December 2007 News Archive
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Thailand's election 31 December 2007 I will leave the final comments on the Thai election to this interesting commentary from the Nation newspaper. Have a great and peaceful New Year. "You are counting down to the day he will return to Thailand after living in exile abroad for more than a year. For you, he is a hero, not a devil as his enemies claim. You can recall how much Thaksin helped you and your family after taking power in 2001. Whether or not they were populist, those schemes of his disbanded Thai Rak Thai Party - including the Village Fund, Bt30 medical scheme, People's Bank, One Tambon One Product (Otop) and CEO governor - made you think: "Finally, someone cares about me." Thaksin made you feel you did not have to live under the yoke of elite groups any longer. He imposed bureaucratic reform. It was great for the country, you think. At the end of the day, you believe Thaksin accomplished his job in allowing ordinary people to have their say. They called Thaksin a corrupt, brutal leader. But you didn't believe them. Claims of unjustified killings in his war against drugs and of corruption to benefit his wealth were only allegations. For you, anti-Thaksin rallies were illegitimate as they were just a campaign by his enemies who lost benefits from his party's schemes. They wanted to oust him but failed at the ballot box. Then they sent tanks onto the streets. They told you Thaksin was no longer your leader because he was so corrupt and disloyal to the monarchy. They said they were better men and promised to give you a better life. "All right," you said. What more could you do when you were faced with soldiers and guns? Then they hit Thaksin with a number of charges. They dissolved Thai Rak Thai. They told you to approve the new constitution. You thought these actions were unfair to you, to Thaksin, and to the country. Look at them after a year in power. They are richer. You are poorer. When you cried foul over unfair treatment, they called you an idiot who still dreamt of the corrupt leader. When the Election Commission set December 23 to hold the first election since the military coup of September 19, 2006, you were told to exercise your vote as a good citizen. They said it would be the first step to restore Thailand's democracy. Democracy? You don't think it ever existed, do you? If it did, you wonder why your elected prime minister was ousted by the coup. Anyway, as a good citizen, you told yourself to go to the ballot. You had heard the PPP was a new party of Thaksin, so your choice was for People Power men. If the party won, you believed Thaksin could return to be prime minister in the near future. As the clock ticked away to the election, you started counting down to the day. You could not hide how much you hoped for from this election. "I love Thaksin. I will vote for the PPP." You were telling the whole world that, weren't you? Your reason is simple. Once Thaksin is back in power, you are sure he will help you to have a good life again. The PPP promises to continue Thai Rak Thai schemes. You have waited for the return of the good old days under Thaksin. They kept saying how careful you should be in casting your ballots. "Vote for the good men, the honest candidates," they campaigned. As with democracy, you don't believe one single politician in this country is honest. How much money in state coffers do they give to people? Only a businessman like Thaksin, you believe, is best at delivering this job. Then the election came. This was the first chance in 15 months for you, not his enemies, to give justice "directly" to Thaksin. It was an easy job. You voted for People Power candidates. The result? The PPP won the poll with 233 of 480 House seats, while the rival Democrat Party came second with 165 seats. Your heart was full of joy. The PPP will form the next government. Thaksin will return. Life is not that easy, though. When the winner was not their choice, they called you a stupid, uneducated idiot. It was only because you voted for the Thaksin party. They said they had to accept the result because many people like you still loved to vote for those evil choices. You believe that if the result had been the other way round, they would have said this country was full of wise men. You wonder what the value of the election is when the losers do not accept their defeat. Doesn't democracy give people freedom of expression and participation? Is one vote for Thaksin sinful while a vote for his opponents is glorious? Is the election just a new way of dividing people into social classes? Questions continue to play on your mind." Weerayut Chokchaimadon - The Nation
Dubai's 2008 calendar 31 December 2007 January 18 - Dubai Marathon Bhutto's assassination 27 December 2007 Just days before parliamentary polls in Pakistan, leading Prime Ministerial contender and US backed former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was shot dead earlier today during an election rally in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, near Islamabad. The killer then blew himself apart killing others. For the past several months Pakistan has been plagued by a wave of violence that has seen hundreds of civilians killed in bombing attacks prompting President Pervez Musharraf to declare a state of emergency. On December 16th, Musharraf lifted the state of emergency, stating that the threat had been contained. The bombings, however, continued. Just hours before her assassination, Bhutto, 54, met with visiting Afghan President Hamid Karzai to discuss the threat of terrorism against both countries. The U.S. has long supported a return to power by Bhutto, who was perceived to be a moderate willing to work with Washington on the war on terror. She was also seen as a democratic leader who would serve as a counter to the plummeting popularity of Musharraf, who took power in a 1999 military coup. It was thought that a power-sharing deal between the two, in which Musharraf stayed on as president while Bhutto led as a popular prime minister, would promote stability in this nuclear armed nation of 165 million. But from the day of her arrival in Pakistan on October 18th, after eight years in exile, Bhutto's return has been marred by violence. Bhutto's death will plunge the upcoming elections into uncertainty and the country further into instability. At the news of her assassination, many of her loyalists rioted in the streets of Pakistan. There will be many tense days ahead for the Musharraf government as it deals with this political crisis. And that's good news for terrorism. There are many who will benefit from her death, from Al Qaeda to the existing military establishment. Given that her killer blew himself up it is unlikely that the backers of this assassination will ever brought to justice. The lack of security around a major political leader whose life was clearly in danger is culpable. The Bush administration has scrambled Thursday with the implications of her assassination after investing significant diplomatic capital in promoting reconciliation between her and President Pervez Musharraf. Thailand goes to the polls The unofficial results and what's next? 25 December 2007 The results of Sunday's polls will not be finalised until the Election Commission has investigated allegations of vote-buying, which could lead to some seats being re-contested.
Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva has said that if the PPP cannot form a coalition then his party will. The two other major parties, Chart Thai and Puea Pandin, have said they will act together in forming alliances with other parties. Their decision of who to align with could prove crucial. Theoretically, if all the smaller parties form a coalition with the Democrats, they could prevent the PPP from taking office. The commission is due to announce its findings in early January. The commission is also investigating scores of allegations of electoral fraud and there are frequently expressed suspicions that there will be military pressure to disqualify PPP winners and whittle down its numbers. So it is not over yet; the coup leaders will have achieved little it Thaksin's surrogate party assumes the country's leadership and Thakisn himself returns feted to Thailand.
South-East Asia’s Pakistan? - background analysis from the Economist 23 December 2007 “WE’RE not selling fish sauce, this is an election rally,” jokes Sombat Ratano as he walks alongside his campaign truck with a microphone, hailing the voters of a rural village in Ubon Ratchathani province. In Isaan, Thailand’s poor and populous north-east region, support is still strong for Thaksin Shinawatra, the prime minister deposed by a military coup in September 2006. Mr Sombat is a candidate in the Sunday December 23rd general election. He is standing for the People’s Power Party (PPP), a reincarnation of Mr Thaksin’s Thai Rak Thai (TRT), which was disbanded after the coup. As he tours the village, he drops Mr Thaksin’s name at every opportunity, promising to revive the policies—from cheap health care to farming loans—that made the former prime minister popular. Pakistan is not the only Asian country where a dodgy military regime is running a general election under dubious electoral rules in the hope of keeping out a similarly dodgy civilian whom it overthrew. The difference is that unlike Benazir Bhutto in Pakistan, the exiled Mr Thaksin is not being allowed to take part in the vote himself, and there may be slightly more hope that things will come out right in the end. Middle-class Bangkokians, who are as snooty about their country cousins as any metropolitan elite anywhere, often say that “uneducated” rural voters such as those in Isaan were bribed and tricked into voting for Mr Thaksin. But rural voters were quite rational in handing him landslide victories in 2001 and 2005. He was Thailand’s first party leader to promise and deliver a comprehensive set of policies aimed at the mass of voters. The allegations of corruption, conflicts of interest and vote-buying that surround him are serious but hardly unusual: such practices are endemic in Thai politics. The gravest allegation against Mr Thaksin is that in a “war on drugs” in 2003 he seemed to be encouraging extra-judicial killings of suspected drugs-dealers by police. An investigation into this, started after the coup, remains incomplete—perhaps because the policy, however brutal, was also popular. Amid signs of resurgent amphetamine abuse, the PPP unashamedly talks of reviving it. On his shirt Mr Sombat bears the logo of King Bhumibol’s 80th birthday celebrations, held earlier in December. This is a subtle riposte to the military junta’s accusation that Mr Thaksin and his party do not respect the country’s revered monarch, whose portrait is as omnipresent in the Isaan countryside as it is around Bangkok’s royal palaces. The PPP has also hired Samak Sundaravej, an ferocious right-winger andarch-royalist, as stand-in leader while Mr Thaksin remains abroad. Though close to the palace, Mr Samak is a foe of General Prem Tinsulanonda, the king’s chief adviser and, Thaksinites allege, mastermind of the coup. Many parties, old and new, are contesting the election. Some have brought military men on board, hoping for army backing. Niran Pitakwatchara, a local doctor standing in Ubon Ratchathani for Matchimathipataya, one of the new parties, reckons voters have started to see the flaws in Mr Thaksin’s policies. But all the other parties, including Mr Niran’s, have adopted copycat versions of them—making them awkward to attack. The generals who staged the coup claimed to be saving Thai democracy from Mr Thaksin’s abuses. Their dictatorship has been a pretty mild one and they are keeping their promise to hold the election by the end of 2007. But they presumably hoped the former leader would be forgotten by now. He has not been. Though Thailand’s quirky opinion polls must be treated with caution, most predict that the PPP will win comfortably more seats than its nearest rival, the Democrats, although not a majority. The widespread assumption is that the Democrats will nevertheless form a ramshackle coalition. The problem is that Abhisit Vejjajiva, the Democrats’ leader, though young and handsome, may not command enough respect to lead a fractious government. Until the coup, Thailand seemed to be escaping its historic cycle of alternating military dictatorships and weak civilian rule. By the late 1990s it had become a beacon of multi-party democracy in Asia. Whether that beacon will shine again is unclear. If a Democrat-led coalition takes office, the PPP seems likely to make its life difficult and short-lived. If the PPP leads the next government, a peace pact with the generals is possible but the military men are bound to be nervous. The PPP promises to rescind a political ban that a tribunal created by the junta imposed on Mr Thaksin and 110 allies. If he returns, he would be able to scrap the amnesty that the coupmakers granted themselves—and put them in the dock. General Anupong Paojinda, a new army chief who took over in October, insists there will be no coup even if the Thaksinites win. Then again, General Sonthi Boonyaratglin, his predecessor, repeatedly made the same promise right up to the moment he overthrew Mr Thaksin. The generals, courtiers and bureaucrats who have been in charge for the past 15 months have ruled dismally. Thailand’s economy is now one of the slowest-growing in booming Asia. The army-appointed interim government has become ever more invisible as its popularity has sunk. General Sonthi, presumably fearing humiliation, quietly dropped plans to stand in the election. But it is unclear whether the army and its civilian backers have learned the old lesson that coups and extra-constitutional excursions tend to make political crises worse and do not produce good government. Thailand’s judicial and regulatory institutions are on trial in the election. For example, a new Election Commission, appointed with little dissent in the turmoil shortly before the coup, faces accusations of partiality. It absolved the military junta of plotting to subvert the election by undermining the PPP, despite the discovery of army documents detailing the plot. But the commission is now threatening to disqualify the PPP over the less serious matter of a video