Fourth Of July Celebration Comments

[beinaj]

I just spent 350B times 2 or 700B to go to the VFW Fourth of July celebration. In return, I received two small bottles of warm drinking water. We stood in the food line in the shade for more than one hour. Then someone decided to open four lines instead of one and separate some items of the buffet into each line. Duh.......that isn't what a buffet is. At a buffet, you get to choose from ALL the food. Plus these new lines were all in the 4:30 p.m. sunshine. We endured for another thirty minutes and finally left.....unfed.

I think these fellows mean well and I hope the proceeds--there should be huge profits--go to a worthy charity. I won't be going again. That's for certain.

[millwall_fan]

I know I'm not an American and therefore have less right to comment on 4th July celebrations than a weasel but I took Mrs Millwall_fan and Junior Lion up to Chang Peuak park, paid 700Baht. (junior got in free) only 1 ancient VFW guy was taking the money so it took 15 minutes to pay and clear security. We were then confronted with a queue of over an hour just as beinaj describes. I was amazed that so many Americans stood there in the hot sun without complaining. Anyway, there was no way I was queuing for over an hour with a 2 year old so we went in search of the much advertised childrens entertainment. Well most of the stations we abandoned. There was a VERY small bouncy castle that failed to impress the son and heir, there was crazy golf game for older children, but there appeared to be very little for kids to do of any substance. I spoke to a few other people who were equally disgruntled. Anyway not wanting to make a fuss at a function organised in honour of another country we went to buy a drink. Thus emerged one of the few postive aspects of theday. the Samual Adams Boston Beer certainly disproved the notion that the Americans can only brew insipid lager. Full marks for beer!! The 15 minute queue to buy it was a bit of a downer though. We then retreated back into town disappointed.

All I can say is that the VFW guy who came to my pub and left a poster to put up (which I did) scribbled a note on the back saying 'Brits Welcome!' which I took as an invitation, I therefore feel some right to comment. I hope you Yanks all had a good independence day, but I'm afraid on the strength of todays performance I think you should consider revoking your independence and coming back into the fold of the Motherland!!

[whiterussian]

Happy Independence Day Yanks!

May you regain your independence once more!

[nattydread]

i turned up around 3pm to be confronted by an ID card check and an airport like security scanner and plastic trays in which to deposit my valuables in to be pawed over by some thai security guard,who were they expecting? Osama Bin Laden and a pickup full of taliban?......after negotiating the homeland security measures and then being told that the queue for the food meant a minimum one hour standing wait in the blistering sun i had a quick look around the field and decided that i had no intention of spending the afternoon here and made for the gate..being a khee nee o Brit i confronted the guy who had taken my money and told him i was extremly disappointed at what i had paid 700 baht for (2 people) and would like a refund.........he duly obliged and off we went to an airconditioned restaurant with a seat near the window and spent the 700 baht on a very nice meal...........if they plan on doing this event next year then a lot more thought and organisation needs to go into the planning,then maybe i will give it another try

[richard10365]

I thought it was a great party. I enjoyed it very much. The security was not bad. I was happy with having a safe place for the party. The food was great! There were long lines. 2000+ people tend to have that effect. I didn't wait that long to eat because I got there on time. It was an awesome celebration. I had a great day and can't wait for next years 4th of July celebration!!!

[NancyL]

I'm tempted to start a new topic thread on this. I loved the 4th of July party, but come on guys, you JUST DON'T GET IT! WE WOMEN (AND YOUR YOUNG CHILDREN) NEED WESTERN STYLE TOILET FACILITES!

I was assured in an email that there would be western toilet facilites and dressed accordingly. Last year there was a trailer with a few stalls of Thai toilets and about 3 inches of water on the floor. I saw young mothers trying to instruct their children in how to use the toilet and others trying to convince them to use the toilet, knowing they'd have to handle the crisis latter with children who refused to use the toilets. YOU GUYS JUST DON'T GET IT!

This year it was the same trailer facilities -- big improvement was two trailers instead of one. That did lower the water level on the floor, but guys, image having to lower your pants in a place where there's several inches of water around your feet. There, maybe YOU'LL GET IT!!!

I know that western-style portapotties are available here. They finally brought 'em into the Royal Flora Expo in 2006 after enough complaints. Maybe that's what will happen with this event.

