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News and Views - April 2006
(Photo: 2Bangkok.com)
Above: British Embassy
land fronting Ploenchit Road. Existing structures are being
removed.
British
Embassy demolition - April 12,
2006
Firms vie for embassy land - Bangkok Post,
March 31, 2006
...The nine-rai site in front of the British Embassy
on Ploenchit Road could fetch as much as one million baht
per square wah, say industry executives. That would far
outstrip prices paid for prime land on Silom and Sathorn
roads, which have been known to fetch between 200,000
and 400,000 baht per square wah.
Two years ago a plot of land on Sathorn Road belonging
to the United States Information Services (USIS) fetched
260,000 baht per square wah at an auction.
It was purchased by Singapore's Hotel Properties Limited
(HPL) and is being developed into a high-end condominium,
The Met...
If it succeeds, LH has said that it plans to invest around
13.5 billion baht in the plot over four years to develop
three kinds of property: a serviced apartment building,
an office building and a hotel, on 150,000 square metres... |
British Embassy to sell land
in Bangkok - UPI, November 25, 2004
The British government is going ahead with a major
redevelopment of its Bangkok embassy and will be selling
a huge chunk of its prime land.
Ambassador David Fall said the plans to sell four acres
of the present 12-acre site were "an open secret,"
even though there has been no formal announcement and
the deal is waiting for the go-ahead from London, Business
Day reported Thursday.
The scheme could be delayed or even postponed by the softness
in the Bangkok property market or by the firmness of sterling.
In the meantime, a London firm has been commissioned to
design new housing to accommodate embassy staff who would
be displaced by the sale.
The British Embassy, then a legation, moved to its present
site in 1926, when it was a remote, rural spot. A statue
of Queen Victoria moved from the old legation was the
first structure on the new site.
During World War II, the statue of Queen Victoria was
boarded up, but the Japanese occupiers provided a peephole
so that the old queen would not be too upset. The British
legation became an embassy in 1947. |
For sale: government land assets from Bangkok to Chelsea - This is London, December 12, 2006
...The British Embassy in Bangkok sold off less than four acres "of the noisiest most polluted and least used" part of the 13-acre Embassy grounds to a shopping centre and raked in £50million. The entire complex was valued at just £8.8m in the 2001 National Asset Register...
Central wins bid for most valuable land - Bangkok Post, April 28, 2006
Central Retail Corporation (CRC), the country's largest retail
chain, has won the bid for the British Embassy land, which has
been touted as the most valuable plot in Thailand. An industry
source said CRC beat Land & Houses Plc in the final round
of bidding with an offer of more than 900,000 baht per square
wah, or three billion baht, for the prime nine-rai plot on the
corner of Wireless and Phloen Chit roads, while the latter proposed
880,000 baht...
Central Chidlom leases a one-rai plot from the Kamol Sukosol
Group for parking space, which would be in jeopardy if the lease
cannot be renewed...
In another development, Kobchai Chirathivat, the president of
Central Pattana Plc, the group's property development arm, confirmed
that CentralWorld would open on June 30, on schedule...
Central
buys 'priciest plot' from UK Embassy -
The Nation, May 16, 2006
The sale of part of the British embassy compound in Bangkok
to the Central Group was completed yesterday in a historic deal
reportedly worth about £50 million - Bt3.5 billion...
The embassy originally occupied about 31 rai of land that had
been purchased in 1922 from Phya Pakdi Noraset (Nai Lert). There
had been talk of the sale of part of the property for over a
decade, but it was not until late last year that bidding was
opened on about one-third of the block...
(Photo: 2Bangkok.com)
Changes at the British embassy compound -
February 24, 2007
Where did the Queen Vic statue go? In the last three months there is only one "Embassy News and Press Release": SALE OF PART OF BRITISH EMBASSY COMPOUND
1. The 12.75-acre compound was larger than needed. The site was purchased outright by the British Government in 1922. Originally located on the outskirts of the city, it is now part of the Central Business District. The land sold was the most polluted and noisiest part of the compound; next to a six lane arterial road (Ploenchit) and the skytrain elevated railway.
2. The War Memorial and statue of Queen Victoria will be moved to appropriate sites near the Residence.
Google placemark for the site
Above: Undated postcard showing the Queen Victoria Memorial
A
tale of two newspapers: Invited or arrested?
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Activists
nabbed in rally at embassy -
Bangkok Post, April 19, 2006
Around 30 Burmese activists including students
were arrested yesterday while protesting in front
of the South Korean embassy in Bangkok against the
participation of Korean companies in a gas pipeline
project in Burma...
