Internet and phone communications between Europe, the Middle East and Asia were severely disrupted on Friday (19th Dec 2008) after three undersea cables were damaged in the Mediterranean, France Telecom said. “The causes of the cut, which is located in the Mediterranean between Sicily and Tunisia, on sections linking Sicily to Egypt, remain unclear,” a statement said, while a spokesman said it was unlikely to have been an attack.

The company said it was sending a ship to fix the lines but that it would not arrive until Monday and that it could take until December 31 until normal service was restored.

Once you begin travelling abroad, you quickly learn that the colour of your money does matter. As I described earlier this week, even in the highly internationalised environment of a foreign airport transit lounge, some currencies are accepted, others are not.

Whilst my experience in Chermenteyov, in 1999, regarding some shops accepting multiple currencies, and some accepting a select few, may or may not have been due to business operator’s preferences, or due to airport rules, or even Russian laws, it did show me that travelling abroad requires a degree of preparation for the unexpected.

Chiang Mai, THAILAND, 1 December 2008 – Several countries are making efforts to evacuate their nationals stranded in Thailand after anti-government protesters closed down the Suvarnabhumi and Don Muang airports in Bangkok.

Reports from various sources state that all trains south to Malaysia and the Kuala Lumpur International aviation hub, are fully booked through to 8th December. Alternatives such as the Laos capital, Vientiane, are an arduous journey from Bangkok with no guarantee of flights available from the far smaller airport there. Flights from the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai to Singapore (another regional aviation hub) are also reported as fully booked through to the 8th December.

Up to Sunday, there were some 100,000 Thai and foreign passengers stranded in Thailand, and abroad, due to the closure of the two main airports, Suvarnabhumi last Tuesday and Don Mueang airport last Wednesday. One report has claimed Suvarnabhumi will reopen tonight at 6pm, but that is seen as impossible by most observers.

It’s interesting that it’s taken almost a year before news-bloggers have noticed World of Good exists, given that it is an eBay-related program, and leaves a bitter taste in the mouth that eBay are insidiously pushing their charitable programs to the fore during this period of extreme unrest amongst their selling members.

Over 110,000 people affected.

CHIANG MAI, Thailand – 16 August 2005 – Torrential rains lashed the mountainous centre of South East Asia on Saturday and led to flash floods in Northern Thailand’s popular tourist destinations.

Casualty estimates vary between 5 and 13 dead, with 11 to 20 reported missing, and around forty injured including two foreign visitors.

Eighteen roads, 44 bridges and around 6,500 hectares of agricultural crops have been severely affected in rural areas.

Current estimates are that floods have directly affected almost 111,000 people over an area the size of Wales, according to officials.

Thailand’s Authorities threaten tsunami aid workers with 3 years jail.
Foreigners told to get work permits or face prison.
By Garry Harbottle-Johnson

THAILAND: 8 Feb 2005 – Just two days after Thai Rak Thai was returned to power in the general election, Sayan Chuaiyjan, Head of Phuket Provincial Employment Service has announced that foreign tsunami-aid workers must obtain Thai Work Permits, or face a maximum penalty of three years in jail, a 30,000 Baht fine, or both.

Enforcement will begin in March with no exceptions.

Admitting authorities didn’t enforce the law rigidly immediately after the tsunami, “because everyone wanted to help”, he added, “But now that the situation is returning to normal, we will have to start taking it more seriously.”

This announcement, coming immediately after the general election, has been criticised as timed to avoid losing votes for Thai Rak Thai in the tsunami affected southern provinces.

CHIANG MAI, Thailand – 16 June 2004 - Rainy season’s arrived. You get a hint at this from the amount of wet stuff in the air outside and a personal malaise about going anywhere.

In some ways it’s a bit like the onset of deep winter back in Europe – when the sun shines you dash around trying to clear all the outside jobs before the clouds roll in again, and once they’ve arrived, you try to find things to do in the house. So, apart from vegetating in front of the TV, or rewashing your favourite T-shirt, how do you fill your time? Do you ever consider that housebound time, and your expensive Internet connection could actually be earning you money?

Silver Licenses awarded in North for First Time

Chiang Mai, Thailand, 24 May 2004 – Over 80 tourist guides from all corners of Thailand spent two month’s in study at Naresuan University’s Phayao Campus this summer, before graduating to gain their Silver Guide Licenses.

Studying an intensive program for international tourism including airline passenger service, Thai culture, eco-tourism & the environment, ethics & etiquette, geography, history, immigration law, Thai music & instruments, and other subjects, the course candidates sat exams every week, with eight hours of classroom time seven days each week.