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.
Dubai Blogs Hong Kong Blogs A Big White Guy in Hong Kong - self explanatory Ordinary Gweilo 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 links Hong Kong Hustle 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.
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
News The Guardian - UK
China sites
Bangkok info sites
Worthy Sites Rconversation - from Rebecca MacKinnon, ex-TV reporter-turned-blogger.
Fun Sites
Useful Sites
Technology Ideas
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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30 December 2008 Media announcement today - The government of Dubai has transferred ownership of Emirates airline and air travel services firm Dnata, to state-owned Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD). I dont think this means much - they are still government controlled. Maybe it makes the organisations a little more transparent and positions then for a partial flotation? 29 December 2008 I have been watching Tim Marshall reporting from Gaza on Sky News and am impressed by his articulate, rationale and reasoned commentary. In fact I am now watching Sky News more that BBC World. *********************** Watching the test match from Melbourne - Australia vs South Africa. They are offering A$2,000 and a year's supply of KFC if you get select the winning classic catch (there are 3 AB De Villiers catches - the first is technically the hardest; the second is stunning for the speed of reaction and athleticism). But what is a year's supply of KFC !!!! Scary! Nothing like promoting a healthy balanced diet ! 28 December 2008 Rumours from the new Thai government of a depreciation of the Baht - one way to fix to the economy. The bit I like is that they don't want to do this quite yet - at least not until the rich people have time to move their Baht out first. Why devalue. Helps the export market, encourages tourism and boosts the loan packages for the coming infrastructure projects. But Thailand like other Asian nations is essentially a manufacturer. Sure exports get cheaper - but the western countries are not buying at any price. The devaluation would have to be large to have a long term impact - say 20%. It wont happen. ************************
************************ Another UK newspaper's website has access banned in the UAE. The Daily Star is banned here - their headline about potential terror attacks on David Beckham when he is in Dubai this week probably do not help! But you can still access The Sun for its usual super, soaraway tabloid lines. ************************ There may be huge sales on the UK high streets. But dont rush to Dubai for any special sales. A few of the stores have sales - not all. And the discounts are nothing to get excited about. 27 December 2008 Oman Air will start its new daily non-stop service from Muscat to London's Heathrow Airport from January 15. Flight WY911 will depart Muscat International Airport at 12.55pm and arrive at London Heathrow's Terminal 3 at 5.40pm local time. Return flight WY912 will depart London Heathrow's Terminal 3 at 9.30pm and arrive at Muscat International Airport at 9am the following morning 26 December 2008 A very good Xmas Day with our friends and Alex at Millennium. Ten of us eating turkey with everything, Xmas pudding, mince pies, cheese, Xmas crackers and a little too much wine. We had one pass out; another eating dinner off her lap after the plate mysteriously left the table; jet lag sufferers finished early; early departures as well for people with flights today. ********************* Tai is in Guangzhou; Alex and I went to Nad-al-Sheba for the races today. Nice sunny day - just stayed for the first four races but Alex did pick the winner (by a neck from my horse) in the days big race - as Fryvolous won the Mazrat Al Ruwayah race for pure bred Arabians. It was a great race. But won by one of only two horses from Abu Dhabi. As the winner came into the enclosure the silence was deafening. Eight of the other 9 entries were owned by members of Dubai's Al Maktoum ruling family. It would be hard to be a less popular winner ! Here is a vote of confidence from a Deputy Prime Minister in Thailand - Deputy Prime Minister Sanan Kachornprasart Thursday expressed confidence that the government would last longer than three months. Nice to see stability !! ********************* Meanwhile all is not well in Dubai where - the AFP reports that @up to 45 percent of the construction workforce in the United Arab Emirates could be laid off, with thousands already having lost their jobs due to the global financial crisis, a report said Wednesday." 24 December 2008
The first foggy morning in Dubai for the winter. Tai did an early hours of the morning turn to Bahrain. Maybe there was no fog at the airport. It is always very localized. ************************* I cannot be bothered to write a long piece on the Thai cabinet line - up. My favourite appointment is the lady now in charge of the Commerce Ministry. Her previous commercial experience appears to be in running the Posiedon brothel - sorry - entertainment center (as the Nation so loyally describes it!!). By all accounts a very successful business with a loyal largely asian client base. But very very hard to take her seriously as a government minister. 