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NOTE -- A tip of the cap to Divine Madman who brought this interview with Ocean Vuong from the Paris Review to my in box. I've singled out some quotes from Vuong but you can read the interview in its entirety at the link below. Survival as a Creative Force: An Interview with Ocean Vuong Maybe all of life is an experiment, in some sense. Just because we use words like son and mother does not mean that love and forgiveness are a given. They must be tested, and they must be tested with tools. Language is one of those tools. One question this novel hovers over is how do people who hurt each other find ways to protect themselves while attempting to love and, ultimately, to heal? I think Little Dog learns that to experiment is to innovate—and to innovate is to live in hope. Innovation is the first casualty of cynicism. The characters in this novel test each other because they possess an optimism that outlasts their hurt. And I adore them for that. ----------------------------------------- I’m lucky to have met some truly kind and generous elders and teachers along the way, many of whom opened doors for me by saying incredible things, often just on the fly. ----------------------------------------- Continues at https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2019/06/05/survival-as-a-creative-force-an-interview-with-ocean-vuong/

South Korea and Taiwan targets of the new service Excerpted from the Bangkok Post Thailand's aviation industry is set to welcome two new low-cost carriers next year, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) on Monday. Thai Eastar Jet and Thai Summer Airways have obtained the required Air Operating Licences (AOL) and are currently in the process of obtaining their Air Operator Certificate (AOC), said CAAT director-general Chula Sukmanop. The budget airlines will be the first two Thai-registered airliners to launch commercial services since Thailand was red-flagged by the International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO) in June 2015 for failing to adequately deal with 33 "significant safety concerns" within a specified time frame. On Oct 6, 2017, the ICAO lifted the red flag, indicating that Thailand's aviation safety standards now meet international benchmarks. Mr Chula said Thai Eastar Jet's first commercial service will be between Bangkok and Taiwan's southern port city of Kaohsiung. The airlines is also planning to link Bangkok and South Korea, but plans for services have to be shelved for the time being as new flights to South Korea are affected by Thailand's Category 2 status imposed by the United States' Federal Aviation Administration since December 2015. The FAA said Thailand fell short across several categories, such as pilot qualifications and training. The government has set about trying to fix the flaws, but Thailand's status remains unchanged. Both airlines will be allowed to hire just Thai pilots, as the requirement to employ a certain number of foreign pilots has been removed, he said. https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/1822724/2-new-carriers-set-for-takeoff#cxrecs_s ================================================================================ From the Bangkok Post Thai Air Asia to add new routes A strong currency, higher operation costs from an excise tax and a slowdown in tourism are among the challenges confronting local airlines next year. Santisuk Klongchaiya, chief executive of Thai AirAsia, said the airline business is hoping the volume of tourists rebounds if the government imposes effective measures to deal with the strident baht. He said controlling costs, finding supplementary income and managing efficient routes are tasks for airlines to keep afloat amid tough times. Next year, Thai AirAsia, the low-cost carrier owned by SET-listed Asia Aviation Plc (AAV), plans to add more routes to popular destinations in Southeast Asia such as Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia. It will operate with 62 jets, including the 230-seat Airbus A321neo, a more energy-efficient aircraft to replace the 180-seat Airbus A320, which will be phased out from the fleet in the near future. The use of the bigger capacity Airbus A321neo will help with limited slot times at Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports, Mr Santisuk said. https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/1823044#cxrecs_s

