Like it or lump it

Thailands Army chief Prayuth Chano-cha has urged the public to refrain from discussing the possibility bombings during the New Year holiday, and the issue of the lese majeste law.

If people aren't happy with the situation with the Lese Majeste law they are quite welcome to leave Thailand.

The Lese majeste law is a law in Thailand that makes it illegal to criticise the Thai monarchy or the institution of monarchy. Recently a 61 year old was sentenced to 20 years for sending 4 text messages, an Thai born American was sentenced to 15 years for putting a link to a book that defamed the Thai King and a web board editor as been sent down because people posted adverse comments on her web forum.

The US Embassy in Bangkok as been allowing comments on its open Facebook page. Some of the comments left were definately in breach of the Lese Majeste law and the Embassy faced protests by ultra right groups that even posted pictures of a beheaded Ambassador on the page.

Ultra right wing shit like this really scares me, we are currently in the process of booking next years trip to Thailand, I will be monitoring the situation closely and if there are any further problems  and Malaysia here we come.

McDonalds cross the boundry

In the local paper today and on advertising boards outside 2 McDonald Restaurants in Derby. McDonalds have annouced that they will be opening on Christmas Day. Even the whore monger giant Supermarkets have left this day as a holiday.

I can't believe any one at 9am on Christmas morning will think, "I know, we've opened the presents, now lets nip down to McDonalds". I really hope no one turns up and this will be the last time they do this stunt.

Lets make Christmas, Christmas again....

Shameful

This is the latest viral video doing the rounds in the UK. It shows a possibly drunken or drugged up Bitch of a woman on a tram in London hurling racist abuse at any non-white person on it.

One of the saddest parts is the fact that she as her Toddler child sitting on her knee and is giving it several rounds of Fucks in front of him without a care.

In America, she would be described as Trailer Trash. In the UK, she would be called a Chav, but I belive that description is being disrestpectful to Chav's.
 
Since this video as been posted online, the woman as been arrested for spouting racism, similar to the charge John Terry may have to face. The lady is also recieving some support online, but this is very, very small.

Don't get me wrong, even though I'm married to an Immigrant and have a mixed race Daughter, I believe that the UK does havean Immigrant problem, but in my view it's nothing to do with skin colour, but with people entering the country illegally and not putting anything back into society.

Watch the Video and judge for yourself.

Old House Flood

I came across this video on You Tube of the housing project we used to live on.

As you can see, the flooding is staggering, these video's were taken after the worse was over, but still the devastation is beyond my comprehension.

When I think of all the people we know who live on the Project and the livelihoods they earnt from their houses, I really hope that they recover soon.

New Phone

Well after 3-1/2 years of using an iPhone, I have finally changed phones.

I have just bought a Samsung Galaxy S2. It seems to have everything that the new iPhone 4S has and is far superior to the iPhone 3GS that I was using. Sadly the main reason is the expense, at nearly £200 cheaper than the new iPhone it was pretty much a no brainer.

I really like the 4.3" screen and the brightness of the screen, the 8mp camara is outstanding.

It will take a bit of time to get used to the new Android operating system, but first impressions are that it does the things I need it to do and alot easier.

Also no "iTunes", heavens be praised from being tied to something that is the only way your phone can operate with.

Gagged

Thailand seems to have plummed a new low in the sphere of free speech.

This week a 61 year old Thai man, Ampon Tangnoppakul has been jailed to 20 years in prison for allegedly sending four SMS messages to the secretary of the former PM in which he is said to have broken Thailands strict Lese Majeste rules.

Lese Majeste is a law designed to protect the Thai royal family from critism and abuse. In itself that is maybe not a bad thing. Some of the things that are said about our royal family really gets on my nerves sometimes. However if the critism is deserved, then an adult discussion is a good thing.

Unfortunately, in Thailand, a group of elite, ultra royalist who run the country have taken the law to its enth degree. Anything negative or not towing the official line will see you in court. It is used as a political football and every party has to be seen to be cracking down on any one that breaks the law.

In the Bangkok Post today, it was reported that anyone who puts anything on Facebook or likes anything that is considered to be a Lese Majeste offence on facebook will be tracked down and prosecuted.

It seems that in this present world of instant news and social networks, I can only see Thai jails becoming full of people who have broken the law, maybe even people who weren't even aware that they had broken the law.

Thai Floods in Pics

As the floods in Thailand move slowly from the north down to the north, west and central Bangkok, below are a few pics of the flood so far....

