"The Rounds" February 14, 2004

This year Valentine's Day falls on a Saturday, making it great for a romance-laced day for couples everywhere the holiday is observed.

Many a high-schooler's, university student's, and other young people's hearts will be beating with special fervor. Some of us grew up in places where we can remember being even in junior high-school and hope, hope, hoping the object of our youthful (and fevered!) affections would somehow read our minds and slip us a Valentine Day's card.

Apologies for being a bit late with this week's column; it's now late Saturday morning as I insert this item, though I hope to have the column up in a little while.

My laptop computer went on the blink when I tried to boot up yesterday morning, and I literally could do nothing, not even run software to try to check things out. After fooling around with the darned thing awhile I realized I needed to take it to a shop, which I did. My major concern was that I had lost all my data on the hard drive. In the event, that wasn't the case, and while I had to leave the computer for the repairman to evaluate what needs to be done (if anything can be) and if so, whether it's worth the money involved, I was relieved to still have all my data. (I have an item further down the column about the shop I visited; I was greatly impressed.) Anyway, all that pretty well shot Friday. I hope to be fully up and running again by early next week. Meanwhile, I had my hard drive removed and bought the case and cable that make it into an external drive, so I am using it in conjunction with my desktop temporarily.

I'm sad to report that yet another Old Thai Hand has passed away after a 6-week battle with various health problems.

Dick enjoyed essentially excellent health, bar one operation a number of years ago he came through excellently, until about last August, when he began experiencing back pains. Diagnosis led to his having 3 vertebrae fused in a successful operation.

But back discomfort continued, some days mildly, some days not so mildly. For whatever reason, he entered hospital here in Bangkok just before the New Year. He underwent another operation, which apparently went successfully, but the signs were ominous.

Finally, the doctors released him to go home. None of us who knew and loved Dick wanted to think about the implications of that, though they were blindingly obvious.

Dick passed away about 10:00 A.M. last Saturday, February 5th, at home.

He has one son stationed in the U.S. Air Force in Hawaii, and a step-daughter (through his Thai wife of decades) in Florida; the family is working to get both of them here. Dick's other son resides here in Bangkok, as does his wife. Dick himself was a military retiree, serving in theaters from Africa and Italy during the Second World War, when he was in the U.S. Army, through to Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. (He got out of the service after WWII, but later joined the then brand-new U.S. Air Force.)

I knew Dick about 9 years, and liked him -- and respected him -- from the first time we were introduced by the venerable George Pipas, proprietor of the famous Texas Lone Staar Saloon in Washington Square, where Dick would come very early most mornings and many lunch times for a meal, in large measure out of habit -- he and George were friends from the first time they met at Korat Air Force Base up in Korat (Nakon Ratchasima) in 1966, when Dick was still on active duty with the U.S. Air Force, from which he was a retired master sergeant.

Dick was amazing. The first time the subject of his age came up, I flat didn't believe him, but he happened to have his passport with him and proved it. Right up until his final battle he drove his own car, worked part-time, remained mentally extremely sharp -- and was truly a source of inspiration for everyone. I never heard Dick say a cross word about anybody, and he was universally loved.

It is one measure of the love, honor, and respect Dick enjoyed -- with superb reason -- that when it became clear the end was near, George Pipas cried for the first time in the years I've known him. I don't mean wailing, screaming, gnashing-his-teeth crying, but some quiet tears for his best friend on the face of the planet.

For those of you who knew Dick and are in the area this weekend, wanting to attend his cremation rites, he is in Sala 14 at Wat Tat Thong just east of Sukhumvit Soi 63 (Soi Ekhamai), on the north side of Sukhumvit Road, adjacent to the Ekhamai Skytrain Station. The time is 2:00 P.M. this coming Saturday, February 14, 2004. I will be adding information on the homepage of this site as I learn it for those interested in keeping abreast of developments.

Just amazing, that's what it is. First, we had about as long a cool season as any of us can remember -- weeks long. Then it started warming up, and it seemed that as is normal, the hot season was rushing towards us.

But we've turned out not so smart after all, in the event. It rained over the weekend, for heaven's sake -- and not even the longest-serving Old Thai Hand I know can recall it ever raining in February in Bangkok -- and some of them go back the best part of half a century. And I'm not talking about a brief, light, sprinkle, a drop a square meter, but frog-strangling, lengthy downpours, one rivaling any I've ever witnessed here in The Big Weird. Around dawn this past Saturday Washington Square was literally awash, water coming up over even the higher sidewalks.