NOTE -- Read this and every time I thought I understood it the following paragraph--or sentence--negated it. Fortunately I doubt that it applies to many readers. But if you're one of them, good luck. From the Bangkok Post Work Permit and Business Visa Issues: finding one’s way through the Thailand Maze Work permits and business visas are integral components of an expatriate’s ability to maintain lawful immigration status as well as work authorisation in Thailand. The process of obtaining a visa and a work permit has evolved substantially in the past five years. In fact, the past twenty four months has seen substantial changes to the overall process. n the past, the process of obtaining a Thai business visa from overseas was relatively straightforward. Today, there are some jurisdictions where processing of such applications is not overly difficult. However, in a broad sense, the process of obtaining a Thai business visa outside of Thailand has become increasingly complicated. One apparent reason for this increasing complexity seems to stem from the fact that Thai Honorary Consulates have seen their jurisdiction to issue Thai business visas strictly curtailed. For example, where it was once possible to obtain a one year business visa from a Thai Honorary Consulate in many cities in the United Kingdom, such Posts’ jurisdiction to issue one year visas was circumscribed by the Embassy in that jurisdiction and, as of the time of this writing, such Posts are only allowed to issue 90 day business visas and even then such application must be directly adjudicated by the Thai Embassy in London. Meanwhile, in the United States it was once possible to mail in a petition for a one year business visa to the various Thai Honorary Consulates throughout the country. In recent years, such Posts have been precluded from issuing one year business visas and now those seeking even a 90 day business visa must do so in-person as mail-in applications are no longer accepted by honorary posts. The Thai Embassy in Washington D.C., New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles will still process applications by mail, but issuance of one year business visas at such posts is not as frequent compared to times past. Continues at https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/1823279/work-permit-and-business-visa-issues-finding-ones-way-through-the-thailand-maze#cxrecs_s

And for those of us who find them sexy in street clothes, a great opportunity. .

From the Khmer Times Passenger traffic at Cambodian airports grew by 12 percent in the first eleven months of this year because of new air routes and new airlines being put into operation. Figures from Cambodia Airports, which manages the country’s three international airports, show that from January to November, passengers amounted to 10.6 million people. Phnom Penh International Airport and Sihanoukville International Airport saw the biggest traffic growth, while Siem Reap International Airport experienced a decline in traffic. Phnom Penh International Airport handled 5.5 million passengers, a 12 percent increase, and Sihanoukville International Airport hit a record high with a 177 percent increase to 1.5 million passengers. Siem Reap International Airport, on the other hand, saw passenger traffic fall 11 percent, to 3.5 million. “For Phnom Penh international Airport, the growth is driven by new airlines and routes,” said Khek Norinda, communications and public relations director at Cambodia Airports, citing the carrier Citylink’s new route between Jakarta and Phnom Penh and also Chinese carriers. “For Sihanoukville, new airlines and routes are the main engines of growth. In addition, domestic airlines switched their services from Siem Reap to Sihanoukville,” he said. For Siem Reap, some airlines stopped flying there. For example, Malaysia Airlines and domestic carriers switched their flights to Sihanoukville, he said. According to the Ministry of Tourism, Cambodia received 5.2 million foreign tourists from January to October this year, up 9.7 percent. Of that number, 3.7 million passed through the airports, up 12 percent during the period, the report read. Currently, Cambodia has five domestic airlines and 44 international airlines. https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50671831/kingdoms-air-passenger-traffic-grows-12-percent

From Bangkok Post Trains to start running on 3-station line in 2022, 15 stations to open by 2025 MANILA: Groundwork for the Philippines’ first subway system began on Saturday at a site in Manila that will host its depot and related facilities. “If we have this subway, the movement of people and cargo will speed up and improve,” Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said at a ceremony marking the start in Quezon City. Transportation Undersecretary Timothy John Batan said earthwork activities were able to begin following the acquisition of land and clearing of squatters. The Metro Manila Subway Project is set to begin partial operations with three stations by 2022, with operations of the entire 15-station line slated to start by 2025. Funded by a US$935-million loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency, Japan’s aid agency, the first phase includes the three stations in Quezon City and a subway depot and the Philippine Railway Institute, both located in one compound in neighbouring Valenzuela City. https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/1821249/work-begins-on-manila-subway

Some countries give checked baggage less scrutiny than others. I think the idea is to apply a final check that will be less disruptive than doing it after passenger retrieves luggage.

Great line...lol. Their service follows the time-honored recipe for making a roux: it must be continuously stirred while being heated.

