News about Thailand

Situation in Bangkok - http://twitter.com/Farangrakthai

admin@farangrakthai.com — Sun, 16 May 2010 05:21:00 GMT

I can't really update Bangkok news on this website, they're changing by the minute but I will retweet or tweet any information I find relevant about the situation here

http://twitter.com/Farangrakthai

Keigo Sato is now reunited with his Japanese father

admin@farangrakthai.com — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 11:21:00 GMT

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Khun Abhisit's latest Thailand promotion campaign, Thailand Shining Through

admin@farangrakthai.com — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 02:49:00 GMT

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The Klong Toey wet market in Bangkok

admin@farangrakthai.com — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 00:15:00 GMT

The few posts made in this blog on the cost of life in Bangkok considered that you do all your shopping in a big department store. In my case, this is usually in Carrefour on Rama 4 or in Lotus, just in front of Carrefour. I find it convenient, like most people I guess, since you'll find everything under one roof.

But talking about finding everything you need under one "roof", if what you require is fresh vegetables, fruits, fishes, seafood, i.e. food, nothing beats the Klong Toey wet market, just a stone throw away from Carrefour, on Rama 4.

This is a huge wet market and you'll find everything you need for preparing your lunch, and also quite a few things you'll probably prefer to not eat...

Prices are very often displayed and speaking Thai is not absolutely necessary for you to be able to shop there, just learn how to count up to one hundred since most items will cost you less than that.

We'll start with the vegetables, tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, garlic, carrots, cabbage, brocoli, local vegetables...

This is Thailand, so you'll find many stands selling a wide variety of chili pepper

The fruits, bananas, mangoes, lime at baht 1 each.

The meat, alive and dead

And the seafood and fishes

And in case you do not believe that the food is fresh on this market, here is a short clip taken there a few weeks back, with the fishes pictured above and the next stand where big frogs were being slaughtered

You'll find more photos in the Photo gallery

And if you like markets, here are three of them we recommend, in Mukdahan. Click on the picture to go to the corresponding page

Indochina market

Wet market

Night market

Rain, flooding and the Srinakarin dam in Kanchanaburi

admin@farangrakthai.com — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 12:13:00 GMT

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Thai Health Minister got the swine flu

admin@farangrakthai.com — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 11:44:00 GMT

I mean one of the last "elected" Thai Health Minister, from 2002 to 2005, not the present one , not yet anyway.

Sudarat Keyuraphan is treated at the Bumrungrad Hospital in Bangkok with Tamiflu after tests confirmed she has the H1N1 virus.

She, of course, thinks that the present government does not do enough for containing the spread of the virus, which anyway she was probably also saying before being infected.

And it makes me wonder how so many Thai people get infected in the first place, I mean adult Thai people. We are told in Europe to not kiss the friends we meet, not even shake hands with them in order to limit the spread of the virus, but Thai people do not kiss the friends they meet, they do not shake hands, they wai at each other.

The spread of the virus should therefore be slower in Thailand than in "kissing countries" like France but it is not the case, on the contrary. Why is it so?

One of the reasons, I think, is that school holidays in Thailand, contrary to most of Europe, ended 2 months ago. It gave plenty of time for the virus to propagate in that fertile environment, and for the children to transmit the virus to adults. Giving Thailand a head start in the infection rate.

But we should catch up soon in Europe, schools will re-open next month and weather will get colder, perfect conditions for the H1N1 virus.

More than half a million people infected by the H1N1 virus in Thailand

admin@farangrakthai.com — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 14:50:00 GMT

I have been trying to be zen about it up to now. People are paranoid about this new flu, I'm not, I know better, this is a mild flu that kills very few people. I'm from Europe, I'm used to it, nothing special, silly Thai people.

But well, now, if officially there about 9000 cases of people infected by the flu and 65 dead, half-officially, according to the Thai Health Authorities, more than 500,000 could have contracted the H1N1 virus in Thailand. Not that it surprises me that much, 90% of the people infected probably do not go to hospital, nor are they tested for the H1N1 virus (so maybe the number of people infected is far more than 500,000...).

But this flu is a mild one, as said before, so why am I paranoid about it?

