Kerryd

Senior policitians and generals would apply for that post for the same reason countries like Algeria, Bangladesh, China, Cuba, Somalia and Sudan are on the UN Human Rights Council. And why the UN's Commission on Status of Women is now chaired by a guy from Saudi Arabia - whom not one single representative of the 45 countries present opposed. And why Saudi Arabia (again) was able to secure the post of Chair of the UNHRC (United Nations Human Rights Council) Advisory Committee. What better way to limit investigation into your own suspect activities and be able to deflect/delay/cancel any investigations that might be "problematic" to you than by being the person in charge of the very organization that would conduct such investigations. It was noted a few years ago when Saudi Arabia (again) was Chair of the Human Rights Council that the council had approved hundreds of complaints against Israel - and not a single one against any of the major Human Rights abusers, including the ones on the Council. Funny how that works eh ?

There are lot attendants in the parking areas for Phaya Thai Hospital in Sri Racha. Been there many times. Usually see 2-3 attendants and the "conveyance trolleys" that circle the parking areas to pick-up/drop-off passengers. The first thing he would have/should have done is get the WIFE to help him. One has to wonder WHERE she was when he was going to the police and signing documents he didn't understand. Failing that and KNOWING you don't speak, read or write a single word in Thai, you should enlist the help of someone who does. He's got to have some friends who may have wives/relatives/friends that speak the same language. Even Google Translate on your phone is better than nothing thought it often has a lot of problems translating Thai. You have to really pay attention to the translations and often have to guess what it's trying to say because half of it is gibberish. I often find myself typing something into Google Translate - looking at the "translation" then editing what I typed and checking again until the translation matches what I'm trying to convey. Not the easiest way to do things but hey, if you wanted "easy" you'd be living in your home country where most (some, a few) people still speak your language !

There are a couple other temple sites along the Thai/Cambodian border like that as well. Like Prasat Ta Muan Thom. (The south side of that temple has the largest laterite stones I've ever seen. They must have used elephants to get those into place.) You park outside the military guardpost, get your ticket (I forget how much - not as bad as at Phrae Vihear) and walk down the lane towards the temple. I noticed half a dozen soldiers sitting along the side of the temple and someone said something (to the other soldiers) and one of them got up and started trailing me. Far enough behind to not be in the way, but close enough to make sure I didn't "go the wrong way" or take photos of something I shouldn't - like the camouflaged bunkers dotting the area on the south side of the temple (facing Cambodia). (Funny enough - or not - Google Maps shows also shows that temple as being on the Cambodian side of the border.) And there was a small dirt path on the South side that went through some trees about 50 meters and then opened up onto - a Cambodian military post. Which I suspect was the main reason that one soldier had been dispatched to keep an eye on me. So I didn't accidentally wonder into Cambodia and create an incident of some kind. That is actually a nice temple to visit as there are basically three temples along the road within a couple kms of each other. (I think the first one technically was originally what they called a "hospital".) The first building The soldiers sitting around the (third) temple You can see a soldier looking towards the path that leads to Cambodia. Those laterite blocks are HUGE ! Note - the (current) Thai-Cambodian border was surveyed by the French when they still controlled much of the area. Generally, borders will follow major natural features (rivers, shorelines, mountain ranges) and in many cases are based on the "watershed". Which way the water flows from a certain point. Basically, if the streams/creeks/rivers flow from a peak (or range of mountains) down one way, that side of the mountains belongs to (those guys). Meanwhile, as the water on the other side of the peak flows the other way, that side belongs to (the other guys). (Years ago a friend of mine had a running - or flowing - joke. His trapline ran up one river and mine ran up the other. We stood on the side of the road above the "forks" where the two rivers met and took a piss. If the water flowed towards "his" river, then that was a part of his line. But if it flowed towards "my" river then it was "my" line.) Much of the Thai-Cambodian border followed the edge of the mountains with the "mountain" side belonging to Thailand and the "valley" or "lowlands" side belonging to Cambodia. Which is why there are (or were) so many Khmer temples along the (current) border. Because they were built on the edge of the "highlands" overlooking those "lowlands". But for some unknown reason, the French cartographer that did the mapping, through oversight or laziness, drew the border with Phrae Vihear being on the Cambodian side despite it being on a ridgeline overlooking the lowlands like so many other temples. And both sides (Cambodia and Thailand) accepted his map when it was first completed in 1907, with no disputes about the territory - or the exclusion of the Vihear temple from the Thai side of the border. It wasn't until the 1930s when Thailand did it's own map of the border that the error was discovered. Since then it's been a flip-flop issue with Thailand controlling it then having to hand it back to Cambodia then occupying it again and having to give it up again. But the International Court of Justice decided for Cambodia, claiming Thailand had "waited too long" to notice or try to correct the error (which means the court knew the border was drawn in error). Thailand has lost it's case at the ICJ every time as they are biased towards helping "poor" Cambodia. And to this day it is a still a sore spot in Thai-Cambodian relations and a potential trouble spot in the future. Sheesh, during WW2 Thailand "owned" much of Northern Cambodia down past Angkor Wat (Siem Reap)

