Banda Aceh Tsunami Photos 1

Banda Aceh Before and After



Banda Aceh 01



Banda Aceh 02



Banda Aceh 03



Banda Aceh 04



Banda Aceh 05



Banda Aceh 06



Banda Aceh 07



Banda Aceh 08



Banda Aceh 09



Banda Aceh 10

Ko Phi Phi Tsunami Photos 1

Ko Phi Phi 01



Ko Phi Phi 02



Ko Phi Phi 03



Ko Phi Phi 04



Ko Phi Phi 05



Ko Phi Phi 06



Ko Phi Phi 07



Ko Phi Phi 08



Ko Phi Phi 09



Ko Phi Phi 10

The Hell of Khao Lak

A Khao Lak Resort Destroyed



Another Khao Lak Resort Destroyed



Khao Lak Before (right) After (left)

Khao Lak may never look the same
The Nation
Dec 31, 2004

Unlike the tsunami-devastated areas in Phuket and Krabi, the chances of resurrecting Khao Lak in Phang Nga from the devastation are extraordinarily slim. If it is repaired it could take at least five years, and even then it may not resemble its former self.

Barely known by tourists three years ago, the high-end destination was completely levelled. The 10,000 luxury hotel rooms along the 20-kilometre strip of beach were worth up to Bt20 billion. All of them were either completely or almost totally destroyed by the powerful tsunami. Mark Heather, general manager of La Flora Khao Lak Hotel and Resort, watched his elegant property destroyed a day after its grand opening on December 25. He said he did not know how long it would take to rebuild the hotel because the hotel structure is badly damaged.

“Constructing a new hotel will be easier than rebuilding the damaged hotel,” he said. Television host Thanatorn Palakawong had proudly opened his five bungalows on Khao Lak only a few days before the killer waves struck on December 26. He had reason to be proud, for he was only one of a few entrepreneurs who were able to buy a piece of high-priced land for his bungalows.

The prospects for his business seemed bright as Khao Lak had become a luxury destination for well-heeled travellers. “They are all gone,” he said sadly during a Channel 3 interview. “Still, I’m fine. Others are battered even worse.” One Khao Lak hotel owner said the physical damage on the beach was so severe that it would be almost impossible to rebuild the area to its original form.

Khao Lak National Park in Phang Nga started off blissfully three years ago and was fast becoming another world-class destination, following in the footsteps of Phuket and Krabi. Investors include well-known politician Suchart Tancharoen, who owns the Meridien Khao Lak, and Turk Atmacan Zienel and Italian Giorgio Gonpf, who own the Similan Beach and Spa Resort. During the last three years of the area’s investment boom, the number of hotel rooms increased to 10,000 this year from 2,500 in 2002.

Khao Lak’s land prices doubled last year.

But now property prices may drop by half as the area faces a long period of recovery, one hotel owner said. The 20-kilometre-long Khao Lak beach suffered the worst damage in Thailand from the tsunami. Meanwhile, businessmen in Phuket, particularly those with businesses on Patong Beach, will also face a long recovery.

Panu Maswongsa, marketing manager of the Patong Beach Resort, which was also damaged, said he has to spend up to Bt40 million to rebuild his 325-room hotel. He said he could only hope to be in business 12 months from now. “But we cannot know if business will come back or not. That depends on the tourists’ confidence,” Panu said.

Pamuke Achariyachai, president of the Kata Group, said his business had suffered less of an adverse impact from the tsunami disaster and believed that reconstruction would be completed within six months. Yaya Kasikul, managing director of Lanta Emerald Bungalow, located on Lanta island in Krabi province, said his business was looking at a long recovery period. His bungalows were severely damaged.

The Nation on the Future of Khao Lak

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4,000 missing from Khao Lak alone
The Bangkok Post
Dec 31, 2004

Phangnga _ The tsunami death toll here is likely to rise further as at least 4,000 hotel guests and staff at Khao Lak are believed to be among the dead and missing, said Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suvit Khunkitti. As of 3pm yesterday, the death toll in the six southern provinces hit by the tidal waves on Sunday reached 1,976. This total included 1,208 deaths in Phangnga where 5,573 others were injured and another 1,598 still missing, according to the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department.

Mr Suvit said the toll in Phangnga was expected to increase since at least 4,000 of about 20,000 guests and 10,000 staff at tsunami-struck hotels and resorts at Khao Lak were believed to be among the dead and missing. Restoration was expected to take about six months for slightly damaged hotels and one year for badly damaged ones, bearing in mind that Khao Lak beach is 25km long and covers about 100 square kilometres in Takua Pa district, he said.

Public Health Minister Sudarat Keyuraphan said an empty 15-rai land plot on Phetkasem highway opposite Takua Pa district bus terminal was chosen for placement of 20 cold storage containers capable of keeping between 100-150 corpses each. The bodies of tsunami victims already collected would be stored there following autopsies.

CP Capital Company's Takua Pa branch, opposite Wat Nikornwararam, or Wat Yarn Yao, would be turned into a one-stop service centre to handle inquiries and issue temporary travel papers to foreign tourists, she said. About 400 more bodies, already decomposed, arrived at Wat Yarn Yao yesterday afternoon. They were photographed for posting on bulletin boards for those searching for their relatives and friends to check.

Thamniam Bamrung, assistant district chief for Phangnga's administrative office, said the corpses of foreign tourists already collected were being kept in cold storage containers at Wat Yarn Yao near Takua Pa market, Wat Bang Muang near Ban Nam Khem and Wat Lam Kaen near Phangnga naval base. However, the province had to cremate bodies of Thai victims already in advanced state of decomposition.

Those seeking information about the cremated bodies should contact Bang Niang sorting centre in Takua Pa district.

Yesterday, heavy machines scoured the ruins of hotels and resorts along Khao Lak beach where many more dead bodies were believed to be trapped underneath. Poor communication systems and shortages of steel-cutting tools delayed the work of search and recovery teams. Public health permanent secretary Wichai Thianthavorn said foreign tourists and Thais seeking refuge on mountains in Khao Lak risked catching malaria and would be given mosquito nets and repellents.

The Bangkok Post on Khao Lak Deaths

Tsunami Update 1

Funeral Pire in Thailand

The New York Times has just updated their list of charities accepting donations for the victims of the tsunami in Asia:

New York Times Updated List of Tsunami Charities

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30 minutes of terror caught live on home video
Sify News
Wednesday, 29 December , 2004

Jakarta: The sun shone and birds sang in the Indonesian city of Banda Aceh moments before a giant earthquake struck. Ten minutes later, a one-storey high torrent of seawater carried away pulverised homes. In a horrifying home video shot by one family trapped in the direct path of Sunday's disaster, the 30 minutes that led to the destruction of an entire coastline were captured as the camera kept rolling throughout their ordeal.

The family of Sayed Husainy, a government spokesman in Aceh province on Sumatra island, the land mass closest the epicentre of the magnitude 9.0 earthquake, had been video-graphing each other for a family celebration. Their smiles turned to confusion as the garden and houses around them began shaking uncontrollably - then came the water.

The family retreated into their lavish home as the first waves came racing in shore. Within seconds they dashed to the first storey to avoid the rapids that smashed through doors and windows and rose treacherously behind them. From the balcony, their camera captured the smashed remains of other fragile houses borne by the foaming ocean, while only the red-tiled roofs of low-rise building poked above the water line.

In the background, women from Husainy's family who were earlier pictured in traditional Islamic headscarves can be heard weeping and praying over and over again for God's mercy. More than 32,000 people were killed by the tidal wave and quake in Indonesia, almost half of that total lived in Banda Aceh.

Inside Husainy's house, the only loss was expensive furniture, which was smashed to pieces in the swirling water as a glittering chandelier swayed overhead. Up to 10 minutes after the first tsunami, the camera showed huge tidal waves continuing to crash into the palm trees that once marked the shoreline. As the video reaches its end, almost half an hour after the chaos began, the sun still shone in the blue sky.

Report on Video from Banda Aceh

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Over a Dozen Videos of Tsunamis in Asia

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Going Home, More Tsunami Stories
Evelyn Rodriguez
29 Dec, 2004

As I wander the streets of Bangkok (again, I have to trek to get a temp passport and arrange flights back home), people stare at me. Even an able-bodied farung (Thai for foreigner and I found out at breakfast also the word for guava fruit) takes their lives into their own hands as a pedestrian. So to see someone in crutches (btw, my leg is badly cut up at the knee, not broken and was properly stitched at Phuket's international hospital "mass casualty zone") must be rare. Some people ask what happened? Others seem to intuitively guess.

One or two words usually suffice. "Ko Phi Phi" or "tsunami" usually does it.

I will be headed home Thursday, Dec 30th thanks to the great service of the American Express office for State Department workers at the U.S. Embassy - they even sent a courier to deliver the tickets to my hotel as it was obvious I'd not want to wait for two hours.

I continue to hear more personal accounts.

On the way to Phuket airport on the back of a pickup yesterday, an Aussie was relating his tale. He was staying at a high-rise in Patong Beach, Phuket when he felt the bed and walls shaking at approximately 8:15 a.m. His wife nudged him him to stop the clowning around. He says, "It's not me." He looked down at the hotel pool below and verified he just had experienced an earthquake.

But he didn't put two plus two together later that morning. He went out to get some postcards just as the tsunami was heading ashore. He grabbed onto a metal bench (he showed us the scratched up arms where he held on tight) and rode the wave - literally.

He was separated from his wife for two days. He calls up his sons again and they tell him, "Mum was on the tele." The Perth newstation had done a story on his wife looking for her missing husband. She had escaped to the hills in those last two days.

When we arrived at the airport I finally met his wife as she had been in the front seat of the pickup. She was a sweetheart in asking if there was anything we needed (they were able to go back a few days after the tidal wave to retrieve their luggage). And I finally had a new pair of underwear as the bathing suit was getting a little tired.

For every story of reunification there seems to be those with not so happy endings.

Blogger Evelyn Rodriguez Reports on her Tsunami Survival

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Scenes from a disaster
The Guardian
Dec 30, 2004

In the days since the Asian earthquake and tsunami, many of those affected have turned to the internet to share their very personal stories of survival, helplessness and loss. Here is a selection of accounts from the worst-hit areas

The Guardian with Personal Reports on Tsunamis in Asia

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Tsunami's Historic Devastation
Video Shows Tsunami Hitting Beach
NBC10

POSTED: 2:24 pm EST December 27, 2004
UPDATED: 4:23 pm EST December 30, 2004

NBC Report on Videos and Images of the Asian Tsunami Disaster

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The Command Post
December 30, 2004
Earthquake: How to Help [Updated 12/30]

Please, please check the comments for many more worthwhile charities, organizations and relief drives. I'm having a hard time keeping up with the emails and comments, so scroll through until I have enough time to add them all to this list.

Also, there are people asking about going over to the area to help out - I have no idea where to direct them. If anyone knows who to contact if you want to go there, please leave a note in the comments. If you know of any relief efforts - especially localized efforts like clothing drives, please email or leave a note in the comments.

Please check this blog (Tsunami Help) frequently for important phone numbers if you or someone you know are trying to find friend or relatives who are missing in the area. Read below for an extensive, frequently updated list of ways to help the victims. Be sure to check the comments as well, as people are leaving various links and phone numbers there. Please scroll down to the bottom, as the list is frequently being added to.

By the way, the Amazon relief page has already raised more than a million dollars.

The Command Post with Tsunami Charity Lists

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Google List of Tsunami Charities

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Yahoo News Photos of Tsunami Disaster

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Indonesia Needs Help, Death Toll Expected To Exceed 400,000
Bernama News
Dec 30, 2004

The death toll in Acheh, the region worst hit by last Sunday's tsunami, may exceed 400,000 as many affected areas could still not be reached for search and rescue operations, Indonesia's Ambassador to Malaysia Drs H. Rusdihardjo said Thursday.

He said the estimate was based on air surveillance by Indonesian authorities who found no signs of life in places like Meulaboh, Pulau Simeulue and Tapak Tuan while several islands off the west coast of Sumatera had "disappeared".

He said the latest death toll of more than 40,000 in Acheh and northern Sumatera did not take into account the figures from the other areas, especially in the west of the region.

"Aerial surveillance found the town of Meulaboh completely destroyed with only one buiding standing. The building, which belonged to the military, happens to be on a hill," he told reporters after receiving RM1 million in aid for Indonesia's Tsunami Disaster Relief Fund here Thursday.

Rusdihardjo said there were about 150,000 residents in Meulaboh, which was located 150km from the epicentre of the earthquake while Pulau Simeuleu had a population of 76,000.

400,000 Dead in Indonesia?

Tsunami Quake Charities 2

Thai Man Prays for his Missing Sister

The following list of charities helping out with the Asian tsunami disaster is from The New York Times:

December 27, 2004
Agencies Planning Aid to Asia Victims
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

The following aid agencies are accepting contributions for assistance that they or their affiliates are providing for those affected by the earthquake and tidal waves in Asia. U.S. organizations are members of InterAction, a coalition of relief, development and refugee assistance agencies.

Action Against Hunger
247 West 37th St.
New York, NY 10018
212-967-7800
www.actionagainsthunger.org

ADRA International
Asia Quake Fund
12501 Old Columbia Pike
Silver Spring, MD 20904
800-424-ADRA (2372)
www.adra.org

Air Serv International
6583 Merchant Place, Suite 100
Warrenton, VA 20187
www.airserv.org

American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, Inc.
DC-South Asia Tsunami Relief
P.O. Box 321
847A Second Ave.
New York, New York 10017
212-885-0832
www.jdc.org

American Jewish World Service
45 W. 36th St., 10th Fl.
New York, NY 10018
212-736-2597
www.ajws.org

AmeriCares
88 Hamilton Ave.
Stamford, CT 06902
800-486-4357
www.americares.org

Baptist World Aid
Asia Tidal Waves
405 North Washington St.
Falls Church, VA 22046
703 790 8980
www.bwanet.org/bwaid

B'nai B'rith International
B'nai B'rith Disaster Relief Fund
2020 K. St. NW
7th Floor
Washington, DC 20006
212-490-3290
www.bnaibrith.org

Brother's Brother Foundation
1200 Galveston Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15233
412-321-3160
www.brothersbrother.org

CARE
151 Ellis St. NE
Atlanta, GA 30303
800-521-CARE
www.care.org

Catholic Relief Services
209 West Fayette St.
Baltimore, MD 21201
800-HELP-CRS
www.catholicrelief.org

Christian Children's Fund
Child Alert Fund
PO Box 26484
Richmond, Virginia - 23261-6484
800-776-6767
www.ChristianChildrensFund.org

Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC)
South Asia Earthquake
2850 Kalamazoo Ave. SE
Grand Rapids, MI, 49560
800-55-CRWRC
www.crwrc.org

Church World Service
PO Box 968
Elkhart, IN 46515
800-297-1516
www.churchworldservice.org

Direct Relief International
27 South La Patera Lane
Santa Barbara, CA 93117
805-964-4767
www.directrelief.org

Food for the Hungry, Inc.
Food for the Hungry
Asia Quake Relief
1224 E. Washington St.
Phoenix, AZ 85034
800-2-HUNGERS
www.fh.org

International Aid
17011 W. Hickory
Spring Lake, MI 49456
800-968-7490
www.internationalaid.org

International Medical Corps
Tsunami Emergency Response
1919 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 300
Santa Monica, CA 90404-1950
800-481-4462
www.imcworldwide.org

International Relief Teams
Asia Earthquake/Floods
3547 Camino Del Rio South, Suite C
San Diego, CA 92108
619-284-7979
www.IRTeams.org

International Rescue Committee
PO Box 5058
Hagerstown, MD 21741-9874
877-REFUGEE or 733-8433
www.theIRC.org

Latter-Day Saint Charities
Welfare Services Emergency Response
50 East North Temple Street, Room 701
Salt Lake City, Utah, 84150-6800
801-240-3544
ldscharities@ldschurch.org

Lutheran World Relief
South Asia Tsunami
700 Light St.
Baltimore, MD 21230
410-230-2700
www.lwr.org

MAP International
P.O. Box 215000
Brunswick, GA 31521
800-225-8550
www.map.org

Mercy Corps
Southeast Asia Earthquake
Dept. W
PO Box 2669
Portland, OR 97208-2669
800-852-2100
www.mercycorps.org

Operation USA
8320 Melrose Ave. 200
Los Angeles, CA 90069
800-678-8876
www.opusa.org

Oxfam America
Asian Earthquake Fund
PO Box 1211
Albert Lea, MN 56007-1211
800-77-OXFAM
www.oxfamamerica.org

Plan USA
Asia Disaster
155 Plan Way
Warwick, RI 02886
800-556-7918
www.planusa.org

Project Concern International
Asia Tsunamis Press List
5151 Murphy Canyon Road Suite 320
San Diego, CA 92123
858-279-9690
www.projectconcern.org

Project HOPE
Asia Tsunami Response
255 Carter Hall Lane
Millwood, VA 22646
800-544-4673
www.projecthope.org

SAWSO (Salvation Army World Service Office)
South Asia Relief Fund
615 Slaters Lane
Alexandria, VA, 22313
800-SALV-ARMY

Save the Children USA
54 Wilton Road
Westport, CT 06880
1-800-728-3843
www.savethechildren.org

Stop Hunger Now
SE Asia crisis
2501 Clark Ave, Suite 200
Raleigh, NC 27607
888-501-8440
www.stophungernow.org

US Fund for UNICEF
General Emergency Fund
333 E. 38th St.
New York, NY 10016
800-4-UNICEF
www.unicefusa.org

World Concern
Asia Earthquake and Tsunami
19303 Fremont Avenue North
Seattle, WA 98133
800-755-5022
www.worldconcern.org

World Emergency Relief
2270-D Camino Vida Roble
Carlsbad, CA 92009
760-930-8001
www.worldemergencyrelief.org

World Vision
P.O. Box 70288
Tacoma, WA 98481-0288
800-56-CHILD
www.worldvision.org

Tsunami Quake Charities 1

Child of the Tsunami

Here's a few of the larger charitable organizations colleting funds for the victims of the tsunami in Asia:

Action Against Hunger
247 West 37th Street, Suite 1201
New York, N.Y. 10018
212-967-7800 x108
www.actionagainsthunger.org

AJJDC
American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee
South Asia Tsunami Relief
Box 321
847A Second Avenue
New York, N.Y. 10017
212-687-6200 ext. 851
www.jdc.org

AmeriCares
88 Hamilton Ave
Stamford, CT 06902
800-486-4357
www.americares.org

American Jewish World Service
45 West 36th Street, 10th Floor
New York, N.Y. 10018
800-889-7146
www.ajws.org

American Friends Service Committee
AFSC Crisis Fund
1501 Cherry Street
Philadelphia, Pa. 19102
215-241-7000
www.afsc.org

American Red Cross
International Response Fund
P.O. Box 37243
Washington, D.C. 20013
800-HELP NOW
www.redcross.org

Catholic Relief Services
Tsunami Emergency
P.O. Box 17090
Baltimore, Md. 21203-7090
800-736-3467
www.catholicrelief.org

Direct Relief International
27 South La Patera Lane
Santa Barbara, Calif. 93117
805-964-4767
www.directrelief.org

Doctors Without Borders
P.O. Box 1856
Merrifield, Va. 22116-8056
888-392-0392
www.doctorswithoutborders.org