clip in which Mr Thaksin breaches his ban on politicking and urges support for his party. The commission and courts will have lots of complaints to handle after the polls close. If they enforce the rules impartially and promptly, they could set Thailand back on the road to democracy. If they are arbitrary, biased or dilatory, they may doom it to more years of instability—especially if they leave the impression that the people have voted for Thaksinism, only to have their will subverted. Dubai goes Cuban via Canada 22 December 2007 Just an interesting little investment note that almost got lost in the media. Dubai's ambitions include investing where the USA cannot go. Leisure Canada (LCI) announced yesterday the signing of a conditional agreement with Profile Investments LLC ("Profile") which will allow Dubai based Profile to acquire 46 percent of the fully diluted issued capital of LCI. Profile is a Dubai-based investment company with global interests in real estate across India, the Gulf Cooperation Countries ("GCC"), Cape Verde and North Africa. Leisure Canada is a leading developer of luxury resorts in Cuba, with multiple properties currently under development, including five-star hotels, over 4,200 hotel rooms and PGA championship golf courses. Next; flights to Havana? Just kidding. Not yet. Uk travel chaos ahead 21 December 2007 Flying through Heathrow is enough of a nightmare already. It may be worse in the new year as a wave of strikes threatens to bring misery to travellers and trigger chaos across the transportation network. More than one million passengers will face disruption when 5,000 airport workers walk out in a dispute over pensions. Tens of thousands more will be affected by planned industrial action on trains, buses and airplanes. Seven of the UK's major airports, including London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports, face closure as British Airports Authority (BAA) staff including security guards, administrators, clerical staff and firefighters plan to strike. Two 24-hour strikes will start at 6am on January 7 and January 14. A third strike, lasting 48 hours, will go ahead on January 17 if an agreement has not been reached by union officials and BAA. Other airports affected are Stansted, Southampton, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen, leaving non-BAA-owned Manchester, East Midlands and Liverpool's John Lennon airports to cope with Britain's aviation traffic on strike days. 2007 - thoughts and forecasts 20 December 2007 and updated over the next few days ! At the end of every year over the last six years of this web site I have tried to put together a few thoughts to summarise the year and occasionally to think about what lies ahead. I have now been with Tai in Dubai for a full year. It is a very different place to work and live; maybe the most obvious point is that it will never be home. Legally it cannot be; all foreigners have to register for a new visa every three years and there is no such thing as permanent residence and no route to citizenship. Plus it will never feel like home. Not in the way that Toronto, Hong Kong and most recently Bangkok have become home. Tai is wonderful; she is the best friend that I could ever have and her smile melts my heart every day. We survive in Dubai because we are together and we do look after and support eachother. Dubai is not an easy place to live and work. That is probably reflected in my blog through the year and need not be repeated here. It has been a challenging year - moving from Thailand, finding work, settling into a life where I have to get used to Tai's trips away with Emirates. But I do know how good we are when we are together and that I will always continue to do my best for her and for us. We have a whole life ahead of us and that is exciting and full of travel and laughs and family and friends. And of course we are now a long way from Alex in Hong Kong but I hope he knows that he is always in our thoughts and in our hearts. We did see my sister in Turkey for the first time since she moved there and spent time with my mother in Devon and with Tai's family as well. Those family links are stronger now than they have been for a long time. It was also the year when I turned xx (how old !!!?). I feel fit and strong but it was a milestone year. Although it did not feel like it at the time. The French made it impossible to have my birthday as planned. And it was such a good plan. Provence and Paris. Another time. So we ended up in the USA, which was good but the jet lag meant we were tired. The day itself was a bit of an anti-climax. I had always imagined where I would be and what I would be doing on that day. But life is good. And being with someone who makes your heart beat faster each and every day is a special feeling. No sports news. I have not hit a golf ball since January. And Watford were relegated back to the Championship. In the bigger world violence across tIraq has eased dramatically by Christmas. Is this a lull before a storm or real progress. Will 2007 be remembered as the year in which Iraq turned the corner. For the good of the Iraqis let's hope so. Iran has faced maximum international pressure over its nuclear programme. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's regime apparently continued to enrich uranium in defiance of the United Nations. Then in December, America's own intelligence agencies concluded that Iran had probably halted a nuclear weapons programme in 2003. At a stroke, this crucial finding eased the pressure on Teheran. Very strange. Iran still remains the biggest potential threat to stability in the Gulf region. Nicolas Sarkozy won France's presidency in a landmark election in May and is promising to carry out radical economic reforms. He has also made peace with the Americans. His reforms are just what France needs (wonder if he can do anything about the Dubai consul). Will he prove to be a great reforming president or are the unions and labour forces simply too entrenched in France. After chalking up four election victories, John Howard, Australia's prime minister, tried his luck once again – and lost. His centre-right Liberal party lost November's election and Kevin Rudd, leader of the Labour party, became prime minister. His honeymoon period may be short lived as he tries to keep the Labour party politically central. In Russia President Vladimir Putin grew more belligerent. In June, he threatened to target nuclear missiles on Europe if America went ahead with deploying a missile defence shield in Poland and the Czech Republic. That's what makes him domestically so popular. He has made Russia strong again. In July, Britain expelled four Russian diplomats from London after the Kremlin refused to hand over Andrei Lugovoi, the main suspect in the Litvinenko murder. Russia retaliated by evicting the same number of British diplomats. In December,
Russia joined Burma and Iran by restricting the work of the British Council.