You really should consider seeking therapy for your stream of unconsciousness condition

From Bloomberg News Thailand Wants More First-Time Visitors as They Spend More Thailand will try to ease the pressure on tourism from a surging currency by targeting more first-time visitors because they are bigger spenders. “First-timers spend 10% to 20% more than repeat tourists and at the same time, we can build a new customer base,” Yuthasak Supasorn, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, said in an interview in Bangkok on Tuesday. The state agency’s goal is to increase first-time visitors to more than 10 million in 2020, or about a quarter of overall arrivals, from 10% now. It’s focusing marketing efforts on regions such as Central Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America. Next year’s targets include a record 41.8 million arrivals generating 2.22 trillion baht ($73 billion) in receipts, both up roughly 5% from 2019. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-12-18/thailand-seeks-more-first-time-visitors-as-currency-saps-tourism?srnd=well-spent ============================================================= From Bloomberg News Thailand Central Bank Holds Rate as Growth Forecasts Lowered The Bank of Thailand held its benchmark interest rate steady at an all-time low and cut its forecasts for economic growth, saying it was gauging whether further efforts were needed to restrain the local currency. The central bank kept its policy rate at 1.25% on Wednesday in a unanimous decision. All 23 economists in a Bloomberg survey predicted a hold after two rate cuts earlier this year. “A key takeaway from this meeting is that the central bank’s primary reaction function in the near term will be the Thai baht,” HSBC Holdings Plc economist Noelan Arbis said after the decision. Concerns about baht strength “were more prominent at today’s meeting than concerns regarding growth or inflation.” Authorities have been struggling to temper gains in the currency, which has climbed more than 8% against the dollar over the past year, hurting Thailand’s export-oriented economy. Aside from rate cuts, the central bank has imposed measures to counter short-term inflows and relaxed rules to spur outflows. Bank of Thailand Assistant Governor Titanun Mallikamas told reporters the Monetary Policy Committee will monitor how the baht responds to those steps and decide if it needs to do more. The currency fell slightly after the decision, from 30.243 to the dollar to 30.264, while local equities were little changed. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-12-18/thai-central-bank-holds-rate-steady-as-it-keeps-eye-on-growth?srnd=fixed-income

Correction Above sentence should have read: "... when Cuba nationalized American oil refineries without compensation."

Point taken. I should have explained in previous post that the sanctions originally date to 1958, four years before missile crisis. The sale of arms was blocked when Batista was still in power. More sanctions followed in 1960 when Cuba nationalized American oil refineries with compensation. In 1962, following the missile crisis, everything with the exception of food and humanitarian supplies were sanctioned. Obviously Cuba doesn't pose an overt military threat but it does pose a political one. Although travel to Cuba has been liberalized and remittances from families in the US allowed, sanctions remain in place principally because of the overwhelming support they receive from the Cuban-American community in Florida that number 1.53 million. Florida is a crucial state in presidential elections with 29 electoral votes that no candidate is eager to risk losing them. The bottom line is that it's tough to win without taking Florida (just ask Al Gore).

From Bangkok Post Hoteliers in Koh Samui are suffering from lower numbers of tourists. The occupancy rate on the island during the final quarter this year, as of Dec 20, has plunged to 30% from 50% in the same period of 2018, said Vorasit Pongkumpunt, president of the Tourism Association of Koh Samui. During the last two weeks of December, the occupancy rate should rise to 90%, putting it at 50% average for the year. He attributed the low figures to the strong baht and trade war, as major markets such as the Chinese flock to cheaper beach destinations in Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia. The occupancy rate for next year's first quarter in Samui stands at 35%, down from 50-60%, according to bookings. https://www.bangkokpost.com/learning/easy/1818044/not-enough-tourists-for-koh-samui-hotels

An extraordinary report by any measure. Thank you. You may not think of yourself as a serial reporter but that's what you are. You managed to capture precise moments in time with a practiced eye. You're a natural raconteur. Particularly enjoy your writing style. You candidly describe the scene and your offs while taking care to protect their identity. You appreciate that they're young men and--as Divine Madman said in another thread--we are the adults. Many of the guys we date will go on to lead very different lives and the last thing we should want to do is create problems for them. You didn't date deities. The men you chose (or in some cases chose you) are everyday type guys who populate the Patpong/Surawong entertainment zone. You even manage to present the ML model with down-to-earth personal qualities we often don't hear about. And a particular tip of the cap for pointing out the satisfaction you got from getting to know many of your offs outside of the bedroom. Your curiosity about their lives off the clock is both insightful and rewarding. Sharing a meal is a great ice breaker and in keeping with a treasured Asian custom. Delighted you have BKK back on your itinerary. .

