One of the many bad things about an authoritarian government is that it is sensitive to criticism, so censors the media. The Thai Prime minister does this buy buying TV stations and newspapers, and threatening to have his huge conglomerate buy less advertising from newspapers he doesn't own. There’s also the popular request for the media not to cover “unpatriotic” stories. So, while censorship is not direct, it’s still censorship.

That’s all fine and dandy. After all, the people love their PM, and he just won the election with an overwhelming majority. It’s not my country, and if that’s what the Thai people want, let ‘em have it. I can always get my news from 2bangkok.com anyways.

Well, at least I used to. An ongoing project has been to censor the internet to protect the conservative population from the evils of pornography and gambling. Of course, while they’re at it, they might as well block sites that “damage the national interest.” The first to go were sites about the separatists in the south. The latest is 2bangkok.com

Not only is censoring the internet wrong, it is technically impossible. There are constantly new websites being created, and addresses can change. Then there is the fact that it is a simple matter to use a proxy server to access any blocked sites.

But even when I use a proxy server, I still see a message saying 2bangkok.com has been blocked. Did they actually shut the site down?

Comments (0)

I usually don’t fall for April Fool’s jokes, but I was had yesterday. I thought something was awry when the site was still “blocked” when I used a proxy server, but I still didn’t figure it out. Thankfully, 2bangkok.com is still there.

For now…

Blocked sites in Thailand

Comments (0)

Temple of consumerism

My old Siemens phone finally died a terrible death last week. Actually, it’s been slowly dying for the last year. It was never the same after being doused by water during Songkran last year. So yesterday I made a pilgrimage to Bangkok’s temple of consumerism, Mahboonkrong, a.k.a. MBK, which has an entire floor devoted to mobile phones.

It really is a site to behold, and you can get anything from my two-year-old Siemens model for $25, up to the latest PDA/phone/camera/whatever for $1,000. I kid you not, they really do have $1,000 phones, and they are especially popular with my rich students. But even high school kids, janitors, and street vendors have expensive phones.

I’m not prone to excesses, but I did want a phone that would work back in America, and that had a camera. Unlike most people, I actually have a use for the camera, though. Now I will always have a camera in my pocket, and will be able to document the crazy stuff I see every day, from the elephants that pester me while I’m eating, to the enormous holes in the sidewalks that will swallow you whole if you’re not careful.

So stay tuned.

Comments (0)

Girl with parasol

Looking out the airplane’s window, I could tell Lao’s former royal capital of Luang Phabang would be one of those places I instantly loved. Nestled at a confluence of rivers among dramatic forested hills, its setting is striking, marred only by the haze of slash and burn agriculture. The town itself is quaint and traditional, with temples and French colonial architecture everywhere.

I didn’t have much time for exploring today, but there will be plenty of time for that. Too much, I’m worried. While it is a pleasant place, there isn’t much to do here.

Comments (0)

The oldest temple in town

I just wandered around on foot today. The town is so small I had seen everything in a few hours. It was blazing hot, so it was sweaty work.

Hardly anybody is around. It’s a small town, so I guess there just aren’t many people living here. There don’t seem to be that many tourists either. Most of the tourists cafes are empty. Maybe there are too many cafes?

Which is the problem with small, charming towns like Luang Phabang, along with Pai in Thailand and Hoi An in Vietnam. No matter where you go, you are surrounded by restaurants and shops geared towards tourists. However, that also means that right next to a travel agent will be a restaurant filled with locals. The local and tourist stuff is all mixed together.

Comments (0)

Funky monks

Not much to say about my adventures in Laos, because they’ve been pretty laid back, just like the country. There’s a reason for that: the blazing heat. For most of the day it is simply too hot to do anything, and even sitting in the shade makes the sweat drip. You just don’t want to do anything.

But I fought the urge, and rented a bike to check out some more temples. Some of the temples are beautiful, but I’m surprised at how tiny they are. They are also deserted, and might only have a monk or two lounging about in the shade.

I also looked at the former royal palace, a museum since the communist Pathet Lao seized power and abolished the monarchy. The throne room was impressive, but the king’s bedroom was surprisingly austere.

At night a bunch of people were going somewhere, so I followed them to a part of town I hadn’t been to. A carnival was set up, with dodgy old rides and improvised games. There was also a stage set up with different musical acts. But instead of traditional Lao music, like the concert in Isaan, this one featured amateurish pop acts. I watched for a while, but left when I couldn’t stand the sweat dripping down my back any more when the Lao version of Boys 2 Men came out. It was still an interesting experience, though.

Lao Tuk TUk

If you stay in one place for a few days, it’s worth consulting the Lonely Planet for places to eat, because it does feature some real gems you would never find on your own, such as the JoMa Bakery, which has the added bonus of AC, rare in sweltering Laos.