It is an unlikely group of friends. In February, North Korea agreed to shut down its nuclear programme and cooperate with international inspectors in return for economic aid. Rail links recommenced between teh North and South Korean nations. China is on a spending spree - talk of an acquisition of the global Miner Rio Tinto for US$150 billion is still under discussion. China's great leap outwards continues as the nation seeks to buy all the resources that it needs to fuel its growth. Already arguably the second largest economy in the world China's continues to exert a growing political, economic and military presence over world affairs. The biggest danger is the policy gulf and objectives of the politicians and the Chinese military. The saffron demonstrations in Burma were a reminder that are people who still want change; that there are dictators who will do all they can to repress that change and that there are too many governments who put political expediency before decency and civil rights. The reactions of China and the SEA nations to the repression in Burma were feeble, sad and reprehensible. Meanwhile Thailand braces for its first post 2006-coup election, and the result is likely to be a weal coalition allowing the military to continue to exert excessive influence over Thai politics for the foreseeable future. The greater uncertainty in Thailand is the health of the King and the succession when, amid great sorrow, he does eventually pass away. And what next for 2008. US politics will be a big story with e new President elected. But the battle to be the next President is surely too long and too devisive. Don't be surprised if Mayor Bloomberg is suddenly a late entrant into the race as an Independent. He is well financed. The Beijing Olympics will be a battle between the old powers of the US and Russia and the new world represented by China. Forget about it being the taking part that matters. It is winning that matters and expect a lot of red flags! Energy and the environment will continue to dominate news and investment. China may surprise us all and start to actively take measures to help manage environmental change. China, India and Arabic countries will continue to buy in Europe, the USA and Africa; it will be sovereign wealth funds buying for China and the Arab nations and private companies buying for India. George Bush is
increasingly irrelevant. It would be good to also hear less of Chavez
(unlikely!), Bin Laden and Ahmadinejad. The global shift in economic and
political influence from Europe and the USA to the Middle East and Asia. The
Middle East and Asia are sitting on huge surplus finds and will direct the
flow of capital and investment. 19 December 2007 With the Thai election only four days away Reuters has produced a summary of the possible outcomes. Amazingly, 15 months after the coup the one dominant figure in this election is ousted Prime Minister Thaksin. "Thais vote on Sunday in an election meant to restore democracy and heal the rifts after a bloodless 2006 military coup but which looks set to prolong the deep political divisions of the last two years. The People Power Party (PPP), which openly backs ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, is expected to come first but fall short of an outright majority in the 480-seat parliament, meaning the next government will be a shaky coalition. Following are various post-election scenarios garnered from analysts and published polls: PPP WINS, DEMOCRATS FORM GOVERNMENT - This is the outcome favored by the generals who booted out Thaksin, and the foreign investors who feel comfortable with the Democrats' Eton- and Oxford-educated leader, Abhisit Vejjajiva. Under this scenario, PPP wins 180-200 seats but the army and anti-Thaksin establishment work overtime behind the scenes to make sure it cannot pull together enough partners to make it to 241 -- the total needed to form a government. However, the Democrats, forecast to come second with 100-120 seats, manage to tie up with a host of middle-ground parties to form a coalition. Analysts do not see such a government lasting more than two years. PPP WINS, PUSHES FOR A COALITION - This is where the generals start to get nervous. If PPP gets more than 200 seats, its chances of cajoling a middle-ground party into a coalition go up accordingly. Knowing that a PPP-led administration will try to exact revenge for the coup, the army will try and stop any tie-ups, mainly by fostering allegations of electoral fraud against PPP candidates and their potential partners. Some PPP candidates will be disqualified, but the red cards will be appealed in Thailand's byzantine court system, where the arguments will drag on for months, preventing the formation of any government. Breaking the deadlock will not be easy. The Democrats could eventually cobble together a very weak coalition, judges could nullify the entire poll -- as they did after a stymied April 2006 election -- or the army could step in. PPP WINS OUTRIGHT MAJORITY - Although no polls suggest this is likely, PPP could win an outright majority and form a government on its own. If so, the anti-Thaksin street protests that preceded the 2006 coup will restart, but be countered by major pro-Thaksin demonstrations. To avert possible violence, the army will step in again, taking pains to paint its action as "in the interests of national unity", not another coup. It will then appoint another interim government, start drawing up another constitution, and Thailand will be back where it was in September 2006. NATIONAL UNITY GOVERNMENT - Echoing repeated calls for reconciliation from revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the exiled Thaksin has proposed a national unity government of politicians from all major parties. The Democrats have made it clear they will never sit down with the PPP, but if the monarch renews his cries for unity, they could be forced to rethink." Book now for EK's A380 launch 19 December 2007 I hope my Emirates friends are suitably impressed at this little piece of research. Emirates first revenue flight on the A380 is now available for booking: Details are available on the Sabre booking system: EK 201 - Dubai to New York; 1 October 2008. I am a little surprised that the first revenue flight for EK's A380 is to New York; i was thinking London. But with the withdrawal of the Hamburg/JFK flight the extra capaicity of the A380 makes sense. The plane is configured for 489 seats: 14F, 72J and 403Y. First and Business class are on the Upper Deck; there is a small business section on the lower deck and the rest of the lower deck is all Economy. Business class seating appears to be in a herringbone style to allow aisle access, and making the 2-4-2 configuration less crowded. YAM - Yet another mall! 18 December 2007 Dubai has another mall. The Souk Al Bahar in the Old Town. Fully let, the mall has had its initial opening although lonly half of the stores are open and road access is a nightmare. The mall adjoins the new palace hotel and there are views of the adjoining Burj Dubai. The mall looks impressive - designed as a modern day souk, similar to the Madinat Jumeirah. There will be a number of restaurants and the usual cafes such as Starbucks and Caribou. There are souvenir shops for carpets, perfumes and arab gifts. There is a Spinneys. But