A Bali Story

Bali Dancer by Carl Parkes

There's been a long running dispute between Mark Austin and several people in Bali over issues almost beyond belief: ownership and manipulation of the tourism industry on the island, corruption within the Balinese police department, death threats, condo and villa conversions, and domination of the internet chat rooms related to life in Bali. Basically, it's just stupid but somehow refuses to die in the trash heap which is where this juvenile outburst belongs.

Mark is still out there, and recently sent a message to a blogger in Jakarta. Read the comments for more background and links.

Fugly Bali

Some nasty stuff in my inbox this morning.

But before you read it, you might wanna check out these two websites: Nasty Bali and Fugly Bali.

Both have been set up by Mark Austin, a sad loser who got embroiled in a highly acrimonious business feud with another foreigner a few years back.

Anyway, here’s his email:

Indcoup Link

Chinese IPhone Clones?

Well, that didn't take long. Looks like the Chinese have already created some IPhone copies, as noted today on Marmot's Hole from South Korea. The photos above actually show two different models, so expect more variations in the coming months. There's not much information from Koehler, but the commentators point out that these clones appear to offer superior features to the Apple product.

The pictures contain two different iphone look-a-likes. The bottom one is the Meizu M8 I’m excited about.

Mainly because the specs are even better than Apple’s original and for less!

The M8 comes with a 3.0 megapixel camera compared to Apple’s 2.0 one, it also has a higher resolution screen, 3G unlocked GSM capability as opposed to getting stuck with AT&T’s crap service for 2 years. Replaceable battery as opposed to custom one that turns your iPhone into a paperweight when it dies. Best of all, it’s 200 dollars less!

I for one would rather spend my hard earned money on actual features rather than pay for Apple advertising costs.

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

Guys, the so called Chinese-iPhone clone, isn’t a clone. Its specs make it better than the iPhone. Calling the Chinese product a clone would be like calling Mozilla a clone of internet explorer just because they are both web browsers.

Looks like you all will be buying a Meizi real soon.

P.S. Yeah, you’re probably gonna make some snide remark about Chinese quality. Don’t be so fast though. The iPhone already failed a security test when it got hacked last week.

P.S.S Not too hard to see how the Chinese improved this product. Look at the iPhone’s OEMs. the iPhone is practically Chinese anyway — err… Taiwanese. The Chinese had months to look at the iPhone’s specs and figure out how to make it obsolete.

The Marmot's Hole Link

The Economics of Bar Ownership in Thailand

Have you ever dreamed of owning a nightclub or "beer bar" in Thailand? I haven't, but apparently it's a common interest for many farang expats who sink their life savings into the venture, only to discover it's a quick path to bankrupcy. Whether your goal is to lord over an upscale nightclub filled with lovely chrome-pole dancers, or a simple open-air bar on a lesser soi, it's important to examine your cash flow and make sure your P&L statements are in the black.

An excellent overview has recently been conducted by an Englishman who looked at all the variables, and posted his observations in his montly email newsletter. This is a good read plus other stories on the nightlife scenss in Bangkok, Phuket and Samui, so you might consider signing up for his free monthly updates.

Being a complete dullard when it comes to economics, it’s only recently I had a light-bulb moment regarding the dynamics of libation pricing vis-a-vis ogling dens and beer boozers.

A few months ago a reader suggested ogling dens could afford to offer cheaper amber fluid and other thirst quenchers because their bar-fines for dancers were so high. He suggested, ‘the significantly higher bar-fines subsidise the beer prices in some places.’ He then noted, ‘Rents on beer bars are not comparable to go-gos in the same location. Per square metre, beer bars pay far more rent.’

In this respect he’s correct as, for example, the majority of the beer boozers in the Best Friend complex (Beach Road) are paying 60,000 baht a month. This is a ridiculous figure, yet people continue to pay these imposts and enough of them make money, otherwise the whole complex would have collapsed by now. Hence the reason for the high drinks prices.

The argument beer boozers need to charge higher prices because of higher rentals per square metre than ogling dens is fine if that were the only criteria. What about electricity, water, and staff? The girls employed in beer boozers also double as serving wenches and the average salary is not much more than 4,000 baht a month. Most average-sized beer boozers rarely have more than 10 paid staff.

Many boozers welcome freelancers who come and go as they please, but a customer must still pay the bar fine if he finds her propping up a barstool. So, if a boozer pays a silly 60,000 baht a month rent, has 10 working wenches at 4,000 baht a month each (so wages of 40,000 baht), and coughs up another 2-3,000 baht a month for electricity and water, outlays will run to a rounded-up 105,000 baht, or 3,500 baht a day.