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Burmese
stage a protest in front of S Korea embassy in Bangkok
- The Nation, April 18, 2006
...After the half and hour protest, special branch
police invited the group to Huey Kwang police station
to check their identity cards... |
Krushi
chief finds Bangkok jails too hot -
The Times of India, April 29, 2006
...Sources in the police department said Venkateshwara
Rao had grown tired of a life of squalor in the Bangkok
jail, warding off homosexual advances from jailmates...
A study
of Bangkok expats - Bangkok Post,
April 29, 2006
The expatriate community in Bangkok grew by over 13.8%
from December 2004 compared to December 2005. There are
now 61,913 foreigners with work permits in Bangkok, according
to the latest CB Richard Ellis residential rental report,
this excludes diplomatic staff. 22% of the total number
of expatriates were Japanese followed by Indians (12%),
Chinese (9%), British (9%), and American (7%)...
Nepal
strife has little impact on villages -
AP, April 28, 2006
Burmese
Spy Reveals MI’s Dirty Deeds -
The Irrawaddy, April 24, 2006
A Burmese spy, now in hiding in a secret location,
spoke exclusively to The Irrawaddy about how Burma's newly
formed military intelligence service struggles to reach
the sinister standards set by jailed intelligence chief
Gen Khin Nyunt...
Under Khin Nyunt, the Burmese embassy in Bangkok was highly
active and believed to have a large intelligence network
inside Thailand. Kyaw Myint Myo claims that “active
cells” in India and Thailand are still working for
MAS...
Thailand
in the Dark about Burma’s Bird Flu -
The Irrawaddy, April 24, 2006
Thai public health authorities and medical NGOs are getting
ready for a bird flu outbreak on the Thai-Burma border area
of Tak province...
Nation
Group to slim down - The Nation,
April 25, 2006
...Among the non-core assets is a land plot at Bangna-Trat
kilometre 29 where the printing house is located. Thanachai
said that while the printing house takes up 20 rai, the
remaining 30 rai, facing the main road, was unused.
"If we are not making use of the land, we may consider
selling the unused land," he said.
...Suthichai Yoon, a director of the company who supervises
the broadcasting business, said that the 24-hour television
news service required high investment in terms of equipment.
As a result, the business has incurred losses. But he
said that to cut losses, Nation Channel, the TV station
of NMG, would shuffle its programming to focus more on
news programmes rather than on around-the-clock news reporting...
Copyright
crackdown pushes pirates onto the Internet -
AFP, April 24, 2006
A long campaign to remove pirated goods from shop fronts
in Asia is finally having an impact but the crackdown
has also changed the nature of the problem and new outlets
are flourishing...
Kiwi's
ex hired Thai gunmen - Dominion
Post, April 26, 2006
..."Pattaya is a law unto itself."
Shooting a "farang", as foreigners are known in
Thailand, would cost about NZ$3000, Mr Olson said...
Drug
Gang, SSA Square Off on Thai-Burmese Border -
The Irrawaddy, April 25, 2006
Fighting has broken out between the Shan State Army,
a Burmese armed ethnic group, and regional drug traffickers
near Monghsat Township in Shan State on the Thai-Burmese
border...
Junta
labels BBC and VOA “Evil and Wicked” -
The Irrawaddy, April 21, 2006
Following news reports of the community backlash over
the suspicious killing of former political prisoner Thet
Naing Oo, Burma’s state-owned media joined the country’s
police chief in accusing international media outlets of
trying to destabilize the country...
Tourist
Police target Mae Sot gem market scams -
The Irrawaddy, April 21, 2006
Mae Sot Tourist Police recently put
in place a new regulation for gems traders after accusations
that illegal brokers were selling fake stones to tourists...
The heckler
Nothing to do with Thailand, but interesting...
Statement
by The Epoch Times On the Events at the White House
- The Epoch Times, April 21, 2006
China
heckler at White House charged - Reuters, April
21, 2006
Malaysia
denies capturing baby "Bigfoot" -
breitbart.com, April 20, 2006
"Burning
issue doused in flood of cliches" -
April 21, 2006
Farangaffairs.com points
out a hilarious headline from The Nation: Burning
Issue - A Bleak Interlude - A collective sigh is almost
audible as politicians bent on each other's annihilation
start kicking up dust
Journalists
from India, Thailand, Cambodia, Fiji Islands Take Top Prizes
at 2006 DAJA Awards - adb,
April 20, 2006
The Bangkok Post's Supara Janchitfah, 43, was awarded
Development Woman Journalist of the Year for her story on
Muslim fishermen using knowledge and information to protect
their seas from commercial trawlers...