I've heard it's open and that it's not open. I went there once in March 2019. It was a cool, damp morning (light off and on drizzle). Got to the park gate and spoke to the old guy in the ticket booth who assured me I would be able to see the temple and the other attractions. So I paid the 400 baht foreigner price (40 baht for locals) and rode in. Shocker - I could "see" the temple - from about 500 meters away, across a triple roll razor-wire fence with a soldier standing 5 meters behind me in case I tried to do something stupid. I had to walk past a small military camp (about platoon sized) to get to where you could see the temple on the rise across a small depression. There were numerous holes in the ground from mortar rounds when the Thais and Cambodians were shooting at each other in 2011. Around the far edge of the camp you could see the stairway leading up to the temple and that's when someone yelled something to someone and a young soldier started following me around. It's not like I was going to try and breach the triple razor wire fence (I know how nasty that stuff is - makes barbed wire seem tame by comparison) but maybe they were worried "something" might happen. I also picked out a number of machine gun bunkers around the area and - lol - all the "trash receptacles" along the roadway were made of concrete on three sides with slits so you could drop garbage into the can - or so the can could be removed and a soldier could use it as a "pillbox" to shoot anything coming from the Cambodian side. If I recall - I went to look at the "Twin Stupas" and was stopped by yet another triple roll razor-wire fence which was very annoying. I could see camouflaged bunkers facing Cambodia around that area as well. I was able to see the "bas relief" - sort of. It's a group of "Buddhas" carved into the side of a cliff. It's a wonder how they got there or why they chose that spot. You go down a couple long stairways bolted to the cliff and end up at a locked gate. There are small holes people have cut into the linked fencing so they could get their hands/cameras through to take photos. (The gates also keep thieves - and id-io-ts from trying to climb out onto the cliff face and then falling about 300 feet into the trees below.) A bit of a disappointment overall. 10 times the entrance fee for locals. 2 of the 3 "main attractions" were off limits and in total I took a whopping - - 14 photos.

It happens so often here. People will just cut across lanes of traffic with no signals or even a glance to make sure it's safe. Like they expect everyone else on the road to just make way for them even when they don't give any indication of what they are going to do. No helmet and no identification ? Seriously ? Who leaves home without some kind of ID on them like a wallet with a driving license or ATM card at least. (Unless it was "thrown" into the grass before the police arrived. Do you think anyone checked ?)

