Tag: Thailand

Phuket Plane Crash: More Info

Phuket

Here’s more info on Sunday’s plane crash in Phuket. 89 of 130 people on board were killed, many of them foreign tourists.

AFP: “Thai crash officials probe system problem, foul weather”

AP: “Authorities struggle to identify more than 30 victims of the Thai plane crash”

And a Wikipedia page has been created; it contains the basic facts:

One-Two-GO Airlines Flight 269 was a scheduled flight from Bangkok’s Don Mueang International Airport to Phuket International Airport in the Thai resort island of Phuket. On September 16, 2007, amid heavy rains and strong crosswinds at Phuket International Airport, the aircraft in service for this flight touched down hard on the runway and skidded into a wooded embankment. The aircraft broke into two, caught fire almost immediately and was completely destroyed, causing 89 deaths.[1] Phuket International Airport was re-opened in the afternoon of September 17, 2007.[2]

The crash of Flight 269 is Thailand’s deadliest aviation accident since Thai Airways Flight 261 crashed into a rice paddy in 1998

Plane Crash in Phuket, Thailand

Plane Crash in Phuket, Thailand [NOT MY IMAGE]

NYT/AP:

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) — A passenger plane filled with foreign tourists crashed Sunday as it tried to land in heavy rain on the island of Phuket, splitting in two as it was engulfed in flames, officials said. At least 66 people were killed.

The budget One-To-Go Airlines was carrying 123 passengers and five crew members on a domestic flight from the Thai capital of Bangkok to Phuket, one of the country’s major tourist destinations, according to the Thai television station TITV.

Bangkok Pundit is providing news round-ups.

Indonesia: “Rattled by Earthquakes”

Indonesia Earthquake [Image via CNN.com]

CNN.com:

JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNN) — Less than a day after being rocked by a deadly earthquake, people on the Indonesian island of Sumatra were jolted again Thursday morning by a pair of powerful tremors that prompted the Indonesian government to issue additional tsunami warnings.

Residents in other Indian Ocean nations also were put on notice about the possibility of tsunami waves. Most of those watches were later dropped, although a watch remained in effect for Indonesia.

The 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck about 6:45 a.m. (1145 GMT), according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The epicenter was about 185 kilometers (115 miles) south-southeast of Padang and about 210 km northwest of Bengkulu.

About four hours later, the USGS reported that a 7.1-magnitude quake had rocked the region. Sandwiched in-between were half a dozen temblors measuring 5.0 and above.

The quakes came just 12 hours after Indonesia had been rocked by an 8.4-magnitude earthquake that killed at least nine people, and generated a small tsunami about 61 centimeters (2 feet) high along the Sumatran coast.

(Emphasis mine.)

The first quake hit at about 6:10 p.m. local time yesterday, and even people here in Bangkok reported that tall buildings were shaken.

Categories
Misc.

Thailand’s Amulet Craze

Jennifer Chen has an excellent story in the Wall Street Journal about Thailand’s Jatukam Ramathep amulets. Don’t miss it.

Not so long ago, Nakhon Si Thammarat was a sleepy town with no obvious tourist attractions — or tourists. Its economy revolved around shrimp farming and fishing.

Now this provincial capital in southern Thailand is crawling with thousands of visitors each week. The big draw: amulets, some as small as three centimeters wide, called Jatukam Ramathep.

Thais are big believers in the supernatural. Amulets, which come in various materials and sizes and are usually worn around the neck, are basically lucky charms thought to have magical powers that protect from physical and spiritual harm as well as bring good fortune. Thailand is predominantly a Buddhist country and the amulets usually depict famous monks or the Buddha.

Thailand has seen its share of amulet crazes over the years. But the Jatukam Ramathep medallion — which depicts a mythical figure that resembles a Hindu god with multiple arms and heads — has set new heights in the annals of amulet history. And at its birthplace in the town of Nakhon Si Thammarat, most buyers seem to be snapping them up more for their supposed power to deliver instant riches than for their promise of good health…

Categories
Misc.

Thai Voters Approve New Constitution

CNN/Reuters:

Thailand’s voters have approved an army-drafted constitution, but a hefty “No” vote suggests December’s general election will be messy, with ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra still a potent political force.

