The album is here.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Chinese New Year Festival in Sukhothai
One of the things that surprised me on my Sukhothai trip was that they were still celebrating the Chinese New Year. On Sunday, after returning from a sunrise photography excursion, I saw that there was a parade in the streets near my hotel. Although I was very tired and ready to go to bed, I spent an hour or so taking some pictures.
The album is here.
The album is here.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Sukhothai - Part 1
Yesterday I returned from a three day trip to Sukhothai. Sukhothai was the home of the first Thai kingdom and was the seat of Thai power during the 13th and 14th centuries. Located between Bangkok to the south and Chiang Mai to the north, Sukhothai attracts tourists to visit the ruins of this early Thai kingdom. The reason that I visited Sukhothai was to photograph some of those ruins.
It is very clear as you land at the Sukhothai airport that you are in a place much different than Bangkok. The airports themselves stand in stark contrast. Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport is a crowded and hectic modern airport. When there are no protestors interfering with its operation, Suvarnabhumi has flights to all parts of the globe. Its shops offer luxury goods from all parts of the planet. It’s the kind of airport that one would find in a major city throughout the world.
Sukhothai Airport is much more humble than its larger sibling in Bangkok. It offers only a handful of flights each day, and all of those are to Bangkok and operated by Bangkok Airways. Cows graze and chickens peck just a stone’s throw from Sukhothai’s one runway. After disembarking, passengers board a small tram and are driven two minutes to a “terminal” unlike any this author has ever seen. The terminal is a large wooden open air structure with twenty foot ceilings. The terminal feels more like a luxury resort lobby than an airport terminal. The typical airport rows of metal and plastic seating are not found, instead waiting passengers sit on ornate wooden benches. There are no long walks to a gate. The distance from the airport entrance to where you board the tram is no more than twenty meters.
Another difference in airports is that there is not a line of taxis waiting to zip you to your hotel. In addition to the vans from the various hotels, Bangkok Airways operates a shuttle that will take you to a number of destinations. I spoke with the agent and told her my hotel. She asked me twice if I had already made the reservation. After I confirmed that I had a reservation for the Sukhothai Resort, she showed me its location on the map. The hotel was actually close to the airport, and about thirty minutes away from new Sukhothai and almost an hour from the ancient ruins. I was not really very happy to hear this, so I asked her for some suggestions. She named a few, and I decided to try the Sukhothai Orchid, located in new Sukhothai. Even though I would be charged for a night’s stay at my original booking, it was much more convenient and actually cheaper to change. The cost of transportation to and from my destinations would quickly overcome the eighteen dollar penalty.
The shuttle ride to new Sukhothai was about six dollars (180 baht). My room in the Sukhothai Orchid cost about eighteen dollars a night, including breakfast. The room was clean but spartan. It did have air conditioning, although the bed was hardly soft and there were only two electric outlets in the room; the one for the television and the one for the mini-refrigerator. I ended up unplugging both at different times to charge things like my iTouch, portable DVD player and camera battery.
I’ll write about the rest of my first day in the next entry.
It is very clear as you land at the Sukhothai airport that you are in a place much different than Bangkok. The airports themselves stand in stark contrast. Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport is a crowded and hectic modern airport. When there are no protestors interfering with its operation, Suvarnabhumi has flights to all parts of the globe. Its shops offer luxury goods from all parts of the planet. It’s the kind of airport that one would find in a major city throughout the world.
Sukhothai Airport is much more humble than its larger sibling in Bangkok. It offers only a handful of flights each day, and all of those are to Bangkok and operated by Bangkok Airways. Cows graze and chickens peck just a stone’s throw from Sukhothai’s one runway. After disembarking, passengers board a small tram and are driven two minutes to a “terminal” unlike any this author has ever seen. The terminal is a large wooden open air structure with twenty foot ceilings. The terminal feels more like a luxury resort lobby than an airport terminal. The typical airport rows of metal and plastic seating are not found, instead waiting passengers sit on ornate wooden benches. There are no long walks to a gate. The distance from the airport entrance to where you board the tram is no more than twenty meters.