Hopefully the waters will start going down soon.......

Goals Goals Goals

Today I ticked off another of my cycling goals.

Since I got my new road bike I have set myself five goals:

1. Ride to Matock 35km
2. Ride to Bakewell  60km
3. Ride the Chatsworth-Bakewell circuit 72km
4. Ride the Chatsworth-Bakewell-Winster circuit 88km
5. Ride to Buxton 125km

I would like to think I can acheive these goals by the end of the year, however this will more than likely depend on the weather, which if its anything like today will make things tougher.

Bangkok Flooding 2011

Thai PM Yingluck Shinawatra as annouced that the worste is probably over in this years monumental flood! This is Thai Elite speak for:-

 Bangkok City centre as survived again, so we'll be able to go shopping later in the swanky Shopping Malls!!

Unfortunately, for the Northern and Eastern parts of Bangkok, the normal Thai people have had to sacrifice their homes, livelihoods and in some cases their lives so the Central part of Bangkok can go on as normal. Whilst I wouldn't wish the floods on anyone, maybe if the central part of Bangkok had shared a bit of the pain, then maybe it wouldn't have been as bad for others.

It also means, that be the so called important bits of Bangkok have stayed dry there will be no need to do anything about future flooding. This is going happen year after year until Thailand as a country do a few of the following.

• Stop cutting down more forests and Jungle
• Have a proper flood and irrigation plan that will protect the population
• Stop building Das in very sensative areas
• Stop all building on flood plains (Including Airports)
• Do something about it now, not when its too late

A couple of these pictures were taken less than 2km from our old house in Pathu Thani, God knows what that Soi is like....

Bangkok Floods get worse

The floods in thailand this year have been terrible. However in Bangkok at the moment things seem to be coming to a head.

The run off from the North of the country are slowly, but surely moving towards the capital and then the sea. Unfortunately, not everyone in Bangkok will be worried about getting wet feet. The Government is sacrificing the Northern and eastern parts of the city to save the central part of time. (Strangely were most of the rich folk live)!

Pathum Thani were I used to live as been inundated for the last 48 hours, the Express Way is closed and several major Industrial Parks that employ 100,000's of workers have been sacrificed in order to keep the water away from the centre.

People we know have had to move belongings up to the second floor and one of Nuch's friends as been trapped upstairs now for several days with 2m of flooded water down stairs.

The Government have handled the situation so poorly that no one is listening to them and are fending for themselves. This as bought out the best and worst of Thai society. Profiteering is rife and the "I'm all right jack" mentality is as strong as ever. 1000's of car drivers parked their cars on the Express way to keep them dry, this being at the expense of normal folk trying to get back to their homes.

I' m seriously worried for the people that I know in Bangkok, I only hope the next week will see some respite from the high water and that people can get back to living their normal lives without having to repair to much damage to their houses.

Diabetes, me and cycling

Since I started riding my bike and enjoying taking excercise, I've noticed that I have to really watch where and when I eat or drink and also what I eat and drink when I'm the bike.

Today was a classic example. I went on a 1-1/2 hour ride which I was really pleased with my performance. I got back home qabout 11am. I felt hungry, but I got ready to go out. WE went shopping and at around 12.30pm as we were walking around Westfields in Derby I suddenly lost proper vision and had a mild blackout. Luckily in "Build a Bear Workshop" there was a seat for bored adults and I gladly took it.

I'm coming to know the symptons and what to expect when I have a Hyperglycemia attack, feeling dizzy, blurred vision, sweating and being irritable amongst others. It occurs when your blood sugar drops below 3.8mmo/l and can cause many more problems.

A quick visit to the food court sorted the initial dizziness, but even now, 6 hours after it happened and an hour in bed I still don't feel myself.

Tonight I'm going to have a good high carb and protein meal and drink plenty of fluid before bed.

This isn't going to go away, so I'm going to have to be ultra careful when I do another hard workout. Look what I eat before, during and after excercise.

Bad Thai Flooding

Over the past four weeks, Thailand has been experiencing some of It's worst flooding in living memory. Heavy monsoon rains and several Super Typhoons in the China Sea have added to the deluge. All this seems to be heading for a Perfect Flood in Bangkok with two King tides coming up in the next two weeks.

The flood surge as slowly, but surely heading south from the North of the country. The main Chao Prya river that runs through Bangkok as burst the banks of all the Towns and Cities to the North and several Dams have been forced to let water go. This as of course made the situation worse.