Ogling dens, on the other hand, have to fork out for air-conditioning and greater lighting, hence kicking up the electricity bill. There’s also the monthly stipend to the plod retirement fund. If a den has 25 dancers (average for many) it will be lucky to have 20 of these bar-fined every night. That’s 10,000 baht (at 500 baht a time), minus the 100 baht each returned to the dancer, leaving 8,000 baht as the ‘profit’. If this rate were maintained over a month the return would be around 240,000 baht. If the owner is paying his dancers the average salary of around 8,000 baht each per month then his monthly salary bill will be (for 25 dancers) 200,000 baht (less cuts for being late, taking days off and other misdemeanours).

As most people realise, having a 66 percent bar-fine rate each and every night for 12 months of the year is not realistic. Having up to two-thirds of your dancers bar-fined before closing time is also not conducive to bringing customers into the bar.
A dancer employed at 8,000 baht a month, needs to be bar-fined 20 times (at 500 baht a time less 100 baht back to her) just for the owner to break square. This number is reduced by the quantity of ladies drinks purchased. For an owner it’s more economical to have a girl receive five or more ladies drinks a night than be bar-fined.

On a per-square-metre basis rentals in many ogling dens may be cheaper than a beer boozer, but a palace of the chrome pole also has to budget for a mamasan, a DJ, and a few waitresses (four or five if there are 25 dancers) and barkers on the street. The average monthly overhead may well run to more than 300,000 baht or 10,000 baht a day. That’s three times the costs of running the average beer boozer. Sounds like a fortune, but when most places get upset if they don’t ‘take’ upwards of 35,000 baht a night, it doesn’t take a mathematical genius to see why there are now about 76 dens of the chrome pole in Fun Town.

So, why is it that chrome pole establishments are generally able to make money with cheaper booze? The answer, I think (though I’m definitely not John Maynard Keynes when it comes to economics), is draught amber fluid. Almost every joint has an all-night draught amber nectar drop priced between 40 and 65 baht. Considering the average glass costs the den about 15 baht, the profit on a 45 baht impost is quite reasonable, percentage-wise.

Where the dens really make their money is on liver wasters, lolly water and ladies drinks. While draught amber might be 45-55 baht all night, liver wasters and lolly water are charged out at anywhere between 95 and 120, or more, baht. Basically, the person who isn’t drinking amber froth is subsidising the punters who are. I’ve decided it’s time to re-investigate the health benefits of draught amber liquid.

Pattaya Baronbonk Newsletter Link

Crony Capitalism in SE Asia

As most residents of SE Asia understand, the surging economy of the region is largely controlled by a limited number of wealthy families who suck in the money and only allow the bare minimum to trickle down to the masses, as pointed out today in an excellent overview in Newsweek International. A great story with a book soon to follow.

The architecture of the Southeast Asian economy remains what it was 10 and 50 and 100 years ago. The domestic economies of Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines are all still dominated by reclusive, enigmatic billionaires and their families, even if fewer of them rank among the richest people in the world. In 1996 no less than eight of the top two dozen billionaires on the Forbes global rich list were Southeast Asian; in 2006 only Hong Kong's Li Ka-shing, with a net worth of US$18.8 billion, ranked in the top 24. Nonetheless, while some Southeast Asian tycoons have been overtaken by more entrepreneurial billionaires from other parts of the world, the region remains the global epicenter of rentier family business.

This sits heavily with ordinary citizens. To the extent Southeast Asia has succeeded, it has done so despite the influence of the tycoons. For 40 years the growth of gross domestic product and the creation of jobs in the region have moved in lock step with the expansion of exports, produced either directly by multinational corporations or under contract by small-scale local manufacturers. The billionaires avoid export manufacturing and its requirement for global competitiveness. Instead they prosper from concessions, monopolies and cartels in local service economies that define things like port handling, real estate, telecommunications and gaming.

A decade after the Asian crisis, Southeast Asia's billionaires remain in the ascendancy because promised deregulation has never bitten. Even Hong Kong— lauded by the Heritage Foundation as the world's freest economy (de facto cartels affect the port to supermarkets to electricity to cement) —has failed to pass the kind of antimonopoly statutes that are a central pillar of developed economies around the world. There has been no substantive progress on creating a common free market in services for the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, despite relentless rhetoric. ASEAN is a toothless tiger, with no mechanism for enforcement of rulings, in a jungle of petty vested interests. Unlike the European Union, there are no regional or global brand-name corporations with the capacity to originate new services and technologies. There are simply local billionaires, lionized by domestic media, but running businesses whose productivity is regularly shown by economists to lag both that of Southeast Asian manufacturing and global enterprise in general. Why else, as once example, would container-handling charges at Hong Kong's port be more than twice those in Germany?

