Enzian

I've been to Pai and people like that (and better of course) are the life blood of the local economy; drive them away and the standard of living for the locals would drop in half. Even the local police know how their bread is buttered.

The whole thing is a show. Sea Watch and others are not rescuing people, they are making a show of rescuing people. They are out there for months at a time and that is all they do. It's not like they are engaged in an actual enterprise and just happen across the migrants; it's almost certain they co-ordinate with those putting the migrants out there. If Sea Watch and others were not out there, very few migrants would attempt (and pay people to help them attempt) to embark on what has to be a 50-50 chance of being a suicide mission.

I had the return flight? question from ANA at San Jose CA airport a week ago. I insisted the retirement visa in my passport made the question moot, and after asking a manager they accepted that.

Have to say I came in to BKK on business class last night and was given a Fast Track voucher by the airline, but it wasn't worth all that much because at 11:30 PM the regular line per station was about 6 persons and mine was one person in front of me, not a big difference. And why spend for business class? 1. because at 80 of age I deserve it, and 2. I put oodles of money on an expense card that gives me lots of frequent flyer points:I'm not crazy enough (usually) to spend that much actual cash. (And certain FF programs offer deals that you can't find paying cash.)

Prostitution has to remain technically illegal, otherwise the police might have to do some work. Example: say you have a woman to your room and later notice your watch is gone. If you try to report it you will be told you were doing something illegal and have no standing. So if it were legal they would have to be involved in the details all the time. They will never want to do that work. The way it is now they can deny it and let anarchy take its course, as it does on the highways.

Highly relevant to me. I'm going to be needing monthly injections of Avastin. Rutnin hospital has quoted me 23,000-25,000 for one injection. Bumrungrad, where I am registered, quoted me 9,400 for the medicine needed for one injection, medicine only-the doctor and other fees to be added. The global cost of one dose of Avastin is normally under $100, and sometime almost free in Thailand. The other drug commonly used for the same problem (look it up, complicated) Lucentis, does cost ten or twenty times as much; that's why doctors use Avastin. I want to know how to follow up this issue. How much is Bumrungrad marking it up? Do they have to tell me?

But one gets a lot of exercise in Pattaya; bedminton comes to mind.

It's good to see the Democrat party finally thinking about the wealth gap and associated issues. But they need some fresh ideas. An all-out crash attack on rural education, all free for all kids to age 16, compulsory, would be my choice.

We all know that in the States that driver would get a stunning fine from the police, and that's why people don't do it there.

My Thai girlfriend's father when he was alive co-signed for a friend's loan. The "friend" defaulted and the bank took part of dad's farm. My girlfriend said the problem was dad was Jai dee, had a "good heart". I said he was stupid. Cultural differences. I'm still trying to get her to be better with money since her own track record is not good, though not catastrophic. In dad's case, his brother's wife went ballistic and got an extra job to pay back the bank so the land would stay in the family. But eventually he let it be alienated to more remote family members anyway. 

July 15, today, there were some major delays at Chiang Mai airport. Anyone have an idea what caused the delays?

I'm impressed by the argument that Thailand is a profoundly hierarchical society and that there is an invisible line below which the people there are considered by the elite to be disposable and not worthy of human rights. This is ingrained and never articulated.

Same, same...  but different...

Check out the documentary Beltracchi, The Art of Forgery

There are people, like him, who spend their lives making up these things.

I always keep small valuables in inside zipped pockets in my travel vest worn on my person for the duration, or at worst ball the vest into a black ball and put it on the floor under my seat behind my feet. And wear it to the toilet.

All those 10 story buildings full of fishbowls and rooms up on Ratchada Road will have to close their doors? Well, they seem to be going out of style anyway.

It's my impression that Bangkok got better for a few years but is now getting worse again. Isn't this the worst time of year, since there isn't the rain to clear the air? BTW, I've been spending more time in Chiang Mai, but haven't yet experienced its notorious bad days; the time will come I suppose, and the fact that I'm actually in Hang Dong probably won't help much.

Hey, can anyone tell me what happened to that string of parlors off soi 11 and soi 13?, most of them in walkways by the Villa supermarket and the Ambassador Hotel. I leave town and come back and maybe 20 of them are gone.

I had severe food poisoning recently. My friends asked if my g/f might have set it up. I said unlikely, since I've refused to marry her and she know she is not in my will.

I just found out from Thais I know that a monk I know by sight is doing a certain sort of business management and speculation. I'm sure it is true because I'm close to the situation. I mentioned it to a farang monk I know and he said leave it alone. People have told me the newspapers won't care. Strange situation.

Are they saying they think use is widespread because they found this stash, or because they already well knew it is widespread? And are they talking about Thai users, or visitors, or both? I'm in CM but rather new to the area, but haven't seen any signs of such; however, more than most drugs, I know it can hide in plain sight. I'd like to know if it is really here, because it always leads to the same kinds of drama, and crimes, and no one needs that.

My son is coming to Thailand for the first time. He is still young (28). He likes to take exploratory road trips, himself driving. He's never driven on the left. No problem he says. I say: until you've seen it you cannot comprehend the degree of stupidity; you don't know what the lack of law enforcement means; you don't realize that if you are in an accident and the other party is Thai, you will be in the wrong no matter what happened...  He says: that's pretty strange...

But none of this is like having a Thai girlfriend.

My girlfriend has a nasty scar on her leg from a dog bite outside a store not far from our condo, happened before I met her. That dog is still out there nearly every day. I get tired of telling her on so many topics "in America we would not let this happen, or go on".

So someday I'm hit by a car stepping into the street to get around a restaurant set up on the sidewalk, all I can say is I'm glad I was helping someone make a living?