Politics in Thailand.

Alas... just when things sound promising for my wife. Thai politics is into another low point again. The recent ugly protests and standoffs seems so deja vu again...

The problem with PM Samak is that he is not as decisive as he looks. He should have asked the court to apply for warrants of arrest for the leaders of PAD long before it blew out of hand. Now its a bit too late. The only two person who could intervene are either the King or the Chief of Army.

Still, my fingers are crossed and hopefully, everything will be resolved as fast as possible.

Politics in Thailand has always been ugly. Filled with scandals and corruption. But yet the country is still progressing (much much slower pace though). So kind of makes one wonder.... If such an incident happens in Singapore, such a major protest that will upset the gahment... what would really happen? Would our army intervene? Still trying hard to picture it. heheh

Politics in Thailand.

Alas... just when things sound promising for my wife. Thai politics is into another low point again. The recent ugly protests and standoffs seems so deja vu again...

The problem with PM Samak is that he is not as decisive as he looks. He should have asked the court to apply for warrants of arrest for the leaders of PAD long before it blew out of hand. Now its a bit too late. The only two person who could intervene are either the King or the Chief of Army.

Still, my fingers are crossed and hopefully, everything will be resolved as fast as possible.

Politics in Thailand has always been ugly. Filled with scandals and corruption. But yet the country is still progressing (much much slower pace though). So kind of makes one wonder.... If such an incident happens in Singapore, such a major protest that will upset the gahment... what would really happen? Would our army intervene? Still trying hard to picture it. heheh

Some good news

Basically its regarding my wife's Thai id card. Recently with some help, she managed to get the first step of owning "Sian Chat" (citizenship) and was asked to go for an interview at her district office.

Since we already "paved" our way in. The interview was a success and now have to wait for a few more months before the next step.

All in all, its good as there is some progress rather than none at all. The political situation in Thailand has not improved and I'm a bit worried that another coup will occur and everything is back to square one again (like last time).

So finger crossed and hopefully, everything can be settled by end of the year. So wify and girl girl can come to SG during CNY 2009 to celebrate together with Grandma and auntie... :P

Some good news

Basically its regarding my wife's Thai id card. Recently with some help, she managed to get the first step of owning "Sian Chat" (citizenship) and was asked to go for an interview at her district office.

Since we already "paved" our way in. The interview was a success and now have to wait for a few more months before the next step.

All in all, its good as there is some progress rather than none at all. The political situation in Thailand has not improved and I'm a bit worried that another coup will occur and everything is back to square one again (like last time).

So finger crossed and hopefully, everything can be settled by end of the year. So wify and girl girl can come to SG during CNY 2009 to celebrate together with Grandma and auntie... :P

Getting to Chiang Mai

kc said...

Hi Fatboi,

when you are free pls give me some advice on my forthcoming journey to chiangmai..

what airline is best in terms of fares, shud i fly to chiangmai direct or bkk and take a train up north? i heard the journey by train is 12 hours, is it easy to find the station at mochit bkk? anything to pay attention to? is chiangmai an expensive place compared to bkk?

thanks for the heads up buddy.
4:29 AM

Got this comment for help in regarding Chiang Mai(CM). So I post it here so all could reference. But this guide is mainly for Singaporeans.

Sad to say, the only budget airlines that fly to CM is Tiger airways but they have canceled it recently. So the only airlines I currently knew (maybe got others) that flew direct from Singapore to CM are Thai Airways, SIA and Silkair. If you are going alone and want a cheap fare, just go Thai airways and book online. Price is about $700plus with all taxes included. Pretty expensive as it used to be only 500 plus. The recent hike in fuel surcharge are crazy.

The cheaper way as mentioned by kc is to fly to BKK and do a domestic transfer. The money you would save will depend on the flight you get. Can be much cheaper at around 500 plus if you buy the tix earlier for budget flights. My recommendation is to get Airasia. Then do the domestic transfer at the same new International airport (Surwahnabumi). Less money spend on the taxis to get to the old airport Don Meaung. But if you plan to stay in BKK for a night or 2. This method is plausible also and you can get even cheaper flights at Don Meaung.