There are dozens of old Khmer era temples, shrines and monuments in Sa Kaeo and Buriram provinces. Not so much in Chon Buri/Rayong/Chanthaburi/Trat/Prachinburi or Chachoengsao provinces for some reason. I've been to 9 in Sa Kaeo province though most are (now) just a few stones scattered around or well off the "beaten track". Prasat Sadok Kok Thom is a small but not too bad temple (though the reconstruction seems kind of amateurish). It's an 11th century, nearly complete temple complex (thanks to a lot of restoration work in the 1990s). Most of the other sites wouldn't be worth stopping at though unless you were a die-hard Khmer temple fan. In Buriram are some very nice sites. On the way from Sa Kaeo is Prasat Nong Hong. Not far from the highway (1.8 kms) and next to a school. Not a large site (probably less than an hour to see it all from the time you park until you are back in your vehicle). The "Big 2" are Prasat Muang Tam and Prasat Hin Khao Phanom Rung (or just "Phanom Rung). Prasat Muang Tam is on the flatlands not far (8kms or 5 miles) from Phanom Rung - which sits on top of a large hill (or wee small mountain if you prefer). Muang Tam is very nicely preserved/restored and fairly large. It's in my "Top 5" Khmer-era sites in Thailand. (Give yourself at least an hour for this site.) Phanom Rung is (arguably) the #1 ancient Khmer temple in Thailand. (Phimai in Korat may disagree.) For me, it's definitely Top 3. (Phanom Rung, Phimai, Muang Tam for the Top 3, plus Kamphaeng Phet and Prasat Mueang Sing in Kanchanaburi for the Top 5). Warning - Phanom Rung is a large site. If you park in the "East" (main) parking lot, you have to walk up to the start of the processional path and then it's 500 meters of (stone) path and a lot of stairs to get to the East entrance ! (But it's worth it - if you're into that kind of thing.) If walking isn't for you - there's another parking area just "West" of the main one (about 700 meters further along the main road) that takes you to a spot where it's a small flight of stairs and you are at the temple. (At the West entrance, where you can see straight through the temple to the East entrance. It is a popular spot twice a year (3-5 April and 8-10 Sept) as the sunrise shines directly through the temple. Loads of people make the trip and sit/stand at the West entrance to photograph the sun rising through the East entrance.) I did the Sunrise Ceremony last April. Spent the night at a cheap resort and was up the mountain at first light. The West parking area wasn't opened yet and there were a dozen cars outside waiting. I went to the main (East) parking area and walked to the "ticket booth" to find out I wasn't allowed to go any further until 05:30 so I sat on the stairs for 15 minutes. However that meant by the time I got to the West Entrance (after that long walk and all those stairs) there were already 80+ people there. (Khmer Temples are noted for all having their main entrance facing directly towards the sunrise so people gather at the West entrance to try and photograph the sun rising through the East entrance.) I've been to 7 temple sites in Buriram and have 5 more on my "to do" list but they are small, out of the way places and mostly just overgrown ruins. This map takes you to Sadok Kok Thom, Prasat Nong Hong, Prasat Muang Tam, Phanom Rung and to the "replica" Phanom Rung they built at the Chang Stadium. 453 kms total. Takes me (on a motorcycle) 3 hours from Pattaya to the Sadok Kok Thom temple in Sa Kaeo. It's about 66 kms from Sadok Kok Thom to Prasat Nong Hong. 39 kms from Nong Hong to Prasat Muang Tam. 8 kms from there up the hill to Phanom Rung. 62-68 kms from there to the Chang Stadium. https://www.google.co.th/maps/dir/PTT+ปตท.จิฟฟี่+ชลบุรี-พัทยากลาง…/RPVP%2BCWJ+SADOK+KOK+THOM+HISTORICAL+PARK,+Khok+Sung,+Khok+Sung+District,+Sa+Kaeo+27120/''/''/Prasat+Hin+Khao+Phanom+Rung+Park/Phanom+Rung+stone+castle+replica/@13.9370205,102.3719134,8.71z/data=!4m40!4m39!1m5!1m1!1s0x3102be1d7342dacd:0x6df1647e3cd9c4a3!2m2!1d100.9044285!2d12.9453967!1m5!1m1!1s0x311b03e818a47959:0xfe04b5cb40e5ccb!2m2!1d102.7372428!2d13.8435815!1m5!1m1!1s0x311bb578703a4a5b:0xdb46ce385cddfc87!2m2!1d102.7605818!2d14.3022973!1m5!1m1!1s0x311a2ff148cd2c25:0x9e24d39cea40ab86!2m2!1d102.9824029!2d14.4961986!1m5!1m1!1s0x311a2eaf58d467c9:0x5e018c585006c382!2m2!1d102.9399423!2d14.5319866!1m5!1m1!1s0x3119951566a74933:0xbd2510f67c89a76b!2m2!1d103.0898051!2d14.9659033!2m1!2b1!3e9?hl=en&entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MDgyMC4xIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D The "been to" (circles with white squares) icons are mostly ancient Khmer temple sites I've visited so far in "Isaan" (that small corner of it at least) and a few resorts/hotels I've stayed at along the way. The "starred" icons are the sites on my "to do one day" list (as well as a few gas stations from previous trip planning). Sadok Kok Thom Prasat Nong Hong Prasat Muang Tam Prasat Phanom Rung I've also got a number of sites visited and "to do" in Surin and Si Sa Ket (as well as other places). I once did what I called a "23 temple tour" - in 3 days. I started from Pattaya and stopped at a couple small places in Sa Kaeo, then into Buriram and Surin. Next day was Si Sa Ket, Ubon Ratchathani and Amnat Charoen Day 3 I travelled to Yasothon, Roi Et and back to Surin and then on day 4 it was straight back to Pattaya. That trip was mainly about visiting Ubon, Amnat and Yasothon as those were the only 3 provinces in "Isaan" I hadn't been to yet. Many of the "temples" were little more than a few old laterite stones sticking out of the ground. Some were just a single Prang (or Chedi) in the middle of what is now a school yard. (That was a hoot, pulling into a school yard in a remote town in Roi Et on the Harley drew a crowd by itself. Taking off my helmet and listening to everyone when they saw I was a foreigner was good for a laugh.) Phrathat Chedi - Hua Ton village, Roi Et

So it involved women who were not women - or were women - or men - or inbetweens (katoeys) ? The "Kuwaiti" woman (in the short leopard print dress) in the clip did not really look all that Kuwaiti to me. (Keeping in mind that Kuwait is a fundamentalist country much like Iran and Saudi Arabia. Alcohol is illegal for followers of the religion of peace. Foreigners have to get a license to drink. Full Muslim dress for women is common - but not mandatory - though they are expected to cover most of their bodies so no short, tight mini-skirts.)

She identifies as a Main Battle Tank (MBT) during her day job.

She probably knew what was going to happen next if she didn't call the police.

This is at the Boonsamphan/Railway Bypass (Lieb Tang Rodfai) intersection. A popular spot for motorcycles to try and avoid the traffic jams by roaring (both ways) down whichever lane is open to the point oncoming traffic nearly has to stop to avoid getting hit. And where, everyday, all day, it's a constant game of Thai Roulette where cars/trucks/motorcycles try to push into oncoming traffic so they can finally try and cross the intersection. (Most of the intersections along the Railway Bypass road are like that actually.) I'm surprised there isn't a dozen accidents everyday at that spot.

