webfact Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 Thai FM plans first foreign trip 'alphabetically' BANGKOK, September 2, 2011 (AFP) - Thailand's new foreign minister unveiled plans for his first overseas visits on Friday and said he had decided to arrange the tour schedule in alphabetical order. Surapong Tovichakchaikul, whose appointment last month attracted criticism in Thailand because of his lack of high level experience, said he will travel to Brunei first on September 11. The regional tour will encompass the nine other countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc. "I will start with Brunei as it is first alphabetically, but Indonesia will come second because it's currently chairman of ASEAN," he told reporters at Government House in Bangkok. The alphabetical order will then resume with a trip to Cambodia, on September 14, and then Laos. He said he would visit all other ASEAN nations -- Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam -- within September without giving exact dates for each country. Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who took power last month after an overwhelming win in the July 3 election, has not yet revealed her travel schedule. Her fledgling government has already drawn fire over a recent visit to Japan by her brother, former leader Thaksin Shinawatra, who lives abroad to avoid a jail term for corruption. Thailand's opposition says the country's new leadership illegally helped Thaksin obtain a visa for the trip. Thaksin, who was ousted in a 2006 coup, addressed international media and visited areas devastated by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami during the tour, which was seen as an attempt to return to the world stage. -- (c) Copyright AFP 2011-09-02 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beano2274 Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 Wow he knows the Alphabet Thai style!!! Would have thought the priority would have been Indonesia (paying respects to the Chair of ASEAN), then Cambodia (cause of past problems), then the rest in any order. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Who, me ? Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 What a clown.... ! OK, guess who will show up in Cambodia on 14 September? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lannarebirth Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 He flipped a coin on whether or not he should see a fortune teller about his itinerary. The fortune teller said pick an alphabet of a language you do not speak and proceed in alphabetical order, until you get to the second trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buchholz Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 Wow he knows the Alphabet his translator probably helped... talked about his use of a translator with foreign ambassadors. http://www.siamdailynews.com/politics-news/2011/08/26/foreign-minister-vows-to-work-hard-2/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonto21 Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 (edited) Mind boggling, an in-site into high level political thinking. With such a 'face-saving' conscious country that Thailand is thatt hey would arrange, what is a new governments relation building exercise to what is nothing more than a 'roll of the dice'………..What I find incredible is not only how they came to the visit order……………..But telling everyone how they did it! Edited September 2, 2011 by Tonto21 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gl555 Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 I wonder how long and how many people he needed to come up with such a brilliant idea! Our tax paying dollars working hard for us! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kraplung Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 You can't even satirise some Thai politicians........ they do it so well themselves! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insight Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 Ace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weary Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 Seems rather obvious he was making a joke about Brunei because he is reluctant to reveal the real reason for going there, which is likely to be business related. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orac Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 I bet Obama is kicking himself that he didn't think of this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hanuman1 Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 Seems rather obvious he was making a joke about Brunei because he is reluctant to reveal the real reason for going there, which is likely to be business related. That could be true, or maybe - as the diplomatic face of Thailand abroad - he was trying to show regional neighbors that by selecting his destinations in a seemingly arbitrary way he's not picking any out as favorites, which may be beneficial when coming to negotiate with them over some issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kraplung Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 Seems rather obvious he was making a joke about Brunei because he is reluctant to reveal the real reason for going there, which is likely to be business related. Maybe he was thinking in terms of what followed B...... C for Cambodia, D for Dubai etc.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h90 Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 And what is with Austria, Albania, Australia, Argentina? Will he ever visit Zimbabwe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skywalker69 Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 Seems rather obvious he was making a joke about Brunei because he is reluctant to reveal the real reason for going there, which is likely to be business related. Maybe he was thinking in terms of what followed B...... C for Cambodia, D for Dubai etc.. H....for Hell, hope he goes there too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanxangBillybob Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 Seems rather obvious he was making a joke about Brunei because he is reluctant to reveal the real reason for going there, which is likely to be business related. That could be true, or maybe - as the diplomatic face of Thailand abroad - he was trying to show regional neighbors that by selecting his destinations in a seemingly arbitrary way he's not picking any out as favorites, which may be beneficial when coming to negotiate with them over some issues. nice observation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonewolf99 Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 And what is with Austria, Albania, Australia, Argentina? Will he ever visit Zimbabwe? Be careful now......Thais get Australia and Austria mixed up and when it comes to saying Iceland , Island and Ireland..........well .........is Scotland near England...