Another difference in airports is that there is not a line of taxis waiting to zip you to your hotel. In addition to the vans from the various hotels, Bangkok Airways operates a shuttle that will take you to a number of destinations. I spoke with the agent and told her my hotel. She asked me twice if I had already made the reservation. After I confirmed that I had a reservation for the Sukhothai Resort, she showed me its location on the map. The hotel was actually close to the airport, and about thirty minutes away from new Sukhothai and almost an hour from the ancient ruins. I was not really very happy to hear this, so I asked her for some suggestions. She named a few, and I decided to try the Sukhothai Orchid, located in new Sukhothai. Even though I would be charged for a night’s stay at my original booking, it was much more convenient and actually cheaper to change. The cost of transportation to and from my destinations would quickly overcome the eighteen dollar penalty.
The shuttle ride to new Sukhothai was about six dollars (180 baht). My room in the Sukhothai Orchid cost about eighteen dollars a night, including breakfast. The room was clean but spartan. It did have air conditioning, although the bed was hardly soft and there were only two electric outlets in the room; the one for the television and the one for the mini-refrigerator. I ended up unplugging both at different times to charge things like my iTouch, portable DVD player and camera battery.
I’ll write about the rest of my first day in the next entry.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Sukhothai
I will be posting a few blog entries and a number of pictures about my trip. Here is a picture that I thought turned out fairly well.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Five Little Ducks
This evening at dinner, Aleena started singing Five Little Ducks. After she got ready for bed, I convinced her to sing for the video camera.
Campout Cancellation
Next weekend the entire family was going on a cub scout campout for two nights. I received a call this afternoon that the campout was cancelled.
It seems that a lot of people who have visited the camp have returned home ill. The scouts decided that a bunch of vomitting scouts was probably not the best idea.
All is not lost however. They are arranging a one night trip closer to Nichada. It won't be quite the same, but under the circumstances, they are handling it well.
It seems that a lot of people who have visited the camp have returned home ill. The scouts decided that a bunch of vomitting scouts was probably not the best idea.
All is not lost however. They are arranging a one night trip closer to Nichada. It won't be quite the same, but under the circumstances, they are handling it well.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Field Trip
Today I was a chaperon on Jacob's field trip to the Red Cross Snake farm. There were four parent volunteers. Interestingly, two of the other parents were also involved in cub scouts. Megan is now the pack meeting and training coordinator. Last year she was the assistant den leader for Jacob's den. Greg also chaperoned and is currently Jacob's assistant den leader.
Ms. Rodgers split the class into groups of four students. My group included Jacob, Tobi, Ploy and Prong; two boys and two girls.
The bus ride to the snake farm was about an hour long. Megan and I chatted to pass along the time. I haven't really made much of an effort to make a lot of friends here in Thailand, but Megan is one of the people I consider a friend.
When we arrived at the museum, the kids had a snack and then attended a presentation by the head of the snake farm. He brought out half a dozen or so varieties of snakes, and was a wealth of information about the scaly creatures. The only downside was that it was somewhat difficult to understand him with his Thai accent.
My favorite part was when he explained to the third graders that the male snakes have two sex organs. He turned to me and asked me why. A few answers popped into my head, "for double the pleasure", "cuz there are two lady snakes for every boy snake", "snakes like to party all night long and they don't make snake Viagra". Of course none of these answers were appropriate for a third grade audience, so I just shrugged. The snake expert explained that since snakes didn't have hands to help them hold on, they had a sex organ on each side so that they could copulate on whichever side was easiest. One of the mothers was laughing hysterically at his explanation. That or she was thinking of the same answers that I did.
After the presentation, we explored the two floors of the snake museum. The kids had twenty or so questions that they had to record in a little booklet that Ms. Rodgers had made. A few highlights include the number of rows of teeth pythons sport (6), the largest poisonous snake (king cobra), the eye color of an albino python (red) among others.