Because it kills people who have respiratory difficulties and my son is one of them, he has asthma.
Any infection of the respiratory tract lands him in hospital, he just can't breathe anymore.
So what will happen if he gets this virus?
I'm sure not in a hurry to find out and decided to not put him back to school up to the time a vaccine is available.
He is only 3, so he won't miss much by not attending school.

There are risks I'm sure not ready to take, and this one is now top of the list.
Yes, I am now paranoid.

Will Khun Abhisit and Khun Thaksin exchange tweets?

admin@farangrakthai.com — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 07:10:00 GMT

The Thai Prime Minister, Khun Abhisit, has been on twitter for quite some time twitter.com/PM_Abhisit

As of today he has 1,933 followers and he follows 13 people.

I have news for him, an old "friend" of him is now on twitter also, i.e. Khun Thaksin twitter.com/thaksinlive

He still does not follow anybody but has 1,277 followers. I suggest Khun Abhisit as the first one to add to his list of people to follow.

And may I suggest to Khun Abhist to do the same? Adding Khun Thaksin to his list of people to follow.

And they could start exchanging tweets.

Tour de Isaan 2009

admin@farangrakthai.com — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 05:26:00 GMT

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Thailand International rally 2009

admin@farangrakthai.com — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 11:50:00 GMT

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Is the H1N1 virus the first flu virus that likes summer and hot temperatures? More than 1000 cases in Thailand

admin@farangrakthai.com — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 11:41:00 GMT

So, this is now official, there are more than 1000 cases of swine flu in Thailand. And probably many more since not too many people in Thailand will go to the the hospital when they get a fever. And get tested for the H1N1 virus.

I actually never heard about Thai people getting the flu before. For good reasons, I think, isn't the flu virus a virus that likes winter and low temperatures?

But this flu virus is different, it was born in an hot country and started affecting people when temperatures were on the high side.

So when we are told a vaccine for this swine flu virus has to be developped before the flu season, i.e. before winter time in the North hemisphere, do they forget this particular virus was born in Mexico, where there is no winter?

And it is the case, as it seems it is, we're going to be in troubles. No more flu season, the flu will be in summer and winter. And it could kill a lot of people in developping countries, people who were so far "protected" because they live in a country having a hot climate...

Price and quality of local beers in Thailand

admin@farangrakthai.com — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 12:21:00 GMT

I recently wrote (complained?) about the increase taxation on alcoholic beverages in Thailand that resulted in a substantial increase in the price of beer. The post is here : Price of beer up steeply in Thailand

But what local beers will you actually find in Thailand? And what is their price and taste (disclaimer: the taste comments are about my taste only)

The order is by taste, the one I like first. And well, unfortunately in reverse order of price.

1. Singha beer

Now baht 31 for a 33 cl can and baht 56 for a 66cl bottle. Alcohol content has been reduced from 6 to 5% not that long ago. It made it better, for me at least. I think the only Thai beer that can really be called a beer. By my European standards.

2. Chang beer

The one with the 2 elephants on the bottle. The stongest one with 6.4% alcohol and one of the cheapest one with baht 21 for a 33 cl can. Not my taste but a favourite among many expats in Thailand.

3. Cheers beer

This is a relatively new comer on the Thai market. Alcohol content is 5.6% and this is the second cheapest at baht 24 for a can. Taste is too sweet and fruity for me.

4 Leo beer

The worst one, by far, for me. And not the cheapest at baht 26 for a 33 cl can. Alcohol content is 5.5% . I drank it only twice. There probably won't be a third time.

And you have all the foreign beers brewed in Thailand, Asahi from Japan, Tiger from Singapore, Heineken from Holland. With my favourite being Asahi from Japan.

Transport link between Thailand, Laos and Vietnam officially declared open

admin@farangrakthai.com — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 04:58:00 GMT

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One thousand monks in Mukdahan praying for peace in the South of Thailand

admin@farangrakthai.com — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 11:08:00 GMT

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Cheese in Thailand

admin@farangrakthai.com — Tue, 26 May 2009 12:39:00 GMT

Do you like cheese?

You probably do if you're from continental Europe, especially the French.

But well, the Thais do not really like cheese. Or said differently, Thais never tasted cheese when they were young and hence, are not used to the taste. And the smell. So they do not buy it and no cheese is produced in Thailand.

And for cheese lovers, the only choice is the imported ones.