So Indians can sell food from moto-sidecars without work permits or visas ? Note it said "Indian national" and not "Thai of Indian descent". There are a lot of Indians in Thailand who've descended from families that have been here for generations (or longer).

Well, just did my 90 Day report this morning. The girl started taking passports around 08:10. There's a stack of blank TM.47s on the counter-top. A British chap I chatted with had a slightly different version and the one I photocopied from my last visit was also slightly different. I remembered the last trip when I used the TM.47 I'd downloaded from the Immigration website and when I got to the 90 Day counter they told me I had to fill out a different version of it. So this time the old chap and I decided to be safe and fill out the "new" version but when the old guy spoke to the girl she didn't seem fussed about which version was handed in. I handed my stack of paper (with the "old" version of the TM.47 from 3 months ago and signed copies of all the passport pages) and she didn't even look at them. She paperclipped a number tag to my passport and stuck the paperwork inside with the (old) 90 day slip and put it into the basket. She told us "1 hour" though it was just past 08:10. I suspected they'd be back sooner than that and sure enough, about 08:45 she came back with a stack. And you have to love seeing the stacks and stacks of "90 Day Reports" piled on the floor around the counter. Reminds me when Immigration announced they were doing away with the TM.7 Arrival Cards because they just ended up getting boxed up and put in a warehouse (and they were running out of storage room) so they decided to stop using them. At the airports. For some reason it seems the land crossings never got word about them not being needed anymore. Maybe they have larger warehouses to store them in, in case someone 20 years from now wants to find an arrival card from 20 years ago or something.

Harley's "made" in Thailand are not "manufactured" in Thailand. Thailand's Customs charges nearly 200% Duties and Taxes to bring a new Harley into the country and register it (properly). But ! They only charge about 40% for "new parts". So Harley imports the "parts" from America, assemble the bikes in Thailand, then pays to "register" the bike (and get the green book). And yes, we thought there'd be a huge price discount over the imported bikes but I remember checking and it seems they dropped the price - on the few models being assembled in Thailand - by about 100k for the first year. And the prices have steadily gone up since then. The shift to producing more bikes in Thailand could very well be the result of a larger demand for the smaller bikes (like the Sportster/Nightster class and the Pan American adventure bike) in the Asian markets (Thailand, India, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, etc). Gas pricing and bike size leads many in those countries to prefer smaller, lighter, cheaper to operate motorcycles while in "Western Countries" (America, Canada, Germany, England, etc) they like the "big beasts". And the engine for the Pan American is made in China anyways so probably cheaper to import them into Thailand than the USA. (Wish they'd bring back something like the Dyna again though. Not sure why they stopped making them.)

Many site use cookies and algorithms to track users "preferences" and so they can load faster if you return to the site because it already has some of your "preferences" stored. Sites like Facebook and assorted travel sites, knowing what you've clicked/liked/shared before, will automatically put more of the same in your feed (or search results) because the algorithm thinks that is what you are interested in. I heard about how travel sites (Like Expedia, Kayak, Agoda, Booking(.com) and others) will remember what you searched for (for example, a flight from London to Bangkok) and then when you go back to the site (hours/days/weeks later) it will remember that and show you flight options that suddenly got a lot more expensive But the trick is - clear your cache/cookies/browsing history and then do the search again and don't be surprised if those same flights are suddenly cheaper. (And then look at which airline it is and go to their website to book the flights and find them even cheaper than the "cheap flight" sites.) See an Ad on Facebook ? Linger with it centered in your screen for more than a few seconds and Facebook's algorithm decides you must be thinking about that (whatever) and will start pumping more Ads (or "sponsored" posts) into your feed. If you actually click on one or "like" it or just "tag" someone in the comments - that's as good as gold to the algorithm. It knows something about that Ad tweeked you - even if all you thought was it would be something someone else would find interesting or funny or whatever and you have zero interest in it at all. And your feed will be pummeled with similar Ads/posts literally selling/sponsoring/memeing the exact same thing. And it will last for a couple weeks - assuming you don't linger over another Ad or whatever or click on one. That algorithm is the same reason why some people (the kind that vote for Trump usually) think Facebook is "censoring" posts from people in their friends lists. It doesn't. It notices that you never "linger" over posts made by (Bloggins) and never click on or "like" posts by "Somchai" and never comment on posts by "Grandma" so it stops putting them in your feed and puts other things in there instead. And one day you go to Grandma's page to see why she isn't posting anymore and find out that she has been posting a lot ! And you scroll down all the posts she's made, never stopping, never clicking "like" or "heart" or whatever and then whine that Facebook is "censoring" your feed. Like they have a billion people monitoring 3 billion user accounts just so they can deliberately censor posts from your Grandma. But that's the mentality of people like that. They never consider that maybe it's their own actions - or inactions - that are the cause of the problem. Be that not seeing posts from dear old granny or getting too many bikini-clad cute Asian kitty videos in your feed.