With 98 percent of votes counted on Monday in Thailand’s first referendum, the Election Commission said about 57 percent of people had accepted the charter, designed to prevent a repeat of Thaksin’s powerful single-party style of government.

However, 41 percent rejected it, sending a signal to the generals who removed the telecoms billionaire in a coup last September that they will struggle to control the make-up of the next administration.

Roughly 25 million of the 45 million electorate cast their ballots, a 56 percent turnout.

Having pressed for a “Yes” vote, the army-appointed post-coup government had been hoping for at least a 60 percent turnout for what will be the 18th charter in 75 years of on-off democracy.

Bangkok Pundit has more details.

Categories
Misc.

Khao San Road Goes Upscale: My Story in Today’s New York Times

I’ve got a travel story in today’s New York Times. It’s about how Bangkok’s legendary Khao San Road, long a meeting place for backpackers, now offers a variety of upscale amenities.

Categories
Misc.

“Why Thailand’s Generals Will Root for Man U”

Time’s Hannah Beech:

The guy selling spears of chilled guava down the street sports a Chelsea football jersey. Everywhere in soccer-mad Bangkok, in fact, people wear garments proclaiming their affiliation with one or another English Premier League team. But one jersey you’re unlikely to spot? That of Manchester City. It’s not because City has struggled, unsuccessfully, for three decades now to emerge from the shadow of its more moneyed crosstown rival, Manchester United. Even Birmingham’s lackluster Aston Villa, after all, maintains a dogged fan base in Thailand’s capital. No, the reason Manchester City is taboo in Bangkok is because its new owner is ousted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra…

“Bangkok Through the Window”

Bangkok from a Window [not my image]

That’s the name of Stephen Cysewski’s photo gallery, where you’ll find various images of Bangkok as seen through “Taxis, Cars, Buses, and Trains.” Don’t miss it.

Hello Kitty Armband for Misbehaving Thai Police

Hello Kitty Armband for Misbehaving Thai Police [not my image]

I’d seen this amusing item a few days back, but thanks to reader Paul D for pointing it out again.

Seth Mydans, in the New York Times:

It is the pink armband of shame for wayward police officers, as cute as can be with a Hello Kitty face and a pair of linked hearts.

No matter how many ribbons for valor a Thai officer may wear, if he parks in the wrong place, or shows up late for work, or is seen dropping a bit of litter on the sidewalk, he can be ordered to wear the insignia.

“Simple warnings no longer work,” said Pongpat Chayaphan, acting chief of the Crime Suppression Division in Bangkok, who instituted the new humiliation this week.

“This new twist is expected to make them feel guilt and shame and prevent them from repeating the offense, no matter how minor,” he said. “Kitty is a cute icon for young girls. It’s not something macho police officers want covering their biceps.”

Ten of the armbands have been prepared, but so far none have actually been issued, according to an officer who declined to give his name while discussing this sensitive topic.

Related: The Hello Kitty Jet.

An Overview of Thailand’s Political Situation

Anti-Coup Protester in Thailand [not my image]

Richard Bernstein’s Letter from Thailand, in yesterday’s IHT, provides an overview of the current political situation in Thailand:

About a week ago, the Thai press reported on a 30-year-old man, apparently not a brilliant one, who, for unexplained reasons, was tormenting an elephant. He hit the animal, according to the newspapers, whereupon the usually placid beast wrapped the man in his trunk, slammed him down, and trampled him to death.

This may be stretching a point, but it seemed to me, visiting Thailand after an absence of a few years, that the elephant-kills-man story is a pretty good metaphor for the delicate state of Thai politics these days, almost a year after an army coup overthrew a democratically elected government that had run afoul of important segments of Thai society.

The ruling coup’s leadership is the elephant in this scheme of things, striving to be a useful beast, indeed making plans to exit the stage as soon as its plans for a constitutional referendum and new elections, all by the end of the year, have been carried out.

But then there are those people angry about military rule and, in some cases, allied to the government of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra that was overthrown last September.

They have been trying, in the name of democracy, to get all Thailand sufficiently riled up to attack the elephant.

So far, however, the elephant has trampled them.