Food for the Hungry, Inc.
Food for the Hungry
Asia Quake Relief
1224 E. Washington St.
Phoenix, AZ 85034
800-2-HUNGERS
www.fh.org

International Medical Corps
Earthquake/Tsunami Relief
1919 Santa Monica Boulevard, Suite 300
Santa Monica, Calif. 90404
800-481-4462
www.imcworldwide.org

Mercy Corps
Southeast Asia Earthquake Response
Dept. W
P.O. Box 2669
Portland, Ore. 97208
800-852-2100
www.mercycorps.org

Operation USA
8320 Melrose Avenue, Suite 200
Los Angles, Calif. 90069
800-678-7255
www.opusa.org

Oxfam America
Asian Earthquake Fund
PO Box 1211
Albert Lea, MN 56007-1211
800-77-OXFAM
www.oxfamamerica.org

Save The Children
Asia Earthquake/Tidal Wave Relief Fund
54 Wilton Road
Westport, Conn. 06880
800-728-3843
www.savethechildren.org

Islamic Relief USA
Southeast Asia Earthquake Emergency
P.O. Box 6098
Burbank, Calif. 91510
888-479-4968
www.irw.org/asiaquak

US Fund for UNICEF
General Emergency Fund
333 E. 38th Street
New York, NY 10016
800-4-UNICEF
www.unicefusa.org

Stop Hunger Now
SE Asia crisis
2501 Clark Ave, Suite 200
Raleigh, NC 27607
888-501-8440
www.stophungernow.org

World Vision
P.O. Box 70288
Tacoma, WA 98481-0288
800-56-CHILD
www.worldvision.org

World Concern
Asia Earthquake and Tsunami
19303 Fremont Avenue North
Seattle, WA 98133
800-755-5022
www.worldconcern.org

World Emergency Relief
2270-D Camino Vida Roble
Carlsbad, CA 92009
760-930-8001
www.worldemergencyrelief.org

Tsunami Photos 3

South India



Patong Beach, Phuket



Banda Aceh, Sumatra



Aceh Graves



Banda Aceh, Sumatra



Banda Aceh



Banda Aceh



Children in Banda Aceh



Father and Child, South India

Tsunami Photos 2

Banda Aceh Tsunami Victims



Tsunami Wreckage



Phuket Hotel Lobby



Sri Lanka Survivor



Ko Phi Phi Thailand



Khao Lak Thailand



Phuket Hotel Lobby



Sri Lanka Rail Tracks

Tsunami Photos 1

Ko Phi Phi, Thailand, Destroyed by Tsunami



Khao Lak Thailand



Khao Lak Tsunami Survivor



Banda Aceh Sumatra after Tsunami



Sri Lanka Tsunami Survivor



Sri Lanka Tsunami Victim



Patong Beach, Phuket, Tsunami Survivor



Tamil Nadu India



Banda Aceh Tsunami Victims

World Newspapers -- The Tsunami Tragedy

Chicago Sun Times



New Zealand Herald



The Star Ledger



Daily News



The Nation



The Guardian

The Drowned World

Quake Graphic



Drowned World 01



Drowned World 02



Drowned World 05



Drowned World 06



Drowned World 08



Drowned World 10



Drowned World 12

Time Magazine Photo Essay -- The Drowned World

Thailand Tsunami Update from 2Bangkok

2B newsfeed: Indonesian quake and tsunamis in Thailand
Read all the daily Thai news on the 2Bangkok.com main page

Relief supplies and blood donation needed!
...We are also aware that the Red Cross is urgently seeking blood supplies, PARTICULARLY PEOPLE WITH NEGATIVE BLOOD GROUPS. The red cross is situated at 1871 Henry Dunant Road, just off Rama IV. Telephone numbers are: 02 256 4034, 02 256 4032, or 02 256 4033 - open from 8am.
Donors queue to give blood, stop traffic - Bangkok Post, December 29, 2004
Several thousand people, Thais and foreigners, flocked to the Red Cross Society on Henri Dunant road yesterday to donate blood to injured tsunami victims...

2B newsfeed: December 26 - December 27 - December 28 - December 29
Note: Times are Bangkok time - GMT+7. A thread about the situation is on the forum.

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December 29
Latest news is at the top of the page. Oldest news is at the bottom.

8:19am, December 29 - More from the Bangkok Post
Phi Phi Island: Tales of tragedy from a destroyed paradise
Phi Phi Island in Nopparat Thara Island National Park, Krabi, was once a paradise, attracting tourists and divers from around the world...
New Year's Eve celebrations cancelled in show of respect

...Pravit Janyasittikul, vice-president of marketing at Central Pattana Plc, the operator of Central World Plaza, said the company had called off its Bangkok Countdown 2005 New Year event. Instead, it has launched a relief programme called the ``Biggest Wave of Your Generosity'', which is now accepting donations...

8:21am, December 29 - Phuket International Hospital: Missing children separated from their parents and list of patients

8:19am, December 29 - Tourist area land misuse 'can now end' - Illegal resorts swept away won't be rebuilt - Bangkok Post

...Many resorts obliterated by the powerful tidal waves had encroached upon protected areas in national parks, top environmental officials said.

" Our work could be made easier. Why not turn the crisis into an opportunity,'' said Natural Resources and Environmental Minister Suwit Khunkitti after a two-day visit of the devastation left by the tsunamis that hit the southern resort islands...
We wondered when this issue would come up. We know that the forest rangers for Phi Phi Island are not allowed to come to the island--powerful interests were developing every square meter. Now that much is washed away, we will see if they can really prevent rebuilding. Also: Some Phi Phi Island photos from about one year ago.

3:05am, December 29 - FOREIGN CASUALTIES: Over 1,500 Swedes still missing - The Nation

1:26am, December 29 - Interesting thread on the forum: Picture of my brother?

1:08am, December 29 - Interesting thread on the forum: 24 Hr BTS Skytrain Service CANCELED!

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December 28

11:37pm, December 28 - Casualty toll for foreigners in Thailand - AP
Many, many missing...

10:34pm, December 28 - Just like last night, the Public Relations Department (PRD) is about 24 hours behind in the info it reports. Right now, it is breathless reporting 700 have died and adds, almost as an apology, "this latest figure is higher than the earlier figure released by the Public Relations Department." The actual toll at this hour is 1538.

10:28pm, December 28 - Another photo gallery from Krungthep Turakij

Right: Channel 3 showing tourists making free phone calls home from the Thammasat University campus where many tourists are staying since they have returned to Bangkok.

10:02pm, December 28 - Translations from Thai-language newspapers: Matichon

* Maew [nickname of the Prime Minister Thaksin] stays to command relief workers. He cancels election campaign stops. The executive of TRT party makes an urgent order not to make speeches throughout the country for three days to honor the victims.

* At government house, the atmosphere is quiet and lonely. The Prime Minister and the vice PMs have canceled all their work, including making campaign speeches, to assist in relief efforts. Only Mr. Wisanu Kerngam and Mr. Purachai Piemsomboon, both deputy PMs are let to represent the government.

* The Trat provincial governor, Mr.Boonchuoi Kerdsukon, warns people to be careful although Koh Chang is not in the line of the tsunami danger. Thai and foreign tourists who want to come to Koh Chang panic and cancel their trips so the deputy chief of sub-Amphur put out a sign which reads “Koh Chang is safe “ to boost tourist confidence and keep up the image of tourism.

9:47pm, December 28 - Latest official death toll in Thailand (from 9:00pm):

Province Dead Injured
Phuket 230 1265
Trang 5 66
Phangnga 952 5541
Krabi 198 1881
Ranong 146 182
Satun 7 15
Total 1538 8950

AP reported earlier tonight: Death toll could pass 2,000 as fields of death found north of Phuket

9:41pm, December 28 - News from Myanmar: Burma's Tidal Wave Death Toll 90 and Rising - The Irrawaddy
The huge tidal waves caused by Sunday's massive earthquake off Sumatra killed at least 90 people in Burma, according to reports compiled Tuesday. The death toll is expected to increase, say aid agencies...

9:24pm, December 28 - A pulled story from TNA/MCOT?

At around noon today this link led to this peculiar story:
PM expects all bodies to be recovered today
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra disclosed he expected relief officials would manage to recover all bodies of victims of the Sunday’s massive tidal wave attack today, except those remaining unaccounted for...

By the evening the original story had disappeared and the link led to this:
PM admits relief effort has struggled to cope
Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has conceded that the post-tsunami rescue and relief effort has been severely hampered by a lack of appropriate equipment...

It looks like a hasty change as the formatting is disrupted (left).

8:56pm, December 28 - Scenes of horror at French-run hotel in Thailand - AFP

8:30pm, December 28 - Prime Minister Thaksin gives a 15 address to the nation about the situation (on all channels).

8:15pm, December 28 - More notable stories
Some 800 bodies found in Khao Lak area-French radio - Reuters
Reports: Hong Kong couple survives tsunami by clinging to mattress for six hours - AP

5:26pm, December 28 - Relief supplies and blood donation needed!
...We are also aware that the Red Cross is urgently seeking blood supplies, PARTICULARLY PEOPLE WITH NEGATIVE BLOOD GROUPS. The red cross is situated at 1871 Henry Dunant Road, just off Rama IV. Telephone numbers are: 02 256 4034, 02 256 4032, or 02 256 4033 - open from 8am.

2:24pm, December 28 - Useful contact numbers and websites for relief assistance - The Nation - Also this Panitp.com thread in Thai

12:10pm, December 28 - News from MCOT/TNA
Three-day mourning period for tidal wave victims and no countdown
Government spokesperson Jakrapob Penkhae declared three-day mourning period for disaster victims from December 28-30, 2004 after tidal waves killed an estimated 2,000 people in southern coastal regions, and asked the people to wear all black. Moreover, there would be religious ceremony throughout the country on December 30 at 7pm.

Besides lowering the flag at half-staff, the governmental offices canceled all the New Year celebrations and activities while Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra would not attend any New Year countdown or celebrations.

Rumour on arsenal explosion in Phang-nga groundless
Rumours were flying this morning about an arsenal explosion near Khao Lak National Park in Phang-nga province this morning.
Rear Adm. Sirichai Kanitthakul, the Commander-in-Chief of the 3rd Fleet Royal Thai Fleet, confirmed to journalists that there was no explosion at the military depot.
Some people reportedly heard explosion sound in Phang-nga this morning, sparking rumours and panic that the arsenal near the Khao Lak National Park might had exploded, or possibily a gas explosion.

11:25am, December 28 - After disaster, Asia mulls early warning system - AP
...Officials in Thailand issued the only warnings of the impending disaster, but broadcasts beamed to tourist resorts in the country's south underestimated the threat and a Web site caution was not posted until three hours after the first waves hit.

Residents in Sri Lanka, where thousands were swept away or drowned, expressed disbelief that a warning system was in place elsewhere in the world but not in the Indian Ocean....

But the warnings came as the first waves hit. By the time a Web site warning went up three hours later, at least 700 people were dead in Thailand, including a jet-skiing grandson of King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

9:02am, December 28 - Victim database - updated in real time (Thai-language)
Username: user, Password: password - This Narenthorn Center site has been up and down throughout the crisis.

9:01am, December 28 - Revised death toll
Revised death toll: 918 dead, 7396 injured
Interesting how news that is not in English can be invisible. The 866 death toll was posted at 6pm yesterday (December 27) on the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation website and this figure was broadcast around the world. At 9pm the same night, the figures were revised to 918. However, since the figures are on a Thai-language site, the international media did not pick it up and all the Thai newspapers were going to press at that time, so the world has to wait a further 12 hours (until the next morning) for the press to discover this new death count. Once AFP starts reporting this morning (as far as we know, there are no overnight wire reports from Bangkok), they are likely to be the first to publish it. Often the Thai-language press even follows AFP on breaking news.
Update: The Bangkok Post did mange to get the final death count into their December 28 edition.

The Nation's front page on December 27, 2004

9:01am, December 28 - Thai-language press round-up
* Krungthep Turakij disaster news roundup - The links on the left side are to photo galleries.
* Matichon disaster photo gallery - The Thai press disseminates gruesome photos, so beware of the several shots of dead tourists.
* The National News Bureau, which collects latest news from the Public Relations Bureau for broadcast in English, is shockingly behind in its reports. The latest reports are from Monday morning quoting figures from late Sunday that 289 have died.

8:10am, December 28 - News from MCOT/TNA
Marine police rescue stranded tourists
...Marine police, who were ordered this morning by Satun Governor Manit Wattanasen to rush to the rescue of domestic and foreign tourists still stuck on Koh Lipe and Koh Adang after yesterday’s tsunami tragedy, this morning managed to evacuate 173 tourists from Koh Lipe, of whom 60 were foreigners.
The remainder of the tourists are to be taken to safety by the end of the day...
Engineers join growing calls for tsunami warning centre
... Dr. Totrakun Yomnak, president of the Thai Engineering Institute, said that while he was reluctant to apportion blame for the huge loss of human life, officials had simply not warned the public in time.“I don’t want to blame the Meteorological Department for failing to issue warnings, as the department has no capabilities to measure earthquakes of this magnitude”, he said, noting that Thailand’s seismological research was concentrated in the northern region, where earthquakes had occurred in the past, whereas scant attention had been paid to the south.

...He also noted that Bangkok, while not in an area thought to be at risk from earthquakes, was also in a delicate position due to its weak land base and large number of tall buildings. Even a minor earthquake with an epicentre near Bangkok could be devastating for the capital, he said. Nonetheless, he confirmed that a disaster of a similar magnitude was extremely unlikely in the near future...

7:01am, December 28 - Updated quake info page and animated gif showing the tsunami moving through the Indian Ocean.

6:14am, December 28 - Hunt Is on for Dramatic Tsunami Pictures, AP
..."There will still be, I think, the definitive shot, the wall of water," Sandy MacIntyre, director of news for Associated Press Television News in London, said Monday.

...APTN is competing fiercely with another news agency, Reuters, to acquire video. APTN producers were sent to six airports in Europe and Asia on Monday to ask tourists if they had captured the scene on their home video cameras, MacIntyre said...

1:31am, December 28 - Phuket tsunami
Astonishing photos from an eyewitness. Photos 2-10 are a sequence showing the water rushing in. Notice at the end a man being swept along by the waves.

Left: Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet has an interesting photo from Phi Phi Island and a headline that reads "2000 persons still missing."(December 28, 2004).

12:35am, December 28 - Journalists cautioned - The Nation
...The TJA said that news coverage should select appropriate angles and respect the dignity of all those affected by the tragedy. It singled out for excoriation the Thai-language Daily News, which ran a photo on its front page yesterday of a female victim’s bare buttocks...

12:31am, December 28 - Warning rejected to protect tourism - The Nation
...“The very important factor in making the decision was that it’s high [tourist] season and hotel rooms were nearly 100-per-cent full. If we issued a warning, which would have led to evacuation, [and if nothing happened], what would happen then? Business would be instantaneously affected. It would be beyond the Meteorological Department’s ability to handle. We could go under, if [the tsunami] didn’t come,” said a source who attended the meeting...

Precisely at 9am that Sunday, waves as high as 3 to 10 metres hit the main southern coastal provinces of Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi and Ranong.

12:21am, December 28 - Ad for Tsunami Japanese Restaurant
2Bangkok.com had this piece of ironic news for about 24 hours and was only going to post it after the gravity of the situation subsided somewhat. However, The Nation published something about it today so there is no reason for 2B not to mention it. A reader wrote: The new 30-trip Skytrain card issued on Sunday features a big ad for the new Tsunami Japanese Restaurant in the Marriott Hotel. It lists their website as www.tsunamibangkok.com. Kind of tacky now, but they could not have known. [The website has been taken offline.]

-------------------------------------------
December 27

11:58am, December 27 - Thai paradises lost to nature's fury - The Nation
...The popular Ao Nang Beach came in for an especially severe battering.
“Phi Phi is a total wreck,” lamented Mitchai Anansakul, head of the Nopparat Thara Marine Park. “Almost every building on the island collapsed under the 10-metre wall of water.”
Only two large hotel buildings, the Phi Phi Cabana and the Phi Phi Hotel, were left standing, but even they suffered heavy damage and will need structural inspection before they can be reopened, Mitchai added...
Corpses, debris cover beach resort - The Nation
...A large number of people died in Khao Lak as the waves demolished several crowded hotels...

11:45pm, December 27 - Translations from Thai-language newspapers: The breaking news section from Manager Online
"- In Phang-nga, Dr. Porntip Rojjanasunan and other doctors said there are lacking formaldehyde for injection and coffins. The Public Health Department said that bodies that cannot be kept longer will be buried after photos, DNA check, and fingerprints are taken.
- The government approved 10,000 million baht for disaster assistance.
- The Meteorological Department warns that tidal waves can happen again.
- The toll of the victims around the world is almost 20,000 at present.
- The Public Health Department mobilizes to get the medical supplies into the area urgently. They reveal that many victims died because of their lungs being crashed.
- US officers who were following the strong earthquake in Sumatra reveal that they tried to warn Asia one hour before the tidal wave came ashore in Sri Lanka and Thailand."

11:22pm, December 27 - Translations from Thai-language newspapers: Matichon
"Mr. Sorajjana Nuanyoo, the famous astrologer, forecasted very correctly that there will be a disaster in the end of year 2004, the year of the worst terrorism and sabotage when there will be an earthquake killing lots of people, especially in the south. Meanwhile, Lak Lekhanited, another fortune teller, point to June 2005 when he predicts another disaster."

11:20pm, December 27 - Translations from Thai-language newspapers: Thairath
"Mr. Samit Thammasarot, the former director general of the Meteorological Department, warned of the danger of tsunamis in the Andaman Sea and south of Thailand on August 16, 1998." [At that time the prediction caused panic and commotion. After a few days the publicity died down with Mr. Sanit being criticized for alarming people needlessly. Coincidentally, Mr Samit is on Channel 9 being interviewed at this moment. He is warning of further aftershocks in the next 1-2 days and suggesting a float-based warning system for the Indian Ocean.]

10:00pm, December 27 - Thailand tsunami death toll expected to exceed 1,250 - Kyodo
...More than 1,100 people including about 100 foreigners are still reportedly missing and more than 7,300 people have been injured, officials said. Officials estimated that some 60-70 percent of the victims found so far in Phangnga, Phuket and Krabi are foreigners.
Phangnha Gov. Anuwat Methiwibulvut told reporters that he expects that at least 400 bodies, including those seen but not yet recovered as well as those expected to float ashore, are expected to be counted on Tuesday...

9:25pm, December 27 - More of what's on Thai TV
Channel 11 has footage of a ceremony for deceased royal Khun Bhumi Jensen.
Khun Bhumi Jensen's mother, Princess Ubolratana, places a wreath in his honor. Each of the wreaths is from a different royal and has their respective seal on it (Channel 11).

Monks chat for Khun Bhumi Jensen (Channel 11).
Latest statistics for deaths and injury by province. From top to bottom: Phuket, Krabi, Phangnga, Satun, Ranong, Trang, and totals. The middle column is deaths and the right-side column is injured (iTV).

