http://www.gazlannathai.com/eye An Outsider Inside Thailand Thu, 27 Oct 2011 12:37:59 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 http://www.gazlannathai.com/eye/2008/12/se-asia-europe-internet-connections-at-10-normal-speed/ http://www.gazlannathai.com/eye/2008/12/se-asia-europe-internet-connections-at-10-normal-speed/#comments Sat, 20 Dec 2008 08:26:20 +0000 Garry http://www.gazlannathai.com/eye/?p=178 The breakage of the three trunk undersea cables in the Mediterranean between Sicily and Tunisia has dropped Internet bandwidth between Europe and Asia to 10% of normal capacity, as Telco's and ISPs frantically try to reroute connections through the USA. Users in SE Asia are reporting connections as slow as 5 bps with up to 100% transmission packet loss on some browse and email connection attempts.]]> http://www.gazlannathai.com/eye/2008/12/se-asia-europe-internet-connections-at-10-normal-speed/feed/ 1 http://www.gazlannathai.com/eye/2008/12/who-is-behind-the-bombings-of-pad-in-bangkok/ http://www.gazlannathai.com/eye/2008/12/who-is-behind-the-bombings-of-pad-in-bangkok/#comments Tue, 02 Dec 2008 16:49:30 +0000 Garry http://www.gazlannathai.com/eye/?p=158
CHIANG MAI, Thailand, 2 Dec 2008 - It's a long held truism that in order to win a war, a protagonist must know their enemy as well as, or better than, they know themselves. Intelligence gathering, and application of the knowledge it yields, has for millennia made the difference between smaller forces winning a battle or campaign, and being overwhelmed and becoming margin notes of history, rather than lauded as heroes. In the current battle of wills being conducted within Thailand's capital, between - pro and anti government groups, the government itself, and alleged conflicting loyalties within the military and police forces, one of the key questions of the day remains unanswered - who is bombing the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) protest sites and members? And is it the PAD who have begun retaliating in a like manner against pro-government groups?]]> http://www.gazlannathai.com/eye/2008/12/who-is-behind-the-bombings-of-pad-in-bangkok/feed/ 0 http://www.gazlannathai.com/eye/2005/08/fatal-floods-strike-northern-thailand/ http://www.gazlannathai.com/eye/2005/08/fatal-floods-strike-northern-thailand/#comments Tue, 16 Aug 2005 02:00:39 +0000 Garry http://www.gazlannathai.com/eye/?p=49 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.]]> http://www.gazlannathai.com/eye/2005/08/fatal-floods-strike-northern-thailand/feed/ 2 http://www.gazlannathai.com/eye/2004/06/rainy-season-retailing-2/ http://www.gazlannathai.com/eye/2004/06/rainy-season-retailing-2/#comments Wed, 16 Jun 2004 02:00:59 +0000 Garry http://www.gazlannathai.com/eye/?p=7 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?]]> http://www.gazlannathai.com/eye/2004/06/rainy-season-retailing-2/feed/ 0 http://www.gazlannathai.com/eye/2003/08/cupids-caveat-emptor/ http://www.gazlannathai.com/eye/2003/08/cupids-caveat-emptor/#comments Tue, 12 Aug 2003 02:00:35 +0000 Garry http://www.gazlannathai.com/eye/?p=13 Cupid's Caveat Emptor CHIANG MAI, Thailand - 12 Aug 2003 - Humans are social animals. We seek the company of others and prosper when we have it. The prosperity gained from working with others is a dichotomy of modern life. Often it places pressures on our personal lives that make us become socially isolated after leaving the office. That western society suffers this is undisputed, but does it exist here in Thailand; both in expatriate and in native Thai societies?]]> http://www.gazlannathai.com/eye/2003/08/cupids-caveat-emptor/feed/ 0 http://www.gazlannathai.com/eye/2003/03/brothers-in-arms-part-2/ http://www.gazlannathai.com/eye/2003/03/brothers-in-arms-part-2/#comments Sat, 22 Mar 2003 02:15:55 +0000 Garry http://www.gazlannathai.com/eye/?p=19 Brothers in Arms - Part 2 Sibling rivalry in Medieval Thailand CHIANG MAI, Thailand - 22 Mar 2003 - For centuries before the current Thailand was referred to as Siam, the region was a closely linked collection of major and minor kingdoms. At the close of the 14th century, several were consolidating their power bases and borders, whilst at the same time experiencing internal struggles and rebellions similar to those of several west European nations of the period. Continued from last month … Thao Yi Kum Kam, ruler of Chiang Rai and elder brother of Cao Phraya Sam Fang Kaen of Chiang Mai, had fled to Sukhothai in the early AD 1400s. Together with the northern prince’s remaining forces, Phraya Sai Lu Thai of Sukhothai raised an army with the aim of capturing Chiang Mai. Thao Yi Kum Kam’s rebellion illustrates the fickleness of allegiances – a century earlier, an undying oath of friendship had been sworn between King Mengrai of Lan Na, and King Ramkhamhaeng of Sukhothai.]]