does this mall have any chance of prospering once the enormous Dubai Mall opesn. Whither the baht 15 December 2007 My Thai friends are asking my views on the direction of the Thai baht. Given an 18% strengthening in the last year the question is whether the baht is becoming overvalued and hurting the competitiveness of Asia's ninth- biggest economy. That occurred to me last week when I was stranded along with a few dozen other travelers on a bus on the tarmac of Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport. Another bus was blocking the staircase to our aircraft. Our 40-minute wait turned into an animated grousing session -- not about the delay or the heat, but the baht. For many visitors and Thai expats overseas the baht's gains are beginning to imperil Thailand's appeal and economic growth. Such concerns explain why central bank Governor Tarisa Watanagase refuses to lift controls on foreign capital entering the country. But currency speculators are betting on even bigger gains in the baht following a Dec. 23 election. There is also an expectation that the central bank will soon lift the controls imposed in late 2006. Bank of America Corp. says the baht may appreciate 8.5 percent by the end of 2008. Letting the baht rise is a nod to the reality that, like it or not, Asian currencies are in demand. For all Thailand's efforts to cap the baht, the most likely direction for Asian exchange rates and equities is up. For the first time since 1997 Asia is beginning to recognise the reality of living with stronger currencies. In reality the Baht, despite relatively low economic growth of 4.5 percent this year, lower interest rates and political uncertainties, is Asia's best performer versus the dollar this year? It is unclear why. Whatever forces are boosting the baht, though, they're not about to go away. The Bangkok Post tours Samut Songkram 14 December 2007 For reasons that will be clear to any regular reader I have a particular interest in Samut Songkram and the Bangkok POst in their Horizons section on Thursday 13 December published this report of a recent study trip: "The Lek-Prapai Viriyapant Foundation has recently organised a cultural-study trip to Samut Songkhram in commemoration of Lek-Prapai Viriyapant, who first established Ancient City to preserve vanishing Thai culture and heritage. The trip is intended as an opportunity for members of the public to learn age-old Thai ways of life and also have a fun time at canal-side markets. After a two-hour trip from Bangkok we arrived in Samut Songkhram. The town of three waters, Samut Songkhram sits on the Gulf of Thailand. In areas close to the coast, locals fish or farm on salt. A bit inland where there is an influence of high tide and low tide, canals and waterways contain brackish water. Myriads of coconut groves are the main feature. Farmers harvest coconuts for sugar. In outer areas less influenced by the sea, farmers grow fruits like lychees, bananas, oranges and pomeloes. Fruit orchard farming was not originally a Thai practice, said historian Assoc Prof Srisak Walliphodom. Before the influence of immigrants from southern China, Thai farmers grew many varieties of fruit trees on one plot. When the Chinese migrants settled down, they introduced one-crop farming on elevated farmland divided by moats. Until today visitors will see Samut Songkhram's farming areas contain this style of farming. Every 2nd, 7th and 12th day of waxing and waning moons on the lunar calendar farmers will paddle a boat in which they carry what they have in their orchard to the gathering spot called Tha Kha Market in the early morning. The floating market lasts for a three or four hours until noon. Some boats ply sweets, others offer spices and chillies. Sometimes, visitors cannot even identify the wares in the boat. There's a bunch of dried nipa palm leaves. Some local men put tobacco on the leaves and wrap like a cigarette. Here it is known for Bang Chang chilli and Thai garlic. This is a genuine floating market that survives to serve local needs. Local authorities once tried to promote the market as a tourism attraction by opening it on weekends. It was a failure. Tourists just came, took snapshots and left. They had no interest in buying local produce. So the market rendez-vous has been brought back to the dates on the lunar calendar which local vendors and buyers find convenient to their lifestyle. A rowing boat trip took us to Bang Chang village where a coconut sugar-making house is located. There is an old saying, "Bang Chang Suan Nok Bangkok Suan Nai" (Bang Chang outer orchard, Bangkok inner orchard), which reflects old-time agricultural richness. Samphao Phancharoen, in his late 50s, has produced coconut sugar for nearly half a century. His house sits among fruit and coconut orchards. Every morning and late afternoon, farmers will climb coconut trees to get coconut sugar. Mature coconut trees produce trunk-like spadix or blossom. Well massaged and cut on tip, the trunk-like spadix oozes sugary sap. Farmers will put a cylindrical vessel made of aluminium to collect the liquid. In earlier days they used bamboo cylinders to receive the sap and squirrels usually foraged the bamboo containers. To protect the sap from fermenting, farmers put in bits of Phayom bark. The collected sap will be put together on a heated huge steel pan. In order to protect it from spilling over when boiled, farmers will put a hollow, round bamboo-woven wall on the pan. The sweet liquid will be simmered and constantly stirred until it turns thick. It will be constantly stirred until it has cooled down. Then, the light brown-coloured coconut sugar will be placed in an aluminium bucket or put in a bowl-shape mould for sale. In 1904, King Rama V travelled in disguise by boat to Samut Songkhram to learn about his people's livelihood. According to Assoc Prof Srisak, a royal visits in disguise had never existed in Siam before. Probably the king was influenced by Sleeper Awakens, a novel in the Arabian Night's. During his visit to Samut Songkhram, the king dropped by at kamnan Chan's house. At that time, kamnan Chan's house was a complex of traditional houses located by Tha Kha Canal. The complex has shrunk to three houses connected by an open-air verandah in the middle. Today Bang-oen Chantraprapha, a woman in her 50s, is a fifth-generation descendant of kamnan Chan. On the walls hang portraits of her ancestors and as well as portraits of the present king and King Rama V. Unfortunately, the photo of King Rama V posed at the house was kept by her relative in Bangkok. "Look at those jars of ashes," she said, pointing at her ancestors' urns of ashes placed on an altar. "I don't know which one belongs to whom." From kamnan Chan's house we went back on the road. Lychee plantations are everywhere by the Maeklong River. Soon, we arrived at Bang Kung Camp. After King Taksin's victory over the Burmese at Bo Sam Ton Camp and the restoration of independence he established Thon Buri as the new capital since Ayutthaya had been razed. Nonetheless, his kingdom was not entirely free from Burmese attacks. In 1768 the Burmese again marched to Bang Kung Camp in Samut Songkhram. It was a gateway to Thon Buri. Bang Kung in Samut Songkhram was the first spot of warfare between Burmese and Thais since Ayutthaya fell. The Burmese were