"The Rounds" August 19, 2005

I've been completely unable to upload this week's column
until today -- Sunday. Don't know what the problem has been.

Headlines

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I just saw online that at one point in the trading in the U.S. yesterday U.S. light crude broke the US$67 per barrel before declining to a little under US$67.

Given that I saw a story earlier in the week that fuel here in Bangkok went up 40 satang per liter at the pump even before this latest surge.

While prices aren't yet what they hit in the 1970's, if inflation is factored in, it is causing increasing concern everywhere, especially since even when inflation is factored in, we're getting uncomfortably close to those 1970's prices.

I sure hope the surge stops in the short term -- and that governments around the world make serious efforts to use existing alternatives sources of energy and create new ones over the longer term. [Saturday, August 13, 2005]

I just read a fascinating story in Wired News (an website centered on tehcnology news) headlined "Traffic Hackers Hit Red Light" that is downright scary if you think about the subject of the story in the context of drivers in Thailand.

There are devices widely used (at least in the West) by emergency-service agencies such as police and fire departments that allow personnel in emergency vehicles approaching a traffic signal to override the signal's built-in timer to change a red light to green -- very sensible for a police officer, fire fighter, or ambulance driver to have when handling an emergency.

But it turns out these devices have become available on the Internet for not all that much money -- the story says around US$500. More ominously, the story also mentions a guy who built one himself using parts that cost him only about US$20, and that's when it gets scary, since that's under 1,000 baht.

Long-time readers already know I hold the habits of drivers in Thailand (including the foreign drivers here) in what can most charitably be put as "minimal high regard." Just imagine what it would be like were tens of thousands --no, millions -- of drivers here were to get their speed-monster paws on these devices.

Envision, if you will, an impatient sort of speed freak starting at the end of Sukhumvit Road, way out in the wilds of Samut Phrakan Province, one of the devices clipped to his visor or mounted in his front grill, determined to set a Guinness Book sort of record for the fastest time arriving at the other end of that fabled avenue.

True, drivers here already bust red lights, as their brethren do the world over, but at least without these devices they [generally] do slow down or stop before crashing right on through the light, out of simple self-interest.

The federal government has reacted sensibly to this development, as have several state legislatures in the U.S., as well as manufacturers of the devices.

On the government's side, several states have recently made it an offense to own or operate one of the devices (called "Mobile Infra-Red Transmitters," or "MIRT's"), and just this past Wednesday U.S. President George Bush signed into law a bill making it a federal criminal offense with up to 6 months in prison for owner-operators of MIRT's and up to 1 year in prison for sellers who sell one to an unauthorized person.

Manufacturers are producing new-generation versions that work only if the MIRT also transmits an authorization code. Presumably, lawmakers will add to existing law to make the selling, giving, or possession of an authorization code an offense as well.

Of course, given that traffic laws here are widely regarded as mere suggestions, at best, one has to wonder how effective laws against illicit MIRT's would be here . . . . [Sunday, August 14, 2005]

I and a friend en route to take up teaching posts in Tianjin, China made our first landfall in Asia at about 12:10 P.M. Bangkok time, a Thursday, at Tokyo's Narita Airport.

When I came out here, I was thinking in terms of 1 academic year here, 2 at the most; not dreaming that 2 decades later I would still be here, except for the 2 years I was back in Texas 1988-90 so my then-wife could pursue a master's degree.

Three years in Tianjin and Beijing were followed by 4 years in Macau and 11 years in Thailand (about a year of those 11 about equally divided between here and Daliang, China).

I hoped to see Mount Fujiyama as we landed, but that was not to be; an air hostess pointed to its cloud-shrouded peak. (And I still haven't seen it!) The air-con at the terminal was out, so the 4-hour or so layover there was hardly a pleasant one!

Hongkong was a different matter when we descended through a solid cloud cover, approaching The Pearl of the Orient from the south, over the South China Sea. When we broke at beneath the clouds at about 8:00 P.M. Hongkong time, a few kilometers out and at maybe 1200-1300 meters, the city and Victoria Harbor spread out before us as we approached the old Kai-Tak Airport on the Kowloon Peninsula, where take-offs and landings were always a "thrill."

Getting married to a Chinese national in Beijing was a months-long ordeal. Seeing the Mekhong River in Yunnan Province -- the first time I had seen it -- was amazing; had someone told me during my R.O.T.C. days in the last years of the Vietnam War I would one day find myself floating down the Mekhong in Red China, I would have said the very idea (and the person saying it) were crazy! The first student demonstrations in 1987 electrified us; the several thousand students marched directly in front of our residential hotel on their daring way to Tiananmen Square.

