The week that was in Thailand news: Wring the rooster’s neck – not mine!

[rooster59]

The week that was in Thailand news: Wring the rooster’s neck – not mine!

 

 

This week your columnist exchanged the order, quiet and tranquility of Bangkok for the hubbub of an upcountry village. It was my annual sojourn in the far north east of Thailand, delayed from cancelled Songkran after the pandemic hit Thailand.
 
I was woken at some ungodly hour every morning by the “cock-a-doodle doo” (the rather annoying ekki-ek-ek in Thai) from the crawl space underneath our elevated bedroom. Wiping the dusty residue from weary eyes I vowed vengeance and promised the cooking pot for the raucous rooster. 
 
It made a change for another rooster to be facing grief - my readers often want to wring MY neck!
 
Still, I had to admit that such was the early hour we all went to bed – before the maid in the TV soap even got a good slapping – that it seemed reasonable to get up with the rising sun before 6 am.
 
Recalling a gay character in Little Britain, I’m the only farang in the village of Non Somboon in the district of Pha Khao (white cliff) just across the border from Nong Bua Lamphu. Loei province is off most tourist itineraries even when there ARE tourists. It is one of the most stunning areas of natural beauty in Thailand.
 
Arriving there by car after the long drive from Bangkok as the sun set was magical. The in-laws gave me an unpretentious, lovely big hug outside the five-bedroom house. Muggins paid for the pride of the village that was designed and built by my brother-in-law. He died earlier this year so there was much heartfelt chatter to catch up on over dinner of sticky rice, fish with more bones than flesh and some delicious freshly caught crickets.
 
I made do with a tin of Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom supplemented with a few slices of bread I’d baked in Bangkok. Non Somboon is not overly endowed with bakeries, Euro custard cake being about the only thing in the village shop.
 
Gran kindly went to the neighbor’s to borrow a chair as there wasn’t one in the house. It was a bit rickety so I sat on the first step of the stairs apologizing for “sitting high” perching my soup on my lap.
 
None of this causes adverse comments. In our twenty year relationship, the rellos have long since accepted that my back is too bad for floor sitting and I need my own fodder. They know I understand their culture even if I don’t throw myself into it like some newbie desperate for approval. And they know they can speak to me in standard Thai because I’m as fluent as they are in Bangkok-speak. 
 
I can interject with the odd salient remark during dialectal babble even if I can’t speak it at all. (Except for a few phrases designed to make people who don't know me cackle at the weekly market).
 
It was pleasing to note that the house was in no worse state of repair than last year. The bathroom sink still leaks over the floor and the lightbulbs haven't been replaced. Mai pen rai. Gran has come to terms with her diabetes and granddad was even going to work threshing rice after recovering from a mild stroke a while back. 
 
He’d bought a flat screen TV with the proceeds and was watching "muay Thai". I feigned interest and he was astounded that I knew Khaosai Galaxy and had met his twin brother. Showing him a clip I keep on my phone for such occasions with me "sparring" with Olympic gold medallist Somjit Jongjohor completed the illusion. Rooster brownie points rocket....
 
The sister-in-law’s kids, dumped on the grandparents after she disappeared owing a small fortune to us all, were polite and doing well at school and practiced a few words of English they'd learned in class. The nine year old brought me coffee every morning and said "thank you". Neither child resented following the electronic device rules I place on my own two little chicks.
 
On walks, the villagers were as friendly as ever. Isaan is legendary in this regard and Loei is no different. Except for that pesky rooster it wasn’t noisy at all. The Thaksin era loudspeakers have all gone. The village was abloom in flowers and I noticed a greater civic pride than in recent years. The weather was also much better than Songkran with a chill in the air late evening and early morning.
 
No one wore a mask and no one even talked about the pandemic except perhaps to refer to the state of the economy that they’d heard about on the news. There were a far greater number of flies than usual which perplexed me. This was explained after I saw a large pile of mushrooms that had been given to the family by a neighbor opposite who has set up a mildly odorous mushroom farm. The locals know how to maintain peace through donation.
 
I fully expect to live in Non Somboon in my dotage. While I can only survive for a week right now, in the future when I have all my stuff and the internet around me I see no reason why I can’t quit Bangkok. I live like a hermit in Ratchayothin anyway, and trips to England over the last three decades taught me that I see more of my relatives there than they see of each other. You make plans to catch up during a yearly visit, and I expect I would visit Bangkok many times a year for Scrabble.
 
