THE WEEK THAT WAS The Thai roads are full of surprises - not all of them bad! Rooster returns to Bangkok from Loei

[webfact]

 

OPINION | by Rooster

 

Your favorite columnist had set off to Loei in the early hours of Sunday morning two weeks ago smiling broadly from ear to ear.

 

Yes, I was concerned about the potential dangers of a 600 km road trip in Thailand but I had just read the comments of keyboard warriors on my previous column.

 

Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me, as my mother used to say.

 

I was called every name under the sun for expressing a preference for Bangkok over the sticks and others wanted me arrested for mild comments about a certain family on the other side of the world. How kind of you.

 

 

I continued my policy of not wearing my moderator's hat but your names have been noted. Thank you to the many posters who enjoyed the column even if they didn’t agree with every word. I missed writing last week’s column as I had some drying paint that needed watching.

 

There was so little news.

 

It was just after 5 am when I set off north in the trusty Civic that has many scrapes due to my appalling parking skills. My wife and children continued their slumbers, wisely I didn’t.

 

We reached Loei at about 1pm. It was easier than normal as there were few nutters on the roads and I could actually see ahead after changing my wiper blades for the first time in 14 years.

 

The last bit of 20 KM was a bit tricky - there are still horrendous potholes in the country roads even though many repairs have been made in the area of our house in Pha Khao district. 

 

The mood at the house that Rooster built was great. A guy from Philadelphia who has teamed up with my sister-in-law had helped build and stock a restaurant and convenience store out front. The house was clean and tidy for a change.

 

 

The food all week was delicious and the children were told to pay for their snacks, it wasn’t a free hit!

Uncle C as he is affectionately known had already been at the house for three weeks but conspiratorially we decided to get out of Dodge on Friday as too long away from Bangkok is not good for anyone. 

 

We had a day trip to the Erawan cave but mostly the rain dictated our week. There was a lot of it and the temperature was lovely and cool making night times on a new bed bought by Mrs R a real pleasure. 

 

I’ve never put in air-conditioning. I’ll do that if I ever suffer brain fog and decide to move there full time. 

 

Much of the province looked utterly beautiful and so green.

 

Mostly we watched the NFL highlights and I played my part in researching the history of American Football, getting to grips with the basic rules and insisted on calling my favorite sport “soccer” in Uncle C’s company. I promised to buy a Packers shirt in Chatuchak when I got back to the land of the living. 

 

C was clearly pleased, and perhaps a little surprised that I like Americans so much. The comments from Brits on the last column, by comparison, were clear evidence that my faith in our friends across the pond was not misplaced. 

 

I never used the term “septic tank” even once.

 

Daily bedtime was at 8pm and nobody seemed to mind that Rooster got up at 9 am. I was on holiday after all.

 

But I was full of trepidation about our return to Bangkok. I was leaving the car with the missus and putting my faith in a van driver to get me from door to door for 700 baht.

 

 

I have never been in a van on the roads, usually making the return trip in a large bus from Puay Deng or Sibunruang. 

 

Clambering aboard the van that arrived on time I was astonished at how slow the driver and his co-driver were going. I put that down to the potholes.

 

I expected them to speed up and terrify us on the main roads. They didn’t.

 

They drove sensibly all the way to Bangkok. I nearly asked them to speed up but thought better of it….

 

Returning to Bangkok at 3.30 am was a relief but the trip had been a good one. The atmosphere at the house was great and everyone was industrious for a change, reveling in the new business. 

 

And a friend of a friend managed to supply me with a small brick for 200 baht that was not used for construction. 

 

 

Prior to June 9th when weed was legalised I would never have smoked at the house. This time was different.

 

The same reason had also made Pattaya much more tolerable in my visit in September. There must have been 15-20 marijuana shops on a short Beach Road walk not to mention the vendors with rolled joints and cheap bricks.

 

 

Well done Thailand and long may it continue despite the efforts of Thai curmudgeons and foreign ASEAN NOW dinosaurs who want to spoil other people’s legitimate fun with their absurd objections.

 

My advice: Download Refer Madness, get some popcorn and leave us civilized, law abiding people alone.  