9:23pm, December 27 - Continually updated official death tally from Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, Ministry of Interior (this site is very slow and often times out)

2Bangkok Link for Updates, Photos, English Translations from Thai Newspapers, Screen Caps from Thai TV

2Bangkok Reports on Destruction in Thailand

2B newsfeed: Indonesian quake and tsunamis in Thailand

Read all the daily Thai news on the 2Bangkok.com main page
[Note: Times are Bangkok time - GMT+7. A thread about the situation is on the forum.]

10:00pm, December 27 - Thailand tsunami death toll expected to exceed 1,250 - Kyodo
...More than 1,100 people including about 100 foreigners are still reportedly missing and more than 7,300 people have been injured, officials said. Officials estimated that some 60-70 percent of the victims found so far in Phangnga, Phuket and Krabi are foreigners.

Phangnha Gov. Anuwat Methiwibulvut told reporters that he expects that at least 400 bodies, including those seen but not yet recovered as well as those expected to float ashore, are expected to be counted on Tuesday...

9:25pm, December 27 - More of what's on Thai TV
Channel 11 has footage of a ceremony for deceased royal Khun Bhumi Jensen.
Khun Bhumi Jensen's mother, Princess Ubolratana, places a wreath in his honor. Each of the wreaths is from a different royal and has their respective seal on it (Channel 11).

Monks chat for the deceased (Channel 11).
Latest statistics for deaths and injury by province.

9:23pm, December 27 - Continually updated official death tally from Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, Ministry of Interior (this site is very slow and often times out).


Channel 7 honors HM The King's grandson, Khun Bhumi Jensen, who was killed in the disaster.
8:35pm, December 27 - What's on Thai TV

Frame grabs from the 8:00-8:30pm news on Thai TV. Only Channel 9 and iTV are broadcasting full-time on the disaster. The other stations have regular programming.

Lines of tourists leaving Phi Phi Island (Channel 5).
Navy boat 457 thrown onto rocks on Channel 9.

Tourist arriving in Bangkok on a military plane (Channel 9).
Channel 5 makes extensive use of CNN footage for their broadcast.

8:05pm, December 27 - Kom Chad Luek is reporting the 866 death toll as well. It is based partially on missing boat crews being declared lost.


7:56pm, December 27 - Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet was reporting earlier today that 800 Swedes were missing in Phuket. At present, they are reporting hundreds missing. This paper also had an amazing photo of a huge wave about to swamp a poolside cabana (right).

7:18pm, December 27 - CNN International is reporting the death toll at 866. A correspondent in Phuket says it is "hovering near 900, probably going to 1000."

7:17pm, December 27 - Mobile phone calls to Thailand rise by 100% during disaster period - Channel NewsAsia


6:27pm, December 27 - Thread on Pantip.com listing all the disaster-related thread on the forum.

6:24pm, December 27 - Thread on Pantip.com with lists of the dead and missing.

6:04pm, December 27 - Thread on Pantip.com where many interesting photos of the disaster have been posted.

5:18pm, December 27 - For much of the previous 24 hours, those trying to access the the MCOT/TNA site, the official English-language news for Thailand, were met with "connection refused." Around this time the site became accessible again, but the news stories are about 8 hours behind both the international press and local newspaper websites.

3:42pm, December 27 - All programmes frozen, ModerNine TV covering only catastrophe, The Nation
[It is likely that this statement is in response to widespread criticism of television stations that yesterday broadcast pre-taped game shows and soap operas while the details of the disaster were unfolding.]

ModerNine TV has frozen all regular programmes, shifting its focus to cover the catastrophe in the tidal wave-hit Southern provinces. MCOT Plc’s two radio stations, English-language FM107 and Thai-language FM99, will also run all reports about the impacts.

3:42pm, December 27 - Khun Bhumi's body found, The Nation
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said the body of Princess Ubolratana's son, Khun Bhumi Jensen, has been found in Khao Lak, Pang-Nga and his body would be brought to Bangkok by HRH Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn and Princess Ubolratana.

3:37pm, December 27 - The Nation website, long overwhlemed by traffic, is changed to be a simple list of stories. This appears to allow connections to the site again (however, all the stories are erronounsly dated December 28).

8:31am, December 27 - Now the quake is considered Magnitude 9.0

8:01am, December 27 - USGS: Warnings Could Have Saved Thousands in Asia, Reuters
A warning center such as those used around the Pacific could have saved most of the thousands of people who died in Asia's earthquake and tsunamis, a U.S. Geological Survey official said on Sunday.

None of the countries most severely affected -- including India, Thailand, Indonesia and Sri Lanka -- had a tsunami warning mechanism or tidal gauges to alert people to the wall of water that followed a massive earthquake, said Waverly Person of the USGS National Earthquake Information Center...

7:05am, December 27 - Disastrous scenes in Phuket, BBC

2:49am, December 27 - Most of the Thai-language newspapers have gone to press citing 'at least 300 dead.' There will likely not be any more fresh news about the disaster until it gets light again in the morning. On the forum, Medic1669 points out the live radio feed from Phuket's amateur radio network.

2:14am, December 27 - Asian quake floods kill 11,300, Reuters
...In holiday islands off southern Thailand, emergency workers rescued about 70 Thai and foreign divers from the famed Emeral Cave and dozens were evacuated from around other islands. Two Thais were killed at Emeral cave...

2Bangkok Special Link to Reports on Earthquake, Tsunami and Destruction in Thailand -- Including Screen Caps from Thai TV

2Bangkok Report on Earthquake - Update

2B newsfeed: Indonesian quake and tsunamis in Thailand

Read all the daily Thai news on the 2Bangkok.com main page
[Note: Times are Bangkok time - GMT+7. A thread about the situation is on the forum.]

1:31am, December 28 - Phuket tsunami
Astonishing photos from an eyewitness. Photos 2-10 are a sequence showing the water rushing in. Notice at the end a man being swept along by the waves.

12:35am, December 28 - Journalists cautioned - The Nation
...The TJA said that news coverage should select appropriate angles and respect the dignity of all those affected by the tragedy. It singled out for excoriation the Thai-language Daily News, which ran a photo on its front page yesterday of a female victim’s bare buttocks...

12:31am, December 28 - Warning rejected to protect tourism - The Nation
...“The very important factor in making the decision was that it’s high [tourist] season and hotel rooms were nearly 100-per-cent full. If we issued a warning, which would have led to evacuation, [and if nothing happened], what would happen then? Business would be instantaneously affected. It would be beyond the Meteorological Department’s ability to handle. We could go under, if [the tsunami] didn’t come,” said a source who attended the meeting...

Precisely at 9am that Sunday, waves as high as 3 to 10 metres hit the main southern coastal provinces of Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi and Ranong.

12:21am, December 28 - Ad for Tsunami Japanese Restaurant
2Bangkok.com had this piece of ironic news for about 24 hours and was only going to post it after the gravity of the situation subsided somewhat. However, The Nation published something about it today so there is no reason for 2B not to mention it. A reader wrote: The new 30-trip Skytrain card issued on Sunday features a big ad for the new Tsunami Japanese Restaurant in the Marriott Hotel. It lists their website as www.tsunamibangkok.com. Kind of tacky now, but they could not have known. [The website has been taken offline.]

11:58am, December 27 - Thai paradises lost to nature's fury - The Nation
...The popular Ao Nang Beach came in for an especially severe battering.
“Phi Phi is a total wreck,” lamented Mitchai Anansakul, head of the Nopparat Thara Marine Park. “Almost every building on the island collapsed under the 10-metre wall of water.”

Only two large hotel buildings, the Phi Phi Cabana and the Phi Phi Hotel, were left standing, but even they suffered heavy damage and will need structural inspection before they can be reopened, Mitchai added...
Corpses, debris cover beach resort - The Nation
...A large number of people died in Khao Lak as the waves demolished several crowded hotels...

11:45pm, December 27 - Translations from Thai-language newspapers: The breaking news section from Manager Online
"- In Phang-nga, Dr. Porntip Rojjanasunan and other doctors said there are lacking formaldehyde for injection and coffins. The Public Health Department said that bodies that cannot be kept longer will be buried after photos, DNA check, and fingerprints are taken.
- The government approved 10,000 million baht for disaster assistance.
- The Meteorological Department warns that tidal waves can happen again.
- The toll of the victims around the world is almost 20,000 at present.
- The Public Health Department mobilizes to get the medical supplies into the area urgently. They reveal that many victims died because of their lungs being crashed.
- US officers who were following the strong earthquake in Sumatra reveal that they tried to warn Asia one hour before the tidal wave came ashore in Sri Lanka and Thailand."

11:22pm, December 27 - Translations from Thai-language newspapers: Matichon
"Mr. Sorajjana Nuanyoo, the famous astrologer, forecasted very correctly that there will be a disaster in the end of year 2004, the year of the worst terrorism and sabotage when there will be an earthquake killing lots of people, especially in the south. Meanwhile, Lak Lekhanited, another fortune teller, point to June 2005 when he predicts another disaster."

11:20pm, December 27 - Translations from Thai-language newspapers: Thairath
"Mr. Samit Thammasarot, the former director general of the Meteorological Department, warned of the danger of tsunamis in the Andaman Sea and south of Thailand on August 16, 1998." [At that time the prediction caused panic and commotion. After a few days the publicity died down with Mr. Sanit being criticized for alarming people needlessly. Coincidentally, Mr Samit is on Channel 9 being interviewed at this moment. He is warning of further aftershocks in the next 1-2 days and suggesting a float-based warning system for the Indian Ocean.]

10:00pm, December 27 - Thailand tsunami death toll expected to exceed 1,250 - Kyodo
...More than 1,100 people including about 100 foreigners are still reportedly missing and more than 7,300 people have been injured, officials said. Officials estimated that some 60-70 percent of the victims found so far in Phangnga, Phuket and Krabi are foreigners.

Phangnha Gov. Anuwat Methiwibulvut told reporters that he expects that at least 400 bodies, including those seen but not yet recovered as well as those expected to float ashore, are expected to be counted on Tuesday...

2Bangkok by Ron Morris with the Latest News on Earthquakes, Tsunamis, Destruction in Thailand

2Bangkok Reports on Earthquake, Tsunamis

Indonesian quake and tsunamis in Thailand - December 26, 2004

[Note: Times are Bangkok time-GMT+7. A permanent link to this story is here. A thread about the situation is on the forum.]

10:22pm - His Majesty's grandson among those missing, The Nation
As 2Bangkok.com was told at 9:57pm, Bhumi Jensen, son of HM The King's eldest daughter, is missing and feared dead.

10:19pm - Emergency phone numbers for information on tsunami victims and relief effort, The Nation

9:57pm - Sources inform 2Bangkok.com that an announcement will soon be made about the death of a high-ranking individual in the disaster. Local media will not report the death until it is 'officially announced.'

9:50pm - Sources inform 2Bangkok.com that Prime Minister Thaksin has arrived in Phuket to inspect the relief efforts.

9:42pm - CNN International, citing "Thai officials," reports the death toll in Thailand is at least 400. (The Nation website still is reporting 198 dead. The Bangkok Post does not feature breaking news on its websites. Its readers will find a story on its website from this morning about heavy fog.)

9:27pm - Thai TV is showing video from "Phuket and Koh Phi Phi" showing tourists carrying stretchers with injured people to a helicopter.

9:18pm - 60 photos of the destruction in the Phuket area - Don't miss these photos: 1 and 2

8:36pm - Although the post dates on these articles are 8:07pm, 7:26pm, and 7:21pm, they did not appear on the site until after 8:30pm.
Earthquake death toll mounts - TNA
Nearly 4,000 tourists stranded on Koh Phi Phi - TNA
Fate of tourists in Emerald Cave still unknown - TNA
More than 4,000 Thai and foreign tourists were left stranded on the southern resort island of Koh Phi Phi this morning after fierce tidal waves crashed into the southern coast, killing at least 55 and injuring hundreds more...

8:14pm - CNN International reports the Phuket Airport has reopened after being flooded for most of the day. Over 100 scuba divers are missing and over 1000 still missing overall.

7:15pm - Good photos from the Thai-language press: Daily News and Manager (amazing photos of a ruined fishing village and ships piled up). It appears the MCOT/TNA, Siam Turakij, and Matichon websites have been knocked off-line by high traffic.

7:02pm - 158 deaths and 1,913 cases of injuries reported at hospitals, The Nation, December 26, 2004

5:02pm - CNN International reports 200 dead on Phi Phi Island.

4:48pm - (from Casualty toll reaches 84 dead, 400 wounded so far after tsunamis hit southern Thailand, The Nation) ...A maritime police officer who asked not to be named said the casualties in Phi Phi could be far higher as the huge tidal wave decimated much of the development on the small island.

"Everything was washed away except two large hotels on Phi Phi Don island," the officer said after speaking with a Phi Phi resident by telephone.
Reuters reports that more than 100 tourists on diving holidays are missing on islands off southern Thailand following Sunday's tsunamis, about 70 of them in the famed Emeral Cave, a tourist official said...

4:05pm - CNN international is reporting that Thailand is facing a major disaster. They say that Krabi has 48 confirmed dead and 60 injured. Also that four tidal waves, one up to 10 meters high, have hit Phuket today and there is no word about the fate of Phi Phi Island at this time.

3:26pm - AP: The U.S. Geological Survey says the 8.9-magnitude earthquake in Indonesia is the largest in the world in 40 years.

3:15pm - Photos of Phuket damage

3:01pm - Now it is Magnitude 8.9

2:59pm - The Nation posts its first on-line bulletin

2:32pm - Many missing at sea off Thailand - AP
...Watcharat Hospital in Phuket was full, with many foreigners coming from hotels on popular Kamala and Patong beaches, said a hospital official who declined to be named.
The tourists have told hospital officials that they were sitting on the beach when the tsunami suddenly appeared. They said a lot of people died, and at least 30 boats filled with tourists were lost at sea...

1:45pm - At least 10 people confirmed killed by tsunami in Thailand - Kyodo

1:24pm - Foreign tourists missing as tidal waves slam Thailand's Phuket resort - AFP
...Phuket's major beach town, Patong, was flooded and extensive damage had been reported from a series of two-metre (6.5-foot) high waves that slammed the tropical island's west coast at about 8:30 am (0130 GMT), a rescue worker said...
"Tourists were also on the (nearby) beaches of Karon, Kata and Kamala when a giant wave suddenly hit and swept everything up into the sea," he added.

He said all shops, kiosks and hotels along Patong beach were damaged by the tsunami, which were the likely result of a massive earthquake that struck west of the Indonesian island of Sumatra early Sunday, which the US Geological Survey said measured 8.5 on the Richter scale.

Several international hotels were completely evacuated on emergency police orders. Hotels on Patong were not answering their telephones...

1:09pm - Thai government: Four tourists dead after major earthquake hits northwest Indonesia - AP
...The center also reported that people were swept off a Phuket beach by tidal waves surging as high as five meters (16 feet) after an 8.5-magnitude earthquake hit near the Indonesian island of Sumatra...

9:49am - The earthquake is being reported as magnitude 8.5. Note there are already nine reports of the quake being felt in Bangkok.

9:30am - The earthquake is being reported for the first time on CNN International.

8:35am - This must be the earthquake that caused it: Magnitude 8.1 - Off the west coast of Northern Sumatra

8:34am - 2-3 second aftershock felt.

8:10am - Earthquake felt in Bangkok. On the ninth-floor of a 13-floor building, we could distinctly feel the building sway with a circular motion for about four seconds. Hanging telephone cables also swayed. We looked out the window and it seems that people at ground level were not aware of the shaking. Updates to come.

[Note: Times are Bangkok time-GMT+7. A permanent link to this story is here. A thread about the situation is on the forum.]

Earlier: A Bangkok tremor story from January 2003 (Then, as now, 2Bangkok.com is the first place to look for breaking Thai news.)

2Bangkok Updates on Indonesia Earthquake and Destruction in Thailand -- Visit 2Bangkok for Hot Links to All Stories

Asia Blog Awards

Did you vote today?

I'm out of town for a few days, visiting Mom and sister over in Roseville, near Sacramento, so expect light blogging.......but no reason not to vote daily in Simon's fun little contest.

Asia Blog Awards 2004 -- Vote Here!

Gracie Chow

Gracie Chow

Grace Chow was born in Singapore and moved to Rotterdam a few years ago in search of a new life. She found work and a husband, then came down with an incurable disease which killed her a few weeks ago. Before she died, she started a blog as a form of therapy and to tell the world of her struggles and triumphs.


Dying is...

Soon, I will be dead. I have a recalcitrant tumour in the neck, and it's a real pain. It's given me plenty of time to prepare for my death, and now it's finally going for the kill. I am completely powerless in the face of it. My only option is to flee to my mind, where I have so, so much to say and tell... but I have no one to tell it to. This is the loneliness of death.

The Blog of Grace Chow


After a three year's battle against Death, he came to take her tonight. But as she was thankful for his blessings last week, she will be grateful again. She just stopped breathing tonight, without pain, without suffocation or paralysis . This morning I woke up to find her hand cold, as they always were the last weeks, but also the rest of her body was cold and she was motionless.

Those who knew her, know that despite that she only became 32 years that had at least double the lifespan. Even in her last months she was active, fully aware of the richness, joy and urgency of life and caring for others as if she was not struck by such a harsh fate.

Message from her Husband


The Straits Times
Dec 20, 2004

THIS is the last entry in computer programmer Grace Chow's blog: 'After a three-year battle against Death, he came to take her. She stopped breathing tonight, without pain, without suffocation or paralysis.'

Facing death bravely: Ms Chow's blog has touched the hearts of many. She died on Dec 6, three years after the tumour was discovered. It was written by her Dutch husband, database analyst Ton de Vries, to tell those who have been following her online account of what turned out to be her last weeks, that she had died on Dec 6. Ms Chow, who was living in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, was 32 years old.

The end came three years after a rare tumour, called a chordoma, was discovered at the base of her skull. The growth, which measured about 10cm by 7cm, had fractured her skull and two vertebrae. It had made it near impossible for her to speak, as well as difficult to walk and lift her hands. The former student of CHIJ (Toa Payoh) and Victoria Junior College did not think she would live more than a year when she was told of the growth.

But she did and went on to fulfil her dream of writing a book on love, despair, death and Singapore. The mostly autobiographical effort, A Pain In The Neck, was published in October and is available through www. amazon.com and www.book surge.com for about US$16 (S$26.50). She started her online diary only last month, to keep in touch with family and friends when speaking became difficult. She managed only 11 entries in Dying Is, at dyingis.blogspot.com

Straits Times Article about Gracie Chow


A Pain in the Neck, by Grace Chow
Singabloodypore
Dec 10, 2004

Reading this book made me look back on my own experiences of popular music, philosophy and Singapore. At first I had never imagined that all three could be combined. Perhaps my failing was due to the lack of a final ingredient, an incurable disease. The author Grace Chow begins her story with a theme that resonates with many of our own sense of needing to escape, to get out.

Singabloodypore Reviews the Book by Gracie Chow


Grace Chow (1972 to 2004)
Mr. Brown
Dec 8, 2004

I wish I had known about Grace Chow's blog before today. She won't be updating it anymore. She just passed away, aged 32, on Monday, December 6, after a three year battle with chordoma in the skull base, a rare tumour for which there is no cure. The blog was a chronicle of her last days. She has also written a book, A Pain in the Neck. You can find out more at her site.

Godspeed, Grace.