Yeah, there were problems with the food line, but something tells me the guys will get that sorted out for next year. I hope everyone enjoyed the door prizes. We couldn't stay that long because I had to pee.

[eek]

I have to admit I had expected more. I'll be totally honest and say the only reason i went along was to get some Dr.Peppers. But after I paid my 350 baht and waited in the blistering sun I was told they were sold out (4pm-ish i think). But..luckily i spotted a guy pulling out a couple of Dr.Peppers that seemed to be lurking in the bottom of one ice bunker thing (they were refilling)..and managed to bag em both. Apparently they had sold out quite a few hours ago, so i was lucky! I gave waiting in the queue for food a miss (not that i could eat any of it anyway being veggie, but even if i could, waiting in a queue that length in that heat ..no way). Im surprised no thought was given to shelter for people queuing. Shelter from heat..and of course possible rain. Not a lot seemed to be happening tbh.

So..my friend and i got our drinks and headed to the back of the venue in the hope that we could talk..but..even right at the back it was almost impossible to hear each other as the speakers were so loud. So we finished our drinks and left shortly after.

[beinaj]

i turned up around 3pm to be confronted by an ID card check and an airport like security scanner and plastic trays in which to deposit my valuables in to be pawed over by some thai security guard,who were they expecting? Osama Bin Laden and a pickup full of taliban?......after negotiating the homeland security measures and then being told that the queue for the food meant a minimum one hour standing wait in the blistering sun i had a quick look around the field and decided that i had no intention of spending the afternoon here and made for the gate..being a khee nee o Brit i confronted the guy who had taken my money and told him i was extremly disappointed at what i had paid 700 baht for (2 people) and would like a refund.........he duly obliged and off we went to an airconditioned restaurant with a seat near the window and spent the 700 baht on a very nice meal...........if they plan on doing this event next year then a lot more thought and organisation needs to go into the planning,then maybe i will give it another try

Wish I had thought of asking for a refund! I ended up spending another 700B on dinner elsewhere......yes, a nice air-conditioned restaurant with icy cold beverages. As for the toilet situation, I remember the facilities at a previous Fourth of July held at the Embassy and they were bad too. So little progress in that area.........Just thinking about the effects rain would have had on the gathering is mind boggling...and it could easily have happened.

[Mestizo]

Ugh. Here goes the anti-sanook, whine about everything ThaiVisa brigade again. Whine about everything from Songkran, heat, rain, to christmas dinner at Dukes, Tuskers, *insert other venue here*. There is just absolutely no pleasing some of you.

ID Checks and Security:

All the advertising clearly stated that proper ID was going to be required. That it was actually checked should not come as a surprise. As far as security goes, as it turns out the US is currently engaged in 2 simultaneous WARS. Large gatherings of Americans are targets for acts of terrorism. Sadly this is a fact of life that requires proper security precautions be taken. Not sure why this comes to any surprise to some. More sadly, if an incident of terrorism had taken place, the exact same people whining about security would be the same ones whining about why was there not more security in place.

Food:

Yes, this was less than ideal. In defense of Dukes, from what I understand, security was late in arriving, which caused Dukes to be more than an hour late setting up. This of course had a trickle down effect that led to the large queue forming from the get-go. The 3 separate lines for different food was an audible called to try and get the queues reduced down to acceptable levels. But of course with this TV crowd, there is no winning.

With that said, I do prefer the setup the 2 previous years. Cheaper ticket prices and multiple food vendors to purchase food from. This seemed to work much better, provided a bigger variety of food, and meant much smaller queues. I hope they revert to this setup next year.

Beverages:

Fantastic! Greatly enjoyed the Dr. Pepper, Mt Dew, Bud Light, Coors Light and Sam Adams they imported in. I had approximately 16 various beverages thru out the day (from about 2:30 PM until post fireworks). Not one single time did I stand in a queue for more than 3 minutes. 15 minutes to buy a beer? I highly recommend you take your wrist watch in for a much needed adjustment.

Western Style Toilets:

Umm... This is Thailand! Do you demand western style toilets everywhere you go, or do you just not leave your house? I found the toilet facilities to be very clean and pleasant. Much higher quality than you would probably find in the majority of Thailand as a whole. If you are a long term resident of Thailand, I highly recommend that you and your children learn how to adapt and deal with your environment.