 

Safe roads and heaps of weed, whoever would have believed that was my take on a pleasant week among the smiling and friendly locals in our village. I’m glad you enjoyed my “roll-ups”, a skill developed when I used to roll my own Drum fags on the Sutton Advertiser news desk in the 1980s. 

 

Back in Bangkok it was time to translate again for ASEAN NOW and many stories featured those deadly roads and the mayhem and death. 

 

 

The worst was perhaps two pick-ups racing on the Bang Na - Chonburi elevated road. They were enjoying themselves before they hit a six-wheel truck putting in road markings. One dead and four injured.

 

Every day my editor who picks stories from the Thai media for my deliberations said there was nothing but flood stories.

 

Very true. But one that caught my eye was the reintroduction of chain gangs putting out sandbags in Chaeng Wattana. Good to see the lads back after the pandemic. Justice minister Somsak said there were plenty more where that came from.

 

Prior to the legalization of weed there were about 320,000 in Thai jails. That has been stripped by about 80,000 thanks to the changes in the law that freed weed and kratom inmates. 

 

The last week has seen the emergency decree come to an end and restrictions on tourists entering Thailand scrapped. People in Bangkok are slowly - and I mean slowly - ditching the masks. 

 

They have become so ingrained and many Thais are doing a Hyacinth Bucket by keeping up appearances while wearing them.

 

Time to stop that unless you’re worried about your health or are ill. I tested the waters with my first unmasked trip to Big C.

 

No one batted an eyelid even if I was the only one in the store going without!

 

 

Hopefully now when my children return to school at the beginning of next month they can be maskless too. I have felt very sorry - and sometimes rather angry - on their behalf for the last two years.

 

Kids need to see people’s faces and mouth movements and need to feel emboldened to speak up. Masks are like shackles. Even the chain gangs were not wearing them. 

 

We all need to put the pandemic behind us. To wit, I was delighted with the lady who smiled at me and said hello in the street as Rooster and family were heading for the dentist, a treat for Mrs R’s 45th birthday.

 

What a common occurrence that kind of friendliness in the street used to be. It needs to come back - there is far too much residual angst and distrust. Let’s start smiling at each other again - Thais and foreigners - and put the S back in the LOS.

 

We set an example following mask mandates in the pandemic, now set an example by NOT wearing one. 

 

Several surveys by organisations you’ve never heard of put Bangkok in the top five or Thailand in the top three of countries in the world. The moaners on ASEAN NOW reacted like soi dogs thrown a bone. 

 

 

They rarely come up with a viable holiday or retirement alternative that it is possible to take remotely seriously. You have to wonder why they live in Thailand, or maybe they don’t and are just jealous. 

 

Some tourists in Samui were really enjoying themselves at a luxury resort comparing Thailand to Amsterdam for obvious reasons. A glass of wine in one hand and a spliff in the other. 

 

Posters on AN had earlier suggested that it was only backpackers who enjoyed weed. The well-heeled would go elsewhere, they claimed.

 

 

News Alert: Many wealthy people love a smoke and many have been toking their entire lives and are 60 or 70 or even older. What a great thing to be able to do on holiday. 

 

Expect Thailand to be #1 as a result in future surveys and the TAT to bite the bullet and promote the country as a weed haven. Why not! It’ll infuriate the hell out of Thailand’s neighbors and maybe, just maybe, bring about some change there too.

 

Put that in your pipe and smoke it boring Malaysia and police state Singapore. 

 

Now change the archaic 2pm to 5 pm drinks ban. 

 

In international news the war in Ukraine rumbled on - it’s the yawn of the year - though at least it replaced the British Royals after nearly two weeks of press groveling. 

 

I liked the story about the great Norwegian chess champion Magnus Carlsen who is claiming widespread cheating by an American teen called Hans Niemann who beat him after a meteoric rise through the rankings. 

 

I am glad I don’t have to write the stories. Years ago Rooster exposed several Scrabble cheats in the UK and Thailand. It took a heavy toll on friendships in my gaming communities. I was only doing my job as a journalist but some doubted my motives. 