23 December 2008 A lovely sunny day for a day out in Abu Dhabi. It is a nice city at this time of year. Green. And the new beach and corniche waterfront is attractive. Though it costs AED5 per person to walk on the beach. **************************** As for the guy driving at 150km plus is the fast lane flashing his lights at everyone. Maybe (given that is was night time) putting your lights on would help you be seem. Dopey b*****r. **************************** We were at Global Village last night. It feels like Global Village for recessionary times. They have doubled the admission price and there is less there. And the biggest rip of all: The ferris wheel. AED 20 per person for the grand total of two circles. There were four of us in one capsule. AED80 for a 3 minute ride. Criminal! 21 December 2008 Official video on the Volvo Masters web site from two of the EK crew at the Thai Country Club: Interviewed by Mile Wilson of Volvo Event Management. And another pic as well:
********************* South Africa win by six wickets and with ease. I enjoyed that! ********************** South Africa are on course to a remarkable 414 to win the first test against Australia in Perth. The only sad note is how small the crowd is. It is a weekend in Perth. The fifth day of a great test match. Which looks like it will go into the final session. Guess Aussie crowds dont like last day drama or the simple thought that their team might lose ! Where is everyone. Yesterday the odds on a SA win were remote; now they need 65 more with six wickets left. The second highest fourth innings run chase of all time and the highest ever in Australia - and they are making it look easy! 20 December 2008 Thailand's new Prime Minister was interviewed on CNN. The Nation (such a rag!) describes the outcome as follows : "The new prime minister came out of the considerably hostile session relatively unscathed." Hilarious - Dan Rivers - hostile. He was as meek as a lamb. You want hostile - try Hard Talk on the BBC. Rivers did not even flinch as Abhisit lied in the way that Thai politicians have long mastered: if he says it often enough he may even believe himself that it is true ! He really does say that he is not aware of any meeting between army command and the democrats! "RIVERS:
How did you persuade Newin Chidchob's faction -- a politician who was
loyal -- not just loyal to Thaskin, he was one of his right hand men, for
goodness sakes. How did you persuade his group of MPs to
come over to your side? The full interview is on Talk Asia on CNN on 24 December. ****************** Alex arrived in Dubai this morning from HKG. I dont think he is a great fan of Emirates. Check in was a mess. And the flight was an old A330 - no ICE system. And the old style wooden benches that masquerade as first generation EK seats. ******************* If you want to know just how bad Bangkok's English language media really is then you should read the blog at "Thailand jumped the Shark." I dont need to repeat any of the writer's complaints about the BKK media - in particular the Nation which is a pro PAD rag. ********************* More of the political situation in Thailand: http://www.epw.in/uploads/articles/12971.pdf
17 December 2008 Having such trouble shaking off my cold. ******************* Dubai does not seem to have completely discovered the global crisis yet: the new year celebrations continue to be lavish and outrageously expensive: a few for you (not me) to choose from: Atlantis the Palm at Ossiano by Santi Santamaria Burj Al Arab New Year's Eve Party Beach Gala Dinner at Madinat Jumeirah Shakira at VIP Emirates Palace 14 December 2008
Moonrise by Burj Dubai! ****************** Sorry about the few quiet days. I have invested in a new laptop (Dell XPS 1530- 4GB RAM and 320GB hard drive) for those who care about such things. But the task of moving everything off the old laptop to the new is substantial! ***************** There is a great test match going on in Chennai. At the end of day 4 it is anyone's game. Credit to England for looking like a decent cricket team. India is something of a fortress to play in. ****************** Some great friends from my previous company leave Dubai today for new adventures and careers. I learned a great deal from both of them and hope they are happy and successful in their new ventures. ****************** Have been fighting a cold all week. Blame the yellow shirts. This is all due to being stuck in BKK and having to bus to Phuket. ****************** Emirates flights to Bangkok are back to normal - and teh through flights to HKG and Sydney have good loads. The one flight that terminates in BKK is still showing a very light load. ******************* Thailand elects a new Prime Minister tomorrow. The army backed political coup looks to have succeeded in giving the Democrats the numbers they need to form a government. 9 December 2008 Q: Why does it take a Virgin Atlantic stewardess 5 minutes to pour an orange juice? A: Because it says "concentrate" on the carton! ****************** This all sounds well and good - but how is it to be claimed; how is it to be pair; good luck to anyone trying to get their hands upon a baht ! "The caretaker Cabinet Tuesday approved a budget of Bt1.9 billion to