Something I’ve been enjoying here has been snacking. Refrigerated Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are available here, as are Pringles Cheeze Ums. You can’t get that stuff in Thailand for some reason.

My room is very noisy, with motorbikes, chickens, TV, lizards, and the big mouthed American guy next door. Normally this isn’t a problem, since I always carry a pair of the number one travel accessories with me: ear plugs. But I forgot them this time!

Comments (0)

Dramatic setting

Still not much excitement to report. I took a boat up the Mekong to Pak Ou caves, set in a cliff with hundreds of Buddhas. Being the primary local attraction, it was full of falang and Thai tourists.

I was surprised that there was hardly any life on the river. Very few villages, boats, or fishermen. It was all hills, covered in virgin forest. Laos is beautiful, but sparsely populated.

The forest won’t last long, though, if all the slashing and burning continues. The air is so thick with smoke you can barely see the hills. And big chunks of ash kept blowing into my dinner.

On the river

Dinner was good. I used Lonely Planet to find a Lao restaurant. You actually have to. There are some shops selling noodle soup (including delicious foe to the many Vietnamese), but there don’t seem to be many restaurants catering to locals, and those that do are difficult to distinguish from people’s houses.

The place in Lonely Planet wasn’t catering to locals either, because it was expensive. I thought it would be packed with backpackers, because it’s the “author’s choice.” But me and a Thai family were the only ones there. I think backpackers only walk around looking at the maps (which makes them look like idiots), and don’t actually read the text.

But the food was good. the tom som (papaya salad) was the spiciest thing I ever ate. Despite the pain, it still tasted delicious.

Comments (0)

Village temple

I rented a gearless Chinese bike again today, and rode out of town on a dirt road, where my fellow tourists fear to venture. All it takes is a ride through Laos’ villages of primitive woken shacks and waving children to realize how ridiculous it is that it’s a communist country. Marxism-Lenninism and class struggle are the last things on these people’s minds. Just getting enough to eat is more important.

Even more unbelievable is that Laos was once considered the key to South East Asia, so we secretly dropped more bombs on them than any country in the world. Yes, tiny, insignificant, rural Laos, one of the poorest countries in the world, became the most heavily bombed in the world.

From the tourist’s perspective, there is no legacy to this war. People still wear their USA tee shirts as if nothing ever happened. But since the bombing ended, 5,700 people have been killed by unexploded American ordinance, and 5,600 injured.

Pretty girls

Only a few children and girls splashed motorbikes as they went by today. But on the main road, shaggy backpackers are behaving like children, armed with huge supersoakers. Why don’t they go to Thailand if they want to act like idiots?

Tonight they had a beauty pageant. The girls came out in their beautiful silk traditional costumes and the announcers talked about their hobbies and jobs, or where they went to school. They didn’t have talent or swimsuit competitions, though But that’s probably a good thing, since the Lao swimsuit consists of jeans and a flannel shirt. Or nothing, for those aged 5 or less.

Comments (0)

Powder to the people

The town was full of people this morning. Traffic was stopped on the main street, and a makeshift market was set up selling cheap stuff like tee shirts, flip flops, and food.

In the afternoon, when the backpackers came out with their Beer Lao and supersoakers, all the locals went across the river, where they built sand stupas, lit fireworks, and rubbed powder on everyone. Everyone, including me, was as white as a ghost.

Then everyone climbed the hill up to some temples, then the huge crowd trooped into the village across from Luang Phabang. Restaurants were set up everywhere, and kids danced to Thai music. It was quite the party.

Comments (0)

Keep your monks well watered

Back from Laos, and back at work, unfortunately. I had fun in Laos, even though I was a little bored. I decided to stay in Luang Phabang through the New Years, which was a long time to be in such a small town with nothing to do. Strangely, when people ask me what I did there for all that time, I’m not sure. Laos is a place where time just passes you by.

My Laos photo gallery

Comments (0)

I haven’t been writing much about living in Thailand, because I’ve been feeling uninspired. Perhaps it’s because I have such a boring life. So, I’ll try something different, and post a “boring” picture every few days. But while a Bangkokian would find these pictures boring, they may be interesting for those who have never visited the Kingdom.

To start things out, here’s a snapshot taken on my daily walk from the Ekkami Skytrain station to work. Walking anywhere in Bangkok is frustrating due to sidewalks cluttered with all sorts of obstacles, including this enormous hole that invited pedestrians into its depths for a few days at the site of an opulent new condo that is being constructed.

Note: These pictures were take with my mobile phone, so the quality is low.

Comments (0)

Sunset from the Ekkamai Skytrain staion, looking over the site of the Nu Sansiri condo construction.

Comments (0)