Just curious if anyone in the last 3 months has had to do the "90 day bank book check" recently. I did my most recent Extension in late May and they didn't give me the "form" explaining the financial requirements with an "appointment date" 90 days later. The IO wasn't the guy that normally reviewed my Extension Application and he seemed "pre-occupied" with whatever urgent matter was on his phone so I didn't pester him. I don't know if he forgot to give me the form or if they've given up on checking. It was kind of redundant anyways. If they look at your bank book after 90 days and your balance is under the limit, my understanding was that they wouldn't renew your Extension next time. But as they check your balance when you do your Extension, they can easily see if the balance went below the limit and deny your application then. No need to check it twice. I have to go anyways to do my 90 Day. Curious if that's changed as well or if we still have to submit a TM.47 each and every time we go.

The "peasants" (the poorest demographic in the country) will vote for whoever pays them the most. That's how Thaksin got into power in the first place. It was widely "rumoured" that the "poor people" in the rural areas were told they'd get 100 baht if they voted for him. Gee, take a guess who won the election in a landslide ? And remember the "30 baht healthcare" scam ? People flocked to him because they thought they were getting "healthcare" for 30 baht when all they really got was being able to wait in huge lines, to see overworked doctors that graduated at the bottom of their classes, who would give them a diagnosis or prescription. And that was it. (A lot of Thais I talked to said it was easier, cheaper and quicker to just go to the pharmacy like they'd been doing before.) But those two things got Thaksin the support of the "red shirts" who were mostly made up of the poorest, least educated segment of society. Despite Thaksin himself being a HiSo member of society like most of the top "yellow shirt" supporters. So you can imagine that whoever offers that "demographic" the best deal will get most of the votes, regardless if it's a criminal who fled the country to avoid going to prison, or the criminal's sister who fled the country to avoid going to prison, or the criminal's daughter who will no doubt do exactly what her father tells her to do.

Countdown until she tries to have the charges against Auntie Yingluck dropped so she can return to Thailand as well ? The corruption just doesn't stop. It just gets more and more blatant.

I guess that's one way to keep your name off the radar. No rental contracts. No lease agreements. Constantly changing addresses. Yep. Nothing to see here. Move along.

Throw it into the bucket of examples of China's slowing growing control of Thailand. As mentioned before, people see one story like this and ignore it as a "single little thing" that isn't a part of some "greater plan". Because they've forgotten (or never paid attention to) all the other "single little things" that China has done, or is doing, or wants to do. Chinese investors want to build new super hi-rise condo buildings (that was a few years ago). China wants to build a high speed rail line from China to Thailand (that China will own and control for a very long time before eventually turning over the Thai portion to Thailand). China wants in on a proposed "land bridge" linking the Andaman Sea with the Gulf of Thailand. (To be owned and operated by China - probably for a period of 55+ years like their deals in Cambodia for the new airports they built there.) Thailand grants China full "Visa exemption" privileges. Thailand - coincidentally - increases the "Visa Exemption" period from 30 to 60 days. The Chinese love gambling. Thailand has strictly forbidden it for ages (probably before the days of Rama I). Thailand busts top money-launderer connected to numerous online gambling sites. Suddenly, Thailand wants to legalize gambling. Remember the story and scandal about finding Chinese police officers - in uniform - "working" in Thailand ? (Canada and other countries also found that the Chinese had "unofficial" police stations running in their countries, looking for dissidents and keeping tabs on Chinese citizens in those countries.) Sheesh, that makes the "all Chinese" advertising billboards offering to sell passports seem inconsequential by comparison ! Remember the condos ? Suddenly Thailand wants to change the "49% foreign ownership" rules which will allow condo buildings to be "majority owned by foreigners". Thailand says it's because there's a glut of unsold "high end" condos (from between a couple thousand to a couple hundred thousand depending which "official" is making an announcement it seems). Apparently they are all in the 20-30 million baht price range ! The officials are saying that the "new ownership" rules will only apply to condos in certain "zoned" areas. (Sounds like a plan for Chinese condos, built by Chinese "front companies", in "zoned" areas where they can control who buys those condos and give them 99 year leases to ensure they maintain control of the buildings.) (Funny, how did all those thousands and thousands of supposedly unsold high end condos all end up in the "zoned" areas that haven't even been approved or designated yet ? Unless they already know where those zones will be and are just waiting for those "high end" condos to be built ? Some might good fortune telling going on somewhere !) 99 year Leases - almost as good as ownership (depending on the details and costs of course). And a useful way to get around the "51% Thai ownership" issue. Simply sell 49% of the units in your new Condo building to "foreign" owners/companies (that you control), then lease the other 51% - to the same owners/companies (or different owners/companies that you also control). Essentially the building and the land are now yours for the next century. And you can make sure no pesky "non-Chinese" gweilos (white devils) move in !