Despite now bullish stock markets in the region, the billionaires—with their lousy corporate governance and manipulation of local banks to provide cheap and easy alternative sources of credit—also have contributed to the worst long-term emerging-market-equity performance in the world. From 1993—when the first significant international portfolio investments came into Southeast Asian bourses—to the end of 2006, total dollar returns with dividends reinvested in Thailand and the Philippines were actually negative. Returns in Indonesia and Malaysia were worse than leaving money in a London bank account. Singapore produced less than half the gain of the London or New York markets, with which only Hong Kong was comparable. It is a brave investor who thinks long-term equity returns will improve in the absence of structural economic change.

Newsweek International Link

The IPhone versus the Nokia E70

No, I don't own an IPhone and am quite happy with the $19.95 phone I purchased at Virgin and the no-contract deal I have with Virgin Mobile. No yearly contracts, no monthly contracts, just pay per minute for the calls I actually make. I use my landline for internet access and any longer calls, plus use my MCI phone card for all long distance. It's simple and very cheap.

Expat@Large today provided a link to a very hilarious and insightful comparison between the IPhone and the Nokia E70, and if the author is right, Apple's new gizmo lacks many of the features available but poorly promoted by the good Swedes at Nokia. If you're in the market for this kind of high tech gadgetry, then this might be of interest.

The iPhone is a piece of shit, and
so is your face.

No, I'm not going to get an iPhone, quit emailing me about it. I'm not getting one because I already have a phone that's better: it's called the Nokia E70, it's the pinnacle of human achievement, and I love it more than my family:

You've probably never heard of the E70 because Nokia's marketing team is busy finding every last dick in the universe to suck, so I'm going to do their job for them and tell you about this product. And no, I'm not being paid to do this. I'm just tired of the iPhone fanboys shooting huge sticky wads and high-fiving each other (literally) over their stupid cellphones.

First of all, the E70 has a full keyboard, not some shitty stripped down, tap-and-pray smudgy piece of shit. Nokia uses a technology that's even more advanced than the iPhone's tap screen, allowing you to actually feel the keys you press as you're pressing them! The technology is called "tactile response," and it allows you to do things like dial a phone number without staring at your screen like a shit-chucking ape. In fact, every other cellphone ever made has this technology, sometimes called "buttons."

This keyboard will not only stomp your colon, but the colons of distant relatives of the human species such as lagomorphs, and hypothetical colons of children you haven't even had yet. Want to type a backslash? No problem. Ampersand? You bet your ass. On an iPhone, you have to press an additional button that opens up an alternate keypad that will allow you to type numbers and punctuation. So typing something as simple as elipses (...) requires you to tap your finger 9 times. Enjoy your phone, losers! People like me who have shit to do will stick to a keyboard that doesn't have its lips wrapped firmly to the user-interface equivalent of a throbbing dong:

When the iPhone was first announced, CEO Steve Jobs spewed enough BS to cover a football field full of babies 3 feet deep in bullshit, which sounds cool because he could have potentially murdered a football field full of babies, but he passed on this opportunity

Apple IPhone versuse Nokia E70 Rant

The Fifth Element

I stumbled across a couple of intriuging sites today including this one which discusses why The Fifth Element is among my favorite movies. Last time I was in Phuket in a girlie bar, Fifth Element was showing on the tube while the girls were shaking it up on the stage. I looked around and sure enough: almost every male in the room was ignoring the flesh show and glued to the movie, waiting for the next classic line or a glimpse of the perfect women sent to save the world.

While you are reading the review below, ask yourself what is obviously missing from the piece. Then read the comments where the author talks about why he skipped some of the most important parts of the film.

In essence, there really isn’t anything special about Bruce Willis in The Fifth Element. He’s a badass, yeah, but he’s a badass in the exact same way that every other Bruce Willis character is badass – wry catchphrases, cocky attitudes, manly grunts. Etcetera.

Yet it’s this stereotypical personality that makes Korben Dallas, a futuristic ex-marine-cum-cab-driver, such an interesting character to watch: considering the world around him feels so odd and alien and French, the presence of a clichéd action hero provides a great entry point for the audience, making the rest of the film seem more accessible. All things considered, Korben Dallas is pretty much just John McClaine is space – at any moment, it seems like Korben is but an inch away from smiling to himself, shaking his head, and whimsically exclaiming, “California…”*

Also, “Korben Dallas” may be the single weirdest fucking name ever conceived. Even weirder than “Castor Troy,” and that’s saying something.

Double Viking Link

Grounded Tankers and Overmuscled Dogs

A crazed ship captain rams his freighter at full speed ahead on the beach at Newcastle to unload his cargo of coal, thinking that the newly discovered overmusclulered dogs can unload his baggage without the use of formal shipping conduits.

