Claim about a canceled flight with a lot of outrage and annoyance
On January 7, I left from Amsterdam to Bangkok with a KLM return ticket, booked at Vliegwinkel.nl, to return home on April 3. My girlfriend believes that three months is too long for her and left on February 23rd. Together we would fly home from Bangkok on April 3 after our trip through Vietnam. No doubt we are not the only ones for whom Covid has caused the necessary problems.
Clatter of arms
Statistically, 15 out of every 100 Thai residents own a firearm. More than 5.000 people are shot dead in Thailand every year. A simple calculation shows that every day no fewer than 14 people are killed in this way in cold blood.
Drawn from lottery
Really thought it for a moment; Joseph, you are a lottery ticket. What stupidity had I pulled again? I'm going to make that clear at the end of the story, but where does that phrase actually come from?
Myanmar elections
With all the buzz surrounding the elections in the United States, we would almost have forgotten that elections took place on Sunday, November 8, 2020 in Myanmar, Thailand's northernmost neighbour.
Question about a betel nut set
In the course of time, various stories have appeared on this blog about chewing the betel nut. At an auction in the Netherlands I very recently came across a three-piece Burmese silver betel nut set. In my opinion, it must have belonged to a very wealthy person.
Rohingya population on the run
In recent years, the sad stories about the persecution of the Rohingya, especially in Myanmar, have increasingly come out through the media. On Thailandblog you could read a number of stories about it in May 2015, so more than five years ago. The Rohingya is an ethnic group with a worldwide population of between one and a half and three million people. Most of them live in Rakhine, a province in western Myanmar, on the border with Bangladesh and form a stateless Muslim minority there.
Fishing in Pai
Following a story by Gringo that was published earlier on the blog, Joseph once settled down at the Bueng Pai Farm resort.
Back in time
One of these days I saw a short video about the Doi Inthanon National Park on this blog and my mind wandered back 25 years in the past. At that time I stayed with a former colleague in Chiangdao, 80 kilometers north of Chiangmai.
Khmer Rouge Comrade Duch has died
After Pol Pot in 1998 and the second man of evil Nuon Chea, alias Brother number 2, died last year, Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Comrade Duch, also had the laid lead.
Discrimination
Looking at my many vacation photos that I took traveling through Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam during the months of January to early April, two photos taken in Vietnam remind me of the current discussion about discrimination.
Bitterballen, croquettes, stroopwafels and new herring
I have been traveling the world as a pensioner for over 25 years and Thailand and Vietnam are among my preferred Asian countries. China, Laos and Cambodia are also familiar to me and I recently visited South Korea.
RIVM: unwanted role in flight debate
Van Dissel's statements in an interview published on the NOS website caused confusion. See also the article: RIVM expert: 'Flying is relatively safe, chance of infection is small', dated June 8, posted on Thailandblog.
Buddha with a swastika
Traveling through Asia, you regularly come across the symbol of the swastika, which immediately reminds you of the Second World War. During that period, the swastika was the symbol of Nazi Germany and its supporters in other countries. I still remember a day trip by train from Hua Lamphong station in Bangkok to Kanchanaburi and over the River Kwai bridge to Nam Tok.
Trees and Buddhism
Chiangmai is very attractive to me and I have been there many times. Not only the place itself but also the surroundings are close to my heart.
Booking.com in a bad light
We go back to the year 1996 when Geert-Jan Bruinsma graduated from the University of Twente as a technical business administrator and founded Bookings.nl. Travelers know the company, which has since grown into a multinational with a turnover of 15 billion euros and a stock exchange listing in New York, and is now owned by the American Priceline, all too well.
A little irritable?
You can't get out and are too much on each other's lips and that can degenerate into squabbles with each other; that's how I read. After a week in quarantine I'm starting to get a little bit of it too. Can't leave the house and trapped in my girlfriend's house.
Joseph in Asia (Part 20 Closing) – A Look Back
An unforgettable journey that led via Bangkok to Cambodia and Vietnam and more or less forced to end in Pattaya is over and we are back home safe and sound.