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From Thai PBS World The Thai cabinet has made November 16th, 17th and 18th special public holidays for Bangkok, Nonthaburi and Samut Prakan to ease the movement of government leaders and senior officials during the APEC Summit and related meetings. Anucha Burapachaisri, deputy secretary-general to the prime minister, said today (Wednesday) that the extra days off are also intended to enable security officials to perform their duties efficiently. Commercial banks and other financial institutes, however, will remain open as usual, particularly those responsible for critical functions. Other staff can work from home. State enterprises, private companies and the Labour Ministry can decide, as they think fit, whether to remain operational, as long as they ensure that the public are not affected if they decide to suspend operations. The APEC Summit and related meetings, from November 14th to 17th, will take place at the Queen Sirikit Convention Centre in Bangkok.

New event??? You’ve been posting in multiple threads about events that happened 10, 50 and century or more ago. And not just from Thailand but world wide!

Small payment indeed for moments of afternoon delight 🙂

So you don’t believe that members here would like to be aware of what affects the poor in the city they travel from all over the world to visit. In the past few days alone, members have posted about cities and countries the world over. Posting about what’s happening in Bangkok seems quite appropriate.

Shameless Mack blog has been reincarnated and now known as Shameless Mack Two.

To those who live in high rise condos perhaps. But to the great numbers of working class who live close to sea level, it matters a lot.

Never too late to immigrate. Just follow Hemingway’s advice and take a “Slow boat to Cuba.”

The annual Hindu Navaratri festival and parade will take place tonight on lower Silom rd. Anticipate unusually heavy traffic in the Silom-Sathorn-Surawong area between 6pm and Midnight. Sri Maha Mariamman (also called Wat Prasri Maha Umathewee) is the main Hindu temple in Bangkok. It is located across the street from Silom Soi 20. It is hard to miss since it is a towering Dravidian style temple. It is free to enter and those who have come to sightsee are just as welcome as those Hindus who wish to attend a puja. The temple was built by Vaithi Padayatchi, a Tamil immigrant to Bangkok in the late Nineteenth Century. The main temple building is dedicated to the worship of the goddess Mariamman. For those interested, the temple was built by a Shakti sect that revers ‘the mother of the God’; somewhat similar to the Catholic obsession to Mary, the mother of Jesus.

From the Thaiger TOURISM British Embassy Bangkok to hold a conference on tourism safety and security This is a one-day conference bringing together the Phuket tourism industry, Thai government departments and the international community to discuss matters relating to tourism safety and security in Phuket. The following topics will be discussed: Security Awareness and Crime Prevention Protective Security Incident Response Panel Discussion: Emerging Consular Trends Post Covid-19 Tourism Industry Cyber Risks Engaging Embassies and Consulates Event is: Free entry to all (no cost and anyone can join) – full day with materials, includes coffee breaks, lunch and networking The seminar will be conducted in Thai and English Meet safety and security experts from the UK Register https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSebCA3sLe41HkkDu2BIZv-RbPzni4CPpoRnWkR26CrEzu9urg/viewform?fbclid=IwAR0Tq6_zofEhbu_bgRzkUF6hBlFAe7e8ULfSp0fccwx6yYwRfw3-hQQxXJk

From Thai PBS World Bangkok authorities on Tuesday urged government agencies and private companies to consider allowing their personnel and employees to work from home in the next few days as Bangkok is expected to be hit by more heavy rains. Bangkok Deputy Governor Tavida Kamolvej expressed fears that between October 5-7 Bangkok will be facing possible heaving flooding with the arrival of floodwaters from the north coupled with anticipated heavy rains. “We would like to ask for cooperation from agencies and companies to allow people to work from home or to quit work earlier between Oct 5-7,” she said. A heavy downpour on Monday turned many parts of Bangkok into swamps. Hardest hit were areas around Laksi and Chaengwattanawhere many government agencies are located. Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt admitted that the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) was not prepared enough to deal with the flooding in those areas. He said it needs to work more closely with the Highways Department and authorities in neighbouring Nonthaburi to handle the situation.