pay compensations to Thai and foreign tourists stranded because of the
seizures of the Bangkok
airports. 8 December 2008 So much talk about re-educating the poor people: but as one writer said - education is not correlated with political knowledge. In my experience, most taxi drivers and food vendors are way more politically aware than self-absorbed Chula students, or hi-so Thais whose foremost concern is when the next sale at Siam Paragon. ****************** Some years ago - when Thaksin was at his autocratic worst - I would have welcomed Abhisit as prime minister. But now his name is ingloriously linked to the anarchy of the PAD mob. Abhisit has not condemned the PAD's actions and now looks like an army blessed opportunist who is in bed with Newin Chidchob. I wonder how much or what ahs been promised and by who? ******************* Available for dating: Ex-wife of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Khunying Potjaman, applied for a new identification card at the Dusit District Office at 8am Monday to change her surname back to Damapong. ******************** Irish pork industry is facing a massive Christmas crisis. Not much impact here in the UAE - but it must have lots of people checking the source of their sausages! ******************** Am back in Dubai. Where after two days of rain the buildings at Millennium and Falcon are all but cut off to anything smaller than a 4x4. The potholes are huge and their are lakes of standing water. ********************* Tai was on standby last night; and heads to BKK later this week for some on the spot reporting from BKK airport. ********************* The journey back was fairly gruesome. The Air Asia flight to and transfer at KL were particularly unpleasant. The whole trip was improved by an expensive but very pleasant 5 hour stay at KL airport's Pan Pacific hotel. ********************** There appears to be a new policy on EK of keeping the passengers awake all night. Aussie flight attendants have loud voices and like to congregate in the galley and entertain eachother. No sleep at all despite the 00.30 departure time. And the old seats on the A330 are the equivalent of sitting on a hard board; the legroom taken away by the box under the seat in front for the old style video system. But it did get me back to Dubai. 6 December 2008 Heading home today - the long way - from Phuket to Kuala Lumpur - 9 hours at KL and then onto Dubai. ********************** It is nice to just be able to walk out of the hotel and have coffee and breakfast in a local cafe. Or just to go for a walk. In Dubai to go anywhere I have to find the car; navigate through the car park; take the dirt road, get onto Sheik Zayeed road, pay my salik toll - and then I can go out ! *********************** I dont like Phuket much. And while a walk is good the hassle is not. You want tuk tuk. You want taxi. You want massage. I am tailor. The tailors are the worst. Always trying to shake your hand and drag you into their shop. Where you from? etc etc. And it gets really tedious. Normally I shake hands with everyone. Not this lot. They are mainly Indian. They behave very differently to the Thais. More obstructive. And somehow they have the nerve to be offended when they are ignored. 5 December 2008 The other day I was told that - you are a farang - you know nothing about Thailand. The problem with the whole yellow shirt/red shirt saga is that so many Thais are simply repeating what they are told without debate or question. The potential slide from demise to fascism should be a concern to everyone who cares about Thailand - farang and Thai. And farang have in many cases invested heavily enough in Thailand to seriously care for the country. The current Thai conflict boils down to one central issue: How can a powerful minority, including the army, businessmen and members of the urban middle class, live with a political movement that has a strong electoral majority? Thailand is still a long way from answering that question. And neither Thai or farang know the answer yet. *********************** The ex Mrs Thaksin and daughter Pintongta came home last night (the picture is from a few months ago). No arrests were made. The only arrest warrant against her, in her capacity as a defendant in the Ratchadapisek land case, has been cancelled after she was acquitted. She was sentenced to jail in a seperate case of tax evasion, but she is still technically in the process of appeal. Expect her to sort out Newin Chidchob whose political faction appears to have been considering defection from TRT/PPP/PT to any group that gives him more. As always Thai politics has little to do with principal and far more to do with personal agendas. I imagine Khunying Pojaman has a forceful personality!
