategy." --Jay Leno Golf yesterday at Royal Lakeside - if I could put it would have been a terrific round of golf; ball to green was at times as good as I have ever hit the ball.....but my putting was woeful. ************************ And talking of woeful, poor old Watford lost 0-4 away at Chelsea. It could have been many more. The gap in class was embarrassing and Chelsea won without breaking into even a mild perspiration. *********************** From the Time Out city guide to Dubai...."The following are prohibited in the USE and import of these goods will carry a heavy penalty.....pornography, including sex toys, so be careful if you are trying to smuggle in your rampant rabbit" So now you know. 9 November 2006 Looks like the Democrats will squeeze control of the Senate as well. It is good that Bush will be forced to change direction and work with the Democrats. But the paralysis of the world's only superpower is a probem. The first casualty; Donald Rumsfeld. 8 November 2006 Help - I saw my first Christmas tree in Bangkok today. TOPS supermarket in Silom. In fact the store was full of decorations and Xmas hampers and gift items. Too early ! ********************* Worse - I wanted to buy a couple of bottles of wine from TOPS - it was 3pm. Sorry, I was told, you cannot buy alcohol until 5pm. Apparently that is the law. Bizarre. Here am I, with money to spend, hundreds of years old, hardly an irresponsible teenage alcoholic. ********************* The US government heads to gridlock. The Democrats will take the House of Representatives but the Republicans hold onto the Senate. Two years into GW Bush's second term this is really the first day of the presidential election campaign. 7 November 2006 Pakistan's two year doping ban for their fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar for two years and Mohammed Asif for one year may be re-opened. Asif has already appealed protesting that he had no idea what he was taking. Yet he was being administered injections containing banned substances (Promax 50). It is a bit like being done for drunk driving and arguing that he did not know he was drinking alcohol. Certainly the tribunal appointed by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) acted quickly. It may not be a coincidence that Darryl Hair was dropped as an ICC umpire almost immediately after the Pakistan verdict was announced. The sport's governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC) predictably lauded the Pakistan verdict. ****************************** The most alarming thing that I have read today - or even this week: "a recent study showed that American hotel bedspreads contain an average of 30 genetically different semen stains." I guess this really should come (no pun intended) as no surprise. ************************** Is this the future of flying? See the techwatch blog.
6 November 2006 This is an interesting site - someone has put a lot of work into this: Uncyclopedia - the entry on Singapore has a couple of mildly amusing lines.
5 November 2006 That was the ugly side of Arsenal today. They dont have a divine right to win football games. They remain among the sorest losers in the league and that started with their manager today. Boorish behaviour for which a man of Wenger's intelligence should apologise to West Ham and to the tv viewers. But he is way too arrogant for that. This ridiculous rule that books a player for celebrating a 1-0 win from at 88th minute goal is a nonsense. ******************************* End of three days of golf. Maybe a bit too much sun over the last three days. Alpine is a lovely course and I always enjoy Lam Lukka. Played at Kiartti Thannee today. It is rather flat and dull be comparison. ******************************* It is Loy Krathong. Maybe the nicest Thai festival. But I am at home with nothing to do except tv and my web site, no one to see and no one to talk to. The people I care about seem a very, very long way away. ******************************** Emirates watch: The airline will use the giant aircraft in three configurations: 489 seats in three classes on long routes, such as Dubai-Sydney, 540 in three classes on eight-hour routes, such as Dubai-London, and 644 seats on two classes for routes to the Indian subcontinent. 2 November 2006 Sometimes the world begins (Blue Rodeo - 5 days in May) *************************** It was a case of les misserables at the Emirates Stadium last night. Playing some sublime football Arsenal looked awesome until the hard part - scoring. Then they looked woeful. Tomas "the Blank Engine" Rosinsky was imperious; he was also responsible for one of the worst misses ever seen! For the impartial observer it made for some great TV ! 1 November 2006 Another month gone. Time to get motivated. ***************************** A few friends and I made our annual appearance at the British Chamber of Commerce backed quiz night at the Londoners pub last night. And as before we finished around mid table. There are people there who take these quizzes very seriously indeed. ****************************** Meanwhile there was an interesting gathering over dinner in Dubai last night. Oh to be a fly on the wall ! ****************************** Australian scientists yesterday unveiled three test tube koala joeys. They also announced the intent to create the world's first koala sperm bank. Now I know how we create a human sperm bank. Send the guy into a little room with a test tube and a porn video on the tv. No I have never done it. But how do you start a koala sperm bank? ****************************** The riots in Oaxaca, Mexico come as no great surprise. It is the only place that I have felt in danger; and that was just in the local street market. Lovely city; crazy people. ******************************* Was watching the Watford vs Tottenham highlights from last weekend. Watford were robbed. When you propping up the table the luck does not work for you. Ashley Young's goal was clearly onside. The linesman blew the call. And the result was a 0-0 draw. Another really bad decision and it is one point and not three. ********************************* I logged onto myspace.com for the first time in months - this was the message waiting for me - "Robert has 0 friends." That's a bit blunt !
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