 

 

Mr Carlsen has little evidence of over- the-board mischief but Mr Niemann has already admitted to online cheating. 

 

Rooster has declined multiple invitations to compete in online Scrabble contests for money. The organisers claim they have eliminated cheating. Nonsense, cheaters will always find a way and I want none of it. 

 

 

Virgin announced that they were finally stopping Heathrow to Hong Kong flights after 30 years with the closure of their office there. They blamed the war.

 

Meanwhile the Hong Kong authorities are planning to give away 500,000 air tickets to inbound and outbound travellers to boost the Covid hit travel industry following the easing of some pandemic era restrictions. 

 

If they’d like to send me a ticket I might put my flight shaming on hold. I love Hong Kong so long as I can find a couch-surfer to put me up and put up with me.

 

On Thursday one of Thailand's worst ever shooting rampages shocked the entire world. Thirty eight people including 24 young children died as a former police sergeant opened fire and stabbed victims before killing his family and himself in Nong Bua Lamphu.

 

 

With my own children just a few kilometers over the border in Loei it's hard to process the tragedy that took place at a nursery where the little ones should have felt safe. I called my family immediately I heard the news as I wanted to see their faces. Mrs Rooster said that a local official in our village came round to tell them to close the restaurant and take cover in the house as they couldn't be sure where the shooter was headed.
 
While events of this nature are comparatively rare in Thailand, gun ownership and the appalling actions of the police as well as the prevalence of meth have all contributed. And so has a loss of face brought about by the sacking of the sergeant. 

 

Further details have emerged of a man who took drugs in high school yet got a job with the RTP. During his time with the force there was a litany of bad behavior including drug taking (and buying from another ex-cop), drunken rampages and the shooting of a dog that the force kept quiet.

 

This went on for years. RTP chief Gen Damrongsak Kittipraphat has many questions to answer about his force that is widely seen in Thailand as little more than a mafia organization.

 

My heart goes out to the grieving parents.

 

Finally Uncle Too was out wading through the depths as the sycophantic Thai press treated him like a celebrity born with a silver spoon in his mouth. 

 

 

He looks set to continue in office for the time being.

 

Thank goodness there’s a dispensary selling herbs just around the corner. 

 

His face is infinitely more tolerable when viewed through a thick cloud of smoke. 

 

Rooster

 

-- © Copyright  ASEAN NOW 2022-10-08

 

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[MyFriend You]

Aaaah, my Friday's are saved.  Thanx for the positive post, and the obvious brushoff of the haters, they aill always be there, lurking in the shadows.   As for "Prior to the legalization of weed there were about 320,000 in Thai jails. That has been stripped by about 80,000 thanks to the changes in the law that freed weed and kratom inmates". 

Looks like Pres Biden took a page from Thailands book and signed an Executive Order pardoning all Federal convictions for 'possession' of marijuana.  That looks great on the surface, but more than 60% of convictions are at the State level, the Feds don't prosecute many for mere possession..........they hunt the producers, importers and heavy weight sellers.   As they say  "We shall see says the Blind Man".   Enjoy your return to Bangkok      Peace

[bobbin]

a Paen to Pot..

 

Well done.

 

Got my vote brother  ????

[Lacessit]

 

"In international news the war in Ukraine rumbled on - it’s the yawn of the year"

 

Sorry Rooster, the fate of Ukraine is the fate of us all if tyrants are given a free pass.

When you wended your way back to Bangkok Bouillon in a van, perhaps you did not notice the price of gasoline.

[Nicholas Paul KNIGHT]

A man who supposedly speaks to many many farangs advocating NO MASK wearing contary to advice from the Thai Government. Congratulations about being a man who puts others at risk due to your attitude`. 

But asa you are American I can understand your stance, One level below intelligent !!

[sambum]

"Let’s start smiling at each other again - Thais and foreigners - and put the S back in the LOS."

 

The first time I returned to the UK after a 6 months "sabbatical" in Thailand, I landed at  Heathrow, and was walking along the platform in Euston Station to get my train "Oop North" to my then hometown, when I caught the eye of someone walking towards me, so I smiled and nodded as was customary here at the time. "Who you "f*****g lookin' at?" was my reward for acting like a  "Thai"!