The kids then watched a presentation where they milked the snakes for venom to make anti-venom serum. Around this time, a group of female Thai students swarmed the place. There were probably half-a-hundred, and they all moved together. It made things a bit crowded, and there was just enough room for the kids to watch the milking. I walked off to the side and played suduko on my iTouch for fifteen minutes.
After the milking show, we ate lunch. I packed some fake-crab sushi, and the kids had sandwiches and a brownie. We took a few pictures together, and then got on the bus and returned home.
The kids seemed to have a lot of fun. Well, Prong said that she didn't like snakes at least ten times, but I suspect that she still enjoyed herself. Ms. Rogers sent out an email saying that this was the best field trip ever. I'm not sure if that was just flattery, but I do think it was a really good blend of learning and fun.
I had fun as well. Before we got on the bus, I told the kids the story about the two boys hiking in the woods. One gets bit by a snake in the behind, and the other runs back to town for help. The doctor tells the boy that he has to go and suck the poison out of his friends wound or he'd die. When the boy returns, his snake-bit friend asks what the doctor said. "He said you are going to die." Jacob and his friends thought it was funny.
This is part of what I enjoy though, getting to go on the trips with the kids. Jacob really likes it when I go. I know I had better enjoy it, because in a few years, I'll be less fun.
Rain Today
Today something happened that I cannot remember happening for the last three months. This afternoon at 2:45 it poured down rain for about thirty minutes.
The timing was a bit off, as Nalin was about to return to school for dance class. I couldn't very well send her off on her bike in the pouring rain, so I dropped her off. While I was out, I decided to stop by the Nichada office to see if my parking stickers were ready.
Every year Nichada requires residents to get new parking stickers for our vehicles. In mid-December, I dutifully went to the Nichada office and filled out the forms. They issue temporary resident passes at that time, and then the official ones are ready in four to six weeks. I'm really not sure why it is a two step process, but if I had to guess, I would say that they copied someone else's process. That seems to explain a lot here. Someone copies a process from someone else, without really customizing it to their business. So the originator may have had a specific reason to do steps 1-5, and while the copy-cat might only need steps 2 and 3, they instead copy all the steps.
Of course, there was a problem even with the temporary stickers. We have two different kind of stickers. The sticker for the van allows access to the back gate near the expressway. The sticker for the Mercedes does not permit the back gate access, however, my Nichada Club membership does. I just bring my badge with me when I drive and need to access the back gate. When the clerk handed me the temporary stickers back in December, he gave the Mercedes access to the back gate instead of the van. This was after I had explained which I wanted at least four times during the twenty minutes that I was there. I even put my badge on the application for the van so that he knew that I wanted the van to have the access. Fortunately, before I left I checked the stickers and had him correct them.
So six weeks later, in mid January, I returned to the Nichada offices to pick up my stickers. After ten minutes of looking through some files and computer records, the clerk informed me that she had the record of my application, but could not find my stickers. She told me that she would call me and let me know what happened.
Since my last trip had been three weeks ago, and I had received no phone call, I decided to stop by and check what was happening. The minute that I walked down into the office, the electricity went out in the office. This time, they were able to find the sticker for the Mercedes, but not the van. The clerk could not check the computer records, since the power was out. She told me that she would find out what happened, and send the sticker to my house. I think that is what she said.
In front of me in line today was a very unhappy resident. She was of asian descent, although I knew that she was not Thai as she was speaking English to the clerk. The resident was angry because she could not pick up her sticker. I got the impression that the sticker was ready, but that they were requiring her to fax some additional information to them before they could release it. I'm not sure about all the details.
What I am sure about is that she was upset and doing little to hid it. She did not yell at the clerk, but she was making her displeasure evident, stating that the office had messed up, and that she the customer was suffering because of it. Although it was clear at that point that they were not releasing the sticker, she continued to bitch at the clerk. In short, she handled things exactly the wrong way here in Thailand.