Children's Activities:

I observe loads of children having fun and playing. Saw tons of children playing tug-of-war, frisbee, soccer, etc and generally having a lot of fun amongst themselves. Maybe your 'i hate everything' anti-social behavior has been passed already been passed along to your child?

People not going next year:

Thanks for doing us all a favor! We are greatly looking forward to NOT seeing you next year. I'm sure that most of you will still find something else to sit at home and duly complain about though. Noise? Traffic? I'm sure you'll come up with something.

As for me, the food was delicious, the beverages was fantastic, the conversations were great, and the music was quite enjoyable. I greatly appreciate all the effort the organizers went through to put this together. And I am already looking forward to next years party, which will be my fourth July 4 party in Chiang Mai.

-Mestizo

[amexpat]

What on this earth could possibly offend the sensibilities of a man who can drink Bud Lite?

[twofortheroad]

Although Mestizo seems to have had a good day, the 'Nays' still have it so far. I wasn't there but I did hear about the very long queues for food, which sounded like a reasonable complaint from a reasonable guy. He did get a refund but he was still disappointed at the apparent bad organisation. To dissmiss it as 'no winning with the TV crowd' is a bit myopic I think. Since these people paid then I think they should be entitled to air their grievances and if the event was as succesful as you imply, the 'Yes' votes should be coming soon.

To digress, if it's allowed, I found Beinaj's "Somewhat Off Topic"comments in the Closed posting truly amazing. Apparently, 2 questions about 4th July in a topic titled "Independence Day 4th of July", were off topic. That's a classic. Nothing personal, but I hope you don't get the job.

Edited July 4, 2010 by twofortheroad

[grin]

My wife, daughter, and I arrived at 3 PM to first wait in a line for security for about half an hour and then in line for food for a little over an hour, mostly in the sun. When we got to the front of the line they made the announcement about having separate lines for for each station.

As we were at the front of the original line we ended up being at the front of the line for cole slaw and potato salad. We tried to go over to the barbeque station to get food but people were shouting at us to go to the back of the line which already had hundreds of people in it.

We were pretty tired by then so we each got a hotdog to go with our potato salad and and went to find a table quite far away. We were told that there was free water. My wife went looking for it and could not find any. I couldn't see any signs for free water so I waited in line for 15 more minutes to buy 3 Cokes for 40 baht each.

I went back to our table and and discovered that the two hotdogs that my wife and daughter had were not fully cooked, still ice cold in the center and barely cooked on the outside. My hotdog was cooked well so my wife and daughter split it. None of us felt like waiting in line again so we sat there for a few minutes trying to decide what to do.

My wife and daughter needed to use the toilets so they left and came back after a while. My wife said that we had to leave then because they did not feel comfortable using the toilets that were supplied. No details were given. If it had just been me alone I might have stayed and got in line again to get some food.

My wife and daughter were quite excited about coming and talked about it all week. They spent hours just dressing up for the event. I could see the disappointment in their faces when we left but they did not complain at all. I certainly cannot think of any way to entice them try again next year although I assume that things will be better organized in the future.

We paid 950 Baht (300 x 2 + 350) for tickets as I wasn't aware that our daughter wanted to come when I bought the first two. I can see paying 20 Baht for Cokes at events but 40 Baht is pretty high. I don't think Cokes are that expensive even inside the departure lounge at the airport.

All in all we got one hotdog, some potato salad and 3 cokes for 1070 Baht. I asked for a refund on the way out and people kept referring me to someone else. My wife started getting anxious at this point as she was afraid something might happen which would embarrass her so we left without getting a refund. This was pretty much a day wasted.

[twofortheroad]

Ugh.  Here goes the anti-sanook, whine about everything ThaiVisa brigade again.   Whine about everything from Songkran, heat, rain, to christmas dinner at Dukes, Tuskers, *insert other venue here*.    There is just absolutely no pleasing some of you.

Beverages:

Fantastic!   Greatly enjoyed the Dr. Pepper, Mt Dew, Bud Light, Coors Light and Sam Adams they imported in.  I had approximately 16 various beverages thru out the day (from about 2:30 PM until post fireworks).   Not one single time did I stand in a queue for more than 3 minutes.  15 minutes to buy a beer?  I highly recommend you take your wrist watch in for a much needed adjustment.

If I had 16 various beverages, I would probably think that everything was Fantastic too. Well done.