The Cellar Link with the Freighter Photos

The Napalm Girl

Napalm Girl and the Photographer

Have you ever wondered what happend to the young girl photographed running down the road after a naplam attack? She's apparently living in Canada, doing quite well, and in contact with the Vietnamese photographer who took the Pulizter Prize award winning image.

NEWPORT BEACH, CALIF. - Phan Thi Kim Phuc, the Vietnamese girl whose naked image running away from napalm clouds remains an iconic symbol of the Vietnam War, has finally made peace with the photograph that made her famous.

"It seems the picture didn't want to let me go. I was taken out of school to give interviews for the state. Now I'm working with my picture for good," said Kim Phuc, 44, who is now a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Peace, and heads the Kim Foundation which helps children in war zones.

"Having known war I know the value of peace. Having lived under government control I know the value of freedom. Having lived with hatred, terror and corruption I know the value of faith and forgiveness," said Kim Phuc, who now lives with her husband and two sons in Canada.

On June 8, 1972, Kim Phuc was a 9-year old girl running down the highway after four napalm bombs were dropped on her village of Trang Bang. Two of her cousins died from the napalm.

Kim Phuc tore off her clothes, which were on fire and looked down at her left arm, which was also burning.

The photo, taken by AP photographer Nick Ut, won the Pulitzer Prize and galvanized the anti-war movement in the U.S.

In Vietnam, it was used as a propaganda tool by the Communist regime.

Ut, who Kim Phuc calls "Uncle Ut," sat in the audience of the Liberty Baptist church service yesterday as Phan spoke to a crowd of about 200.

She credits Ut with saving her life - after shooting the picture, he commandeered a vehicle to take Phan to the hospital.

Kim Phuc, who had been expected to die, spoke candidly about her ensuing depression, her 17 operations, her conversion to Christianity and her defection to Canada with her husband.

At one point she lifted the sleeves of her traditional Vietnamese dress to show her severely scarred left arm.

Pastor Dwight Tomlinson, a Vietnam veteran who served two tours with the 75th Rangers, invited Kim Phuc to speak because "she embodies everything that is good about the human spirit - the desire and willingness to overcome."

NY Daily News Link

Thailand UBC Cable TV Slammed

Is Blogger still banned in Thailand and can anyone there read this blog without the use of a proxy? Sheesh, and I thought this military dictatorship was going to loosen up the airwaves.

In other news, on the Lonely Planet Thorn Tree, residents of Thailand and elsewhere in Southeast Asia have their opinions about UBC cable and their local service providers, along with some helpful hints.

Lonely Planet Link

World's Tallest Man Gets Married

Will the videos be soon to follow? Inquiring minds want to know.

Congratulations to the world's tallest man, Bao Xishun, who stands 2.36 metres (7 feet 8 inches) tall. He is married.

IotD followers will fondly remember how Bao rescued dolphins by reaching into their stomachs.

Xia Shujian, his new bride, is 1.68 meters (5 feet 6) tall.

The Cellar Link

A View Down My Street

View Down Eddy Street

That's the Marriot San Francisco (partial left), the former Emporium (now called Westfields), and the upcoming iconic One Rincon Tower under construction in the background. No idea about the dude.

Asia for the Budget Traveller

A relatively new website has conducted a survey of travel prices around the world and discovered what most readers of this blog already know: the world's cheapest travel destination is Asia, another reason to bag your travel plans to Europe and the Caribbean and head directly to the most exotic and affordable region on the planet.

Inspired by the recent Mercer HR study on the living costs of popular cities around the world, World’s Most Expensive Cities: June 2007, I decided to put together a similar study for budget travelers. The Mercer study looks at the cost of living for expats around the world, in order to determine which are the most expensive cities. I, on the other hand, was more interested in finding out how expensive various cities around the world are for budget travel. So, I made up a simple formula that I could then use to compare the cost of budget accommodation and inexpensive local meals of 94 different cities around the world. The formula is only based on these two variables, and provides a value that I call the “Budget Cost/Day” of a city. Below is a more detailed description of the two variables:

The cheapest private, double occupancy room that I could find in each city. (I used private rooms, as they were the most commonly available accommodation options I found across the board. This does not mean that these are the cheapest of all accommodation options, as a dorm style accommodation is certainly less expensive when available. However, for comparison purposes it made more sense to just look at private rooms.)

The price of a cheap local meal in each city, multiplied by 2. Meant to represent the cost of two meals per day.

Obviously, there are many other travel expenses that I didn’t consider, such as transportation costs, site-seeing fees, bars/clubs, etc. Unfortunately, with my limited resources, I am simply unable to take on a more comprehensive survey. However, I still think this study provides an interesting look at the wide range of travel costs throughout different parts of the globe.

All expenses displayed below have come from either my personal experiences, information provided by traveling friends of mine, HostelBookers.com (accommodation prices), HostelWorld.com (accommodation prices), and the Lonely Planet World Guide (cheap meal prices).