I stood back watching the scene and wondered to myself if I should say something to the customer. Perhaps she did not know that when you lose your cool with a Thai, you will not get what you want. Yelling at or dressing someone down in public is a loss of face for both parties. Cause a Thai to lose face, and the apathy they showed that was so frustrating can transform into an even more infuriating resistance. If you behave like that with "less sophisticated" Thai men, you might get your bell rung for causing the loss of face.
The customer then turned to me, and "they have my sticker right there and won't give it to me. They messed up and now I have to suffer." My first thought was "oh the drama". Yes its frustrating dealing with the Nichada office. It seems as if every time I go there that something is messed up. In the overall scheme of things, its not really that big of a deal. Its certainly not worth losing your cool over.
I smiled and said, "yes, but if you lose your cool, you lose."
The lady retorted, "Sure but if my husband was here, they would give it to him. They will do anything for someone with a white face."
I laughed a bit and said, "that's not true", responding to the latter part of her statement not the former. As some of you may know, my face is white. Well, its considerably tanner than it was when I first arrived, but I'm still confident that no-one would mistake me for one of asian, hispanic or african descent. I know that they certainly mess up my paperwork and have caused me grief on occasion.
I'm not saying that there is not a grain of truth to what she says, but her blanket statement is wrong. There are times when having a white face might help. Other times it is a hindrance. One thing is for sure, having a dour or angry face is never an advantage.
The timing was a bit off, as Nalin was about to return to school for dance class. I couldn't very well send her off on her bike in the pouring rain, so I dropped her off. While I was out, I decided to stop by the Nichada office to see if my parking stickers were ready.
Every year Nichada requires residents to get new parking stickers for our vehicles. In mid-December, I dutifully went to the Nichada office and filled out the forms. They issue temporary resident passes at that time, and then the official ones are ready in four to six weeks. I'm really not sure why it is a two step process, but if I had to guess, I would say that they copied someone else's process. That seems to explain a lot here. Someone copies a process from someone else, without really customizing it to their business. So the originator may have had a specific reason to do steps 1-5, and while the copy-cat might only need steps 2 and 3, they instead copy all the steps.
Of course, there was a problem even with the temporary stickers. We have two different kind of stickers. The sticker for the van allows access to the back gate near the expressway. The sticker for the Mercedes does not permit the back gate access, however, my Nichada Club membership does. I just bring my badge with me when I drive and need to access the back gate. When the clerk handed me the temporary stickers back in December, he gave the Mercedes access to the back gate instead of the van. This was after I had explained which I wanted at least four times during the twenty minutes that I was there. I even put my badge on the application for the van so that he knew that I wanted the van to have the access. Fortunately, before I left I checked the stickers and had him correct them.
So six weeks later, in mid January, I returned to the Nichada offices to pick up my stickers. After ten minutes of looking through some files and computer records, the clerk informed me that she had the record of my application, but could not find my stickers. She told me that she would call me and let me know what happened.
Since my last trip had been three weeks ago, and I had received no phone call, I decided to stop by and check what was happening. The minute that I walked down into the office, the electricity went out in the office. This time, they were able to find the sticker for the Mercedes, but not the van. The clerk could not check the computer records, since the power was out. She told me that she would find out what happened, and send the sticker to my house. I think that is what she said.
In front of me in line today was a very unhappy resident. She was of asian descent, although I knew that she was not Thai as she was speaking English to the clerk. The resident was angry because she could not pick up her sticker. I got the impression that the sticker was ready, but that they were requiring her to fax some additional information to them before they could release it. I'm not sure about all the details.
What I am sure about is that she was upset and doing little to hid it. She did not yell at the clerk, but she was making her displeasure evident, stating that the office had messed up, and that she the customer was suffering because of it. Although it was clear at that point that they were not releasing the sticker, she continued to bitch at the clerk. In short, she handled things exactly the wrong way here in Thailand.
