Happy Sunday, Bangkok!
Has anyone else been enjoying the glorious drizzle this week? No? Thought not. It takes us back to the grey skies of London, only with about triple the humidity levels. Truly, the worst of both worlds. Not to get too Dickensian…
But anyway, back in Bangkok, and it’s been quite a week.
Making international headlines was the guilty verdict in the defamation case against activist Andy Hall for his comments on the labour practices at Natural Fruit, a pineapple wholesaler, in a 2013 report.
In lighter news, Bangkok has wrested the #1 spot from London in Mastercard’s global top travel destinations, anticipating to receive over 21 million visitors this month. Drizzly London, on the other hand, is looking at just under 20 million. Thailand as a whole is expecting to receive 33 million visitors in 2016.
As always, there’s been plenty more entertaining and enraging Bangkok this week. Let’s take a look at the best news, views, videos and social media updates of the past seven days.
News
Lumpini’s monitor lizards are being relocated
This is the story of the monitor lizards — the famous inhabitants of Bangkok’s Lumpini Park — who are being relocated to an animal sanctuary outside of the city. Instead of removing the eggs, which would have seen a gradual taper in the Lumpini population, authorities saw fit to tie up the live lizards and attempt to remove them all at once from their park home.
I feel little sad to heard that news. Lumpini Lizards are one of the attraction for some tourists and nature… https://t.co/oj3qMGo1HH
— Mya Thazin Han (@jasminhan90) September 21, 2016
16-seater minivan unloads 41 men in Bangkok
In one of the most #ThailandOnly videos to emerge from Bangkok recently, this Facebook video sees police unloading a 16-seater minivan in Bangkok that’s actually carrying a massive 41 people. Looks a tad cramped.
Farangs arrested after policeman shot and dead foreigner found in freezer
Friday night saw the emergence of this story whereby a raid on a house in Phra Khanong saw a Thai policeman shot in the torso. The raid also uncovered the dismembered body of a dead man in the freezer, together with weapons, drugs and forged passports found at the scene. Apparently one Brit, two Americans and two Burmese were arrested.
Blogs
The faces of Bangkok
This is a fascinating photo diary documenting the people of Bangkok’s streets — at once amusing, beautiful, sad and empathetic. A lovely little blog if you’re interested in portrait photography and day to day life in the City of Angels.
The joys of a visa run to Laos
This blog — detailing the various stresses that encumber a Thailand visa run — made us chuckle in sympathy, remembering the dubious thrills of running around Southeast Asia every few months when we first arrived here. While travelling this region is undoubtedly one of life’s great pleasures, the logistics of coordinating visa runs is markedly less fun. We’re sure many an expat will sympathise with this comedy of errors from Thailand For Farang, as the author recounts a recent eventful trip to Savvanakhet in Laos with her husband to renew his visa.
One thing particularly amusing about this blog is the apparent forgetfulness of the author’s husband: first he forgets to apply for a new visa and then he forgets to sign his visa application. Epic.
Forum Threads
Is it worth stocking up on anything before moving to Thailand?
This Reddit thread discusses the various products that are worth sourcing outside of the country — either because they’re difficult to source here, or because they’re very expensive.
Answers vary from tampons and pharmaceuticals to Maynards Wine Gums, Yorkshire Tea, bras and peanut butter.
We would add M&S biscuits (they’re outrageously priced and often nearing their sell-by date in Central World’s outlet) and men’s shoes, if your feet are over average.
What advice would you give to a Thai girl embarking on a relationship with a westerner?
The sages of Thaivisa ponder what advice they might give to a hypothetical Thai woman looking for a Western husband. Those who sound like they’ve been burned in the past advise becoming self-sufficient, holding your new partner in higher esteem than your parents (yikes) and to stop looking for partners of a certain nationality or skin color. Sounds like good advice for anyone, regardless of sex or ethnicity.
The most on-the-nose answer comes early in the thread:
YouTube
Some amazing rock climbing shots and panoramas–
Work S.O.P for Thais:
-Turn up late for work
-Clock in & go to 7/11
-Browse IG & FB while eating
-Circulate puppy pics on chat group
-Begin— Glenn (@_GlennCollier) September 20, 2016
With a bit of luck I should be able to take the SaenSeab boat from door to door today. #flood #Bangkok
— Dutch boy BKK (@DutchBoyBKK) September 23, 2016
BROKEN NEWS
Press conference in Lumpini Park, #Bangkok as monitor lizard responds to the #Brangelina divorce. pic.twitter.com/wFhxsR6xpG— The Durian Nation (@DurianNation) September 22, 2016
And that’s been The Week On Sukhumvit — see you next time!
Featured image is by YashiWong and used under a CC BY-SA 3.0 licence