And imported means not really cheap. Photo taken in Carrefour Bangkok 2 days ago.

But did I say it is expensive...?

Baht 498 is more than Euro 10

So, if you can't live without cheese and come to Thailand, bring some with you...

Price of beer and alcoholic beverages up steeply in Thailand

admin@farangrakthai.com — Sun, 24 May 2009 04:41:00 GMT

The Thai government, as any other government in the world, needs mre revenues in this time of crisis. More revenues to feed the US$ 41 stimulus package they just approved.

And one way to get more revenues is to raise the taxes on alcoholic beverages and this is exactly what they did 2 weeks ago.

For beer, excise tax went from baht 55 to baht 60 per litre, from baht 110 to baht 120 for white liquor, and from baht 280 to baht 300 for blended liquor.

So how much more are you going to pay?

Let's take the example of the beer. Beer is usually sold in 66 cl bottles in Thailand, so an increase of baht 5 per liter means you're going to pay baht 3.5 more per liter, right? Wrong...

A bottle of Heineken in a supemarket was sold before the hike at baht 59. Today, it is baht 66, i.e. an increase of baht 7, double than the one coming from the rise in excise tax. Supermarket mathematics, I guess...

Not sure how much it increased in the pubs, they probably have different mathematical formulas also.

As for the stronger alcoholic beverages, I'm not sure how they calculated the new prices but considering they're far more expensive in the first place, the impact is little.

Here are today prices, picture taken in Carrefour Rama 4 in Bangkok, white alcohol (supposed to have increased by baht 10)

The price did not seem to have changed much but I'm not sure, I never buy any.

Gender reassignment in Thailand. Willingly or unwillingly...

admin@farangrakthai.com — Sat, 23 May 2009 06:48:00 GMT

Plastic surgeons in Thailand are well known for a procedure that, here, is considered as standard, gender re-assignment surgery. And they are also extremely skilled at re-attaching male private parts that would have been "accidentally" removed.

I'm going to elaborate a bit on these two points since the second one has been in the news lately.

Transsexuals, called Katoeys, or ladyboys, are generally more accepted in Thailand than in the western world. You can see quite an important number of them working in shops, restaurants, beauty salons or in the entertainment industry, as singers, dancers and well, prostitutes.

There are many cabaret shows, with Tiffanys in Pattaya being one of the best known. But you'll find others in most cities, like in Hua Hin where this photo was taken.

And hence, since you have a lot of them, you also have a lot of surgeons who developed a world class expertise in gender reassignment. They are also submitted to less stringent rules than in the west, where you need a psychiatric evaluation in order to be allowed the procedure. Not here, you've got the money, you'll get the operation. And for a fraction of the cost in the western world.

And now for the second point, not only are they good at removing male private parts, they are also very good at re-attaching a severed male organ.

The reason being, Thai women, some of them anyway, if they think that their husband is seeing another woman and could them for the new girl, will cut off the body part of their husband/boyfriend that they think is the cause of the problem.

This happened again recently in Pattaya and in Rayong.

In Pattaya, a woman married to a Belgian guy she thought was seeing another woman, just bit it off. Here is an except from the Nation.

A Belgian tourist was severely injured early Thursday when his Thai wife bit his male organ and almost severed it, police said.

And about one month earlier, in Rayong

On the night of April 26, he had been drinking at a friend’s house. When he got home, his wife accused him of being out with a kik (mistress or casual sex partner). An argument ensued and when the fighting eventually died down, the man fell fast asleep, owing to all the alcohol he had drunk.

As he was sleeping, he felt a sudden, searing pain in his groin. He looked down to see what must be every married man’s worst nightmare: blood pouring from his genitalia and his wife leaving the room clutching a bloody knife.

The first guy made it to the hospital and is expected to recover with the severed part having been re-attached.

The second guy also made it to the hospital and is also expected to recover, but the missing part will be missing forever.

Because, you see, these days, Thai women are also well aware that Thai surgeons are very good at re-attaching what they just cut off. So what do they do? They make sure the missing part will be missing forever.

By giving it to the dogs, the ducks, or the meat grinder...

And even if I'm sure it is considered a crime in Thailand, I never heard any of them being jailed for doing it.

So, for the men having a Thai girlfriend or wife, some advice, be careful...

