bobbin

I'm a little slow joining in the discussion of Charles Sohbraj, but I was hiding out from my last post, where I think I came across as some kind of hippie politician. I'm not an expert on the phenomenon, I just lived a part of it...

I also lived through the Indian part of the Sohbraj story real-time. I remember the botched robbery of the jewelry store at the Ashoka Hotel and his capture, imprisonment and escape from custody. I remember his arrest for the drugging of the French tourists. Stories of the murders in Thailand surfaced next, followed by reports that he was living very well in Tihar Jail. There was lots written of him in the Indian press and he definitely had celebrity status.

Since then, I've noted the intermittent news stories updating his "career", and was aware that he is currently jailed in Nepal. I always wondered how he supported himself when he returned or was allowed to return to France. Selling the rights to his story, it would appear.

You could probably spend a considerable amount of time asking random well-informed people who Charles Sohbraj is before getting a positive hit, but here we are talking about him like he was a hometown boy. Which in a way he was, because his victims were our people, young travelers like us. It was very close to home.

Yes, there were sharks in the water.

nisakiman, nice stories about Chitral and you tell a good tale.

Look good in that Pathan gear as well.

Colaba...

Come on over to the Hippie trail thread. I know you were there (the Trail) from some of your posts. We're having a good time dragging up some old memories.

Might help to remind you of when you were young and strong and not afraid of new things.

Dr. Leary was almost more a symbol than an actual ongoing influence on the counter-culture. The guru-like appeal was on an intellectual level and he and his friend Guru Baba Ram Das aka Dr. Richard Alpert attempted to hold up the lantern lighting the way forward. His influence was most powerful in the "tune in" phase of the phenomenon.

Jingthing was here earlier talking about his deadhead ( Grateful Dead fan) days, so may remember that the Owsley I mentioned in earlier posts was their personal (al)chemist and maker of acid.

The real psychic energizer was and always will be, cannabis. That was where the "turn on" part came into play.

I felt I had had an opportunity to meet and talk at length with a man who had been an important if not central influence on my life to that point.

These adventurous youth from many countries first explored the restrictions society had placed on them and then many went on to actually explore this planet of ours. The present popularity of Thailand is a direct result of the exposure of it's charms by those early arrivals. Could we even stretch it to be an ancestor of our Global Village of today? We did the hard traveling, setting things in play for the monied tourists (often the same early explorers themselves) to follow.

There was/is a small town between Peshawar and the Khyber Pass name of Londi Khotal, which was a thriving hub of self-taught gunsmiths, still turning out faithful copies of late 1800's British Raj-era rifles. They were much in demand from the local tribesmen. Both they and the town were in the autonomous Tribal area of Pakistan, now more famous for drone strikes piloted by computer game graduates from somewhere in the American Southwest, I believe.

I bought a revolver there and had it with me for months without ever firing it, aside from the demo, which was part of the sales pitch. the seller was the one who fired it. I was afraid it would blow up and take my hand off!

After the Russian invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, I'm pretty sure that gun manufacturing skill died out, as the whole area was being inundated by modern American (mostly) supplied automatic weapons. They preferred to supply Kalashnikovs, for deniability reasons, though.

Again with the photo..

Again.

edit darn...again

It say attach and I do but as you can see..no pic

edit 2 spoke too soon. There she is.

This is sitting in a garage 12 years now awaiting my (increasingly unlikely) return.

1981 Turbo Trans Am. 4.9 litre turbocharged V-8.

I purchased it new in 1981 and held on to it while other vehicles came and went. I sort of hoped it would be part of my retirement package but it's probably worth about Bt. 600,000 - 750,000.

This picture was taken 6 years ago on a brief visit. Sitting 6 years already by then, but a battery charge and air in the tires and I drove it for 3 weeks with no problems. I think it would be a bit more of a problem after 6 more years of storage.

Remind me me how to attach photo please.

Why?

Because eco isn't just about fuel economy. Obviously. Otherwise you wouldn't be able to buy it at it's price-point.