 

I could only assume that he was heartbroken after putting his girlfriend on the train to go home to look after her sick mum, but I stopped the practice in the UK after that experience!

[sambum]

Just now, sambum said:

"Let’s start smiling at each other again - Thais and foreigners - and put the S back in the LOS."

 

The first time I returned to the UK after a 6 months "sabbatical" in Thailand, I landed at  Heathrow, and was walking along the platform in Euston Station to get my train "Oop North" to my then hometown, when I caught the eye of someone walking towards me, so I smiled and nodded as was customary here at the time. "Who you "f*****g lookin' at?" was my reward for acting like a  "Thai"!

 

I could only assume that he was heartbroken after putting his girlfriend on the train to go home to look after her sick mum, but I stopped the practice in the UK after that experience!

 

[scorecard]

1 hour ago, Lacessit said:

 

"In international news the war in Ukraine rumbled on - it’s the yawn of the year"

 

Sorry Rooster, the fate of Ukraine is the fate of us all if tyrants are given a free pass.

When you wended your way back to Bangkok Bouillon in a van, perhaps you did not notice the price of gasoline.

The Ukraine war is way more than a yawn with thousands killed because a nasty despot wants to take their land and their lives, with torture, to get it. Have some respect.

[Liverpool Lou]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

Prior to June 9th when weed was legalised I would never have smoked at the house. This time was different.

Recreational smoking of the stuff has not been legalised.

[Liverpool Lou]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

one that caught my eye was the reintroduction of chain gangs putting out sandbags in Chaeng Wattana.

There have been no "chain gangs" working in Bangkok, chain gangs are forced labourers, none of the prisoners are forced to do that work, they are all volunteers.

[Moonlover]

1 hour ago, Nicholas Paul KNIGHT said:

A man who supposedly speaks to many many farangs advocating NO MASK wearing contary to advice from the Thai Government. Congratulations about being a man who puts others at risk due to your attitude`. 

But asa you are American I can understand your stance, One level below intelligent !!

The Rooster is NOT American, he's as English as a Cumberland sausage.

And please explain how a healthy individual going around mask free is putting 'others at risk'.

 

I'm up right there with you Rooster, get rid of those damn masks NOW!

[Archie Baker]

Sticks and stones won't break my bones but a big sharp knife and a hand gun will end children's life and your own if your crazy.  

[bobbin]

1 hour ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Recreational smoking of the stuff has not been legalised.

Keep telling yourself that Lou, while shutting your eyes to the reality all around you..

 

"It's possible to ignore reality..

It's not possible to ignore the consequences of ignoring reality"

[bobbin]

1 hour ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Recreational smoking of the stuff has not been legalised.

8.8 thousand posts in a little over 18 months..

 

Guess you've got a lot to say.. but given that statistic, I'd wager not much of it is worth listening to..

[GreasyFingers]

8 hours ago, webfact said:

I never used the term “septic tank” even once.

As you are a man of the world I ask your opinion as to the origin of that term. It is common in OZ but am not sure if it is a cockney term that we have adopted. American outlaws are coming next month and am not sure if I can refrain from using it, unlike you.

Previous experience tells me that it will not go down well if used.

[Liverpool Lou]

41 minutes ago, bobbin said:

8.8 thousand posts in a little over 18 months..

 

Guess you've got a lot to say.. but given that statistic, I'd wager not much of it is worth listening to..

You're monitoring my posts?   Jesus.   Says a lot about you.  

[Liverpool Lou]

49 minutes ago, bobbin said:

2 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Recreational smoking of the stuff has not been legalised.

Keep telling yourself that Lou, while shutting your eyes to the reality all around you..

 

"It's possible to ignore reality..

It's not possible to ignore the consequences of ignoring reality"

Seriously, you think that recreational cannabis smoking has been legalised?   

 

You're best sticking to monitoring the number of posts I make, perhaps you can count better than you can read and comprehend news articles.

[roo860]

2 hours ago, Moonlover said:

The Rooster is NOT American, he's as English as a Cumberland sausage.