On the forum: Boonrawd
Breweries
The document link has some interesting tidbits. We would
love to find a copy of the label mentioned in this passage:
The National Archives documents show that the Boonrawd
Brewery Co., Ltd encountered several problems during the
1930’s. The letter from Phraya Thepahasadin, director
of the company, and M.P., to Luang Tamarongnawasawadi, Secretary-General
of the Cabinet, dated on September 26, 1935, revealed that
cheap and bad quality imported beer by Thailand competed
with the company’s beer. He pointed out that the imported
beer used for their trademark pictures of Thailand’s
three famous ministers, namely Phraya Phahon, Luang Pradit
and Luang Phibun. He asked the government to investigate.
The cabinet meeting report held on October 4, 1935 reveals
that these three ministers were not aware of the situation
and had not granted permission to use their pictures.
Explosions
rock downtown Rangoon - The Irrawaddy,
April 20, 2006
A series of bomb blasts rocked the business heart of
Rangoon early Thursday morning, causing property damage
but no reported casualties...
Foreign-domination
regulations spark international outcry -
The Nation, April 20, 2006
The Norwegian government is concerned with draft regulations
preventing foreign domination of Thai telecom operators
and says rules being drawn up by the Thai National Telecommunications
Commission (NTC) could interfere with the rights and interests
of foreign shareholders of Thai telecom firms...
The commission's board approved the first draft on March
23 and posted it on its website, www.ntc.or.th,
for interested parties to send comments via e-mail, with
no deadline. It recently posted an amended draft on the
website and invited interested parties to send comments
by May 12...
VN
Communist Party 'totally' corrupt -
Bangkok Post, April 20, 2006
History's
biggest meat-eater found in Argentina -
Bangkok Post, April 17, 2006
...Fossils of dinosaurs found in a quarry in Argentina's
southernmost region indicate a new species that was even
larger than Giganotosaurus and T-rex and may have hunted
in packs, Argentine and Canadian scientists announced
Monday.
The new species, named Mapusaurus roseae, ranged up to
12.5 metres long and may have even hunted the biggest
plant-eating dinosaur that ever lived, the 40-metre-long
Argentinosaurus, the scientists from the University of
Alberta, Canada, and the Museo Carmen Funes in Plaza Huincul
said...
Phatchaneetopten.com
- April 25, 2006
Amusing spam we received: Teach for Horoscope--Need to
know your future--- http://www.phatchaneetopten.com
phatchanee@phatchaneetopten.com Now at LOTUS Ladplow 3Floor.
0-1921-5381 , 0-2375-5311
Nuclear
claims deserve scepticism - Bangkok
Post, April 23, 2006
From time to time allegations appear that the military
rulers in Rangoon have embarked on a nuclear weapons programme,
but thus far none have been substantiated...
Speculation that the State Peace and Development Council
(SPDC) is maintaining nuclear research facilities have been
in circulation for quite some time, and in the past the
SPDC has openly stated its intentions to develop nuclear
power. There have also been rumours that Burma is actively
pursing a nuclear weapons programme, which obviously would
be of great regional and global concern. Thus far, however,
there is no evidence of the existence of any nuclear facilities
in Burma other than maps drawn by people who claim to have
inside information...
King's
stance may seal Nepal monarchy's fate -
Gulf News, April 23, 2006
Asian monarchies, whether in Thailand, Malaysia, Japan,
Cambodia or Bhutan are well-established institutions. They
generally enjoy the support and respect of the public and
are viewed as the guardians of national unity and pillars
of stability and integrity...
Blow
to Thailand monkey business - Aljazeera.net,
April 24, 2006
Orangutans forced to perform in a Thailand zoo may soon
be returned to the jungles of Southeast Asia, in a small
victory in the struggle against the illegal...
US warship
at Laem Chabang - Bangkok Post,
April 21, 2006
The USS Abraham Lincoln is the first aircraft carrier
to dock at Laem Chabang, one of the few ports in Asia able
to berth the nuclear-powered warship. The ship arrived at
the port yesterday. Its crew of almost 6,000 will be allowed
a five-day break in Pattaya...
Pattaya Mayor Niran Watanasatorn said the stopover means
a welcome boost for tourism. The crew would pump hundreds
of millions of baht into the local economy.
