One of the latest museums to open in Thailand is the Siamese Fighting Fish Gallery in Bangkachao in Samut Prakan. It is in an area which is commonly called the "lungs of Bangkok" as it is covered in lush green foliage and is only a stone's throw away from the busy streets of Bangkok. For Bangkokians who want to escape the pollution during the weekend, they can just catch a ferry boat from Khlong Toei Pier to the other side. These small boats run every 15 minutes and cost only 5 baht. Here you can rent a bicycle for only 100 baht for the day in order to explore what Time Magazine once called, the best "urban oasis" in Asia.

To start your tour of Bangkachao, you should visit the newly opened Siamese Fighting Fish Gallery. The museum is open every day, apart from Wednesdays, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. At present it is free of charge though this may change in the future. From the pier, you need to ride your bicycle or walk about 490 meters down the small lane to the first intersection. On your left you will see a sign advertising the museum. Walk down here for 70 meters and you will see the front entrance on your left. There are also motorcycle taxis at the pier and they will probably take you there for only 10 baht.

Siamese Fighting Fish Gallery is set in some of the most beautiful surroundings I have seen for a while. The buildings use traditional Thai architecture and if you are not in a rush to go elsewhere, then you should take your time and relax in the gardens while taking some refreshments from the snack bar. The museum was the idea of Peerapong Thanompongphan, a retired politician. He wanted to preserve the unique culture of the Siamese Sighting Fish which have been around for hundreds of years. In his opinion, the fish should be much a part of Thai culture as "tom yum kung" or "Thai silk".

The Siamese Fighting Fish are better known around the world as "betta". These days they are mainly found in aquariums but in the past, they were native to the paddy fields of Thailand and Cambodia. They are known for their bright colours, though really, they are only like this when they become agitated. These days, breeders have managed to produce fighter fish that are colourful all the time. The fish are carnivorous and often go to the surface to receive oxygen unlike other fish. That is why they can live in tall jar like containers with no pumps.

When you first visit the center, you should go up to the second floor to watch an educational video which explains more about the history of the fighting fish. Then afterwards, you can go downstairs to see the fish which are on the ground floor of three of the buildings. It was good to see that there were plenty of bilingual information boards here. You will soon learn why most of the males have to be kept apart in separate jars. In addition to the aquariums, there is an outdoor exhibition area along one side of the property. As you walk along the path you can learn all about the history of Samut Prakan and the local area in Phra Pradaeng.

Once you have finished here, you could get back on your bicycle and explore Bangkachao a bit more.There are plenty of elevated concrete walkways so you can easily stay off the roads. If you are here at the weekend then you could also go and explore the Bang Nampheung Floating Market. If you want to go by motorcycle taxi to the floating market, then this will cost about 30 baht from the pier. I wish to thank Marcel for inviting me to visit the fighting fish museum and for showing me around. If you are ever in the area then I would strongly recommend that you drop by here.

AK763 touched down Chiangmai Airport with a breeze, we took a tuktuk to interstate bus terminal and took the 10:15 am Green Bus to Chiangrai. The service was good and attendant was very helpful and attentive. Unfortunately, we have to take the last row of seat as it was almost fully booked. Eric met me and my wife in Chiangrai Bus terminal 2 office. This is the first time I arrive at Terminal 2 which serves as intercity terminal. The terminal 1 is next to the night market but it has been converted to intra or local Chiangrai bus terminal.

We went to the old market in Chiangrai Chinatown to buy some fruits before heading to his place. It's the season for fruits and we are able to buy some good mangoes, pineapples, and durians. Heading for his place in Wiang Chai. Som and Selyne were there to greet us.

Wiang Keaw is a small village, 20 km east of Chiangrai and Eric's home is on the second row of house from the main road. It is convenient and yet accessible. I was told that the bus to Chiangkhong pass by every hour and songtheow (25 Bahts) also pass by regularly.

Google "a-thai-village-home stay,food,culture experience" for Eric's village.

The home

Eric's home in a rice farming village

I must give credit to Som for keeping their home clean, tidy and very comfortable. There are 2 minimum requirements that I will insist for a homestay - (1) clean (2) western toilet - and Eric place meet my requirements. All at home except the cat and dog speak English and there was really no issue in communicating. Eric has installed Truemove Satellite TV (Channel includes BBC, CNN, History, NGO, etc and also a fast Internet service (Upload 2.6MBPS and Download 0.4MBPS - tested at speedtest.net). I was able to post this blog from his Desktop PC. The hall also has a good BOSE HIFI system besides the 40" Sony LCD TV. The guest room is very big and airy due to many windows and even in the March dry season, we had to use the blanket at night as it is very cool at night. They have a western toilet with heater and there is no problem to shower at night.

The neighborhood
We took a walk in the neighborhood, visiting Som's father house and his rice fields, and met with Som's Grand mother (92-year old lady). We met up with the chief monk in the neighborhood temple. There was a funeral that day and we witnessed the funeral proceedings. As the village school is having its semester break, we could only see some kids playing basket ball in the fields.

Dinner
For dinner, Eric drove to another town's market nearby to buy some live fish for dinner. But we only get 3 live small Soon Hock Fish or Marbled Goby to steam for dinner. Som is a great cook and as she has lived in Kuala Lumpur before she cook the dishes besides the fishes according to our tastes. It was a sumptuous dinner to say the least.