We did side trips to the charming Erawan Cave that like most "tham" is used for "thamma". Almost deserted except for a few folks seeking the correct lottery tickets after making their prayers. We also went to Phu Kradung water park and I feared a "conversation" after reading online that they charged more for foreigners. I needn't have worried. They had a Covid special, adults the same price as kids, reduced to 50 baht! There were two families there and the others left because there was hardly any food. I'm one who enjoys the lack of tourists.
 
I returned by overnight bus from Sribunruang and despite the inevitable accident (not ours) near Khao Yai that slowed progress, I was back home at 5am after stubbornly walking the last five kilometers to avoid paying a 60 baht taxi fare. I then settled into a ten hour binge-fest of The Crown on Netflix.
 
Some habits never change. It was my treat for being such a good boy in Loei and marked the start of twelve days without a wife and young children. Absence will make the heart grow fonder, something Mrs R was reluctant to believe years ago, but which she now accepts whole heartedly (so long as I pay for her and the kids' "thiaw").
 
So back to work and see what I'd missed in the wilds of Loei.....
 
Tuesday featured some alarming scenes near Parliament House when water cannons and tear gas were used on protesters. There was also some shooting and police were brandishing weapons used to fire rubber bullets. Up in Loei Mrs Rooster had explained some of the latest shenanigans to mum. Gran looked mildly concerned, even shook her head in disapproval,  before taking another generous mouthful of sticky rice soaked in dried chili sauce. Priorities are important.
 
Also at the protests, “Ice” was found in a police van and seven riot police officers underwent drug tests - but, perhaps somewhat expectedly, plod was exonerated by plod. The international community – as well as many of us in Thailand – scratched our heads as to the relevance of giant, inflatable rubber ducks.
 
Just as well that the tourists are returning though less in droves, more like the trickle that came out of my Loei tap. Hapless TAT guv’nor Yutthasak said that 681 foreigners would be arriving before December. This is slightly down on last November when it was 3 million.
 
December promises to be even better as 2,000 investors are queueing up, each with a million bucks in hand to buy condos and stocks and get that oh-so-coveted work permit. Am I the only one who wouldn’t worry too much about work if I had 30 million baht to play with?
 
STV tourists are also flocking to the country in their dozens before March. This is partly thanks to Yutthasak’s buy two nights in solitary confinement, get one free. Yes, he proudly suggested a series of “imaginative packages” that included flights on Thailand’s bankrupt national carrier who are now flogging stuff online to get back a few satang of the billions of baht they have secreted into the pockets of trough dwellers for so many decades.
 
We had already been told on Monday that there were more returning retirees in October than tourists. At least some are managing the hoops and requirements needed to see their long lost families and loved ones in Thailand again. I met one of them – a Brit from Chessington – in person. He was glad the quarantine was behind him.
 
Meanwhile others in the tourist business harped on that the pandemic was in fact a “golden opportunity” to reintroduce the wonders of Thai culture and handicrafts to “premium tourists”. Forget Patong, Walking Street and Nana, now it’s basket weaving, traditional fishing and painting on ceramics. What could possibly go wrong (mark that as a rhetorical question).
 
ATTA – the Association of Thai Travel Agents – suggested opening Thailand to visitors from 22 Chinese provinces. Either that or 2 million jobs would be lost. They seemed a little tardy with that observation.
 
The TAT’s Yutthasak might need to be careful what he says, of course. There is precedent with the news this week that a former governor had her appeal on a 50 year prison term rejected by the Supreme Court. Her daughter is also doing a 40 year stretch in connection with malfeasance in the procurement of an international film festival. I smell pressure from the US here if not in the court decision but in the fact there was a prosecution in the first place.
 
In international news the LOTUS – Loser of the United States – continued to claim victory in the election while president-elect Biden counted down the days. Rudy Giuliani had to admit the latest lawsuit failure as, a tad symbolically, his black hair dye started running down his sorry face. A “message to you Rudy” – “stop creating trouble in town”.
 
The WHO said Europe was in for “a tough six months” though news of the efficacy of various vaccines, especially among older people, continued to offer hope. Though vaccine creator Ugur Sahin of BioNTech said it would be next winter before life was back to normal.
 