[Mestizo]

If I had 16 various beverages, I would probably think that everything was Fantastic too. Well done.

Insinuating that my enjoyment of today's festivities is solely the result of alcohol consumption is "a bit myopic I think".

-Mestizo

[twofortheroad]

If I had 16 various beverages, I would probably think that everything was Fantastic too. Well done.

Insinuating that my enjoyment of today's festivities is solely the result of alcohol consumption is "a bit myopic I think".

-Mestizo

Insinuate! Me?

Come on be fair, it does appear that your view of today's events are in stark contrast to all of the other views, most of them from quite moderate members and one of them from a Welshman!

I'm not saying it was solely the result of alcohol consumption but .... let's just say it may have helped.

Besides, I don't think my statement was myopic - a little bit presumptious maybe?

Edited July 4, 2010 by twofortheroad

[Mestizo]

Come on be fair, it does appear that your view of today's events are in stark contrast to all of the other views, most of them from quite moderate members and one of them from a Welshman!

I'm not saying it was solely the result of alcohol consumption but .... let's just say it may have helped.  

Besides, I don't think my statement was myopic - a little bit presumptious maybe?

All?? I encourage you to reread this thread more closely, especially Post #7

Presumably that poster must of have intoxicated as well, huh?

Granted, most of the comments on this thread will invariably be negative. That is just the extremely unfortunate nature of the Chiang Mai TV forum. Most of the posters here are miserable old creatures that chose to spend their last remaining days complaining about everything under the sun as they await their day in the crematorium.

Hope your day comes soon.

Cheers,

-Mestizo

[Ulysses G.]

Most of the posters here are miserable old creatures that chose to spend their last remaining days complaining about everything under the sun as they await their day in the crematorium.

Hope your day comes soon.

Touche'!

Edited July 4, 2010 by Ulysses G.

[whatsupdoc]

I do seem to remember that the comments about the 4th of July celebration of last year were mostly positive...... Sounds a bit too easy to say that the posters on the Chiang Mai TV forum only complain.

[Ulysses G.]

I did not go this year, but, to be fair, there were just as many complaints last year. It just sounds like a typical, large 4th of July party to me. It is never easy to satisfy 2,000 people who are outside with primitive toilets in the hot sun. 

[slapout]

I went to the event to see if it would be a success or a circle jerk, as I had forecast the latter. Had a few beers at 80 baht a pop, come on guys, I know its low season but and this is a one day/year event, all drink prices seemed a tad over the top. I enjoyed visiting and the women folk at our table had the ability to bring 4 plates of food after a long wait in line. Food that was sampled was good, but as some not available at time of getting to food table, choice limited.

The 1000 tickets sold, announced on TV, was a red flag, with a single caterer being used. With the number expected it did not take a rocket scientist to anticipate the the buffet line wait. one minute/person, repeat trips, indecisive people, etc would indicate the need for 3 complete buffet tables with patrons making choice from both sides, thus 6 lines of people. There I made my suggestion for improvement which was apparent before the fact, but not acted on, for reasons known only by those directly involved. I do think the 'pitch till you win' food offer was a great idea and probably brought a lot of people to the event. Making the food available in timely manner, to those who paid for it would probably eliminate most of the complaints.

A hungry person is by nature somewhat cranky, add heat, long wait for beer, poor toilet facilities for the better half, the organizers should say thank you for the positive comments.

[beinaj]

Although Mestizo seems to have had a good day, the 'Nays' still have it so far. I wasn't there but I did hear about the very long queues for food, which sounded like a reasonable complaint from a reasonable guy. He did get a refund but he was still disappointed at the apparent bad organisation. To dissmiss it as 'no winning with the TV crowd' is a bit myopic I think. Since these people paid then I think they should be entitled to air their grievances and if the event was as succesful as you imply, the 'Yes' votes should be coming soon.

To digress, if it's allowed, I found Beinaj's "Somewhat Off Topic"comments in the Closed posting truly amazing. Apparently, 2 questions about 4th July in a topic titled "Independence Day 4th of July", were off topic. That's a classic. Nothing personal, but I hope you don't get the job.

The thread was intended for comments were/are about various experiences at an event. Your tidbit had nothing to do with the event but, instead, was a diversion into semantics......

Not a "truly amazing" comment; I was just trying to stick to the subject at hand rather than go off on a tangent.....