However, everything will be fine for Bangkok! Bangkok's Govenor "Sukhumbhand Paribatra", seen in the picture took a bhuddist statue to a Temple to pray for the water to subside. So thats OK then! Other loon schemes include having a convoy of Tugs to push the flood water out to sea.

I've been in Thailand during a flood and there is a lot of water about, also componded by snakes trying to find dry ground and even alligators causing trouble. Lets hope that the predicted flood yet again leaves Bangkok largely unscaved.

Next Smart Phone

I don't much like referring to my new phone as a "Smart Phone"! After all the phone is only really as smart as the person who is using it, which doesn't say alot for the phone when I'm using it.

For the past 3 years I've been using the iPhone, first the original and for the last 2 years the iPhone 3Gs. Just lately the competition have caught up and even surpassed the Apple product.

Today, Apple were set to unvail the latest iPhone, everyone was ready for the iPhone 5! Unfortunately, what was presented was the iPhone 4S. This new phone only seems to be matching the features of their competition. Features like 8mp camara, HD video, dual core processor. Catch up, catch up.

The competition, HTC Sensation and Samsung Galaxy S II both have all these features and have been around for several months. They have a bigger screen and currently cost the same as the iPhone, the bigger screen is a definate advantage. Although the bigger screen means less battery life.

The biggest single thing that is making me want to change will be not having to use iTunes to upload my music or pictures. something i'm looking forward to.

My New Bike

Yesterday, I took possession of a brand spanking new Road Bike.

Too those people who don't know me too well, I raced bikes of all disciplines from 14-34 years old. Mostly at a very pedestrian rate, but towards the end of my time I strung a couple of good seasons together. Due to ill health and my move to Thailand I've never been able to get back riding seriously, I've tried several times, always with the view to start racing again, now I've come to the conclusion that I'll probably never race again, but I'm determined to get fit using my bike and aim to be an enthusiastic Sportif Rider. A posh name for someone who rides a lot, but doesn't race.

Through to Christmas I want to get something like fit and then maybe get out to Mallorca next spring for a week riding the best road and routes in Europe, before spending a good summer riding both my Road Bike or my MTB. Maybe!!! I have just bought a Boardman Team Comp. Before anybody asks which Bank I robbed? I got it through the "Cycle to work Scheme". A brilliant scheme which at the end of the day gives you at least 45% off a bike. This bike is the lightest I've ridden at just over 8kg, a massive change from when I ride in the 80's and I spent more on a bike that weighed over 10kg. Technology and Far East production rule.

Today I ride up to Matlock and back, only 22 miles, but in my current form it could have been a killer. I must admit I found it easy and next week plan to double the amount. Although the riding conditions today were perfect! This week I also plan to try and cycle to work a couple of times.

Hopefully on a few months I'll be thin enough to wear Lycra and not give anyone who sees me nightmares.

Here comes summer..

Today in the UK the temperature is set to hit a massive 27C and be sunny. This is a record temp for the UK in October, sadly three months too late to be called a summer.

I'm not complaining, I love hot weather, especially when my new bike is due to be picked up today!

However on a seperate weather forcast, it is also predicted that we will see some snow by the end of October, and people from other countries wonder why the British have a fixation with the weather..

Thailand is also experiencing some saviour weather, they have nearly a month of flooding that as claimed over 150 lives and with no rest in sight, things look set to get worse until the rainy seasons run off from the North reaches the sea.

Poor Taste

Many foreign and thai media outlets have picked up on a story coming from a catholic school in Chang Mai.

At this weekends school sports day the students paraded in their annual themed fancy dress costumes. Unfortunately this year the students paraded in full Nazi gear, SS guard uniforms and a young girl at the front dressed as Hitler.

It would be easy to condemn this parade out of hand as a right wing Nazi fest, but give a little bit of thought to what the Thai students know of the era?

Without being critical of the Thai school curriculum, the history covered by Thai students deals more with Thailand history. Has our history lessons deal more with UK's history, the big difference being that the UK as been involved with more of the world events than what Thailand as been. Thailands WWII history involved capitulation to Japan, then towards the end of the war, Thailand tried to declare war on The allied powers. After the war, Thailand was occupied by the UK and US for a few years. That was it really. Many Thai's risked their lives to help keep allied POW's alive in the Burma rail death camps.

Obviously the UK's WWII was very much more expensive and as a country we bore a massive suffering, sadly many european and other countries around the world suffered more. All this goes to say that we were on the winning side so we like the history.