All "search engine" type sites like Expedia, Kayak, Agoda and so on leave "cookies" on your computer. In most cases it's so the next time you visit that site it knows your preferences and what you searched for last time. And because they know the details (dates, times, destinations, etc) of what you searched for before, they know they can give you similar results - for more money - because now maybe you are a little more desperate. It was a tip over 20 years ago that you should delete your cache, cookies and browsing history before visiting any of those sites - and again if you go back to one you'd recently visited. (These days it seems it takes an hour to finally delete everything.) Some years ago when I was booking a lot of flights for myself (working out of the country) I found a number of tips to make things better. One time I searched for a flight from Dubai to Bangkok to Manila to Vancouver. The travel website (Expedia or Kayak I think) gave me a price that was $1,200 more than booking it myself through the airline's website(s). And that was after I'd cleared my browser data and after I'd tried different date/flight options. But I'd learned to only use those sites to search for flights and find the flight/date/schedule that best suits you and note the airline(s). Also pay attention to any "code share" flights and look at where it says "operated by" because that is who you will really be flying with regardless of which airline you booked with. Then go to the airline's website. Enrol in their frequent flyer progam !!! They will give you a "temp" card and number and I've found that many of them (outside of North America at least) will give you a bit larger luggage allowance just for being a member. Then, armed with the flight details from you search, go through the booking process. It's not that hard. And normally, when booking direct through the airline, you can pick which seat you prefer (a free choice on most airlines) and even your meal preference (if any). When you get to the "payment" section - look at the difference between their price and the search engine site. The search engine site is usually more. Fun fact ! Don't be tied down to one airline !! Use the search engines and note what other airlines are flying the same route. Go to their websites and see what they charge for that flight. The company used to book me on Emirates from Dubai to Bangkok but that meant I had to sit in the airport for 8 hours before I could even check in for a flight leaving in 11 hours. Then I'd watch how many other airlines departed for Bangkok in that same period and wonder why the company's agent didn't book me on one of those. I started booking my own and found that Gulf Air out of Bahrain had some super sweet deals. I could fly from Dubai to Bahrain (Business Class), spend a couple hours in the Business Class lounge, then board my Business Class seat for the flight to Bangkok that arrived about the same time the Emirates/Thai Air (codeshare) flight arrived. And it was only about $300 more than an economy ticket on Emirates ! Way better all the way around, from separate check-in lines, separate Immigration queues, Business Class lounges, priority boarding, larger luggage allowances, better seating of course - and meals. First off the plane on arrival, separate "Fast Trak" Immigration counters. Another tip. If flying Economy, select an aisle seat on the left side, 2nd or 3rd row from the front. Planes always load and unload from the left side. The front row usually has to share a small TV mounted on the wall ahead of you and that is also where they put the "baby bassinets" if there are infants on the flight. The aisle seat means you are free to get up and go to the bathroom or stretch or whatever without hassle. Being in row 2 or 3 means you usually get served drinks/meals before everyone else as well. As soon as I feel the plane starting to make it's descent towards the destination airport, I get my carry on and pack everything away and stick it under my seat (or back in the overhead). When the plane stops at the gate, I've got my carry-on and am standing near the exit door while everyone else starts to think about what bag to stuff what junk in and blocking the aisles for everyone else. I had one flight where I sat in the Emergency row at the back of the plane. It literally took me 1 hour after the plane stopped before I stepped out of the plane. But on the first flight where I sat in row 2/left aisle/aisle seat - I was through Immigration and heading for the exit barely an hour after the plane stopped. Another tip. Everyone and their dog usually starts their holiday "after work" on Friday and has to come home on a Sunday to be ready to go back to work on Monday. As a result, airlines often (as in - always) charge more for "weekend" flights. Try to schedule your departure/arrival dates for Tue/Wed/Thu. There's a good chance that not only will the flights be cheaper, but you will have an easier time picking your seats and when it's time to fly, the flights may not be as full (more food and drinks for you) ! People use "booking agents" because they think they are "experts" at finding the best deals. But they aren't. Booking agents working for companies like Flight Center try to put you onto flights where they've bought blocks of seats at a discount from the airline and then they have to sell them to try and make a profit. Their priority is often more about filling those seats than optimizing your travel plans. If they can't sell the seats, they lose the money they paid for them. (And then the airline can maybe stick some standby passengers in those seats.) Booking agents - and their companies - also get paid to "promote" some destinations more than others. They may get discounted flight deals, hotel upgrades and "companion fares" for example if they can book people into (where ever) on (what ever) airline. In another case of "shopping around" - I flew Vancouver to Bangkok a couple times on China Air. Very nice airline flying through Taiwan and better prices that Japan Air Lines (or any North American air line for that matter). But then I found that I could book flights on Philippines Air and for a couple hundred $$ more, fly Business Class ! But the drawback was - the flight to Vancouver had a 22 hour layover in Manila. But the good part was, the flight from Manila to Bangkok (on the return) left about 3 hours after the flight from Vancouver landed. (And again, by travelling Business Class, it was much easier to get on/off the planes and go through Immigration.) (Had to laugh the first time I flew Business Class on Philippines Air. I was looking at how much room there was on the floor between seats and wondering if the cabin crew would have a problem if I stretched out there. Then the woman across the aisle from me reclines her seat full flat, puts on the (free) eye shades that come in the little kit they give Business Class flyers, wraps a blanket around her and goes to sleep. And we're still loading passengers ! And the crew didn't make her sit up and "put her chair in the upright position" when we took off either. Yeah, had a good sleep on that flight. And time travelled too ! Left Manila on a Tuesday at 16:00. Arrived in Vancouver on the same Tuesday - at 14:00. Went back in time nearly 2 hours.

