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The topic comes up from time to time and usually generates comments from both ends of the spectrum from committed butterflies to those in LTR's. Dodger, well known to members of all boards, has posted an impressive account of his first LTR on Gaybutton's site. What distinguishes it IMO is his honesty and openness. Regardless of where individual members fall on the spectrum, I believe that you'll be glad you read it. "I just returned from my first visit to my deceased boyfriend’s village since his death 7 years ago. I had been prolonging this visit for all these years for no other reason than to avoid sorrow, which, admittedly, is selfish on my behalf. Thep and I had spent two years building a house with the intentions that the lower level would be for his mother, sister, and two younger brothers to live, and upper level for us. The house is located in a small village 7 klms from the town of Kantharalak which sits on the Thai/Cambodian border. Just days after the house was completed, the monks were summoned to perform the house blessing ceremony, followed, almost immediately, by my departure to the U.S. to continue working. Unfortunately, Thep and I never had the chance to spend a night together in the house." Continues at https://gaybuttonthai.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=9887&start=70

Excerpted from Wikipedia Booking Holdings Inc. is a company organized in Delaware and based in Norwalk, Connecticut, that owns and operates several travel fare aggregators and travel fare metasearch engines including namesake and flagship Booking.com, Priceline.com, Agoda.com, Kayak.com, Cheapflights, Rentalcars.com, Momondo, and OpenTable. It operates websites in about 40 languages and 200 countries. In 2017, 89% of its gross profit was made outside the United States – most of which used Booking.com. Acquisitions 1 2004 Major stakes in Travelweb and Active Hotels 2 2005 Booking.com 3 2007 Agoda.com 4 2010 TravelJigsaw / Rentalcars.com 5 2013 Kayak.com 6 2014 OpenTable 7 2014 Buuteeq and Hotel Ninjas 8 2015 Rocketmiles 9 2017 Momondo and Cheapflights 10 2017 Mundi 11 2018 FareHarbor 12 2018 Minority stake in DiDi 13 2018 HotelsCombined 14 2019 Venga https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Booking_Holdings#Acquisitions ============================================================= Expedia Group is an American global travel technology company.[3] Its websites, which are primarily travel fare aggregators and travel metasearch engines, include CarRentals.com, CheapTickets, Expedia.com, HomeAway, Hotels.com, Hotwire.com, Orbitz, Travelocity, trivago, and Venere.com. Acquisitions March 17, 2000 Travelscape March 17, 2001 Vacationspot March 11, 2002 Classic Custom Vacations July 11, 2002 Metropolitan Travel October 28, 2002 Newtrade Technologies April 5, 2004 Activity World April 12, 2004 Egencia July 15, 2008 Venere.com October 18, 2010 Mobiata April 27, 2012 VIA Travel March 12, 2013 trivago GmbH July 6, 2014 Wotif January 23, 2015 Travelocity September 17, 2015 Orbitz November 4, 2015 HomeAway October 25, 2018 Pillow October 25, 2018 ApartmentJet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expedia_Group