Elon Musk apparently made $15 billion in a week after Tesla was listed on the S&P 500. Hopefully he’ll appreciate the value of philanthropy rather than defaming people in Thailand; some time ago a court denied cave rescue hero Vernon Unsworth a miniscule fraction of his wealth after Musk Melon called him a “paedo guy”.
 
To wit, the Boy Scouts' Association of America is facing lawsuits from a staggering 100,000 claimants over sexual abuse. They have filed for bankruptcy in an attempt to establish a fund to pay off the maltreated boys, one of whom was already awarded $20 million after being abused by a scout leader. The case dwarfs those against members of the Roman Catholic clergy.
 
Iconic celebrity singer, comedian and presenter Des O’Connor died aged 88. One of my Scrabble pals, who was a multiple winner on the word game show Countdown, said he was a great guy and a total professional who had time for everyone. Fellow comedic great and friend Eric Morecambe once quipped during famous banter: “Des O’Connor’s a self-made man. Well it’s nice of him to take the blame”.
 
Back in Thailand it was announced that cabbies could charge 20 baht extra for bags that were 26 inches long. They could charge 100 baht for a golf bag if they told the customer beforehand. This was always going to be a disaster so it was no surprise that by Saturday the DLT announced it was only for trips to and from the airports in Bangkok.
 
Frankly – putting aside the rogues who don’t turn on the meter and who wait like vultures at tourist sites -  most Bangkok cabbies are decent enough and a rise in the 35 baht flag fall is well overdue. (Though they might keep it well below the 130 baht charged to get in a London Black Cab – hundreds were shown returned on a deserted lot in the UK this week – my heart bled….).
 
In related news a friend of an airport passenger stranded abroad picked up his mate's car at Suwannaphum (my spelling) and was slapped with a 60,000 baht parking charge as it had been left there since March. The AoT rep called it a misunderstanding saying they had already helped six people in similar circumstances.
 
In drug news the Thai authorities said they were relaxing laws related to cocaine and opium for medicinal purposes and where it would “benefit the Thai government”. Cue the forum drawing comparisons with the convicted heroin felon in that very government.
 
A Thai/German who was irked by a delay flying from Phuket to Bangkok suggested that Vietjet should be bombed. Swiftly arrested, he could well find out that there is something worse than airline meals – fish head soup in Thai clink.
 
Finally, back to my sojourn in Loei. As I left the north east I saw a reminder as to why I love that part of the world and Thailand in general.
 
It was a sign at a roadside “khao tom” stall that said simply:
 
The handicapped and unemployed eat free.
 
Rooster
 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2020-11-22

 

- Whatever you're going through, the Samaritans are here for you

- Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates

 

[losername]

One of your best, Sir.

[dddave]

Years ago, I lived in Kut Chap, Udon Thani on the road to Nong Bua Lamphu.  My long motorbike journeys on that road, into Nong Bua Lamphu and Loei are among my favorite memories as indeed you are correct: it is perhaps one of the most beautiful natural areas, yet unspoiled, in the Kingdom. 

[HappyinNE]

I am still mourning the rooster lost to a hungry dog.  I enjoyed his calls even when they started at 4:00 AM.  Rooster you need to enjoy the other simple things in Isan.

[Old Croc]

I recently journeyed for the first time to my Lady's home village near Dan Sai in Loei.

I can concur the province is scenically exceptional. Her district is in the mountains and views of the hills, rivers and rice fields are epic.

The weather was chilly with foggy mornings and warm days and the low humidity, compared to my home in Phuket, was a pleasant change. The locals are all friendly, although the kids found the strange looking farang in a wheelchair to be somewhat scary. I too was the only farang in the village    Many of the plethora of kids were being raised by grandparents as their parents were eking out a living in Bangkok and beyond.

Food is definitely a driving force in the lives of all there and I was offered, but declined, tasty treats that included things like crispy fried frogs, hornet grubs and snake head pla from the local river. Sticky rice is part of nearly every meal. As you found, the coronavirus virus, local political unrest and us elections are either not discussed nor even known about. 

The rice harvest is the main focus at the moment.

 

 

Edited November 22, 2020 by Old Croc

[GarryP]

Really enjoyed this one, particularly the first half. Makes a change from your normal weekly roundup (pot banging), not that they aren't fun too. Your trip to the Boonies seems to have mellowed you. No doubt you'll be back to the biting wit and sarcasm next week.   

