Links
(blogs that are not updated have been deleted)

Dubai based Airine bloggers

TampaxTowers
Style High Club
The Trolley Dolly
Life,as I know it (now Edmonton!)
Bjorn Moerman
James Nixon
TheEKSource
Jens Krüger
 

Egypt

Sandmonkey
Hammonda.net
 

Thailand Blogs

Bangkok Noir

Bangkok Pundit - politics

Thai-blogs.com - rather serious

2bangkok.com - not really a blog but always up to date on Bangkok news
BKKOK.com
Thailand Voice promoting blogs from Thailand
Thailand Golf
Thai-blogs -Thailand life and culture
trythaifood - thai recipes
CityLife Chiang Mai
Thailand Crisis not updated but important in understanding 2006-2009.
Absolutely Bangkok
Bangkok Bugle

Thai Girl The exotic adventures of a literary sexagenarian.
Thailand Jumped the Shark

Thai Films
Siam Report
Thai ENews - In Thai
Photo-journ - news blog plus pics
Prachatai - Thai news in English
New Mandala - new perspectives on SE Asia
NewsInBangkok - another news blog
Thailand Intelligent News - interesting opinion and  links
Political Prisoners in Thailand
GregToDiffer
Hua Hin Golf
Philip Golingai (mainly Malaysia)
ThailandVoice
Musings from Thailand
Women learning Thai
Vaitor
Ricefield Radio
Reporter in Exile
Robert Amsterdam - Thailand
Somtow's world
Dirtii laundry
Thai Cables
Siam Voices
ThaiWomanTalks
Tasty Thailand

Asia Blogs

Banyan - The Economist

Asia Unbound - CFR
Zen Journalist
The Marmot's Hole - Korea
The writings of MD Nalapat
Democratic Voice of Burma
Ideas for India

Dubai Blogs
Mainly Photos; mainly from Dubai - Gerald Donovan at work!

dxbae - picture blog - also Gerald Donovan
UAE Community Blog - uniting all UAE bloggers
Dubai informer - news and events.
The Grapeshisha Blog - commentary  on a changing Dubai
One Big Construction Site - a long term expat on life in Dubai
Secret Dubai Diary - rather disillusioned expat commentary - sadly seems to have died - but again worth keeping for some interesting recent history.
Dubai As It Used To be - self explanatory - fascinating!
Kippreport - news and commentary
Life In Dubai - moved to Oz
Fake Plastic Souks
Dubai Astronomy Group
Gulf Photo Plus
Dubai Media Observer

The Gulf Blog
Dubai Construction Update
Dubai Race Night
Burj Khalifa

Grumpy Goat
Ever changing lanes
Spontaneous Euphoria
Christopher Saul - Dubai Blog
MattJDuffy
Sport360
The Hedonista
Dubai as it used to be
 

Arabic affairs blogs

The Arabist
Felix Arabia
MidEastPosts
The Culturist
Pan Arabian Enquirer
Doha News
Al Monitor
The Gulf Blog
Al-Bab

Hong Kong Blogs
Digital Life - A Hong Kong picture blog - interesting pics
A Big White Guy in Hong Kong - self explanatory
Ordinary Gweilo
Hemlock's Diary. And people think I am opinionated - try this!
BigLychee
EastSouthWestNorth - commentary
Glutter.org - Greater China democracy news and many great links
Hong Kong Hustle
Hong Kong Paintings

Hong Kong Outdoors
Hong Kong and Macau Stuff
Hong Wrong
 

In China:

Danwei - media and advertising news from China

Shanghaiist.com
The China Beat - how the east is read.

Hong Kong Cinemagic
Shanghai Scrap
The Paper Tiger
Peking Duck
China Law Blog
China Rises
China Media Project
China in Africa: The Real Story
LivinginChina.com
Sinocism

Chinageeks
Beijing Cream
China Daily Show
Ministry of Tofu

In Macau:

In Singapore:
The Singapore Daily

Xiaxue - self-confessed mean, bitchy, sex goddess who says "wah" a lot!

Mr Brown - colourful commentary from Singapore
Singapore Democrats
The Online Citizen
Icarus flew too high
Bonjour Singapore

In Burma:

National League for Democracy

In Canada:

BlogTO
Now Toronto

Media:
On the Ground ND Kristof

Tabloid Watch (UK)
The Diplomat - Asia Pacific
CJ Purcell
Foreign Policy
Vanity Fair
Watchdog reporting
Fleet Street Blues
 

Aviation:

Amadeus (airline schedules)

Airline meals - see it b4 you eat it!

