Subway Fiddler Blog: Bangkok Post

Showing posts with label Bangkok Post. Show all posts

Sunday, July 6, 2014

English Language Vietnamese Paper Bores to Tears

At newsstands around the Old Quarter there are plenty of Vietnamese language publications to enjoy with breakfast, but so far I've found nothing in English.

In my traveling career, the best bet for American journalism overseas has been the International Herald Tribune which was once co-published by the New York Times and the Washington Post.

The IHT still exists but only online here.

The paper version has been recently re-branded as the International New York Times and it's available in most major cities around the world including Bangkok where it's sold for 80 baht ($2.50).

I'm sure I'd be able to find the INYT in Hanoi at maybe one or two specialized shops such as English language bookstores, but as for finding it on my usual rounds, forget it. . .

This reminds me of my admittedly limited experience with Communist countries over the years. On my day trip through Berlin's Checkpoint Charlie to visit East Berlin in December 1983--at the height of the Cold War--I wasn't in the market for a Western newspaper, but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have found the IHT even if I'd been looking for it.

Besides, it was easily available just over the Wall in West Berlin where I was staying.

My only other experience with Communist media was in Laos, a nation which is linguistically and culturally a cousin of Thailand but which is politically and philosophically tied to Vietnam.

As I recall, the Lao Peoples' Democratic Republic's government was so secretive in my day that it didn't even have a Lao language newspaper for sale. Whenever I entered the Lao PDR for a visa run or a trip down the Mekong from Thailand, I was entering a virtual news-free zone.

Occasionally one could find a week-old copy of the Bangkok Post, but that would've been a very lucky day.

These days you can read the Vientiane Times here.

Back in Hanoi this year, after some googling around, I found the Vietnam News online. Today's top story reads like a Central Committee memo with the headline "Nation pushed to achieve higher growth" as it outlines a Party plan to reach annual economic growth targets of 8%-9%.

Other headlines and text reveal that "Venezuela becomes strategic ally", "Voter ask PM to take tough stance on East Sea (the South China Sea)", "President praises fishermen for conducting peaceful fight", and "China has broken its promise".

OMG! Is this all the Vietnam News has to offer its loyal farang readers? Pretty much, I'm afraid. You really have to dig for something that doesn't completely bore one to tears, such as this item:

http://vietnamnews.vn/learning-english/256905/meet-ha-nois-music-mechanic.html

But my all-time favorite communist media outlet has to be KCNA, the official news agency of the Korean Workers' Party of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, also known as North Korea.

Here is a fascinating piece about the recent visit of a Vietnamese delegation to Mangyongdae:

http://www.kcna.co.jp/index-e.htm

Saturday, June 14, 2014

Junta Ends Curfew Just As Niece Arrives for a Visit

Bangkok's military rulers earlier this week eased curfew restrictions in several provinces, including Mae Hong Son, but left the midnight-4 a.m. restriction in the capital, in Chiangmai, and several other areas.

However, in a surprise move, the junta finally scrapped the curfew in all remaining areas effective last night (Friday June 13).

The move comes just in time for the second day of Fifa's World Cup in Brazil. Thais are pretty crazy for football and will watch as many broadcast matches as possible, but many of the live broadcasts will be late at night. Last night there were three matches at 10 p.m., 1 a.m., and 4 a.m.

Businesses with big screen HD and plenty of food and drink are expected, as usual, to cash in on the biggest sports event in the world apart from the Olympics.

While the curfew hasn't really cramped my own earlier-to-bed-at-this-age lifestyle, most Thais and farang are sure to welcome the news. This morning I overheard some Thais talking about how they'd gone out partying in the wee hours. In fact, they were only just returning home, at 10.30 a.m., to get some sleep.

Meanwhile, I had just slept through the entire canceled curfew following a somewhat difficult motorbike journey yesterday from Pai to Chiangmai. While I made excellent time in the first hour of my trip, once I passed the provincial border, I started getting hit by intermittent rain. In fact, the rain forced me to stop half a dozen times in the last 80 km (50 miles) of the trip. It took me about five hours to cover the entire 80 mile journey.

So I was fairly pleased to be back in Chiangmai today, and thrilled to find out that my Thai "niece" Pepo, daughter of my friend Marc, has arrived for a three-day weekend with her family. Pepo looks great and seems very happy and content with life. She was bubbling with enthusiasm about things in general, and she filled me a bit about her PR job with the Bangkok film company.

Her entry level salary is okay, but she also gets paid for overtime. The catch, however, is that she has to put in a lot of overtime. In fact, it seems as if she's expected to put in 16 hour days--everyday.

On the bright side her weekends are free, and she has friends to hang out with as she begins to settle into the work life routine.

This morning I ate northern style food (with sticky rice) with Pepo and her sister Miriam. This kind of food isn't for everybody (for many farang it involves acquiring a taste), but for northern Thais it is an integral part of their culture and home life.

I asked Pepo if she misses northern food in Bangkok. "For sure!" she said, adding that she's far too busy with work to seek out the cuisine in the capital.