Thai children looking for their Japanese father

admin@farangrakthai.com — Fri, 22 May 2009 13:23:00 GMT

Since the little Thai boy, Keigo Seito, found back his father thanks to his story being published on the front page of the newspapers ( Keigo ), 2 more children came to the newspapers, asking for help to find their Japanese father.

An 18 years old girl, Narumi Hamada, from Chiang Mai, and a stateless boy, also from Chiang Mai, who was left with a neighbour after his mother died and his father, Masato Niimura, went back to Japan.

I guess we will see plenty more in the coming weeks since the little Keigo is still part of the news almost daily. He is now going to school and talked to his father at the Japanese Embassy yesterday.

But I'm afraid the story will eventually lose its novelty and Kego will disappear from the news.

And with him, any hope for thousands of abandonned children in Thailand...

A German tourist died of swine flu in Thailand. Not true says the Deputy Health Minister

admin@farangrakthai.com — Wed, 20 May 2009 02:53:00 GMT

They said yesterday the German tourist tested positive for the H1N1 virus and were waiting for further confirmation.

They say today she never tested positive for the H1N1 virus and died of pneunomia .

We know she died of pneumonia, it was said the first day. But it was also said that, maybe, she died of pneumonia because of complications coming from the flu virus. And that some tests came back positive.

But I do not think Thailand wants to scare the tourists more than they already are. So, we don't talk about it anymore. She died of pneumonia, no need to wait for further tests.

Well, I think she died faster than the rumor will, whatever the Health Minister is saying....

And, as of today, there are still 25 other people in quarantine in Thai hospitals for possible H1N1 infection. Four are foreigners: two from France, one from Switzerland and one from the US.

A German tourist died of swine flu in Hua Hin. Rumor or true?

admin@farangrakthai.com — Tue, 19 May 2009 10:36:00 GMT

If confirmed, this would be the first dead in Thailand from swine flu.

The German woman, Mrs Barbel Wilhelmine, came to Thailand with her husband and child to stay in a resort in Prachuab Khiri Khan, not far from Hua Hin

After one week, she had chest pain and difficulty breathing and went to a Hua Hin hospital. But she was in a critical condition and they sent her to Samitivej hospital in Bangkok.

She never made it, she died on the way to Bangkok.

We are now waiting for the results of the analyses that would confirm, or not, that she indeed died of swine flu.

That could reinforce the warning by the WHO that a combination of the bird flu and the swine flu could be very dangerous. And Thailand is the perfect place for this combination to happen, the bird flu having been here for quite a few years now.

The father of Keigo Sato has been found

admin@farangrakthai.com — Sat, 16 May 2009 08:05:00 GMT

I would guess it was not too difficult to find him. After all, he was married to the mother of Keigo and had to give quite a few documents in the process.

And besides, HM the Queen of Thailand wants to get a progress about this case, this helps speeding things quite a lot.

But well, how do you react when you've been trying to forget you've got a son in Thailand for the last 9 years and suddenly get reminded?

You're shy, and you sure have a lot of reasons to be.

So the latest is, the father wants to talk to his son by phone but does not really want to be seen.

Well, I don't really see how he'll be able to avoid the reunion, and in front of quite a few journalists...

Keigo Sato, the Thai boy looking for his Japanese father

admin@farangrakthai.com — Thu, 14 May 2009 10:53:00 GMT

In Phichit there is a temple, Wat Tha Luang. It is a nice wat regularly visited by tourists. And if you go there, you'll see a litlle boy, a 9 years old little boy. He will show you a picture of a Japanese man, his dad, and will ask you if you know where he is, which I guess only a 9 years boy can hope he will get a positive reply.

By why is here there? Where is his mother? His mother died after having been infected with a disease she contracted while selling her body somewhere in Bangkok. So he lives with an auntie and his grand father and goes every day to the wat where, he was told by his mother on her deatbed, his Japanese father will come to take him.

How do I know this story? The Bangkok Post ran an article about him on its front page two days ago and the little Keigo became an overnight sensation. Offers to help him came from many places and now the Thai Foreign ministry will be looking for his father in Japan.

I'm all for it actually and hopefully his father can be found and made accountable for what he did but I also hope this case will not just be a flash in the pan, only a good story for the Bangkok Post. There are thousands of abandonned mixed race children in Thailand who did not get the chance to make the front page of a major newspapers and who would need a bit more attention, so that more efforts are made to find the fleeing father.