You can be excused for forgetting that both the US and the UK were allies with Russia in WWII. Trump may like to think of the Putin as a present day ally but neither house of Congress does. And Congress has the final say on that. US bases around the world are there at the request of the host nations. Perhaps you'd feel better if they hosted Russian air bases instead? We both know if the UK had nukes when bombs were falling on the island they would have used them.The US was the first to use them because they were the first (barely ahead of the nazis) to develop them. Or perhaps you would have preferred that the nazis got them first? You like to bash anything American when it's convenient. But you forget that it was America that bailed you out of two wars and will be the first nation you go to if shit hits the fan again. They had little choice in the matter. They were surrounded by a fleet of US warships. It was JFK's measured response to the crisis that saved your ass.

Or perhaps he opted to forgo sex and remain in Scotland for the snap election. he he

Since I assume that you've been to Cuba and speak from experience, you must know what you're talking about. But I'm inclined to think that Cuba treats all of its citizens well. Sixty years is a long time, I agree. However, the fact that Cuba allowed Russia to place nuclear-tipped missiles 90 miles off the coast of Key West might have played a role in the sanctions. It was about 78 years ago, with the Nazis amassing forces 26 miles off the UK coast, that the US sent hundreds of thousands of troops to your shores along with thousands of aircraft and ships to help repel them. A small matter I know. Just thought I'd mention it.

They're like the mamasans who know the perfect off before you can get "I'm looking for..." out of your mouth. LOL

I've used a few private hospitals in Bangkok as the need arose over the years and have received what I consider very good service and--in most cases--equal or superior to what I might expect to find at home. And at costs significantly less. I've also taken young men to these hospitals for out-patient care they couldn't otherwise afford. The only area of health care that concerns me is a tendency to over prescribe medications. All of the hospitals I've used have in-house pharmacies that are important profit centers so there is an incentive to to write script for those pharmacies. Thai doctors seem more accustomed to write prescriptions without explaining much about the medications to the patient. But since they all speak English will--if questioned--have a dialogue with you. A law passed last year requires hospitals to provide patients with a script that can be used at the pharmacy of their choice outside of the hospital where more competitive pricing can be found. You just have to ask. I've been very satisfied with the service and pricing at the pharmacies on Rama IV. They're clustered in the block between Silom and Surawong. They're located across the road from King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital (and medical school), considered one of the best in the Kingdom. The Chula Pharmacy is the only name I can recall at the moment. It's particularly busy around lunch time but handles the crowds efficiently.