Airliners - aviation forum, trip reports and pix archive
A Captain's Blog - the routine of a California based 767 captain
FA Uniforms - interesting collection of the old and new

Planenation - commercial aviation news

Airchive - a web museum of commercial aviation.

CrankyFlier - mainly US commentary
AvHerald - daily log of airliner incidents
RandPeck's blog
Rand Peck - writing and photography from a US based 757 captain
PlaneBuzz - airline financials
SmartCockpit

Sharjah - 1937
Boarding Area business travel
World Airports
Flight Wisdom
ATC - Toronto (YYZ)
Today in the sky
Ask the pilot
The Flying Scotsman - A BA pilot blog
Key Magazines - UK
Crossing the Sky
Blogging at FL250
Flight Level 390
The wings stayed on
PilotOutlook
Birmingham Airport
Aviation Queen
LiveATC.net
AirplaneFood
Flight to Success
Routehappy

KPAE - Paine Field Blog
UxMilk (mainly Qantas)
World Stewardess Crews
Airways magazine blog
DubaiAirportsConnect
APEX Editor's Blog
In a Foreign Sky
Better on a Camel

Travel:

Johnny Jet
Paris photo blog
Business Traveller - Asia
Camels and Chocolate
GranTourismo
Legal Nomads
Circle of Asia
Tales of Asia
Smart Travel Asia
Untraveller
The World and his TukTuk

 

News:

The Guardian - UK

BBC World News

CNN Asia

Bangkok Post
Gulf News

Arabian Business
CNNfan.com scary fan site!
Twitmericks
vox - Research-based policy analysis and commentary from leading economists
Next Media - news animation

 

Bangkok info sites:

thailand.com

learningthai.com

sawadee.com

thailandstories

bangkok a-z
 

Worthy Sites:

Niall Ferguson

Rconversation - from Rebecca MacKinnon, ex-TV reporter-turned-blogger.
RGE Monitor - macro-economic analysis
Migrant Rights
Cricket Archive
Good experience
Heresy Corner

What Matters - McKinsey
 

Golf Sites:
wei under par

The Christina Kim

Cricket sites:

Alternative Cricket Almanac
99.94
Cricket with Balls
The Old Batsman
StumpedForADuck
The NightWatchman

Other Sports
Sulia.com - football

Fun Sites:

Fun signs
Urban Dictionary
Earth TV

Useful Sites:

World Time Clock

Cooking
Cooking Light
 

Technology Ideas:
Loose wire

Stuff - gadgets
TechCrunch
Boing Boing
The Next Web

TNooz - Travel Tech
The Immedium Blog

ViralBlog
The Next Web
Now and Next
The Sports Scientists
FacebookStories
LiesDamnedLiesstatistics
Mixed Topics

Photography
unchartedphotography
Glen Calvin Photography
GulfPhotoPlus

The Rest:

Black Flamingo - recipes and life (no golf!)
Mixed Topics
Watford Mad (WFC)
BHappy - a Watford Blog
Watford Legends
All About Cricket
Brain Pickings
Ballpark-it.com - recipes

TV:
Northern Exposure

Previous months:

Nov - Dec 2012

Sept - Oct 2012

July - August 2012

May -June 2012
March-April 2012
Jan-Feb 2012
 

Nov - Dec 2011
Sept - Oct 2011
July - Aug 2011
May - June 2011
March - April 2011
Jan - Feb 2011

Nov - Dec 2010
Sept - Oct 2010
July - Aug 2010
May - June 2010
March - April 2010
Jan - Feb 2010

Nov - Dec 2009
Sept - Oct 2009
July - Aug 2009
May - June 2009
March - April 2009
Jan - Feb 2009

Nov - Dec 2008
Sept - Oct 2008
July - Aug 2008
May - June 2008
March - April 2008
Jan - Feb 2008

Nov - Dec 2007
Sept - Oct 2007
July - Aug 2007
May - June 2007
March - April 2007
Jan - Feb 2007

Nov - Dec 2006
Sept - Oct 2006
July - Aug 2006
May - June 2006
March - April 2006
Jan - Feb 2006

Nov - Dec 2005
Sept - Oct 2005
July - Aug 2005
May - June 2005
March - April 2005
Jan - Feb 2005

Nov - Dec 2004
Sept - Oct 2004
July - Aug 2004
April - June 2004
Jan - Feb 2004

 Author

Robert Scott lives and works in Dubai; born in England I have since lived in Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore and Bangkok.