I'm not really holding my breath but well, let's just hope as this little boy did for so long.

Traffic in Bangkok

admin@farangrakthai.com — Mon, 11 May 2009 12:26:00 GMT

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Visakha Bucha day

admin@farangrakthai.com — Fri, 08 May 2009 06:17:00 GMT

Today is a public holiday in Thailand in order to celebrate one of the most important day in Buddhism, Visakha Bucha Day.

Buddha was born, reached enlightment and passed away on the same month and day, i.e. on the full moon day of the 6th lunar month, which is usually in May and is this year the 8th of May.

Buddhists in Thailand and all over the world will pray, go to temple and make offrands to Buddha.

In Thailand, it also means that alcohol is not on sale today, in bars, pubs, hotels, restaurants, shops, in brief everywhere.

Farang Rak Thai

admin@farangrakthai.com — Mon, 04 May 2009 08:49:00 GMT

No major news to comment about, so I'm going to comment on the name of this website, farangrakthai. When Thaksin, quite a few years back, decided to go into politics and to set up a party, he chose to go for a name that would appeal to most Thais, a name that reflects (or reflected) what most Thais agree with, i.e. Thai Rak Thai.

What does it mean? Thais Love Thais and sure love Thailand. But since it was at the time of the Asian crisis in 1997-1998, it also had undertones that were not that nice, i.e. Thais love Thais but do not really like foreigners. Foreigners are a problem, or could be a problem. Like the IMF, for example, at that time. A very appealing concept indeed, for Thais. And most probably the main reason Thaksin chose this name, an appeal to the strong nationalistic feelings of the Thais in time of crisis.

So some foreigners here came with the idea that we should unite into a "party" that would convey what we think about Thailand, i.e. Farang Rak Thai. "The Foreigners like Thais ". Farang is how we are called in Thailand, comes from the word Français (French) that evolves into farangset (meaning French language these days) and eventually farang. And we love the Thais and Thailand or we would not be here anymore, I guess.

It did not really take hold but I thought it would be nice to revive the idea...

Thai bugs

admin@farangrakthai.com — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 05:16:00 GMT

Food is cheap and good in Thailand. There is something for everybody and a wide variety of flavors and cooking ways. The Thais in general prefer to eat products from the sea, i.e. seafood and fishes. Some pork and chicken but little beef. And in the north and north-east, they like to eat what westerners and Bangkok Thais seldom eat, the Thai bugs. It is more a snack than a main meal and they are usually fried. And not that cheap by Thai standards.

I was recently on the night market in Chiang Mai and tasted a bit of the speciality from that part of Thailand, the bamboo worms. Not too bad actually...

But there if you prefer something with legs, it is available also

And here are the prices

The short-lived red shirts revolution in Thailand

admin@farangrakthai.com — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 12:35:00 GMT

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Thai PM Abhisit has to go say hundreds of thousand of Red Shirt protesters in the streets of Bangkok

admin@farangrakthai.com — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 07:55:00 GMT

I wrote quite some time ago that I was thinking Thaksin's influence was fading away in Thailand and that the Red Shirt protests would not last long, by lack of motivation or just lack of money.

Obviously I was wrong, they're back in the streets of Bangkok and not in small numbers. It seems today 40 to 50,000 of them are gathering aroung government house in the afternoon and many more are expected to come from the North and North East provinces in the evening.

What do they want? The dissolution of the Thai parliament and new elections, which they're convinced will put back in power a party associated to Thaksin. And they're probably right. For them, the government led by the Democratic Party and Mr. Abhisit gain power unlawfully or let's say not in a democratic way and if they were not happy with that in the first place, the deteriorating economic situation and the loss of thousands of jobs in Thailand sure does not make it more appealling...

So, basically, we're back to square one, different color, from yellow to red, but same protests and for the same reasons, to get rid of the Thai government. But well, with very few chances of success in the case of the red shirts...

Preah Vihear temple

admin@farangrakthai.com — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 13:07:00 GMT

The Preah Vihear temple conflict has been out of the Thai news for quite some time. The Thai soldiers stepped up on a mine from the Khmer Rouge era from time to time, losing a leg in the process, but it did not really make front page news.

