The Siam Alternative
Posted by: anothershore on: Thursday, December 3, 2009
Despair (again…)
Posted by: anothershore on: Saturday, October 4, 2008
www.despair.com
Displacement Activities
Posted by: anothershore on: Sunday, September 28, 2008
“Memory is cheap these days,” they said;
“USB 2.0 is much better than USB 1.1,” they said;
“Geiz ist geil,” they said.
A fatal combination…
En route
Posted by: anothershore on: Monday, July 28, 2008
On the way back to Berlin. I’ve got Nikon liaising with Higher Authorities and I’ve packed emergency Thai-style Cheesy Wotsits (they’re not the same…)
See you soon!
Across the Mekong
Posted by: anothershore on: Friday, July 25, 2008
Excitement at fever pitch, I crossed the Friendship Bridge from Issan to Laos on Saturday and went in a tuk-tuk to Vientiane, the capital city. I had inadvertently arranged to go during the first weekend of the Buddhist Lent, which meant many people were travelling and 
accommodation was hard to find. But I managed to get a place for two nights on the riverfront within walking distance of the city centre which was OK, as there were many makeshift cafes on the river bank serving local food and Beer Lao.
What struck me first was the quiet; Thailand is relentlessly noisy, but Vientiane is very quiet. And there are few Western brands in sight, except for Toyota and Honda cars and motorbikes, and Pepsi, which is pervasive.
It’s one of the few remaining Communist states left in the world, though you’d probably never guess. Despite the bombing carried out by the Americans during the Civil War (1962-1975) (AIUI, to try to stop the Ho Chi Minh trail), the US dollar is the de facto currency there, as it is in Cambodia and Vietnam.
I went on a wandering tour of the city, 
most of which can be done on foot, although when the sun was out, it was dreadfully hot. The French built a lot of boulevards and French-looking houses and there is a triumphal arch, Patuxay, 
which contains shops and stalls selling souvenirs and has the best views in the city from the 
top. There are also numerous temples and stupas.
I went to several of the little cafes and restaurants along the River Mekong for lunch and dinner. Going back to Thailand was faster, as I didn’t have to queue up to get a visa from Thailand, just the 30-day stamp, which they give you for nothing. I travelled back to Udon Thani on the 
(airconditioned!) International Bus 
and flew back to Bangkok from there, after eating Som Tam, a spicy papaya salad which is the speciality of Issan.
Oh my, it’s back to Berlin on Monday evening. They say the repair works at the Grünberger are scheduled to be completed in my apartment by the end of the 25th, so I should get home to dryness.
Muan Jai™
Posted by: anothershore on: Wednesday, July 16, 2008
“Wholehearted happiness”, it means, in the dialect of the hill-tribe farmers in the North (lots of planets have a North, remember). It’s also the blend-of-the-month at a certain coffee shop.
I wasn’t wholeheartedly happy with my new dentist, Dr USA, to whom I was referred by Dr S./B. for my “deep cleaning” procedure. She is a bit like one of those innocuous ladies you sometimes get at the foot massage place. But however often you whisper “เบา ๆ“, she just gets more and more diggy-in with the knuckles until you think you’re going to die from CK-overdose (you know, as the muscle lyses…). But wierdly, and a little kinkily, you feel not entirely dreadful afterwards.
And I am finally (FINALLY!) off to Laos this weekend. It’s just a few days in Vientiane to get a new visa, but I’m hoping to see the sun set over the Mekong River.
Prison Break
Posted by: anothershore on: Friday, July 11, 2008
There is no comparison between the Bangkok Hilton and The Victory Executive Residence, but I did momentarily get addicted to the TV series 
Prison Break, and it got me thinking. I’m also currently reading a book about a man who spent 4000 days in prison in Bangkok for smuggling drugs. Captivity is a curious thing, particularly if you didn’t do anything wrong (as quite a few people in prison didn’t). Outcomes in life seem rather arbitrary sometimes.
Salty Secrets
Posted by: anothershore on: Wednesday, July 2, 2008
They’ve got a new machine at Dr S./B.’s surgery. It’s a Salt Machine with Air Flow which is used to descale the teeth and the spaces between them and make the final polished result more gleaming. It’s quite nice, actually, and Dr S./B. said that the Japanese clients especially prefer it because it makes no noise, compared with the Ultrasonic Probe. I’ve always liked salt, and see it as a guilty pleasure, because I know many people think it’s bad for you, though I’m skeptical, lumping it as I do together with the man-made global warming issue.