I never tried the train before as its neither here or there. And its actually slower than the bus from what I heard from those who took it. So what I suggest is the bus. Its 11plus journey and you can get tickets easily. (Every hour got one departure). The bus station for the northern provinces are Mochit Mai. There's another station for all the Southern parts but I never been there so sorry, can't help on that. As mentioned by KC. (He researched well!) Just tell the taxi driver to Mochit Sathanni Rot Meh. If the driver asked Khang Lang(downstair) or Khang Bon(upstair). Tell him to go downstair or just tell him you are going CM. Mochit bus station is an interesting place itself. Its a huge huge bus station ... hehehe... Anyway, just go around the hundreds of counters and pick the most expensive one (now not sure, last time about 2 years ago, 900baht is the most expensive). They have English signboards on their destination so should not be a problem for us. Avoid those in Thai scripts as those are normally non-aircon ones. The reason to get the most expensive is because they are 24 seaters and they have less stops in between. The seat are also very comfortable. If not, get those in the range of 700 to 800 baht at least. Avoid those 600 or less. Thai people are small and if you as big as me, you would be in a hell hole. Hope this help for those who want to explore other part of Thailand.

PS. Never take the bus during the Song Krang Festival or Loi Krathong (coming Nov) I've tried once during Loi Krathong. BIG mistake. You can get buses but the crowd and queue is damn packed. You don't even have a spot to stand on the bus pavements. Now I wonder how I ever survived that.......

Getting to Chiang Mai

kc said...

Hi Fatboi,

when you are free pls give me some advice on my forthcoming journey to chiangmai..

what airline is best in terms of fares, shud i fly to chiangmai direct or bkk and take a train up north? i heard the journey by train is 12 hours, is it easy to find the station at mochit bkk? anything to pay attention to? is chiangmai an expensive place compared to bkk?

thanks for the heads up buddy.
4:29 AM

Got this comment for help in regarding Chiang Mai(CM). So I post it here so all could reference. But this guide is mainly for Singaporeans.

Sad to say, the only budget airlines that fly to CM is Tiger airways but they have canceled it recently. So the only airlines I currently knew (maybe got others) that flew direct from Singapore to CM are Thai Airways, SIA and Silkair. If you are going alone and want a cheap fare, just go Thai airways and book online. Price is about $700plus with all taxes included. Pretty expensive as it used to be only 500 plus. The recent hike in fuel surcharge are crazy.

The cheaper way as mentioned by kc is to fly to BKK and do a domestic transfer. The money you would save will depend on the flight you get. Can be much cheaper at around 500 plus if you buy the tix earlier for budget flights. My recommendation is to get Airasia. Then do the domestic transfer at the same new International airport (Surwahnabumi). Less money spend on the taxis to get to the old airport Don Meaung. But if you plan to stay in BKK for a night or 2. This method is plausible also and you can get even cheaper flights at Don Meaung.

I never tried the train before as its neither here or there. And its actually slower than the bus from what I heard from those who took it. So what I suggest is the bus. Its 11plus journey and you can get tickets easily. (Every hour got one departure). The bus station for the northern provinces are Mochit Mai. There's another station for all the Southern parts but I never been there so sorry, can't help on that. As mentioned by KC. (He researched well!) Just tell the taxi driver to Mochit Sathanni Rot Meh. If the driver asked Khang Lang(downstair) or Khang Bon(upstair). Tell him to go downstair or just tell him you are going CM. Mochit bus station is an interesting place itself. Its a huge huge bus station ... hehehe... Anyway, just go around the hundreds of counters and pick the most expensive one (now not sure, last time about 2 years ago, 900baht is the most expensive). They have English signboards on their destination so should not be a problem for us. Avoid those in Thai scripts as those are normally non-aircon ones. The reason to get the most expensive is because they are 24 seaters and they have less stops in between. The seat are also very comfortable. If not, get those in the range of 700 to 800 baht at least. Avoid those 600 or less. Thai people are small and if you as big as me, you would be in a hell hole. Hope this help for those who want to explore other part of Thailand.

PS. Never take the bus during the Song Krang Festival or Loi Krathong (coming Nov) I've tried once during Loi Krathong. BIG mistake. You can get buses but the crowd and queue is damn packed. You don't even have a spot to stand on the bus pavements. Now I wonder how I ever survived that.......