Dinner Time

Soon Hock fish is a priced plate in Chinese Restaurant in Malaysia but it cost only 80 Bahts for 3 live ones

Chiangrai Walking Street
I have to congratulate myself for taking the advice of Eric to arrive early so that I could visit the Chiangrai walking street. I had earlier wanted to rent a car and drive to CR via Thaton and MaeSalong. I had been to Chiangmai walking street and really love to experience one in Chiangrai.. Chiangrai Walking street is held on Saturday evening and Eric is kind enough to take us there with Som and Selyne. We arrive a bit late at 7:30 due to a late dinner. CR walking street was much spacious compared with CM's. My wife had a lot of success in shopping. I was more interested in the street food than buying anythings. We had street foot massage like the one in CM for 60 bahts for 30 mins before taking the 20KM drive home. We have some beers and chatted till midnight before rest.

Sunday 28 March 2010

The only White Temple in Thailand

Eric suggested we visit the White temple or known as the Wat Rong Khun and volunteer to be our tour guide. The whole temple complex was designed by the national artist named Mr. Chalermchai Kositpipat. To quote him..."It was my strong intention to build a temple in imitation of heaven. I wanted it to be a heaven on earth. I built a main building in the Buddhist monastery. I wanted it to be like a house of the Buddha with white color representing His purity and white glass representing His wisdom shining all over the earth and the universe".

We have visited the white temple 2 years ago. The temple is almost completed by now and it is really worth a revisit. I also missed the Northern Thai arabica coffee (grown on the hill slopes and harvested by the hill-tribes). There are a lot of new development especially the souvenir shops and the rest rooms. We dropped by the bus station to buy our return ticket to CM. despite buying bus ticket 24 hours earlier, we had to contend with last but one row. We had Wonton noodle in a shop on Sanambin road and did some shopping at the Big C before heading home.

Dinner
Som has been a good hostess and insisted to stay home to make dinner for us. We had sumptuous dinner of baked fish, stirred friend green bean and herbal chicken soup. My wife had the opportunity to learn cooking tips from Som.

Som and my wife, Amy enjoying their cooking chore
Eric's traditional Thai house has a large rest area outside the hall where he install a hammock. The rest area is a good place for beer, rest, relax, and leisure talks. We had a good time talking about Thai and Malaysia politics. We chatted till late night.

A nap at home after a short trip to town

CR to CM
The next day, Monday 29 March 2010, was the time to say goodbye to our host. Eric was kind enough to send us to the Terminal 2 to catch a Green bus. We stayed in Star Inn in ChiangMai near night market. Online booking was done on 28 March and we were lucky to secure a standard room with breakfast for two at USD33.

Putting down is difficult
I salute Eric's resolve to "put things down" and settled down in a quiet small town in CR. It is easier to "take things up" than to "put things down". My short stay here has given me time to reflect what I really want to do with the rest of my remaining life. I have seen the passing of many friends due to illness and stress. In a recent case, one of my very good friend and associate, CT Chang was diagnosed with end stage cancer. You can read and follow his treatment on http://upekah.blogspot.com. He was forced to put things down. I have been taking more and more things up - work on contract as manager and study to prepare for my retirement job in teaching. Just wonder when I will follow Eric's footstep and put things down. I hope I don't have to wait until it is too late to quit the rat race.

For a while now I have been doing a number of other blogs about Thailand. These are more personal ones about every day things that I experience in Thailand. This first one is a "moblog" which I will go into more detail later. It is called that because I blog from my mobile phone. Everything is done on the road and with the phone which includes taking the pictures, editing, typing the blog and then posting it. I mainly use this blog to make notes where I am on particular days. Some of the events I will write about in more details here on these blogs at www.thai-blogs.com. So, if you want to know where I am on any particular day then check this one out at www.MyThailandBlog.com.

This second blog came about when I realized that I had literally thousands of pictures in my photo library and I thought it would be a good idea to start sharing some of them. It is mainly a photo blog with extended captions. I post on this blog on Mondays to Fridays each week. You may have seen some of the pictures before on this blog but I think some of them will be new to you. You can visit this blog at www.MyThaiPhotos.com.

This third blog is one of my favourites and one that I spend a lot of time on each day. This is the the news site for our local province in Samut Province. Some of the blogs I will cross-post here at www.thai-blogs.com, but there are also many blogs that you may not have seen here before. I think it is a great way for you to learn more about the little things that happen in a typical city in Thailand. You can find this blog at www.Paknam.com. We also have a sister photo blog which we post at www.PaknamPhotos.com.

So, you can see that even though I am not posting here every day, I am still very active on the Internet. And of course, you can get daily updates on what I am doing by following me on Twitter @RichardBarrow.

I got acquainted with Eric Thitaporn in a very unique and special circumstances. It was way back in June 2008.

In early 2008, I booked 4 AirAsia ticket to Chiangmai. As 4 of us are frequent travelers to this part of the kingdom. we wanted to try something different and planned to stay in Thailand villages for a change. Google "Thai Village Home Stay Food Cultural Experience" landed me the web page of Eric Thitaporm.

I wrote to Eric and stated our requirements and schedule. Eric has only a guest room to offer and it was not convenient for 2 old couples to share the room, we turned down the offer. 4 of us instead booked a package tour for Chiangmai (CM) and Chiangrai (CR).

But Eric and I became friends. We shared news and articles about health, environment, DIY, etc. I found out that Eric is actually a Malaysian married to a Thailand lady named Som and the couple has a daughter named Selyne who was borned in Malaysia. Eric had worked in Kuala Lumpur and lived in the neighbor where I live.

Home-stay host became guest to my home
In June 2009, Eric had to return to Malaysia for some personal matters that involved Government agency. Knowing too well the efficiency of government services, he planned to stay for a month. Eric wanted to rent a place for the period and ask me to help look for him. I offered my home as I have a guest room.Eric took up the offer.

