mfd101

Impossible to answer as I'm always reading or browsing about 20 books at once. But beside my bed is a book I've been reading at a rate of about 4 pages a night before falling asleep: Gonçalvo M. Tavares' 'Uma viagem à Índia' which I'm reading in French translation (no Eng version as yet). Poetic and weird but interesting enough to keep me going (wondering where it's leading - well, to India actually).

It's 2030ish here. Just back from our NYE dinner in Prasat. As usual our favourite restaurant was closed. So we went to an outsideish cook-your-own-meal-at-table place. As usual my b/f selected at least 3 times more than we could possibly eat. OK but not quite what I'd had in mind. We managed to get thru about 3/4 of it ... Now home and the village musaks are rumbling not too loudly, but loud enough with occasional pops of fireworks to not be worth putting on any decent music. But if I did put on something (some 700 CDs of classical music) it would most likely be something in the range from Bach & Haendel thru to Schubert, but it could extend from Monteverdi to Rachmaninov. Extremely conservative musical taste by today's standards. The other problem though is that, if I did play something while my b/f is at home, he gets the giggles and starts conducting ... Which means I can play CDs only during the day when he's away at the farm (sigh).

In short, sensible people read the fine print and make sure they understand what and how BEFORE they hop on that motorbike or fall down the stairs drunk.

Yes & Maybe.

Yes, I've had exactly the same experience. But of course there's so many useful things you can do under (2): blowing your nose, wiping your bottom, lighting the kindling for a bonfire on Guy Fawkes night and cooking spuds in the ashes ... There's no end of possibilities.

Even that's going to take about 30 or 40 years.

Um, I think he's moving in the right direction but you don't get there in one big step. Bangkok wasn't built in a day.

Right. I rest my case.

And the then members of the Constitutional Court were blissfully ignorant that a coup was about to happen to overthrow this appalling Thaksin regime that threatened law and order in the kingdom?

I know them well. Still as gracious and welcoming as always.

(1) Used for note paper (2) used for all other relevant activities (3) handed - on back - with notes for other falangs to use & be amused by.

I guess I'm just used to the roosters out back starting up at 0400 each morning and continuing till after dark. I am - so to speak - aware of them but not conscious of them. By comparison the koel (at least the one recorded on the vid) sounds blissful.

To me they sound lovely.

Endless entertainment for the Plebs of Pattaya.

You're making a distinction without a difference. More generally you & others here show a touching faith in the integrity & competence of the Constitutional Court and the Thai judicial system generally. As the Supreme Court's decision a couple of days ago suggests, judicial decisions here change according to political circumstances not according to the law.

Yes, I know enough to organize my finances from home in advance of travel so I'm not moving money around on my MacBk while in a hotel.

Always organize your road travel (whether on a daily or weekly or annual holidays basis) to be heading in the opposite direction from everyone else. Easier said than done for some, but not so hard for those not in the workforce and whose visits to and from BKK are optional.

Such a wonderful tribute to the longterm health and welfare of the nation.

Also thanks. I keep seeing ads on Facebook for nice little glossy things called VPNs but could never work out what they would do for an elderly simpleton like me.

So, in your world, political responsibility (normal punishment: Lose election, no longer PM) translates in to criminal responsibility (punishment: years in prison)?

I'm no expert on this but you certainly need more than just a piece of paper with your wife's signature on it. Inquiry at the local Land Office would be a first step. Lawyer thereafter, I think.

So my weekly papaya salad & larb at PTT is going to give me an extra 10 years?

In Thailand there's a fine line between corruption & incompetence. The latter opens up pathways for the former. In any case, when Yingluck returns home she will be warmly welcomed by many many Thais (including some who never voted for her). Distance makes the heart grow fonder.

No, I shall leave as much as I can to my partner (40 years younger than me). He already owns all property here in Thailand (land, house, car) and I have arrangements in place for him to receive the 2/3 of my Oz superannuation to which he is entitled, plus my investments.

The problem is that people confuse 2 different things: The dubious appointment process and his competence in office. The process is no doubt regrettable in any country that wants to be thought of as a democracy, but it has little relevance to his personal capacity to do the job. If the military incompetent who preceded him had in fact shown skill in carrying out the PM functions, he might well still be in office.