The problem with gadgets...

First of all, I want to inform the reader that I myself is hooked to all sorts of new gadgets that are available in the market. Be it electronically sophisticated or as mundane as a piece of magnet.

The most phenomenal lead in improvement is our little mobile phone. Wow. No longer we could just make calls. Now we can take photos, listen to music, watch videos and surf the web on it. All on a little piece of plastic and silicon. I'm not sure who came first came up with the idea of combining an mp3 player to a mobile phone (Sony?) and its a great idea. (I have one too) But the idea is not that great when you allow some joker to play their favourite tune (blarring distorted notes) at a public space such as a bus or coffee shop. I have encountered several times these "people who thinks that they have the right" to play their music loudly anywhere they like. Come on, why don't you just use a headphone instead like we used to do? No matter how good is the song, it won't be nice if it's coming out from a small speaker of a mobile phone right?

Speaking of phone. Apple's iPhone or those PSP and Nintendo DS are great too. So are those PVP (I have one too!) I watched movies on them while I'm on the plane to Thailand or back. Or in a bus. And all the times, with my headphones on and seated in a comfortable position. And I do make sure that I only turn my gadgets on when the plane took off and the seatbelt sign is off. But do I watch my PVP with my headphones while walking? Nope. But nowadays, I see kids and teenagers trying to commit suicide by playing their PSP or watching a movie on the little mobile phones or PVP with their headphones while walking on the pedestrian crossings or along the road. So I guess the kids here either has another set of eyes or some sonar detection devices that helps them to navigate while they pound the keys on their screen....

Sad to say. Gadgets are cool. The problem is how we kind of abuses it and cause inconvenience to others or harms to ourselves. Guess something "bad" will happen and our gahment will be our Nanny again regarding this issue.

PS. Anyone can tell me where to get the Sonar Navigational system that these PSPians are using. Would like to get one to play with it.

The problem with gadgets...

First of all, I want to inform the reader that I myself is hooked to all sorts of new gadgets that are available in the market. Be it electronically sophisticated or as mundane as a piece of magnet.

The most phenomenal lead in improvement is our little mobile phone. Wow. No longer we could just make calls. Now we can take photos, listen to music, watch videos and surf the web on it. All on a little piece of plastic and silicon. I'm not sure who came first came up with the idea of combining an mp3 player to a mobile phone (Sony?) and its a great idea. (I have one too) But the idea is not that great when you allow some joker to play their favourite tune (blarring distorted notes) at a public space such as a bus or coffee shop. I have encountered several times these "people who thinks that they have the right" to play their music loudly anywhere they like. Come on, why don't you just use a headphone instead like we used to do? No matter how good is the song, it won't be nice if it's coming out from a small speaker of a mobile phone right?

Speaking of phone. Apple's iPhone or those PSP and Nintendo DS are great too. So are those PVP (I have one too!) I watched movies on them while I'm on the plane to Thailand or back. Or in a bus. And all the times, with my headphones on and seated in a comfortable position. And I do make sure that I only turn my gadgets on when the plane took off and the seatbelt sign is off. But do I watch my PVP with my headphones while walking? Nope. But nowadays, I see kids and teenagers trying to commit suicide by playing their PSP or watching a movie on the little mobile phones or PVP with their headphones while walking on the pedestrian crossings or along the road. So I guess the kids here either has another set of eyes or some sonar detection devices that helps them to navigate while they pound the keys on their screen....

Sad to say. Gadgets are cool. The problem is how we kind of abuses it and cause inconvenience to others or harms to ourselves. Guess something "bad" will happen and our gahment will be our Nanny again regarding this issue.

PS. Anyone can tell me where to get the Sonar Navigational system that these PSPians are using. Would like to get one to play with it.

A Story about Strollers

Recently on the local SG papers were tons of letter about Singaporean parents and their strollers.

I have bought one in Thailand and sad to say is that its totally under utilised. That's because my girl doesn't like to sit in it and interestingly noted is that here in Thailand, most of them don't use strollers. They carry their babies or even just let them walk on their own. My girl now is 2 plus and she don't even want us to carry her at all when we go out. So sometimes my wife and I really have some headache when we go shopping. Because girl girl would always struggle free from our hands and ran off on her on. Jia lat man.