Edited July 5, 2010 by beinaj

[Gonzo the Face]

But other than that Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play ????

......typical.... typical..... typical

no one ever wants to talk about the really important things .....

HOW WERE THE RIBS GUYS ?????

[richard10365]

But other than that Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play ????

......typical.... typical..... typical

no one ever wants to talk about the really important things .....

HOW WERE THE RIBS GUYS ?????

The ribs were awesome! The food was sooooooo good. As far as foreign events in Chiang Mai go, there is no comparison. This was an awesome event!

I would love to see the Brits or other Europeans try to come up with an event of this magnitude. They argue and complain so much that their event would never get out of the meeting room.

The gaunlet is thrown. Put your money where your mouth is. Feel free to come up with an event outside of the country you come from and do it better than the American's have done. I highly doubt any other foreign country could not even come close to doing as well as the American's did in this event. Except maybe Australians probably could do it.

But please, feel free to try! I will go to your event and I will be a bit more gracious in my criticism of your event than some people have been here.

[daoyai]

Arrived about 4:30, tickets and security, no problems. Wife got in food line, I got in beer line. Beer line took about 20 minutes so I bought 2 to drink in the food line while waiting with the wife. The line seemed to move very slowly. We were right in front of the speakers when the gentleman sang the national anthem, I had to explain to my wife that this was not an American tradition, traditonally the person selected to sing this very challenging song can actually SING! Pure torture.

After about an hour (good move buying the 2 redhook beers) arrived at bbq. table where we informed we could have one rib each as they were affraid of running out. So we got a rib, a piece of chicken and some strange burger thing. Want some salad, get in another long line, no thanks, got another beer very quickly and found a table. The rib was good, the chicken tasted as if it were marinated in brine, sooo salty, could not eat it., saw many others had left theirs on their plates also.

Wife noticed the big American style hot dogs and asked me to get one for her....ok back in line, not so bad this time, maybe 15 min. wait, I am thinking an Italian sausage for me too.... when I got to the grill, they were just putting on more sausages so, "my suk" (um why wait until all are gone before cooking more?) Ok delivered the hot dog to wife. Back in another line for a "quesadilla" and some salad, Werent quessadillas afterall but some kind of strange taco like thing. Got some salads, cole slaw and potatoe.

The cole slaw was good.

This took most of the afternoon, but since there didn't seem to be anything else to do there, that was ok. Next was the prize drawing (very interesting to wife) not lucky. The winner of the big prize, trip to L.A. was Thai, hope she can get a visa!

Another Red hook Ale, the highlight of the day was hearing the Dudeism pope Oilylama ply the Star Spangeled Banner on the (ode to Hendrix) electric guitar, well done though could have used some more feedback and screech. Then a brief but impressive fireworks display.

I am glad I went, I won't need to go next year also I learned that if that is a fair representation of the "Dukes" cooking I won't need to go there either. No regrets.

[tjeffrutherford]

Pointing out gross incompetence and stupidity -- if not outright venality, who knows? -- isn't just people bitching. One shouldn't accept waiting in interminable lines after paying good money. It was kind of funny watching the sheep in queue, but like Mestizo, I felt it made better sense to head to the beer tent (3-minute wait, vs. an hour for food!) to try to anesthetize myself against the stupidity. Unlike Mestizo, I didn't have the tenacity to slog down a dozen or so beers and obliterate the harsh reality of the place. The missus was hard at work getting our money back -- without even needing a direct order from Mr. Grumpy!

But the thing that seems to be lacking from this thread is the question of reckoning. Who is responsible for this, and how do we know that they'll never be given such responsibility again?

[rodcourt49]

I thought it was a great party. I enjoyed it very much. The security was not bad. I was happy with having a safe place for the party. The food was great! There were long lines. 2000+ people tend to have that effect. I didn't wait that long to eat because I got there on time. It was an awesome celebration. I had a great day and can't wait for next years 4th of July celebration!!!