The students of the Sacred Heart Preparatory School in Chiang Mai were totally unaware of the distress that this parade was likely to cuase. I just hope there isn't the usual over reaction that is a thai trait and people are fired and lamnasted. The best thing that could happen is a series of lessons and lectures for the students on the Nazi's the holocaust.

5th Anniversery of Thai Coup

Thaksin, the biggest looser in the Coup

On 19th September 2006, I was watching TV in our house in Thailand when I received an sms asking me about how the tanks on the street were affecting my life in Thailand?

I didn't have clue what was going on. The Thai TV channels were all playing patriotic music and showing pictures of the Royal Family. BBC Worldwide was broadcasting and telling me that there had been a military coup in Thailand whilst PM Shinawatra was speaking to the UN.

It all went off very peaceful thankfully and due to some incredibly biased reporting from Thai News agencies, Thailand was told it was for the best and the evil that was Thaksin was now over. The BBC was taken off air for several days and I had to get my info from western based news agencies.

For the first time I saw propoganda in action, The Thai's were being shown pictures of Thai soldiers being greeted as heroes and having flowers put in their guns, they didn't realise that several taken for granted freedom's were being lost, freedom of speech as it was, was now significantly worse. The constitution was torn up and replaced with one that would eventually lead to problems down the line.

It was an interesting time to live in Thailand and will add it to my list of life experiences, how no one was killed or injured still amazes me to this day!

I Remember 9/11

On the 10th anniversary of the terror attacks on the US, I can remember exactly what I was doing 10 years ago.

I was at work and had just had my lunch when the driver came into the office and said that a plane had crashed into the World trade Centre. At the time it was suspected to be an accident, by the time we got on to the internet to look at the BBC website, the second plane had crashed into the other Tower and then everyone knew that this was no accident.

The web kept on crashing and getting realistic correct news became a problem. We ended up getting an old portable TVout and getting the news on TV. Then the Pentagon was hit and the closure of the sky began. The rumours soon started that a planes were crashing into high rise buildings all over the world including London.

The utter state of shock was amazing, thinking about the poor people on the planes, not knowing how many people had been murdered in and around the crash sites.

Two weeks later, I flew to Cuba. When we arrived the Cuban's didn't have the feelings we did. They were in a state of party, no one was unhappy with 9/11 and there were plenty of T Shirts and memorabilia of the bombing on sale. Just goes to show that depending on your relationship with USA all depended on how you saw 9/11.

This last 10 years have been a very savage decade, the invasion of Afghanistan which at the time was very succesful. The invasion of Iraq which was a travisty, one which I hope the leaders who ordered will be bought to book and the numerous terror attacks reeked all over the world seem to have grown. The last 10 years have definately been the decade of death and destruction. It doesn't look like the next 10 will be a great deal better!

Ten Things I Miss About Thailand

This is an idea I got from "Thailand Musing", one of the people I follow on Twitter. So I must apologise for the lack of originality and swiping someone else's idea. However, I feel I've been left Thailand now over four years and there are definately things I miss.

In the next coming weeks, I shal do a post "Ten Things I don't miss about Thailand".

The choices are in no particular order, just as they came to me.

1. Wildlife. It was always great to see wildlife that would never see in the UK, Animals such as Monitors, Crocs, Monkeys, Snakes and Elephants. I've seen all of the above whilst on my travels in Thailand. It always amazed me as you were driving along and come across an elephant on its way home from a days graft, or seeing a Monitor cross the road in front of you. Don't see that very much in the UK

2. Cheap Prices. Obviously all prices are relative! For a foreigner living in the Thailand, day to day life is cheaper and if you go go native then life is very cheap. This does have a down side, but I'll go into that in the don't miss post.

3. Nightlife. Whatever your views on the Thai Nightlife scene, it is such a part of Thai life that to embrace it seems the natural thing to do, don't get me wrong, when you live in Thailand, the Nightlife offered in the flesh pots of Bangkok does become boring. You canthough, have a fantastic night out without even touching those areas. Some of the best nights out I've ever had have been in Thailand. In fact, Hard Rock Cafe Bangkok 24/08/2004, best night ever.

4. Beaches. Thailand is famouse for its coastline, from the beaches of Phuket and Koh Samui through to Hua Hin and Cha Am an and on to the not so good beaches of Pattaya. Some of the Islands you can visit are outstanding. Koh Samet is only 2-1/2 hours by car from Bangkok.