Eric drove from Chiangrai to Saadao. Thai-Malaysia border town and left his car in the hotel parking lot and took a bus to Kuala Lumpur, from where I pick him up. He stayed for a few nights and moved to stay with other friends who live in a more convenient location for public transport.

Strengthen Friendship and return goodwill

MY wife and I booked 2 AirAsia tickets to Chiangmai to celebrate our wedding anniversary in March. This time we did not plan to visit any tourist attractions but indulge in a rest and relaxation trip. Visiting Eric and Som become our top to do list. Eric and Som were excited to learn of our plans and look forward to our visit.

We experienced first hand of home-staying in a Traditional Thai Village. You will find that even those on a moderate budget can afford to indulge in a home stay and enjoyably, will have a more culturally impressive experience, one that you will always remember than a high-class tour.

KhunChn
27 Marc 2010 on board AK763 bound for ChiangMai

The Novotel Suvarnabhumi Airport Hotel is hosting a month long art and culture exhibition called "Life along the River". We went to the opening ceremony at the weekend which was attended by the Governor of Samut Prakan. You can see more pictures at paknamphotos.com. The art exhibition runs from now until 20th April 2010. The Thai culture show will continue until 8th April 2010 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The art work depicts every day life in Amphoe Bang Phli in Samut Prakan. There are over 100 works of watercolour paintings, drawings and photographs. The work is led by Wattana Poolcharoen, a famous artist, and 40 honorary artists. The Thai culture show consists of traditional Thai music, Thai games, Thai food and local children dressed in traditional Thai clothes.

The red shirt protests in Bangkok have been going on for about a week now. By world standards, this must be one of the most peaceful mass protests ever. Only the Thai people can protest but keep smiling at the same time. The rally site is more like an outdoor concert at times. However, there is always the risk that small factions will take matters into their own hands. The latest press reports suggest that there is a split in the ranks as some people don't agree with the peaceful rally. What many of us are worried about is that a handful of people could try and instigate violence. On Saturday, the red shirts will be doing a 50 km long parade around Bangkok in order to drum up more support. The route has been roughly mapped out already and they won't be going anywhere near the airport. However, the army are not taking any chances. When I was over at Suvarnabhumi airport this afternoon, I passed a couple of checkpoints that were in the process of being set up. No-one wants a repeat of what happened when the yellow shirts shut down the airport. In addition to the airport, many government buildings around Thailand have also stepped up security. In the picture below you can see unarmed security guards directing traffic in front of Samut Prakan Provincial Hall. Despite all of this, Thailand is still a safe place for a holiday.

Map of Saturday's Red Shirt Parade Around Bangkok

The red shirt protests have been going on in Bangkok for 4-5 days now. Countless thousands of protesters have been camped out along the Royal Avenue. The news hasn't received that much attention yet in the international press, mainly because there hasn't been any violence. Thailand is not like other countries as the citizens are mainly Buddhists. Their protests are largely symbolic. The picture above from Reuters is probably something similar that will run on the front pages tomorrow with the headline "Blood Spilled at Government House". But, no-one was hurt or injured. Thousands of red shirt supporters donated blood today for this Brahman ritual to curse the Thai government and to force the prime minister to dissolve government.

I attended both the yellow shirt and red shirt rallies to take pictures and I was impressed with their behaviour and general mood. Many people commented it was like a carnival atmosphere. There were even stalls selling souvenirs and bands playing songs on the stages. Some foreign tourists probably mistakenly thought that it was another colourful Thai festival. Despite this, and the fact that there has been no serious act of violence on the streets of Bangkok in the last five days, is is strange to hear that 35 countries have so far released travel advisories about Thailand. Some have even warned their citizens not to travel to Bangkok at all. I am not going to pretend that street fighting will never take place, but the odds of it happening is very small. In addition, foreign tourists have never been targeted in any protest.

Thailand and Bangkok are safe and there is no reason for you to cancel your holiday:

• Both city airports (Don Mueang and Suvarnabhumi) are operating as normal
• All other international and domestic airports in Thailand remain fully operational
• Tourist attractions in the city remain open for business
• Shopping malls are open
• MICE venues are open

I will be posting regular updates of breaking news on Twitter @RichardBarrow

Be safe by keeping an eye on the news and staying away from the main protest sites that I have marked on this google map. If you face any problems them use the 24 hour tourist hotline 1672.

Over the past few days, the red shirts have been streaming into Bangkok to join the protest site on Ratchadamnoen Klang Avenue. On Sunday the red shirts from Samut Prakan came together to join the protest. The local red shirt radio had been broadcasting for several days the schedule for going into Bangkok. A total of 60 coaches had been arranged to pick up the protesters from ten different locations around Samut Prakan Province from 7 a.m. on Sunday morning. They were told to bring along some water, food, change of clothes, a mobile phone and a camera. The phone was to report to the radio station anything suspicious that they saw. The camera was for taking pictures of any troublemakers. They were also given advice not to give their i.d. cards to anyone.

Our local meeting place was the Old Paknam Prison. As it is only five minutes from the Paknam Web office I went down to take a look shortly after seven. By this time there were about eight coaches there with several hundred red shirts. There were supposed to be ten coaches but the local radio were saying that a government department had sent letters out to all coach companies saying that they would face trouble if they rented their coaches out to the red shirts. Looks like at least eight here disobeyed them. By eight o'clock five of the coaches were full and they all left. The half empty coaches went too as all the coaches from around the province were going to come together at 9 a.m. at the Bang Na intersection.