I am very happily married to Tai.

If you want to know more you only need to ask! ask.

30 April 2013

Emirates will launch Second Daily A380 service to Bangkok starting 27 October 2013.

Emirates will add 3rd daily nonstop Dubai - Hong Kong service from 27OCT13 with A330-200 aircraft; will switch to 777-300ER from 01FEB14

29 April 2013

Perfection is all the small things done well.....

28 April 2013

"I admire CNN's commitment to cover all sides of a story just in case one of them is accurate." -- Obama at the White House correspondents' dinner. Ouch.

27 April 2013

Withdrawn Emirates A340-300 A6-ERQ departed Dubai this morning operating Dubai – Lisbon as EK2013 where it will become CS-TQY for Hi-Fly; Hi-Fly are ACMI specialists based in Lisbon and Malta.

A340-300 A6-ERR is also due to go to HiFly of Portugal as CS-TQZ.

*****************************
Only a few days ago I was reading and linking to a Huffington Post article titled: Why Dubai Is Rapidly Becoming the City of the Future.

Well there are also reasons why it might not be and it is fair to create a balance.

Human Rights issues in the UAE are not transparent. The court and judicial processes are still under development. The UAE is one of the safest places in the world; but if you do fall on the wrong side of the law here the best you can do is be patient and polite. Any alternative behaviour will severely hurt your situation.

The New Statesman today asks "Why is Britain rolling out the red carpet for the UAE's Sheikh Khalifa?"

It is a reasonable question to ask - but the magazine ignores the decades of historical ties, the massive investment by British business into the UAE and by UAE money into Britain, and the tens of thousands of jobs taken by Britains working in the UAE.

And it is hardly the first time that the UK and the Queen have hosted unelected leaders; there were for instance plenty in the UK last year for the Queen's diamond jubilee.

That said the more that the UAE can do to ensure transparency in its judicial system the better.

And maybe this is part of why regional leaders need to change - Why the Sheikhs Will Fall

26 April  2013

The Daily Mail for once is writing something useful - its coverage of the Godolphin doping scandal has been far more inquisitive and to the point than most - The rush to reach a judgment in the Godolphin scandal leaves a sinister smell

25 April 2013

Air Canada, one of the most anti-Gulf carriers out there, signs a codeshare MOU with Etihad Airways. Only one giant left to fall: Lufthansa

24 April 2013

There are people tweeting from the horse-racing world in the UK that should alarm the racing folks, owners and trainers in Dubai -

Does Sheik Mohammed really expect everyone to believe he's the only person in the racing world shocked at the Godolphin doping scandle?

Wrote Ross Burdon from Newmarket who works in horseracing for Sir Henry Cecil.

The Dubai media is being predictably cautious.

And it is a difficult issue for the British racing media - without the millions put into British racing by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum the sport would be near comatose.

***************************
I hope this guy flies better than he writes:

"@HHShkMohd im writting here regadrding our grduation which will be held tomorrow in emirates airline headquarters our owner you to be attend"

Or is this the future of Emirates?

***************************
Emirates Airline said on Wednesday it will build five residential towers in Dubai Silicon Oasis to house its cabin crew.

The 25-storey towers will include a total 669 three-bedroom apartments, as well as six four-bedroom flats, accommodating about 2,000 cabin crew. Construction starts later in 2013.

23 April 2013

At least I was not the only one depressed by the sight of Thailand's Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra posing, smiling and holding hands with the ruler of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa.

Read this:  Thailand: Puppets on a string, dancing to the tune of the military

Yingluck’s handshake with the ruler of Bahrain is symbolic. It said that it was OK to shoot down pro-democracy demonstrators in Bahrain and in Thailand. Not good.

***********************
Not a telephone number but the faster centruy ever in cricket history - Chris Gayle in the IPL today - 103 off 30 balls: 001440440416640664616066466016 - nice to see that he played himself in first, proper batting!

22 April 2013

Luis Suarez may be talented but he is a liability to his club - summed up after today's biting incident in the Telegraph:

"So far at Liverpool, Suarez has racially abused Manchester United’s Patrice Evra, dived to win a penalty against Stoke City, courted controversy with a handball in the build-up to a goal against Mansfield Town and now this attack on Ivanovic. Some great players have graced that Liverpool No 7 shirt. Suarez stains it. Enough is enough."

