surprising the BBC article didn't include the magnificent Antwerp Central Station, built by Leopold 2 (he of the horrid practices re Africa & African people, whom he brought to Belgium and put in zoos)...
yes, Tak Bai is a stain on recent Thai history, and was the flash point for escalation of the succession/self-determination movement in the '3 troubled southern provinces' (as Bkk Post and others frequently describe Pattani, Narathiwat & Yala)
i always found it both saddening and ironic that Loi Krathong, meant as a tribute to river deities, ended up grossly polluting said waterways!
the haze from agricultural burning is not just a blight in northcentral Thailand (i have visited Suphan Buri many times, the haze is unbearable at times); in Lanta, each year the severe haze from Malay & Indonesian burning of jungle being cleared for palm oil production encroached nearer to us- in last few years i was there, it started to get really bad around the island itself!
i loved Phuket when i first visited Thailand in '08, and almost moved to Kata, now i find it congested and tawdry- and after my first 2 years on Lanta, only visited once every year to see my many friends there!
i hope they don't recriminalize ganja, although on the islands it's never a problem to get it since the police & mafia are in league to import/sell/extract bribes from it...
surprising the BBC article didn't include the magnificent Antwerp Central Station, built by Leopold 2 (he of the horrid practices re Africa & African people, whom he brought to Belgium and put in zoos)...
yes, Tak Bai is a stain on recent Thai history, and was the flash point for escalation of the succession/self-determination movement in the '3 troubled southern provinces' (as Bkk Post and others frequently describe Pattani, Narathiwat & Yala)
i always found it both saddening and ironic that Loi Krathong, meant as a tribute to river deities, ended up grossly polluting said waterways!
the haze from agricultural burning is not just a blight in northcentral Thailand (i have visited Suphan Buri many times, the haze is unbearable at times); in Lanta, each year the severe haze from Malay & Indonesian burning of jungle being cleared for palm oil production encroached nearer to us- in last few years i was there, it started to get really bad around the island itself!
i loved Phuket when i first visited Thailand in '08, and almost moved to Kata, now i find it congested and tawdry- and after my first 2 years on Lanta, only visited once every year to see my many friends there!
i hope they don't recriminalize ganja, although on the islands it's never a problem to get it since the police & mafia are in league to import/sell/extract bribes from it...