5. Weather, This one will also appear in the don't like post, but you can gaurantee wam/hot weather all year round. The coldest temperature I had in my time in Thailand was 18C.

6. People. Thai people at their best are without doubt some of the kindest people you will ever meet, hard working  and reliable. My Wife's family are second to none, they are very down to earth and I consider them normal people.

7. Street Food. At any time in any part of Thailand you will be able to find a street vendor selling some kind of food, usually freshly prepared and always very cheap. Sadly Health & Safety and social behaviour get in the way of this type of thing taking off in the UK.

8. Restaurant Chains. I know that the UK has its fair share of good restaurants, but in Thailand they have the likes of MK, Fuji, Sizzler and Black Canyon. They all are very distinctive and offer excellent value and food.

9. Tradition. Although Thailand is coming out of the back of their "McDonalds Revolution" on the whole Thai people still respect tradition. The respect for the elderly and the Royal Family can  be only be aploreded, I respect the fact you still have the national anthem at the cinema, you do give your seat up for elderly and pregnant women on buses. Family values are excellent. There are cracks appearing and it is sad to say that Thailand will probably end up the same as the UK in the future, but not yet.

10. Difference. Thailand as not only a different lanquage, but they write differently, Driving is different, courtship is different, the way people look is different, the food is different, the weather, the style of houses, breakfast, TV is all different. I love the difference!!!!

First School Day

Today my daughter Elizabeth started Primary School.

She as been looking forward to starting school for the last six months. She is attending St. Elizabeth's Catholic Primary School in Belper, I know we are not Catholic! Elizabeth isn't even Christian, however I do want her to have a christian up bringing and a very formal (strict) education. This school has this kind of reputation.

She looked so cute in her brown uniform and I felt very proud of her. We only live 200M from the gates of the school, so we won't have to take part in the school run with all the mothers in their Chelsea Tractors.

I will periodically keep this blog up to date with how she is getting on under a new "Education" tag.

Not Paradise in Phuket

 

On my visits to Phuket in the past, I have always succumbed to the beauty of this paradise, whether the hustle, bustle of Patong Beach or the tranquility of the neighbouring Islands.

However, over the last year I have seen so many bad reports coming out of Phuket that my image of the place is being distorted. Daily, on Twitter there are reports by very credible sources about the goings on of the local Taxi Mafia. This as seen in recent times, US warships having to negotiate with local taxi firms to allow personnel to travel into Phuket for R & R on condition that taxi drivers got equal rights to the debarking sailors. If this parity was not given then they would not allow any personnel to leave the Port.

Recently, an Australian couple were in a authorised tour car when it was attacked by 6 taxi drivers angry he was taking potential customers on a trip. The driver was nearly beaten to death and the passengers were verbally abused and threatened.

Last year, the series Big trouble in Thailand painted Phuket as a place full of scammers and drug takers. One Jet Ski scammer as become famous around the world. He pulled a rifle on a Brit Marine when he complained about being ripped off.

Westerner on westerner crime is also a big issue on Phuket. Today the UK Government confirmed the extradition of a Brit back to Thailand for the murder of a US Marine. This coward beat to death the Marine whilst on leave and will hopefully he will see big time in a Thai Prison.

Hopefully, these stories are a few bad ones among 1000's of excellent holiday experiences and Phuket remains one of the most popular destinations in Thailand.

For more info check out this website

Scary Man Chuwit

When I lived in Thailand there was a particular politician who at the time I always referred to as "The Scary Man" Khun Chuwit was a very outspoken, loud and aggressive fellow who always spoke at 3 times standard decibels.

His past is very colourful! One time being known as "King of Commercial Sex" in Thailand, he owned and ran several of the biggest commercial brothels in Bangkok,his cliental included all the movers and shakers in Thai society. Even though the industry skirts legallity in Thailand a brilliant network of bribes and paid police networks kept the business's going. He used to be an MP, but in 2005 he lost his seat and I remember seeing him flooring a reporter who was asking the wrong questions on TV. All this and a very public eviction of squatters next to his HQ on Sukhumvit 10 and 2 failed attempts to become Bangkok Governer made him take a back seat for a few years.

Now everything is different, or so we are made to believe, the brothels have been sold and business is of the legitimate side. He is now trying to launch himself as a bastian of anti corruption. Give this guy his due, his recent antics in the Thai election that saw his party ( Rak Thai ) win several seats. His election posters were by far the best, showing him frustrated in traffic, in despair and with his favoyrite trusted English Bull Terrier "Moto Moto". He promised to end the endemic corruption that prevades the whole of Thai society. Up until now he as kept his word, more so than any other of the political parties that were contesting the election.