Those initial experiences during my first 3 years led me to develop an affection for this part of the world that have grown as the years have passed. And kept me here, 20 years on. . . . [Tuesday, August 16, 2005]

This is completely irrelevant to Bangkok, but looked at as a series of tongue-in-cheek statements, they just might bring a smile to your face. I got them from 2 friends in the States independent of each other, and decided to share them. After all, we don't always have a heckuva lot to smile about, do we???

NEWS From the year 2029

* Ozone created by electric cars now killing millions in the seventh largest country in the world, Mexifornia (formally known as California.)

* Spotted Owl plague threatens northwestern United States crops and livestock.

* Baby conceived naturally . . . scientists stumped.

* Couple petitions court to reinstate heterosexual marriage.

* Last remaining Fundamentalist Muslim dies in the American Territory of the Middle East (formerly known as Iran, Afghanistan, Syria and Lebanon).

* Iran still closed off; physicists estimate it will take at least 10 more years before radioactivity decreases to safe levels.

* France pleads for global help after being over taken by Jamaica.

* Castro finally dies at age 112; Cuban cigars can now be imported legally, but President Chelsea Clinton has banned all smoking.

* George Z. Bush says he will run for President in 2036.

* Postal Service raises price of first class stamp to $17.89 and reduces mail delivery to Wednesdays only.

* 85-year, $75.8 billion study: Diet and Exercise are the keys to weight loss.

* Average weight of Americans drops to 250 lbs.

* Massachusetts executes last remaining conservative.

* Supreme Court rules punishment of criminals violates their civil rights.

* Average height of NBA players now nine feet, seven inches.

* New federal law requires that all nail clippers, screwdrivers, fly swatters and rolled-up newspapers must be registered by January 2036.

* Congress authorizes direct deposit of formerly illegal political contributions to campaign accounts.

* IRS sets lowest tax rate at 75 percent.

And last but certainly not the least (I love it) . . .

* Florida voters still don't know how to use a voting machine.

As has become the usual case, there are a few things worth mentioning because they have such a great potential to have an influence on you, even if your sole exposure to the digital world is your reading of this column.

First has to do with a couple new "worms" out there that can affect certain Microsoft computer operating systems. I won't bore you with the details, but you do need to go to the Microsoft Update Page and, if you use any Microsoft Office product (Excel, etc.), the Microsoft Office Update Page.

Microsoft makes updating pretty painless. In the first case, it checks automatically then once it has determined which update(s) you need, prompts you to say what you want to do. For most of us, the "Express Install" is the best choice. In the case of the Microsoft Office Update Page, you have to go through the quick and easy process of a single click to start the check for what update(s) you may need.

You also should update your antivirus software NOW. And if you don't have antivirus software -- get some -- NOW! There are numerous excellent programs out there, some even for free. Also, either activate your operating system's firewall or get a stand-alone firewall product. And you should have a program that will alert you to attempts to intrude into your computer. Then there's spyware/malware removal products.

The so-and-so's that make us need so much protection ought to be locked up for a long, long time, in my opinion, though were it left to me alone, shooting them wouldn't seem such a bad option! ;-)

Now let's turn to ATM's. Everyone who uses an ATM, credit, or debit card already knows to be careful not to let anyone see your PIN number as you enter it. Now, however, the nogoodniks have escalated their efforts at parting you from your hard-earned money at their leisure.

Apparently in response to people's vigilance around others when making an ATM transaction, the bad guys have automated. They will attach a camera in a discreet, virtually unnoticeable place that will photograph your hand as you type in the PIN number. For this hijacking to work, they also mount a slot device in front of the regular ATM slot -- one that records details of your bank account and so forth. With that information and your PIN number, they're in business to make a copy of your card and use it -- after all, they know your secret code -- PIN -- as well.

If your financial institution is in the U.S., you do have considerable protection against loss, even with a non-credit card. The stronger protection is for people who use their credit cards to make ATM withdrawals and the like, but the protection afforded debit card users is considerable, particularly for those who react quickly to any unauthorized withdrawals. "Know your rights on bank account fraud" is the headline of a must-read article about this subject for anyone using a U.S. financial institution. The article is specifically about phishing, discussed below, but applies here as well. Also see the related article "ATMs may be an easy target for thieves." (This includes people like me -- yes, I live in Thailand -- but my bank is in the U.S., so I have the same protection; where I live is entirely beside the point.)

I don't know about laws in jurisdictions other than the U.S., and know about even U.S. laws only through the good offices of reporters who write about the topic. My guess is the U.S. can't be alone in offering some measure of protection to consumers in this area. If you live elsewhere, check with your financial institution -- but don't stop there, since your bank doesn't want to have to eat any loss. Ask your attorney or consumer protection agency, too. If you public prosecutor offers an information service, check with his or her office. If you live outside your home country but have ATM access to your account(s) in your homeland, check with your country's closest embassy or consulate.