People's Alliance for Democracy coordinator Suriyasai Katasila has denied the PAD's responsibility for alleged vandalism and theft at Government House during its occupation of the compound. Errrrr - no one else was there - who else coudl have trashed the place! ********************** If oil prices are now the lowest for 5 years how do airlines still have fuel surcharges ??? US$ 44 now. ********************** Phuket is significantly hotter than Bangkok at this time of year.
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5 December 2008 - continued The airport may be open - and the authorities may be trying to say that everything is back to normal. But not all airlines and flights are operating yet and there is both a backlog of 9 days of passengers as well as already booked passengers waiting for flights from today. Do not go to the airport without having a confirmed ticket tp travel. Or you will be badly disappointed. It will be a few days before the backlog of flights and passengers is cleared. ************************ Thailand will recover. Visitors like coming here....weather, food, friendly people; nightlife of every description; temples, beaches. Phuket is reasonably busy - not packed. But is will be a while before business and investment trusts Bangkok. And the high end tourists; those Thailand most wants, are the ones most likely to look elsewhere. It is the backpackers that will still come to Thailand - maybe in part because of the greater sense of adventure; even danger. ************************** The bus from Bangkok to Phuket takes 11 hours with a short 20 minute lunch stop. Only 24 seats on the first class bus so it was comfortable enough - although the washroom facility is dire and should be used on an only if desperate basis. And I have a cold - from too much aircon or the bus or both! ************************ As for Patong - it is reasonably busy with a decent number of western and eastern european tourists. Not so many Asian visitors. The new JungCeylon mall is huge. The shops will be open today - it is the King's birthday - but the evening will be quiet.
4 December 2008 On the great escape from BKK. A 12 hour bus ride to Phuket. Tai is in Gatwick after being called from standby yesterday. Only 1C in London when they landed. In 5 nights in the CityChic hotel i had room service dinner three times. That is a bit sad. Spent a lot of the time keeping up to date on the BKK airport occupation which ended at 10.00am yesterday. It really is making a mockery out of Thailand's young democracy. 1 December 2008 My new hotel is nice enough - the rooms are a little small - but the price is sensible. But one discovery this evening - the walls are thin. A girl in the next room was having a good workout. Must have been aerobics on TV !! So I had to turn up the BBC World Service to be discreet ! My route back to DXB is fully booked ! But it will be a marathon with a bus to Phuket and then flights to Kuala Lumpur and onto Dubai. Yuck! I hate the PAD! 30 November 2008 Still in BKK. Tai's flight to BXB eventually left UTapao at 8am on the 29th. It sounds like a pretty chaotic night. Hard to know what else to say. The Showdown at BKK blog is keeping as up to date on events as I can. But there is real hatred here now. The police are inept. The army wont take a side - at least not yet. The government has fled BKK for Chiang Mai. It is very unclear how and when this will be resolved. One option for getting out of BKK: http://www.seat61.com/Thailand.htm Best way back to Dubai looks like BKK to Phuket by bus (13 hours) and then fly to KUL and then to DXB. Painful. 28 November 2008 Tai has gotten onto an emergency EK flight operating to Dubai from U-Tapao. I am stuck in BKK. It has been a really strange week - dominated by the events at the airport. We found out about the EK flight at 10.40pm and had Tai at the Holiday Inn on Silom to meet the other crew and passengers at 11.00pm. A packing record. 26 November 2008 Have been busy updating the website with news from BKK airport which has now been closed for over 24 hours. The government looks powerless. What Thais desperately want in leadership. Instead the nation is being torn apart by pro government supporters and the PAD. *************************** Burn after Reading - perhaps the worst and most irritating film I have ever seen. Sorry I know it is the Coen brothers and that it is somehow cool to like their work. But this was crap. *************************** There was a Citibank party downstairs in Siri Sathorn tonight. Guess they were using part of the US$300 billion bail out to pay for that! *************************** Saladaeng Residences - tagline - Luxury through Purity. What on earth does that mean? 24 November 2008 We are outbound to Bangkok on EK 418. And the big news is that Mr. Thaksin's only son is on the airplane with us !As are three of his girlfriends. But he got to turn left into business or first class and the girls turned right to join us at the back. I now know who goes shopping in Dubai Duty Free !! And it is not me ! 23 November 2008 EK flight news: Emirates plans to operate 2nd Daily Airbus A380