Excerpted from CNN Travel (CNN) — Boarding a long-distance flight today, travelers are accustomed to big jets with roomy cabins, two aisles and space to walk around. But the future of flying is going to look a lot more like the dawn of the Jet Age 60 years ago, when aircraft were considerably smaller. Airbus is betting that this is how we'll travel in the future. Its A320 family has evolved over the last 30 years, adding bigger and smaller models capable of crossing continents. Airbus has incrementally improved the A321 -- the largest of its one-aisle aircraft -- since it first flew in 1993. In 2013 it added "Sharklets" (what Airbus calls its winglets), new engines in 2016 and extra fuel tanks in 2018. Extra Long Range This summer's Paris Air Show saw the launch of the Airbus A321XLR, the latest in the line. The "XLR" stands for "Extra Long Range." In a 175 to 200 passenger, three-class layout with business-class lie-flat seats, premium economy and economy cabins, the XLR will be able to range out as far as 4,700 nautical miles, or 8,700 kilometers. At the plane's maximum 244-seat passenger capacity, the range drops to 4,000 nautical miles, or 7,400 kilometers. The XLR will be able to link cities like Rome and New York, London and Delhi, and Tokyo and Sydney. These extended international journeys are reminiscent of the start of global jet travel. "I think we are really in a 'Back to the Future' moment here," says Henry Harteveldt, travel industry analyst and founder of Atmosphere Research Group. In the late 1950s, travelers marveled at the speed and comfort of the early Douglas DC-8s and Boeing 707s. Those pioneering jetliners ushered in a new era in international travel, although sometimes the planes couldn't quite reach their destinations without a mid-route refueling stop. Douglas and Boeing quickly began improving the planes' range, and it wasn't long before passengers had non-stop service between distant cities, including ocean-spanning hops. American Airlines has chosen the A321XLR to replace its aging 757s, with 50 of the new Airbus jetliners on order. "The A321XLR is exceptionally versatile, and I think that's the key piece for the airlines," says Jeff Knittel, chairman and CEO, Airbus Americas, in an interview with CNN Travel. "What the XLR does is it gives [airlines] a broader set of alternatives to use the airplane. This is more of an expansion of the single-aisle capabilities than anything else. It's not a replacement of wide-body aircraft." Thanks to the efficiency and flexibility of the XLR, Knittel explained that airlines will be able to schedule the plane on a short connecting flight, say Miami to New York, and then fly to Paris on its next flight. To reach distant destinations, the A321XLR will be equipped with a newly designed rear center fuel tank, located in the fuselage behind the wing. The plane's landing gear has been beefed up to handle the extra weight of the fuel, with the plane's overall takeoff weight increased compared to other A321 models. Airbus has experience making the longest trips on Earth with its bigger A350ULR ultra-long-range jetliner, which is now flying for Singapore Airlines on routes such as Singapore to New York, a 19-hour plus airborne marathon. According to Knittel, that experience has been applied to the A321XLR. "We've used all of the talents of Airbus to come together on the XLR and really optimize the airplane from a passenger experience perspective. The airplane in terms of systems has been optimized for longer-range flights for up to 10-hour flights, whether it's [lavatory] holding tanks, water storage or trash," he says. The XLR will be equipped with the latest Airspace by Airbus interior fittings, including re-contoured sidewalls, programmable LED-lighting and larger overhead luggage bins, that Knittel said are "about 40% bigger in volume" than previous designs. But no matter what airlines do to optimize the in-cabin passenger experience, they can't speed up the plane -- the A321XLR cruises at a lower airspeed than its wide-body cousins. For example, a westbound flight from Paris to Boston could take up to 50 minutes longer in an XLR than an A350. "I think passengers will look more at departure time, price and on-board amenities. And to be very honest, there's so many other factors that go into a flight's total travel time," says Harteveldt. https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/airbus-a321xlr-extra-long-range/index.html

A friend tells me that Bangkok Massage in now open for business and that there were about 10 guys outside the shop Wednesday night.

If you're paying with baht on the BTS or MRT, and will be returning from the same station as your destination, purchase your return tickets before you leave your destination station. Queues at the ticket machines tend to clog up at rush hour and on weekend afternoons.

Asiatique (best early evening) Terminal 21 Top of the MahaNakhon Building (best as dusk)

From the Los Angeles Times BANGKOK, Thailand — In a boxing ring under a highway bridge, 14-year-old Pheeranut Saleephol bounced between the ropes, his lean frame glazed with sweat. The sound of punches and kicks slamming into sinewy flesh mingled with the noises of the Bangkok street. Thwap. A car honked. Thwap. A bus belched. Thwap. Pheeranut absorbed the blows of a sparring partner who had two years and about 10 pounds on him. “Keep your left hand up,” Tapanat Thaisamran, the man who raised him, shouted from outside the ring. “Protect your chin.” “Face him squarely.” Three weeks ahead of his next bout, on a prime stage that could propel him further into the ranks of Thailand’s top young fighters, Pheeranut was even more focused than usual. Suddenly, he whipped his right leg forward and delivered a kick to the bigger boy’s jaw, sending him tumbling to the mat. Tapanat smiled. A trim 65-year-old with a gray buzzcut, he had been a teenage boxer himself, back in the 1960s, with a brawler’s style that suited his compact physique. “I won more than I lost,” is how he summed up his career in Thai boxing, or Muay Thai, known as the “art of eight limbs” because fighters strike with their fists, elbows, knees and feet. It has become a global fitness craze and a lucrative TV sport, but Muay Thai remains steeped in tradition, a font of dreams for hundreds of thousands of child fighters — many of whom enter professional rings well before they reach puberty. Pheeranut was 11 when he first arrived at the Pathum Wan Sports Club on the back of Tapanat’s motorcycle, wearing a too-big helmet that made him look a bit like a lollipop. The coaches looked askance at the skinny, asthmatic boy who spoke little and smiled less. “He’s small,” Tapanat told them, “but he has a big heart.” Continues at https://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-thailand-muay-thai-child-boxer-2019-story.html

