PRE CHINESE NEW YEAR IN BANGKOK

I was in Bangkok for my January monthly trip and while in a supermarket, what I saw really tickled me. The stores there are so advanced and really know how to take advantage of the busy people that they actually package all the required things for you for your Chinese New Year Prayer.

No need to shop around and no need for any fuss, just buy the package suitable for you. See for yourselves....

See, they even supply you with all the paraphenalia for prayers. It really a one stop centre. The display makes it easy to avoid misunderstanding.

Then, there are also ala carte items for those who wants to choose certain items only. There was a wode range of food and other items but I took these photos of the whole chicken and roast pork.

Outside the supermarket, lighted cherry blossom lights on a tree added to the festive cheer. It was actually quite nice.

The next day, I had the opportunity to have this coconut ice cream with peanuts and coconut flesh served in a coconut.

Imagine, this was sold by a motorcycle cart and it cost a whole Baht 3 (about US$1.00). What a treat and it was really good too.

It's all these simple things that makes my trips to Bangkok so interesting.

Until the next time, cheers...

ARTICLE FROM THE DAILY STAR BANGLADESH 7 APR 2010

I am in Bangladesh for the first time and I came across this article from their newspaper. Please read it as life here seems cheap and the poor are often victimised. I may be wrong but this is what I perceive after 3 days here. Imagine if this happened to your daugther.

Contemptible!

How could the intern do it?

ONE would have thought what marked out a living organism from an inanimate object is the capacity for feeling. The marker ought to be nobler when you are a human being. You are simply expected to sense the pain and trauma of another who has been physically hurt with the same intensity as though you were the victim. Should you fail the test, you don't simply deserve to be called a human being. Not even perhaps an animal; as even some species exude kindness to the kindred.

The outrage is all the more pronounced if someone in the garb of a healer enacts cruelty by extracting live teeth from a small girl's tender gums. It has a particular poignancy, because coming from a slum-dwelling family, she was an easy, helpless pick, enticed away by a packet of biriani. She was placed under the wrenching instrument by an intern dentist who, without a blink of the eye, extracted two of her teeth. Bleeding profusely in the mouth, the girl was to inform her father of what she had gone through. The Rab acted promptly arresting a doctor of the City Dental College while looking for the intern who did it. They cannot go scot-free, should be brought to book as a survey is conducted to identify all such dens of malpractice.

For the perpetrator, the poor child was the guinea pig to experiment on, test the intern's skill of tooth extraction to make the grades and obtain certificate of a dentist. The principal of the college explained the reason why the girl's parent was not approached a priori in patently unconvincing terms -- either her parent was not available, or she is an abandoned child. It was part of what was claimed to be free dental treatment given to poor children.

Actually, we think, Rab has exposed a Pandora's box of abominable forms of exploitation of the poor resorted to by so-called medical institutions. Indeed, there has been a mushrooming of all sorts of outfits, many with pretenses for imparting professional education having no ethics but raw business. All because they can easily circumvent standard criteria for registration and periodic monitoring.

WELCOME TO BANGLADESH PART 1

After putting off the trip for some time, I made my maiden trip to Bangladesh. I will visit both Dhaka and Chittagong albeit a very splash and dash trip. I should have done this a few months ago when the weather was still much cooler than now.

Up to afew hours before the flight, I was still not sure whether I can make the trip due to some delays in my visa. Luckily all was sorted.

The flight to Dhaka was uneventful except for the many mobile phones that kept ringing until taking off. I could see that the Air Asia had their hands full.

At the airport, I was plesantly surprised that it was a breeze and the service was actually quite good. However, I had to wait for almost 4 hours for my flight to Chittagong.

The international airport is new so it was nice but the domestic terminal was not so new....but bearable. Toilets were OK and air con works but there are a lot of mosquitos in Bangladesh. They seem to like my blood....something new and different, I suppose.

The best thing about the airports? Free internet...wow.

I got my first con at the aiport. I bought a local mobile sim card for Taka 900 when the value is Taka 200. The difference, service charge, I suppose. For those who don't know, US$ 1 is about Taka 68.50.

Some pictures of the domestic terminal...

As I was a litlle hungry, I had a snack at the "fast food" in the departure terminal. I had 2 samosa and a chicken bread and a bottle of mineral water for Taka 100. Something told me, I was overcharged again.

Inside the departure area, there was a shop selling Bangladeshi snacks and sweets...there was quite a variety.

The plane which I was supposed to take is a propeller type plane Bombadier Dash 8, a 35 seater plane. The plane must be more than 30 years old. Wow, I have not sat in a propeller type plane for a long time.

While the plane was a bit wobbly which is expected for a small propeller plane, the service was quite good and for the 50 minutes flight, they served sweets, drinks and snacks. The only set back was the air con does not work and it was really hot.

Well, that's my first day in Bangladesh.

Until the next time, cheers.