His latest crusade is against illegal casino's. He made a video of a massive gambling den which was operating right under the nose of the local police. The Police denied the casino existed, so Chuwit showed a video in Parliament with pictures showing were the Casino was. Low and behold, the next day the police raided the place and found the remains of a Casino, it seems they had had a tip off of a raid and had moved. It seems it was in the interest of the local Police to let them know, it seems they were running the Casino. No matter, Chuwit had a video of the Casino being moved and were it had gone, it took the Police three days in which they denied the existance of thenew Casino to raid the new location, only to find yet again it was gone. Things were going to far, The Bangkok Police Head Office had to act, but instead of suspending 3 high level Officers and 5 Juniors whilst the crime was investigated and possible charges against them, they have been moved for 30 days to Inactive Posts! Which means in 30 days, they'll be back at their day jobs, running Casino's. Only in Thailand!!!!

So its hats off to Chuwit, this type of actions are earning more respect than scorn. His goal of making Thailand graft free are probably three generations off ever happening, but if this poacher turned gamekeeper is serious in his new quest, good luck to him.

He's still a bit Scary!

Zante 2011

Last week, Elizabeth and I found ourselves on the Greek Island of Zante or Zakynthos, which ever takes your fancy. We were due to go to Turkey, but as I explained in a recent post the holiday company went bust. The holiday on Zante cost £200 more than the original and sad to say, it was worth only £200 all in...

Because of the lateness of tthe booking, I could only get a B &; B holiday in the lively resort of Laganas on Zante, you hear the horror stories of the 18-30 brigade stripping the resort and Island of any dignity. Well, its true. The behaviour of the young british holiday makers is true, they seem to have lost all respect and inabitions that I would have considered a bare minimum 25 years ago. Sadder still is that alot of the young girls are behaved worse than the lads.

You can see how the Greek economy is suffering, there are plenty of business's either closed or not even bothering to open, Restaurants, shops, car hire, bars and clubs. Nothing seems to be spared. The Hotel we stayed in was ok, if the louts hadn't been there, then it gave you exactly what it says on the Tin. The one outstanding feature of the Hotel Perkes is the Night Porter, Tony takes no shit, male or female are treated the same, up to 2am he is understanding, after that, any major hassle and he takes the keys off the trouble makers and goes and gets their suitcases. He did it to two sets of revellers, they weren't impressed, however neither was the 2M tall Tony....

Towards the end of the week, we hired a car for a couple of days, we saw the interior of Zante and this made up for Laganas. We saw the famous Shipwreck Cove and travelled to a small Island connected by a wooden walkway. We saw some Loggerhead Turtles and the sea was so clear.

Overall, I'm struggling to recommend Zante, there are a lot of better places in the Med, if you do go there, avoid Laganas at all costs.

WTF

Over the last four nights in England there have been major riots and to be quite honest with you, I can't remember such lawlessness.

I remember the riots in Brixton, Toxteh and St. Pauls in the 80's, These riots were down to the shocking social injustice that were being faced by the communuties were facing at the time and whilst not justifiable they were seen as a sign of the times.

This new set of riots were supposedly set off by the killing of a gang member in Tottenham and the protest outside a Police Station by his family. I don't know exactly what went off but this turned into a night of rioting and looting. This spread the following nights to other boroughs in London and culminated on Monday night the level of looting was at a level never seen before.

This is were I get labelled a racist because from what I've seen, a majority of the mob seemed to be of black (Not sure what the current PC term is?) background, although due to them not wanting to show their face they wore scarfs over their faces. The news coverage as been wall to wall, which I firmly believe as fuelled the copy cat trouble in other cities in England as avoided this side of the argument so far.

The Police have been conspicuous by their lack of profile, politicians have done their usual and not answered a question properly and the media is getting a hard on about the whole thing.

The situation seems easy to me, let the Police force be a force and not a comunity service. Sometimes you need to fight fire with fire. Their are several sayings tht spring to mind,"Spare the rod, spoil the child", "You reap what you sow", "HE who lives by the sword etc...". You get my meaning.

This is making England look even more stupid, Countries are wondering why we haven't used force to quell the troubles? So have I!