Anyway, with the tasty salt and air flowing around my mouth, Dr S./B. asked me how old I was. I was eventually able to reply after the suction was complete. Dr S./B. said, “No, No! You are still young, Mr David.” I said, “thank you” and asked for some more salt.
Because it was just a normal cleaning procedure, I don’t have to stick to white food and so was able to go to Starbucks afterwards, though I got very wet in the rain, which has been falling almost continuously for several days now and then felt rather cold in the air-con.
I had chicken with basil, spices and plain rice tonight.
Schadenfreude
Posted by: anothershore on: Monday, June 30, 2008
Oder alegrarse del mal ajeno, as they (apparently) say in Spanish. Am I a bad person? Probably. But anyway, well done, Spain!
Around Asia
Posted by: anothershore on: Monday, June 30, 2008
Thanks, Nikon dear, it needed a boot up the bum – so it’s full steam ahead. I saw some of K.’s photos before I left Berlin and the exhibition space seemed very interesting, even though it had not yet been painted.
I’ve been back in Asia for a few weeks and have been travelling around a fair bit. I went to Koh Samui for a week to visit D. but was ill for several days with a very high temperature. D. came and ministered to me with a tepid sponge and I even got some antibiotics after I developed a tummy upset. The end effect was to feel pleasantly purged and renewed.
So I went back to Bangkok and then (for visa purposes) had to leave the country. 
I travelled to 
Kuala Lumpur, where the leader of the opposition has been accused of something lewd (I stayed at the
Station Hotel (€16 per night including breakfast), which has fallen into disrepair since they opened a new Central Station, but still retains much of its former charm), and then onward by train to 
Singapore,
which is possibly the most boring place in the world, though I vaguely remember going to certain parts of the West Midlands that come pretty close.
Anyway, I am now back in Bangkok once more, in residence at the (now yellow) Victory again. I have got the room next to my previous room. It’s a few inches bigger.
Guest Blogger………………………………………Nikon
Posted by: anothershore on: Thursday, June 26, 2008
<creak…>
The Blog is to come back to life. David has sent word from The Tropics that he intends to start blogging again soon, but at the moment, he is making last minute preparations. So for the time being, it is me, Nikon.
Back in my room in the Schönhauser Allee Hinterhaus, I’ve been settling down again after conducting some more interviews. I went to K’s lovely exhibition of photographs, although Khun Tobi could not make it back from America in time; now that the campaign is getting going, he has been asked to stay on for a while.
So I hope you are still out there, dear People. I will chivvy David along a bit more and hopefully he will post something very soon.
Happy Leap Day!
Posted by: anothershore on: Friday, February 29, 2008
Hope you’re all having a wonderful day. Or, for the American contingent: Have a Good One, Y’all!
Speaking of America, here’s the result (just leaked) of the Election: Election Result 2008.
I’m going to celebrate the extra day by writing an extra chapter – but first, I think, coffee…
Barack takes Bangkok
Posted by: anothershore on: Saturday, February 23, 2008
Politics is not really my thing (though I do rant and rave a lot about it in my fantasy world, especially when I thing the Dead Relatives aren’t listening), but I was captivated to read that the Bangkok Primary in the American Election was held at Starbucks. Hillary came second, and no-one was in third place, apparently.
Other news:
- The weather in Berlin has been generally mild
- Ikea has majorly revamped it’s candle department, which has had knock-on effects on my Work
- I watched a quite interesting film on DVD about Che and Fidel.
More later.
“You can never really get out of Berlin”
Posted by: anothershore on: Friday, February 8, 2008
A chilled, chilling 0,5 of helles Hefe (or intoxicating beverage of your choice to the value of €3.45) to the first one who correctly identifies the film…
NO GOOGLING!
Computer says, “Na ja!” -or- Vitality (part two)
Posted by: anothershore on: Tuesday, February 5, 2008
From my recent “Vitalitäts-Check”, and translated by myself:
David, your Body Age is 49. This is somewhat older than your chronological age. This emerges from an analysis of your test results, and a comparison with other people of your age and gender. In normal circumstances, the two ages would coincide. You can theoretically reach a Body Age of 36 if you realise your subjective physical and psychical wellness goals…
I’ve got to change my eating, so that I have a proper breakfast. Go to work on an egg, or something. And do some running. And I tried the yoga, which was rather strenuous, though enjoyable.
Anyway, it’ll soon be Spring – I hope to be fit and well again after a few months of working out. The industrial hoovers will have finally been and gone and the abovelying terrasse sanitised. Who knows what will happen next?
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