None has served me better than “trust your instincts.” if the situation looks wrong, feels wrong or just leaves you undecided, heed the message and disengage. Don’t second guess yourself. Sure, it’s possible you’re misjudging the situation but your instincts will minimize the risk of a bad outcome. I can only recall a handful of incidents where this actually kicked in. But they all involved total strangers met on the street. The one that stands out was a guy hanging out on the large steps of the K-bank on Surawong, near the old Twlight site. He offered me a body massage and I brought him back to Tarntawan. After what was just some rubbing my back, he demanded in no uncertain terms that I give him 2,000 bht. I handed him 500 and he took it but still wanted the rest, saying “I not leaving.” It wasn’t until I picked up phone that he shouted some obscenity and left. A few minutes later I got the call from elevator guard if everything was ok. I was tempted to say no but since no physical threat had been made, I let it go. That was probably 15 years ago, but it was the incident that convinced me not to again put myself into a situation that—on reflection—felt wrong from the start. The guy was a bit unkept and badly needed a shower, something I realized back in the room. And he never smiled or said much at all on walk to hotel. And yes, my prior alcohol intake clouded my judgement to some degree. That’s why I much prefer massage shops or bars as meeting venues. Overall, I feel safer in Thailand than in any other country (crossing streets and riding motor bikes excepted).

+ 1

Pub fire claims 24th victim From Thai PBS World The deadly inferno at the Mountain B pub in Sattahip district of Chon Buri on August 5th claimed its 24th life last night (Monday), at the Somdech Phra Pinklao military hospital in Thon Buri. The latest victim, Pattharakrit Suwanchim, a non-commissioned naval officer, was pronounced dead at 8.40pm. He had been hospitalised since he sustained severe burns when the fire struck the pub. 57 other people were injured in the blaze, some of whom have since died. 11 others are still in hospital, including three who are on ventilators.

From Pattaya Mail Many parts of Pattaya and Jomtien were inundated on Monday after three hours of heavy rains caused by the monsoon. The east side of the city railroads braced high level of floods. Vehicles were blocked off by the officials to prevent disasters on the railroads, and Pattaya third roads. Soi Buakhao, Soi Yensabai in south Pattaya and Soi Khao Talo were among the locations suffered at least two feet of water height. The water is receding in the afternoon. Nonetheless, the weather is unpredictable since the monsoon is still covering the eastern provinces and the causing high tides in Pattaya bay.

From Pattaya News One of Pattaya’s three biggest festivals, along with the New Year’s countdown and Songkran Wan Lai events, returns in November to light up the skies of Pattaya. Although the fireworks festival did take place in 2020 and 2021, due to border restrictions and business closures and covid rules many people that would have liked to come could not. Additionally the event was majorly scaled down for the past two years from multiple fireworks boats to one. This year, however, the fireworks festival returns with a BANG to Pattaya with many major beach hotel operators reporting their hotels are already fully booked with beach views. Pattaya City officials estimate over 100,000 domestic and foreign tourists will flock to the city for the event, making it the biggest event in Pattaya since 2019, pre Covid-19. The event will take place on November 25th and November 26th on Pattaya Beach, which will have Beach Road completely closed to vehicle traffic and full of various food vendors and a street market. Organizers of the event said they are going all out this year to celebrate Thailand fully open to tourism again without any restrictions and the event will also have many concerts, cultural activities, and other features. Admission to the fireworks is free and many parking areas will be provided around the city as well as shuttles to the beach for the event.

This subject surprisingly seems to arouse as much interest as trip reports. It’s like a Nielsen rating, revealing strong reaction pro or con.