Finally, there's the scam known as "phishing." You get an apparently legitimate e-mail from someone asking you to confirm your financial details. If you get such an e-mail, check with the apparent sender first -- it is almost certainly fraudulent. Recently, phishers have become even more sophisticated, employing online forms to gather your financial information. You also need to know the protective laws I mentioned above apply to people whose financial institution is in the U.S.

I know is an irritatingly dizzying array of things to consider -- but ignore them at your own peril. There isn't a day go by that I don't get at least a few phishing e-mails -- and thank goodness I can delete, delete, delete to my heart's content! I never even open one, especially since I've never gotten such an e-mail from my real bank. If I were to receive such an e-mail from my bank, I would go to the trouble to call my banker to ask if someone at the bank had really sent it.

Thomas Cook Airlines Belgium, low-cost carrier Condor Flugdienst, and tour operator Neckermann Reisen’s are teaming up, with a goal of having about 25,000 Europeans travel to Phuket.

This is good news for Phuket, and it certainly is to be hoped the companies are successful in their efforts.

Though the target market is not the one of the high-spenders so pursued by governments, if 25,000 people travel to the southern island in the 6 months the effort will last (November through April), they will make an important contribution to the local economy. Even if they average, say, just a 7-day stay and spend US$500 each (and that's likely too low a figure), they will pump US$12.5 million into local coffers.

Perhaps more important in the long run is the vote of confidence the scheme gives the region. While undoubtedly some tourists will shy away from all the places affected by last year's tsunami, others will come to conclude that while, yes, such an event can happen any time, it isn't statistically likely to happen again so soon. Even the 6.8-7.0 quake that struck several dozen kilometers off Japan several days ago generated only a tiny "tsunami."

A warning system is being put in place, as are training drills for the general public, with evacuation plans in hand (and not just for a tsunami). Communications between relevant authorities are now much better coordinated than they were before last year's tsunami, when, for instance, U.S. authorities couldn't reach at least some countries' authorities to warn them of seismic activity detected at the monitoring station in Hawaii. In some instances, they didn't even have phone or fax numbers!

And locals are much better informed now than they were before. Remember the various amateur videos broadcast around the world of people following the waters receding, laughing, and picking up stranded fish and the like? Had they realized this unusual retreat of the sea for what it was -- a red flag -- they would have known to flee away from the shore and towards high ground.

Anyway, I'll be interested in how this push turns out, and hopeful it succeeds greatly. [Thursday, August 18, 2005]

In reading another story, I ran across entirely unrelated information bound to be of interest to anyone moving to Thailand for a year or longer: the Customs Department's regulations regarding the duty-free importing of household goods.

The first thing of particular interest to me on the Customs Department's "Importing Used/Secondhand Household Effects" webpage is that there is no mention of new household effects, so I'm assuming that omission means new such items are ineligible for duty-free import.

Second is that in the part saying who qualifies it is explicitly stated "Nonresidents entering into the Kingdom with a non-immigrant visa "code O" who wish to retire in Thailand or accompany spouses of Thai residents are not qualified for (1)." (Yes, it's in red in the original.) So, if you plan to move here on a retirement visa, you don't qualify, and I'm pretty sure the latter portion means if you're a non-Thai married to a Thai seeking a marriage visa, you too don't qualify.

I hadn't realized either that new goods are ineligible or that a foreigner coming here has to be coming to work for at least 1 year, with the proper documentation (specified on the webpage), to have the privilege of bringing household goods into the Kingdom duty-free, and as much time as I've spent over the years trying to learn about all this sort of stuff, I suppose some of you might not know, either, especially since this set of regulations is, I read elsewhere, only a few months old.

Of course, if you don't plan to bring items such as a refrigerator and stove, instead aiming to rent a furnished place or buy your own, then this is of no concern to you. But if you do, then you'll want to make sure you are familiar with the requirements and have all your documentation in order -- after all, Customs officers the world over can be, um, let's say "trying." (An odd note: the only country where I had to pay an import duty for something I was bringing in was the U.S. -- my homeland!) [Thursday, August 18, 2005]

New Immigration Office
at Bumrungrad Hospital

Today's Bangkok Post has a most welcome story "Bumrungrad opens visa-extension centre."

I didn't know the Immigration Bureau already operates a visa-extension office at the Pattaya branch of Bangkok Hospital, but it does. This new office at Bumrungrad Hospital is the first hospital-based immigration visa-extension office in Bangkok, and, I gather, only the second such office in the Kingdom.

Bumrungrad is popular with foreigners seeking treatment, in large part because while it is expensive according to local standards, it's very inexpensive compared to hospitals in, say, North America and Europe, yet offers first-class treatment. According to the story, 49% of the hospitals patients last year were foreigners, and between 100 and 150 each month arrived on tourist visas but needed to remain longer to complete their treatment.