In general, I think this survey is pretty accurate, but I’m sure there ARE some discrepancies. Please help me to improve this survey by commenting on any inaccuracies, and by leaving your thoughts and suggestions in the comments section below.

# City: Country: Budget Cost/Day: Accom: Meals:
1 Vangvieng Laos $4.25 $3.25 $0.50
2 Goa India $4.50 $3.50 $0.50
3 New Delhi India $5.50 $4.50 $0.50
4 Bangalore India $6.00 $5.00 $0.50
5 Bangkok Thailand $6.23 $3.73 $1.25
6 Ho Chi Minh Vietnam $6.86 $5.00 $0.93
7 Quito Ecuador $7.00 $5.00 $1.00
8 Phom Penh Cambodia $7.00 $3.00 $2.00
9 Bali Indonesia $7.16 $6.50 $0.33
10 Asuncion Paraguay $8.00 $4.00 $2.00
11 Kathmandu Nepal $8.29 $3.67 $2.31
12 Beijing China $8.50 $6.50 $1.00
13 Lima Peru $8.50 $4.50 $2.00
14 La Paz Bolivia $8.90 $4.90 $2.00
15 Cairo Egypt $9.84 $4.62 $2.11
16 Shanghai China $10.00 $8.00 $1.00
17 Nairobi Kenya $10.38 $8.00 $1.19
18 Accra Ghana $10.50 $8.50 $1.00
19 Buenos Aires Argentina $10.50 $6.50 $2.00
20 Cuzco Peru $11.25 $7.25 $2.00
21 Havana Cuba $11.32 $7.00 $2.16
22 Bogota Cuba $11.97 $9.97 $1.00
23 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia $12.44 $6.06 $3.19
24 Taipei Taiwan $12.46 $9.42 $1.52
25 Sofia Bulgaria $12.53 $9.77 $1.38
26 Panama City Panama $13.00 $9.00 $2.00
27 Managua Nicaragua $14.00 $11.00 $1.50
28 Santiago Chile $15.00 $9.00 $3.00
29 Oaxaca Mexico $16.55 $12.55 $2.00
30 San Jose Costa Rica $17.00 $11.00 $3.00
31 Salvador Brazil $17.18 $12.00 $2.59
32 Guadalajara Mexico $17.52 $13.52 $2.00
33 Hong Kong China $17.95 $15.95 $1.00
34 Jerusalem Israel $18.00 $12.00 $3.00
35 Lusaka Zambia $18.50 $16.50 $1.00
36 Mumbai India $18.84 $17.84 $0.50
37 Guatemala City Guatemala $19.00 $15.00 $2.00
38 Istanbul Turkey $19.56 $15.00 $2.28
39 Prague Czech Republic $19.76 $14.12 $2.82
40 Mexico City Mexico $20.09 $16.09 $2.00
41 Cape Town South Africa $20.66 $15.00 $2.83
42 Singapore Singapore $20.81 $16.91 $1.95
43 Osaka Japan $21.13 $12.63 $4.25
44 Minsk Belarus $22.00 $20.00 $1.00
45 Toronto Canada $22.10 $14.60 $3.75
46 Tokyo Japan $22.19 $13.19 $4.50
47 Sao Paolo Brazil $22.66 $17.48 $2.59
48 Kiev Ukraine $23.00 $21.00 $1.00
49 Budapest Hungary $23.62 $18.14 $2.74
50 Seoul South Korea $24.07 $19.09 $2.49
51 Sarajevo Bosnia-Hercegovina $24.36 $17.44 $3.46
52 Kyoto Japan $26.50 $18.00 $4.25
53 Rio de Janeiro Brazil $27.07 $21.89 $2.59
54 Belgrade Serbia $29.02 $23.02 $3.00
55 Warsaw Poland $29.26 $22.08 $3.59
56 Melbourne Australia $29.63 $21.13 $4.25
57 Auckland New Zealand $30.61 $19.77 $5.42
58 Lisbon Portugal $32.54 $24.42 $4.06
59 San Francisco United States $33.00 $25.00 $4.00
60 Montreal Canada $33.50 $26.00 $3.75
61 Rome Italy $33.84 $20.30 $6.77
62 St. Petersburg Russia $33.90 $27.90 $3.00
63 Los Angeles United States $34.00 $26.00 $4.00
64 Marrekech Morocco $34.04 $28.00 $3.02
65 Sydney Australia $34.91 $26.41 $4.25
66 Florence Italy $35.16 $21.62 $6.77
67 Bratislava Slovakia $35.47 $29.03 $3.22
68 Quebec City Canada $35.50 $28.00 $3.75
69 Chicago United States $36.50 $28.50 $4.00
70 Berlin Germany $36.53 $25.71 $5.41
71 Athens Greece $37.26 $23.72 $6.77
72 Paris France $37.89 $27.07 $5.41
73 Dubai United Arab Emirates $38.72 $36.00 $1.36
74 Moscow Russia $38.99 $30.99 $4.00
75 Vienna Austria $39.82 $29.00 $5.41
76 Madrid Spain $39.98 $29.16 $5.41
77 Manchester England $42.16 $30.12 $6.02
78 Nice France $42.32 $31.50 $5.41
79 Boston United States $43.00 $35.00 $4.00
80 Washington DC United States $43.00 $35.00 $4.00
81 Stockholm Sweden $43.14 $32.90 $5.12
82 New York United States $44.00 $35.00 $4.50
83 Marseille France $44.65 $33.83 $5.41
84 Milan Italy $46.02 $32.48 $6.77
85 Brussels Belgium $46.54 $33.00 $6.77
86 Helsinki Finland $48.04 $37.22 $5.41
87 Barcelona Spain $48.42 $34.88 $6.77
88 Munich Germany $48.71 $37.89 $5.41
89 Edinburgh Scotland $53.35 $41.31 $6.02
90 Oslo Norway $55.12 $44.94 $5.09
91 Dublin Ireland $56.25 $48.13 $4.06
92 Copenhagen Denmark $62.79 $50.05 $6.37
93 London England $63.67 $51.62 $6.02
94 Amsterdam Netherlands $67.67 $54.13 $6.77

