Sydebolle

In closing, the LCC "Thai Vietjet Air" operated upto four flights between BKK Bangkok-Suvannaphoum and UTH Udon Thani; most of them with a load factor of more than 90% while Thai Airways and its associates were all parked solidly on the ground during the height of Covid. Their year-end closing 2021 comments were, as per Thai Vietjet Air, a black Zero which I find a remarkable result and proof of professional management and staff trying all to get through. All the while Thai's decision of self-grounding by their board seem to have gone pretty unnoticed - while the only savings was the kerosene they did not use ???? But it seems that selling retired airline seats can flush in 55 billion Baht (if my memory serves me right) during the last year. Not flying pays!

Another interesting graphic interpretation of how Thai Airways is run ..........

Given Thai Airways "understanding" of network is shown on its official route map (Paris, Rom and Madrid spring to mind) and the inflight service, well, ........ must be "Weight Watchers Delight". Their customer service is not reachable by phone and visiting the counter reveals "out of order". Does the addition of three B777 with first class configuration bring back all those millions of passengers, who - like I - just had it and will fly anything but Thai Airways? Seriously doubt it.

By all accounts, Thai Airways is bankrupt with something like 10+ billion USD (ten billion American Dollars) in the red. Before breaking the news, they "privatized" the airline. Over the last 30 years, ever since the forced retirement of previous chairman Chatichai Bunya-ananta and the rest of real aviation professionals like Captain Yothin, Nils Lumholdt etc. the airline flew only downwards. An interesting comparison, I overheard was, that Thai Airways is like a 7/11 without cashier on the way out = everybody can help themselves. Well, something has to feed no less than 43 Vice Presidents ........ You find defunct aircraft littered all over Thailand, be it stored in U-tapao or other provincial airports or a decorative element at the Terminal 21 in Pattaya (B737) or Chic Chic Nong Khai (B747), along Sukhaphiban Road (B747) etc. etc. The rest of most of the fleet is in Mojave - parked indefinitely and not gone but definitely forgotten! How does a lessor ensure, that the leased B777, state-of-the-air, less than one week in Thailand with its paint still wet, will see the agreed leasing fees? It is proven beyond any doubt that the successive boards of this airline over the last decades had everything in mind except running a professional and profitable airline

Indeed, so any non-Vientiane-bound traffic will be facilitated as further down the Mekong there are existing (mostly empty) border crossings in Nakhon Phanom/Thakhek, Mukdahan/Savannakhet and Chongmek/Vang Tau linking Ubol Ratchathanee with Pakse (albeit the bridge is 40kms east of the border). From Udon Thani to Northeastern Laos (and ultimately Northwestern Vietnam) will just have become more accessible with this additional bridge.

So, if my calculation is correct, then entire Thailand will have been infected in two months. Given the already administered 100+ million vaccinations, 2nd vaccinations and boosters agogo there is no reason whatsoever to do anything after 1 June ......... Just saying ..........

30 million - benefitting who? Songkran fun fund?

Well, good luck to everybody living next to a doggie loving neighbour who has his canine not under control. I had a neighbor whose dogs barked 24/7. Moved away to the disappointment of the landlord .....

There is indeed an Australian funded bridge, opened 28 years ago as Vientiane's lifeline to capitalism. Trucks, private vehicles and four daily train services are keeping the bridge busy but not overloaded. . What kills it is the sheer endless (Thai) paperwork, running for photocopies, carbon paper et al ... This - endless - paper avalanche required to cross the border which results in totally unnecessary queues. The enclosed photograph shows the papers I need to LEAVE Thailand, there is no Lao document shown here. The Thais require: - original blue car registration in your name - or power of attorney by car owner with: - copy of car owner's ID card, both sides - copy of car owner's blue house registration - international transport permit (called car passport) - information of conveyance (entire car details*), issued in duplicate - crew list (entire car details* plus driver details) - passenger list (entire car details* plus passenger details) - TM6 (arrival/departure card) - your passport and in case you are a permanent resident of Thailand like me: - certificate of residence booklet - blue house registration - brown/red police book * entire car details are registration plate, chassis number and engine number Upon clearing immigration you need to get a temporary export permit by the customs (duplicate as well) and then only you can leave Thailand. Upon arrival at the other end (Lao side) it requires only a Lao arrival/departure card, your passport; they will issue a temporary import permit for the vehicle (laissez passer issued by them) and you're clear to go - five minutes and you're through. The Thai paperwork issuance, checking and rechecking is what kills the time and is a total nuisance to border crossers. In closing; as a very frequent border crosser I have all forms completed - I only need to add the date and the signature - and provide photocopied full sets of documents. I know which booth and where, what fees are to be paid (having correct change handy). Despite all this, it takes me at least still half an hour to get through the curtain of governmental inefficiency on the Thai side! There are always a few newbies who get drowned in all those forms, papers, copies and what-have-yous! So, for me, travelling to Northeastern Laos, the new bridge will be a definite advantage as there will be simply fewer vehicles by more (documents) experienced driver ????