20 April 2013

Happy birthday Alex - sweet (??) 16.

17 April 2013

A thought from Scotland on the Thatcher funeral via the Guardian:

"For those of us in Scotland who wish to see our country independent this circus only serves to highlight the vast gulf between the governed and those governing ,which now exists between Scotland and Westminster. There is not a lot of anger at this event as so many see it as a foreign and almost alien spectacle, which in so many ways it is. Her party which for so long wielded enormous power and influence is now reduced to cheerleading the Labour party in the Scottish parliament .The best protest and acknowledgement of this woman's reign is the one Tory MP, the Scottish parliament and the referendum on independence."

And in the end this was a very London funeral - she would not be getting the same applause and cheers anywhere north of Watford.

16 April 2013

Good old Britain - as a nation it might be a bit ropey at deficit reduction, equality, good weather, teenage sobriety, Eurovision or dentistry, but at pomp and pageantry, Britain is world leading.

*****************************
The bombing in Boston is a bad business but somehow the deep compassion and anger felt in the US when it is attacked never translates to understanding the effects of US aggression against others.

******************************
It is not promotion form - one win in six games, and a 3-2 loss away to relegation battlers Peterborough last time out, has left Watford one place and six points shy of an automatic promotion spot with four to play.

The Hornets still boast the most lethal attack in the Championship (78 goals in 42 games), and have scored one goal every 3.23 attempts on target, which is the best conversion rate in the division.

They've also picked up an unsurpassed 36 points on their second tier travels, while their opponents have the joint fewest home points (24).

Blackburn and Leeds are still to come to Vicarage Road, either side of a trip to out-of-sorts Leicester.

And tonight we are away at Millwall.

15 April 2013

Watching Man Men is hard. On many levels. The relevance of so much of what happens in one episode only becomes clear in future weeks.

It has to be set in a time and place - 1968 New York - values and behaviour were different. Workplaces were different although roles were clearly changing. The Vietnam War dominated the news. But television was the new sales tool.

And then there is Don. He is contemptible but somehow we still root for him - and rooting is an apt word for Don.

He is cheating. Philandering Don made it loyally through series 5. But now he is sleeping with the neighbour's wife, Sylvia.

The trouble with Don is that the chase is so much more enjoyable than stability. He wants the challenge. Megan never gave him that. In the end she was too easy; too accommodating. She needs her career to take off and then she can.

There are no secrets in life. Eventually. Megan will find out. And then. She has to chuck him out. But it will hurt her more than him which is wrong.

Nothing worth saying about Pete - except that he really is not so different from Don Draper - he just lack's Don's charm and caution. His morality is just as low.

The trouble with getting to a series 6 is that there are so many characters and sub plots than parts of the story are simply not developed and some characters are unseen or only briefly seen. Don's children have disappeared. But they like Megan and he will have problems with them when this marriage ends - which it now must.

**********************************
On the subject of no secrets nothing escapes by lovely spouse - she lands from Bombay - overnight - has not slept.

I heard you eating the ice cream while I rested last night she says - followed by spotting the Easter egg box - did you eat all the egg? She would make a poor detective. The box may be in the garbage but 90% of the egg is still in the fridge - a chocolate bunny with no ears!

14 April 2013

Yesterday was a day for the unexpected - and was expensive.

More details at a future date when I can write about it - safe to say that it is part of an ongoing process and the results are not known yet.

12 April 2013

A nice gathering at the Thai consulate in Dubai today to celebrate Songkran. A good turn out, plenty of food and lots of water.

**********************
Meanwhile the Masters has descended into pettiness and spite - Masters 2013: Guan Tianlang hit with one-shot penalty for slow play.

Guan is 14 years old. He would be 3 over and safe for the weekend. At 4 over he was in danger of heading home.

He was on the 17th. This was a day to let him finish his round and then bollock him in the clubhouse.

It is windy. Conditions are hard.

No player has had a one shot penalty for slow play on the PGA since 1995 or in a major since 2004.

There is plenty of slow play today. But would the officials ever penalise Tiger Woods or the other major names. Not a chance.

It is so much easier to punish a 14 year old amateur Chinese boy. As an amateur he cannot win prize money.