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OzMick Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 Seems rather obvious he was making a joke about Brunei because he is reluctant to reveal the real reason for going there, which is likely to be business related. That could be true, or maybe - as the diplomatic face of Thailand abroad - he was trying to show regional neighbors that by selecting his destinations in a seemingly arbitrary way he's not picking any out as favorites, which may be beneficial when coming to negotiate with them over some issues. Brunei, Indonesia, Cambodia......... Seems more like he was making excuses for priorities he didn't want to mention. Why not Indonesia first given it's stated reason for elevation to 2nd? Vietnam may have appreciated reverse alphabetical order for change.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pib Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 When in doubt or just don't know what to do, just go in the ABC order, flip a coin, throw a dart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 Oh come now...be nice and give Mr. Surapong some credit. While he might be the only ASEAN foreign minister who cannot speak English, he does know his ABCs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SICHONSTEVE Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 I wonder how long and how many people he needed to come up with such a brilliant idea! Our tax paying dollars working hard for us! "Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who took power last month after an overwhelming win in the July 3 election, has not yet revealed her travel schedule". May I suggest those countries with the largest 'estimated' dog populations first, then the greatest number of chickens, pigs third, goats fourth and so on until the number of chosen animal populations equals the number of countries to be visited. It shouldn't be "incredible India" but "incredible Thailand" as this country is much more deserving of such a label to sum it up!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beano2274 Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 I wonder how long and how many people he needed to come up with such a brilliant idea! Our tax paying dollars working hard for us! "Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who took power last month after an overwhelming win in the July 3 election, has not yet revealed her travel schedule". May I suggest those countries with the largest 'estimated' dog populations first, then the greatest number of chickens, pigs third, goats fourth and so on until the number of chosen animal populations equals the number of countries to be visited. It shouldn't be "incredible India" but "incredible Thailand" as this country is much more deserving of such a label to sum it up!!! If she is gonna do it then alphabetically please!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexakap Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 And what is with Austria, Albania, Australia, Argentina? Will he ever visit Zimbabwe? The first ones in the alphabet are Afganistan, Albania, Algeria, American Samoa...Angola...Antarctica.......LOL Brunei is 32nd. Prior to that, He must be visited Botswana, Benin, Bangladesh etcetcetc...... And I am paying my taxes for THIS. Ha-ha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beano2274 Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 Probably does not know where half of them are, as geography is not a big subject in Thailand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misterwhisper Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 What a clown.... ! OK, guess who will show up in Cambodia on 14 September? Mr. T? I think you might be right. And it will be an absolute coincidence, of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QED Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 And what is with Austria, Albania, Australia, Argentina? Will he ever visit Zimbabwe? The first ones in the alphabet are Afganistan, Albania, Algeria, American Samoa...Angola...Antarctica.......LOL Brunei is 32nd. Prior to that, He must be visited Botswana, Benin, Bangladesh etcetcetc...... And I am paying my taxes for THIS. Ha-ha. Sorry, when did Afghanistan or Albania join ASEAN? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h90 Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 And what is with Austria, Albania, Australia, Argentina? Will he ever visit Zimbabwe? The first ones in the alphabet are Afganistan, Albania, Algeria, American Samoa...Angola...Antarctica.......LOL Brunei is 32nd. Prior to that, He must be visited Botswana, Benin, Bangladesh etcetcetc...... And I am paying my taxes for THIS. Ha-ha. please someone tell him that the government of Antarctica is expecting him :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h90 Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 And what is with Austria, Albania, Australia, Argentina? Will he ever visit Zimbabwe? Be careful now......Thais get Australia and Austria mixed up and when it comes to saying Iceland , Island and Ireland..........well .........is Scotland near England...? With Austria I always hope that someone famous ring a bell: Mozart, Salzburg, Strauss, Hitler, Schwarzenegger....Some know Schwarzenegger. But many know all the soccer player of Austria and I think we didn't win one game since Wordwar 1. "Ireland, Iceland, yes yes many nice Islands Koh Samui beautiful......" I usually pretend to neither speak English nor Thai....makes life easier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hyperdimension Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 It might be evidence of his lack of geography knowledge, which is ironic for anyone in a position of Foreign Minister. He couldn't be bothered to check the locations of the cities in order to plan an optimal route so that time and costs could be saved. It also shows that he doesn't care about saving the money that comes from tax payers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToffeEFCpower Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 So which oxford scholar did he commission to formulate his travel plans lol. There is one positive in using his alphabetical plan. By the time it becomes the UK's turn to entertain this wrong-un, he and his govt will be dead and buried. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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