Up to today, when exchange of machine gun and mortar fire resulted in the death of 2 Thai soldiers and of 7 wounded.

Of course, as usual, the Thai side accused the Cambodian side of starting it and the Cambodian side says the reverse.

All of that becasue the UNESCO declares the temple world heritage although Thailand and Cambodia do not agree on which side of the border part of the temple is. And therefore a lot of loss of face and hurted pride on the Thai side...

Will the Thai New Year (Songkran) be as wet as usual this year? Or will it be a dry Songkran?

admin@farangrakthai.com — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 12:17:00 GMT

The Thai New Year, known as Songkran, is coming soon, from 13 to 15 of April this year. This is supposed to be the end of the hot and dry season and is celebrated all over Thailand by the Thais throwing of water on everything and well, everybody.

For sunrise to sunset, for a few days, whatever street in Thailand you happen to be on, if you're not protected by the body of a car, with doors and windows closed, you're going to get wet, very wet.

Wet with sometimes water only, water at ambient temperature, but more often with icy water, water that has been cooled down to freezing temperature with lot of ice. Did you ever experience being soaked by water that is 30 deg. C below ambient temperature? I recommend, no need of a treadmill test, if your heart is weak, it will just stop (even more so if you happen to be the lucky recipient of a block of ice that was inadvently thrown at you with the icy water).

But well, it is fun and the time of the year when the Thais get wild. But it also means that besides the water, lot of other water based liquids are not thrown at you but consummed in huge quantities by the locals and the foreigners alike.

And it results in Songkran beating record after record every year in road accidents and people killed during the festival. With quite few because they're just drunk driving.

So what is the solution? The government thinks they've got one

And mind you, it is not more controls on the roads and enforcing the law, this is too demanding, can't work, it is banning the sale of alcohol during the festival.

Their dilemna is now, do you ban the sales only in shops all the time and in bars, restaurants, hotels... during the day only, or do you just ban the sales of alcohol beverages all the time everywhere for a few days?

The question remains open as of today.

But I just have a question for them, how will they prevent the Thais to stock up booze before the ban takes effect? I was shopping a bit this week end and it seems to me that the sales of beer and Thai whisky is is skyrocketing these days...

So who will the ones suffering from the ban, all the tourists coming to Thailand for the Eastern holidays, the ones who don't drive and will sure remember their trip and the logic of this Thai rule.

And the road accidents will be as many as they ever were.

May I suggest something, start implementing effective police controls.

How hot can Bangkok be?

admin@farangrakthai.com — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 07:40:00 GMT

I guess we keep forgetting from one year to another how hot Bangkok can be in March and April. Bangkok is hot all the time but these 2 months, it is so hot that you do not feel like being able to do anything.

And you won't be able to do anything anyway if you do not have an aircon working overtime (so much for earth hour...).

The human body needs to keep its temperature at 36 to 37 at all time but how do you do that when the outside temperature is at 36 to 37?

- You do not move at all and drink a lot of cold water, not really practical, you'll end up weighing a ton in no time

- You spend the day in a swimming pool. Well, how many of us have a swimming pool handy?

- You stay home and ruin the earth by getting your aircon to cool you down, whatever the CO2 cost

- You just melt down and die

Your choice, mine is not moving much and a bit of aircon...

Temperature today:

Bangkok, Thailand

36°C
Feels like 40°C
Mostly Cloudy Day

1:00 PM Local Time

UV Index:	8 - Very High
Dew Point:	21°C
Humidity:	43%
Visibility:	10.0 km
Pressure:	1009.5 mb and N/A
Daylight:	6:16 AM - 6:29 PM
Wind:	SSW at 8 km/h 210°

Did you receive your 2000 baht from the Thai gouvernment?

admin@farangrakthai.com — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 01:33:00 GMT

Well, if you're not Thai, you did not, the handout is only for the Thais registered with the Social Security Fund, i.e. mainly the public servants and the lucky few working for private companies big enough to declare them. For the majority of Thais working in the country side as farmers or not working at all, no help is on the way. Overall the government estimation is 8 million people will receive the checks for a population in Thailand of about 64 million people.