I stood back watching the scene and wondered to myself if I should say something to the customer. Perhaps she did not know that when you lose your cool with a Thai, you will not get what you want. Yelling at or dressing someone down in public is a loss of face for both parties. Cause a Thai to lose face, and the apathy they showed that was so frustrating can transform into an even more infuriating resistance. If you behave like that with "less sophisticated" Thai men, you might get your bell rung for causing the loss of face.
The customer then turned to me, and "they have my sticker right there and won't give it to me. They messed up and now I have to suffer." My first thought was "oh the drama". Yes its frustrating dealing with the Nichada office. It seems as if every time I go there that something is messed up. In the overall scheme of things, its not really that big of a deal. Its certainly not worth losing your cool over.
I smiled and said, "yes, but if you lose your cool, you lose."
The lady retorted, "Sure but if my husband was here, they would give it to him. They will do anything for someone with a white face."
I laughed a bit and said, "that's not true", responding to the latter part of her statement not the former. As some of you may know, my face is white. Well, its considerably tanner than it was when I first arrived, but I'm still confident that no-one would mistake me for one of asian, hispanic or african descent. I know that they certainly mess up my paperwork and have caused me grief on occasion.
I'm not saying that there is not a grain of truth to what she says, but her blanket statement is wrong. There are times when having a white face might help. Other times it is a hindrance. One thing is for sure, having a dour or angry face is never an advantage.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Another Year
As previously blogged, I went to the Thai Immigration office today to "find out" if my visa was approved. As was virtually certain, it was approved.
Once again, the experience was made much easier by Tim's contact in the Immigration Office. It is very easy for someone to spend four or more hours getting visas renewed. Employees and the families of foreign corporations and governments usually bypass this process entirely, as the corporation or government handles everything. For someone like me, having the contact in the office is a blessing.
I arrived by cab at 9:30 a.m. I took a cab since parking is absolutely horrendous. My contact did not arrive until twenty minutes later. She took my passport, and while I waited in her office, went to the correct counter and had my passport stamped. One of the ladies in her office then filled out the application for a multiple entry permit for me. Without this permit, if I left Thailand, my visa would no longer be valid. My contact then took the application and fee, and returned with my completed passport. The entire process took less than forty-five minutes.
I brought a few bags of oranges as a thank you for all of the help. She would have helped regardless, but I wanted to offer some token of my appreciation. On previous trips, I saw applicants carrying bottles of Johnny Walker Black Label, which I am certain were meant as gifts for immigration officials. I've read stories of people applying for visas who are told by the immigration official that it is too much work, or too difficult. This is usually a thinly veiled request for a gift or "tea money". Fortunately, that is not something that I have had to employ.
Once again, the experience was made much easier by Tim's contact in the Immigration Office. It is very easy for someone to spend four or more hours getting visas renewed. Employees and the families of foreign corporations and governments usually bypass this process entirely, as the corporation or government handles everything. For someone like me, having the contact in the office is a blessing.
I arrived by cab at 9:30 a.m. I took a cab since parking is absolutely horrendous. My contact did not arrive until twenty minutes later. She took my passport, and while I waited in her office, went to the correct counter and had my passport stamped. One of the ladies in her office then filled out the application for a multiple entry permit for me. Without this permit, if I left Thailand, my visa would no longer be valid. My contact then took the application and fee, and returned with my completed passport. The entire process took less than forty-five minutes.
I brought a few bags of oranges as a thank you for all of the help. She would have helped regardless, but I wanted to offer some token of my appreciation. On previous trips, I saw applicants carrying bottles of Johnny Walker Black Label, which I am certain were meant as gifts for immigration officials. I've read stories of people applying for visas who are told by the immigration official that it is too much work, or too difficult. This is usually a thinly veiled request for a gift or "tea money". Fortunately, that is not something that I have had to employ.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
A Few Other Political Notables
The Rohingya refugee problem continues to grow. Indonesian officials picked up 198 refugees in a boat who had been adrift at sea for three weeks. The refugees claim that the Thai military had dragged their boats back out to sea, leaving them on their own.