I just parked next to one this afternoon. That is a small car! And you are a big man.

About the small brain...at least I was able to fit two languages into one post.

120kg and you're unhappy with the seats in an eco-car?

Quelle surprise....

There was a similar problem in Goa so they local government changed the property laws in response & stopped the problem in it's tracks

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morjim

http://news.outlooki...px?artid=771612

http://news.bbc.co.u...ess/7507766.stm (the BBC are to PC to deal with the issue directly)

I'm .....shocked!

One article said 75% of chartered flights arriving in Goa originate from Russian Federation ( not other eastern European countries).

Another article quotes a local government official as saying " all other tourists flee when an area is predominantly Russian populated" or words very similar.

I've been too busy ogling the Russian hotties to get alarmed.

I spent several magic winters in Goa as a young man, so a bit sad to think that I might feel out of place if I was to visit Goa now. And that one day in the not too distant future it might be so here.

What a sad experience it is to see so many Americans displaying such an abysmal lack of sophistication. A democratic state will always feature rivalry between the competing parties, but the anti-Obama set have no counterparts in any democracy of which I have reasonable knowledge.

I can almost hear them wiping the froth from their lips as they pound out another attack.

just got mine yesterday at Banchang Rayong. 125,000 baht. comes with rice cooker, electric fan, jacket, helmet, key chain, cable lock, hand bag. overall good quality. the only downside i see is the weight. I'm yet to see how it perform in technical trails.

I like the white much better than the red. First time I've seen it.

It's a de facto marriage if they represented themselves as married. Thai law is very protective of a husband's honour.

Minimal, if any, jail time.

Mark my words.

Regardless of the pertinent legal issues in connection with this needless accident I wonder how the relevant international entities feel about this. For example Red Bull in Austria now know they have a partner in Thailand who openly tries to avert the course of justice on behalf of his sons actions and this will surely have international repercusions and also Ferrari, who have a sole distributor in Thailand who by the actions of this family bring the Ferrari name into disrepute.Not to mention that their local technicians /mechanics were supposedly unable to lift the data from the vehicles black box.

It would appear that apathy is no longer a Thai perogative and it has spread globaly, at least amongst the priviledged.

It hasn't reached the tipping point yet.....if it ever will.

Red Bull (Austrian branch) is no doubt unhappy about the negative publicity regarding the "Red Bull heir" but they must be one of the most promoted products in the world. They sponsor every sport imaginable, so the publicity scales are in their favour. Ferrari likewise is a little embarrassed with the high-profile crashes in Asia but will laugh all the way to the bank.

but if it does reach that tipping point there will be repercussions for the family. All his sponsors stood by Lance Armstrong until the evidence was in, then they acted to distance themselves quickly. Human nature to do so, and good business practice also.

I fear that neither this thread nor the story will end well....

OP, why on earth would you let everyone see what a miserable waste of skin you are?

Sad to hear. It brings back fond memories of the true entertainment he and Sellers provided....

So many years ago!

I love hi-tech solutions!!

TuneIn Radio app (for Android also) is great but you have to have unlimited (maybe not?) data plan.

Edit: I guess it's not a solution unless the Mitsu head unit has bluetooth already...

Sony and Alpine have so-so tuners?

It seems the squid boats all switched to green lights this year. Before, they used white lights. I have a great sea-view and have been seeing them for years now.

Green lights are prettier!

Good news/bad news..

Bad news, sounds like the GF is a goner. You're working too hard...

Ever seen the T-shirt with "No matter how beautiful she is, somebody is tired of putting up with her s_it!" ?

Good news, you're well placed for an easy replacement! Just start doing all the things you wanted her to do. You'll meet some fine women for sure.

Sub...

Needlessly provocative.

Better to stick to the Bikes in Thailand forum. We're all biking brothers there.... But we still fight with each other.

Bottom line is, Humans have to strive to be nice, because most aren't.

Civil wars are the nastiest. Neighbor against neighbor, brother against brother. Doesn't seem to take much to strip away the veneer of civilization.