And please explain how a healthy individual going around mask free is putting 'others at risk'.

 

I'm up right there with you Rooster, get rid of those damn masks NOW!

He's a Southern Softy.

????????

[jamesfreeman]

2 hours ago, Moonlover said:

The Rooster is NOT American, he's as English as a Cumberland sausage.

And please explain how a healthy individual going around mask free is putting 'others at risk'.

 

I'm up right there with you Rooster, get rid of those damn masks NOW!

 

[chickenslegs]

10 hours ago, webfact said:

I nearly asked them to speed up but thought better of it….

That reminded me ...

Years ago someone posted a story here about him and a mate taking a motocycle taxi each from one side of Pattaya to the other. As they set off his mate shouted "1,000 baht to the one who gets there first". You can imagine the rest.

I laughed until my stomach ached, and still have a giggle whenever I think about it now.

[stoner]

another jaggoff post. snooze.

 

10 hours ago, webfact said:

comments of keyboard warriors on my previous column.

the pen is mightier than the sword and all that. 

[Tropicalevo]

Sorry Rooster.

No like emoji from me any more.

How can there be a voting system without a sad emoji.

Enjoyed the article but I have stopped voting.

Quote

Father accidentally runs tractor over 2-year-old daughter, killing her, in Chonburi

And we can only vote like, thumbs up, love it, thanks and ha-ha?  ☹️

Sick.

[HappyinNE]

A vacation suggestion is a game and bird watching Safari in Tanzania.  Went for the second time 10 years ago and looking at going back.  Been to a lot of places on six continents (missed Australia) and this is the best.   

[DD86]

This horse wants fresh grass in the mouth, not words fed to it like being my 'favorite columnist'.

[DezLez]

3 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Seriously, you think that recreational cannabis smoking has been legalised?   

 

You're best sticking to monitoring the number of posts I make, perhaps you can count better than you can read and comprehend news articles.

Bring back the sad/confused button please!!

[Tropicalevo]

2 hours ago, HappyinNE said:

A vacation suggestion is a game and bird watching Safari in Tanzania.  Went for the second time 10 years ago and looking at going back.  Been to a lot of places on six continents (missed Australia) and this is the best.   

Yes - Tanzania was brilliant. Ngorogoro crater - nothing like it anywhere.

I cannot see Rooster and Mrs R enjoying that one though.

[scorecard]

7 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

There have been no "chain gangs" working in Bangkok, chain gangs are forced labourers, none of the prisoners are forced to do that work, they are all volunteers.

And, if the same as in many previous years they get some remission on their sentence and they are not that far from their release date.

 

Also, the only prisioners allowed to join this activity are those who are totally trusted to not run away, they realize that would be stupid.

 

And they are not chained together - they are not a chain gang. 

[still kicking]

2 hours ago, DezLez said:

Bring back the sad/confused button please!!

Yes

[473geo]

Following the trepidation last week, a pleasant outcome regarding the visit ????

 

Makes better reading ????

 

Agree regarding the smiles, happy mine has returned and visible ????????

[Stargeezr]

Thanks for another news update Rooster. I am just happy to be living in a country that is not at war.

  You still need to be vaxxed to get into the USA, unless you want to quarantine on arrival.  Canada finally dropped 

that requirement on Oct 1st.  I am glad to see a more relaxed soft drug situation in Thailand. Tourists still have to make sure that their suitcases 

and travel on bags are drug free when they head back home in most cases. I hope that Bangkok does not have too many more floods before

the end of wet season. The last time I went north in Thailand, I flew from Bangkok to the NE, and spent a few days in Nong Khai

looking for an old Canadian friend. It was a friendly place and people were friendly, plus food was great.

  Those pot holes in the one picture reminds me of a road to the west of Udon Thani. Thanks for the memories.

That was a horrible event in NE Thailand and I feel sorry for all the parents who lost their tiny children to the ex RTP member.

  I just hope that we will see an end to the war in Ukraine, without it becoming nuclear.  As boring to the rest of us, this

invasion of Ukraine from Russia is, I do hope the war will end soon.