The Thai military has denied any wrong doing, although CNN reported that a source in the military confirmed that the towing had occurred. The Abhist government is calling for a regional solution to the problem.
Perhaps this is a new policy by foreign minister Kasit. He seemed delighted by the airport protests that effectively kept people from entering Thailand. Maybe this is just the next step. If the refugees' allegations turn out to be true, perhaps the foreign minister will declare that it was "fun" and that there was "good sun and good waves".
Other "good" news for the Abhist government includes a controversy over some spoiled canned fish given as part of the relief effort for southern flood victims. Apparently someone with a connection to a high level cabinet member donated some canned goods with spoiled fish. The opposition is trying to blame this on the government. It doesn't really appear that it was the government's fault, or that this will have much of an effect on anything, but it is a distraction.
Thaksin is back in the news. Actually, that last statement implies that he has been out of the news for any amount of time. I'm actually not sure if a day goes by where his name is not in the paper. Thaksin is saying that he wants to get back into politics now, and wants to be PM again.
In order for him to fulfill his desire, something has to change. He is currently banned from politics for four more years, and is facing possible jail time for his conviction on corruption charges.
The Thai military has denied any wrong doing, although CNN reported that a source in the military confirmed that the towing had occurred. The Abhist government is calling for a regional solution to the problem.
Perhaps this is a new policy by foreign minister Kasit. He seemed delighted by the airport protests that effectively kept people from entering Thailand. Maybe this is just the next step. If the refugees' allegations turn out to be true, perhaps the foreign minister will declare that it was "fun" and that there was "good sun and good waves".
Other "good" news for the Abhist government includes a controversy over some spoiled canned fish given as part of the relief effort for southern flood victims. Apparently someone with a connection to a high level cabinet member donated some canned goods with spoiled fish. The opposition is trying to blame this on the government. It doesn't really appear that it was the government's fault, or that this will have much of an effect on anything, but it is a distraction.
Thaksin is back in the news. Actually, that last statement implies that he has been out of the news for any amount of time. I'm actually not sure if a day goes by where his name is not in the paper. Thaksin is saying that he wants to get back into politics now, and wants to be PM again.
In order for him to fulfill his desire, something has to change. He is currently banned from politics for four more years, and is facing possible jail time for his conviction on corruption charges.
UDD Demands
The UDD (the red shirts) are back in the news again, and have issued three demands to the government. They are demanding the removal of foreign minister Kasit, the dissolution of the government followed by new elections, and prosecution of the PAD for their airport occupation.
Two of the demands are actually pretty reasonable. The PAD's occupation of the airport cost Thailand's economy billions of dollars, and its total impact may not be known for a few years. The PAD protesters clearly broke the law and should be punished for it.
The foreign minister Kasit was a supporter of the PAD. He actually said that the airport protests were "a lot of fun" and "[t]he food was excellent, the music was excellent." One has to wonder how he could possibly be an effective foreign minister when he condones lawlessness, particularly when that lawlessness caused hardships on Thailand's foreign visitors. I have yet to hear a story where any tourist described the airport occupation as "fun". This guy is an extremely polarizing figure, and having him in the government says a lot about the current government. PM Abhist talks about wanting to unite Thais, but the inclusion of Kasit undermines the sincerity of his words.
I am not sure that I am in agreement with the UDD demands for new elections. While I think the Democrats ended up in power because it is what the military wanted, Thailand really needs a stable government. New elections might not be in the UDD's best interest anyway. There have been some elections to replace MP's and some local elections, and the current government has done much better than expected. If the government did call for new elections, the UDD might find its allies filling fewer seats in the Thai Parliament.