[Flying Saucage]

Great read Rooster! Enjoying it here in the boring, cold, grey and wet Europe where I am stuck, especially your long but very diverting introduction about your last weeks sojourn to Loei gave me back some sunshine and smile. It reminded me on how nice Thailand is and how much I would like to come back.

 

Given the hostility of the Thai authorities towards Westerners stuck outside the country, I more and more doubt if it will be possible anytime soon to come back to Thailand for all those who don't have the time for quarantine. Even when a vaccine will eventually be available, the Thai authorities might search for other excuses to fend us off, whatever reason they have to do so. You might know from other posts of mine what I think about their reasons.

 

Apropos vaccine, nice that you gave credit namely to vaccine creator Ugur Sahin of BioNTech, son of Turkish immigrants to Germany, rather than simply writing about "the Pfizer vaccine". Credit to those who deserve it!

 

Even more the likes of Rudy Giuliani, Elon Musk, the Boy Scouts' Association of America, the Roman Catholic clergy and  - of course! - the hapless TAT guy Yutthasak definitely deserve your remarks in this week's column.

 

So, I am looking forward to next weeks TWTW, while hoping to be able to come back to Thailand one day, when all this Covid madness eventually has ended.

 

And, I really miss the ekki-ek-ek waking me up early morning.

 

 

Edited November 22, 2020 by Flying Saucage

[kentrot]

You had me laughing from the get-go .And scratching my head as to how you knew so much about my personal trips up to my wife's family abode in ISAN . The leaky toilet, perpetually burned bulbs never replaced, the wonderful smiles and appreciation for providing "Big-Face" in the village, the discomfort of sitting on a bamboo mat, the local accents and the unique north-eastern food, supplemented with farang delicacies like Campbell's soup  .... on and on.   So true. And I too expect to end my days up there with the same conditions you describe.

 

Thank you for another splendid read.

***************************************

[allencraig]

Just discovering these Week That Was posts and am pleasantly surprised how well-written, relevant and thoroughly enjoyable they are. I'm now a regular reader.

[Curmudgeonly59]

7 hours ago, rooster59 said:

like some newbie desperate for approval.

Nowadays like an oldbie desperate for approval!

[rumak]

7 hours ago, rooster59 said:

It made a change for another rooster to be facing grief - my readers often want to wring MY neck!

 

Me doth think you exaggerate your affect on the hoi poloi  .   Hope you enjoyed your vacation as

I did mine.  

I would elaborate on my time off..... but it would be against "forum rules" .    And would almost certainly result in my joining some other popular members in that  other dimension where the

vanishing breed reside.

[Odysseus123]

I used to love our trips to Loei, a great province and delightful scenery...

[unblocktheplanet]

ไปเลย! (Bpai Loei!) One more week you’ve successfully choked the chicken. Great stuff, even without the Trinkisms. Next you’ll have us looking for Roosterisms…

[Stargeezr]

Thanks Rooster for your news, and travel experience.  Ihave enjoyed a couple of trips to

  the NE.  A small village west of Udon Thani, and to Nong Khai.  The friendly people is

one of my good memories, being helpful to give me directions to good shopping, and to the

local markets. I did enjoy some of the local dishes with different flavours.  Their outlook in

life was great as well.  I hope you keep giving us your weekly reports for as long as you can

as well.  Thanks.

Geezer

[SiSePuede419]

15 hours ago, rooster59 said:

fish with more bones than flesh 

 

I'm sorry but I just don't get why otherwise some of the best chefs in the world do this.

 

French chefs take the bones OUT, then cook the bones in a BROTH, then reduce that broth into a SAUCE, which is then put on the BONELESS fish on the plate.

 

You get all the flavour and nutrition of the fish bones, without the risk of choking to death. ✅

[Lacessit]

The roosters next door will crow at 1 am or 2 am, it seems to be a case of random access memory.

My GF prepares Thai and Western cuisine for me, methinks more training is needed in the Rooster household.

Loei certainly is one of the most pleasant places in Thailand for a visit.

[sansaihashbars]

Most people do not understand what it means when the cock crows and instead become annoyed and angry. Moreover, why do people use the word cock when talking about fighting, but every other reference of the cock is referred to as a rooster...which is a politically correct term so that nobody become offended. Reject the word rooster and use the correct term [cock] instead and watch whose feathers get ruffled.  

[Andrew Dwyer]

A good read this week Rooster !