Mr. Brown on Grace Chow


Grace's husband, Ton, drops by
Mr. Brown
Dec 22, 2004

Ton de Vries, Grace Chow's husband, writes in and provides us with his personal insight into Grace's motivations and feelings, especially with regards to her family. We are honoured by his visit.

From Ton:

Mr. Brown with a Message from Grace Chow's Husband


Grace Chow Website

Asia Blog Awards, Part Three

The Home of Chris Myrick

Chris Myrick in Singapore has just selected his favorites in the on-going Asia Blog Awards sponsored by SimonWorld, and I agree for the most part with his recommendations. He needs to get over his favoritism toward Canadian bloggers and beer bloggers, but then nobody's perfect. He is also admittedly trying to keep the race in the Indonesia Blog division close, and I think that's a fun strategy. You can get all the hot links by visiting Chris' site at the bottom of this post.

This is an excellent idea for all the bloggers involved in this contest. Anyone else want to express their opinions? If you do, please send me the link and I'll post your summaries here.


ABA ENDORSEMENTS (Part 1)
Chris Myrick
Dec 22, 2004

As earlier promised, here are some of my choices for the 2004 Asia Blog Awards (ABAs). This is a first in a series, in which I am mostly endorsing my old favorites.

Best HK Blog: I had voted for Simon for the world weblog awards and would do so again for best HK blog had he not disqualified himself. I had been voting for the Gweilo Dairies for best HK blog in ABAs. However, as Conrad's site has been missing with no indication of when (or if) it will return I have switched horses and am now voting for Hemlock.

Best Mainland China Blog: Dan Washburn's Shanghai Dairies deserves this one. However, as a Good Beer Blogger and a Canadian, I feel obligated to endorse and vote for my compatriot the Yellow Frog.

Best Korea Blog: There is strong competition here, but The Marmot remains my favorite.

Best Singapore Blog: Mr Brown has the most local content, a loyal following, and is possibly the funniest of all of us finalists. He deserves the prize. However, I endorse myself. Vote Myrick!

Best Malaysia Blog: Two words: Rajan Rishyakaran.

Best Thai Blog: 2Bangkok is a shoe-in and is a great one-stop for Thai news. However, again torn by Canadian patriotism I'm backing Agam's Gecko.

Best Indonesia Blog: I am guilty of vote splitting here and have been single-handedly trying to engineer a tie. Daily, I look at the tallies and vote for either Macam-Macam or Jakartass, depending on who is ahead at that time. A bribe, or other incentive, would help me stop fence-sitting.

Best Philippine Blog: The Sassy Lawyer in Philippine Suburbia has long been a must read for me and remains my choice.

Best India Blog: Glenn Reynolds has said that you should never use a blog as an exclusive source of news. Screw that. If you relied solely on Nitin Pai's The Acorn for news and opinion on India, it probably wouldn't be a bad thing.

Best Pakistan Blog: Venial Sin because any blogger who gets death threats from Islamists is a friend of mine.

Best Central Asian Blog: The Argus takes it for having the broadest view of the region. Although this category again demonstrates -- as does Jodi's Asia Pages - that the Peace Corp produces some great bloggers.

Best Designed Blog: Simon World

Funniest Blog: Because I'm voting for myself in the best Singapore Blog Category, I feel obligated to vote for Mr Brown here. Were Mr Brown unavailable, Chase Me Ladies... would narrowly beat MasaMania.

Best Non-Asian (Foreign) Blog: Carl gets this for his regular SE Asian news roundups at FriskoDude.

Best Journal/Diary: As earlier noted SPG

Best PhotoBlog: The Java Jive

End of Part one: I will decide on my favorites from the remaining categories before the end of the contest.

Now, Go Vote!

Chris Myrick Picks His Favorites for the Asia Blog Awards 2004

Southeast Asia News 48

The Burman

2004's most memorable Asians
Macam Macam by Swanker

Given that 2004 is drawing to a close, I thought I would cast my mind to the Asians that have made 2004 memorable for me. Not meant to be a list of great achievers nor aspiring to be comprehensive in any way, merely my own idiosyncratic gathering of Asian notables that struck a chord with me or grabbed my attention in the year gone past. So let's get started.

Chen Shui-bian, Taiwanese President, memorable for showing the middle finger at Communist China, getting shot in a "dubious" assassination attempt, getting re-elected nevertheless, then being told by the Taiwanese people to stop pulling the middle finger on Communist China. Yao Ming, memorable for standing very tall in the biggest basketball competition of them all.

Abu Bakar Bashir, memorable for casting a pall over all South East Asia's Muslims. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, memorable for banishing Megawati and Wiranto into the political wilderness and giving Indonesians real hope for the future.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, memorable for remaining the light in the darkness that is Myanmar, the great hero of millions of Burmese and an inspiration for millions more worldwide. She makes one proud to be an Asian. Kim Jong-Il, memorable as the archetypal mad dictator, megalomaniacal and with a callous disregard for the welfare of his fellow countrymen and women. Makes one ashamed to be an Asian.

Hamid Karzai, memorable for having the balls to stick his neck out and stand up for his country. Zhang Ziyi, memorable for being....well....extremely hot.

Who made your 2004 a memorable one?

Macam Macam on the Most Memorable Asians of 2004 (with photos!)


Entertainers protest Japan's plan to tighten immigration rules
Yahoo News Asia
Dec 16, 2004

Kyodo) _ About 3,000 Filipino entertainers, their managers and agencies that send them to Japan gathered in front of the Japanese Embassy on Thursday to protest a plan by the Japanese government to adopt stricter rules in admitting foreign entertainers to Japan. Members of the Confederated Association of Licensed Entertainment Agencies and their associates said they want the Philippine government to intervene on their behalf in asking for a five-year moratorium on the proposed removal of the certification for entertainers entering Japan.

Last week, the Japanese government decided on an action plan against human trafficking, with stricter regulations in place over the entry of foreign entertainers, most of whom come from the Philippines. The planned change in Japanese immigration rules involves a requirement for entertainers to acquire either two years of training or two years of professional experience.

Tighter Rules for Filipino Entertainers in Japan


Manila to be world's 12th biggest city by 2010, report says
Yahoo News Asia
Dec 15, 2004

The Philippine capital Manila is expected to climb from the 16th to the 12th largest city in the world by 2010, officials and a U.N.-funded report said Wednesday. The State of the Philippine Population Report 2004 _ prepared by the Commission on Population and funded by the U.N. Population Fund _ also forecast that the Philippines will be 65 percent urbanized by 2020, up from 48 percent in 2000.

The UNPF said in 2000 Metro Manila ranked 16th on a list of the top 20 megacities in the world, with 10.9 million people. Based on current trends and projections, Metro Manila will be the 12th largest city in the world by 2010, said Commission on Population Executive Director Tomas Osias. By 2015, the population is expected to total 14.8 million. Areas near Metro Manila and the central Philippines' Metro Iloilo have displayed a "spillover effect," where contiguous regions become "metro shadows," the report said.

Megalopolis Manila. Can Jakarta Be Far Behind?


Passage of Sin Tax Bill to Help Fight Vs Poverty in Philippines
Yahoo News Asia
Dec 17, 2004

Approval in Congress of Malacanang's sin tax proposal will help boost efforts of government to improve the lives of poor people nationwide, Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said today. "This development opens up more job opportunities and jumpstarts the implementation of new pro-poor projects," he explained after the Senate approved the proposed tax on sin products like cigarettes and alcohol.

The sin tax proposal is among eight priority tax measures which government economic managers earlier proposed to help raise a total of about P80 billion (US$1.4 billion) in fresh revenues which the administration will use to address the country's socio-economic and fiscal woes.

Regressive Taxes Against the Poor........to help the Poor?


Saudi Arabia Still Top Jobmarket of Filipino Nurses
Yahoo News Asia
Dec 17, 2004

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) remains the top destination of Filipino nurses, hiring more than two thousand nurses during the first semester of 2004, data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) bared. Citing a report from the POEA, Department of Labor and Employment Acting Secretary Manuel G. Imson said the KSA hired or rehired another 2,628 Filipino nurses during the period.

It was followed by the United Kingdom which hired/rehired 470 Filipino nurses; Kuwait (333); the United States (175); Ireland (90); and Singapore (65). He added that during the first half of the year, a total of 4,119 Filipino nurses were deployed in more than 30 destinations globally, affirming the Philippines' status as a major source of medical and health workers abroad.

Saudi Arabia Attracts Filipino Nurses


Feeling Safe in Cambodia
Escape from America
Dec 2004

There’s too much fear involved with traveling, so allow me to run down the laundry list of horrors a traveler to Cambodia faces before he crosses the boarder and braves the undiscovered country.

· Malaria, Typhoid, Hepatitis C, Japanese Encephalitis, AIDS
· Armed bandits, pedophilia, genocide, kidnapping
· Landmines, poverty, prostitution
· The Vietnam War, fresh memories of the Khmer Rouge, Pol Pot

I promise, I’m not a feeble man. I’ve traveled through Kenya, studied in Europe, just finished a year working in Japan, but there is a reaction I encounter whenever I cross a border into a strange country for the first time; it’s a nervous feeling of impending tragedy and Cambodia brought that out of me unlike any country I had ever approached before. Our mission was to travel overland from Bangkok to Hanoi via Cambodia, and I almost turned around before I got there because everything I read and everyone I loved said, “No. Don’t do it. The place is too dangerous.” By all accounts, they were right.

Safety in Cambodia


The Coronation of a King
Escape from America
Dec 2004

A relentless Cambodian sun played upon the highly-polished bayonets, affixed to the rifles of the military honor guard, standing at rigid attention. Anxiously, they awaited the arrival of Prince Norodom Sihamoni, who would soon be crowned the new king of Cambodia. The droning chant of Buddhist monks could be heard across the palace grounds, as history waited to be made. This would be the first coronation of a new Cambodian king, in more than 60 years, when Prince Norodom Sihamoni's father, King Norodom Sihanouk, ascended to the throne. Fleets of limousines arrived, bearing the many princes and princesses, representing the two sides of Cambodia's royal family. The regal guests were followed by the high ranking government ministers, and foreign diplomats.

The coronation of a king is always a special event, one of pageantry and national pride. It was unfortunate, however, that the coronation of King Sihamoni was surrounded by speculation and debate, regarding his father's abdication. King Norodom Sihanouk, was the first Cambodian king, in recent memory, to quit his post, while still alive. As recently as two days before the coronation, the constitutionality of the King's abdication was still a subject of debate. A throne council was called, also a first in recent Cambodian history. The council chose Prince Norodom Sihamoni, a 51 year old ballet dancer, who had spent much of his life in Paris, to be the new King. His brother, Prince Norodom Ranarith, would have been the natural successor to their father. But Prince Ranarith, who is head of the FUNCINPEC, royalist political party, had often stated, that he had no desire to assume the position of king.

King of Cambodia Coronation


In the Laotian Jungle
Escape from America
Dec 2004

Strolling the leafy promenade along the Mekong river I told myself to slow down and savor every last minute of these last few hours before an interminable series of planes and connections conveyed me back home to the other side of the world. Up ahead a bench conveniently appeared as if to second the motion. Between it and the river’s muddy banks, soil - Southeast Asia’s most fertile - yielded corn and mustard, both of which would be replaced by rice before the next monsoons. Field workers were bent in labor, their efforts typifying the work ethic that permeated Lao culture, its contract with the land, its compact with the seasons, its acceptance of the inevitable. Thinking back on the previous weeks, Laos had been an easy place to get lost in.

So I sat back and began replaying the whole thing in my mind - Sommai and me winding our way up through the central mountains, leveling off just beneath razor sharp peaks – immense tilting dominos of black basalt perfectly accented by dense forest outcroppings wherever anything could take root - and then down in to a settlement tucked far back in a mist covered valley where unexpected winds and rain threatened my plans for a hike that first night, creating an atmosphere shrouded with foreboding. We bargained for the use of a shanty at the base of a limestone mesa that reached for the sky, where the darkening jungle held promise of a nocturnal world of exotic life forms, or so I first hoped.

In the Laotian Jungle. Where is the Wildlife?


Mekong megaplans make progress, but challenges remain
Yahoo News Asia
Dec 16, 2004

For Noy Chanthaboon, the renovation of the old, narrow road near the market where she sells her hand-made sweets brought her benefits in ways she never imagined.
"The market has become bigger, and more people come to buy," she said, sprinkling brown sugar on steamed black rice, which she sells for 2,000 kip (about 19 yen) for a small bag. "I'm selling maybe twice what I used to."

The refurbished highway that replaced the dilapidated road is a key part of the East-West Economic Corridor, a route that will, when completed, cut across Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar. The near completion of the route's eastern portion has brought economic opportunities for some, like the 40-year-old living in a small Lao town near the Vietnamese border.

Mekong Megaplans Slowly Move Forward


World's Fastest Elevator Launched in World's Tallest Building
Yahoo News Asia
Dec 16, 2004

The Toshiba Elevator and Building Systems Corp. (TELC) today announced the installation of the world's fastest passenger elevator in the world's tallest building, Taipei 101, in Taipei, Taiwan. This elevator, developed by TELC, runs at a speed of 1,010 meters per minute or 60.6km per hour and has been officially certified by Guinness World Records in its 2006 edition.

Soaring 508 meters, Taipei 101 is now the world's tallest building, having supplanted the 452-metre Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The new building, largely devoted to offices, is called Taipei 101 because it has 101 above-ground floors, as well as five underground floors. Construction of Taipei 101 started in June 1999 and the grand opening will be celebrated on December 31, 2004.

TELC has installed 61 elevators and 50 escalators in Taipei 101, including two elevators that run at 1,010 meters per minute (60.6 kilometers per hour), the world's fastest, and 34 double-deck elevators. The principal new technologies applied in the world's fastest elevator include:

Tallest Building in the World and the World's Fastest Elevators

Burin Kantabutra and The Bangkok Post

Burin Kantabutra

Anyone who reads the Letters (Postbag) section in the Bangkok Post or The Nation will soon discover the most prolific and articulate contributor is a fellow named Burin Kantabutra, whose prose graces the pages several times weekly, with subjects ranging from the separatist movement in southern Thailand to the latest machinations of Thaksin Shinawatra. At first, I thought that Burin was a fictional device to hide his true identity, but a recent story in The Bangkok Post provided some background to this talented contributor.

Burin believes it's a citizen's duty to make the nation a better place to live
Bangkok Post
Dec 19, 2004

Burin Kantabutra has become something of a celebrity for his incisive and timely comments on government performance in English-language newspapers like the Bangkok Post.

With the analytical skills he has shown in Postbag, it should come as no surprise that he analyses economic trends professionally. His membership in Transparency International, a non-government organisation set up by former prime minister Anand Panyarachun, shows his abhorrence of corruption. And it largely explains why he has been quick to jump on signs of graft and injustice in his more than 800 letters to this newspaper since 1994.

The soft-spoken economist, who asked to keep his employer anonymous, keeps a collection of famous quotes on his desk. They come from Aristotle, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr and John F Kennedy, whom he admits is his idol. At 61, Mr Burin also surrounds himself with cartoon clips, and tips about successful marriage.

But his favourite quote is from British statesman Edmund Burke: The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. Mr Burin regards his letters to newspaper editors as his way of acting against injustice. ''Remaining silent or doing nothing is like letting a thief who already robbed you once to rob you again until you have nothing left,'' he said.

Mr Burin recalls his first letter to the editor of a publication at the University of Florida where he was a student during the 1960s. It was the golden age of the civil rights movement in the United States, and he took a stand against racism. In Thailand, his letters appear in The Nation and the Bangkok Post.

He began by writing under the pen name Don Quixote, after his favourite character from the classic Don Quixote de la Mancha, by Miguel de Cervantes. Unlike many newspaper readers, he doesn't just read and mentally record facts, he highlights interesting articles with a fluorescent marker. Later in the day, perhaps over lunch, he spends about 15 minutes writing his comments. "This has become my hobby as I do not get paid for doing it," he said.

Mr Burin has no idea why his letters always get printed. His advice to aspiring letter writers is to show good intentions, keep an open mind, and ensure their comments are based on fact. "Try to be constructive. It is easy to decry," he said. He admits his "constructive criticism" occasionally has been misinterpreted.

For instance, people around him question why he is so critical of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's actions during and after the Tak Bai tragedy and of the 30-baht universal health-care scheme.

Mr Burin insists his criticism is not for personal benefit. "I just don't agree with everything Mr Thaksin has done." He believes it is the duty of politically-correct citizens to monitor public policy and voice concern. Well-intentioned and endowed with expertise in economics, Mr Burin has never thought of entering politics.

"I am an idealist. I prefer to check on whether elected politicians do what they say they will," said Mr Burin. At the same time he believes his wish for people to raise their voice against corruption and injustice is realistic. Unless they do so, Mr Burin fears Thai society will go the way of Alan Paton's warning: To give up the task of reforming society is to give up one's responsibility as a free man.

Update: Letter Posted Today in The Bangkok Post

He would not reveal his employer but letters as far back as 1998 say he is president of the Securities Analysts Association. Similar letters reveal he is a Rotary member and that he comes from Chicago.

Mr Burin says he does not know why his letters are always printed. I know why. It is because Mr Burin knows the difference between good and evil, and is not afraid to speak up for what is good.

Amazon: Book Links from SEAH4

Quiz: Where is this Lovely Cove?

Amazon continues to amaze me with new stuff, such as its service that goes through my guidebooks and finds all my recommendations to other literature. My best guess is that this list derives from the mini-bibliographies which are included in my Southeast Asia Handbook 4th Edition (SEAH4) for each country in the region, and then dumped into some sort of master list.

I'll post a summary below to show what this looks like in action, but if you follow the Amazon link at the bottom, you'll not only see pretty pictures of all the book covers, but also links where you can actually purchase these books.

This book (SEAH4) cites 43 books:

Island of Bali by Miguel Covarrubias
page 236, and page 242

Great Railway Bazaar by Paul Theroux
page 586, and Back Matter

TALES OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC (Hudson River Editions) by James A. Michener
page 502

The Bridge Over the River Kwai (Cinema Classics) by PIERRE BOULLE
page 849

Peoples of the Golden Triangle: Six Tribes in Thailand by Paul Lewis
page 889

The Richest Man in the World by James Bartholomew
page 51

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
page 520

Into the Heart of Borneo (Vintage Departures) by REDMOND O'HANLON
page 530

Trance in Bali by Jane Belo
page 242

Swimming to Cambodia by Spalding Gray
page 78

The Epic of Life: The Balinese Journey of the Soul by Idanna Pucci
page 272

Road Trip USA: Cross-Country Adventures on America's Two-Lane Highways (Road Trip USA Cross-Country Adventures on America's Two-Lane Highways) by Jamie Jensen
Back Matter

Collected Short Stories by W. Somerset Maugham
Back Matter

Among the Believers: An Islamic Journey by V. S. Naipaul
Back Matter

The Year of Living Dangerously by Christopher J. Koch
Back Matter

Southeast Asia Handbook Recommended Reading List

Sex Criminals in my Neighborhood

Sex Offenders in da Hood

Sex offenders are having a tough time here in California. First, we lock 'em up, try some rehab, then release them back into the general population. But then we post their mug shot on the internet and provide everyone with their address, and a map to their residence, just so folks can drop by and say hi! Welcome to the neighborhood! We're having a raucous good ole New Years Eve Party, and you're invited!