This just looks like an old white man bullying the Chinese golfer and in doing so spoiling the game for millions of would be Chinese golfers.

In the Guardian's commentary: "Tianlang Guan is in the clubhouse with a second-round 75. That's another brave effort from the kid, following that almost unnatural one-over 73 yesterday. He's +4 for the tournament, and he should just make the cut. Should.But he's right on the line. And if he doesn't, then all hell's likely to break loose, and no wonder, because it transpires he was penalised a stroke for slow play on 17 by some officious buffoon. This is the first time this has happened on a PGA Tour event since 1995, when Glen 'All Day' Day was docked a penalty shot in the third round of the Honda Classic. Rules are rules, I guess, and he must have been warned previously and put on the clock, but the lad's 14 for goodness sake, surely the officials could have made do with a stern bollocking. This is going to be one hell of a harsh lesson if he misses the weekend's play - and the chance of being the youngest player in history to make the cut."

Brainless. Just worth adding that not one player has been penalised in 17 years on the US tour but Augusta just penalised a 14 year old Chinese boy.

The Chinese need to be summoning the US and British ambassadors to Beijing for their own one-stroke penalty.

Mind you - 5 and 1/2 hour rounds of golf are evil!

After two rounds Jason Day leads - coincidentally one of the slowest golfers ever to play the game!

11 April 2013

Emirates Road is back - but it is not the same Emirates Road as before -

There are 3 main highways through Dubai,SW-NE.

1. The Sheikh Zayed Road, which is still called "The Sheikh Zayed Road".
2. The Emirates Road (311), which is now called "The Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Highway".
3. The Bypass Road (611), which is now called "The Emirates Road".

Bizarre.

10 April 2013

The giant panda born at Chiang Mai Zoo in Thailand, the ever-popular Lin Ping, is to be sent to China after she turns four years old on May 27. Thailand will need to declare a national day of mourning!

For particular personal reasons it is with respect that I note the death of Robert Edwards, a British Nobel prize-winning scientist known as the father of in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) for pioneering the development of "test tube babies".

Edwards, who won the Nobel prize for medicine in 2010, started work on fertilisation in the 1950s, and the first so-called test tube baby, Louise Brown, was born in 1978 as a result of his research.

Since then, millions of babies have been born around the world as a result of the techniques Edwards developed together with his late colleague, Patrick Steptoe.
Edwards began his work on fertilisation in 1955 and by 1968 had been able to achieve fertilization of a human egg in a laboratory. He then started to collaborate with Steptoe.

Together they founded Bourn Hall, the world's first IVF clinic, in Cambridge, eastern England, in 1980.

5 April 2013

Emirates China changes from 1st May:

DXB-PVG: A380 service increase from 3 weekly to 5 weekly
DXB-HKG: A380 service reduced from 4 weekly to 2 weekly

3 April 2013

Crazy Russian photographers - some great pictures of Dubai here.

2 April 2013

Watford v Hull is underway at the KC Stadium....and we lead 1-0 at half time.

• This is a vital six-pointer in Watford's bid for automatic promotion, which has hit upon turbulent waters of late, with just one point out of nine, and one win in five.

• A share of the spoils would give the Hertfordshire club their 500th away draw in league football.

• The free-scoring Hornets have failed to find the net in only one of their last 10 Championship games.

And Watford win 1-0.

1 April 2013

Low cost carrier Flydubai will introduce a twice weekly service to two new destinations in the CIS region, bringing total destinations there up to 20.

Flights to Osh in Kyrgyzstan will begin April 24 and those to Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, will begin April 30.

The airline has offered services to the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, since February 2012. The past 12 months have seen overall air traffic between Dubai and Bishkek grow by 157%.

Round trip fares to Osh will start from AED 1,595 and to Dushanbe from AED 2,000.



 

30 March 2013

It’s unconfirmed, but a man arrested on Thursday by London’s Metropolitan Police on suspicion of sex offences is thought to be children’s entertainer Rolf Harris.

Australian media outlet the Age reports, “The pensioner from Berkshire, west of London, is one of 11 people arrested so far under Operation Yewtree, which is investigating people linked to [BBC personality Jimmy] Savile.”

The same man, who was identified as “an 82-year-old Australian entertainer,” was questioned and then released by police in November. His home was searched at the time.

There may need to be a rewording of "Two Little Boys."