Good to know that it is not just me who struggles with the floor sitting and has to be excused when sitting above the rest at mealtimes . Sleeping at the mil’s ( on the floor ) always makes for a restless night but after a couple of nights I catch up and am able to sleep like a baby ....... until daybreak when that pesky Rooster .......

[GarryP]

Actually I am quite surprised that Rooster has trouble with sitting on the floor. After being here so long I would have though he was used to it by now. I actually prefer sitting on the floor. Decided to invest in an expensive leather sofa a few years ago, but use it at a back rest as I sit on the floor watching TV or playing on my laptop (not a euphemism). Both my wife and I laughingly call it a wasted investment, but at least it is still in pristine condition. 

Edited November 23, 2020 by GarryP

[Chernsarmkhuat]

On 11/22/2020 at 8:35 AM, rooster59 said:

The week that was in Thailand news: Wring the rooster’s neck – not mine!

 

 

This week your columnist exchanged the order, quiet and tranquility of Bangkok for the hubbub of an upcountry village. It was my annual sojourn in the far north east of Thailand, delayed from cancelled Songkran after the pandemic hit Thailand.
 
I was woken at some ungodly hour every morning by the “cock-a-doodle doo” (the rather annoying ekki-ek-ek in Thai) from the crawl space underneath our elevated bedroom. Wiping the dusty residue from weary eyes I vowed vengeance and promised the cooking pot for the raucous rooster. 
 
It made a change for another rooster to be facing grief - my readers often want to wring MY neck!
 
Still, I had to admit that such was the early hour we all went to bed – before the maid in the TV soap even got a good slapping – that it seemed reasonable to get up with the rising sun before 6 am.
 
Recalling a gay character in Little Britain, I’m the only farang in the village of Non Somboon in the district of Pha Khao (white cliff) just across the border from Nong Bua Lamphu. Loei province is off most tourist itineraries even when there ARE tourists. It is one of the most stunning areas of natural beauty in Thailand.
 
Arriving there by car after the long drive from Bangkok as the sun set was magical. The in-laws gave me an unpretentious, lovely big hug outside the five-bedroom house. Muggins paid for the pride of the village that was designed and built by my brother-in-law. He died earlier this year so there was much heartfelt chatter to catch up on over dinner of sticky rice, fish with more bones than flesh and some delicious freshly caught crickets.
 
I made do with a tin of Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom supplemented with a few slices of bread I’d baked in Bangkok. Non Somboon is not overly endowed with bakeries, Euro custard cake being about the only thing in the village shop.
 
Gran kindly went to the neighbor’s to borrow a chair as there wasn’t one in the house. It was a bit rickety so I sat on the first step of the stairs apologizing for “sitting high” perching my soup on my lap.
 
None of this causes adverse comments. In our twenty year relationship, the rellos have long since accepted that my back is too bad for floor sitting and I need my own fodder. They know I understand their culture even if I don’t throw myself into it like some newbie desperate for approval. And they know they can speak to me in standard Thai because I’m as fluent as they are in Bangkok-speak. 
 
I can interject with the odd salient remark during dialectal babble even if I can’t speak it at all. (Except for a few phrases designed to make people who don't know me cackle at the weekly market).
 
It was pleasing to note that the house was in no worse state of repair than last year. The bathroom sink still leaks over the floor and the lightbulbs haven't been replaced. Mai pen rai. Gran has come to terms with her diabetes and granddad was even going to work threshing rice after recovering from a mild stroke a while back. 
 
He’d bought a flat screen TV with the proceeds and was watching "muay Thai". I feigned interest and he was astounded that I knew Khaosai Galaxy and had met his twin brother. Showing him a clip I keep on my phone for such occasions with me "sparring" with Olympic gold medallist Somjit Jongjohor completed the illusion. Rooster brownie points rocket....
 
The sister-in-law’s kids, dumped on the grandparents after she disappeared owing a small fortune to us all, were polite and doing well at school and practiced a few words of English they'd learned in class. The nine year old brought me coffee every morning and said "thank you". Neither child resented following the electronic device rules I place on my own two little chicks.
 
On walks, the villagers were as friendly as ever. Isaan is legendary in this regard and Loei is no different. Except for that pesky rooster it wasn’t noisy at all. The Thaksin era loudspeakers have all gone. The village was abloom in flowers and I noticed a greater civic pride than in recent years. The weather was also much better than Songkran with a chill in the air late evening and early morning.
 
