Christmas in Thailand

I've frequently needed to remind myself that we are in Christmas time. It's all very different in Thailand. The fact that I am not going to be at 'home' (in England) is also a major reason seasonal festivities are at the back of my mind.

I hear and read the antics of people at home at Xmas parties, and their plans for New Year, yet the good weather here (akin to the English summer), lack of Christmas marketing drive and (thankfully) my lack of English radio at work have left me in a relatively Christmas free zone.

You can find evidence of Christmas (Kissmass in Thai), like the elephants absurdly sporting Santa hats, but there is no public holiday and few exchange presents. In one class I teach just one kid out of forty had a tree at home. Instead Thailand celebrates the New Year, which is a little confusing as it has its own New Year which falls in April and is a major landmark.

Don't get me wrong, I do miss British Christmas and I wish I was visiting my family and friends with The Good Lady and The Little One as originally planned, but I have a job at a Thai school, flights are so expensive and I am yet to start on the bureaucratic joys to enable my son to hold a British passport.

It's not all bad here...

- Christmas shopping is done, posted and delivered

- weather set to be good (28-31 degrees over next 5 days)

- food here is good as ever

- there is a public holiday over New Year

- Xmas day falls on a Thursday, which is my day off

- family and few friends are set to visit here in 2009

What ever happens this year will beat last year when I spent most of Christmas week in bed with a fever. Ho ho ho.

New Thai PM appointed

After months of tension a new PM has been appointed, but the unrest looks set to continue.

UK-born, Eton/Oxford educated Abhisit Vejjajiva, of the Democrat party, won a tightly fought contest 235 to 198 (votes from the parliamentary house not an open democratic vote).

His appointment is a massive victory for the middle-classes and PAD protesters who had feared the further influence of Thaksin Shinawatra. Although in exile Shinawatra sent a pre-recorded message to a pre-election PPP party (rivals to the Democrats) rally. Part of the message included a plea for the PM vote to be made by elected officials with no outside influence, such as the army who was responsible for ousting Shinawatra in a coup in 2006.

In reaction to the appointment of Abhisit red shirted PPP/Thaksin supporters took to the streets of Bangkok in protest, with violence and casualties reported.

Politics in Thailand is entering a new era, the new appointment will considerably more stability. However it remains to be seen whether the Red (pro-Thaksin) and Yellow (PAD, anti-Thaksin) rivalry will cool into a political one, as situation voiced in last week's banned Economist article.

Given the growing hatred, the issues at stake and the aggressive/extreme tactics adopted by the PAD, it seems unlikely that the Red corner will take this set-back lying down.

The saga of The Economist

[More than little slow to the punch here but...] Last week's edition of The Economist was banned in Thailand after it lead with a story entitled 'Right Royal Mess'.

The article looks at the Thai royal family's role in politics, laying a significant proportion of blame for the country's current malaise with King Bhumibol Adulyadej. The article gives insight into the king's uneasy relationship with ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra, the uncertain future of the monarchy beyond Bhumibol's reign, the current 'red vs yellow' political split and media censorship - criticism of the monarchy is forbidden, so the press is effectively self-regulated on the issue.

Despite rumours of an outright ban, The Economist did not circulate the issue "out of consideration" to its local distributor which would have"risked breaching Thai laws" (see guardian.co.uk article).

The irony writing about press-restrictions, and then being governed by said restrictions is not lost on me. I'd like to think that The Economist did all it could to distribute the issue, out or principle, but the reality looks to be down to money and the negative effects of distributing.

The article is well worth a read and can be done so in full, online here.

Just to clarify, normal service has resumed and the print publication is available again, including a letter from Thailand's Foreign Minister.

However the storm following the article is still raging with a number of newspapers, particularly The Nation, responding to issues raised , with expat bloggers taking these articles to task.

This is Thailand and life goes on the same regardless of The Economist or the valid issues raised.

As they say here mai pen rai (it doesn't matter).

Germans start new temple trend shocker

Ayutthaya, Thailand - Two German tourists were caught in the act and fined Bt500 (S$21) each for having sex inside an ancient temple in this central province Monday.

The couple were found by an official of National Historical Park of Ayutthaya having sex on a wall of the Srisanphet Temple at 12:30 pm.

They stopped when the park official, Phaithoon Puengthong, blew his whistle while running toward them.

The couple were handed over to police and were fined Bt500 (S$21) each before being released.

Source AsianOne Travel

That's right, no hoax, although I am sad to report the story hasn't received the widespread coverage it undoubtedly deserves.

My thoughts...

Firstly, I'm pleased to read that "they stopped when the park official, Phaithoon Puengthong, blew his whistle while running toward them" but assumed that was a given (and therefore not worthy of reporting) in the circumstances.

Secondly, many are talking about the fine of 500 bhat each, a little over £15 in total, as it is hardly a deterrent and almost advertises the potential for sex in a temple at a fixed price.

Recent news suggested that 1,200 Germans had cancelled Thai holidays (see article in Bangkok Post): can you picture the additional reporting?

Temples across Thailand are praying (honk) new flights can be laid on as they seek to claim a slice of the 1,200,000 baht (est £18,000) that is expected to be generated from temple-sex fines from the holidaymakers.

In a country where salaries and cost of living is far lower than Europe, European money is worth more and, most importantly, tourists are less reluctant to spend. I suspect that there are some temples in Thailand would be glad of the money in return for Farang misdemeanours.

Technology Comes Home To Roost

At last the geek within me is whole again.

I'm not one for spending vast sums of money, on account of my thrifty blood, but the recent (and much needed) purchase of a laptop was met with more than my usual sense of hereditary post-purchase guilt.

The guilt was typically unnecessary as I genuinely need the means to work on the go (get me) so (in freelance terms) a laptop means more time spent on work which produces better quality of work and in turn more projects...in theory, at least. Having a child has increased the, already sizeable, weight of analysis behind my spending, not even a chocolate bar can escape my meticulous and often unreasonable scrutiny.

Despite my thrift, one technology purchase bred another and we got a wireless router. This Thai household is entering technology's 21st century, albeit after a very protracted installation process from yours truly - is anything more frustrating to set-up?

So, at last, internet access in the garden with the glorious weather...not rubbing it in too much, London.

For the record the laptop is an Acer Aspire 2930Z as pictured above.