The UK tv networks are saying nothing for now - but this is all over Twitter and a number of UK journalists have now named Mr. Harris.

Harris is 83 today.

Operation Yewtree needs to get to a resolution quickly. This one arrest a month is simply too drawn out - and those who were hurt, abused, mistreated deserve really resolution and where appropriate the opportunity to confront those who hurt them in court.

*************************
A few notes from driving around Dubai yesterday:

1. Friday morning traffic (and the Easter weekend as well) meant that traffic trying to get to Terminals 1 and 3 was simply awful.

This is not good when you need to get the better half to the EGHQ for her Singapore flight.

The Dubai authorities need to fix this. From airport road heading towards the EGHQ there is a single lane off ramp to Terminal 1 and a single off ramp to terminal 3.

Traffic was backed up down Airport Road and around the corner past the Meridien towards Garhoud Bridge.

And to add to people's frustration there were no warning signs - no attempts by Dubai police to aid the traffic flow. Instead there was a single motorcycle cop with his notepad out taking numbers (for tickets) of drivers trying to cut into the terminal 3 ramp. Very poor.

**************************
Good to see Stephen Milner yesterday - who I first met teh first day that I started work in 1979! Streuth. Almost 34 years ago!

It was a good excuse for a drive around Dubai - to Meydan - to the 7s stadium - along route 77 towards Jebel Ali - around the new airport and then back along the 311 to Dubai Mall for a late lunch.

At the new airport:

There is a huge amount of work to be done before the Dubai Airshow venue is ready.

The small passenger terminal is making good progress. But it is small. It looks like the sort of terminal you would see at a Mediterranean tourist airport! There is an outdoor uncovered car park. There will be no airbridges. It is a genuine LCC airport.

There are a few freighters and a few bizjets parked. We did not stop to take pictures. The only other vehicles that were there on a Friday were some police cars. Stopping did not seem wise.

It is quite hard to imagine what the airport will look like in 15 years time.

27 March 2013

AirAsia X plans to set-up a subsidiary in Thailand in cooperation with sister carrier Thai AirAsia according to this report by the Bangkok Post. It has applied for an air operator certificate in Thailand and plans to launch long-haul services from Bangkok Don Mueang International (DMK) to Japan and South Korea later this year with a fleet of A330-300s. According to Thai AirAsia CEO Tassapon Bijleveld, the plans have not been finalized yet and are still at an early stage.

26 March 2013

Paul Mahoney (golf writer) on twitter today: "You see, America, cricket is very much like life. It's not all about winning or losing. Sometimes it's enough just to strive to break even."

Mike Selvey in the Guardian:

 "After two months in this beautiful country, and three Test matches, the destiny of the series came down to the final delivery of the 143rd over of England's second innings, bowled by their indefatigable left armer Trent Boult to Matt Prior, the man who is constructing a compelling case to be regarded as the finest wicketkeeper-batsman England has fielded. Boult was spent but to the roars of the crowd, he thrashed the ball into an unresponsive pitch for the last time, Prior defended and then raised his arms in triumph. England had survived the match and earned themselves a draw in the series by the skin of their teeth.

It was a day for heroes, players who reined in their natural instincts to carve out one of the great rearguards for only three teams previously had entered the final day of a Test with four wickets down and survived to the end of the day."

25 March 2013

Coming up next after Cyprus - Slovenia, Malta and Luxembourg.....

This is not over. And it will all be dealt with in crisis mode.

24 March 2013

New Zealand haven't beaten England in a Test series since 1999. They haven't beaten them at home in a series since 1983-84. They haven't won a series against anyone apart from Bangladesh or Zimbabwe for over seven years. They have won only three series of three Tests or more since Sir Richard Hadlee's retirement in 1990.

Those are the statistics of a rubbish side. The evidence of this series is that New Zealand are far from a rubbish side.

Or maybe England are not the side they talk themselves up to be.

And if England lose and Australia win in India then Australia will go above England in the Test rankings.

Ouch.

22 March 2013

Alex Salmond has announced that Scotland's independence referendum will be held on 18 September next year.

*****************************
Sad: Yingluck/Chalerm have betrayed everyone who voted for them. They are now indistinguishable from Abhisit/Suthep. This is bad news for Thailand.

21 March 2013

The controversy over last week's PBS debate on the lese majeste laws continues in Thailand - Prayuth who is the head of police basically told anyone who does not like the law to leave the country and live elsewhere.