defeated and the morale of the Thai people was considerably boosted. Tourists come to pay homage to King Taksin's statue and to a Buddha image inside an old ubosoth (ordination hall) now claimed by a bo tree. Like many popular temples, commercialism has taken its toll with loudspeakers and unnecessary installations. And it seems Thai visitors are not aware of the changes. From the camp, we proceeded to Bang Nok Kwaek Catholic Church. It seems the church is out of place. It is a stark contrast to its surroundings which are coconut trees and tropical orchards. The church itself is an architectural gem from Europe. The Catholic community first formed in Samut Songkhram when a group of Catholics were relocated here from the Holy Rosary Church in Bangkok. Residents built the first small church, called Wat Saladaeng or Wat Rang Yao. In 1850 a larger church was built as the Catholic community grew. It was not until 1896 that a group of missionaries from France and Italy founded the present-day church. Stained glass windows were imported from France aged over a hundred years. Interior colour was influenced by the church in Lucerne, Switzerland. Gilded patterns on the ceiling were painted 12 years ago. Asana Viharn Bang Nok Kwaek Church is so called because it is the church of the bishop of the Ratchaburi area, which covers Ratchaburi, Samut Songkhram, Kanchanaburi and Phetchaburi. In Thailand the Catholic church is divided into 10 administration zones, with each zone governed by a bishop. A wedding couple was seen posing with guests in front of the church. From the church, Wat Bang Kaphom gave us an entirely different visual experience. Here a replica of the Buddha's Footprint is enshrined. The temple was built in the late Ayutthaya period. Legend has it that a couple earned a living weaving kaphom for sale. Kaphom is a bamboo-woven basket whose top and bottom are narrow and swollen in the middle designed to hold rice paddy. One day the Burmese attacked their village. With nowhere to escape, the couple hid inside the kaphom. They made a prayer to Lord Buddha - if they could escape from the Burmese, they would give away their land for a temple. They survived the raid and their belongings were not plundered. So the temple was built on their land. The temple features stucco murals depicting Lord Buddha's Enlightenment, Three Characteristics of Existence and eco-culture of Samut Songkhram. In addition, there is a Buddha's Footprint. Historian Prince Damrong once explained the fact about a temple with Buddha's Footprint. Building a replica of Lord Buddha's Footprint was influenced by India. When Buddha reached nirvana, Buddhist devotees established a stupa in his commemoration. Establishing a replica of Lord Buddha's Footprint was then a popular practice. A legend of Mahawong in Sri Lanka has it that Buddha came to preach dhamma. Before he returned, he left his footprint at the top of Sumanakut Mount. By the late afternoon, we concluded our Samut Songkhram tour at the canal-side Amphawa Market. Amphawa was an age-old community on the Maeklong River and canals. In those days people conducted commerce in a canal-side market that opened during daylight hours. Connected to the river and a network of canals, farmers paddled their boats to sell their produce. Sunthorn Phu, the famous poet of the early Rattanakosin period, described the vibrancy of Amphawa Market in his work, Nirat Phra Thaen Dongrang. Since roads have replaced canals, and water gates and dykes were built for irrigation, travelling by boat on canals has diminished. Various canal-side markets have disappeared and Amphawa Market was no exception. Local tourists love visiting canal-side and floating markets. Now Amphawa Market has been revived. But it is no longer a market that serves local needs. MORE INFO Tha Kha Floating Market opens every 2, 7, 12 day of waxing and waning moon on the lunar calendar from early morning till noon. Amphawa Evening Floating Market is open only from late afternoon at 4pm on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays and public holidays. Both markets can be reached from Bangkok on highway 35 via Samut Songkhram or Phetchakasem Highway via Nakhon Pathom." Emirate announces Cape Town from March 200812 December 2007Emirates Airline will launch daily flights to Cape Town, effective 30th March 2008.
Initially Emirates will operate its
Airbus A330-200 in a three class configuration and from 1st October the
aircraft type will be revised to the larger capacity Boeing 777-200. Dubai's sewage alarms10 December 2007Sewage production in Dubai is increasing by about 25 per cent a year and averages 480,000 cubic metres a day. That's a lot of sewage for a population of 1.5 million. Do we really produce 0.3 cubic metres of sewage per person per day ! Apparently about 100,000 cubic
metres a day of untreated sewage is being delivered in about 3,000 sewage
tankers serving housing, industry and labour camps not connected to Dubai's
main sewage system. Much of that appears to be collected from the building
works outside my apartment. Thai Air Asia launches Guangzhou flights10 December 2007The no-frills carrier Thai AirAsia (TAA) will start flights to southern China with the launch of a daily service between Bangkok and Guangzhou in February. Chinese authorities have agreed to grant the rights for TAA, 49%-owned by Southeast Asia's largest low-cost carrier AirAsia, to fly to Guangzhou, formerly known as Canton. Guangzhou would be the third city in mainland China that TAA serves from its Bangkok's hub. It launched flights to Shenzhen in July this year and Xiamen in April 2005. The launch signals that TAA is making further inroads into the fast-expanding southern Chinese market, especially in the city, which is regarded as the economic centre of the Pearl River Delta and the heart of one of mainland China's leading commercial and manufacturing regions. TAA will become the first carrier to operate no-frills low-fare service on the Bangkok-Guangzhou route and become one of a handful of budget airlines serving the New Baiyun International Airport. TAA will use the additional aircraft capacity rendered by its fourth brand new Airbus A320, capable of seating 180 passengers, which is due for delivery in Feb next year. Its third A320, part of the 40 A320s TAA ordered from the European plane maker Airbus for delivery over the next five years, is scheduled for arrival in Thailand next week. TAA is also looking at flights to Guilin, Chengdu and Chongqing and Hong Kong, where it has been negotiating for concessions in airport charges and time slots. In the meantime the airline has decided to push back the launch a daily Bangkok-Jakarta flight, originally planned this month, to June next year when capacity from its fifth A320 is available. Dubai: The new Gold CoastIn Dubai, the sky is not the limit in a fantasy world far beyond DisneyInteresting travel feature from the Chicago Tribune : 9 December 2007 There
was a haze in the air. Almost as heavy as fog it was, drawn forth by a heat
that sapped the very strength of the sea itself. Thus tamed, the waves
whimpered ashore as ripples. I bobbed and swooshed in the water, a clear
tourmaline green, and fixed my gaze. Broad daylight, and yet I saw ghosts in
the distance, the outline—no the skyline—of buildings, buildings, buildings.