Last week, the State of California rolled out a new website that shows all convicted sex criminals in the state, along with all their statistics, including specifics about their crimes and locations of all tatoos and birthmarks. I live in Pacific Heights, a fairly decent hood, but my 94109 zip code also includes the Tenderloin, which ain't so great, and home to dozens of sex offenders, crack heads, and do-wops. So, technically, they are my neighbors though I don't see them often except when they wander up the street to crash in the park at the top of Pacific Heights, and perhaps break into my car or steal my motorcycle. Or just the tops of the sparkplugs to my bike. But that's another story. Do you even know why guys break off the ceramic tops of exposed motorcycle sparkplugs?

But there's a certain profile to the guys in my hood. Most are pretty old and live in cheap hotels down in the Tenderloin or near Polk Street, which is not a good sign. Most were convicted of crimes which seem pretty gay in nature to me, though words like "rape, forced copulation" and "sodomy" could be used both ways. Few actually live across Van Ness Avenue in my neck of the woods, except for some guy two blocks down on Sutter, and another two blocks west on California.

Convicted Sex Criminals in 94109

Jodi at Asia Pages -- Tales of Burma

Maymyo, Burma. Photo by Carl Parkes

Jodi is a young Korean-American lady working in Busan (formerly Pusan), South Korea for a government agency developing the region into an economic powerhouse, or whatever. Busan........the Shanghai of Korea? She previously worked in Central Asia until the security situation fell apart, and then packed her bags for Korea, where she deals with local bureaucracy, chauvenistic attitudes, strange food, dreary weather, uncommunicative co-workers, oddballs in the office, pressures to conform to dress regulations, etc. etc. You get the picture.

She's also a great writer and her blog is a daily must-read, even if you're only vaguely interested in Korea, since Jodi often writes about other countries in Asia. She's also nominated in the ongoing Asia Blog contest in the Korea division, hosted at SimonWorld. Marmot is gonna win, but Jodi looks good for second, and that's not bad for a newbie with kimchi still wet behind her ears.

Jodi is currently hosting, at her palatial villa high in the hills above Busan, a friend who has been working in Burma for almost a year, and getting an earful about the sadly neglected country.

Tales from Myanmar
Jodi
Asia Pages

I have never been to Myanmar/Burma although I have spoken to people who have.

My first story about the place was one of a mystical country where the people are some of the most beautiful as well as some of the world's kindest. One guy told me how the everything about the country: its culture, its traditions, its landscape and atmosphere--has given him nothing but wonderful, happy memories of his backpacking journey through this once forgotten country. He said that although the military was definately a presence in his memories, they were overshadowed by the unique landscape and vibe of Myanmar, not to mention the kindness of the Burmese people. It struck me that he especially emphasized the peoples' kindness toward him.

As one a Peace Corps friend who is currently working there (not as a Peace Corps volunteer but as a working professional) is now visiting and staying with me here in Korea, my second story about the country comes from her and it is a little darker.

She mentions similar things such as the beauty of the landscape, the cultural richness of the country and, strangely, the kindness of the people. However, her views on this "kindness" are a little more cynical and I believe rightly so. "Because there is such an immense sense of fear among the people, I never know if this kindness that comes from the locals to me, a foreigner, is sincere or not."

She talks about two kinds of laughs among the Myanmar people. "One is a sincere, full-hearted laugh or the unintimidated giggle. The other is a nervous, brushed over chuckle that is used interchangeably with the outrageously exaggerated, inappropriately loud laugh which is a tip-off to me that I have unintentionally said or done something to make these people feel nervous."

The fear is everywhere she says. In fact, the fear is so great, that she feels she is living in the safest place in the world as no one would dare to hurt a foreigner living within the country. They all know that should any complaints come about, it will result in death of the accused, no matter how petty or how little evidence there is to support the accusation.

She had heard of stories about neighbors ratting on one another to the authorities with the unfortunate wrong-doer being mysteriously taken away, never to be seen again. "They are tortured for hours on end and if they are lucky, they will be killed," she told me.

It is by far, she said, the poorest country she has ever lived in. And this is a woman who worked in inner-city Milwaukee with some of the most disadvantaged youths in the state of Wisconsin, as well as in Kyrgyzstan where (at the time we were there) there was no such thing as indoor-plumming or reliable electricity. She also lived the poor grad student's life in NYC which consisted of some pretty dire living conditions. She's seen and done it all. But for the local Burmese, life is particularily rough she said.

"The average pay check is $20 a month," she said. "And that is just for the people who have jobs."

When asked about the plight of Aung San Suu Kyi, she said the Myanmar people aren't even allowed to say the woman's name. She is simply referred to as "the lady." And it is evident that "the lady" is very ill. According to what my friend has heard in the streets, "the lady" may not live many more years as her entire confined lifestyle has taken a toll on her physical health.

As far as business goes there, everyone is afraid to report a profit as the government will automatically take 30% for itself. As a result, business people keep quiet and never herald stories of success.

And any local person who does have money has it by illegal means, usually via drugs, prostitution and people smuggling.

"Everyone's afraid," she told me. The local affiliate of her company does side work in prostitution and people smuggling and has paid off law enforcement making him untouchable. It is no secret that he participates in such activities as he has paid for his safety, although my friend said her company is now realizing how much they were swooned by him and what a mistake they made in coming to Myanmar. "Myanmar is a very funny place," she tells me, meaning, she can't understand many of the things that goes on there.

So what is it like to live in Myanarmar as an expat? Well, she lives in foreign housing which means she has air conditioning, cable TV and very nice, modern living quarters compared to the literal huts some people live in.

And it's hot--damn hot--and the bugs are intense, the smell of seward unbearable in the streets and mararlia is a common illness.

"Every so often they come in to fumigate my apartment," she says. "While the treatment effectively kills the insects, it also kills the geckos that eat the mosquitos and therefore, I am always sweeping up dead lizards from various places in my home."

She is constantly sick as are the other expats in her organization. Since arriving in August, she has had two serious bronchial infections and came to Korea recovering from strep throat. "It's the fumigation," she tells me. "There's no other explanation for our sickness."

What about internet access? Everything is censored. Her gmail account was shut down when somehow, authorities found out she was not using the state-issued email address she had been given when she moved there. All her messages going in and coming out are looked through by local authorities and she is not allowed to say anything negative about Myanmar. All her emails were cheery and promotional but when I finally saw her fact-to-face, she

Bribery is a way of life there. Everyone pays the police off and those who don't or those who can't, are plagued with idiotic inconveniences.

Does she like it there? Well, her job is quite difficult. It's also quite illgal as their local affiliate failed to go through the proper paperwork for her organization. As a result, she's leaving in June, less than one year of her two year contract.

Was it a mistake to come to Myanmar? No, because culturally and socially, it has taught her so much about a place outsiders know so little about. She has had good experiences and good memories, but as far as career advancement after just graduating and earning her MA, Myanmar is a dead end for her.

I suppose her impression of the country is open for debate as I know of others who would say she knows nothing about what its really like there. But I for the most part believe her. She isn't there as a backpacking tourist. She's living and working there as an American citizen for a reputable organization. I am willing to believe she knows what she is talking about.

Jodi at Asia Pages

Blog Advice from Life at Ngee Ann

Singapore Hell's Angel at Ngee Ann

Thanks for Simon at Simon's World, and his ongoing Asia Blog Contest, I've discovered a few new bloggers in Singapore, including a student at Ngee Ann University who has a rare, wild, wonderful sense of humor. Thanks to Mr. Brown for the link. Here's the kid's advice to would-be bloggers:

Top 10 Blog Design Guidelines
Life at Ngee Ann

Since one of my interests is web design (okay I know you can't tell that from this blog), and since many of you are bloggers or future bloggers, I decided to do something for the blogging community by compiling a list of blog design guidelines.

As I forsee that some of you may get offended by this list, making slightly hesitant about putting it down, but I figured that since I've already offended not a small number of you with my previous Jay Chou post, I may as well ride the momentum and offend more of you with this one =)

So here are my top 10 blog design guidelines:

#1. Play music when your blog is viewed

All your readers love your musical tastes, or they wouldn't be visiting your blog, would they? And your poor readers probably don't have their own music playing already in the background, so they need you to provide the music. Or if they already have music playing, blending your music with theirs must sound really mellifluous.

#2. Horizontal (sideways) scrolling

Your blog should have your readers' undivided attention. This means that their browsers should be maximized, occupying the whole of their 1024 by 768 screen, otherwise they'll just have to scroll sideways to view all the great stuff you have on your blog. Although web browsers do support a liquid (flexible) layout, who cares? It's YOUR blog so you have every right to impose YOUR design on everyone who views it.

#3. Use of frames

Frames are a godsend. Otherwise how would you be able to squeeze your profile, your picture, your tagboard, your favourite links, your blogroll, etc. etc. into the 1024 by 768 screen? Oh yeah and the blog posts themselves deserve a seperate frame too. And since there are so many frames, you need to keep them modestly-sized, or they wouldn't be able to fit.

#4. Fancy mouse pointers

You readers will be impressed when their mouse pointers change from that boring arrow to something much more exciting, like crosshairs. Or if you're great at (copying others') scripts, there's nothing more awesome than a mouse pointer with a trail of words or stars following it.

#5. Hard-to-read text

You write so well that you shouldn't make it too easy for your readers to read your writings - make them work for it. An easy way to do that is to use tiny fonts, which also makes your blog design look cool. Plus you don't want those old and farsighted geezers reading your blog, do you? Or use low-contrast text that blends nicely into the background. When your readers work hard to read your posts, boy, will they appreciate your words so much more.

#6. Sticky caps

Closely related to #5, but deserving a category of its own because of its importance and what some call "sticky caps". StIcKy CaPs ArE dEfInItElY dA cOoLeSt WaY tO tYpE sTuFf. It TeLlS eVeRyOnE dAt YoU'rE cOoL aNd FuNkY.

Read the Rest and Laugh Out Loud

Saturday Cat

All Cats Are Cute!

OK, OK, so it's Sunday. And the cat is ugly. But at least I got the damn thing up for the week, so please, leave me alone.

Southeast Asia News 47

Miraculous Elephant Cloud in Chiang Mai

I found this amazing cloud formation yesterday at the Fortean Times website, and those reliable folks claim this is a real event, and not some Photoshop manipulation as it was taken years ago, well before the invetion of PS. OK, I'll take their word for it. Also notice that the temple in Chiang Mai -- Wat Lom Sak I believe -- is known as the "Elephant Temple" for its frieze of pachyderms around the base. Go figure the coincidence of that. And now, for some timely news from our favorite region on the planet.

Singapore exporting its baby-making fragrances
Asian Sex Gazette
December 15, 2004

Singapore - Fragrances aimed at getting Singaporeans in the mood for love will soon be sold abroad, after being used in a government-backed campaign aimed at boosting the city-state's declining birth rate. His and hers "Romance Singapore Eau de Parfum" will soon be exported to Asia, North America and Europe, said Jen Chan, marketing manager for the company that handles the scents, Cosmetical Asia Pte. Ltd.

The perfumes - a floral essence for her and a musky scent for him - were created by chemistry students from Singapore Polytechnic prep school to coincide with the island country's "Romancing Singapore" campaign in February this year. The campaign was a government-backed effort to help citizens find love and boost the country's record-low birth rate. Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the falling birth rate was among the administration's top three priorities for 2004. The perfumes will be sold in 50-milliliter bottles for $29.70.

Sex Perfume from Singapore?

Singapore police stop gay holiday party
Asia Sex Gazette
December 14, 2004

Police in Singapore have refused to grant a permit for a gay holiday circuit party because it is "against the moral values" of the country's population. According to the Asian Web site Fridae.com, organizers of the SnowBall dance party were denied a license despite having obtained one successfully in 2002 and 2003. Police said in a statement that there had been complaints about same-sex kissing and "intimate touching" during a similar event and that future applications for such parties will be "closely scrutinized."

The SnowBall party was organized by Jungle Media, a Singapore subsidiary of the Hong Kong-based Fridae.com. Stuart Koe, chief executive officer of Fridae.com, said, "In the four years that we have been working with the police … not once have we been made aware that there was anything illegal about our events." He also noted that Nation, a similar annual party sponsored by the company, received international attention and generated $10 million in tourism revenue.

Koe has written to top government officials seeking reconsideration. Homosexual acts are outlawed in Singapore, but the country lets openly gay people work in the government. The SnowBall incident comes one month after a top health official blamed the Singapore HIV/AIDS crisis on "the promiscuous and unsafe lifestyle advocated and practiced by some gays."

Singapore Just Can't Make Up Her Mind about This Gay Thingie

Harrah's Eyes Singapore As Asian Beachhead
By Stephen Wright
DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

SYDNEY (Dow Jones)--Singapore legalizing casinos could be the catalyst for other Asian countries to relax restrictions on gambling, according to Harrah's Entertainment Inc. (HET), which wants the city state to serve as its beachhead for expansion in the region.

Tempted by predictions from industry experts that Asians will spend US$23 billion a year on gambling by 2010, governments are becoming less concerned about the social ills that critics say are caused by casinos, Harrah's senior vice president for business development Rich Mirman told Dow Jones Newswires in a recent telephone interview from London.

"The market that we are most interested in at this point is Singapore," he said. "It's a very stable government, it's a very open economy. The fundamentals are strong. It's a market we want to be in and we want to set up a beachhead, a jumping-in point for Asia."

Singapore is investigating whether to allow casinos, and many in the global gambling industry are optimistic the paternalistic city state, which has become a shade more permissive in recent years, will decide in the affirmative. "Once Singapore opens up and we think they are going to be the first, we think a lot of the other countries are going to watch and open up with them," said Mirman.

Gay Sex Out. Gambling In?

Thai woman jailed for running open-air brothel
Yahoo News Asia
Dec 15, 2004

A Thai woman has been convicted and sentenced to three months in prison for running an open-air brothel in a forested area near Singapore's airport, a newspaper reported Wednesday. On-Anong Saensupho, 30, was also fined 25,000 Singapore dollars (US$15,250; €11,451.53) for living off the earnings of four prostitutes, who also are from Thailand, the Straits Times said.

The four sex workers were not paid but were provided room and board, the paper said. It didn't give other details, nor say what happened to the women. On-Anong was arrested in late November after a raid on the brothel, which was near the airport. She was jailed Monday, the report said. Prostitution is legal in Singapore but only in selected areas. Sex workers must be registered and submit themselves to frequent health checks.

Brothels near Changi?

Sentosa sets world record at balloon hats festival
Yahoo News Asia
Dec 16, 2004

SINGAPORE: Sentosa has set a new Guinness world record for having the most number of people wearing balloon hats at an event. The island resort held the event at Palawan Beach in March this year. 1,000 participants wore hats of all shapes and sizes - some of which were quite outrageous - at the world's first balloon hats festival.

Balloon Hats Record? What about those Changi Brothels? Don't They Rate?

Singapore breaks world record for longest Lego millipede
Yahoo News Asia
Dec 16, 2004

SINGAPORE: What can you do with millions of lego blocks? Just about anything, including breaking a world record for the longest millipede. 2,000 volunteers took some two months to assemble three million lego blocks to make the 2,600-leg millipede. One of the volunteers is lego enthusiast Eugene Tan.

He said: "Lego helps to train patience, it moulds a lot of character into the person. A small little brick can build something that huge.....it can stretch over many generations, yet the first piece can fix with the last piece." Eugene spent four days assembling 40 body parts and even more tail pieces of the endless invertebrate.

"It was a little bit monotonous at the beginning, but you have to look at it from a different point of view - how to make monotonous things more fun. And, I ended up enjoying the whole process," he said.

Lego Millipede World's Record. But What about Changi? Isn't a Weedy Airport Brothel Worth a Record?

Singapore's Birth Rate Headed for Another Record Low
Yahoo News Asia
Dec 17, 2004

The latest World Fact Book says Singapore's total fertility rate could drop from last year's 1.25 to only 1.04. Population experts are watching the country closely as they say no country has managed to raise its fertility above 1.5 after it has fallen below that figure.

Associate Professor Pauline Tay Straughan, Sociologist at the National University of Singapore, said: "The trends that are pushing fertility down include getting married later, proportion of singles also going up in Singapore, so it is not just about having babies.

"It is about getting married, and embracing families and parenthood as a package. So, it will take time for mindsets to change. That is not to say that the new policies announced in August are not working.

Yet Another Singapore Record

In denial of a human trafficking problem
Asia Sex Gazette
Dec 15, 2004

I must say that this headline really grabbed my attention: Malaysian brothel unearthed in pigsty (Asian Gazette Gazette, Dec. 9, 2004). At first glance, it sounded like something really kinky was going on in our Malaysian backwoods.

It turns out that some innovative person decided to capitalise on the insatiable appetites of some men in semi-rural Selangor by running a brothel disguised as a pig farm. Now, that’s creativity for you. It only came to light when the wives of these men started to question why they should want to spend so much time among pigs, especially at night.

Malaysia Sets It's Own Kind of Record, but Changi sounds Sexier, Somehow

Malaysia's political princess a rare liberal gadfly
Yahoo News Asia
Dec 14, 2004

KUALA LUMPUR, (AFP) - She has a title and a famous father, but among Asia's political princesses Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir is something of a rebel. Unlike half a dozen dutiful daughters from Pakistan to the Philippines, Marina -- as she likes to be called -- has not followed an illustrious male ancestor into power.

Instead, she appears to have inherited the maverick gene from her father Mahathir Mohamad, formerly one of Asia's most controversial leaders, and plays the role of liberal gadfly to Malaysia's conservative political and social establishment. The title she bears -- along the lines of "Dame" in Britain, Malaysia's former colonial power -- was bestowed not for her political background but for her voluntary work, including the presidency of the Malaysian AIDS (news - web sites) Council where she has become the voice of the victims.

Marina's liberal streak emerges in her column in a major English-language newspaper where she campaigns for progressive causes sometimes opposed by her father and in a weekly television programme promoting women's rights. On a continent where demure women are prized, and particularly in this mainly Muslim nation, Marina's opinions are a blast of liberal modernity.

One example is her attitude towards censorship in Malaysia, which was run by her father for 22 years until he retired as prime minister in October 2003. The government regularly bans books, movies and television shows for their political, religious or sexual content. "Censorship is one of my favourite subjects because apart from pornography and violence I don't think anything should be censored," she wrote in her book "In Liberal Doses", a collection of newspaper columns published during her father's tenure.

Signs of Enlightenment in Malaysia

Shanghai Diaries by Dan Washburn

Shanghai Diaries by Dan Washburn

Dan has returned to Shanghai after a two-month journey around the less visited regions of China, and is now posting an almost daily blurb about life in the world's fastest growing city. He's working on some longer, feature length articles, but his shorter pieces make this site a very good daily visit. Be sure to read yesterday's story about Ikea in Shanghai and his listing of daily blogs. Subscribe to his link list using your RSS reader, and you'll get wonderful links, daily.....

I don’t make a habit of going to invitation-only grand opening parties for new bars — largely because I never get invited to them. But thanks to my friend Diana, I got on the guest list for a gala last night. The bar was called Manhattan. The street was Tongren Lu. The block was just south of Nanjing Xi Lu, site of a flashy new bar strip where many of the drinking holes and dance spots forced out of Maoming Nan Lu have sought considerably swankier refuge. Manhattan is one of the first new Tongren Lu establishments to debut. And the place was packed — the manager says he has quite the email address list.