And the rain brought cool temperatures back, blissfully; it has been much cooler since last Friday night than is anywhere near normal for this time of year. In fact, a couple of times in the evenings I have bordered on cold walking along in moderate cool evening breezes. And since Sunday it has been essentially clear -- heck, I can even see not-so-bright stars at night through the polluted-in-every-way skies of this tropical capital.

Though nothing is cast in stone yet, as far as I know, street intelligence is coalescing into a less self-contradictory whole, and things don't look wonderful for owners of bars, karaokes, massage parlors, pool halls, computer game and video arcades centers, dance halls, discos, etc. etc. etc., who are in for a rough go of it, and not just in terms of operating hours being reduced.

For one thing, at least one bar owner, a Thai lady I know, told me that in a formal meeting she had at the Thonglor Police District Headquarters she was told that people who had licenses to close at 1:00 A.M. or at 2:00 A.M. -- 2 separate licenses -- *may* be allowed to continue to hold them IF the authorities are satisfied with the record at that particular establishment. Also, holders of licenses requiring them to close either at midnight or 1:00 A.M. *and* with satisfactory records can apply for a later-closing time license. But the other side of the coin is that those not pleasing to the authorities' gaze could be in a bad situation, though just what that bad situation might be remains unspecified. On this same side of the coin is the steady flow of claims no newcomers will be allowed to apply for licenses at all outside to-be-named entertainment areas. I gather existing establishments will be grandfathered in, even those outside the pending entertainment zones, but all establishment owners will have to renew their licenses -- and once they renew these licenses, if they miss an apparently very short window of opportunity to apply for permission to stay open later than they currently do, they will not be given another opportunity to do so later.

The other consistent story centers on the annual fees. It appears the first year will run 50,000 baht, which will hit some of the marginal establishments hard. The annual renewal fees thereafter are said to be planned at 10,000 baht or 15,000 baht, depending on who's talking at the moment.

There is some confusion remaining about the planned entertainment zones. The only two venues I've heard mentioned without exception are Patpong and Ratchadapisek Road. But that brings us back to the grandfathering point. If the authorities indeed allow the numerous other venues around town to continue to operate, it is not at all clear what the limits will be. The end of a given lease? When the owner decides to call it a day and quit -- i.e., will he or she be allowed to sell or rent the business out if the lease is still valid? No one seems to know at this point.

Some people, foreigners and Thais alike, point out that Bangkok is covered with bars alone, and that's true; last I knew, officially the number approached 4,000. And that doesn't include the many, many restaurants that serve alcohol, from khlong-side (canal-side), open-air neighborhood restaurants to 5-star eateries. One underlying argument here is there are more competitors than can be supported by the customer base. Not being trained in this sort of analysis, I haven't the faintest idea if this is a valid argument, but it does give one reason to pause and reflect. Within 350-400 meters of where I sit this very moment, there are maybe around 80 bars alone, and that's *just* along Sukhumvit Sois 22 and 33 and inside Washington Square. And that's excluding restaurants.

Of course, there are great swaths of the metropolis devoid or nearly devoid of bars, so the geographic distribution of bars is very far from uniform.

It does seem as if the approach being taken is rather stern, unless there are elements to the strategy I fail to understand or simply don't know, both entirely possible. Stop young people from drinking, using drugs, and having illicit sex by closing up bars early? I don't see the link, at least not necessarily. After all, even local commentators (some of them) have observed the kids well could congregate at an apartment somewhere and be completely out from under adult eyes. (The point about illegal drug usage is especially interesting since the war on drugs was won; where are the drugs coming from?)

So far the status quo seems to be continuing here in Bangkok. It will be interesting to see what happens in the middle-to-long term.

Late News: I wrote the above portion of this story yesterday (Tuesday, February10, 2004), only to awaken this morning to front-page news in both major English-language dailies here on an announcement by the Cabinet relating to this very topic.

In essence, as far as bars are concerned, most outside designated entertainment areas will have to close by midnight. For Bangkok, the reported designated zones that will be home to establishments allowed to remain open later number 3: Patpong, Ratchadapiek Road, and Royal City Avenue.