Go Budget Travel Link

My R-Rated Blog

There's a website out there that rates your blog or website based on adult content and violence, and I'm frankly surprised that I didn't get an X rather than this fairly mild R.

Giant Mushroom from Chiapas

A more than 20-kilo (41-lb) mushroom has been picked in a forest in Mexico's southernmost state of Chiapas, university officials said Tuesday.
The white mushroom, macrocybe titans, measured a towering 70 cm (27 in) tall, was found near Tapachula, near the Guatemalan border, according to the Southern Border University Center.

The Death of Jim Morrison

Jim Morrison and Girlfriend Pamela Courson

I'm not the only person to doubt that Jim Morrison died solely of "cardiac arrest" and assumed that his abuse of alcohol and drugs must have played some responsibility, but is the latest conspiracy theory the inside story or just an invention timed to sell an upcoming book?

For more than three decades it has remained one of rock music's most tantalising mysteries.

Why did Jim Morrison, legendary lead singer of The Doors, suddenly collapse and die in his Paris apartment, aged only 27?

The official death certificate states he died in the bath of "natural causes".

But now, in an exclusive interview with The Mail on Sunday, a former close friend of the singer says he knows the truth.

According to Sam Bernett, Morrison died of a massive heroin overdose in the toilet of a nightclub he was managing, the Rock 'n' Roll Circus on the French capital's fabled Left Bank.

Bernett, 62, a French-born former New York Times journalist, claims the death was then covered up by two drug dealers who transferred Morrison's body from the club to the singer's apartment and dumped it in the bath.

Bernett was then warned by the club's owners never to tell anybody about what he had seen.

This extraordinary testament is contained in Bernett's forthcoming book "The End - Jim Morrison" soon to be published in France.

The allegations are being taken so seriously that they are being examined by the French authorities and may lead to the investigation into Morrison's death being reopened.

Jim Morrison first arrived in Paris in March 1971. One of the most widely-recognised stars in the world, thanks to hits such as Break on Through and Light My Fire, he had just finished recording what was to become The Door's most popular album, LA Woman.

He lived a notoriously wild life, abusing both alcohol and drugs, and soon became a regular at the Rock 'n' Roll Circus, a club frequented by the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix.

It also played host to trapeze artists and, on one memorable occasion, a live tiger and monkeys from a nearby circus.

In the early hours of 3 July 1971, the underground disco was heaving with 500 revellers, including 24-year-old British siren Marianne Faithfull who had recently split up with Mick Jagger. Morrison, who was living in Paris with his girlfriend Pamela Courson, arrived at about 1am.

"I greeted Jim as I always did," recalled Bernett from his home in Paris.

"He didn't look in great form, and immediately went to his usual spot at the bar and ordered a bottle of vodka. He was also drinking beers.

"I was used to talking about everything with him - from Janice Joplin to the beatniks - but that night it was just a bit of small talk.

"He'd come in to pick up heroin for Pam. He was always collecting drugs for her and the club was full of dealers."

According to Bernett, Morrison bought the heroin from two men working for Jean de Breteuil, a French playboy and drug dealer.

"The dealers who Jim was talking to were well known," said Bernett.

"Both were French guys in their 20s. I knew what they were up to, and kept an eye out for Jim. He disappeared to the toilets at around 2am.