Excerpted from NYTimes BANGKOK — The coconut wood pestle hits the mortar, and the chili fumes rise in a cough-inducing haze. The lime rind bruises. Salted crab releases its funk, along with bits of claw and carapace. Shreds of green papaya are tossed in, bathed in a blast of fermented fish paste tempered by palm sugar. The smell is alive and dead, asphyxiating and alluring all at once. More than anything, this green papaya salad, made in a street cart by a woman who has been wielding her pestle for three and a half decades, provides the perfume of Bangkok. But street food vendors — with their pungent salads, oodles of noodles and coconut sweetmeats — have lately become the target of some of the capital’s planners. To them, this metropolis of 10 million residents suffers from an excess of crowds, clutter and health hazards. The floods, the heat, the stench of clogged canals and rotting fruit, the pok pok pok of that pestle — it’s all too much. They prefer an air-conditioned Bangkok, with malls, ice-skating rinks and Instagrammable dessert cafes. They want the street food vendors gone. And so Somboon Chitmani, who has been making green papaya salad in the streets of Bangkok for 36 years, waits. By the end of this year, she has heard, street cooks could be cleared out of central Bangkok. Already, the number of areas designated for street food has decreased from 683 three years ago to 175, according to the Network of Thai Street Vendors for Sustainable Development. Sakoltee Phattiyakul, the deputy governor of Bangkok, dismissed fears that street food would be gone from Bangkok this year. “No, no, no, we’re not going to ban to zero,” he said, stressing that a local government initiative to clear the city’s sidewalks of clutter was “just a plan that we have had for years.” Others within the government bureaucracy have sent a different message, though, leaving vendors spooked. Earlier this month, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration said the sidewalk cleanup campaign was moving ahead. “If they want to get rid of us, we can’t do anything to protest because it’s the law,” Ms. Somboon said. “But Bangkok to me is about street food. Without it, it wouldn’t feel the same.” Nearly 15 percent of Thailand’s citizens live in Bangkok, and many cling to the fringes of one of the world’s most unequal societies. The capital’s notorious traffic forces long commutes, meaning it’s often impractical to return home to eat lunch, or even dinner until late. Besides, many people rent lodging without kitchens. Street food is also a family business for Nitisak Trachoo, whose parents have pushed a pair of food carts across Bangkok for 27 years. Mr. Nitisak, 28, once worked as a bellboy but two years ago, when his parents asked him for help, he returned to the streets. Each day, as demure office workers and tourists in short shorts watch, he pours streams of green batter into a mold for tiny cakes fragrant with the vanilla-like juice of the pandan leaf, a common flavoring in Southeast Asia. On a recent afternoon, steam wafted from the griddle, adding a syrupy note to the humid air. “Being a bellboy is a lot easier,” Mr. Nitisak said, mopping away sweat. “But when my parents asked me to help I came right away because it’s the Thai way.” https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/14/world/asia/bangkok-street-food.htm

How's it going after your first week in Bangkok, Spicytea123?

From The Guardian Traditional Thai massage gains Unesco heritage status (photo from AFP website) The body-folding, sharp-elbowed techniques of Thai massage have been added to Unesco’s prestigious heritage list. Originating in India and practised in Thailand for centuries, the massage was popularised when a special school opened in the 1960s to train massage therapists from around the world. The addition of nuad Thai to Unesco’s list of “intangible cultural heritage” practices was “historic”, said the Thai delegate at the Unesco meeting in Bogotá, Colombia. “It helps promote the practice of Nuad Thai locally and internationally,” he said. From upscale Bangkok spas and Phuket beachfronts to modest street-side shophouses, nuad Thai is ubiquitous, and an hour of the back-straightening discipline can cost as little as $5. Doctors and monks were said to have brought these methods 2,500 years ago to Thailand, passing its secrets from master to disciple in temples and later within families. Under Thailand’s King Rama III in the 19th century, scholars engraved their knowledge of the field onto the stones of the famed Wat Pho temple in Bangkok.Its nuad Thai school, which has trained more than 200,000 massage therapists who practice in 145 countries, opened in 1962. Today, a therapist at a top-end spa can charge around $100 an hour in Thailand, and two or three times more in London, New York or Hong Kong where the Thai massage brand is booming. But the training is “demanding”, says Chilean Sari, a professional masseuse who travelled to Bangkok to learn the discipline. “The technique is very precise; there are so many things to be aware of,” the 34-year-old said. The teachings focus on directing blood circulation around problem areas to solve muscle aches – sometimes drawing winces from clients unaccustomed to the force applied. Studies have shown it can help relieve back pain, headaches, insomnia and even anxiety. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/13/traditional-thai-massage-gains-unesco-heritage-status