So back to the story of strollers. I chatted with my cousin a week before the newspaper outburst and he too mentioned to me about the recent "increase" in seeing parents or grandparents pushing a stroller with a 6 or 7 year old kid in it. I told him as I didn't noticed that but I started to monitor this situation myself. Today I went down to Parkway Parade with a friend for breakfast and I did noticed this strange phenomenon. My cousin was actually right!!!

I saw not 1 but at least 3 sets of parents with their HUGE strollers. Their kid is definitely above 3 or 4 years old and they are happily seating in their strollers while their parents push their "SUV" in the crowded shopping mall. Really interesting scene.

I'm not sure what's really happening to typical Singaporean parents nowadays? Are they pampering their kids? Or is it the kids will behave better if they are just sitting in their strollers? Is it for the protection of their kids? Since its crowded and they are afraid that their kids will get knocked down by some clumsy adults?

I think for safety reasons, maybe a kid less than 5 years old on a stroller is fine with me. But those strollers are HUGE man, not those that I sat last time while I was a baby. (I used to walk all the time and my father or mother will carry me if I'm too tired. And I clearly remember that I never go to the shopping mall before my 8th birthday. And the stroller is only for the beach or parks.)

So to conclude this post. Anyone interested in buying my under-utilised stroller please drop me a mail... Item is in Thailand though..... And yeah, its those HUGE types oso (wify picked one).

A Story about Strollers

Recently on the local SG papers were tons of letter about Singaporean parents and their strollers.

I have bought one in Thailand and sad to say is that its totally under utilised. That's because my girl doesn't like to sit in it and interestingly noted is that here in Thailand, most of them don't use strollers. They carry their babies or even just let them walk on their own. My girl now is 2 plus and she don't even want us to carry her at all when we go out. So sometimes my wife and I really have some headache when we go shopping. Because girl girl would always struggle free from our hands and ran off on her on. Jia lat man.

So back to the story of strollers. I chatted with my cousin a week before the newspaper outburst and he too mentioned to me about the recent "increase" in seeing parents or grandparents pushing a stroller with a 6 or 7 year old kid in it. I told him as I didn't noticed that but I started to monitor this situation myself. Today I went down to Parkway Parade with a friend for breakfast and I did noticed this strange phenomenon. My cousin was actually right!!!

I saw not 1 but at least 3 sets of parents with their HUGE strollers. Their kid is definitely above 3 or 4 years old and they are happily seating in their strollers while their parents push their "SUV" in the crowded shopping mall. Really interesting scene.

I'm not sure what's really happening to typical Singaporean parents nowadays? Are they pampering their kids? Or is it the kids will behave better if they are just sitting in their strollers? Is it for the protection of their kids? Since its crowded and they are afraid that their kids will get knocked down by some clumsy adults?

I think for safety reasons, maybe a kid less than 5 years old on a stroller is fine with me. But those strollers are HUGE man, not those that I sat last time while I was a baby. (I used to walk all the time and my father or mother will carry me if I'm too tired. And I clearly remember that I never go to the shopping mall before my 8th birthday. And the stroller is only for the beach or parks.)

So to conclude this post. Anyone interested in buying my under-utilised stroller please drop me a mail... Item is in Thailand though..... And yeah, its those HUGE types oso (wify picked one).

Company Trip

I was a bit bust for the pass 7 days. On 2nd Aug (my birthday actually). I went with my other colleagues on a company paid trip to Bintan Kelong Resort for 2 days 1 night. Came back and its straight to work on Monday till now. Still need to continue to work till next Wednesday before I go for a break (bloody nine day of 12 hours shift.)

Anyway, here's some photos I took on that trip. Click here to view the whole series on my facebook account.

Company Trip

I was a bit bust for the pass 7 days. On 2nd Aug (my birthday actually). I went with my other colleagues on a company paid trip to Bintan Kelong Resort for 2 days 1 night. Came back and its straight to work on Monday till now. Still need to continue to work till next Wednesday before I go for a break (bloody nine day of 12 hours shift.)

Anyway, here's some photos I took on that trip. Click here to view the whole series on my facebook account.