"Then, about half an hour later, a cloakroom attendant came up to me and told me someone was locked in one of the cubicles and wasn't coming out. It was then that I got a bouncer to smash the door down.'

Bernett was met by the sight of Morrison's body, slumped on the toilet.

In his book, he writes: "I recognised the US Army combat jacket and the riding boots from the Camargue region of France which he never took off. It was Jim Morrison, with his head between his knees, his arms dangling.

"For a few seconds our eyes were glued to the unmoving corpse. We were mesmerised by the baffling spectacle.

"The flamboyant singer of The Doors, the cool and good-looking Californian guy, was now a collapsed and inert lump lying in a nightclub toilet.

"Seeing Jim in such a bad way was pretty awful. We were certain he'd been snorting heroin because there was foam coming out of his lips as well as blood. He was scared of needles so never injected drugs. He just snorted them."

Bernett's first reaction was to send for one of his regular customers, a doctor. The medic, who Bernett refuses to name, "recognised Morrison but kept his cool. Very calmly, and expertly, he examined the body for a few seconds.

"He pushed Jim's head back, lifted his eyelids, opened his mouth, and fixed his ear to his chest to listen to his heartbeat. He looked for marks and bruises on the body and the arms.

"It was a quick and professional examination. His diagnosis was very confident: 'This man is dead. Apparently the victim of a cardiac arrest.' The doctor was not stupid and spoke of a lethal overdose."

In the meantime, Morrison's two "friends" from the bar who had sold him the heroin had arrived. Ignoring the doctor's verdict, they insisted the singer 'had just fainted' and they would take care of him.

Then, according to Bernett, they lifted Morrison's body out of the toilets and along a corridor that linked the Circus with Alcazar, the club next door which still exists today.

That was the last Bernett saw of the body but, from Alcazar, he says it would have been easy to place Morrison in a car or van waiting in the small side street outside, and then take the body to the singer's apartment across the river in Rue Beautreillis.

Minutes after the tragedy, a representative of the club's owner - a well-connected Paris businessman called Paul Pacini still alive, we are trying to get a comment from him] - warned Bernett not to tell anyone what had happened.

Bernett says: "I was told, "Since Morrison's friends want to take him with them, we have nothing more to do with this story.

"The club has no responsibility for what happens here. It was a sad accident, certainly, but that's fate. So we saw nothing, we heard nothing, we shut up! OK? It's what we better do to avoid a scandal."

Bernett adds that he saw little point in calling the emergency services, as he was convinced Morrison was already dead and nothing could be done for him.

And he says anyone else in the club that night who had an inkling of what went on - including Marianne Faithfull - was also sworn to secrecy.

Incredibly, after Morrison's body was found in his apartment, no proper investigation into his death was carried out.

Pamela Courson, Morrison's girlfriend since they were at university together in Los Angeles, swore on oath that her lover had been alive and well the night before.

She told police they had been to the cinema together and then returned home at 1am - the time Bernett claims Morrison was arriving at The Circus - where she did the washing up and he watched a film, before they retired to bed to listen to music.

Then, in the middle of the night, Morrison had woken up coughing and she had watched him leave the room to take a bath "and relax".

Max Vassille, a compliant French doctor, was happy to write off Morrison's demise as "death from natural causes", pointing out that the singer had been suffering from a serious stomach ulcer and asthma attacks after moving from America earlier in the year.

He ruled that no autopsy was required, as there was "no evidence of foul play".

Vassille and Pamela Courson have both since died.

Morrison's official death report, still filed at Paris town hall, has been used ever since to quash countless conspiracy theories ranging from security agency plots to theories that Morrison faked his own death to escape the trappings of fame.

As for Marianne Faithfull, Bernett says she and Jean de Breteuil left Paris for Morocco the moment they heard about Morrison's death.

"De Breteuil was Pam's dealer, and had supplied the heroin on the night," said Bernett.

"He and Marianne immediately packed their bags and headed for Casablanca, where De Breteuil had relatives. They didn't want to hang about.

"Marianne never mentioned Jim again. She won't talk about what happened in the club to this day."

The Mail on Sunday contacted Marianne Faithfull but she was unavailable for comment. De Breteuil died of an overdose not long after Morrison.

Bernett, a former journalist who now presents programmes on French national radio, says he has finally decided to break his silence despite risking prosecution for covering up the death in his club.

"I was 26 in 1971," he said. "Today, I'm past 60, and want to get rid of my heavy load. At least everything is now out there to be discussed. I've said what I have to say."

According to French law, criminal cases cannot be reopened after 20 years have lapsed. However, civil law - as well as international law - may provide an opportunity for investigators to re-open the case.

A spokesman for France's Police National said: "The new evidence will have to be considered.