As our office is only 20 minutes away from Bang Na we went back to have a quick breakfast and then headed out in our car to try and catch up with the coaches. The road was clear for most of the way but became more congested the nearer we got to the intersection. We were now following pickup trucks with red shirts and there were also more of them walking along the side of the road. Everyone heading the same way. The atmosphere reminded me of a football match in the UK. Everyone dressed in the same colours and singing songs and chants and blowing whistles. It could have easily been a Liverpool or Man United match we were going to. This carnival atmosphere continued for the entire day.

We didn't really know what to expect once we had arrived at Bang Na. We thought there would be a long line of coaches. We were expecting to take a few shots here for our local newspaper and then follow them into Bangkok. Maybe even going on ahead to meet them there. However, there were no coaches in sight. What we did find was that two lanes of Sukhumwit Road were full of red shirt supporters. There were also many pickup trucks and motorcycles. We soon realized that this was going to be the start of a long parade into Bangkok. Unbelievably, many of them were doing the journey on foot. The distance must have been something like 25 kilometers at least. So, we ended up going with them up Sukhumwit Road, stopping every now and then to take pictures and to send out live reports and photos on twitter.

Despite reports in the newspapers about checkpoints and lengthy searches by the police of red shirt vehicles, nothing could stop this parade. In fact, some policemen seemed to be waving and giving the victory sign as the convoy passed them. Many local people also came out to clap and cheer. I didn't see any hostility at all. Some of them even handed out bottles of water to the walkers. So, we continued like this all the way up Sukhumwit following the sky train route and blocking two lanes. On one long stretch of road I got up on a pedestrian bridge and I could see that the parade stretched back as far as the eye could see. Rally organizers were claiming 10,000 red shirts though I think it was more like 3,000. But, as we continued our journey, red shirts standing by the side of the road joined the parade. After a few hours we were passing Central World Plaza and Siam Square.

The hours ticked by as we crawled into Bangkok. Finally, after nearly six hours we finally reached our destination. The main rally stage at Phan Fa Lilat bridge. Although we had done the red march in a car, we were just as exhausted. But the sight that welcomed us here was enough natural adrenalin to keep anyone going. We parked our car and walked the final fifteen minutes to Ratchadamnoen Klang Avenue. As expected, it was a sea of red in every direction. Loudspeakers had been set up in various locations and people were sitting or lying down listening to the speeches all over the place. We went to the media tent to register and then got our passes to go up onto the stage. It was a great vantage point from up here. Our journey was over. We had made it! We stayed for a while taking pictures, but our main story for that day was the long red march that brought us here. You can find about 600 of our pictures over at www.paknamphotos.com.

You can follow me on Twitter @RichardBarrow. We also have links to blog articles about the red shirt rally at our sister site www.ThailandVoice.com. If you are in Bangkok or going there soon, then check out our Google Map of the Danger Zones which we are continually updating during the day.

A total of 5,000 red guards are believed to be deployed at the rally site in Bangkok and at 30 other locations in the area. This includes 200 mobile units on motorcycle. They will be providing protection to the red shirts at the rally and also intercepting anyone trying to make trouble. The red shirt leaders know that if there is any violence by a red shirt (or someone pretending to be a red shirt) then they will lose support.

The guards at the mini-rally in Samut Prakan yesterday were dressed in Black with either cap or hard hat. It looked like they were wearing bullet proof jackets but I doubt it. They also wore a red and black scarf, armband and had an i.d. card around their neck. In Thai and English they are calling themselves "Defenders". The badge on the sleeve says "The Democratic Defender". On the i.d. the slogan in Thai says "Defender of the People".

You can find all the latest links to blogs about the Red Shirt Rally over at our sister blog Thailand Voice. We also have a google map of Bangkok Dangerous - Red Shirts Rally March 2010 which has had over 10,000 hits in 48 hours. The Samut Prakan red shirts will be going into Bangkok tomorrow morning and we will be going with them. You can follow us live on Twitter @RichardBarrow.

The mass red shirt rallies organized to topple the Thai government have now started. Today, red shirts from provinces surrounding Bangkok took part in mini rallies in their local areas. Tomorrow, they will march into Bangkok to be joined by countless thousands of red shirts from every region of Thailand for the big rally starting on Sunday.

These are pictures that I took of the red shirt rally in Samut Prakan this morning. There was an estimated 4-5,000 people there. The rally started at the City Hall area where the people listened to speeches. They then paid respect to the statue of King Rama V. I believe they were doing this for good luck as tomorrow they will be heading into Bangkok.

These are some of the red shirt security guards that surrounded the mobile stage. They were protecting the red shirt leaders. They all wore special id cards because there have been reports of people pretending to be red shirts in order to cause damage to their reputation.

Some of the red shirts posing in front of the statue of King Rama V. Everyone was very friendly and relaxed. There was no danger here at all despite reports from the government that the rallies might turn violent.

The red shirts are paying respect to statue of King Rama V. In the background is the provincial hall. The entrance was blocked off by police wearing riot gear. THe red shirt leaders announced that the Governor must be on their side as he let them rally at the City Hall Plaza.

They next left the city hall to parade through the town to the City Pillar to again wish for good luck on their journey tomorrow into Bangkok. Here they are passing the police station and the courthouse. Both of them had riot police guarding the entrances. However, there was no danger.

They must have blocked traffic for about an hour as they marched through town. I was running on ahead of the parade. Some shopkeepers quickly closed up shop. Maybe worried of potential violence as we have been brainwashed by the government. One classic Western movie scene I saw was a mother running out from a shop house and shouting at her young child to get in quickly.