A source at the Supreme Command yesterday said that Indonesia
will join next month's annual Cobra Gold military exercise
as a participant for the first time.
Indonesia, a long-time observer, will replace the Philippines
in the multi-national military exercise, scheduled from
May 16 to 26. The source said it is a demand of the US and
Thailand that the drill concentrates on anti-terrorism and
intelligence network operations.
A field exercise involving full-scale combat operations
will be organised in Lop Buri, which is under the First
Army, and a command centre will be set up at the Chulachomklao
Royal Military Academy in Nakhon Nayok. The US has decided
to reduce its troop numbers from 30,000 to 10,000 for this
year's exercise, due to the situation in Iraq.
Arrested
drunk drivers to tend mentally ill -
Bangkok Post, April 23, 2006
Drunk drivers arrested during the Songkran holiday are
to tend patients with alcohol-induced mental illnesses as
part of a new rehabilitation scheme proposed by the Probation
Department. The scheme aims to raise awareness of alcohol's
negative effects, said Wanchai Roujanawong, director-general
of the Probation Department...
During the 10 dangerous days, Chiang Rai province had the
most accidents, with 223 cases, but only one driver faced
probation. In Phitsanulok there were 191 accidents and 12
probation cases.
The anti-drink driving campaign was conducted strictly in
Chiang Mai, which reported 199 accidents and a high number
of probation cases, at 694.
Bangkok came second with 428 probation cases, followed by
Nakhon Ratchasima with 350, and Songkhla with 233.
There are more than 4,800 drunk drivers under probation
nationwide. Most are aged between 18 and 25...
Bangkok
Opera presents Wagner's 'Ring' with a difference -
NYT, April 18, 2006
... His work has also been dogged by the internecine
rivalry of Bangkok's classical music scene. The city has
three orchestras, more than most European capitals. The
original Bangkok Symphony, created in 1999, was followed
in 2002 by Mr. Somtow's Siam Philharmonic, which also plays
for the Bangkok Opera. Sugree Charoensook, dean of music
at Mahidol University, established the Thailand Philharmonic
last year with a full season and has been poaching the best
of Bangkok's players.
In spite of attempts by Mr. Somtow to get the groups to
consolidate their rehearsal schedules, Mr. Charoensook's
concerts tend to fall on the same dates as Mr. Somtow's,
forcing Mr. Somtow to cast about for players, who in the
case of this season's "Rheingold" are from the
Opera and Ballet Theater in Hanoi.
To safeguard his projects against what he sees as others'
efforts to undermine him, Mr. Somtow is aiming to turn Bangkok
into the hub of classical music making in Southeast Asia,
and he recently inaugurated the first regional opera conference
to encourage collaboration. There is nothing new in this.
Like-minded American opera companies regularly cut deals
on co-productions...
Way
Up and Far Out - WSJ, April
19, 2006
Plans for Fanciful Skyscrapers Proliferate; Are Some
Too Eccentric to Lure Tenants?...
Street
chef in a city that loves its food -
International Herald Tribune, April 3, 2006
[Thanks to Danny for pointing this article out.]
Street stalls are the testing ground for Thai cooks,
a Darwinian competition to win the hearts and sate the appetites
of Bangkok\'s hungry - and often picky - 10 million or so
residents...
Yet Sompong has achieved nowhere near the fame of the superstars
of Bangkok street food. A 15-minute walk from Sompong's
stall is a family that sells green papaya salad and grilled
chicken, a food-stall-cum- restaurant known to most people
in the neighborhood as the Soi Polo Som Tam.
Pongsi Sapketsobha, the matriarch, says the family owns
one Mercedes, one BMW, one Volvo, and several other cars.
She sent her children to private universities, and the family
owns a rubber plantation in southern Thailand and "many
houses" in the capital.
"Just say that I can buy anything I want," Pongsi
said in an interview...
Three
dead in Rangoon's water festival -
The Irrawaddy, April 18, 2006
At least three young Burmese girls were killed on Friday
when a water-throwing stage collapsed during Rangoon's Thingyan
water festival, according to city residents. More than two
dozen others were injured in the incident...
Going
Nuclear - A Green makes the case -
Washington Post, April 16, 2006
...Thirty years on, my views have changed, and the rest
of the environmental movement needs to update its views,
too, because nuclear energy may just be the energy source
that can save our planet from another possible disaster:
catastrophic climate change...
Accept
sex workers, says Lascelles Chin -
Jamacia Gleaner, April 11, 2006
...Citing Thailand as an example of a nation where the
profession is accepted, though not legalised, Mr. Chin said
that country has been able to achieve 100 per cent condom
use among its sex workers...