The most troublesome thing to me is that the Ferule Rats of yobs are not scared of the police or rule of law. They also seem oblivious to the consiquences of their actions, people could have been killed, but then again they wouldn't care anyway!

Yingluck Shinawatra

Thailand awaoke this morning to its first woman Prime Minister.

Yingluck Shinawatra was endorsed yesterday by the King of Thailand, it seems winning the election was the easy part!

Most people except the Yingluck is a mere puppet of her brother, Thaksin and this is just an attempt to get him back to Thailand. The scenerio goes that national reconcillation will be negotiated and Thaksin will have charges and crimes dropped against him, he'll probably get his seized money back too. On the other side of the political devide, the Generals and politicians who were involved in the savage crack down last year will have the slate cleaned, AGAIN!

Then there is the list below:

Rich poor divide
Looming financial turmoil
Mending Thailand damaged image
Maintaining the growth of industry
The troubled south

Don't get me wrong, I really wish her well, however I lived in Thailand during the last populist Government. While most ordinary people seemed happy with Thaksin, the Army and the institution were'nt and all this resulted in a coup.

If Yingluck rattles too many cages?????

One thing that does remain, Yingluck is pretty hot still!!!!!!

Diabetes and me Day 365

I've just got back from the Doctors with the results of tests and the first anniversary of me finding out I was type 2 diabetic.

The results were on the concerned side of OK! My average MMO levels came in at 7.2, this better than a year ago when they were 12 so this as got to be good. Unfortunately it seems that only the medication I'm taking are keeping things at bay.

I got the expected lecture about loosing weight and trying to watch the amount and type of sugars I eat.

My cholesterol levels were ever so slightly raised, so the nurse were going to ask about putting me on Statins. She actually just phoned back and told me that my liver results were again slightly high so I've got to go for another test and a scan on my liver before they'll prescribe statins. Great!

I have been told to increase the amount of Metformin I take, I now have to take 3 x 500mg a day. I don't mind this.

I will knuckle down and try to eat better, I will watch what I eat as well. So here we go again.....

No Holiday

(TOSSERS)

I had a phone call this afternoon to tell me that the holiday I booked last week is not going to happen.

The company Holidays4U have gone into administration and this is who our flight to Turkey were booked with. There is a ATOL bond, but we are'nt going to get our money back overnight. We have been quoted any time between 2 days to 1 year to get the money back. So in the mean time we'll try and pursue the money through Visa.

The company I booked with "Sunshine.co.uk" have done as much as they can, they have refunded the cost of the hotel and transfer.

What as been a downer is the large travel company's have taken advantage of the situation. A flight this morning from Manchester to Bodrum on the 15th August was £255 per person, when I last checked this evening the price was £464 per person! This is just taking the piss, yes people need to make a profit, but that sort of increase is a little obscene.

I'm going to wait till this time next week, see if there are any bargains, if not its hello N. Wales...

Diabetes and me Day 363

In a couple of days I've got my first annual diabetes check up and boy Am I dreading it.

I Since the new year I've slowly but surely dropped off the wagon. I do try and eat better and look after myself, but it just isn't happening. All the weight I lost last year, I've put back on and more. I feel bloated and horrible and my face feels very flushed. I can tell in my self that things are getting bad again, I'm hoping that the visit on Thursday will look at help rather than advice.

On Sunday I went out on my bike for nearly two hours and felt great even though I went on a hard route, I'm sure if I can loose some weight things would get better.

I took my MMO/L reading last night, it came out at 11.0MMO/L, which isn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. These prick tests are only a snap shot, the blood test I had last week is a more overall picture.

I'll let you know how I go on later in the week.

The Prince and the Plane

This as got to be one of the strangest tale from Thailand to date. It involves the Crown Prince of Thailand, a defunct German building company and certain members of the Thai Government. Strangely due to the lack of press freedom in Thailand, very few people in Thailand know that anything as happened.

For several years there as been rumours about the Prince and a ir Hostess Mistress in Munich, I don't know the facts but if you check out Wikileaks there is plenty on the subject.

Well the Prince landed in Munich in his 737 and the plane was immediately impounded by administrators for a now defunct German construction company. They claim that they are still owed $30million from the Don Muang Express Way, despite several attempts to get the money out of the Thai Government they had to resort to drastic measures of impounding the thai Air Force jet.

The Thai Government has gone ape shit. Anything to do with the royal family then they react. Sadly over react! The Foreign Minister as flown to germany to help the Embassy sort this out. The german court will rule on the case monday. Sadly for the Thai delegation, Germany is ruled by the law and who you are as no bearance on preceedings. The FM as told the German Government not to risk a diplomatic spat with Thailand, Germany quaking in its boots as said bring it on.