If you are familiar with the Manhattan Bar on Maoming Lu — yes, that sticky, smoky, smelly dive with DVD hawkers hounding people at high tables — you should know that this new version does indeed come from the same ownership. But the two places have nothing in common. Manhattan on Tongren Lu is upscale, sophisticated and tastefully appointed. A huge silhouette of the Manhattan skyline — or, at least, some artist’s rendition of it — glows behind the bar. There’s a stage for live music and a balcony for a bird’s eye view. And the DVD hawkers have to stay outside.

“When you make enough money selling hookers and drinks,” said one party-goer familiar with the old Manhattan Bar, “you can afford a place like this.”

The bar smelled new. Actually, according to Manhattan’s manager Paul (who some of you might recognize from his days at Malone’s, which he had to leave because of “an altercation with an Australlian”) they didn’t finish decorating the place until 6:30 p.m., just two hours before the party started. Paul said there were still plenty of kinks to be worked out. But none of the patrons appeared to notice — they were too busy enjoying the free cocktails that were served before 10:30 p.m.

The new bar strip on Tongren Lu is definitely more Xintiandi than it is Maoming Nan Lu. And Manhattan is another Shanghai bar for those who don’t mind a little pretentiousness mixed with their drinks. And if you can’t stand places like that, you better rethink that big move to Shanghai. Diana was informed by one of the waitresses at Manhattan that she should order her beer not in a glass but in a bottle — because bottles are more ladylike. And there was a velvet rope blocking the balcony area. You couldn’t get up there unless you were part of the Canadian Consulate. That’s right — the Canadian Consulate. It didn’t look like the small crowd up in the balcony was havng much fun, anyway.

Dan Washburn on Manhattan Nightclub in Shanghai

Whoops! Looks like somebody else named Dan Washburn has just hijacked Shanghai Diaries, and links lead to something about The Sporting Life! Not sure if the above link will actually work............

Don't panic, all is well and the link works. Looks like Dan messed up momentarily and sent me to his farewell speech from Georgia, before he quit his newspaper job and split to teach English in Shanghai. Good column, Dan.

Terrorist Warnings for Indonesia

Kuta Beach 1979. Photo by Carl Parkes

Several days ago, the governments of Australia, United Kingdom, and the U.S. issued warnings to their citizens about the possibility of terrorist attacks in Indonesia over the holidays. The Hilton hotels were mentioned, though no specific Hilton was pointed out. The Indonesian government reacted with anger and denied that any terrorist threat exists in the country. The next day, several bombs were discovered in a bus in Jakarta.

Travel warnings are a fact of life -- resented by those in the tourism industry and largely ignored by individual travelers. But large international tour companies often heed the warnings to save their ass and insure themselves against the possibility of lawsuits. Naturally, this hurts local tourism, and those involved in the economic engines often react with some anger and resentment.

The following interview with the General Manager of the Bali Hilton is very measured and worth a read. I found it at a Bali website called Bali Discovery, which covers current events on the island better than any other resource. They also offer a free, weekly email newsletter that is a wonderful source of news. Read the story below, then visit Bali Discovery and put your name on the mailing list.

Take Me to the Hilton!
Balidiscovery.com Interviews Ian E. McKie,
General Manager of the Bali Hilton,
Asking His Reaction to the Most Recent Travel Warnings.

(12/18/2004) On Wednesday, December 15, 2004 new travel warning were issued by Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom addressing a heightened threat level for a terror attack in Indoneisa. This interview took place December 17, 2004.

balidiscovery.com: When were you first made aware of the terrorist alert?

Ian McKie: The first contact we had was from the US Embassy in Jakarta at about 2.00 p.m. on Wednesday December 15th. We subsequently received a call from the Australian Consul here in Bali about 2 hours later.

balidiscovery.com: What was the nature of the information you received?

Ian McKie: We were informed of possible terrorist activity in Indonesia targeting western interests. Likely targets were Western Hotels and Hilton hotels were mentioned as potential targets.

balidiscovery.com: Was Bali Hilton mentioned specifically?

Ian McKie: No. The information was not that specific. It simply referred to Hilton Hotels in Indonesia.

balidiscovery.com: How did you react to this information?

Ian McKie: We immediately raised the level of security awareness in our property. We contacted the local police and have received immediate and proportionate support from them in terms of manpower and logistics. In the aftermath of 9/11 and the Bali bombing, most hotels in Bali have put in place efficient security systems and procedures. Bali Hilton is no exception. Hotels in Bali are now audited and rated by the local police authorities. Our property has received the highest rating.

balidiscovery.com: How do you feel about the issuing of travel advisories in cases like this? Angry?

Ian McKie: No not angry, but slightly frustrated, perhaps. We recognize the responsibility of Governments to protect their citizens and advise them accordingly. The problem is that we don't know the exact nature of the intelligence so we do not know if the reaction to it is reasonable or exaggerated. Furthermore, Travel Advisories are issued nowadays with such frequency that "advisory fatigue" is very much in play as far as customers are concerned. Also as Alistair Downer pointed out, once the terrorists intentions are know they are more than capable of changing their plans, so while Hiltons have been specifically mentioned the threat is not limited to us alone.

balidiscovery.com: What is the mood like in the hotel?

Ian McKie: Pretty calm, to be honest. Guests are going about enjoying their holidays normally. Of course when we receive information like this we must take it seriously and react accordingly, but equally we have a responsibility to keep going and provide our guests with a proper holiday experience. One or two guests have approached us asking for more information and clarification but nobody is running for the airport.

Bali Discovery Interview with Bali Hilton General Manager

Macam Macam by the Swanker has More on the Terrorism Threat in Indonesia

Bangkok Metroblog

PM Thaksin Shinawatra

The relatively new Bangkok Metroblog got off the ground a few months ago as part of a larger "metroblog" network which also includes blogs from a dozen-plus cities around the world, including New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. They vary widely in quality depending on the group members -- the Los Angeles Metroblog is fairly good but the San Francisco Metroblog is apparently written by folks new to the city who seem wide-eyed about every old cliche in the book.

The Bangkok Metroblog hasn't been very impressive to date, with far too many posts about "what I ate for lunch" and "what the kids are wearing at Siam Square." Paul Lark looked hopeful, but his listing has disappeared, so not sure if he's still involved. But yesterday, a new voice arrived and posted the following wonderful musings about Thaksin, so you might want to bookmark Bangkok Metroblog and see it the members develop a worthy site.

Cowboy politics

Yesterday in front of the American Chamber of Commerce, the Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra professed his love for George W. Bush, saying that they were both "Texas-style politicians" since Thaksin went to some dinky college in Texas where some claim he got someone to write a PhD dissertation for him. "I am a cowboy too", said the PM, according to the Nation newspaper. The Thai & American businessmen in the audience gave him a standing ovation. Yay!

There are so many reasons for being appalled and disappointed with this scene that it's difficult to know where to start.

To begin with, the current government is run by a cabal of representatives of wealthy business families who are systematically re-writing the rules of the country to the benefit of their own families and businesses. Thaksin is the front man for this group, a long-time expert in using government to build his wealth; and someone who understands how to use modern media to spin, misdirect and outright lie for fun, profit, and power.

The guy made his first bundle of cash selling computers to the police department while he was still a policeman. Then, he gave big gifts to the military generals who controlled Thailand's telecommunications at the time and in return got a monopoly mobile phone license that gave him an even bigger pile of cash. In Thailand, this is what passes for "successful businessm".

Since he entered politics (when bribing generals wasn't enough anymore), he's promised to fix Bangkok's traffic problems in 6 months, clean the canals in 2 years, and end poverty in 6 years. The deadlines for the first two are long gone, and we still have terrible traffic and dirty canals. As for the third, well, his "lend 'em money to buy phones and motorcycles" programs for the poor have doubled household debt in Thailand while increasing profits for his own company; while government banks are again swimming in dud loans (but at least KTB has funny commercials). In the meantime, his "health care for all" program has pushed 1/3 of public hospitals into near-bankruptcy.

But he takes credit for the economy growing, even though this was basically due to consumer spending that has increased debts, and large commodity exports to China that his government has nothing to do with. And so he looks to be headed to another election victory this January.

Nobody cares that 2,500 people were killed without trial during his "war on drugs". Nobody cares about the 80 people killed being arrested in the South. Hell, when you're busy folding origami birds, little things like government murders are hardly worth paying attention to.

But there are great things he's done too - he thought of a "Thailand Elite" program, where if you pay $25,000, you get discounts for a lifetime and don't have to wait on big immigration lines at the airport! He figured that if they can sell a million of these things, they'll be sitting pretty. So far, they've sold about 300. Great businessman, yeah.

Oh, and recently, his government has mandated that discos don't play music above 91 decibels. Because, you know, loud music in discos is a major source of death in Thailand. This from the mastermind who decided that the best way to save fuel without hurting the economy is to close shopping centers early, because shopping has nothing to do with the economy.

But American businesspeople love the guy - and why not? His "monopoly mafia" strategy (or "no crooks except my guys") is making progress in streamlining corruption throughout the country. Now, instead of trying to figure out how many people you need to bribe and how much, in many cases there's only one bribe to the cabal or the party, and the amounts are becoming standard. That's transparency for you.

So - questionable academic achivement, history of using government connections to make money for himself, a string of failures and broken promises, and a likely re-election... no wonder he identifies with GW Bush.

The way this government works - a shiny coat that outsiders marvel at with a rotten core that very few see except for insiders who are busy looting the place before it all falls apart - it indeed "Texas style", at least in terms of looking like that venerable Texan institution, Enron.

Get ready for a disaster in Thailand starting around 2006 or so.

Cheers!

Scuba
Posted by scuba at December 17, 2004 02:28 PM

Bangkok Metroblogs Post by Scuba on Thaksin

Bangkok Metblog Home

2Bangkok -- The Year in Photography

2Bangkok -- Black May 1992



2Bangkok -- Chuwit Poster 2004



2Bangkok -- Megabridge Project



2Bangkok -- The Turning of the Cannons



2Bangkok -- Wanted Poster from Yala

2 Bangkok -- Top Stories and Photographs 2004

2Bangkok -- The Best of 2004

Ban Bang Yeekhan, Courtesy 2Bangkok

Ron Morris not only puts out the very best website/blog on Thailand, he also includes some of the most amazing photos you'll ever see of the kingdom. Today, he has published his best of 2004, and it's a gem:

2Bangkok -- The Best of 2004

Southeast Asia News 46

Photo by Carl Parkes

Let's see what dirt, political scandals, and generally silly behavior I can dig up over the last few days.....

Truth! You Can't Handle the Truth!
University lecturers have condemned the government ban on the distribution of the Tak Bai VCD, saying it violates people's rights to information. They were speaking at a seminar on the fate of the VCD, held at Thammasat University's political science faculty yesterday. Kasien Techapeera, a political science lecturer, said the video of the Tak Bai tragedy where 85 Muslim protesters were killed was a tool to help establish the facts about the Tak Bai protest, and encourage people to find solutions to prevent a recurrence.

''I think the VCD should actually be distributed widely so people can help politicians analyse the situation,'' Mr Kasien said. The VCD was not a tool for political parties to use during campaigning to discredit the government, and the government should not ban it simply because it stood to benefit from having it hushed up. Distribution of the Tak Bai rally VCD was banned after Democrat MP for Satun Thanin Jaisamut showed the VCD to constituents on the campaign trail.

The Sex Change Industry in Thailand, Again
The Land of Smiles has emerged in recent years as the capital in Asia, perhaps the world, of affordable sex reassignment surgery, with thousands of sex changes performed here since the 1980s. Most of the patients are Westerners, doctors say. Determined to dominate the billion-dollar cosmetic surgery industry that has swept Asia in the past decade, the Buddhist kingdom offers everything from facelifts and eyelid surgery to breast augmentation, tummy tucks and elaborate body shaping.

Thailand's niche in this market was forged by Higgins' doctor, Preecha Tiewtranon, considered the country's godfather of the surgery he helped pioneer 25 years ago. He claims 2,600 sex changes to his credit and says his clinic is now averaging one a day, and nine of every 10 patients in the last five years have been foreigners.

Westerners have travelled here for the operations mainly because rising insurance rates and the threat of malpractice suits have driven up medical costs in their own countries, where the waiting lists can be years long, he said. In recognition of the need for more international experts in the field, Preecha last week held what he described as the world's first-ever international workshop on sex reassignment surgery.

Political Power, Money, and Cell Phones in Thailand
Prime Minister's daughter ranked Thailand's richest stockholder. Newly graduated and 22 years old, Pinthongtha Shinawatra has emerged as Thailand's richest stockholder, with a portfolio worth 18 billion baht (US$458 million; €342 million), according to a survey by a Thai business magazine.

She also happens to be the daughter of the prime minister, whose family's Shin Corporation has seen its fortunes soar since Thaksin Shinawatra became the country's leader. Pinthongtha, who earned a university degree earlier this year, watched her wealth increase by 76 percent from 7.8 billion baht last year to 18 billion baht (US$458 million; €342 million) in 2004, making her the kingdom's richest stockholder this year, says the Thai-language Money and Banking magazine.

She is the most recent Shinawatra family member to hold the title. Thaksin's wife, Pojamarn, reaped the top spot in 1996, 1997 and 1999 while Thaksin's eldest son, Panthongthae, won out in 2000 and 2001, the magazine said. A media-tycoon-turned-politician, Thaksin transferred his wealth to family members and associates before assuming the premiership, since the constitution forbids government ministers to hold stakes in businesses. Pinthongtha is currently the largest shareholder of Shin Corporation PLC, the family's flagship company. Her 15 percent stake carries a net worth of 16.6 billion baht (US$422 million; €315 million), according to the magazine.

January Not Good for Your Vacation to Thailand
Islamic militants were planning large-scale attacks in Bangkok and southern Thai provinces in January to mark the first anniversary of a violent attack on a military base, a security source said on Friday. The attacks would be staged in the five southernmost provinces of Yala, Pattani, Narathiwat, Songkhla and Satun, as well as the capital Bangkok in order to promote the struggle for an independent Muslim state in the south of the predominantly Buddhist kingdom, he said.

"According to their plan the large-scale attacks, by means of remote control bombs in five provinces and Bangkok, would be prolonged and severe, as they have stockpiled lots of ammunition," the security source, assigned to work on southern violence, told AFP on condition of anonymity. "The reason why they have to stage attacks in Bangkok is to prevent the central government from sending additional troops to the South," he added. The attacks were expected after the New Year to mark the first anniversary of a bold January 4 raid by masked assailants on a military base in Narathiwat, he said.

Thai Prime Minister Claims Terrorists from Malaysia
Thai prime minister says Muslim insurgents being trained in Malaysia. Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said Friday that two core members of a separatist insurgency in southern Thailand have fled to neighboring Malaysia where he claimed the guerrillas had received training.

But four other suspected militant leaders, captured earlier this week, were brought to Bangkok on Friday from the south to face charges of treason. All denied the charges. Despite the arrests, and a hunt for 80 other key guerrilla leaders, Thaksin warned that the insurgency would persist for some time since hundreds of young men had received military training both locally at Muslim schools and in Malaysia's Kelantan State.

More than 550 people have died this year in Muslim-dominated areas of the south, many of them policemen and other officials targeted almost daily by the separatists. "The sporadic violence will continue for some time because the movement has been brain washed and its young members have been receiving military training since 1993," Thaksin told reporters.

Radio Censorship in Thailand
Thai radio show host says dismissal was act of censorship. A popular Thai radio host pulled off the air by a military-owned station says his dismissal was motivated by censorship, after he read the verdict of a court case considered embarrassing to Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Boonyod Sukthinthai, a well-known television and radio host, said his morning news program on the army-owned FM101 station was abruptly canceled last week. Boonyod said station managers were upset that he read the verdict of a defamation suit a group of eight judges brought against Prasong Soonsiri, a newspaper columnist.

In the Naew Na newspaper, Prasong criticized the judges for absolving Thaksin in August 2001 of charges that he failed to fully declare his assets. Prasong was cleared of the defamation charge, but was found guilty of contempt of court, and given a one-year suspended prison sentence and fined 7,000 baht (US$175; €140). After reading the verdict during a recent broadcast, Boonyod said the station management urged him to refrain from reading political news on air.

Thai Website to Help the Hilltribes
Welcome to The Mirror Art Group, a non-profit non-government organization (NGO) working in the Mae Yao sub-district of Chiang Rai province in northern Thailand. We employ a number of projects to help the peoples of our area make a better life for themselves while still retaining their cultural identities.

We believe that with a strong, active community the hilltribes can make the transition to a beneficial coexistence with lowland Thai society and combat such issues as drug abuse, erosion of culture and trafficking of women and children. We thank you for visiting our website and hope that you will learn something of our efforts here and join us in our support of this fragile ethnic mix.

Have You Ever Seen an Indonesian Belly Button?
Exposed belly buttons on TV against Indonesian culture: government. Indonesia's president says television shows that feature women exposing their navels make him uneasy, and he wants such programs off the air, a Cabinet minister said Friday.

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono wants to regulate television shows in the world's most populous Muslim nation through "non-repressive mechanisms," said Welfare Minister Alwi Shihab. "The president talked to me after Friday prayers and said he was uneasy watching television shows featuring women's belly buttons," Shihab told reporters. "He told me that there should be no more of these broadcasts. It is too removed from our nation's culture."

He did not elaborate, and it was unclear if his statement meant the government would support legislation proposed by Islamic lawmakers that would prohibit television programs and magazines featuring scantily dressed women. Muslim legislators are trying to introduce laws that curb the amount of flesh shown in the media and other measures to make the country more Islamic in character. The legislation is currently stuck in parliament.

Good News for Indonesian Beer Drinkers
Heineken to be produced in Indonesia. Beer lovers in predominantly Muslim Indonesia will find Heineken cheaper and more widely available as part of a deal to have the Dutch brew produced locally, its local partner said Thursday. Heineken, which is now only imported into Indonesia, will be produced by the company's local partner PT Multi Bintang Indonesia starting early next year. Bintang will pay Heineken a royalty of 7.2 percent of sales.

More Hobbit Stories from Indonesia
Chief Epiradus Dhoi Lewa has a strange tale to tell. Sitting in his bamboo and wooden home at the foot of an active volcano on the remote Indonesian island of Flores, he recalls how people from his village were able to capture a tiny woman with long, pendulous breasts three weeks ago.

"They said she was very little and very pretty," he says, holding his hand at waist height. "Some people saw her very close up." The villagers of Boawae believe the strange woman came down from a cave on the steaming mountain where short, hairy people they call Ebu Gogo lived long ago. "Maybe some Ebu Gogo are still there," the 70-year-old chief told the Herald through an interpreter in Boawae last week.

The locals' descriptions of Ebu Gogo as about a metre tall, with pot bellies and long arms match the features of a new species of human "hobbits" whose bones were recently unearthed by Australian and Indonesian researchers in a different part of Flores in a cave known as Liang Bua.