The Sunday Mail Link

Major Hoax at Thai-Blogs

The Criminal Comes Clean

For many years, one of the co-founders of Thai-Blogs has been living a life of fraud under an assumed name, never suspecting that his elaborate deception would ever see the light of day. It was only the forceful intervention of a national newspaper that his scandalous behavior was unveiled to the world, and today he survives as only a shell of his former self, disgraced, and mocked by the Thai press as an example of farang arrogance and deceit. But at least he's admitted his crimes and is willing to do the time just as Paris Hilton recently did her time in a LA prison. Welcome to the chain gang Steve, or Stephen, or whatever your real name might be.

For all we know, this Stephen Cleary guy might be Charles Sobraj, the Charles Manson of Asia.

Perhaps not quite, but with a tear in my eye, it has been decided due to complete confusion - to change my name to Stephen Cleary.

After the result of very little deliberation, it was realized that having two names was a complete headache to other folk – and moreover, not exactly a very strategical move on my part. Once upon a time on the spur of the moment, I completely made up the name Steve Suphan (Suphan as in the province I live, Suphanburi) and went on to use that name at various websites and in particular.... thai-blogs. So, what happened? Well, almost a year ago now, I got the job at The Nation newspaper and the Editorial Boss sent me a mail specifying that it was company policy to use ones real name – and so Steve Suphan immediately got the boot there.

Another reason for the change is my first book which ought hopefully to hit the shelves in a few months. It is simply no good, as a writer, to have two names when one is already more than enough. Of course, I have to try and sell the friggin thing and so there is nothing more important than a potential buyer recognizing the author’s name.

Thai-Blogs Link

Mango Sauce Takes a Break

Bloody Dave

Thailand's best blogger when it comes to nightlife and the underbellies of Bangkok recently announced he's taking a break from the blog he has maintained for many years. He lays the blame on the lack of revenue (thanks to Google) and I understand the amount of work which is necessary to keep a blog healthy and happy. All work and no pay makes blogging a tiresome chore at times. Lord knows, I don't make a nickle on this site, but I find it amusing and a way to keep in touch with others interested in Southeast Asia.

But David has announced his retirement in the past, and as I predicted, he eventually relented and revived his blog to great success. So take a break Dave, perhaps figure out another revenue model, and hopefully we'll all see you back in action someday.

Mango Sauce has welcomed literally millions of visitors over the years but, since Google AdSense pulled the plug, my once-healthy advertising income has dwindled to almost nothing. New advertisers have proved hard to find and, despite its enduring popularity, the site is commercially dead in the water.

I don't know when my next article will appear but the comment forum remains open and I intend to maintain the site indefinitely.

Before I sign off, I'd like to express my thanks to the hundreds of commenters who, between them, created one of the most interesting forums on the net. I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed moderating four years of (mostly) convivial banter about my favourite country.

Chok dee, Gentlemen.

Mango Sauce Link

Surfing? In Sumbawa?

Big Surf in Sumbawa

When you think of surfing in Indonesia, Bali and Mentawi are the islands which first come to mind, followed by the north shore of Flores and the surfing camps on the southeastern tip of Java. But it seems like decent surfing can also be found on Sumbawa, and pointed out by this recent press release from and Aussie surfing organization.

Kuta-Bali -- The Dompu Regency Department of Art and Culture in Sumbawa together with the ISC (Indonesian Surfing Championship) and the BSA (Bali Surfing Association) are currently finalizing plans to hold a 6-star surfing competition from the 13-15th of August at the world class reef breaks of Lakey Peak.

Lakey Peak has become one of the most visited surf destinations in Indonesia after Bali and the Mentawais due to several factors; the hollow barreling tubes of Lakey Peak and Lakey Pipe, not to mention Periscopes and the variety of other nearby breaks, its ease of access from Bali just a few hours away, and its well developed tourism infrastructure.

Hundreds of foreign surfers make the journey to Lakey Peak each week during the peak season of June through September to enjoy the experience of surfing some of Indonesia’s best waves.

Indonesia has a wealth of natural resources and world class surfing locations are among them, but this fact is often overlooked by the national and local governments who have little idea of the significance that surfing has had and continues to have on the country’s economy.

The last major professional surf competition held at Lakey Peak was 10 years ago, an ASP World Qualifying Series event in 1997 attended by a field of international and national surfers. But the Asian financial crisis, followed by 9/11 and the increase in worldwide terrorist activities, throttled future plans to make it a regular stop on the tour.

However, during the last year two of the major surfing brands, Quiksilver and Rip Curl, have held junior events there and the re-exposure of Lakey Peak as an important part of the Dompu economy has encouraged the local government to invest in attracting more attention to their valuable natural resource and to further develop it.

Global Surf News Link