aircraft on the Dubai - London Heathrow route from 02JAN09 to 31JAN09. And - Emirates is reducing its Dubai - Johannesburg route from 3 to 2
Daily from 01FEB09. And - a crew favourite - Emirates is starting 2nd daily Dubai - Lagos
flight from 01FEB09 ********************************* Many fear that three events could coincide: Tens of thousands of PAD protesters will try once again to besiege parliament and confront police whose duty is to secure a scheduled joint meeting of the House and Senate. Hundreds or thousands of UDD supporters will ignore pleas from their leaders and civil figures to confront the PAD in the name of keeping parliament open. Members of parliament will force a showdown by insisting on getting into the House, setting up a violent confrontation involving all three sides. *************************** On the other hand it may be a quiet day when everyone sees common sense and demonstrates quietly. But with the two recent grenade incidents it will only take one small spark to start a substantial confrontation. The language from the PAD has been incendiary. *************************** Strange to say - flights to Bangkok all appear to be full - so tourism continues - despite the potential for trouble in BKK. *************************** One of the casualties of the political stagnation in BKK - the 2008 Bangkok Jazz Festival will be held in the usual location but in March 2009. Or not at all. The names invited are unlikely to be be as bright and shining as years gone by. the 2008 Bangkok Jazz Festival will be amused to know that it’s to be held in the usual location but in March 2009. Our mainstream Thai media entertainment spies say it’s then or not at all and the names invited may not be as bright and shining as years gone by. ************************ Sometimes UAE censorship goes to far - the Sunday Telegraph report of Watford's 3-0 win over QPR is banned - this is the url:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/ What is it about that story and that source that could in any way be offensive ! 20 November 2008 The Atlantis resort formally opens tonight with a ridiculously lavish opening party that will cost millions and allows the rich and (in)famous to remind us of the gap between them and the rest of the planet. No credit crisis for these people. ********************** England's cricketers go 0-3 down in India in a 7 game series. Has any team ever lost 0-7? England have not been close to winning a game. And 240 today was never going to be enough and the bad light and Duckworth-Lewis calculated result just saved a more painful ending! 18 November 2008 Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang is to be replaced after about 17 months in the job. It is only last May that Microsoft bid as much as $33 a share for Yahoo this year; Yang fought off the bid and Yahoo now trades at less than a third of that value. Microsoft are likely to make a new offer but they may end up paying between $15 and $18. Half of their earlier offer. There must be some very frustrated Yahoo shareholders. 17 November 2008 Tai has finished her annual safety and emergency procedures refresher - so she is all set for another year here. And she can now apply for her first class upgrade....more money and maybe some interesting people. At least they probably have jobs - or wealth ! ************************ Am feeling a bit stuck at the moment. The phone is quiet. Just getting out of my apartment needs an effort. To fetch the car. To drive through the building site. If only there was somewhere to walk to. A cafe to sit in. A park to run around in. 6 November 2008 So Mr.T is in Dubai. I really would like to meet him. I could ask him why we were never able to move the potash project forward! We can cook him Thai dinner. And I made a huge tiramisu last night (I know its not Thai!) and he is welcome to share that. Many
people will probably not agree with me, but was Thaksin really that bad?