I am more than a little surprised at the inclusion of Royal City Avenue (popularly known, simply, as "RCA") in the list of officially-designated entertainment zones. Why? It primarily appeals to the younger crowd, and it wasn't all that long ago the government had a major crackdown there (a few years back) in a campaign against under-age drinking as well as the use of illegal drugs by anyone. I can think of several other areas that strike me as more likely candidates for inclusion, in the minds of some observers.

Predictably -- and understandably -- both newspapers report many owners are screaming foul. There are well-placed concerns that some owners may take the government to court, as in the opinion of some observers there is a question of whether such a move is discriminatory and therefore against the Constitution, which would make it illegal. The Nation story claims Prime Minister Thaksin said the possibility of lawsuits against the government over this matter is of less concern than is efficiency in enforcing the new regulation.

There's also the point that one of the chief rationales is to protect the nation's youth. However, in a separate move, there has been a suggestion that minors not be allowed out of their homes 10P.M.-4:00 A.M. unless accompanied by a parent (or, one supposes, other legal guardian). If that goes into force and is enforced, that reason for closing bars, etc. early vanishes.

To see The Nation story, click here; for that in The Bangkok Post, you'll either have to try to register online (which I continue to fail to be able to do) to click through to read it, or buy a dead-tree version of the paper.

A number of people who live in or have recently visited the paired beach resorts south of the capital say both are really busy with tourists. (I myself haven't been down in over half a year, so have to depend on The Bamboo Telegraph from friends down that way.) If so, that's good news for the tourism industry there in particular, especially since it hasn't been that many weeks since reports then said many a bar was sitting empty, or practically so. Apparently Pattaya is set to be the test city for the new closing-time laws, so we may get an indication from whatever happens there what might be in store for here in Bangkok.

Of course, as is true anywhere, the smarter bar owners have always tried hard to build a local customer base and not depend on the tourist season to take them out of the red and into the black. I have one friend in Jomtien who owns The Nightlife Bar on Jomtien Beach Road, and in the just over 2 years he has had it, he has done this and now enjoys a dependable group of customers, and not just from Jomtien itself. Some come from Pattaya, others from Bangkok, and still others are folks who visit several times a year. Anytime I get the notion to take off down that way, his bar is a place I'm certain to visit.

I just hope everyone down that way is making a lot of money, especially given the reportedly terrible start of the annual tourist season.

The past few days have seen repeated difficulties connecting to various web sites, particularly those located in North America, from here in The Land of Smiles.

Rumor has it another break in a seabed backbone line has occurred, though I've not seen or heard this from any news source.

I *do* know the problem is real -- whatever it may be. Just this morning I've been trying to get into a Yahoo e-mail account for about 3 hours and may be just now making it as I write. The same has been true for the majority of other sites I've tried to access this morning.

There are anecdotal reports of e-mails bouncing, both directions. If you send an e-mail to someone here, particularly from a North-America based server, try again, and/or try using a different e-mail address for your recipient, if you know one.

I have been meaning to write about this splendid little open-front "bar bier" ("beer bar," though it in fact has other alcoholic beverages available).

Queen's Park Plaza is a small but packed entertainment venue on Sukhumvit Soi 22 about 150 meters off Sukhumvit Road. Coming from Sukhumvit Road, once you pass the Regency Park Hotel (on your right) start looking almost immediately to your right; you'll see 4 walkways (labeled Soi 1, Soi 2, Soi 3, and Soi 4), lined with bars, for the most part, though the Plaza also boasts 2 foot massage parlors, a small pharmacy, an Internet cafe, and 2 restaurants (both offering alcoholic beverages.

Facing the Plaza from Soi 22, walk down the 2nd walkway counting from the right and watch on your right. The bar has a bright sign, an open front, and a rustic look.

The Ministry of Education has realized Thailand is in dire need of expanding its English-speaking Thais and has begun tentative measures to try to assist schools in both the public and private sectors recruit native speakers of English, though the ministry's sub-website devoted to its initial program is a little light on much by way of real info. (To see the English-language homepage for this sub-website, click here; Thai speakers can go to the ministry's main homepage at http://www.moe.go.th and navigate from there.)

As a first step, schools authorized to conduct all or part of their instruction in English under the English Program (EP) or Mini-English Program (MEP)

The site is badly in need of maintenance, both technical and lingual. In the technical area, some of the links are wrong. One requires you to enter a password, but when you exit that window, it opens up what the link is for anyway. On the language side, there are several fairly serious errors, which look especially glaring given that this is, after all, the web site of the Ministry of Education *and* is meant to attract qualified English teachers. In a way I'm sure no one at the ministry intended, those errors underscore the nation's great need for improved English-language skills.