The LASCO chairman said Thailand has been able to reduce
its HIV/AIDS infection rate because of the proactive approach
it has taken. He noted that the country had about 140,000
new infections each year. However, since its Prime Minister
became the head of the National Aids Committee and the government
and private sector got together in an effort to fight the
disease, the new rate of infection was reduced to 18,000
in 2003.
And a response: No
to Thai prostitution model - April 16, 2006
In
India, 'next great' industrial story
- International Herald Tribune, April 17, 2006
...Still, India is not the only country gunning for new
factories. Southeast Asian nations, including Thailand,
Vietnam and Cambodia, are also expected to see a spurt in
manufacturing. India lags those countries in infrastructure,
but has one big advantage: a home market of more than one
billion people.
Indian wages are also relatively low, beginning at about
$2 a day for factory jobs. That compares with a minimum
of $3.50 to $4.50 a day in Thailand, depending on the area,
and the $4 to $8 that some Chinese workers are beginning
to command as labor shortages spread.
China is not in any immediate danger of falling behind,
however. Its exports exceed India's by several multiples,
and the gap keeps widening. In 2005, India's exports were
worth about $8 billion a month, and China's, $63 billion,
with manufactured goods the bulk of both countries' exports.
Experts say the two countries will occupy different positions
in the vast market for offshore manufacturing. The first
wave of low-cost manufacturing to be sent overseas - the
making of toys, electric kettles and television sets, among
other wares - will remain out of India's reach because of
the difficulty of running Indian factories as large as Chinese
ones. Official paperwork and regulation is still sticky
here, and power still costs about twice as much...
The
Beasts From The East - Strategy
Page, April 13, 2006
Why are other countries, like Yemen and Cambodia, coming
to Indonesia to get their commandoes trained? In a word,
reputation. The Indonesian special forces, called Kopassus,
is regarded as the best in the Pacific area...
Soi 0 clearing out?
- April 14, 2006
A source informs us that on April 7 tenants under the expressway
on Soi 0 on Sukhumvit were given 7 days to vacate their
businesses. This is the "Buckskin Joe's" bar area.
The businesses had rental agreements with a small office
near Sukhumvit Road and had been paying rent, but the rental
office has closed and the proprietors have disappeared.
Bangkok has had a series of scandals involving nightlife
areas suddenly ordered to vacate or pubs cleared by sledgehammer
wielding thugs. One such scandal thrust Chuwit
Kamolvisit into the public eye.
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(Photo: 2Bangkok.com) |
COMMENTARY:
What the US could learn from Thailand
- Asia Times, April 7, 2006
...Ralph "Skip" Boyce, the garrulous US ambassador
to Thailand, has maintained that Washington has in no way assisted
Thaksin's controversial counter-insurgency efforts, which, similar
to US military operations in Iraq, have been attended by allegations
of torture and abuse of Muslim detainees.
Bangkok-based European and Asian diplomats, however, beg to
differ, claiming that the United States' behind-the-scenes role
in the conflict is an open secret in diplomatic circles.
...Thaksin's Thailand plays host to a joint top-secret US Central
Intelligence Agency-run counter-terrorism center, charged with
managing covert operations throughout Southeast Asia, according
to a senior Thai intelligence official attached to the National
Intelligence Agency. Those ties appear to have paved the way
for the CIA to establish a secret prison in Thailand, where
abducted terror suspects were allegedly held and interrogated.
Ambassador Boyce has repeatedly declined to comment on the specifics
of the secret detention center. (The facility was closed down
in 2003, according to the Washington Post.)...
'100
bird flu outbreaks' in Burma - BBC, April
10, 2006
[Thanks to Danny for pointing this out.]
A UN official says bird flu has spread rapidly in Burma,
with more than 100 outbreaks among the country's poultry...
Yearly
subscription to the Bangkok Post: U.S. $3,820.65
- Amazon.com, April 11, 2006
Laos
bans mobile Songkran spraying -
Bangkok Post, April 10, 2006
Kyoto
Protocol useless? - Straight
Dope, April 11, 2006
Nothing to do with Thailand, but interesting...
Anonymizer's
new anti-filter service for China netizens - April
10, 2006
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J. Wally Higgins' book 1950-1960's
Historic Railway Scenes
- April 11, 2006
2B forumers recently helped review J. Wally Higgins'
new book 1950-1960's
Historic Railway Scenes. Wally writes: ...I
should add a note to the Forum thread that somebody
at JTB changed the tram line name from Pratumwan to
Patumwan (though not everywhere that the name appears).