..I thought it was a great celebration/get together. One has to look at the overall picture..what with the world's security being the main issue, I'm proud to see the organisers went ahead and held this function..so what if you had to go through a scanner, part of life these days. The venue was well chosen and laid out with attention to security, safety, fire tender, First Aid and Police. Sure it was hot and the lines incredibly long for a chance to sample traditional tasty American food and beverages..perhaps opening two or even a third tent just to dispense the food would have been better. The announcer was efficient and entertaining, the bands too, the prizes, the families having fun, the passing catwalk of models..it was all a good time. I met up with old acquaintances and made new ones. I'm sorry for those who are constantly fault-finding and happy they left early. Children's activities were well provided for..what were you expecting Disneyland! Children need to have the opportunity to make their own fun, not be organized constantly..give them a bit of rope and a ball and it happened, didn't it! I hope to attend next year. Thanks Vinny and the Committee Members for a good time.

[cardinalblue]

I will throw my two cents in...

First of all, can't really control the weather so it is up to the customers to bring sun blick, hats, shades, umbrellas to cover up. People complain about the sun? It ciould have been raining and it could have been much hotter as it was four weeks ago...

security...considering the world today, no complaints there. sure it always take some time but I actually found security practices quite lax and didn't even check ID photos...need to check when you say it is required...

Food....definately the biggest downer..not the quality nor the quanity (both were fine) but the lack of how to distribute food/berverages at a large event. This wasn't thought through and quite surprising assuming that there were americans on the planning committee? Planning, organizing cordinating, etc are such american strengths. The thai staff wasn't trained to what americans' level of expectastions so again the fault of the planning committee. I didn't see anyone in clear authority when the line problem raised its ugly head and became compounded when whoever (the MC?) said make 3/4 lines. People who were near the beginning of the line and getting food got screwed by this mad rush of a vertical line now competing with horizontal lines. It was an ambush and to think VFWs would allow this to happen? Obviously, not the cognitive skills they demonstrated when they were active. Lets get some Intel on that committee.

Public Restrooms...learned as a kid do whatever NOT to use at large sporting events. Developed into an expert in bladder control...

Free water was a nice touch...I guess trying to make up for those 40B soda drinks?

Funny was when the MC told us to stand for the SSB but then had # of speakers so most ended sitting down again or seeing their frustrating faces on what to do. Might wish to find a talented young voice from one of the many international schools to sing the SSB for future outings...

CB

[NancyL]

Overall, I liked the event and will return next year. The food, when we finally got it, was fantastic. The cold beer was great. Where else around here am I going to get an ice-cold can of Coors Lite? It was nice to chat with friends and meet some new people. We will probably return next year.

I think that most of the comments here are "constructive" comments about situations that could be corrected before the next event and the people making those comments are posting in that light -- not whining for the sake of whining.

About my pet topic -- the toilets. Yes, I know we're in Thailand and when I go places where I expect Thai toilets, I dress and pack accordingly. Wear a skirt with pockets, put tissue in the pockets, have hand sanitizer and moist wipes in my purse. I wore slacks and didn't pack the hygenic gear because I'd been assured there would be western toilets. Hubby reports there was no water in the sink on the men's side of the trailer and guys were using a garden hose to wash their hands. I didn't see any place for diaper changing. So some people are probably going to become ill after that fine meal because of the toilet and hand washing situation.

Some of my older women friends don't go to events with Thai toilets because they have hip and knee joint problems. So, they didn't go last year. I assured them that the problem had been solved so they came this year. They weren't able to stay long and probably won't believe anything I say in the future.

Yes, I know this is Thailand and some people think I "should get used" to Thai toilets. The Thai women of my age don't like 'em any better than we do. At places when you have a multiple stalls with a choice of both western and Thai toilets (malls, markets, trains), the Thai ladies will wait for a western one to be available just like I would.

[BookSanook]

Thanks to the VFW and the Consulate and all the volunteers. We'll be going back next year, and we will not expect (or want) a Walt Disney production then, either.  Just an enjoyable, hot afternoon to celebrate the great American holiday.  It was great fun for the kids. <BR>

[prism]

I agree with the others hear that having only one caterer and only one serving setup for food was a terrible idea. Otherwise the event was pretty good. The kids really like the play facilities and the miniature golf set. The Chiang Mia stadium made for a nice venue to hold this event.

My suggestions for next year:

Lower the admission charge and have several choices that sell food; how about, Bake and Bite, Miquels, Mikes, Butter is Better along with Dukes?

Outdoor misting fans for the queues.

More servers for the beverage bars.

Western toilets with changing facilities.

More booths representing businesses and other entities that serve the expat community.

Two metal detectors instead of one at the entrance.

Just my two cents worth.

Edited July 5, 2010 by prism