But those shortcomings mentioned, it is a good first step forward. I imagine as time goes on the technical matters will be fixed and the language errors corrected. The ministry deserves a round of applause for acknowledging the lack -- and for trying to do something to eliminate the shortage.

With all the brouhaha regarding the proposals to close bars early and to keep minors at home throughout the night, visa issues have moved to the back pages or out of the media altogether. The only new proposals I've heard -- and it's not clear to me if they are just proposals at this point or are already set to take effect -- are that the financial requirements for anyone wanting a one-year visa on the basis of marriage to a Thai national or being the parent/legal guardian of a Thai minor national will have to increase his or her bank account from 200,000 baht to 400,000 baht.

In a related development, people at the lower end of the income scale (which is not to say impoverished) have in the past been able to raise the money, put it in the bank while applying for the visa, then withdrawing the money to return to whoever lent it in the first place -- but another proposal to make keeping the money in the bank all the time required has apparently been made. I heard a rumor that when one checks in for his 90-day report-in he will have to produce his bank book at the same time to prove he has -- and has had -- the required amount.

If street intelligence is right and these proposals do take effect, then we can be looking for them to come into force in July or so.

In recent days the story of the avian flu "epidemic" has also receded away from the front pages of papers around the region, though it remains a source of concern.

From various regional governments' points of view, perhaps the larger issue is the political fall-out from suspicions that some governments tried to conceal the existence of the infection, not the health threat itself, given that in human terms, the impact has been very small. That's not to say it a small problem -- it's not; just consider how many birds have been what we are please to call "culled," as a preventative measure.

The total impact remains to be seen -- in tourism, the agricultural sector (and the ripple effects of that), the final human toll, etc. We already know the economic impact on chicken farmers is enormous.

There has been a bit of silliness connected with this health scare. For example, one government official here (though one can cite officials from around the world when it comes to silliness in this situation, including my home country, the U.S.A.) peevishly said if Japan banned chickens from Thailand then Thailand ought to retaliate by banning the import of Japanese goods. Even the U.S. took a public-relations thrashing when authorities there reported a single case of suspected avian flu in a chicken, a case those authorities were treating as if the bird was indeed infected. And some countries have banned the import of U.S. chicken products, for which I can't really blame them, at least not if the main concern is public health, not revenge.

I had heard the computer shops in Fortune Town are in many cases excellent, and tired of going all the way to Panthip Plaza, I decided to try going there with my broken-down laptop yesterday.

I had to go to 2 or 3 shops before I found a place where the guy said he does do laptop repair. And I walked away impressed.

For one thing, as I said above, he relieved me of my major worry -- loss of the data on my hard drive, some of which isn't on any of my other computers (though you can darn sure bet it is NOW!). Now, the guy sells used laptops and notebooks -- but he urged me to give up on them, saying they're nothing but trouble. I need the portability of one and told him so, so he suggested I go somewhere and buy a new one (he has none). That impressed me. When I said I wasn't quite ready to do that, he told me he thinks the problem with my computer is the VGA card, but that it could be the motherboard. When I asked him what those cost, he said he would have to check, but that any VGA card is affordable. He went on to say if the problem is the motherboard he flat wouldn't repair it. Puzzled, I asked why. He said the cost of a motherboard would be so much that I'd be better off using my other computers, or, if I just have to have a portable one with a lot of memory (which I do), to buy a new one. *That* impressed me -- refusing to waste my money.

The man speaks reasonably good English and is very friendly. His name is Chamlong Tupchai, and his shop is STC Communication Company, Ltd. His shop is in the hall in the north half of the complex leading to IT City, and is on your right walking north (away from the hotel next to Fortune town). It's in Room 027 on the 4th floor (using American floor numbering, which the building does). He's open Monday-Saturday, but his card doesn't have his hours and I didn't ask. Anyway, his land line is 02-688-4623, and his hand phone number is 01-614-5729.

While he hasn't done any actual repair for me yet, I truly was impressed by his forthrightness and his willingness to miss a sale rather than take advantage of me. Give him a try if you're in need of such services.

Fortune Town is located just north of the intersection of Rama 9 Road (east-west) and Ratchadapisek Road (north-south) in Dindaeng District. Coming from the south, once you cross Rama 9 there is a big hotel on the left; Fortune Town is immediately past it.

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