And among them construction cranes, one-armed wizards there to bid them
grow, to multiply. Thirty years ago, there'd have
been only the growing port, a nascent oil industry and the arrival of indoor
plumbing to write about here. Back then it was just a dusty town of some
183,000 souls cobbled together on either side of Dubai Creek. Then there's the gold. A few
streets beyond the spice merchants are scores of sole
proprietorships—anywhere from 250 to 400 depending on who's counting—and
they're all blessedly unacquainted with concepts such as "understated
elegance" or "less is more." Here's a city that flaunts 55,120 pounds of
gold in its shops on any given day, at least 90 percent of which is 22 karat
or better. On a clear day—and I'm not sure
when that might be—they say it'll be possible to see the top of Burj Dubai
from 60 miles away. Even though it is located in the burgeoning business
district of Sheik Zayed Road, it will be part of a complex of waterways and
residences, parks, an aquarium and an ice rink, that when finished will be
able to add another brag: the world's largest retail development, Dubai
Mall, an ambitious 12.1 million square feet. If there were ever any doubts as
to the islands paying for themselves, they were put to rest when Palm
Jumeirah's first phase of 4,000 properties sold out within 72 hours. Donald
Trump is building a hotel there. Atlantis, the fantasy resort of the
Bahamas, will erect another version of itself there. Cirque du Soliel will
have its own theater, and the QE2 will have a permanent berth. I saw where a
1,743-square-foot two-bedroom beachfront condo in a mid-rise building out on
the breakwater was selling for $850,000. Living a dream I never travel anywhere without
fantasizing what it would be like to live there. Looking strictly at the
numbers, Dubai might be do-able. In Jumeirah Village South, the Cappadocia
project has an 862-square-foot one-bedroom for $219,000, freehold—not bad
for a new unit with its own private garden, private mini pool, private sauna
(as if you needed one in this climate!) and garage, even if it's not within
walking distance of the beach. Gas is running $1.65 a gallon, so getting
around is cheap. And if I should run into any fender-benders in this
daydream—traffic violations are up 22 percent—the police will arrive by and
by, as they do in real life, in BMWs to sort out things. The Thai Social Etiquette guide 8 December 2007 The Thai Ministry of Culture has recently reissued a booklet entitled “Thai Social Etiquette.” The booklet is written in English and offers visiting foreigners the usual tips about making a proper wai, not pointing with the feet, and not patting the head. If anyone has a copy do send me one. But it gies further than most guides and in the tone of a patronising relative tells its readers how to sit, eat, lie down, walk, speak, dress, make a phone call, queue for the loo, drink, use a spoon, give a speech, pay a visit, and perform at a seminar. Perhaps it was really intended as a guide on how Thais might behave in their own country. It is idealized nostalgia. Few people in Thailand behave as the Ministry proposes. Thais do not walk, talk, sit, or dress in the prescribed manner. Worryingly while the society described and idealized in the booklet does not in reality exist there are still senior bureaucrats in or with the Ministry of Culture that want the "good old days." They want deference. If you remove from the etiquette booklet all the advice which is really universal (e.g., don’t eat with your mouth open), it has one clear message: hierarchy is everything, and deference is always due. The trouble with all of this is that we are talking about a country where bribery and corruption are a fact of daily life. Where the King's pleas for honesty appear to fall on deaf ears and where poltical success is a simple matter of buying enough votes. No wonder we are supposed to be deferenial. Some examples of how the Ministry would like us to live: * The following is not acceptable especially if done in the presence of people older than you or your superiors at work, or in society. Standing with legs apart, with hands in pockets, with arms folded across the chest, with hands on hips, with hands together at the back, in a leaning position, blocking someone from something he needs to see, blocking a passageway and towering over an older person who is sitting. * Refrain from holding hands in public as it may have undesirable implication.
* You should not speak about something dirty or draw up a vision that is
not pretty, such as talk about worms in a garbage, someone being sick and
throwing up, the condition of someone down with diarrhea or constipation.
You should also train yourself and your children not to have to visit the
rest room directly before or after eating. The King calls for unity and biofuels 4 December 2007 His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej on Tuesday called for national unity in his birthday-eve speech that covered a wide range of topics including global-warming, the wisdom of buying submarines and his reason for wearing a pink jacket recently. In keeping with tradition, the king, who turns 80 on Wednesday, addressed a gathering of more than 23,000 well-wishers at Chitralada Palace to mark his birthday. This year's speech began humourously, with the king admonishing his 2-year-old grandson Dipangkorn Rasmijoti - the son of Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn - for talking during the ceremony. "He is like his father. He talks a lot," the King said of his grandson's interruptions. The king used his recent hospitalization and difficulties walking to urge Thais to work together for the sake of the nation. "My legs don't walk in union. I was saying the other day that the military and civilians need to be united. If we are not united, the country will face disaster," The king also assured the nation that he was feeling well. "Tomorrow I will be 80. I am still young and strong," he joked. The king started a new fashion trend in Bangkok when he wore a pink jacket leaving the hospital "I'm already old. I don't want to dress like a bore," said the king of his flashy jackets. On a serious note, King Bhumibol used his birthday eve speech to admonish the navy for recently expressing the wish to buy a submarine, noting that submarines were unsuitable for Thailand. The Gulf of Thailand is a notoriously shallow body of water. The king, known for his sufficiency-economy theories, also encouraged the manufacture of bio-fuel from palm oil, which can be grown domestically, to reduce dependency on imported oil. Thailand gets ready to celebrate 4 December 2007 Thais around the world this week will celebrates the 80th birthday of the revered King Bhumibol. The King is the longest-serving monarch in the world, after more than six decades on the throne. King Bhumibol Adulyadej was born on Dec. 5, 1927, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where his father, Prince Mahidol, was studying medicine. He became the ninth king of Thailand's Chakri dynasty on June 9, 1946. Teams of gardeners have been busily planting and pruning along Bangkok's major streets. The shops and markets are full of T-shirts commemorating the King's birthday. There are even special edition handbags and watches on sale. Over the 61 years of his reign, King Bhumibol has put the monarchy in the centre of Thai cultural and spiritual life, as the defender of the nation and of Buddhism, which is practised by most Thais. Thais love their King