September 2009

Authorities to revamp Bangkok’s airport

September 16, 2009

I wanted to point out, quickly, this intriguing AP story from Monday about a plan to revamp Thailand’s Suvarnabhumi International airport:

Baggage handlers at Thailand’s main airport now wear uniforms with pockets sewn shut to prevent pilfering. Police are hauling away illegal taxi touts. And cushions are being added to metal seats at departure gates derided as a “pain in the rear.”

An overhaul is under way at Bangkok’s $3.8 billion Suvarnabhumi Airport, which is virtually brand new but trying to put a scandal-plagued past behind and become one of the world’s top 10 airports — a goal senior officials concede might be a long shot for this year.

The campaign is partly aimed at addressing passenger complaints logged since Suvarnabhumi opened in 2006.

Free Wi-Fi will be in place by the end of the month and 126 Internet terminals have been installed for travelers without laptops, according to Airports of Thailand, the airport’s operator. Other upgrades include more restrooms, improved signs and the upholstery of all 19,000 cold metallic seats with turquoise, peach, green and purple cushions that brighten Suvarnabhumi’s concrete-and-steel design, panned by some critics as too monotone.

(Emphasis mine.)

For reference, here’s some context regarding past problems with the airport.

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Around the Web: improving college rankings, Federer’s footwork, inventors killed by their own inventions, and more

September 13, 2009

Some links that have caught my eye of late:

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Peter Reid: Officially off to Stoke

September 10, 2009

Last Peter Reid post, I promise, but I wanted to put the matter to rest, given my obsession with ongoing interest in the situation: Peter Reid is officially off to Stoke City. Steve Darby, who was Reid’s assistant, is now acting national team coach.

BBC story is here, AFP story is here, and Bangkok Post story is here.

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Thailand celebrates 9/9/09 at 9:09 a.m.

September 9, 2009

Bangkok Post: “Nation marks 09/09/09 for King”

The government joined Thais nationwide in paying respect to His Majesty the King, the ninth monarch of the Chakri Dynasty, at 9.09am on the auspicious date of the ninth day of the ninth month of 2009.

There’s also this earlier item, which provides more details.

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Thailand coach Peter Reid: the saga continues

September 9, 2009

Has Peter Reid, the Thailand national soccer team coach, left to join English Premier League outfit Stoke City as an assistant? Or is Reid still managing Thailand? Or is he doing both?

BBC Sport had this item yesterday, written as if Reid officially joined Stoke City last month, which may well be the case:

Stoke City’s Mark O’Connor believes the experience of his colleagues, Peter Reid and Gerry Francis, can help him improve as a first-team coach.

Francis have been coaching at Stoke since October, while Reid joined the Potters as assistant manager in August.

Meanwhile, the president of the Football Association of Thailand (FAT), Worawi Makudi, has told the Bangkok Post (see below) that Reid will continue at Stoke City for two more weeks. But it’s unclear whether Reid will resume coaching Thailand full-time after that.

For context, previous posts on the matter are here (Aug. 31) and here (Aug. 28).

The Bangkok Post‘s soccer expert, Tor Chittinand, has this piece in today’s paper:

“Worawi Makudi, president of the Football Association of Thailand (FAT), met Peter Reid in Manchester to discuss whether he wanted to remain as Thailand’s national team coach.

English Premier League chairman Sir David Richards was also there and Worawi said Reid wanted to continue as Thailand’s coach.

The meeting was called after it was apparent that Reid was working at Stoke as assistant to club manager Tony Pulis.

I thought the matter was over but the saga is far from at an end.

Worawi said after returning from England yesterday that Reid had asked for permission to help Pulis for another two weeks.

Regardless of whether the former Sunderland coach comes back or not, he has lost several friends and made a number of enemies in Thailand.

A strange affair indeed.

UPDATE: The Nation is reporting that the FAT have fired Reid. Story — though the wording is unclear — is here.

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WSJ on Soviet-era Minsk motorcycles in Vietnam

September 8, 2009

Today’s Wall Street Journal has a story about the legendary Minsk motorcycles1 — and the expats in Vietnam who love the Soviet-era bikes. The piece focuses on the Minsk Olympics, an event in which devotees gather outside Hanoi to perform Minsk-releated feats. There’s a slideshow, too. I love the fourth image.

  1. Long-time newley.com readers may recall that I’ve undertaken three Minsk journeys in northern Vietnam, the first of which was in 2002. My most recent sojourn was for a Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia story that was published in April, 2008. Here’s an image from that trip of me, a Minsk and…a special friend. I can personally attest that the Minsk in an alluring, alluring machine. [↩]

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James Fallows podcast on China and technology

September 5, 2009

james_fallows

Don’t miss award-winning journalist and author — not to mention uber-blogger — James Fallows discussing all things China and technology-related on the Sept. 2 installment of the Motley Fool podcast. You can find the 25-minute episode here. Fallows, a correspondent for the Atlantic Monthly, recently returned to the US after living in China for several years.

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Thailand’s southern insurgency

September 1, 2009

Today’s NYT/IHT has a story about Thailand’s southern insurgency (“Muslim Insurgents Confound Military in Thailand”). There’s also a map and a video on the left side of the page.

For more on the current state of affairs in the south — where 3500 people have died since 2004 — here are some additional news stories and analysis:

  • VOA: “Thai Army Hopes Economic Projects Ease Insurgency in South.”
  • The WSJ has a big picture look at terrorism in Southeast Asia: “Hidden Links Bolster Southeast Asian Militants.”
  • IPS: “Border Town Enjoys Peace Amid Insurgency”
  • Reuters: “Q+A: What is behind Thailand’s mysterious insurgency?”
  • GlobalPost: “Thailand: The war you’ve never heard of.”
  • And Bangkok Pundit has some analysis: “Things Getting Better in the Deep South? Part Deux.”

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