It's one thing that continues to baffle the mind. In this day and age where a single person whines about something and an hour later it's "news" around the world, Thailand can't seems to co-ordinate anything within it's various bureaucrasies. One would think if the Minister in charge of Immigration makes a decision, it would be sent to every border crossing/airport/Immigration Office in the country within minutes so that they all are on the same page - of the same book. One would think if the Minister in charge of the Department of Land Transport sets down rules about Driver Testing that within minutes every single DLT office around the country would have the new rules - and be expected to follow them. If the Minister in charge of the Royal Thai Police (or the General or whoever controls them, if anyone) makes a new rule about how to conduct roadside safety checks, you'd think that every Police Station in the country would have those rules within minutes. And be expected to follow them. But so often it seems that each Immigration checkpoint and each Police Station and each DLT office all work on their own set of rules that may, or may not, quite be the same as the "big boss" has said they should be. You'd think of the Minister of Foreign Affairs set out new Visa rules and conditions, within minutes every Embassy and Consulate around the world would have the exact same information. And be expected to update their websites accordingly. (Canada went the way of having all Embassy/Consulate "websites" on one gov't site so they will all have the same (general) information and format and any substantive changes can be made once instead of once per individual site.) But perhap's the various Thai Embassy's and Consulates are waiting for the inevitable changes and amendments that are sure to follow in the near future so they don't have to keep changing, editing, amending and re-changing, re-editing and re-amending their sites every 2-4 weeks. Or - and this almost seems to be the most likely case - they simply haven't been sent the information through "official channels" yet. Seeing an article in a newspaper about some changes happening isn't "official notification". Maybe someone simply forgot to send an email through "official channels" to pass on the information. Or missed a few addresses. Or decided that it wasn't that important and just didn't bother sending any emails at all.

Counting down until "someone" blames those "dirty farangs" for bringing the virus here. Just like they tried to do with the Covid virus because they didn't want to blame their Chinese masters for the problem.

Ah OK. It's the temple at the top of the hill just West of the city of Chiang Mai. Which makes you wonder why they used an old Black & White photo of the Sanctuary of Truth temple in Pattaya for the story. What the actual temple in Chiang Mai looks like (a part of it at least).

If you watch and pay attention to world events instead of spending 98% of your time looking at "footie" then you'll notice that China has been dramatically increasing it's presence - and influence - in the South Pacific, SE Asia and Indian Ocean regions all the way to Djibouti on the East Coast of Africa. And they've been doing it, slowly for over 20 years now. It's a part of their "Belt and Road" initiative. They use "Export Development Banks" to offer low interest "loans" to various gov'ts and Chinese owned/controlled companies willing to construct various "mega-projects" in the target countries on "own/operate/transfer" deals where the Chinese own and operate the project for many years and then eventually hand it over (or what's left of it) to the host nation. Along with the loans and infrastructure programs, China tries to push the target nations into "buying Chinese". Ships, airplanes, tanks. Even submarines. (Subtle hint.) Want a high-speed rail line linking China and Thailand through puppet nation Laos ? China is ready to help. Need a "land bridge" in Southern Thailand to move massive amounts of cargo into the Indian Ocean faster (?) and easier (?) than by shipping it around "the long way" ? China is ready to help. Need a new airport in Siem Reap because of all the Chinese tourist arrivals ? China will build one for you. And own it and collect the revenue from it on a 55 year deal and at the end of that term hand whatever is still working over to Cambodia. Need an new airport outside of Phnom Penh ? (Same deal as the one in Siem Reap apparently.) Need a new, fully self-contained "resort" on the Cambodian coast with it's own water, power and waste-treatment facilities ? China will "lease" 1/5th of your coastline and build that army base for you. Opps, I mean "resort" ! Need another airport to bring people to that "resort" ? China will build one for you ! And even give it extra long runways it doesn't need for some reason. And it's just an hour's drive from the Cambodian Naval base that China recently made a secret deal that allows it to station ships in that port if it wants to ! They've done similar projects/deals in Laos, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Djibouti. China was also the first nation to receive an "official" delegation from the Taliban after the US pulled out of the country. These "projects" are often accompanied by "dual use" agreements where China can use things like the airports, "resorts", "high speed rail lines" and naval bases to stage Chinese troops, aircraft and ships should they choose to. Hence the "dual use" tag. It's an "airport" that just happens to be perfect to operate Chinese fighters and bombers from. It's a "self contained resort" that just happens to be perfect to use as an Army (or Air Force) base facility. It's a "high speed rail line" that just happens to be perfect to use to transport large numbers troops from China to other places. These "dual use" agreements allow China to (if the need ever arose) "project power" from the Sea of Japan to the South Pacific and all the way to the Red Sea (via Djibouti). And land bases have the advantage of not being "sinkable" the way Navy Aircraft carriers can be ! It's a "Long March" strategy that foresees a time when China will need to be able to hit strategic targets far from home (the same way America can with it's carrier fleets) and to be able to hit any hostile military forces while they are still far away from China. They start by digging their way into a country's pockets through cheap loans, cheap infrastructure projects, cheap deals on military equipment and so on. And by "assisting" pliable (as in "corrupt") leaders in various countries stay in power. It doesn't take long before a country suddenly finds itself so deeply in debt to China that it literally has to do whatever Beijing tells it to "or else". Or the leadership, backed by China, is so deep into China's pocket that it has to do whatever China wants - or risk them finding a new "puppet" to take over. And think about this. All the recent "changes" Thailand is/has proposed. The new visa rules. The proposed changes in condo ownership rules. The "casino" proposals. The on again/off again submarine deal. Those are ALL done with China in mind. NOT with a couple thousand old, fat and gray western expat's best interests at heart. (Was it last year or the year before when there was a big news story about some Chinese companies wanting to build very large condo projects in Thailand ?) And one of the proposed changes for the condo rules was that they would only apply to condos "in designated areas". So their idea is to allow "foreigners" to own more than 49% of a condo project - located in a certain "zoned" areas. Sounds perfect if you want to build "Chinese only" condos right ? But the gov't claims they want to change the ownership limits because "there is a glut of unsold high end condos" on the market. Which made little sense as it's unlikely that those "high end" condos would all be located in the same "zoning area" to begin with. Unless they already have plans of where those "zoned areas" will be and the "high end condos" are just waiting for the rules to be changed so they can be built. And keep another thing in mind. Thailand is just one little "coup" away from becoming just like Cambodia or Myanmar. That was proven barely 10 years ago. And there's nothing saying it can't happen again. With all these "Chinese friendly" proposals already in the works, one might suspect that China already has her hooks deep into Thailand.