This should make ncr happier, or less unhappy...
Many thanks for opening 2Bangkok.com to me for collecting
information and corrections, and, in the process, also
putting me in contact with Dick van der Spek.
I won't offer any comments on Thai politics. Trying
to figure out political developments in Japan and in
the USA is difficult enough. |
LandofSmiles.com
- April 10, 2006
Nils came across these galleries/slideshows
of Thailand.
Thailand
to restore religious sites for king's 60th anniversary -
AFP, April 8, 2006
Thailand is planning a multi-million-dollar facelift for
more than 150 historical and religious sites to mark King Bhumibol
Adulyadej's 60 years as monarch, officials have said...
(Photo: 2Bangkok.com)
Breast cream billboard
- April 10, 2006
Kamnan
Poh disappears - The Nation,
April 7, 2006
[Least surprising news of the month...]
Royal
elephant to shine in celebration of Monarch's reign -
The Nation, April 7, 2006
Airport
of Thailand company breaks burglary ring -
thaisnews, April 7, 2006
(Source: Paragon) |
Paragon website
- April 8, 2006
The latest update to the Paragon
website keeps up the tradition of puffery in the
form of a blizzard of English words paired in questionable
combinations: Beyond Pride - The Jewel of Asia, Beyond
Precious - Facet of Luxury...
Earlier: Early
Paragon advertising and the Bangkok Post
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(Photo: ArmyClub.net)
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Crisis
point? - Thai Day, April
6, 2006
...Inside, however, there is no notice advising that the
rate of HIV infection among gay and bisexual men in Bangkok
surged more than 50 percent from 2003 to last year -- to 28.3
percent. There is not a single free condom. Not one warning
to practice safe-sex and no brochures explaining how to do
this.
...The indifference of the Thaksin administration to HIV/AIDS
issues has been compounded by the government's CEO governors'
policy, which has seen national health policy shifted to the
local level, Jon explains. With this decentralization, local
authorities are supposed to be in charge, but no mechanisms
have been put in place to ensure that they use their funding
wisely...
Lapel
Pins Hint at Kim's Successor - CNN, April
5, 2006
Weird news from Nepal: Bizarre
baby born in Dolakha - March 29,
2006
And something
about this from Snopes.com.
Implementation
of mega projects likely to delay until mid 2007 -
TNA, April 5, 2006
..."The work of the planned political reform is expected
to take about 12-15 months to complete, during which the implementation
of the mega-projects is unlikely, but is expected to be adjourned
until the post political reform government is formed,"
he projected.
The leading analyst said, however, that the anticipated delay
in the mega project implementation would help ease the country's
current account deficit in the meantime...
Singapore
bans Net politicking for election - DPA,
April 4, 2006
New Internet technologies such as podcasting and videocasting
cannot be used for disseminating political information during
the upcoming Singapore general election, the government said
in a published statement Tuesday.
Bloggers are allowed to discuss politics but will have to register
their sites if they consistently espouse a political line.
Streaming of "explicit political content" by parties
or individuals has been banned under election advertising rules
set in 2001...
Half
a world apart - Morning Sentinel,
April 1, 2006
...He started teaching English at a junior college in Bangkok,
but found the job dull. He looked for opportunities to put his
computer graphics and art skills to use. And he found them --
in the Bangkok underground.
Ireland built a business forging documents -- passports, driver
licenses, visas.
He defended his choice by saying it not only made him a decent
living, but also allowed him to help others.
"I was allowing people -- citizens of Earth -- to go where
they wanted, allowing a person to reunite with their family,
a poor person to find work abroad, a mother to visit her children,
a family to escape religious persecution, a wronged man a chance
to start over," Ireland said.
Bangkok, he said, was the perfect place for his kind of business.
"One can do business with the Russians at 9 a.m., the Tamil
Tigers at noon and the Chinese around 5 p.m.," Ireland
said.
...The guards were rough; each was assigned to work there as
punishment for breaking rules at other Thai prisons, Ireland
said.
...Klong Prem held about 10,000 prisoners in 10 buildings. Every
building had a large yard where prisoners spent the daylight
hours.
The prison also had a soccer field, a weight room, TVs in every
room, new magazines and newspapers, and three prison bands.
And, the guards at Klong Prem never carried weapons.
"They were mellow and slept a lot," Ireland said.
But the prison rock band was a bright spot for Ireland...
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