"I agree with what Prayuth said," Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm "The government doesn't agree with changing laws protecting the monarchy."

Chalerm is a disgrace. A thug. His PT party were elected to bring about change after the army supported Abhisit government. Instead PT parrots the same nonsense.

20 March 2013

I used to enjoy Wigan's annual escape from Premiership relegation. I used to enjoy their manager's honesty. I used to enjoy the style of football they played.

During Sunday's Barclays Premier League match between Wigan Athletic and Newcastle United, Wigan's Callum McManaman — in his first career Premier League start — committed a horrible, career-threatening tackle on Newcastle's Massadio Haidara that went unpunished.

But Wigan Chairman David Whelan is an idiot in his defense of his player.

"There is no question that our lad got the ball and then they collided." Wigan chairman Dave Whelan

I hope Wigan now disappear into the Championship and slide slowly down the leagues.

That's what you deserve for publicly defending the indefensible. It was a shocker of a tackle. He should have been sent off. The referee did not see it. The player was not punished.

Both the chairman and manager would have been better advised saying nothing - or simply that it was being dealt with by the FA and wishing Haidara a quick recovery.

***************************
A few notes will appear over the next few days after last week's Bangkok and Kanchanaburi trip....

firstly - PowerMall at Central Chitlom - just hopeless - so much of what is wrong in Thailand in one single store. Staff that hover hopelessly and pointing things out to you that you have no interest in; a single cashier - presumaby the only staff member than can deduct 100 baht from 1000 baht without a calculator. A long queue at the cashier. And 25 staff standing around the cashier's desks (I counted them) doing nothing. Hopeless.

19 March 2013

Air Arabia as well as RAK Airways and flydubai will move to Doha's new Doha Hamad International (OTHH) airport from April 1.

In total 10 airlines will operate from the new airport. All other carriers serving Doha International (DOH) will continue to operate to the old airport for the time being until the premium passenger lounges at the new facility have been completed. This includes Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad.

*************************************
A date for your diary: the first day of the Islamic holy month Ramadan in 2013 will be July 10.

August 9 is the first day of Shawwal, the tenth month in the lunar Islamic calendar, as well as the first day of the Eid Al Fitr holiday.

It will be a very hot month. And longer days extend the fast.

18 March 2013

Alex has headed back to HKG this morning. And he has been very good company for a week.

****************************
Driving in BKK - crazy - it took four hours on Friday afternoon from Samut Songkhram to Bangkok. Taxi drivers are for the most part remarkably patient.

****************************
Kanchanaburi province. Very pretty and a real escape from Bangkok.

****************************
But the Erawan Falls. Over-rated, expensive for foreigners to visit and over-run by Russians.

*****************************
Boutigue Raft River Resort - loved it - loved the location. Just did not sleep very well and fell into our pool - a small cage of river water.

17 March 2013

The Daily Mail continues its love-hate relationship with Dubai - Motorcycling champion whose new wife died on honeymoon at luxury Dubai hotel is arrested for being drunk-

If there is truth in the article it is woefully insensitive work by the local police....

16 March 2013

You have to love this from the Nation - reported today without any sense of its inappropriateness:

"The Constitution Court has historically sought solutions for the country in times of political gridlock, its president Wasan Soypisudh said yesterday.
At a seminar on the court's role in keeping the balance in Thai politics, he referred to the court's resolution to dissolve the People Power, Chart Thai and Matchima Thipataya parties. If various groups had not staged so many rallies at the time, the decision might have been different, he said. "If the country at that time had been peaceful, the government and the opposition could have joined hands, the country could have moved forward, and I believe most of the judges would have decided not to dissolve the parties," he said. "But the country at that time was chaotic and the Constitution Court had to use its judgement to maintain law and order," he said, adding however that the court was under no pressure."

So the Constitutional Court chairman confirms that the court makes its decisions based upon political expediency, not based on the law.

Not surprising; but not right.

15 March 2013

So we have a new Pope - but it is clear that he may not exactly be a saint - there are questions about his role under the old military junta in Argentina.

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So many Russians at the Erawan Falls - is it their spring break? Did they invade.

Baht 40 for Thais - Baht 200 for foreigners. Alex became Thai for the day.

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At Baht 200 for foreigners this place is a gold mine. Sat 3,000 there today = bat 600,000. hey might be taking baht 4 million in a week.