The oddity can be explained by the use of "yield management" (aka: yield control), a practice that has been in universal use in the hotel and airline industries for decades. The objective is to fill all seats on an a flight and all rooms in a hotel by attracting buyers at different price points.The discretionary buyer (most of us) can purchase tickets or reserve rooms well in advance so we get a good price. It solves the seller's need for cash flow and our need for a what we perceive as a bargain. But hotels in particular need to reach the widest audience and they are willing to pay third-party brokers (i.e., Agoda, Expedia) to list their availability. The brokers realize a commission (up to 20%) for finding buyers and handling the transaction. The price for the room or the airline ticket will fluctuate daily, even hourly as the management software attempts to keep attracting buyers. In addition, hotels grant certain categories of buyers (i.e., seniors, auto club members, locals) discounts off the rack rate. In addition to these practices, both hotels and airlines use consolidators who sell more deeply discounted rooms and seats without disclosing the name of the hotel or airline until the purchase is made. This article from Wikipedia sums it up fairly well: Yield management is a variable pricing strategy, based on understanding, anticipating and influencing consumer behavior in order to maximize revenue or profits from a fixed, time-limited resource (such as airline seats or hotel room reservations or advertising inventory). As a specific, inventory-focused branch of revenue management, yield management involves strategic control of inventory to sell the right product to the right customer at the right time for the right price. This process can result in price discrimination, in which customers consuming identical goods or services are charged different prices. Yield management is a large revenue generator for several major industries; Robert Crandall, former Chairman and CEO of American Airlines, gave yield management its name and has called it "the single most important technical development in transportation management since we entered deregulation.

Many--if not most--Bangkok hotels will offer discounts to locals although not many publicize it. Thais know it can be commonly obtained by simply asking. I don't think it has anything to do with worthiness and I don't begrudge those who receive it.

It's one thing to be engaged by a tout outside the venue he represents. Some are informative, entertaining and they'll never forget your face. But letting a tout take you off the soi is not a journey that will end well. Count yourself lucky that you lost no more than you did. But it's a lesson that will serve you well in the future.

They may not represent the reason why most members travel to Bangkok but they're an intricate part of the local gay scene. They delight the largely Asian audiences from every show bar from Soi 4 to Patpong and even in Moonlight. This article explores their achievements in finding their place in LGBT communities and the discrimination that complicates their lives. From the Bangkok Post What is it like to be a transgender person in Thailand, a nation that seems to be friendly to the LGBTI population? Each person would probably reply differently depending on personal experiences they've had navigating their daily lives. But there remains a common theme of discrimination and prejudice -- found both at a personal and legal level -- that all of them face regardless of where or who they are in this society. This month, the movement for transgender legal recognition took a leap forward when a group of transgender women led by Jakkaphong Jakrajutatip, CEO of JKN Global Media, introduced their newly-founded Life Inspired For Transsexuals (Lift) Foundation to advocate for an inclusive society free of gender-based barriers and to support legal gender recognition of transgender people. Representatives of the group visited parliament last Thursday to push for a bill that would allow transgender people to change their title after they undergo sex reassignment surgery (SRS). Society is somewhat against the idea, with illogical reasoning to back their argument. Some fear criminals would take advantage of the law to change themselves and avoid paying for their crimes. They somehow fail to acknowledge that, if this were the case, it's way easier and more sensible to change one's name and get the surgery done to their face, not genitals. Others fear transgender women will take this opportunity to fool men into marrying them. A lot of the ideas are born from stigma, as well as the lack of understanding on the lengthy process of SRS, which takes both counselling with psychologists and medical professionals for hormone replacement therapy and surgery. It is certainly not something that can be achieved overnight, and unfortunately not by everyone due to financial and health limitations. These limitations also raised concerns that pushing for title change only after undergoing SRS can be problematic for many who can't afford it for various reasons. Does physical appearance trump how a person identifies themselves? Also, with no legal recognition or title change allowed, Thai transgender people continue to face problems in different areas from receiving healthcare to travelling abroad. Continues at https://www.bangkokpost.com/life/social-and-lifestyle/1720675/the-right-to-title-change