Along the way we passed Bangkok Bank. Last week two branches in Samut Prakan were bombed. The police here were guarding the entrance. Maybe expecting problems. But, again, the parade passed by with no incident.

We were posting live from the rally and parade on various sites. Mainly on Twitter @RichardBarrow. But, I also managed a couple of moblogs at www.mythailandblogs.com. You can also see several hundred pictures over at www.paknamphotos.com. We are now about to leave to go to the big red shirt rally at the Stadium in Bang Phli. We will post live pictures via twitter.

Anti-government rallies are being planned by the red shirts in Bangkok from 12th-14th March 2010. They are hoping for a million protesters though the final figure is expected to be less than half that. However, it is still a sizeable protest and precautions should be made by both residents and tourists. Normally, when we get questions posted on our Paknam Web Forums asking "Is it safe to visit Thailand?" I usually answer "Yes, Thailand is mainly a peaceful nation." Nothing has really changed about that, but after the violent crackdown last April in Bangkok and the rumours coming out of government offices, I think we should all be very cautious this time round.

Map of Danger Zones in Bangkok

Security reports are suggesting several major bomb explosions being planned for Bangkok this weekend. Key government members are now driving around in bullet proof vehicles and this weekend they will be hiding out in safe houses. As they are also starting to evacuate certain areas of Bangkok then I think we should follow their example. I strongly urge you not to travel to Bangkok this weekend unless your journey is absolutely necessary. That may sound a bit dramatic, but why run the risk of getting caught up in the protests or a bomb explosion? I am not so much worried about the red shirts but the unseen elements that are intent to stir up trouble.

The Thai government have approved the use of the draconian Internal Security Act B.E. 2551 (2008) in the areas of Bangkok and certain districts of seven nearby provinces from 11 to 23 March 2010. These include all of Bangkok and Nonthaburi Province; Thanyaburi, Sam Kok, Lam Luk Ka, Khlong Luang, Lad Lumkaew and Muang Districts in Pathumthani Province; Kra Tum Ban and Muang Districts in Samut Sakon Province; Bang Phli, Bang Sao Thong, Bang Boh, Phra Pradang and Muang Districts in Samut Prakan Province; Phutthamonthon, Sam Phran and Nakhon Chai Si Districts in Nakhon Pathom Province; Muang District in Chachoengsao Province; and Bang Pa-in, Bang Sai, Lat Bua Luang and Wang Noi Districts in Ayutthaya Province. This law restricts movement and actions of people in the affected areas.

Foreigners have never been targeted in any of the political rallies in the past. However, it would be wise if you make an effort to be aware of the main protest sites and to leave an area immediately if it is occupied by protesters. Tourists should be careful of any abandoned bags that could contain bombs. Litter bins and telephone booths have been targeted in the past. The Tourist Police are advising foreign tourists to avoid the following areas:

• Ratchadamnoen Avenue (Royal Avenue)
• Vibhavadi Rangsit Road
• Rama 9 Road
• Samsen Road
• Victory Monument
• Rama IV
• Silom Road
• Ratchadamri Road

In addition, police reports suggest that the red shirts might have rally points in the following areas around Bangkok. They are suggestiong that tourists avoid these areas too:

• Klong 4 in Thanyaburi district in Pathum Thani
• Klong 4 Rangsit in Pathum Thani
• Laksi democracy monument in Bangkhen
• Thung Song Hong police station
• Nonthaburi City Hall
• Tha Phra Chan Pier
• Thailand-Japanese Sports Complex in Din Daeng
• Lumphini Park
• Wongwien Yai, Thonburi
• Bang Na intersection
• Samut Prakan City Hall

If you are in Bangkok this weekend then it is important that you keep up with the latest developments. We will be posting updates on our Paknam Web Forums. You can also visit our Google Map of Danger Zones in Bangkok which we will update over the weekend as events unfold. According to the latest rumours, people should now rush out to fill up with petrol, empty their bank accounts and stock up with food. Sometimes it is difficult to know what exactly is rumour, but we have heard petrol stations in Bangkok will close, red shirts will glue up all ATM machines and there will be a food shortage. There are also rumours of a coup. Obviously you cannot believe everything you hear. Even from government sources. But, please be safe this weekend. Either stay at home or go away for the weekend.

The Thai government over the past few years have been so focussed on first the yellow shirts and then the red shirts that hardly anyone has noticed the rampant increase of drug use in Thailand. It is almost getting to epidemic proportions as nothing much is being done to bring it under control. The drug of choice is "yaba" which is the Thai version of amphetamine. It is highly addictive and, like the Thai name suggests, it changes your personality and can send you crazy. The number of yaba addicts have increased greatly over the last year mainly due to the reduction in price. During the height of the Thaksin Drug War the price of a pill went up from 60 baht to as much as 300 or even 350 baht. Dealers laid low and addicts sweated it out. For a period of time there was hardly any drug activity in my neighbourhood. But, that has now all changed as prices have dropped to about 200 baht a pill. It now seems that every second person is a drug dealer as there is quick and easy money in it.

Drive around late at night, or even sometimes during the day, you will see teenagers on the back of motorcycles doing drug deals. I have seen it with my own eyes. There are usually two motorcycles involved. The first goes on ahead to check to see if the coast is clear. If it is, then the second motorcycle, with the drugs, will come to do the drop off. What many people don't realize is that drugs can change hands quite a few times before they reach the drug addict. The guy at the top of the chain never gets his hands dirty. He will telephone someone and give him instructions to pick the drugs up at one place and then deliver it to another. That person himself will then re-sell the drugs to another person until it reaches the small-time dealers at the bottom of the food chain. This is the guy that takes the biggest risk as he will be coming into contact with many of the drug addicts. Any of them could point the finger to who supplied them.