From Bloomberg News Election agency asks court to mull Future Forward dissolution Party head has warned elimination could be protest flash-point Thailand’s Election Commission petitioned a court to consider the break up of the country’s most high-profile opposition party, whose leader has warned that its dissolution could spark protests. Loans of 191.2 million baht ($6.3 million) to the Future Forward party from its chief Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit breached financing rules for political parties, the commission said in a statement Wednesday in Bangkok. “We absolutely disagree with the commission’s decision,” Piyabutr Saengkanokkul, the party’s secretary-general, said in a briefing. “We will continue to go forward with our duties. The decision today can’t stop our journey.” Future Forward is less than two years old but surged in Thailand’s disputed March election, which came after almost five years under a junta. Thanathorn is a critic of the royalist establishment’s grip on power, and his party’s goals include rewriting the military-backed charter and breaking up oligopolies. The commission asked the Constitutional Court to mull the financing case. The usual next step is for the court to decide whether to accept it or not. Thanathorn said last week that Thailand could see street protests again if establishment forces continue to resist democratic change, and signaled that dissolution could be a flash-point for demonstrations. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-12-11/thai-agency-seeks-break-up-of-highest-profile-opposition-party

And BadBoy is committed to taking us along for a "ride" along the way

From the NYTimes The e-waste industry is booming in Southeast Asia, frightening residents worried for their health. Despite a ban on imports, Thailand is a center of the business. Foreign workers sorting through piles of shredded e-waste on the premises of New Sky Metal in Thailand in September.Credit...Bryan Denton for The New York Times By Hannah Beech and Ryn Jirenuwat KOH KHANUN, Thailand — Crouched on the ground in a dimly lit factory, the women picked through the discarded innards of the modern world: batteries, circuit boards and bundles of wires. They broke down the scrap — known as e-waste — with hammers and raw hands. Men, some with faces wrapped in rags to repel the fumes, shoveled the refuse into a clanking machine that salvages usable metal. As they toiled, smoke spewed over nearby villages and farms. Residents have no idea what is in the smoke: plastic, metal, who knows? All they know is that it stinks and they feel sick. The factory, New Sky Metal, is part of a thriving e-waste industry across Southeast Asia, born of China’s decision to stop accepting the world’s electronic refuse, which was poisoning its land and people. Thailand in particular has become a center of the industry even as activists push back and its government wrestles to balance competing interests of public safety with the profits to be made from the lucrative trade. Last year, Thailand banned the import of foreign e-waste. Yet new factories are opening across the country, and tons of e-waste are being processed, environmental monitors and industry experts say. “E-waste has to go somewhere,” said Jim Puckett, the executive director of the Basel Action Network, which campaigns against trash dumping in poor countries, “and the Chinese are simply moving their entire operations to Southeast Asia.” “The only way to make money is to get huge volume with cheap, illegal labor and pollute the hell out of the environment,” he added. But it is dirty and dangerous work to extract the tiny quantities of precious metals — like gold, silver and copper — from castoff phones, computers and televisions. For years, China took in much of the world’s electronic refuse. Then in 2018, Beijing closed its borders to foreign e-waste. Thailand and other countries in Southeast Asia — with their lax enforcement of environmental laws, easily exploited labor force and cozy nexus between business and government — saw an opportunity. “Every circuit and every cable is very lucrative, especially if there is no concern for the environment or for workers,” said Penchom Saetang, the head of Ecological Alert and Recovery Thailand, an environmental watchdog. While Southeast Asian nations like Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines have rejected individual shipments of waste from Western countries, Thailand was the first to push back more systematically against the electronic refuse deluging its ports. In June of last year, the Thai Ministry of Industry announced with great fanfare the ban on foreign e-waste. The police made a series of high-profile raids on at least 10 factories, including New Sky Metal. “New Sky is closed now, totally closed,” Yutthana Poolpipat, the head of the Laem Chabang Port customs bureau, said in September. “There is no electronic waste coming into Thailand, zero.” But a recent visit to the hamlet of Koh Khanun showed that the factory was still up and running, as are many others, a reflection of the weak regulatory system and corruption that has tainted the country. Since the e-waste ban, 28 new recycling factories, most dealing with electronic refuse, began operations in one province east of Bangkok, Chachoengsao, where Koh Khanun is located, according to provincial statistics. This year, 14 businesses in that province were granted licenses to process electronic waste. Most of the new factories are in central Thailand between Bangkok and Laem Chabang, the nation’s biggest port, but more provinces are allowing the businesses. Continues with photos https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/08/world/asia/e-waste-thailand-southeast-asia.html