The unexpected discovery of this tiny Homo floresiensis, who existed until at least 12,000 years ago at Liang Bua, before being apparently wiped out by a volcanic eruption, was hailed as one of the most important archaeological finds in decades when it was announced in October. The chief adds that the mysterious little woman in Boawae somehow "escaped" her captors, and the local police said they knew nothing of her existence when he quizzed them.

Thai Crime Photos, Inc.

Criminal "Suspects"



Spot the Criminal?



Yeah, He Looks the Type



Criminal Arson in Pattaya? Or Just Burning Food Carts?

Asia Blog Awards 2004, Part Two

Sponge Bob Votes! Early! Often!

Simon over at Simon World continues his contest for best blogs in Asia, with some important additions and amendments. He has wisely closed new nominations, which freezes the list and clears the air. Yesterday's votes were deleted, but his software has it's limits and probably doesn't influence the results to any large degree.

Best, he added a few blogs to several categories, some of which I personally nominated and feel they deserve their place in the polling. Jodi, from Asia Pages, was sensibly added to the Korean Blog category, although it seems obvious and righteous that Marmot will take the prize.

The Hong Kong category is still problematical, since Gweilo Diaries is still down and nobody seems to know what has happened -- but his blog is leading at press time! Someone should check the bars in Wanchai and see if Conrad is still among the breathing. And Phil at Flying Chair is still missing from the nominations, but he probably voluntarily withdrew since he ran the contest last year. Still, I see no real conflicts of interest and he would have given the missing Conrad a good run for the money.

I wish Simon had created a Best Asia Overall Blog (or whatever) to incorporate all the various national blogs and general Asia blogs, but too late for that. He could have also added a Best Deceased Asia Blog to honor the half-dozen fine blogs that closed up shop last year and moved on to other things, if only to remember their valiant efforts. Thailand was hurt particularly bad in this department.

Laowai Monologues, or now called More Laowai Monologues here should have listed in Mainland China Blogs (I nominated this site), but perhaps the recent, necessary change in URLs messed up the system. Dan Washburn will win this category, though Laowai is an excellent blog by an English schoolteacher in China.

Mr. Brown is running away with Singapore, but Chris Myrick is hanging in there. Another leading nomination, Iz Reloaded, was unfamiliar to me, but I checked out the blog and it's very good, though more generalized rather than Singapore specific. I feel that Singapore nominations should mostly be about that city-state rather than worldwide generic.

Thailand continues to embarrass with it's paucity of nominations, which are now closed, so just save yourself some time and vote for 2Bangkok. It's a blog/website combo, but really an amazing effort by Ron Morris. Somebody should use this model and do similar efforts for Singapore, Hong Kong, and elsewhere in Asia.

Philippines is looking good and Sassy is the odds-on favorite, but I sure hope Torn and Frayed posts some new stuff, so everyone can see what he is capable of producing. Now is not a good time to go on hiatus -- this also applies to Rajan in Malaysia.

SimonWorld looks like a lock in the Best Designed Blog category, though I have some problems with this section, since I really don't want too much "design" in blogs but rather favor good content. When it comes to blogs, simplicity is best.

Best Non-Asian (Foreign) Blog will probably go to Peking Duck, but I'm getting a fair number of votes (thanks!). Beautiful Attrocities [sic] has almost nothing to do with Asia and should have not been included, though the blogger can write like the dickens.

Stickman in Bangkok was included in Best Essayist! I nominated Stickman, and he really isn't much of an essayist, but he can turn it on when he's in the mood, and the variety is good for the overall contest. So go ahead, and be a Hunter Thompson type, and vote for the Gonzo.

Best Journal/Diary should be renamed Best Narcissistic Blog to better reflect what this category really entails. Or is that entrails?

Go Java Jive for Best Photoblog!

Asia Blog Awards 2004

Asia Blog Awards 2004

Simon over at Simon World has been soliciting nominations for the best blogs from Asia, and the voting started today. All the usual suspects, plus some new blogs to check out, and a few curious additions and omissions. Putting all the hotlinks in this post would drive me mad, and you can't vote here in any event, so just go to the Simon World link and cast your vote, and check out the blogs via Simon's active links.

Here's the basic lineup (with my comments), but go to Simon's website to cast your vote.

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

Asia Blog Awards 2004

You can vote once in only a single category each day. Please choose carefully. Please look at all the nominees in each category before voting. Results are monitored for cheating.

Best Hong Kong Blog
Gweilo Diaries
Glutter
Discombobulated Mia
Hemlock
Eshin
Shaky Kaiser
Yoga Yuga
Ordinary Gweilo
Sweet Chariots Best

I don't know why Phil at Flying Chair isn't listed, and Gweilo Diaries seems to have crashed, so this is a very curious category. Anyway, Simon should have allowed himself to be nominated, and certain deserves to win. Modesty, thy name is Simon.

Best Mainland China Blog
Supernaut
Shenzhen People
Metanoiac
Dan Washburn's Shanghai Diaries
Angry Chinese Blogger
Wanbro
Premium Blend
Yellow Frog
Fabian's Hammer
Sinosplice

Easy Vote! Dan Washburn is the obvious choice, if only for his recent blog about using gadgets during his two-month wander around China. Laowai Monologues should have also been nominated in this category (I think I nominated him), especially after his superb post about the Perils of Teaching English in China.

Best Korea Blog
Lost Seouls
Seouliva
Got Life...
Big Hominid
Rory Runs Amok
Korea Life Blog
Oranckay
Duophony
Marmot
About Joel

Marmot's is the very best blog coming from not only Korea, but among the most comprehensive and entertaining in all of Asia. If there was a category for Best Asian Blog (overall), then it would come down to Marmot and Simon. And where is Jodi at Asia Pages? I nominated the lady and her excellent site, but perhaps she voluntarily opted out. I guess you can do that, but not sure why.

Best Taiwan Blog
The Taipei Kid
35togo
Poagao's Journal
Robot Action Boy
A Better Tomorrow
Scott Summers

Best Singapore Blog
Mr Brown
Sarong Party Frens
Mr Miyagi's
Balderdash!
Myrick
Daryl Sng
Life at Ngee Ann
Popagandhi
Iz Reloaded
Idle Days

This one seems to be a tight race between Chris Myrick and the prolific Mr. Brown, who will probably win this category if he promotes the contest on his blog.

Best Malaysia Blog
Macvaysia
Jogalong
Rajan
Jeff Ooi
Pok Ku
The Hustler Diaries
Nik Nazmi
Suanie
TV Smith
...not a weBlog

Another good race with excellent blogging from Rajan, but a wider readership at Jeff Ooi. I'm voting for Rajan, but Jeff will probably take this category.

Best Thai Blog
Brain Farts
2Bangkok
Agam's Gecko

2Bangkok by a Mile! But this sad, sad category really points out the terrible condition of blogging in Thailand. I mean, there are thousands and thousands of both farang and local potential bloggers in Thailand, and this category only got three nominations........total? Something is really wrong here! Note: the category is still open for more nominations, so send in whatever you've got!

Best Indonesia Blog
Jakartass
Bali Blog
The Fool has Landed
Indo Ian
Batik Baby
Expiration Date
Deliciously Disgusting
Macam-Macam

Jakartass should win this division, in large part 'cause the "Dude Who Shall Remain Nameless" has a great sense of humor and manages to squeeze out a post almost every day. Consistency should have its rewards. Macam Macam is also great, but not as active. I nominated Bali Blog for the curiosity factor, and find it a fun visit, so it's a strong third.

Best Japan Blog
Sushi Cam
Adamu's Jappanica
Nichi Nichi
Confessions of a Grade School Role Model
Japan Window
Based on a true story
Masamania
Tokyo Times
The Tanuki Ramble
The White Peril

Guess Simon didn't approve of my nomination of Manichi Stories in this category...gotta keep this place safe for family consumption.

Best Philippine Blog
Manuel L. Quezon III
Sassy Lawyer in Philippine Suburbia
The Geejay Journal
Pinoy Blog
Cranial Cavity
Torn and Frayed in Manila
The Pigpen
iJames
Brodcst Msktir

Sassy Lawyer will nail this category by an Antipolo Mile, hopefully followed by the generally excellent Torn and Frayed. I also nominated Pinoy Blog, just for fun, but it probably shouldn't be here...... That's OK, the more the merrier.

Best India Blog
Dot Net from India
Sepia Mutiny
HERstory
Amardeep Singh
The Acorn
Nerve Endings Firing Away
Dancing with Dogs
Notes from France is now from India
Robi Sen
Niraj

Best Bangladesh/Sri Lankan Blog
Extra Extra
Third World View
Insert Clever Title Here
The Color of Rain
Mood Logic
Notes From Dystopia
Busy Minds in a Lazy Shell

Best Pakistan Blog
Roommate Madness
Venial Sin
Dareecha
Chapati Mysetery
Kvetch Log
Rambling Monologues
Ulta Seedha

Best Vietnam Blog
Toi La Nguoi
No Star Where
Noodle Pie
Our Man in Hanoi
Royby Best

Some blogs for me to check out in my spare time!

Central Asian Blog
The Argus
Sgt. Hook
Ryan Giordano
Cresat Sententia - Amanda in Kazakhstan

Best Asian Newcomer 2004
Parallel Universes
Spirit Fingers
What Not to do in Asia
Glory glory Tottenham Hotsblog
My Burmese Life
Expat at Large
Imtiaz's weBlog
Full Throttle
Why is the platypus

More sites to check out! I know absolutely nothing about these blogs, but this is another great thing about this contest -- recommended links to click on those rainy days.

Best Designed Blog
Life is great
Unfoldeed Orrigami
Cranial Cavity
Full Throttle
Simon World
Felisha
Angel
Shanghai Diaries

Funniest Blog
Chase me ladies, I'm in the Cavalry
What Not to do in Asia
Lost Seouls
Big Hominid
Mr Brown
Spirit Fingers
Sinobling
Shaky Kaiser
Masamania

Best Non-Asian (Foreign) Blog
Beautiful Attrocities
Jalan Jalan
Aneki
Kurdo's World
Hunjangui Karuchim
Everyday Stranger
Peking Duck
Friskodude

I expect Peking Duck to win this division, but if you're in the mood and want to make my day..........

Best Essayist
Andres Gentry
Shanghai Diaries
HERstory

I guess my nomination for Stickman in Bangkok really didn't fly. But I like the guy anyway.

Best Political Blog
Jalan-Jalan
Inside the Mind of Madness
China Digital News
Asian Labour News

Best Journal/Diary
Sarong Party Girl
Xiaxue
Toi La Nguoi

Another really sad category, almost as sad as Best Thailand Blog. There have got to be some bloggers in Asia putting out thoughtful, incisive commentary and not just young girls wailing on about their wonderful social life. Really, they must be there, somewhere. I expect Xiaxue to win and then Photoshop her head even bigger.

Best Photoblog
This Way Please
Preetam
Japan Window
Ziboy
Goh Figure
Medya Daily
IZ Reloaded Photoblog
The Java Jive
Bad Architecture

The Java Jive by Brandon in Jakarta is a Winner! Go Brandon!

Burj Dubai -- Tallest Building in the World

Construction of world's tallest tower to begin
10 December 04
NewScientist.com news service

The construction of what will be the world's tallest building is set to begin in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The building contract was awarded to a consortium led by the South Korean Samsung Corporation on Thursday. The Burj Dubai tower will stand 800 metres tall - just 5 metres shy of half a mile - once completed in 2008. That will be nearly 300 metres taller than the tallest floored building in the world today, the Taipei Tower in Taiwan.

The new tower’s unique, three-sided design will ascend in a series of stages, around a supportive central core and boast a total of 160 floors, accessible via a series of double-decker elevators. Its shape will be integral to its impressive size. The design is intended to reduce the impact of wind and to reduce the need for a stronger core - allowing for more space - as it ascends. "It's almost like a series of buildings stuck together," says Mohsen Zikri, a director at UK engineering consultants Arup. "As you go up you need less and less lifts and less core."

A key challenge will be the logistics involved in construction, Zikri told New Scientist. "You need things to be delivered with military precision or you will have chaos on the ground." A spokeswoman for Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the Chicago-based architects firm behind the design in the US, says the shape should prevent wind vortices building up around the tower and causing it to move in the wind. "Wind is the primary thing at this height," she told New Scientist. "The engineers have focused on shaping the building to minimise this effect."

As wind whirls around a tall building it can build into powerful vortices that in turn generate powerful winds on the ground. But the wide base of the Burj Dubai should also prevent wind from causing these disturbances. Besides beating the Taipei Tower, which stands at 508 metres tall, Burj Dubai will also be considerably taller than the CN tower in Toronto, Canada which at 553 metres is the tallest structure in the world without a multiple floor structure.

Foundation work was recently completed by Turner Construction International, based in New York, US. Above ground construction will now begin under the control of the Samsung Corporation. The contract was awarded by Emaar Properties in Dubai, after an 11-month bidding process. The tower will be used for offices, residential apartments, hotels and shops and will be surrounded at its base by a man-made lake.

New Scientist Article on Burj Dubai


Burj Dubai



Burj Dubai



Burj Dubai



Burj Dubai



Burj Dubai

Millau Viaduct -- Tallest Bridge in the World

The world's highest road bridge has been inaugurated in southern France by President Jacques Chirac. The Millau bridge over the River Tarn in the Massif Central mountains is more than 300m (984ft) high - taller even than the country's Eiffel Tower. The bridge, which opens to traffic on Thursday, was built to clear summer traffic jams around the town.

BBC Article on Millau Viaduct

Yahoo News


Millau Viaduct under Construction



Millau Viaduct



Millau Viaduct



Millau Viaduct



Millau Viaduct



Millau Viaduct



Millau Viaduct



Millau Viaduct



Millau Viaduct

Random Noise

Millau Viaduct Open for Business

Time to open the vault and see what superb links I've dumped in my Favorites:

Annual Credit Report
Free site where you can download your credit report from the three major credit reporting agencies in the United States, currently open only to residents of the Western states. I passed!

Sources for Good Royalty Free Photography
Metafilter discussion with links to useful sites, often used by small town newspapers with limited or no budgets.

Cluster Ballooning
Remember that story about the guy who attached a dozen helium-filled balloons to his lawn chair and took a ride into the atmosphere, and lived to tell about his experience? Well, some crazed American is promoting the activity as a bonafied sport, so go here for some unbelievable photographs on the nutcase in flight.

Boris Vallejo Images
Boris Vallejo is a very famous Russian illustrator known for his surrealist nudes and heroic warriors, and this site seems to have collected almost every known example of his work. You might use Quadsucker to download all the great work, without having the click and save on every single image.

Christian Science Monitor Story about Flickr Photo Sharing Site
Are you a photographer and would like to share and communicate with the world about your masterpieces? Flickr is the world's best way to do this, so join up and look for my stuff under FriskoDude.

Gigapixel Project
Just when you thought your new 16Mg digital camera was the hottest thing going, somebody comes up with gigapixel photos just to shame you. Zooming in on the sample pictures loses absolutely no detail, and the pornographic potential is limitless.

San Francisco in Ruins
Photos of San Francisco shortly after the great earthquake and fire in 1906. Wanna see my house? Find the intersection of California and Van Ness, then go two blocks west toward the ocean. I'm waving....

All About The Dude
An academic analysis of the enduring term "dude." FriskoDude and PireDude are, like, wow.

Saturday Cat

Cat Performing, Russian Circus in Calcutta

Saturday Cat, posted on a Saturday, suckers, so don't send me any hate mail this week, OK?

Maps and Photography

World Map

Here's some more links to great websites about maps and photography, two of my ongoing obsessions:

Earthview
EarthView is a dynamic desktop wallpaper and screen saver, which displays beautiful views of the earth with daylight and night shadows. It produces high quality images for every screen resolution - even beyond 1600x1200! The program supports map and globe views, urban areas, city lights, clouds and much more. Many options allow total customization of all view parameters.

Dymaxion Map of the World
Just a jpeg, but a cool way to look at the world, whether or not it is more "accurate" than other cartographic interpretations.

American States Geography Quiz
I listed this wonderful quiz below, but here it is again for those readers too damn lazy to scroll down............

Sacred Sites World Photography
Martin Gray is an anthropologist and photographer specializing in the study of sacred sites and pilgrimage traditions around the world. Traveling as a pilgrim, Martin spent twenty years, visiting and photographing over 1000 sacred sites in eighty countries. This web site discusses Martin's pilgrimage journeys, features many of his photographs and writings, lists calendar details of upcoming slide shows, gives information regarding book and photograph orders, and has links to related sites.

Sun Clock
Wonder where the sun is shining anywhere in the world? This place shows you the way.

The Map Room Blog
Maps! Maps! Maps! A great blog for everyone from professional cartographers to futzes who just love the art form. Very cool, I put this one in my Favorites under Fun2.

World Sunlight Map
Ever wondered where in the world is shining right now? This website is even better than the one I mentioned above. Hey! It's sunny here in San Francisco right now, but pretty dark in Calcutta.

Thai Crime Photos, Inc.

He's taking a phone call, now?

Plan Nine from Outer Space

Smilin' at the Headless Corpse

Does Pixillation Really Hide His Identity?

Rand Computer in 2004?

Rand Computer in 2004?

Another Classic Hoax!

1954 Home Computer Claims Victim

There should be an award like the Darwin Awards, except instead of being given to people who die in stupid ways it would be given to people who display extreme gullibility. If there was such an award, Scott McNealy, CEO of Sun Microsystems, would be this week's candidate for it. During the keynote address at the Oracle OpenWorld Show he displayed a picture, supposedly from 1954, of what the RAND Corporation imagined that a home computer would look like in 2004.

His point was that people fifty years ago could hardly imagine what the computers of today would look like, and we can't imagine what computers will look like fifty years from now. But the picture he showed wasn't fifty years old. It's a hoax photo that's been going around the internet for the past three months. It began its life as an entry in a Fark Photoshop contest (theme: "Photoshop this mock-up of a submarine's maneuvering Room"... this photo easily won the contest). Apparently, McNealy hadn't yet learned where the photo really came from. Now, I'm sure, he knows.

Museum of Hoaxes

American States Geography Quiz

American Geography Quiz Time!

This game is great fun! You must place each state in the EXACT position on the blank map of the United States. Those states located adjacent to a body of water are fairly easy, since you can see the outline for placement, but Wyoming and Colorado will probably throw you, as well as Iowa. Good luck!

American States Geography Quiz

Farang Affairs from Phil in Bangkok

Tajlandia by Phil

Phil is a writer in Bangkok, author of a Thailand guide from National Geographic, and contributor to The Nation, where his award-winning column Farang Affairs appears on a weekly basis. Unfortunately, it isn't easy to locate his blurb, since the higher beings at the newspaper only post a link on their homepage about once a week...then quickly disappears into netherland.

But Phil -- crafty character that he is -- has now created a direct link where you can keep up with his musings about his beloved Big Mango, and be amazed at his talent with PDF:

Phil Raises Hell at Farang Affairs

Singapore Drug Suspects

Ang Lai Choon - Come on Down!



Koh Teong Guan - Someone Loves You



Sulaiman Sheraju Deen - Please Report



Tay Lee Heng - CNB is Your Friend!

So it's a slow afternoon here in San Francisco and my ISP is going down on almost an hourly basis. Perhaps it's the rain, or the rats which probably infest the server barn south of market. In any event, the Asian Blog Awards contest over at Simon World are being overrun with teenyboppers from Singapore who are threatening to turn the contest into a joke, and the paucity of nominations in the Thailand Blog category is a sad statement.