The sadest thing about this affair is the fact it began on tuesday and it didn't break in Thailand until Thursday evening, and then only in a small way. Twitter and the net have been on top of it all the time. The bangkok Post ran a small story about it, but let no one comment on the forum. The Thai Press need to grow a pair....

They should use some of the 100's millions taken from Thaksin to pay the 30 million or prove they don't owe the money.

Bangkoks Top 50 Food Stalls

This book is a must for anyone visiting or living in Bangkok. I've been to Bangkok dozen's of times and lived there for several years and I could only say I've tried two out of the book. Nuch, who as lived in Bangkok for 30 years didn't know many of the places to eat either.

The book is set out in geographic sections, from Sukhumvit to China Town to Silom to Hualampong. The introduction and the beginning of the book describes the different type of food you will get and their thai pronunciation, also drinks are explained.

Layout is very simple, excellebt graphcics and the pictures are stunning. You could easily find a picture and show the food stall the picture and you'd be away. This book takes the panic out of eating on the streets in Bangkok.

I got the book from the Book Store in the Silom complex, I think it was 399baht (£8.00). You can also get it from Amazon.
Going to Bangkok, get this book!

A note for the Author. Maybe a study of the Shopping Malls Food Courts. The food always looks good, but how do order it and what is it?

Hard times are a comin

Over the past few months I've seen the state of the UK go from bad to worse.

This isn't scare mongering, you only have to look outside your window and the High Street is failing, In Belper alone we have loads of closed shops and branches of Focus and Haldanes have closed down, with maybe Thorntons to go.

The state of the pound abroad is shocking, at the moment it is at a 15 year low, mainly because of our high inflation and no interest rate. This is supposed to be good for our export business, unfortunately no one is buying our products anyway so that's a waste of time.

Elizabeth's 2nd day of introduction to her new school was cancelled because the Teachers were on strike over the government cheating them over their pension.

Local train manufacturer Bombardier as just lost a huge contract to German firm Siemens. Who is the buyer? The British frickin Government. I can't believe they are so short sighted to think that was a good idea. The 3000 staff at the derby works are set to loose their jobs. Camoron and his cronies don't give a flying fuck! Their rich!!!!

All the current Government is bothered about is reducing the deficit at break neck speed! Yes, the deficit does need reducing, but why in five years when it could be done easily over 10 or 15 years. If you have a problem with a loan you speak to the bank and extend your repayments. You end up paying more back, but its easier week to week. Obviously, members of the cabinet have no concept of everyday life so I doubt this concept registers with them.

I really hope things get better by the turn of the year, for every ones sake.....

Koh Samet

Koh Samet is my favourite destination in Thailand. It is a small island off the coast of Rayong District about 250km west of Bangkok.

You have to catch boat over to the Island at Ban Pean, this is a small port town. The pier for the Island is a shit hole and sadly gets worse every time we visit! You can either catch the public ferry at 50baht which takes 45 mins to get to the main pier on Koh Samet, you also have to pay a pick up to take you to your resort nad pay 200baht each to enter the National Park that covers most of the Island. Or you can catch a speed boat which costs 1500baht each way. The boat can hold at least 10 people, so the more you fit on the better the price will be. One thing to be aware of is that the speed boats do it in 15mins and boy do they go fast, the crossing is very bumpy. Another advantage of the speedboat is that it takes you directly to your Hotel so no Parke or taxi fees.

We stayed at the Samed Villa Resort, we have stayed there before, the last time about five years ago. I was very keen to go back and take advantage of the excellent position Aoh Phau beach. The Hotel didn't dissappoint, from the easy check, through to the Sea View Bungalow with 2 bedrooms. There is Air Con, TV and a mini bar in each room.

The view from the room is outstanding, there is alot of improvement work being carried out at the moment, but th is is very low key.

The breakfast is very good and the menu during the day is very varied and something for everyone. Nuch was very impressed with the Thai food, her and her friends ordered. Prices of food and drink is very reasonable, despite you being a captive audience. Plus you get all this for £44 per night in low season, this is for both rooms....

On this trip Koh Samet didn't let me down. The mixture of white sandy beaches, warm clear sea and a friendly layed back atmosphere all go in to making this a super getaway place.

We will definately be going back to Koh Samet on our next visit.