> http://www.gazlannathai.com/eye/2003/03/brothers-in-arms-part-2/feed/ 0 http://www.gazlannathai.com/eye/2003/03/brothers-in-arms-part-1/ http://www.gazlannathai.com/eye/2003/03/brothers-in-arms-part-1/#comments Sat, 22 Mar 2003 02:00:39 +0000 Garry http://www.gazlannathai.com/eye/?p=15 Brothers in Arms - Part 1 Sibling rivalry in Medieval Thailand CHIANG MAI, Thailand - 22 Mar 2003 - For centuries before the current Thailand was referred to as Siam, the region was a closely linked collection of major and minor kingdoms. At the close of the 14th century, several were consolidating their power bases and borders, whilst at the same time experiencing internal struggles and rebellions similar to those of several west European nations of the period. At that time, the region that became Thailand comprised of several firmly defined major kingdoms, and several minor ones, all with tributary states and “foreign” allies or vassals. In the central region, Ayutthaya was approaching the most dynamic period of its growth and expansion, having pushed the declined Khmer Empire of Angkor Wat back into the Cambodian highlands, and kept the various Burmese kings west of the Kanchanaburi mountains. A little north, the great golden utopia of Sukhothai was beginning its decline from the glory days when its growth shadowed that of Lan Na, its own northern neighbour.]]> http://www.gazlannathai.com/eye/2003/03/brothers-in-arms-part-1/feed/ 0 http://www.gazlannathai.com/eye/2003/03/lan-na-in-the-shadow-of-the-mongols/ http://www.gazlannathai.com/eye/2003/03/lan-na-in-the-shadow-of-the-mongols/#comments Tue, 11 Mar 2003 02:00:45 +0000 Garry http://www.gazlannathai.com/eye/?p=24 Lan Na in the Shadow of the Mongols Satellite Towns - an old system revived CHIANG MAI, Thailand - 11 Mar 2003 - People say that history is how we learn the future. Examining the past is how we see what to do next, claim others. Cynics state that history teaches only that humans never learn. Perhaps a little of each is true for all of us, and everyone has the opportunity to learn from everyone else, at personal, regional, and national levels. How many of us do? On 23rd April AD 1281, marching triumphantly into Hariphunchai (Lamphun), King Mengrai entered a city-state far different from those of Chiang Rai and the Mae Kok basin. Hariphunchai was a model administration for his growing kingdom, one that he would adapt, and use. Hariphunchai was small; one central city and several satellite towns – within half a day’s march of each other, plus dozens of smaller villages. Only the latter were unfortified. The basic military advantage, of scattered strong points dependent upon and defendant of each other, is a style still used today. Yet, their placement was not only military.]]> http://www.gazlannathai.com/eye/2003/03/lan-na-in-the-shadow-of-the-mongols/feed/ 0 http://www.gazlannathai.com/eye/2003/01/what-to-do-in-a-home-away-from-home/ http://www.gazlannathai.com/eye/2003/01/what-to-do-in-a-home-away-from-home/#comments Sun, 05 Jan 2003 05:00:29 +0000 Garry http://www.gazlannathai.com/eye/?p=86 Published in Chiang Mai CityLife Magazine - February 2003 A Level Playing Field - Part 2 CHIANG MAI, Thailand - 5 January 2003 Returning to the tourists interviewed at the end of last year, the other half of the survey considered their opinions of what is good about Chiang Mai, what they enjoyed, and any suggestions they have for further improvement of the city’s tourism facilities. The responses in this section of the survey were less clear-cut than in the section about roads and traffic, although some marginal trends were identified. Overall, this second part of the survey was favourable to Chiangmai. Tourists have a wide range of activities and places that they enjoy, and any suggestions they gave fell into the, “try to make it better quality” category. Some of these things are being done, as the following “good news” items will demonstrate...]]> http://www.gazlannathai.com/eye/2003/01/what-to-do-in-a-home-away-from-home/feed/ 1 http://www.gazlannathai.com/eye/2002/11/moving-about-in-a-home-away-from-home/ http://www.gazlannathai.com/eye/2002/11/moving-about-in-a-home-away-from-home/#comments Wed, 27 Nov 2002 02:00:48 +0000 Garry http://www.gazlannathai.com/eye/?p=82 Abridged & Published in Chiang Mai CityLife Magazine - January 2003 A Level Playing Field - Part 1 CHIANG MAI, Thailand - 27 June 2002 I’d been almost 24 hours on the move. I’d decided to travel from the airport to the hotel by air-con taxi. After agreeing the price to Pattaya (Baht 1,000), and loading the baggage, I was starting to believe I was in the correct country, when my first experience of Thai driving skills - between the Domestic terminal and the expressway on-ramp, convinced me of it. The idiocy of the truck that carved us up made the taxi driver ask me for a cigarette – something no other taxi driver has done since; ergo, it was a seriously close shave. It set my opinion of Thai driving logic (and skills) from that moment on. An opinion that has never changed, and maybe never will ...]]> http://www.gazlannathai.com/eye/2002/11/moving-about-in-a-home-away-from-home/feed/ 1