From the Bangkok Post Free travel on Blue Line extension The Blue Line train is offering free travel between the five new stations during a two-month trial run that started on Monday. Transport Minister Saksiam Chidchob on Monday said commuters can ride free of charge on the section between Wat Mangkorn and Tha Phra until Sept 28. The other three stations on the route are Sam Yod, Sanam Chai and Israphab. Sanam Chai is delicately decorated to be one of the most beautiful subway stations in the country. Continues at https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/1720871/free-travel-on-blue-line-extension

From the Bangkok Post The Transport Ministry is considering piloting a 15 baht flat-rate fare, which is estimated to require at least 700 million baht in subsidies per year, on three electric train routes, according to two service operators. The Tao Pun-Bang Yai section of the Purple Line and the Airport Rail Link are most likely to be picked for the pilot phase of the ministry's policy to cut the cost of travelling by electric train, said Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand governor Pakapong Sirikantaramas. "These two routes are operated by the government and do not have legally binding agreements with any private parties," he said. The government already subsidises the Purple Line at a cost of about 1 billion baht a year, according to Mr Pakapong. Another route that is seen as suitable for piloting a flat rate fare is the Red Line's Bang Sue-Rangsit section which is due to begin operating by 2021, according to Mr Suthep. The Airport Rail Link carries about 90,000 passengers per day while the Purple Line serves about 50,000 per day, according to the ministry, while the Red Line is expected to have between 70,000 and 100,000 passengers per day. https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/1720575/transport-ministry-mulls-b15-flat-rate-on-three-train-routes

From South China Morning Post Gay Chinese find a place to be themselves on ‘Rainbow Cruise’ to Vietnam Workshops, talks and advice on LGBT issues are on offer during five-day return journey from Shenzhen to Da Nang With more than 1,000 gay Chinese and their families on board the ship, it’s also a place for some to come out On the deck of a cruise ship in southern China, two grey-haired men stood in silence, shoulders touching, looking out to sea, as other passengers bustled on board and settled in for the journey to Vietnam. Among them was Yang Yong, a 35-year-old banker who boarded the Costa Atlantica with his elderly parents. He told them he got a cheap deal – his mother was pleased, but his father was less enthusiastic. For Yang, it was important that they join him, so he did not say much about the trip. They thought it was just a family holiday. Aged in their 70s, Yang’s parents had been worried about their unmarried son, even arranging blind dates for him in the hope he would meet someone and settle down. Sitting with them after breakfast on the second day, Yang dropped the bombshell. “I want you to know, this will have an impact on our lives,” he said, tears welling in his eyes. “I thought about not telling you, but I want us all to live together in the future, so I have to say it.” His mother asked if he was ill. His father asked if he was attracted to men. They were on the “Rainbow Cruise” from Shenzhen to Da Nang, along with more than 1,000 gay Chinese and their families. During the five-day return voyage, they could attend workshops, talks and activities including speed dating on board the cruise ship, and get support and advice on LGBT issues. It was also a place for some, like Yang, to come out. In its third year, the annual event in June was organised by PFLAG China, an NGO based in Guangzhou that supports the LGBT community, their parents and friends. It is held on a cruise ship because it is difficult to find a venue for a mass LGBT event in mainland China, where homosexuality is not openly discussed. It was illegal until 1997 and was removed from an official list of mental disorders only in 2001. Attitudes towards homosexuality remain generally closed in Chinese society, in part due to a traditional Confucian emphasis on marriage and having children. Although the LGBT community is estimated at 70 million people and vibrant gay scenes do exist in the mainland’s large cities, for many it is a struggle to be accepted by their families and society. Stories are rife of people being forced to have so-called conversion therapy or entering into sham marriages. The theme for this year’s cruise was “Be yourself, discover a brand new world”. For Yang, it was inconceivable that he could “be himself” when he was younger, a time when he felt ashamed of being gay and wanted to keep it a secret. But that all changed after he moved to Guangzhou for work eight years ago and came across PFLAG China. Continues at https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3020289/gay-chinese-find-place-be-themselves-rainbow-cruise-vietnam

On the fourth floor of Silom complex you'll find several major banks that have branch offices.