No, of course we should not praise it. Why would you possibly suggest that anyone should? But here’s story of what very few know of the US helicopter pilot who turned his guns on My Lai attackers and adverted an even greater tragedy. The facts of My Lai are harrowing. The valor and courage of one man can not undo that. But his humanity in the face of this tragedy deserves to be known. It is always tempting to cast the first stones. From Wikipedia Hugh Clowers Thompson Jr. (April 15, 1943 – January 6, 2006) was a United States Army Major, and a former warrant officer in the 123rd Aviation Battalion of the 23rd Infantry Division. He is credited with ending the Mỹ Lai Massacre of the South Vietnamese village known as Sơn Mỹ on March 16, 1968, alongside and hierarchically above Glenn Andreotta and Lawrence Colburn. During the massacre, Thompson and his Hiller OH-23 Raven crew, Glenn Andreotta and Lawrence Colburn, stopped a number of killings by threatening and blocking American officers and enlisted soldiers of Company C, 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 11th Brigade, 23rd Infantry Division. Additionally, Thompson and his crew saved a number of Vietnamese civilians by personally escorting them away from advancing United States Army ground units and assuring their evacuation by air. Thompson reported the atrocities by radio several times while at Sơn Mỹ. Although these reports reached Task Force Barker operational headquarters, nothing was done to stop the massacre. After evacuating a child to a Quảng Ngãi hospital, Thompson angrily reported to his superiors at Task Force Barker headquarters that a massacre was occurring at Sơn Mỹ. Immediately following Thompson's report, Lieutenant Colonel Frank A. Barker ordered all ground units in Sơn Mỹ to cease search and destroy operations in the village. In 1970, Thompson testified against those responsible for the Mỹ Lai Massacre. Twenty-six officers and enlisted soldiers, including William Calley and Ernest Medina, were charged with criminal offenses, but all were either acquitted or pardoned. Thompson was condemned and ostracized by many individuals in the United States military and government, as well as the public, for his role in the investigations and trials concerning the Mỹ Lai massacre. As a direct result of what he experienced, Thompson experienced posttraumatic stress disorder, alcoholism, divorce, and severe nightmare disorder.[1] Despite the adversity he faced, he remained in the United States Army until November 1, 1983, then continued to make a living as a helicopter pilot in the Southeastern United States. In 1998, 30 years after the massacre, Thompson and the two other members of his crew, Andreotta and Colburn, were awarded the Soldier's Medal (Andreotta posthumously), the United States Army's highest award for bravery not involving direct contact with the enemy.[2] Thompson and Colburn returned to Sơn Mỹ to meet with survivors of the massacre at the Sơn Mỹ Memorial in 1998. In 1999, Thompson and Colburn received the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Award. Thompson recounted at an academic conference on Mỹ Lai held at Tulane University in December, 1994: "We kept flying back and forth, reconning in front and in the rear, and it didn't take very long until we started noticing the large number of bodies everywhere. Everywhere we'd look, we'd see bodies. These were infants, two-, three-, four-, five-year-olds, women, very old men, no draft-age people whatsoever."[9] Thompson and his crew, who at first thought the artillery bombardment caused all the civilian deaths on the ground, became aware that Americans were murdering the villagers after a wounded civilian woman they requested medical evacuation for, Nguyễn Thị Tẩu (chín Tẩu), was murdered right in front of them by Captain Medina, the commanding officer of the operation. According to Lawrence Colburn, Immediately after the execution, Thompson discovered the irrigation ditch full of Calley's victims. Thompson then radioed a message to accompanying gunships and Task Force Barker headquarters, "It looks to me like there's an awful lot of unnecessary killing going on down there. Something ain't right about this. There's bodies everywhere. There's a ditch full of bodies that we saw. There's something wrong here."[3]: 75  Thompson spotted movement in the irrigation ditch, indicating that there were civilians alive in it. He immediately landed to assist the victims. Lieutenant Calley approached Thompson and the two exchanged an uneasy conversation.[3]: 77  As Thompson was speaking to Calley, Calley's subordinate, Sergeant David Mitchell, fired into the irrigation ditch, killing any civilians still moving.[3]: 78  Thompson and his crew, in disbelief and shock, returned to their helicopter and began searching for civilians they could save. They spotted a group of women, children, and old men in the northeast corner of the village fleeing from advancing soldiers from the 2nd Platoon, Company C. Immediately realizing that the soldiers intended to murder the Vietnamese civilians, Thompson landed his helicopter between the advancing ground unit and the villagers.[3]: 79  He turned to Colburn and Andreotta and ordered them to shoot the men in the 2nd Platoon if they attempted to kill any of the fleeing civilians.[3]: 81  While Colburn and Andreotta trained their guns on the 2nd Platoon, Thompson located as many civilians as he could, persuaded them to follow him to a safer location, and ensured their evacuation with the help of two UH-1 Huey pilots he was friends with.[5]: 138–139  Low on fuel, Thompson was forced to return to a supply airstrip miles outside the village. Before they departed the village, Andreotta spotted movement in the irrigation ditch full of bodies. According to Trent Angers in The Forgotten Hero of My Lai: The Hugh Thompson Story (2014), The child, Do Ba, was pulled from the irrigation ditch and after failing to find any more survivors, Thompson's crew transported the child to a hospital in Quảng Ngãi.[3]: 215  After transporting the child to the hospital, Thompson flew to the Task Force Barker headquarters (Landing Zone Dottie), and angrily reported the massacre to his superiors.[5]: 176–179  His report quickly reached Lieutenant Colonel Frank Barker, the operation's overall commander. Barker immediately radioed ground forces to cease the "killings". After the helicopter was refueled, Thompson's crew returned to the village to ensure that no more civilians were being murdered and that the wounded were evacuated.[3]: 89  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Thompson_Jr.