Dealers higher up in the chain will make the most money for the least amount of work. For example, they will be buying in bulk and probably pay something like 50 baht a pill depending on their contacts. On the other hand, the average local drug dealer will be buying in much smaller amounts. The present going rate for 200 yaba pills is about 21,000 baht which works out at only 105 baht per pill. This price will change due to police activity and whether there has been any major drug hauls lately. As it turns out, around here the police have recently confiscated over three million pills. You would think that would have shut down the whole operation. But, the prices only fluctuated for a short time up to about 23,000 baht for 200 pills. But, a new shipment has just come in from Chiang Rai so the prices have started to go down again. These dealers only sell to 3 or 4 people at a time. They never actually do it themselves. They have "assistants" who they telephone with instructions.

In comparison, the small-time dealers have to do everything themselves and then they can only sell one or two pills at a time to the drug addicts. They probably bought the pills in packs of about 50 pills for say 150 baht per pill and then sell them for about 200 baht each. So, he gets a profit of about 50 baht per pill. Eventually he will make 2,500 baht profit after selling yaba to 20 or so people. But it is hard going as there is a lot of competition out there. Compared to the time of Thaksin, everyone now wants to be a drug dealer. Many of these are drug addicts who need to make extra money to fuel their habit. Even if they bought the drugs for the normal street price of 200 baht, they will try and sell them to friends at school for say 220 baht or more. However, once that school kid becomes more experienced, he will learn where he needs to go to buy at a better price.

It is not really fair to say that the police aren't doing anything about the problem. However, their hands are partly tied by laws that treat drug addicts as criminals and not as patients. During the night, the police set up mobile checkpoints at various points around our city. They stop motorcyclists and do random urine tests. If anyone is found with drugs in their system then there is a high chance that they will be sent to the local prison for a period of 45 days. After that, they are assessed and they could be allowed to go home or, if they are unlucky, they are sent to an army boot camp. If the police found a small amount of yaba pills on that motorcyclist at the checkpoint they would then be sent to court to pay a fine if it was their first offence. If it was 15 or more yaba pills then it is a jail sentence of at least three years. It doesn't matter if the amount of pills was only enough for personal consumption. In Thailand they automatically charge you with intent to deal. As a consequence, the majority of prisoners in Thai prisons are there for drug offences.

Prisons are not the best place for drug addicts. Prison guards are not equipped or even qualified to take care of them. The ones whose urine tested positive for drug use are left to cater for themselves through the pains of withdrawal. There is no counselling. In prisons that I have visited they are kept in separate areas. But, because of overcrowding, that might not be the case in other prisons. For the small-time dealers caught with a few pills, they are thrown into a hot pot of murderers, rapists and big time drug dealers. They too don't receive any counselling and certainly there is no rehabilitation. However, what they do gain from their few years in prison is invaluable knowledge. To start with, they can learn from others on how not to be caught by the police. They also gain tips from the drug dealers on better and easier ways of selling. For example, they are told not to handle drugs for too long, never keep them in your home and to get other people to do the dirty work for them. Most importantly, they gain contacts.

Once that small time dealer or drug addict is out of prison, it isn't long before he starts to deal drugs again. It is the only thing he has been trained to do. He is introduced to a local big time drug dealer and a short time later he starts to buy and sell in greater quantities than before. It doesn't matter if he didn't have any money when he came out of prison. He can buy on credit which is a little trick the big drug dealers use to keep them selling. And don't think for a moment that the drug lords giving all the instructions are here on the outside. Many of them are giving instructions from inside the prison itself by using secret mobile phones which they bury in the ground. These are often smuggled in by prison guards who buy cheap second-hand phones down the market for about 500 baht and then resell to the prisoners for at least 5,000 baht each. They also don't need to pop down to their local 7-Eleven to top up their sim card. All they have to do is phone an accomplice on the outside to buy this for them and then phone them back with the code.

The government recently announced that they will send 300,000 drug addicts for treatment this year to special drug camps. Will this actually work? I have always said that we need to start at the school level in educating the students on the dangers of drug use. Maybe use past students who were drug addicts to tell them how easy it is to become addicted. But, most schools don't want to admit that their students have had drug problems as they want to stay a "white school". Best to expel immediately anyone taking drugs. The other problem is that there are very few effective drug rehabilitation centers in Thailand. Most of them just give the addicts medicine to make them sick. They only do detoxification and not proper rehabilitation. The addicts sent to army camps are just given discipline and are often beaten up which just makes them more resentful.

What I am most concerned about now is that we have just entered the most dangerous period of the year for Thai students with the long summer holidays. Are they really prepared enough to stay away from drugs? With so many young drug dealers out there, the chances are high that we will see a large increase of drug addicts over the Songkran period. The chances are also high that it will be someone either you know directly or a son or daughter of a friend. In my next article, I will be giving you some extracts of interviews I have done with drug addicts and also some good tips on how to spot if your child is taking "yaba". This will be an important read for all teachers and parents.