Two of the demands are actually pretty reasonable. The PAD's occupation of the airport cost Thailand's economy billions of dollars, and its total impact may not be known for a few years. The PAD protesters clearly broke the law and should be punished for it.
The foreign minister Kasit was a supporter of the PAD. He actually said that the airport protests were "a lot of fun" and "[t]he food was excellent, the music was excellent." One has to wonder how he could possibly be an effective foreign minister when he condones lawlessness, particularly when that lawlessness caused hardships on Thailand's foreign visitors. I have yet to hear a story where any tourist described the airport occupation as "fun". This guy is an extremely polarizing figure, and having him in the government says a lot about the current government. PM Abhist talks about wanting to unite Thais, but the inclusion of Kasit undermines the sincerity of his words.
I am not sure that I am in agreement with the UDD demands for new elections. While I think the Democrats ended up in power because it is what the military wanted, Thailand really needs a stable government. New elections might not be in the UDD's best interest anyway. There have been some elections to replace MP's and some local elections, and the current government has done much better than expected. If the government did call for new elections, the UDD might find its allies filling fewer seats in the Thai Parliament.
Field Trip
On Thursday, I am chaperoning Jacob's field trip to the snake farm. There are three or four parents who signed on the escort the eager bunch of third graders. I actually know two of the parents fairly well from cub scouts.
I've been on field trips with Jacob and Nalin before. This one should be fun. His class has two additional field trips planned this year, but I cannot recall the other destinations.
I've been on field trips with Jacob and Nalin before. This one should be fun. His class has two additional field trips planned this year, but I cannot recall the other destinations.
Immigration Again
Tomorrow I go back to the Thai Immigration office to find out if my visa application was approved. This should just be a formality, but I guess one never knows.
I'm actually going by myself this time. Tim's contact told her that neither of us had to go, that we could send someone with my passport to get it stamped. The reason that I am going is that I also have to purchase a multiple entry stamp. If I don't get the stamp, my visa will expire if I leave the country. Since I plan on doing some traveling over the next year, the multiple entry stamp is a must.
I'm actually going by myself this time. Tim's contact told her that neither of us had to go, that we could send someone with my passport to get it stamped. The reason that I am going is that I also have to purchase a multiple entry stamp. If I don't get the stamp, my visa will expire if I leave the country. Since I plan on doing some traveling over the next year, the multiple entry stamp is a must.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Banned
I was talking to the father of one of Aleena's classmates this morning. Based on some things I had heard, I thought that he was involved in politics. It turns out that he was an executive with the Chart Thai Party.
The Chart Thai party was recently disbanded by the Constitutional Court because one of it executive members (not the guy to whom I was speaking) was found guilty of electoral fraud. In addition to disbanding the party, the current Thai constitution imposes a five year ban from politics for all its executives.
There is a certain level of unfairness in banning someone from politics for something that they did not do. The Thai constitution purportedly was designed to clean up the corruption in Thai politics, but wields a heavy hand. It takes the "break a few eggs to make an omelet" philosophy instead of protecting the innocent even if it means a bad actor escapes view point.
The Chart Thai party was recently disbanded by the Constitutional Court because one of it executive members (not the guy to whom I was speaking) was found guilty of electoral fraud. In addition to disbanding the party, the current Thai constitution imposes a five year ban from politics for all its executives.
There is a certain level of unfairness in banning someone from politics for something that they did not do. The Thai constitution purportedly was designed to clean up the corruption in Thai politics, but wields a heavy hand. It takes the "break a few eggs to make an omelet" philosophy instead of protecting the innocent even if it means a bad actor escapes view point.
Dead Bees
Today there were a bunch of dead bees in our driveway and on the street in front of the house. There were dozens of the dead little yellow and black guys.
Its strange that I don't recall seeing any bees alive around the house. There are always many mosquitoes, but not bees.
Its strange that I don't recall seeing any bees alive around the house. There are always many mosquitoes, but not bees.
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