So I bailed from the serious stuff and headed over to Boing Boing where I discovered a link to the Central Narcotics Bureau in Singapore, with the above photos of some cheerful looking guys that the CNB would like to talk to. Just talk, nothing serious. So if you are one of those guys, and are tired of hanging out in Orchard Towers, stumble down to CNB headquarters and ask them why they post such fuzzy, lousy pictures on their website.

Boing Boing Link to CNB Movies

Singapore Drug Suspects Wanted for Questioning

Just wander down here and say Hello!

Duty Officer
Central Narcotics Bureau
393 New Bridge Road
Singapore 088763
Tel : 6325 6666 (24 hours)

If you're too shy to visit their headquarters, you might want to sign their guestbook.....

Guestbook for Suspected Drug Dealers in Singapore

And this is their mission statement:

Vision

To be a leading and dynamic law enforcement agency in the fight against drugs and to make Singapore drug-free.

Mission

To conduct vigorous enforcement against drug offenders. To actively co-operate with local and foreign agencies on drug related matters. To promote a drug-free lifestyle through preventive education and active engagement of the community.

Core Values

The fight against the scourge of drugs is a calling we answer with professionalism, integrity, dedication and courage. In our efforts we strive to care and develop our officers and contribute to society.

So head on down and turn yourself in!

Mr. Brown in Singapore has some more comments on the ridiculous size of the video clips at the site

Chris Allibritton Returns to Iraq

Chris Allibritton Returns to Iraq

Chris is one of my favorite independent journalists working in Iraq and his reports tell of the true trials and tribulations of both the freelance journalist and ordinary citizens of a country under siege. He has recently been in retreat in Jordan, but just returned to Iraq and now presents his latest impressions of the war zone, and his almost impossible attempts to report on the zone of war. War reporting just doesn't get much better than this.

Chris on Iraq

Travel, Technology and Teaching in China

Happy Bloggers in China

Two outstanding blogs have surfaced today from my two favorite gweilos in China. Dan Washburn has been recommended here before, for his well crafted travel stories as he wanders around the lesser known corners of China. He has returned to his home base in Shanghai, and sends in an almost unbelievable accounting of the technological marvels he dragged all over the country. This post is nothing short of astounding, and I wouldn't be surprised to see it soon turn up on Gizmodo, Gadling, 2Bangkok, Slashdot, Boing Boing, and Engadget:

Dan Washburn and Shanghai Diaries on The Trip: Gadgets

Remarkable insight into the perils of teaching English in China is provided today by a very literate blogger in Huabei, who seems either on the verge of a nervous breakdown or some form of sartorial enlightenment. Anyone even remotely considering teaching English in China should not only read this essay but go back and read all of the previous posts:

Laowai Monologues

UPDATE: Dan Washburn Gets Mentioned at Boing Boing!

SECOND UPDATE: Dan Washburn Gets Mentioned at Gizmodo!

THIRD UPDATE: Dan Washburn Gets Mentioned at Gadling!

Saturday Cat

Do Cats Have Blogs?

2004 Weblog Awards

Typical Thai Blogger

More Blog Awards! Must be the time of year, so vote at the link below for your favorite blog from Asia. You can also view the leaders at the link.

Best Asian Blog
2004 Weblog Awards
Best Asian Blog

Nominated:
Angry Chinese Blogger
The Asia Pages
The Marmot's Hole
Rajan Rishyakaran
A Sassy lawyer in the Philippines
The Argus
The 3rd world view
Simon World
Venial Sin
Danwei
Flying Chair
The Gweilo Diaries
Why are you worshipping the ground I blog
Procrastination


View results

Rules:

Polls close December 12, 2004.
You may vote once every 24 hours in each poll.

2004 Weblog Awards

Thai Crime Photos, Inc.

Criminals Unleashed



Spotlight on Criminal



Love Those Police Vests



Thai Rath Exclusive!

Asia Blog Awards 2004

Don Imus and Friend

Asia Blog Awards 2004
Simon World

http://simonworld.mu.nu

Following Phil's successful efforts last year with the 2003 Asian Blog Awards, he has graciously passed the honour of hosting this year's event to me. [Note: That's Simon, not me] So I present to you the Asia Blog Awards for 2004. It's a great way to draw attention to the Asian blogging scene. Hopefully it will generate more traffic for Asian blogs and expose us all to many new blogs from around the region.

This year's event will be similar to last year with a few key differences. The rules for the event are below. Any suggestions, offers of help or comments are welcome:

The categories are:

Best HK Blog
Vote: Flying Chair by Phil

Best Mainland China Blog
Vote: Shanghai Diaries by Dan Washburn

Best Korea Blog
Vote: Asia Pages by Jodi

Best Taiwan Blog

Best Singapore Blog
Vote: Chris Myrick

Best Malaysia Blog
Vote: Rajan Rishyakaran

Best Thailand Blog
Vote: 2Bangkok by Ron

Best Indonesia Blog
Vote: Macam Macam by Swanker

Best Japan Blog
Vote: Mainichi Stories by Wai Wai

Best Philippines Blog
Vote: A Sassy Lawyer in the Philippines

Best India Blog
Best Bangladesh Blog
Best Pakistan Blog
Best Vietnam Blog
Best Newcomer 2004
Best Designed Blog
Funniest Blog
Best Non-Asian (Foreign) Blog
Best Political Blog

Best Essayist
Vote: Stickman in Bangkok

Best Journal/Diary

Best Photoblog
Vote: Java Jive by Brandon

Be sure to vote early and often.

Southeast Asia News 45

Photo by Carl Parkes

Asean summit mumbo jumbo
Bangkok Post
Kanjana Spindler
Dec 1, 2004

It's a great opportunity for a dirt-poor country like Laos to spend a chunk of money on a spring cleaning job. Resurface the roads, paint and repair buildings, and hang out the flags. And don't forget to seal your borders so no undesirable critics can sneak in to protest against all the undesirable activities, the rights abuses, the democratic farces that characterise all 10 member countries of this weird and not so wonderful regional pantomime called the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Cobbled together as an anti-communist pact in 1967, the only thing that holds this wildly disparate grouping together today is a tacit agreement, often elevated to a principle, not to interfere in, or comment upon, each other's sovereign affairs.

This warped ``principle'' allows Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to attempt to avoid criticism of the Thai military's manslaughter of 85 Thais at Tak Bai by Malaysia and Indonesia. It also allows a harshly repressive military dictatorship in Burma to continue to hold Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest and to deny the people of Burma their democratic rights. Indeed, each member of Asean hides dirty linen under the non-interference blanket.

In the harsh light of the real world, Asean includes one inherited autocracy, one absolute monarchy, one military dictatorship, two communist dictatorships, one borderline-failing state and only four countries with any semblance of democratic development and all the freedoms that implies. If you cannot figure out which is which you probably cannot name the 10 member countries.

The Hypocracy of ASEAN

Worried about bird flu?
Then check this frightening Google Search.

Temple’s one incense stick-per devotee rule
New Straits Times
Nov 27, 2004

A Buddhist temple here has imposed a ‘one devotee one incense stick’ rule to reduce air pollution in the temple grounds. The 60-year-old Teng Giap Tze temple in Jalan Sulaiman, which started enforcing the rule last month, is very smoky from the burning of incense sticks. "This is bad for our devotees, not to mention the monks and other workers in the temple. It is time we educate our people about the dangers of air pollution," said a temple spokesman.

He said temple staff now politely advise devotees not to light up more than one incense stick each. "We tell them it is not the number of incense sticks they burn that counts, but the purity of their hearts. And many of them are beginning to heed our advice." But the spokesman said that the temple would not turn away any devotee if he or she insisted on burning a stack of incense sticks.

"People usually burn no less than three sticks each time they come here to pray. "We hope to change their mindset. We are confident they will adhere to the one worshipper-one incense stick rule in due course." The temple, which is the biggest in Muar, attracts hundreds of visitors from throughout the country and Singapore.

Good for the lungs, but bad for photographers who love those smokey interiors

Singapore seeks to lure rich foreigners
Mail and Guardian
Dec 1, 2004

Rich foreigners can gain immediate permanent residency in Singapore if they park five million Singapore dollars ($3-million) in local financial institutions, under a new scheme unveiled by the city-state's central bank. 0A Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) spokesperson said on Wednesday these foreigners must also have personal assets worth at least $20-million to qualify but they will still go through routine immigration checks.

Spouses and children aged under 21 will also be able to become permanent residents, the spokesperson said. In announcing the "Best Home" scheme in a speech on Tuesday, MAS chairperson Goh Chok Tong said it was aimed at attracting wealthy foreigners to the southeast Asian nation as part of plans to expand its financial services activities. "We hope this will boost total assets under management and attract high net worth individuals and their families to take up residency here," Goh, a former Singapore prime minister, said.

Singapore Welcomes Rich Foreigners; Hippies Unwelcome


Singapore to seek casino proposals despite strong opposition
Yahoo News Asia
Nov 28, 2004

SINGAPORE (AFP) - Singapore is moving closer to a final decision on a proposed casino complex aimed at boosting tourism in the city-state despite an outcry from civic and religious groups opposed to the project. The government is preparing to ask potential investors to submit concept papers, which will be used to fine-tune the terms of a formal bidding process known as a request for proposals, officials told AFP.

Meanwhile, industry sources said Las Vegas casino giants and other potential investors are expected to team up with Singapore developers, including government-linked companies, to bid for one of the largest properties to be built here in years. The project has been estimated to cost anywhere between 300 million to 2.0 billion US dollars, and Singapore has made it clear any such venture would have to be an "iconic" addition to the cityscape, not "a little pokey gambling den" tucked away somewhere. Two key sites are being eyed by investors: the resort island of Sentosa and Marina South, a reclaimed area bordering the financial district.

Casinos in Singapore? The Government Will Decide


Urine may lead to collapse of major bridge in Indonesia's Sumatra
Yahoo News Asia
Nov 27, 2004

JAKARTA (AFP) - A landmark bridge in Indonesia's Sumatra island may collapse because too many people are fond of urinating on one of its steel pillars, a report said. Public works officials have found that the Ampera bridge, the landmark of Palembang city, the capital of South Sumatra province, has begun to lean on an angle and rocks slightly when traffic is heavy, the Jakarta Post said.

An official at the public works department in Palembang, Azmi Lakoni, was quoted as saying the bridge had deteriorated because people often took a leak on one of its piers, corroding the structure. "We are concerned that one of its main support piers has been weakened by urine, as it is a popular spot for locals to relieve themselves," Lakoni said.

The Power of Piss


Balinese Dancers, Orson Welles and the Return of Spider-Man
New York Times
November 30, 2004

Legong: Dance of the Virgins'

An amazing cultural artifact reclaimed by Milestone Film and Video, "Legong: Dance of the Virgins" was filmed in 1933 by the Marquis Henry de la Falaise de la Coudray, a Hollywood dilettante then on his second celebrity wife, the actress Constance Bennett, who followed Gloria Swanson in the marquis's affections. Using his wife's money - "Legong" is a "Bennett Production" - Falaise took a two-strip Technicolor camera and a small crew to the South Sea island of Bali, where he shot this delirious blend of sentimental fiction and ethnological fact.

Falaise was following in the footsteps of the documentarian Robert Flaherty, who invented this peculiar blend of fact and fiction with his 1922 "Nanook of the North," and F. W. Murnau, whose 1931 "Tabu" spun a masterpiece of personal filmmaking from Flaherty's format. But Falaise brought his own sensibility to the project, a frank sensuality that embraced both the lush scenery of the exotic setting and the glowing bodies of his half-nude subjects.

The simple story - of a temple dancer, Poutou, whose passion for the handsome gamelan player Nyong is frustrated when Nyong falls in love with Poutou's half-sister - plays on the Western audience's fantasies of the South Seas as a kind of innocent Eden, free of sexual inhibitions and guilt. But the premise also offers plenty of opportunity to record the elaborate rituals (like the Legong - the annual dance of the temple maidens) during a pre-tourism period when they still had their integrity and purpose. The red and green tints of two-strip Technicolor prove to be surprisingly well adapted to the island setting, and the restoration, carried out by the U.C.L.A. Film and Television Archive, is superb.

The Milestone disc includes both the original score and a new soundtrack composed by Richard Marriott and I Made Subandi and performed by the Gamelan group Sekar Jaya and the Club Foot Orchestra. The latter could stand alone as a ravishing orchestral suite of Balinese themes. Milestone has also included a newly discovered black and white print of Falaise's long-lost 1937 Technicolor feature, "Kilou, the Killer," shot in what is now Vietnam, as well as the more academically sober 1952 documentary "Gods of Bali," produced by Robert Snyder. Extensive notes round out what is surely one of the best produced and most revelatory DVD's of 2004. $29.99. Not rated.

Balinese Video Reviewed at New York Times


Legong: Dance of the Virgins
Director: Henry de la Falaise
Bali. 1935.
65 minutes. Two-Color Technicolor.

Cast: Starring Goesti Poetoe Aloes, Njoman Nyong, Goesti Bagus Mara and Njoman Saplak.

Legong: Dance of the Virgins, filmed entirely on location in Bali in 1935, is a tragic tale of love denied. Poutou, a young girl who is a respected Legong dancer in her community falls in love with the young musician Nyoung. Her father is delighted with Poutou's choice and wants to help her to conquer Nyoung's heart. But Poutou's half sister Saplak wants Nyoungis also and when he chooses Saplak, Poutou drowns herself. Legong's real theme though is much more than melodrama: It is the delineation of Balinese culture. Henry de la Falaise captured religious rituals including frenetic dances and mystical parades, everyday dealings at the local marketplace, a cockfight (which was cut out of the British version) and, in the final scene, a mass cremation.

Small details chronicling the life of the villagers make Legong an absorbing and mesmerizing quasi-documentary. Shot in beautiful two-color Technicolor, the film features topless Balinese men and women (in the 30s more than half of the movie was cut because of semi-nudity) in luscious surroundings.

Bonus Features
Restored picture and soundtrack by the UCLA Film & Television Archives. A second optional track featuring a new score composed by Richard Marriott and I Made Subandi and performed by Gamelan Sekar Jaya and the Club Foot Orchestra. Henry de la Falaise’s previously "lost" film, Kliou the Killer, shot in Indonesia. (1937. B&W version. 52 minutes.) Complete feature film: Gods of Bali (1952. 56 minutes). Camerawork by Nikola Drakulic. Prepared under the supervision of Robert Snyder. Courtesy of Allegra Fuller Snyder.

Milestone Films


Brunei's limited scope for change
By Humphrey Hawksley
BBC, Brunei
Nov 29, 2004

Having married off its Crown Prince in September, one of the world's richest and most controlled countries has announced it will take a first step towards ending its autocratic style of government. For the first time since independence from Britain in 1984, the tiny Sultanate of Brunei on the north coast of Borneo, has appointed a legislative council.

The Sultan appears keen to introduce limited reforms. Its neighbours in South East Asia have developed faster than any other region in the world. Yet Brunei, an enclave on the north Borneo coast, has remained a near-forgotten backwater - in fact, a pretty strange place all round. In the 1990s, when the region began modernising, oil-rich Brunei didn't blink.

It simply declared itself a Muslim monarchy, banned alcohol, and kept governing under an official state of emergency - first brought in more than 40 years ago after an anti-monarchist uprising. The threat is still seen as so acute, that no map of the country is ever published. "No," said a book shop assistant without any irony. "We have no map because we are waiting for them to build the new roads."

Brunei's 350,000 people are ruled by decree of their absolute monarch Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, who has been on the throne since 1967. Neither he, nor any of his officials, give interviews about how Bruneians are ruled. There are no elections, no free press, no open debate. After more than two months of asking through the Bruneian High Commission in London, the only person we were officially allowed to talk to was a British former oil executive, eager to defend Brunei's style of government.

Brunei Ain't No Democracy, and Nobody Gives a Shit


Never Heard of Nauru? Join 'Geography Olympics'
Reuters
Nov 29, 2004

NEW YORK (Reuters) - America may dominate the world in sports and culture but in one arena where size doesn't matter, the "Geography Olympics," the United States was 88th behind minnows such as Madagascar and the Marshall Islands. More than 46,000 Americans have taken part in this online geography competition started by a man with a mission: Roger Andresen, who quit his job as a fiber optic engineer two years ago when he realized most Americans have never heard of Nauru and don't know Cameroon is in Africa.

Working from his home in Georgia -- the U.S. state, not the country -- he created a jigsaw puzzle with pieces shaped like the countries of the world and launched what he calls the "world's biggest ongoing geography puzzle" on the Web. Players have 200 seconds to locate 10 randomly selected countries on a map of the world with the names blanked out.

The site www.geographyolympics.com has attracted more than 300,000 players from 179 countries so far. National rankings fluctuate throughout the day depending on the latest scores. Topping the leader board at one point on Friday were players from Trinidad and Tobago, the Philippines and Madagascar -- three countries that won a single bronze medal among them at this year's Olympics. The United States won the most medals --103.

Among U.S. states, New Mexico led the board followed by South Carolina and Idaho. South Dakota, Maine and Arkansas were last. "Geography is just a building block for understanding what's going on in the world," said Andresen, whose family includes Christian missionaries and who has traveled to 44 countries.

"Being the world's superpower we should be informed voters," he said. "Sitting back and not worrying about these things is terrible, and it might be why the rest of the world doesn't care for us." The best players tend to find seven of 10 locations, he said. Americans' average score is around 5.7 out of 10. Norway and Sweden are big players, with more than 50,000 participants each, though not very successful in 84th and 173nd place respectively.

Geography Olympics Quiz Right Here!


Digital Village: New Guinea
MSNBC
Richard Bangs and Chris Kallen

Though second largest of all the world’s islands, New Guinea remains among its least-known and little-explored, with an interior still but vaguely charted. Viewed from the air, New Guinea’s massive cordillera appears as a heaving sea of frozen dark-green billows, with feather-white streams tracking the faces of ridges and folds. No roads cross this expanse. It can take weeks to trek from one village to the next, and it is impossible to travel in a straight line. Even today New Guinea conjures up visions of headhunters, cannibals, malarial and leech-infested swamps, and explorers being swallowed up by the land.

Journey to the Sepik River


New Beijing airport to be world's biggest
By Richard Spencer in Beijing
Nov 29, 2004

A new airport being built by the Chinese government in time for the 2008 Beijing Olympics will be the world's biggest and be "truly awesome", according to its British architect, Lord Foster. In further evidence of the Chinese obsession with building bigger, faster and higher than any other country, the plans for Beijing Airport will outdo both the current biggest, Hong Kong's, and Heathrow, which is set to double in size when Terminal 5 is finished.

It will also take less than three years to complete, Lord Foster said. That compares with Terminal 5, which was put before a public inquiry in 1995 and approved in 2001 but which is not expected to open until 2008. The only people who may shrink from the architect's triumphalism are China's new leaders, his clients. They have been keen to present a more modest image in recent months, reducing the scale of plans for the Olympic stadia and saying they wish to focus more on poverty reduction. They may, too, be aware of the precedent set by Hong Kong airport, also designed by Lord Foster.

Biggest Dam, Tallest Building, Largest Airport. But They Censor Google News.