It is probably not a good idea to venture outside at the moment if you are living in some areas of Bangkok, Ayutthaya, Chiang Rai, Lampang, Lumpoon, Maehongson, Nan, Phayao and Chiang Mai due to the bad air quality. You should also consider wearing face masks in Chachoengsao, Nonthaburi, Samut Prakan, Samut Sakhon and Saraburi. The chart above is released by the Pollution Control Department and shows the air quality index for yesterday. The column of interest is PM10. It's a measure of parts per million that are smaller than 10 microns and therefore able to lodge in the lungs. The acceptable maximum is 120. The locations which have dangerous levels are marked in red. You can check air quality for yourself at their website for Bangkok and the Regions of Thailand. Looks like we should all be heading south to the islands or even, apparently, to Pattaya in Chonburi!

A few days ago, a user called "musicxpresso" put up for sale on ebay a wanted poster for Thaksin and his wife for a mere 99 cents. The photo showed the massive banner used as the backdrop for one of the yellow shirts stages while they occupied the Government House area. However, if you read the badly worded description (obviously not done by a native English person), you will see that the poster is a mere 30 cms x 21 cms! Despite this, and after a mention on several Thai news sites, including the popular pantip.com, the auction price quickly rose to US$58,600 with still another four days to go as of last night! However, when I checked this morning I only got this message on ebay "Bidding has ended on this item". So, did it really sell for 1.8 million baht? I personally don't think so. Using Google cache I was able to grab the image above and then from there I was able to get the bidding history. Now it would seem that the seller cancelled all bids and ended the auction early. I wonder why. Is it because there are now other items out there with the same picture selling for only $2? Looks like someone was trying a scam.

This is probably the banner that bidders thought they were buying. I took this picture in the government house grounds. It was hanging on a captured police van.

This is probably the poster actually for sale which were dime a dozen.

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You can now follow me on Twitter @RichardBarrow. I am also doing mobile blogging from the iphone at www.MyThailandBlog.com. My other new blog started a few months back is www.MyThaiPhotos.com.

Khan Kluay was a smash hit Thai cartoon when it was first released in Thailand in May 2006. It was the first Thai cartoon made at international standard and did very well in the domestic market. The little blue elephant, called Khan Kluay, was very popular with Thai children of all ages. I know Nong Grace has watched her DVD version so many times that it has worn out. It is based around Khan Luay who, when he was young, got separated from the herd when he went off looking for his father. He was then brought up by some villagers who trained him to become a war elephant for the King of Siam. The climax of the movie is the battle against the evil Burmese invaders. Khan Kluay also manages to avenge the death of his father by killing the Burmese elephant that was responsible for his death. The movie teaches you that wars are sometimes necessary when you have to defend your homeland. It is the kind of patriotic movie not seen in the Western world since the Second World War.

In 2008, the movie reached a more international audience when it was given a Hollywood make-over and re-released as The Blue Elephant. The new English soundtrack had voice talents such as Carl Reiner and Martin Short. It was also produced by the Jim Henson Company. Nong Grace saw this English version for the first time yesterday. She actually loved it and watched it twice in a row without stopping. On the back of the DVD box, there is this promotional text which I think is a bit misleading:

"Follow THE BLUE ELEPHANT on a breathtaking journey, complete with endearing characters, belly laughs, and an uplifting message about the power of courage. Khan is a little elephant with big dreams of becoming a hero. When he gets separated from his herd, he'll need the help of his new friends and a whole lot of bravery to find his family and fulfil his royal destiny. Join Miranda Cosgrove, Martin Short, and Carl Reiner, as they lend their voices to this fun family adventure!"

Judging by the comments on amazon.com, some mothers weren't that happy with the cartoon after buying it for their toddlers. Thai patriotism doesn't quite translate across the borders. However, I think it would be a hit with children whose parents are serving abroad in Iraq and Afghanistan. It helps explain what their fathers are doing for their nation. For older kids the movie is enjoyable and in fact I also enjoyed watching it with Nong Grace during the first round. I haven't actually seen the Thai version yet but I would now be interested to compare and to see what they had changed.

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You can now follow me on Twitter @RichardBarrow. I am also doing mobile blogging from the iphone at www.MyThailandBlog.com. My other new blog started a few months back is www.MyThaiPhotos.com.

I first heard of the Tiger Temple over 10 years ago on a TV documentary but it's taken me this long to get around to going there. The documentary showed the temple in a good light, a few conservationists argued against it, but their argument was that tigers should be kept naturally not as pets, nothing about cruelty. The abbot of the temple countered by saying what was important was Tiger happiness and saving tigers, and with tigers virtually extinct I found his pragmatism pretty sensible so I had no qualms about visitng.

Persuading a friend to go we set off on a day trip from Bangkok picking up an early bus at Sai Tai Mai (Bangkok’s southern bus Terminal) and arrived at Kanchanaburi bus station a few hours later. Next it was on the local bus which ran past the temple which is quite a way towards Sanglaburi. Before we boarded I asked the conductor to drop us off at Wat Pa Luang Ta Bua to see the tigers and was quite surprised neither her nor the driver had heard of it, neither had the driver of the neighbouring bus but fortunately the conductor of that bus had and gave the instructions to stop nearthe temple opposite which they had heard of. Apparently the Tiger Temple’s world fame stops short of Kanchanaburi bus stations. I have since asked a couple of Thai friends about the temple and they are equally unaware of its existence.

We jumped off the bus outside the temple and trekked up the rather long dirt road to the entrance, paid our entrance fees, weaved round the tourist shop and headed in. We had got there pretty early so I was surprised to see such a large crowd in there, most seemed to be from buses out of either Kanchanaburi or Bangkok.

The tigers were still in their cages when we arrived but due out in a little while. The cages looked a bit grim a row of bland concrete cells without any kind of stimulus or toys inside. Strangely too the mothers had been separated from their cubs who were in a separate cage outside being stroked by tourists. There was also a leopard in there which was apparently wild so I guess never saw the light of day.

