Larry Hagman — sorry to learn of your passing

Larry Hagman, an actor, man who made people happy. I first saw you in "I Dream of Genie" (as many of us did). Then I occasionally watched you in "Dallas". A good actor, and a good man. You leave behind many good memories in the minds of many people. RIP.

Comments

Pattani — the ‘deep’ south of Thailand

First, some advisories: A. ADVISORY: For the last few years and decades there has been an ongoing insurgency in the provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat (the 'deep south' of Thailand). An average of 600 people have been killed per year between 2004-9. The Australian government strongly urges its citizens not to visit these provinces: "do not travel". Having said this there is no blood on the streets, and life goes on normally for the vast majority of people. In comparison approximately 400 people die every year from traffic accidents in the same region. You have been advised. B. Getting there. There seems to be a scam carried out by the local tour operators to persuade travellers to take mini-buses on journeys between the towns in southern Thailand. These mini-buses cost several times as much as a normal bus. For example, I was quoted 1000 baht (~$35) between Trang and Pattani ~250kms, as compared to 200 baht for a VIP bus. A clear difference. Take the l...

The Sukhothai Kingdom—Si Satchanalai City

Information plaque for the first temple. The first wat you will see. Wat Phra Si Rattana Maha That Chaliang. As described in my blog post on the Sukhothai Kingdom, this former Kingdom is survived both by the modern Kingdom of Thailand, and by three archaeological sites, which together form a UNESCO World Heritage site. These three sites are the former three, major cities of this ancient Kingdom. The first and largest, the ancient city of Sukhothai, was described previously, here I will describe the second city of the Kingdom, the city of Si Satchanalai ("C-sack-chan-a-lie"). This site is officially termed the "Si Satchanalai Historical Park". Si Satchanalai is found in the north of the province of Sukhothai. Reaching Si Satchanalai is easy enough. Buses regularly leave from the Sukhothai city bus terminal for the ~50kms, ~70min trip to the site of Si Satchanalai, this is along the route, Bangkok to Chang Rai, with the next major stop b...

The Hardship of the Traveller.

Those folk, those who sit in front of the ‘big plasma screen’ (even though these days it might be an lcd), ‘back home’, in ‘the world’, most likely have a romanticised view of a life on the road—a life led by those who travel. Most of these less informed people believe it to be an existence of ease and comfort, wandering care-freely throughout the world, however, while there is a sizeable element of truth to this, there is also a reciprocal degree of difficulty, and then some. A life on the road is a life of challenge, of the need to be constantly alert, to suffer alienation, to be surrounded, constantly, by those who regard you as an outsider, as different. In essence, to stay fleet of foot for an extended period of time, visiting new places, seeing new things, is demanding and difficult, tiring and challenging. It is not a life for everyone. To stay truly mobile one must cope with a constantly changing, and always different environment, where one is always one step behind, where...

The Journey(s) of Ian

Search This Blog