No one wore a mask and no one even talked about the pandemic except perhaps to refer to the state of the economy that they’d heard about on the news. There were a far greater number of flies than usual which perplexed me. This was explained after I saw a large pile of mushrooms that had been given to the family by a neighbor opposite who has set up a mildly odorous mushroom farm. The locals know how to maintain peace through donation.
 
I fully expect to live in Non Somboon in my dotage. While I can only survive for a week right now, in the future when I have all my stuff and the internet around me I see no reason why I can’t quit Bangkok. I live like a hermit in Ratchayothin anyway, and trips to England over the last three decades taught me that I see more of my relatives there than they see of each other. You make plans to catch up during a yearly visit, and I expect I would visit Bangkok many times a year for Scrabble.
 
We did side trips to the charming Erawan Cave that like most "tham" is used for "thamma". Almost deserted except for a few folks seeking the correct lottery tickets after making their prayers. We also went to Phu Kradung water park and I feared a "conversation" after reading online that they charged more for foreigners. I needn't have worried. They had a Covid special, adults the same price as kids, reduced to 50 baht! There were two families there and the others left because there was hardly any food. I'm one who enjoys the lack of tourists.
 
I returned by overnight bus from Sribunruang and despite the inevitable accident (not ours) near Khao Yai that slowed progress, I was back home at 5am after stubbornly walking the last five kilometers to avoid paying a 60 baht taxi fare. I then settled into a ten hour binge-fest of The Crown on Netflix.
 
Some habits never change. It was my treat for being such a good boy in Loei and marked the start of twelve days without a wife and young children. Absence will make the heart grow fonder, something Mrs R was reluctant to believe years ago, but which she now accepts whole heartedly (so long as I pay for her and the kids' "thiaw").
 
So back to work and see what I'd missed in the wilds of Loei.....
 
Tuesday featured some alarming scenes near Parliament House when water cannons and tear gas were used on protesters. There was also some shooting and police were brandishing weapons used to fire rubber bullets. Up in Loei Mrs Rooster had explained some of the latest shenanigans to mum. Gran looked mildly concerned, even shook her head in disapproval,  before taking another generous mouthful of sticky rice soaked in dried chili sauce. Priorities are important.
 
Also at the protests, “Ice” was found in a police van and seven riot police officers underwent drug tests - but, perhaps somewhat expectedly, plod was exonerated by plod. The international community – as well as many of us in Thailand – scratched our heads as to the relevance of giant, inflatable rubber ducks.
 
Just as well that the tourists are returning though less in droves, more like the trickle that came out of my Loei tap. Hapless TAT guv’nor Yutthasak said that 681 foreigners would be arriving before December. This is slightly down on last November when it was 3 million.
 
December promises to be even better as 2,000 investors are queueing up, each with a million bucks in hand to buy condos and stocks and get that oh-so-coveted work permit. Am I the only one who wouldn’t worry too much about work if I had 30 million baht to play with?
 
STV tourists are also flocking to the country in their dozens before March. This is partly thanks to Yutthasak’s buy two nights in solitary confinement, get one free. Yes, he proudly suggested a series of “imaginative packages” that included flights on Thailand’s bankrupt national carrier who are now flogging stuff online to get back a few satang of the billions of baht they have secreted into the pockets of trough dwellers for so many decades.
 
We had already been told on Monday that there were more returning retirees in October than tourists. At least some are managing the hoops and requirements needed to see their long lost families and loved ones in Thailand again. I met one of them – a Brit from Chessington – in person. He was glad the quarantine was behind him.
 
Meanwhile others in the tourist business harped on that the pandemic was in fact a “golden opportunity” to reintroduce the wonders of Thai culture and handicrafts to “premium tourists”. Forget Patong, Walking Street and Nana, now it’s basket weaving, traditional fishing and painting on ceramics. What could possibly go wrong (mark that as a rhetorical question).
 
ATTA – the Association of Thai Travel Agents – suggested opening Thailand to visitors from 22 Chinese provinces. Either that or 2 million jobs would be lost. They seemed a little tardy with that observation.
 
The TAT’s Yutthasak might need to be careful what he says, of course. There is precedent with the news this week that a former governor had her appeal on a 50 year prison term rejected by the Supreme Court. Her daughter is also doing a 40 year stretch in connection with malfeasance in the procurement of an international film festival. I smell pressure from the US here if not in the court decision but in the fact there was a prosecution in the first place.
 