11 March 2013

This is never helpful "Flight delayed due to operational reasons."

Just front up and tell your customers what the problem is.

6 March 2013

The EK 2013-2014 annual plan (1 April to 31 March) speculation from a post on one of the airline bulletin boads:

For Emirates financial year April 1 2013 - March 31 2014:

14 Airbus A380s will be added to the fleet
6 Boeing 777-300ERs will be added to the fleet
2 Boeing 777-200LRFs will be added to the fleet

2 Airbus A330-200s will leave the fleet
2 Airbus A340-500s will leave the fleet
1 Airbus A340-300 will leave the fleet

8 new destinations to be added. Two of which are HND and CRK. (Haneda and Clark)

A380 upgrades will only begin in October.

This is the current outlook assuming everything goes to plan. I'm assuming that A340-300s A6-ERQ and A6-ERS are going to be retired by the end of this financial year. This means by March 31, 2014 there will only be 5 A340-300s.

5 March 2013

In regional news Bahrain has welcomed the UAE's decision to block the entry of a UK-based academic to the country, according to Wam, the state news agency.

This is all rather sad - I understand the GCC countries showing a united public face - but at least behind the scenes you have to hope that the UAE is distancing itself from the actions of the authorities in Bahrain.

Dr Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, an academic with the London School of Economics, was to speak at a planned conference at the American University of Sharjah entitled “The New Middle East: Transition in the Arab World”.

The UAE authorities said yesterday he had been prevented from entering the country because it was deemed to be “unhelpful to allow non-constructive views on the situation in Bahrain to be expressed” in the UAE.

Dr Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, from the London School of Economics, was denied entry at Dubai airport on February 22 because of his "unhelpful" views on the political situation in Bahrain.

The conference he was due to attend at the American University of Sharjah, which was to be co-hosted by the LSE, was subsequently cancelled.

Capitalising on the UAE's action the Bahraini ministry of foreign affairs said in a statement that the UAE's move was "a true reflection of the strong bonds of fraternity between the UAE and Bahrain and an example of GCC co-operation in addressing such issues".

Regional understanding requires debate on the impact of recent changes in many middle eastern nations and academic freedom is threatened when those debates cannot take place.

4 March 2013

Asia Atlantic Airlines has been announced as the new name for Thailand's latest start-up carrier backed by Japanese tour operator H.I.S. and Thai hotel group Baiyoke. It had originally planned to operate as Asia Pacific Airlines (Thailand). It plans to use two B767-300(ER)s to operate charter services from and to China, Guam, Hawaii, Indonesia, Japan, Russia and South Korea according to its website.

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Due to pragmatic self censorship I will not comment much on this case - and will say little other than what is published in the UAE papers:

The trial of 94 people accused of plotting to overthrow the UAE government was due to start in the Federal Supreme Court today.

The UAE Attorney General Salem Saeed Kubaish said in Janaury that the suspects, all Emiratis, were arrested as part of a probe into an organisation that was seeking ways to seize power in the Emirates.

The fact that the case is being heard in the Supreme Court means that there can be no appeal against the verdict.

It will be interesting to see and read how the international media covers this story; especially parts of the international media that have chosen to establish Abu Dhabi regional offices.

After a day of hearings the case was delayed until 11 March.

2 March 2013

The sentence "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog." uses every letter in the alphabet.

1 March 2013

The Lords Taverners are in town this weekend - and they played a 35 over cricket match against the Emirates Airline team at the 7s stadium cricket ground today.

The Taverners made 219 for 7 and bowled the Emirates team out for 88. It was a very easy win.

Scott Styris led the way for the Taverners with a powerful 110.

The saddest part was watching just how miserable the Emirates team was - this is a team that includes a number of players from the UAE national squad.

They looked miserable. They gave no appearance of enjoying their cricket. Anything that went wrong was someone else's fault. An early run out looked like the two batsmen would come to blows. A dropped catch (it was an appalling full toss) had the bowler berating the poor fielder who was under a skier coming out of the sun.

When Scott Stryis reached a very entertaining 100, which included 6 sixes, only two of the Emirates team were seen to applaud him. Whatever happened to courtesy in this game? I thought this was really poor.

This was a very unhappy looking Emirates team. This was a charity game. Emirates are effectively a club team privileged by virtue of their employment to playing against some well known international players. They need a major attitude reboot. As one of their younger players said to me while fielding "some of our guys take it too seriously."