After wandering around for a while we noticed a crowd was gathering and apparently the tigers were going to be walked to some kind of outdoor canyon. We joined the thronging masses and sure enough one by one some of the tigers were lead out of their cages by handlers, with crowds lining either side of the path, a kind of royal parade without the tigers stopping and shaking hands as they strolled by.

I wondered to myself if the tigers that were left in their cages were always left in their cages or was there a daily rota. When the last few tigers were lead down the crowds were invited to follow them and rather surreally place their hands on the tiger’s rear as they walked along, being photographed doing it by the handler. A few people were warned not to walk beside of, or in front of the tigers as it was dangerous, but behind they couldn’t see you and didn’t seem to mind the bottom groping. Really living in Thailand I shouldn't be too surprised that there's people in the world who would fly to another country specifically to grope a tiger's bum.

We arrived at the "canyon" which was a concrete area radiated down upon by a sweltering midday sun. The tigers where chained to the ground on a short chain and quickly fell asleep. The large crowd queued to get into the enclosure, about 12-15 people were allowed in at one go and lead by a handlers from tiger to tiger, they were invited to lay hands on each tiger and have their photo taken. Being in amongst 10 sleeping tigers is quite an experience, whether cynic or not and I have to admit at that point I threw myself in with all the tourist zeal and wasn’t the only one.

You could think the experience of being amongst so many tigers was a spiritual one, but it quickly emerged the crowd were there for only one reason and that was to walk away with that snap of them to amaze people with back home. The atmosphere was more like a sale in a supermarket as people vied for the best photo opportunities. Despite being among the tiger for fifteen minutes I don’t think I have come out any more knowledgeable about tigers, other than what one's fur feels like to touch, which is maybe not how one should leave something that calls itself a conservation project. I was also quite surprised to see parents letting some quite young children hold the tigers.

Going around and touching the tigers was free after you had paid your admission to get into the temple but there was one additional VIP perk. For an additional 1000 baht you could have your photo taken with the tiger's head in your lap. I did wonder what the sleepy tiger felt about having his head shoved in a row of punter laps in succession but it seemed to just sleep through it.

Paying the 1000 baht was a ritual in itself as a sign requesting donations was placed beside the pay point. Several podgy middle-aged European men with hugely expensive plastic Minolta cameras they clearly didn't now how to use tried to as visibly as possible overpay the 1000 baht waving a second 1000 baht note around their heads for drawn out seconds before landing them at the front of the table screaming inside their heads "look at me everyone, I'm paying double".

After the canyon experience some of the buses began to leave and we thought maybe the place would be quieter but we soon realised there was a second shift when another load of tourist arrived and the tigers would have to go through it again.

Around 4 in the afternoon we took the long trek back to the main road to wait for a bus back to Kanchanaburi, it took an hour and half to arrive and it was standing room only.

Before visiting the Tiger Temple I had been under the impression it was an, if unusual, conservation project and at least the monks were treating the tigers well. After my visit I wasn’t too sure that was what I had seen and began researching the temple a bit. There are quite a few write ups out there by people who have visited the temple on forums both positive and negative. Among the negative claims were those of ill-treatment, the monks taking donations for a safari park like area that still hasn’t appeared, some tigers never leaving the barren cages, the tigers being drugged, tigers removed from parents for domestication and animal trafficking.

Some of the claims I had possibly witnessedon my visit, wild tigers never leaving the rather poor cages, cubs separated from mother and no canyon despite there website's last updated a couple of years ago keeping tally of substantial donations for it. As for the drugs claims, the cats were certainly sleepy, but they were also nocturnal creatures in direct sunlight, in a bake house and cats tend to get sleepy in this environment.

I had a small experience of slight brutality when the tigers were being walked from their cages to the canyon and a tiger that decided to take a diversion was dragged back in line by a couple of handlers, it was shouted at by the handler and struck firmly but not excessively violently by a handler a few times with his hand. Another handler had a thick bamboo cane in his hand as but I did not see it used.

One forum post by a former volunteer which was particularly critical struck me, arguing he had seen a lot of brutality while there and tigers hit with these sticks when the tourists were not around. A quick surf also found an expose website which claims not only cruelty but trafficking and backs it up with reports from wildlife groups. It claims, unlike as the temple's publicity says, many of the tigers are not animal rescues but illegally trafficked animals and that the temple is breeding animals for sale.

On the other hand there are lots of western volunteers there and probably several dozen over the year, many of these with a real interest in conservation, I would imagine any really outlandish treatment of the animals would have been exposed by now. Many years ago I visited the Crocodile Farm and there were tigers there, I think they are gone now, but these animals lived in truly atrocious conditions, the temple tigers do have a better life than these.

Not being a expert on the subject I find it hard to make an authoritative judgement and call one side right or wrong, but from my own experience I did not exactly find it the tiger temple the heaven it’s billed as for tigers. With tiger experiences equalling big bucks these days and the recent opening of several tiger zoos and parks in the land I don’t think this kind of business is going to disappear.

I hope a place in Thailand opens up that offers a much more well informed and better treatment of the animals, but Sri Racha Tiger Zoo seems beset by the same criticisms as the temple. I haven’t been to Safari World Night Tiger Safari so it would be worth trying to find out if this is a better option. If I was a tourist planning to visit the temple I would at least research the place and try and make an informed opinion before deciding to go. Erm.......... Unlike me.

Thanks to my fellow traveller Miles Trethewey for supplying 4 of the pics