In international news the LOTUS – Loser of the United States – continued to claim victory in the election while president-elect Biden counted down the days. Rudy Giuliani had to admit the latest lawsuit failure as, a tad symbolically, his black hair dye started running down his sorry face. A “message to you Rudy” – “stop creating trouble in town”.
 
The WHO said Europe was in for “a tough six months” though news of the efficacy of various vaccines, especially among older people, continued to offer hope. Though vaccine creator Ugur Sahin of BioNTech said it would be next winter before life was back to normal.
 
Elon Musk apparently made $15 billion in a week after Tesla was listed on the S&P 500. Hopefully he’ll appreciate the value of philanthropy rather than defaming people in Thailand; some time ago a court denied cave rescue hero Vernon Unsworth a miniscule fraction of his wealth after Musk Melon called him a “paedo guy”.
 
To wit, the Boy Scouts' Association of America is facing lawsuits from a staggering 100,000 claimants over sexual abuse. They have filed for bankruptcy in an attempt to establish a fund to pay off the maltreated boys, one of whom was already awarded $20 million after being abused by a scout leader. The case dwarfs those against members of the Roman Catholic clergy.
 
Iconic celebrity singer, comedian and presenter Des O’Connor died aged 88. One of my Scrabble pals, who was a multiple winner on the word game show Countdown, said he was a great guy and a total professional who had time for everyone. Fellow comedic great and friend Eric Morecambe once quipped during famous banter: “Des O’Connor’s a self-made man. Well it’s nice of him to take the blame”.
 
Back in Thailand it was announced that cabbies could charge 20 baht extra for bags that were 26 inches long. They could charge 100 baht for a golf bag if they told the customer beforehand. This was always going to be a disaster so it was no surprise that by Saturday the DLT announced it was only for trips to and from the airports in Bangkok.
 
Frankly – putting aside the rogues who don’t turn on the meter and who wait like vultures at tourist sites -  most Bangkok cabbies are decent enough and a rise in the 35 baht flag fall is well overdue. (Though they might keep it well below the 130 baht charged to get in a London Black Cab – hundreds were shown returned on a deserted lot in the UK this week – my heart bled….).
 
In related news a friend of an airport passenger stranded abroad picked up his mate's car at Suwannaphum (my spelling) and was slapped with a 60,000 baht parking charge as it had been left there since March. The AoT rep called it a misunderstanding saying they had already helped six people in similar circumstances.
 
In drug news the Thai authorities said they were relaxing laws related to cocaine and opium for medicinal purposes and where it would “benefit the Thai government”. Cue the forum drawing comparisons with the convicted heroin felon in that very government.
 
A Thai/German who was irked by a delay flying from Phuket to Bangkok suggested that Vietjet should be bombed. Swiftly arrested, he could well find out that there is something worse than airline meals – fish head soup in Thai clink.
 
Finally, back to my sojourn in Loei. As I left the north east I saw a reminder as to why I love that part of the world and Thailand in general.
 
It was a sign at a roadside “khao tom” stall that said simply:
 
The handicapped and unemployed eat free.
 
Rooster
 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2020-11-22

 

- Whatever you're going through, the Samaritans are here for you

- Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates

 

 

[Chernsarmkhuat]

Good one particularly liked the LOTUS and the tourism slightly down from last year, comments.???? 

[Andrew Dwyer]

24 minutes ago, GarryP said:

Actually I am quite surprised that Rooster has trouble with sitting on the floor. After being here so long I would have though he was used to it by now. I actually prefer sitting on the floor. Decided to invest in an expensive leather sofa a few years ago, but use it at a back rest as I sit on the floor watching TV or playing on my laptop (not a euphemism). Both my wife and I laughingly call it a wasted investment, but at least it is still in pristine condition. 

I couldn’t live without the sofa and indeed “ my end “ ( also not an euphemism ) is showing signs of wear and needs some work.

 

My wasted investment is the dining table and 6 chairs !!

[Marpa47]

Thank you for a homely house report.  Have to smile at the projected move  “in (your) dotage”.  And that when internet is in place.  Hope this all works out as planned.   

Edited November 23, 2020 by Marpa47

[Black Angus]

Rooster a Few brief words to the Wise!!!!!    WELL DONE

[mike787]

similar to saying: NO glove, NO love (you long time).