It's been a rough week for Thailand's budget airlines, but the Thai spirit is resilient. Last night I came across these "Nok Air dancers." The little performance stuck me as something of a throwback to the 1950s and the golden age of commercial aviation.
Unusual Thai Menu Spotting
Please Tell Waiters about your choice of Meat. This is a menu page from Bangkok's excellent Mit-Go-Youn. See the previous post for the review.
Bangkok's best restaurant for central Thai cuisine
Authentic, first rate Thai food actually takes some effort to find in Bangkok. Tonight I lucked out. I discovered Mit-Go-Youn. It's not five minutes by taxi from Khao San Road -- but a world apart in taste.We ordered a pork soup (sorry Piggy!), tom yum gung (spicy prawn soup), and chicken fried rice. Mit-Go-Youn is on Dinsaw Street which runs directly south of Democracy Monument on Rachadamnon Avenue. It's a small family owned restaurant that's been in business for 60 years. The owner, a lady with the biggest, most genuine smile you've ever seen, circulates among the tables, making sure her customers are happy. Below are some photos of our most excellent meal. The bill tonight? Around $5.00 for two.
Burning Plastic Water Bottles
One discomfort of travel in Southeast Asia -- and the developing world generally -- is that in many towns and villages, the locals burn plastic water bottles. This can seriously diminish the quality of your travel experience. On more than one occasion, I have woken up to a hotel room full of smoke! I shot this video of one particularly noxious fire near that was burning adjacent to my beach bungalow.
Surprisingly, I have found it doesn't always help to talk to the management about this kind of issue. The only solution is often to find alternative accommodations -- fast. By the way, this is one reason why I consider it unwise to book and pay for hotels in advance -- if you aren't booking a top-end place, that is. Mid-range and below, it's so hard to anticipate in advance what you will really be getting. You could find yourself situated downwind from a garbage fire, or next to a construction site. I recall seeing some folks sunbathing at a hotel. Nearby a workman was doing some renovations using a jack-hammer. My heart went out to them as they had likely prepaid for their hotel.
Surprisingly, I have found it doesn't always help to talk to the management about this kind of issue. The only solution is often to find alternative accommodations -- fast. By the way, this is one reason why I consider it unwise to book and pay for hotels in advance -- if you aren't booking a top-end place, that is. Mid-range and below, it's so hard to anticipate in advance what you will really be getting. You could find yourself situated downwind from a garbage fire, or next to a construction site. I recall seeing some folks sunbathing at a hotel. Nearby a workman was doing some renovations using a jack-hammer. My heart went out to them as they had likely prepaid for their hotel.
Singapore Signs
Singapore is a place of rules -- a land of do's and don'ts (but mostly don'ts). These are a few of the signs I encountered on a previous trip to Singapore.
The strange one above informs you that durian fruit is not permitted on the subway. Durians have a very strong -- and to some offensive -- odor.
This particular sign struck me as especially harsh, even by Singapore standards:
Nevertheless, on your visit to Singapore, you still might catch a glimpse of a skateboarder bolting down an alleyway. After all the signs, such a sight will remind you that there's always hope for the human spirit.
The strange one above informs you that durian fruit is not permitted on the subway. Durians have a very strong -- and to some offensive -- odor.
This particular sign struck me as especially harsh, even by Singapore standards:
Nevertheless, on your visit to Singapore, you still might catch a glimpse of a skateboarder bolting down an alleyway. After all the signs, such a sight will remind you that there's always hope for the human spirit.
Melbourne: a city made for walking
Australia has two major world-class cities, Sydney and Melbourne. Although Sydney has better weather and the more spectacular setting on the sea, many tourists and Australians prefer Melbourne. They will tell you Melbourne is more cultured, friendly, or fun. I think the key thing about Melbourne is that it's a very walkable city. It's a relatively friendly city for pedestrians. From this fact springs culture, vitality, and a community spirit that makes Melbourne so lovable.As it turns out a wicked political equation lies behind the fact of Syndey's hostility to walking. I explore this issue in this post at my other blog, Jotman.com.
The photo shows downtown Melbourne, Australia's most walking-friendly city. I took the photo in August, when Australia has its winter.
World's Best Airport - Singapore's Changi
Yesterday afternoon I flew into the world's best airport. Singapore's Changi Airport has just been voted "Best Airport in the World" for the 20th year in a row by Business Traveler Magazine. It has already won 11 "best airport" awards so far this year. 
Built back in the 1970s, Changi is certainly not the world's youngest, so why does it keep beating out its newer rivals? For one thing, once you land in Singapore, everything you need is right there. Yesterday, in between flights, I was able to buy supplies at a drugstore, visit the post office, and grab a fresh sandwich. After checking out the latest digital cameras, I bought a new power adapter. All my transactions were exempted from Singapore's 7% sales tax once I showed my boarding pass. On other occasions I have made use of the airport's free Internet terminals.
Built back in the 1970s, Changi is certainly not the world's youngest, so why does it keep beating out its newer rivals? For one thing, once you land in Singapore, everything you need is right there. Yesterday, in between flights, I was able to buy supplies at a drugstore, visit the post office, and grab a fresh sandwich. After checking out the latest digital cameras, I bought a new power adapter. All my transactions were exempted from Singapore's 7% sales tax once I showed my boarding pass. On other occasions I have made use of the airport's free Internet terminals.
Airline Safety in Thailand - Keep things in perspective
While I have some concerns about aviation safety in Thailand, I have even more concerns about road safety. If you are really concerned about safety in travelling in Thailand, don't take a Tuk Tuk or a motorcycle taxi on a main road. Air travel is very safe comparatively.That's a quote from a post by Thailand based blogger Bangkok Pundit where he probes airline safety issues in Thailand in the wake of the one-two -go jet crash in Phuket.
Safety of Thai Budget Airlines in the Aftermath of the 1-2-Go crash in Phuket
The Nation (via Bangkok Pundit) reports that Thai budget airlines appear to have been cutting back costs in dangerous ways:
Update: One Thai airline that has often been cited for safety violations is Air Phuket. More on Thai aviation safety here, here, and here.
Like several other airlines, One Two Go has reportedly undergone manpower changes. The boss of One Two Go and Orient Thai budget airlines, Udom Tantisprongchai, is said to have replaced several of his Western and Thai pilots - allegedly to cut costs and reduce the chance of work disputes _ with crews with Indonesian and Philippine pilots.A commenter at Bangkok Pundit's blog wrote:
South Korea’s Ministry of Construction and Transportation issued a warning in March 2006 to Orient Thai and two other budget carriers for “frequent delays and substandard safety measures,” according to the Korea Times newspaper.Would be good to know the names of the other two airlines cited by the Korean Ministry.
The ministry said that Orient Thai, which operated flights from Inchon, South Korea to Bangkok and Phuket, did not update its safety and operational regulation manuals and that fire extinguishers and oxygen tanks were not in working condition."
Update: One Thai airline that has often been cited for safety violations is Air Phuket. More on Thai aviation safety here, here, and here.
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