What's the goal of the Thai gouvernment? Trying to pump up a bit an economy that is now in free fall. The car industry, Toyota, Honda, General Motors has big factories in Thailand and these factories are running half empty, laying off people and putting all their subcontractors at risk of bankrupcy. And you have the electronic industry and ... You get the picture, manufacturing Thailand is in trouble and with it the Thai economy.

Whether handing out 2000 baht to public servants making less than 15000 baht per month will help the economy is debatable, it won't help long anyway, most lucky recipients intend to spend it the day they receive it, so will be a few days boost of the consumption in the big cities.

But well, it sure makes the people receiving the 2000 baht happy as can be seen in the Phuket Gazette

In Bangkok where the distibution started on Thursday, the situation is more cahotic, the bulk of Thailand public servants working here. That makes for huge crowds and long waiting time. Some people fainted yesterday while waiting, which I find quite normal considering how hot is Bangkok these days.

And now let's with for the rest of the 117 billion baht stimulus package (the handout represents about 10% of it).

It is hot, very hot in Bangkok but where has the pollution gone?

admin@farangrakthai.com — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 11:24:00 GMT

The hottest months are back. They're back every year actually but from one year to the next one, I think we kind of forget how hot Bangkok can be. It is now 6.30 p.m. and you can read this on the Thailand page of farangrakthai.

Bangkok, Thailand

35°C
Feels like 37°C

And how does 37 C feel like? Well hot...

But what was better yesterday is the level of pollution in Bangkok or should I say, the level of no-pollution. Usually, you can't see far in this city, fumes from exhaust pipes make the Bangkok smog worse than any English fog. But yesterday, nothing, no pollution. I even took a picture with my mobile phone to prove it (through a window, so the quality is so so...)

I could almost see the sea while usually I can't see further than the 3 buildings on the centre left of the picture and a few years back, I could not even see these 3 buildings.

And it is not that uncommon these days, I posted a picture last year in September, when the Merchant of Death was arrested (6 months later, he is still in prison actually and his extradition has become a fight in between Russians and Americans diplomacy).

Blue sky in Bangkok and the Merchant of Death who was the inspiration of the Lord of War movie is fighting his extradition-to-the-US.aspx

So, in conclusion, I think, pollution wise, Bangkok is progressing, slowly but surely.

Update on prices in Carrefour Rama4 in Bangkok

admin@farangrakthai.com — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 07:01:00 GMT

I did not update the prices for quite some time but there is a reason for that, prices do not change fast in Thailand. Most of the people in the country still live a pretty simple life and are not really affected by the financial economic crisis. What is a financial economic crisis, by the way, when you do not have money?

I updated the price in the French blog: Foodstuff prices and I posted new pictures showing that prices did not change much since last year. But here is one picture taken in the Carrefour Rama4 today that I did not post in the French blog, I kept it for this one. I'm sure the Brits and the Aussies care more about the price of beer than the French do...

British man sentenced to 18 years in Phuket jail or the dangers of doing something illegal in Thailand

admin@farangrakthai.com — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 05:36:00 GMT

It is always risky to do something illegal, in any country, as the saying goes "Don't do the crime if you can't do the time".

But if the crime can be the same in any country, the time is not, i.e. the time you'll get to pay for your crime can be vastly different from country to country and the less developped is the country where you'll end up in jail, the slower you'll feel the time is.

Case in point is Thailand, where sentencing can be very, very tough, and life in prison is beyong tough, making the time crawling to an halt. But it seems these 2 guys did not mind, father and son, British by nationality if not by names.

His son is 20 and is so far denying the charges, so still in jail but no sentence yet. He was arrested with his father next to the Kasikorn Bank about 1 year ago, they had 35 fake ATM cards, 15 withdrawal slips and 10,000 baht in cash.

The father admitted the charges and so, accoding to Thai law, was given a reduced sentence, 18 years and 9 months in a Thai prison. Well, I would not want to know what was the full sentence...
In any case 18 years in a Thai prison is equivalent to a death sentence considering the living conditions they're well known for. You can't live 18 years in a Thai prison...

So if you ever consider coming to Thailand to do something illegal, please think twice, especially if you do not really fully understand the relativity of time...

The airbus A380 is coming to Bangkok

admin@farangrakthai.com — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 04:57:00 GMT

The new airbus A380 has been coming in and out of Singapore for quite some time but we still did not see it in Thailand.