Assume that you're talking about the location on Surawong, opposite Patpong. Regularly see black guys sitting outside there. Another example of the many opportunities that spontaneously arise in BKK to those who simply just look around.

Narita airport: https://www.narita-airport.jp/en/service/svc_06 Haneda airport: http://www.haneda-airport.jp/inter/mo/en/premises/service/delivery_temporary.html

I believe that Christianpfc may have posted about this site on his blog a few years back. From the Bangkok Post The Makkasan train depot in downtown Bangkok used to be the country's main centre for locomotive maintenance. It means more than a final resting place for old locomotives and carriages as it has preserved the architectural integrity and beauty of a bygone era and united the spirit of the railway staff. (Photos by Patipat Janthong) The idea of an adventure walk through a run-down train yard overgrown with tall trees may not be everyone's cup of tea. However, under the partially obscuring canopy lies what once was the country's main train maintenance hub. Indeed, the 497-rai Makkasan depot has retained its significance even today, albeit for quite a different reason. Peeling off the depot's rusty facade reveals its charming architectural designs inherent in the old maintenance building while the sheer size of the place that has fallen into neglect and been taken over by trees makes its one of the city's largest green spots. However, a blueprint is on the State Railway of Thailand's drawing board to commercially develop the area. The plan could very easily spell doom for the depot's architectural charm, its green existence as well as the communities living there. To avert doom, the rail worker unions and architectural experts have agreed that developments do not always have to equate to the destruction of what came before and should be preserved. Having marked the 109th anniversary of its establishment late last month, the depot is being integrated into the 220-billion-baht high-speed train project linking three gateway airports -- Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang and U-Tapao. The Makkasan depot is eyed as a hub for the high-speed train scheme. Earmarked for development is Zone A, which is home to the maintenance operations. Most of buildings at the depot showcase striking architectural beauty with the oldest building, the Ror For Por 2465, having served as the maintenance centre for steam locomotives in the bygone era and for the diesel engines today. Old maintenance tools are kept at the buildings while two nearby warehouses store many types of hard and precious woods, including teak, phayung (Thai rosewood), shorea, and hopea, which were formerly used in railway construction. Continues at https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/special-reports/1719855/back-to-the-railway-future-

And it's not just foreigners who get scammed. From Bangkok Post A 32-year-old woman has been arrested in Phayao on charges of fraud arising from an online romance scam in which a man was conned out of more than 2 million baht over two years. Nithiwan Ruangthippawan, alias Bai Por, was wanted on an arrest warrant issued by the Criminal Court on July 25 for fraud and inputting false information into a computer system that may damage others, said Pol Lt Gen Terapon Kuptanond, the Tourist Police Bureau (TPB) commissioner. The arrest came after the victim, identified only as Non, filed a complaint with the Phlapphla Chai 2 police station in Bangkok. He said he had fallen victim to a good-looking young woman using the name “Bai Por” on the Line chat application. The online relationship lasted for two years, during which the man transferred a total of 2.3 million baht into the woman’s account. However, the pair never met. The man told police that the woman kept making excuses, saying her father was sick, or she was busy with work. The truth emerged after the man met the young woman whose photo had been used in the profile of Bai Por. She said her name was Nong Gee and that she definitely was not Bai Por, who had chatted with him via Line. Mr Non then filed the police complaint after learning that he had been swindled. The police investigation subsequently shed light on the real name of Bai Por. By that time, Ms Nithiwan had fled into hiding in Chiang Mai. A police team was sent there to arrest her but she had fled again to Phayao, where officers took her into custody in front of a house on Friday, said Pol Lt Gen Terapon. During interrogation, police said Ms Nithiwan admitted she had used Nong Gee’s photo for her profile picture. She said she had spent the money transferred by Mr Non for her personal use. https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/1719935/man-conned-out-of-b2-3m-in-romance-scam