For those that don't think it's possible. Lets say this guy: sells his passport to a pawnshop (or it's "stolen" or whatever). And then this guy: buys that passport, goes to a ticket agent, uses the passport to buy a plane ticket and goes to the airport. As neither guy is likely to be in Thailand's "Immigration database" (presumably) and Thailand is probably one of the 176 countries (out of 196) that don't normally check passports against Interpol's database, what are the chances some Thai Immigration officer - that's checked 400 people through already and sees 400 more in line and his lunch break is coming up - is going to question that guy "b" doesn't quite exactly look like guy "a" - when guy "a" is at the end of a two week binge drinking and "other fun" holiday ? Probably zero chance. Even if Thailand did check the passport against Interpol's database - it would only raise a flag if it had been reported stolen or the owner was "wanted" (i.e. had a red notice). What is more likely is that the IO will glance at guy "b" and the passport and note the guy is the "right age, skin and hair colour and similar scraggy facial hair. Passport and fingerprint scans don't raise any flags in the system. Stamp, stamp - "have a nice flight" and guy "b" is heading for the boarding gate. I have never seen an IO give someone the 3rd degree (interrogation) like some people seem to think they do with everyone they see. And I've stood in a lot of Immigration lines over the years in places like Kabul, Dubai, Delhi, Manila, Bangkok, Cairo, Istanbul as well as numerous Euro and North American airports. It's always the same thing. Hand them your passport, they look at you, look at your facepage, put it on the scanner, type something on the computer while they wait for the scan to finish, check that no flags were raised, tell you to look into the camera and/or put your hand on the scanner, stamp your passport and hand it to you while waving the next person forward. They've totally forgotten you 2 seconds after putting your passport on the scanner and most won't even give you a glance after the first time they've looked at you. Unless little lights start flashing on their computer screen of course. So as long as you look similar to the guy in the passport photo and you aren't in the "database" for some reason (and the passport hasn't been reported as stolen) it's really not that hard for someone to get through Immigration using someone else's ID. (Another, older case involving Thailand. A career criminal from Canada "stole" someone's ID (passport) and used it to fly to Thailand. He spent a year here before murdering his girfriend in a fit of rage. He then mutilated her face, dismembered her body, hauled the pieces to a local swamp and dumped them before heading to the airport.) Where he bought a plane ticket, casually passed through Immigration and flew back to Canada - still using that "stolen" ID. That was before "biometrics" and fingerprint scanners - which wouldn't have made any difference at all because the person in the stolen ID wouldn't have been in Thailand's database anyways so no flags would have been raised when he flew out. (I questioned when that "stolen ID" was reported as being stolen but never recieved a response. "Privacy concerns" I guess.) ps: Guy "b" in the photos above is the son of a friend of mine. After my previous post I was catching up on some Facebook posts and there was one from my friend with her son and it was like "THERE ! See that ? Someone completely unrelated that could probably easily pass for the missing guy if he showed up at the airport with his passport."