This will change soon, from the 1st of June, the Airbus A380 will be landing in Bangkok regularly thanks to Emirates Airlines. One of their A380 plane operating in between Dubai and New York will be redeployed to the Dubai-Bangkok route due to weak traffic demand on the American route.

What it means is that you will be able to fly Bangkok-London in the A380 providing you like Emirates Airlines, which by the way is one of the world best airline, and you do not mind making one stop in Dubai.

And here it is

Khun Abhisit has been Thailand Prime Minister for 3 months and Thaksin is fading away

admin@farangrakthai.com — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 09:22:00 GMT

So, he finally got it. Abhisit was elected by the Thai Parliament Prime Minister of Thailand. It took the removal of a few PMs as well as a lot of MPs by the Thai judiciary for him to be elected but well, does not change the fact that he is the new PM.

And if there is a change that you can notice these days is how involved he gets at promoting Thailand, you can see him on CNBC, CNN, ... The message, Thailand is now back to normal and we welcome everybody, please come, if you never came, and come back if you left.

And indeed Thailand is back to normal, no more yellow shirts people battling red shirts, occupying airports, occupying government house...and the red shirts people did not really replace them. We saw them a bit in the streets but not for long, lack of motivation or lack of money. I guess this is the end of Thaksin, no more in the news, not much money left, his chances of a come back are getting slimmer fast.

For us farangs working in Thailand, whoever is PM, we welcome stability, so he is welcome and we are quite curious to see whether Thailand under his lead will indeed help the foreigners come and stay in Thailand more easily. What about giving longer term visas, for example, for people working in Thailand, Khun Abhisit? It sure does not make you feel welcome to work here by having to apply for a visa every year and having to report to the immigration every 3 months...

And the hot season is back, it is extremely hot again...

Airport back to normal and election of the new PM tomorrow

admin@farangrakthai.com — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 08:39:00 GMT

Khun Somchai was, as expected, kicked out, not really because he did anything wrong but because some of the people in his party as well as the other parties in the government did. They bought votes at the last elections.

So on Monday we'll have the election of the new PM by the MPs from parliement and unfortunately it is quite difficult for a majority to agree about whom to elect so far, so every vote will count and a lot of deals are made in the background.

But the leader of the Democrat party, Khun Abhisit, is quite convinced it is now his turn to be PM, not because the population wants him to be PM, or he would have been elected in the first place but because he is the only one left after most of the ones who were elected were disqualified. This is democracy, Thailand style.

No Coup d'Etat yesterday or today, no intervention of the police at the airport, so no way in or out of Bangkok by plane

admin@farangrakthai.com — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 11:07:00 GMT

The PAD people are making the airport their new home, bringing blankets for sleeping, blocking the highway with a firetruck and trolleys, in short preparing themselves to stay there for as long as they can.

So what should you do if you are a foreigner in Bangkok and wants to leave Bangkok?

There are a few options available:

- You can try to get a flight at Utapao airport, the military airport next to Pattaya (150 kms south of Bangkok), they said some Thai Airways, Cathay Pacific and Malaysian airlines flights will be landing there. The few seats available will sure be in high demand, so you'll need to be patient if you choose that solution

- Take a bus to Phuket, will take you the night to reach there but the airport in Phuket is fully operational and you should be able to get a flight quite easily to Singapore, if not to many other destinations

- Take a bus to Chiang Mai where the airport is also operational, it is a bit closer than Phuket but less flight available.

What would I do if I needed to leave Thailand urgently? I would go to Phuket.

As for when will the airport in Bangkok re-open? This is anybody guess but I would not count on that solution for at least a few more days, at best...

Thai airport is still closed and the rumor is the army will intervene this evening. Another Coup d'Etat?

admin@farangrakthai.com — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 12:18:00 GMT

The airport is still closed and more and more people are now stuck in Thailand, some without much money left by the way.

The situation is getting really out of control and there are more and more calls for the army to intervene.

To intervene for removing the PAD people from the airport and re-open it. But well, the army won't do that, if they intervene, it will be to remove Somchai's governement and take the control of the country once again.

And this is exactly what the rumor in Bangkok is this afternoon, there will be a Coup d'Etat this evening.

And the next PM would be:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anand_Panyarachun

Let's wait and see...