From Bloomberg Financial Thailand Has a Developing Economy and a Big First World Problem Getting old can be hard under any circumstances, and harder still when you’re poor. That’s the predicament for Thailand, the developing country first in line to face the consequences of a first-world-style baby bust. Data published last month by the United Nations show births in Thailand have dropped to a level on par with Switzerland and Finland, two ultra-wealthy countries with which it has almost nothing else in common. Those numbers mean that more than a quarter of Thailand’s people will be over 60 by 2030—and most will be poor. The International Monetary Fund says a shrinking labor force will hold back economic growth by as much as a full percentage point every year for the next two decades. Rapid-aging is a condition that, until now, has really only afflicted the richest nations because low birth rates tend to go hand-in-hand with higher incomes. The best-known exception is China, where the one-child policy (abandoned in 2015) has set the stage for a population squeeze around mid-century. But it’s Thailand that is breaking new, treacherous ground by becoming the first big country to get old before it’s had a chance to become prosperous. “Clearly this is going to be an issue for Thailand and a challenge,” said Chua Hak Bin, an economist who covers Southeast Asia at Maybank Kim Eng Research Pte in Singapore. “Thailand is kind of stuck in the middle: It’s an emerging country and yet it faces the demographic headwinds you see in advanced economies.” For years, economists and government planners assumed that overpopulation was the world’s main demographic worry, not population loss. But that idea may be wrong. In the last 50 years, birth rates have dropped in every country on the planet. The change is happening as people move to cities, where women have more access to education and contraception. Fewer babies is good for many families and also the environment, but there are economic consequences, too: fewer consumers, workers and tax payers, and fewer people to care for the elderly. Since 2000, Thailand has urbanized faster than any other big country besides China, which is the main reason fertility rates are falling now. But the push to have smaller families started back in the 1970s, when an anti-poverty program swept the country led by an activist named Mechai Viravaidya, who became known as “Mr. Condom.” Over two decades, Thailand’s fertility rate plunged from 6.6 to 2.2. Young kids meet Mechai Viravaidya, aka Mr. Condom, in 1990. Photographer: Taro Yamasaki/The LIFE Images Collection via Getty Images One potential source of relief, though, may come from Thailand’s openness to immigration—an attitude that separates it from other places with population problems like South Korea and Japan. Foreigners make up 10% of Thailand’s overall workforce, with higher numbers at the biggest companies. “Foreign workers are more than willing to fill the gap,” said Pakpoom Srichamni, president of Sino-Thai Engineering & Construction Pcl, a Bangkok-based firm of 10,000 workers, 30% of whom aren’t Thai. Even so, the country is already becoming a regional laggard, with average annual growth dropping every decade since the 1990s, from 5.3% to 4.3% to the mid-3s now. In the first quarter, growth clocked in at 2.8%, the slowest in more than four years. And with inflation stuck below 1%, interest rates under 2% and a rapidly appreciating currency, parts of the country’s economic profile are starting to resemble aging Japan more than developing neighbors like Indonesia or the Philippines. Continues at https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2019-thailand-baby-bust/

When I left BKK two weeks ago, work was still going on. But it certainly appeared to be all-hands-on-deck. From what I could gather, the major refurbishments are new bedding and installation of manufactured wood floors, both of which can be accomplished relatively quickly. The new water storage tank had been installed and the driveway was ready for resurfacing. Wouldn't be surprised if they spruced the rooms up with new towels and linens but I'm just guessing on that count. The hotel is just a five-minute walk from Patpong.