for his benevolence and for devoting his life to the Thai people. They love him in a way that is unknown to anyone brought up in a western monarchy. He is the father figure of all Thai people. he has also been the only ever present figure head in 61 years that have seen 20 prime ministers, 16 constitutions and at least as many coups during his reign. In his birthday week there are images of the monarch across the country. But the lead up to his 80th birthday ahs had complications. The King recently spent a month in hospital; when he was discharged last month, the event was televised across the nation. Thousands of people were there when he emerged to greet them. His age and ill-health inevitably lead to concern about what might happen when the king dies. His son, Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, is the heir apparent, but the succession law would also allow one of his daughters, Crown Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, to take the throne. The palace has tried to quell any concerns about the king's health and instead project an image of stability and strength as Thais prepare to vote in the post-coup general elections on December 23. Leaving hospital he wore a pink jacket, setting off a major trend across the country. The King wore pink to represent good health and the year of the rabbit, in which he was born. For this week at least the politicians and the election will not be at the center of daily news. Despite the uncertainty about who will govern the nation, many Thais are unconcerned. In King Bhumibol they have a leader they love. In his birthday eve speech the King will continue his pleas for Thais to stay honest, minimise prejudices and strengthen kindness and unity in advance of the December 23 election. Dubai's own Chinatown 2 December 2007 Over in Deira, close to Baniyas Square Dubai has its own Chinatown. Walk along Baniyas Road, to Al Nasr Square and there are red lanterns hanging from a facade of shops that offer a hint of a thriving mini-Chinatown. Within the same square kilometre of this part of Naif area, everyone is haggling for a good bargain. Most of the 200 or so stalls here are manned by Chinese shopkeepers selling everything from food and natural medical herbs to garments and artificial Christmas trees. There are shops manned by other nationals, but they too sell Chinese-made goods – from car parts, motorbikes and bearings to generator sets and solar panels. Add to that, the rows of Chinese restaurants rubbing shoulders with kebab, biryani, shawarma and McDonalds outlets – and you are walking into Dubai’s own mini-Chinatown. Dubai’s mini Chinatown is fairly new. China Trade City and Al Anood Centre on Mussalla Road form the heart of this unofficial Chinatown. The shopkeepers, most of whom don’t speak English, use a calculator to haggle with shoppers. Tthe language barrier proves no hindrance to the language of money. At the Zhiyuan Shoe City, a row of footwear shops, Western-sounding brands such as Timberlond or Aldo Bellini (sic) compete for buyers’ attention. A dozen pairs go for Dh190. A nearby shop sells men’s suits for Dh110. Sadly work on the Metro has turned much of the square into a massive construction site. The initial influx of single male Chinese traders in the late 1990s is now followed by a second wave. Traders say that most of theircustomers come from Russia, Africa and Iran, though some are from Yugoslavia. But the Chinese are finding that profits have thinned due to intense competition and the high cost of doing business in Dubai. There are six Chinese-language publications in the UAE, three of which are produced in offices within a stone’s throw away from each other near Baniyas Square. The papers (Green Oasis, China Town News, Big Family, Business Orient, China Times, Chinese Community Centre News) – all free, with an estimated combined circulation of around 50,000 – supporting the 200,000 or so Chinese here. Bilateral trade between the UAE and China has jumped to $10 billion (Dh36.7 billion) in 2006 from $5.81 billion (Dh21.3 billion) in 2003, and international banks such as Standard Chartered have rolled out a special "trade corridor" facility between the UAE and China to help small traders. Besides retail, the big boys are coming too (China has 66 billionaires today, from 22 in 2006). Zoomlion, one of China’s state-owned machinery manufacturers with overseas sales exceeding $120 million (Dh440 million), recently forged ties with Gargash Motors to cash in on the UAE construction boom. Many high net-worth Chinese businessmen have been seeking to join the real estate boom in Dubai. Dubai has been called the Shanghai of the Middle East. Lots of mega malls and cranes. While Naif’s mini Chinatown brings a slice of China's bargain centres to Dubai, this is not to be mistaken with the much bigger Dragon Mart, the biggest Chinatown in the desert – a 50,000 square metre dragon-shaped marketplace, the size of about 10 soccer fields. Its 3,000 or so shops form a retail hub of every conceivable merchandise – from imitation iPods to construction equipment. As trade grows between Dubai and China the Chinese population in Dubai will soon be 300,000 and will continue to grow. Miss World is Chinese 2 December 2007
Zhang Zilin, from Shijiazhuang in Hebei province, beat 105 contestants to become the first Chinese to win the pageant since its inception in 1951.
The closest China had previously come to
winning the crown was a third-place finish in 2003, when the resort town of
Sanya on southern Hainan island first played host to the pageant.
Stiffening the Thai vote 1 December 2007 Penalties for vote catching are getting stiffer. It is harder than ever to find away of getting the loyalty of the electorate. And now the PPP has alleged that candidates in next month's fiercely contested Thai election have been offering Viagra to elderly male voters in exchange for votes. The PPP, widely considered a proxy party for deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, is fiercely contesting the election against 40 other parties for 480 seats in the lower house. There are 4,200 candidates running for election. Critics of the ousted prime minister claim that Thaksin is using his recent purchase of Manchester City Football Club in England to keep his name in the news in soccer mad Thailand. Manchester City recently signed up three young Thai players - unlikely drafts for a professional league team, but fascinating for Thai voters. Vote buying is traditionally rampant in Thai elections where rural voters are more impressed by hard cash than political promises. The Election Commission has toughened up the rules so much this time that even giving away T-shirts and soft drinks can be censored. The PPP meanwhile has refused to disclose who might be giving out the sex drug because he said it was difficult to prove. The drug is popular in Thailand and although supposed to be used only on doctor's advice it can be bought over the counter in Thailand. Which reminds me of the story about the guy who had trouble swallowing the little blue pill and ended up with a stiff neck!
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Bringing
you all the news that matters !! A 23-year-old secretary from a small town
in China was crowned Miss World in a glittering event themed “The Right to
Dream”, hosted by her home nation last night. This is the fourth year
in the last five that the event has been hosted in Sanya on Hainan Island. A
cynic might suggest that China has bought success.