" the previous 36 kms will be extended to 64 kms to ease traffic in the holidays." In other words, the country's biggest parking lot, i.e. the highways of Thailand over Songkran, just has been made bigger - good on you folks!

Looking forward to this bridge; living in Nong Khai it will make a trip to the cooler highland of the Plain of Jars much easier ????

Thainess?

Once fish sauce and jasmine rice are covered we might see extensions into toothpaste and toothpicks. Ring me once it reaches toilet paper, will you please?

"Some 50% of the entire police force will be directly employed in Songkran related activities." So, what are those 50% doing during the rest of the year, i.e. from Songkran to Songkran? They do not have to fight prostitution, as latter is forbidden by law anyhow and hence does not exist. In the unlikely case it would exist, where would some of the gifted boys in brown get "serviced", if services are halted during Songkran? Questions over questions - very confusing indeed!

Upon planting, do please not forget to add some common sense into the fertilizer and use less arrogance and semi-divineness ???? Whenever I asked a doctor for some details on what (s)he said, more than once I was asked back if I would query their competence. A few of the elder guard are seriously arrogant pr1cks; how can I understand if I do not ask.

I stand corrected as I omitted to state that "France vaccinated all those French citizen who wanted here in Thailand". Usually the French are not know for their organizing talent but French citizen all over Thailand had countless points-of-call (like Bangkok-Udon Hospital). Their Embassy did more than a sterling job. To the contrary, the ever-so-over-important Swiss Ambassadoress offered "quite a bit later on" vaccinations in ONE downtown Bangkok hospital from 8am to noon - which was impossible to reach from North/Northeastern Thailand due to the prevailing curfew at the time. Needless to say that the Helvetic diplomats got vaccinated by a flown-in team of vaccinators who brought along the stuff. But the shoulder rubbing with sweetie pie Anutin was steamrollered all over the social media. Tip to the hat for the French ????

Let me get the popcorn, it is private lesson show again. "The school director was worried about face saving and keeping the matter hushed up while the teacher has denied everything." The girl of course expected Father Christmas or Easterbunny to show up for some "rian piset" (extra studies) and wonder over wonder is surprised. The girl will pass, the school will not be named, the teacher has to fork over brown manila envelopes and in less than a week nobody remembers anything. I've been reading such news for almost 40 years working and living in Thailand; meanwhile the next generation of horny teachers with saucy ideas are roaming the halls of the divine educational institutes of Khon Thai. Explains possibly, why after 15 years of education, the kiddies still no absolutely nothing!

"The area .........has roadworks and is not for the unwary, they said." Is there a Thai word for "unwary" - me wonders? The translation gizmos refer to "inattentive, reckless, careless, incautious, lightweight or raunchy". There you go!

An interesting fact might be, that France vaccinated all those who wanted here in Thailand with free-of-charge "Johnson" vaccinations, which - as they claimed back last year - would not require a booster and hence one vaccination would suffice. Just saying ..........

Get a test prior to departure as then at least you can prove, that you were negative on departure. This can result in a second testing in Bangkok and chances are, that you are not positive. At the moment it takes one positive passenger to put, technically, the entire passenger load at risk. And, as proven in the past, the first test was positive, the second test negative - so much to tests! I suggested to my friends to stay away from Thailand until Anutin and the boys are either out or more reasonable. Entire continents are without masks, alcohol jelly and the works and here they still run around in transparent garbage bag uniforms treating you like a descendant from out space - maybe that explains, why they call us "dirty farang" or "alien".

21st century - unbelievable. I wonder, why the death sentence is not reintroduced for such culprits. You cannot heal or treat such sick brains and the society's interest have to be preserved. If anyone would have touched my children or now my grand children, I can promise you, that they would never survive. There is no justification for this and all those tree huggers and do-gooders will have to understand, that the society comes first - me thinks!

Speed boat owner Tanupat Lerttaweewit and boat’s helmsman Paibul Trikanchananan; are they from Myanmar? Just asking for a friend on Koh Tao island ????

Well, always a matter of how you look at things. The government claims "subsidy from the Oil Fund which had kept the retail price below its cost." I personally would assume that the government collected less taxes on gas so there is no subsidy but the whole thing - as many other things - go onto the account of the taxpayer. You're welcome!

Don't worry, Rahu is there to fight the nasty, nasty virus on behalf of Anutin and his team of experts. So, flock all to those events with Rahus, Ganeshas and God-only-know-what-else. Either the follower of all these spiritual faiths will disappear on a self-destruction programme or the spirits fought successfully. Either way is OK with me, as long as you leave me in peace with this stuff ????

If caught with booze or a water gun - shoot on sight!