Was he any more more corrupt than many other Thai ‘officials’? He had
obligations to his supporters in TRT. That has been true of most Thai
political leaders. ***************************** Meanwhile in the UAE it rained last night. The skies opened up early in the morning to bring in a rainy-wintry cheer with light to heavy showers accompanied in some places by loud thunder and lightning. And the rain came after a sudden squall whipped up sands in the UAE yesterday afternoon and we had a genuine sandstorm which reduced visibility to 500m in Dubai and even lower in the open areas. The storm, with winds gusting up to 35 knots (nautical miles per hour) in Dubai, only lasted from about 3.15pm to 4pm. We were out driving in it. Very interesting! 14 November 2008 Another day locked up in my apartment/prison cell. Tai is not talking to me (it took all day to find out why !) and is studying for her annual renewal course. *************************** Carling Cup last eight are - Arsenal, Blackburn Rovers, Burnley, Derby County, Manchester United, Stoke City, Tottenham Hotspur and Watford. The draw is on Saturday. ************************** No news on the job search. Patience is a must. Persistence is a need. ************************** Had a nice dinner on Loy Krathong at the Mango Tree Thai restaurant in Souk al Bahar. Set dinner. Lots of food. But no Krathong. So they really did not make it feel like a special occasion which was a pity. It is my favourite Thai festival. 11 November 2008 Roads to the new Dubai Mall were packed last weekend. It was taking between 2 to 3 hours to enter the Mall's car parks - which are badly signposted and are basically still building sites. This simply leads to an outbreak of that dreadful Dubai disease - car park rage. people drive around the car parks honking horns and waving fists as they jostle for any remaining parking spot. No where in Dubai do people drive worse and with less care than in the city's car parks. In the Dubai mall last week I saw one car trying to park - getting frustrated and backing fast and hard into a parked SUV. As for pedestrians. Be very careful. The drivers are not looking out for you - just for themselves. ************************* Just who is pulling the strings in Thailand and do they really have enough influence to force the hand of the British government? Why did the Brits revoke Thaksin's visa? Who made the decision and why? He was a democratically elected leader who was overthrown in a military coup. And yet the Brits seem to have accepted the mess of rhetoric from a combination of the PAD, Thai Democrats and the courts. The Asia Sentinel article reproduced on the today page asks all the right questions. *********************** To my westernised thinking the PAD is like a cult led by Bangkok’s chief protester, Sondhi Limthongkul. But as reported (see the Today page) Thai politics is sinking into the realms of mockery when the PAD leader is enlisting women from his People’s Alliance for Democracy to fight off evil spirits with used sanitary napkins. Even though ritual and superstition are still a part of Thai life no one can surely think that Thailand's political mess will get resolved through witchcraft and red magic. The government is proving resilient for now. The courts may change that. house. But the PAD is clutching at something - and it is none too pleasant. *********************** So will Mr. T end up in Dubai. There is a large contingent of Thai cabin crew here whose company he might enjoy ! He does fly Emirates....... *********************** Had a bit of a migraine this afternoon. Went to bed to sleep it off. Never used to get them - now seem to have them occasionally. Maybe it is just the bad air? ************************ Not much else to tell my dear reader about. It was a very quiet day. I have at last got rid of Orbit - a local satellite TV provider and replaced Orbit with Showtime. The only real difference is that Showtime carries Premier League Football from the UK. I do not think their shows are of the standard of ESPN out of Singapore - but that was, and is, a big budget operation. As for the rest of Showtime - old TV series and comedy shows and even older movies!! *************************** The new visitor car park at Millennium Tower has still not been opened - some six months after the work was completed, the gates installed and the parking bays marked out. What a waste. 