Pomposity squared

Pompous even in anger! I do love it so 😀

My dear fellow, you say that you’re not ant-American but all your talk betrays that. I’d have some respect for your views if you simply admitted your bias. Since you can’t, I don’t give a crap about anything you babble on about. You may well be the most aristocratic poster to ever grace these pages. But I shouldn’t complain too much. You give me a reason to log on and see what new windy pomposities you managed to post. You provide a certain modicum of comic relief. And you always use so many extraneous words to say it. 😃

I see that you still want to play bad America card. No problem. The answer is obvious: because its government chooses to. And as I look back again at your comments, there’s nothing germane to same sex marriage in Cuba. The bulk of it is indeed histrionic babble about what you hate about America. Tell us, do you hate American government for its actions on June 6, 1944? I thought not.

I only add personal comments on news items if I believe they’re relevant, and not just to hear myself talk. I try to select items that may be of interest to those considering a trip to Thailand or already living there. It’s indeed time consuming but it’s become a hobby over time. I guess it’s not so unlike the way Richard Barrow shares his fondness for news and current events. But thank you for asking. in all sincerity, I’m heartened that you have a committed partner. I’m sure your relationship brings immeasurable joy to your life.

From Pattaya news Indian and Russian victims in separate cases said they were pickpocketed last night by what they said were a Thai female companion and two transgender individuals. The first victim was a 29-year-old Indian national, Mr. Sekar Mohandoss. He came to report his plight at the Pattaya police station last night, October 2nd, saying his Huawei A4 smartphone was stolen by a female companion whom he paid to, according to him, “just hang out” with him at his accommodation. Mr. Sekar said his phone cost 18,400 baht, and it disappeared when the woman left his room. The Indian tourist came to the police station alone and was reportedly shocked by the incident. Meanwhile, the second victim, Mr. Vadim Korni Iashchenko, a 31-year-old Russian national, also went to report a similar thief incident at the Pattaya police station at 5:30 PM last night. According to him, he was on a night out to enjoy the beach when what he described as two transvestites in sexy dresses approached him to say hi and offer companionship. Mr. Vadim said he refused and tried to walk away, but the two kept following him and touching his body. Once the suspects were gone, Mr. Vadim’s gold necklace, which he claimed was worth over 120,000 baht, had disappeared from his neck.

From Coconuts Bangkok It’s been raining endlessly and we’re ready to move on. And we will. Just a little later than usual. Meteorologists forecast that Thailand’s cooler days of winter will officially arrive in the fourth week of October – a week later than usual – but last through February. Temperatures in the capital city and its metropolitan areas are expected to drop to as low as 15C. Temperatures in the north could fall as low as 8C. The south will get chilly in its upper reaches, but the region will also see heavy rains. Residents are warned to prepare for flash floods and high waves. This long-term forecast will be updated in the last week of October, said the meteorological department.

From the Thaiger On October 1, Korean Air resumed two direct routes to Thailand. The airline reopened services between Seoul to Chiang Mai and Phuket, which were both suspended in March 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The South Korean flag carrier announced the return of the popular routes in August. Flights from Seoul Incheon to Phuket depart on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays at 5.55pm and land in Phuket at 10pm. Phuket to Seoul flights depart on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays, leaving Phuket at 11.20pm and arriving in Seoul Incheon at 7.55am the next day. A Boeing 737-800 will serve the Seoul – Chiang Mai route, which departs from Seoul Incheon at 5.55pm and lands in Chiang Mai at 9.30pm on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Chiang Mai to Seoul flights will depart at 11pm on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays and arrive in Seoul at 6.25am the following day. One-way economy class tickets from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, and Phuket to Seoul all start from 14,250 baht. Tickets can be bought through the Korean Air website.