From Nikkei Asian Review Found in translation: Thai literature reaches West New translators lead contemporary authors out of the global margins BANGKOK -- For years, the Thailand sections of Bangkok's English-language bookstores have been dominated by a colorful yet shallow mixture of popular and academic history, travel guides, coffee-table cookbooks and expatriate-penned thrillers that amplify the country's less-savory aspects. What they have sorely lacked, in other words, is Thai voices. Slowly, however, that is changing: From an earthy bildungsroman to an unremittingly lyrical love story, contemporary Thai literature in translation is making its presence felt as never before. "Bright" and "Arid Dreams," by Duanwad Pimwana, one of Thailand's most acclaimed female authors, were released in English in the U.S. in April. Both were translated by Mui Poopoksakul, a Berlin-based former lawyer who is also behind cult author Prabda Yoon's two English-language short story collections, "The Sad Part Was" and "Moving Parts," which were published by the U.K.'s Tilted Axis Press in 2017 and 2018, respectively. Together with two-time Southeast Asian Writers Award winner Veeraporn Nitiprapha's "The Blind Earthworm in the Labyrinth," released by Thai publisher River Books in late 2018, these titles have brought the number of translations of Thai novels in the past two years to a grand total of five. While that figure might seem modest, it qualifies as a milestone for a country that readily gives itself up for foreign consumption in fields such as cuisine, tourism and film but has proved oddly inert in exporting literature. According to the University of Rochester's Translation Database, which tracks original works of fiction and poetry published in the U.S. in English translation, Japanese literature leads the way, with 363 books since 2008, followed by Chinese, with 254, and Korean, with 141. Even Asia's laggards fared better than Thailand: 18 Indonesian, 12 Hindi and nine Vietnamese books made the list over the same period while Thailand, prior to the release of "Bright" and "Arid Dreams," had none. "Our main challenge in putting it together was that Thailand lacks good [translators]," said editor Pariyapa Amon-Wanitsan, a cultural officer at Thailand's Ministry of Culture. To overcome this lack, she and her co-founder, British editor James Hatton, came up with the BKKLIT Translation Prize, an award that offers a modest cash prize. "We wanted to dig translators out of the woodwork -- and it worked," Hatton added. "We met a few through the competition that turned out to be really good. Two of them had never even tackled literary works before." Their discoveries include Thais, such as Noh Anothai and Wichayapat Piromsan, and non-Thais, such as Dylan J. Hartmann, each with their own niche spheres of literary interest. Together, these releases are introducing English readers to some of the characters and narrative strains that have populated Thai literature in recent years. Inhabiting a heightened tropical realm of the senses, "The Blind Earthworm" is a feverish love story that only Thailand -- and a writer highly attuned to it -- could produce. By contrast, Duanwad's "Bright," about a young boy whose father has abandoned him in a tenement housing community, strays into raw social realism territory, as do the 13 stark tales of the working class that comprise "Arid Dreams." The Bangkok Literary Review, meanwhile, is steeped in the playful postmodern surrealism that Prabda popularized in the country; its short stories introduce us to shape-shifting ravens and couples who swap lives, among other uncanny characters. Noh, who won a BKKLIT prize for his translation of Chiranan Phitpreecha's tightly metered poem "Firefly," said one of the biggest challenges "is the way a character's choice of pronoun encodes so much information about how he or she views him or herself in relation to the world, and how little articles can completely change the tone of a passage." And then there are the politics of translation to consider. "You can complicate matters even further," he added, "by considering the relationship of the source text and receiving language, the positionality of the translator relative to the original author, the text's place within a particular canon or tradition, and the ethics of representation." Chicago-based translator Noh Anothai Continues at https://asia.nikkei.com/Life-Arts/Arts/Found-in-translation-Thai-literature-reaches-West

Bravo! Great report. I fondly remember the vivid descriptions of his Thai adventures that he was kind enough to post on this board. If any members have recent experience in Brazil, sure would enjoying reading about them.

A agree that this proposal seems far-fetched when you consider that there is still no agreement on the much needed additional terminal at Swampy. Nakhon Pathom (one of five provinces that comprise the greater Bangkok region) is a two-hour drive from downtown Bangkok and prone to traffic delays. It doesn't seem that it would be an attractive destination for travelers bound for the city. The topic of the new Swampy terminal was initially covered in a post DivineMadman started and provides good background information.

From Coconuts Bangkok Seven years from now, Don Mueang and Suvarnabhumi may not be the only airports welcoming passengers in Bangkok with word that construction of a third is being considered to alleviate overcrowding. Presented as the antidote to painful congestion at Bangkok’s two major airports, plans for a new airport in western metro Bangkok’s Nakhon Pathom province, the capital’s third air travel hub, were announced Saturday by government aviation officials. Deputy director-general of the Airport Department, Jarun Meesomboon, said a proposal for the 560-hectare (3,500-rai) airport was being rushed for approval by the Transport Ministry. It would straddle Nakhon Pathom’s Bang Len and Nakhon Chaisi districts. He very optimistically predicted it would cost THB20 billion (US$65 million) and take four years to complete. Under best-case circumstances, the department would begin construction in 2023 and open the airport by 2026. Jarun predicted that more than 1 million passengers would use the new airport in its first year and that could become a key regional gateway such as those in Kohn Kean or Surat Thani. Officials are proposing the new airport could be geared toward international travel from South Asia and Southeast Asia. Travel from the Indian subcontinent has spiked in the past year, offsetting losses in arrivals from China. https://coconuts.co/bangkok/news/third-bangkok-airport-proposed-to-ease-overcrowding-pain/