Now they, and anyone accompanying them, needn't go to the Immigration Headquarters down on Soi Suan Phlu but can conveniently drop by the visa-extension office in the hospital.

I know from personal experience how handy such a service would have been had I had access to it. I needed to exit for visa purposes, but when one has a valid medical reason not to exit, the Immigration Bureau authorities will grant an extension, even though I had used up all my normal visa extensions. I woke up feeling very ill, and went to one local hospital at midday. The doctor there told me she needed to run some tests after lunch but wouldn't have the results until the next day to diagnose my illness. I asked her for a letter to that effect to take to Immigration on Soi Suan Phlu so I could get a medical extension for my visa, for for reasons I'll absolutely never understand, she flat refused. She did it very politely, mind you, but she simply would not budge, period.

I left, and still feeling badly, went to Bumrungrad, where the doctor immediately ordered me into hospital. He was able to fix my medical problems in a matter of just a few days -- by which point I had overstayed my visa, of course. He did give me a letter without hesitation indicating my illness and my date of entry into hospital, but when I went to the Immigration Headquarters the police surgeon examined me, looked at the letter, and sadly told me regulations didn't allow him to grant me an extension after the fact. Eventually, after consulting visa officers, it was decided I could avoid paying a fine -- if I left that day, but that was the best I could have done. However, the doctor had ordered me to bed rest and specifically instructed me not to travel, so I opted to remain.

The Immigration officials were very sympathetic but powerless to do anymore, so when I did recover to the point enough to feel like traveling (with my doctor's approval, of course), I had to pay a fine for overstaying my visa when I went to the airport to fly to Laos. The Immigration officer at the airport here was rather stern at first, until I explained the situation to him and showed him the letter the doctor had given me. He softened, but he, too, was powerless to do anything to cancel the penalty.

None of that trouble would have happened had there been an Immigration office in the hospital -- presumably even at the first hospital to which I went.

The story also says the Immigration Bureau has plans to open the same sort of offices in hospitals around the Kingdom in cooperation with the government's efforts to make Thailand a medical hub in the region.

A friend told me he read elsewhere that anyone can use the service at Bumrungrad, not just patients their and their family members or other people accompanying them. If that's correct, this is even better news for folks like me who live in the Sukhumvit Road-Ploenchit Road-Chidlom Road area. It so happens my visa runs out next Friday, but I'm out of extensions and have no medical reason to seek an extension on medical grounds. If I were eligible for any extension, you can be sure I would try the office at the hospital first, for the simple reason it's far closer to where I live than the Immigration Headquarters office is -- and I can reach Bumrungrad on the Skytrain in a matter of minutes.

Further, since Sukhumvit road and the others are positively loaded with hotels catering largely to foreign tourists and business travelers, if anyone can indeed visit the office at Bumrungrad Hospital, those travelers will also find it more convenient than before to seek extension to their visas.

A round of applause for the Immigration Bureau authorities and officials at Bumrungrad Hospital is certainly in order! [Thursday, August 18, 2005]

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Cheap Food To Be Offered at PTT Gas Stations

Another story in today's Bangkok Post headlined "Pull in, fill up on Blue-Flag fast-food dishes" is welcome news for motorists in search of inexpensive food when traveling, though the initiative isn't in place yet.

"Blue Flag" isn't a chain such as McDonald's of KFC, but a government-backed initiative to bring all sorts of inexpensive products to people, not just food. Outlets offering these goods fly sky-blue flags to signal they have something under the initiative available.

The basic idea is to have dishes available at only 10 baht -- about US$.25 -- per dish.

As there are hundreds and hundreds of PTT stations around Thailand, and the plan is to put these dishes into many of them, many people stand to benefit.

The story is silent about just when these cheap dishes will be available, but I assume it will be as soon as possible, whenever that may be.

Though I travel so little this initiative won't have any impact on me, I do think it is an excellent idea.

Those of you who do travel regularly may want to take note and watch for the program to get started. [Thursday, August 18, 2005]

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Serious Damage in Chiang Mai Province from Heavy Floods

Last weekend's floods in the north of damage are reported to have caused damage of over 5 billion baht (about US$1.22 million) in Chiang Mai Province alone -- and it is only one of several areas inundated by heavy rains.

There are various stories about this; the particular story I read is on the TNA website under the headline "Flood damages in Chiang Mai reach five billion baht."

At the height of the flooding local news broadcasts showed floodwaters reaching nearly to the eaves of the ground floor of buildings, obviously a very serious situation.

Further, weather forecasters are warning the area and others to brace for another round of heavy rains over the next 2 or 3 days, the last things the stricken areas need right now.

I'm sure everyone joins me in expressing sympathy for victims of the flooding and best wishes for speedy recovery. [Thursday, August 18, 2005].

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