10 November 2008 An early morning nine holes at the Jebel Ali Resort and Spa. It is a nice little course. Ten years old so the course is more mature than the newer courses here. Nice cool weather. Blue sky. Good company. My golf was shocking. Also meant that I did not pick Tai up after her Manila flight so left her to catch the crew bus. Always feel guilty when I dont pick her up !! *********************** EK's recent focus is more on adding services to existing routes rather than opening up new routes (except LAX and the delayed SFO services). Emirates recently announced daily flights to Cyprus from December 1st, the same day that the Malta service becomes daily. Istanbul has gone from a daily service to 11 flights per week. From December 1st, flights will serve Nice, non-stop, fives times a week, removing the current link through Rome. Meanwhile, from February 2nd next year, Emirates will go twice daily to Moscow. 8 November 2008 Tai is on her way to Manila. I could not do her job. She slept for six hours in the evening before the flight and then left at 3.45am. I would never get enough rest. ************************ Back on the Obama front there is a great collection of pics from the campaign here. 7 November 2008 I am feeling a little old. This is the first time in my life that the President of the USA is younger than me. ************************** Strange watching a combination of McCain aides and Fox News starting to blame their election defeat on Ms Palin. They chose her as the VP running mate. Their fault. Shockingly foolish choice. 6 November 2008 Bye bye Bush. Barack took 2/3rds of American voters under the age of 30. The Democrats could be running America for a long time. The Republicans did not just lose an election. They lost a generation of voters. *************************** Bob the Builder wants his catchphrase back:
4 November 2008 The flu bug is still making life miserable. Anything I eat, even something simple, passes straight through. Yuck. **************************** So while America votes Dubai opened its newest mega mall - the Dubai Mall. Parking is a nightmare - but once inside this huge mega mall there is more open than I had expected. Including Dubai's first full size ice skating rink. There is a massive aquarium. Not sure why this seems to be necessary in new malls? There is a branch of the Hamleys Toy Store. Bloomingdales is not yet open. The Waitrose supermarket is open and seems well priced and presented. The gold souk is attractive....though many shops are still not open. I did not see a Starbucks anywhere. The place is now a cross between a building site and a shopping mall and both will inconvenience the other. Not open yet - about 50% or more of the stores; the cinemas; Kinokuniya: restaurants - except for the food court; the Fashion Mall; access to the Old Town. But it will still be packed this weekend.
3 November 2008 I have been struck down with a flu bug for the last 24 hours. Nasty. Still struggling today. One thing I have not written about here is that I am no longer working; my employer and I parted ways a week ago; the day that I arrived back in the office from honeymoon. This is not a great time to be job hunting. I committed to Tai that we would stay in Dubai for at least the three years of her employment contract so we will stay here......wish me luck ! 2 November 2008 Two days before the election Sara Palin gets a phone call from a Montreal news station pretending to be Nicolas Sarkovsky, the French President - they are going to go 'unting by 'elicopter..... Scary. How did her advisors let the prank call get to her. She is embarrassing in the extreme. She does not know the names of the Canadian Prime Minister. The fake Sarkozy also said that "from my house I can see Belgium," before eventually letting Palin in on the joke. The Montreal-based crank callers, Sébastien Trudel and Marc-Antoine Audette, call themselves "the Masked Avengers." Please do not elect this woman !! No experience. Totally clueless. *********************** 1 November 2008 Some golf today at Tower Links in Ras Al Kaimah. Nice cooler day - blue sky. Felt a bit lethargic. ************************* 3 days away from a US election. Americans surely want and need a change. The rest of the world seriously needs a change in the USA.
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