I forgot to mention that last week Dave and I went to watch the match between Thailand and Liverpool FC at the stadium in Bangkok, draw 1:1
Wednesday 29 July 2009
Thailand v Liverpool
I forgot to mention that last week Dave and I went to watch the match between Thailand and Liverpool FC at the stadium in Bangkok, draw 1:1
Message from Peover
While we are on about food and drink here is a photo of my friend 'Nom' in action at my favourite UK pub, at the annual beer festival at 'The Dog' at Peover, Cheshire
Monday 27 July 2009
Sunday 26 July 2009
Thailand first for Food Quality in SE Asia
Some interesting articles in the local press about new investment in food production
Thanks to a good local supply of quality raw materials, Japanese-based Lotte has invested Bt800 million to set up a Koala's March cookies factory in Thailand. The facility is Lotte's biggest manufacturing plant in Southeast Asia as the company bids to expand its business in the region.
At the outset, the facility will focus on producing the company's chocolate cream-filled, koala-shaped cookies under the Koala's March brand. Capacity is set at 1,500 tonnes per year, and Lotte plans to distribute in not only Thailand, but also other Asian countries.
The company said the factory would also be a manufacturing hub, thanks to the local availability of quality flour, milk and other ingredients. Processing will be controlled under Japanese standards.
An industry source said Lotte's management had decided to move investment from China to Thailand, as it was concerned about food contamination. Lotte also sent officials to source and test the quality of materials in Thailand, and they were found to be of high quality.
Recently China has had very high profile problems with food quality, last year a major scandal erupted when the industrial chemical melamine was found in milk powder, the stuff turned up everywhere, all over the country and even in Singapore and Australia. When bulk milk powder is sold one of the tests is the protein content, someone had discovered that adding melamine boosted the reading giving a higher value product. Unfortunately it was in a lot of baby milk powder and the babies all suffered from serious kidney failure and some died.
Another leading Japanese manufacturer of confectionery products has just announced investment in Thailand to stimulate production and sales within Southeast Asia and other potential markets, such as India, with its large population
Rising international demand for Thai cuisine has encouraged Ampol Food Processing to increase its export market, with its international sales soon expected to equal domestic revenue especially for the company's coconut milk and ready-to-cook curries, thanks to the increasing popularity of Thai food.
At present the biggest foreign investors in Thailand are number one Japan, then followed by EU, Taiwan, US, Hongkong, Singapore. China is expected to grow very quickly and could be number one in 5 years
Thanks to a good local supply of quality raw materials, Japanese-based Lotte has invested Bt800 million to set up a Koala's March cookies factory in Thailand. The facility is Lotte's biggest manufacturing plant in Southeast Asia as the company bids to expand its business in the region.
At the outset, the facility will focus on producing the company's chocolate cream-filled, koala-shaped cookies under the Koala's March brand. Capacity is set at 1,500 tonnes per year, and Lotte plans to distribute in not only Thailand, but also other Asian countries.
The company said the factory would also be a manufacturing hub, thanks to the local availability of quality flour, milk and other ingredients. Processing will be controlled under Japanese standards.
An industry source said Lotte's management had decided to move investment from China to Thailand, as it was concerned about food contamination. Lotte also sent officials to source and test the quality of materials in Thailand, and they were found to be of high quality.
Recently China has had very high profile problems with food quality, last year a major scandal erupted when the industrial chemical melamine was found in milk powder, the stuff turned up everywhere, all over the country and even in Singapore and Australia. When bulk milk powder is sold one of the tests is the protein content, someone had discovered that adding melamine boosted the reading giving a higher value product. Unfortunately it was in a lot of baby milk powder and the babies all suffered from serious kidney failure and some died.
Another leading Japanese manufacturer of confectionery products has just announced investment in Thailand to stimulate production and sales within Southeast Asia and other potential markets, such as India, with its large population
Rising international demand for Thai cuisine has encouraged Ampol Food Processing to increase its export market, with its international sales soon expected to equal domestic revenue especially for the company's coconut milk and ready-to-cook curries, thanks to the increasing popularity of Thai food.
At present the biggest foreign investors in Thailand are number one Japan, then followed by EU, Taiwan, US, Hongkong, Singapore. China is expected to grow very quickly and could be number one in 5 years
Friday 17 July 2009
Picasa Web Albums - Thai Fruit
Picasa Web Albums - Thai Fruit
Thai fruit at the local market in Phitsanulok
Thai fruit at the local market in Phitsanulok
Sunday 5 July 2009
Picasa Web Albums - Thai Temples
Picasa Web Albums - Thai Temples
Here is my album of Thai Temples that I promised
Here is my album of Thai Temples that I promised
Burma and Thailand
There has been a lot in the press recently about Burma, or Myanmar as it is now called, although many still use the name Burma. This week the United nations General Secretary Ban Ki Moon visited the Burma leaders but was not allowed to meet Aung San Suu Kyi, a lady who is the leader of the opposition party in Burma and who is under house arrest. Burma is run by army Generals who operate a dictatorship style of power and many opposition persons are imprisoned including many monks. The largest ethnic group in Burma are the Karen people and many have fled to the hill areas of Thailand to try to live a normal life, about 1000 a month are still entering Thailand. This has caused big problems in Thailand, on the one hand there are humanitarian concerns for fellow Buddhist people but there are problems of illegal Burmese workers taking jobs at lower rates of pay and also drug trafficking as Burma is the worlds leading producer of amphetamines.
This article is on the BBC web site this week
No place to go Burma's Karen unable to return home
Many of those who have fled over the past week were living at the Ler Per Her camp for internally displaced people in Burma - and had already left their home villages.
Rainbow, who is the secretary of the camp and the headmaster of the school there, told the BBC News website about what is forcing the Karen to flee and the difficult circumstances they now face:
Last week government troops attacked our camp. They were shelling every day. The fighting between the Burmese army and the Karen rebels was taking place close to the camp. It became a dangerous place. So we decided to leave.
There were 1,264 people living in the camp. Since October 2008 we've had about 300 new arrivals.
The Democratic Karen Buddhist Amy (DKBA) [allied to the Burmese army] have been trying to force people in the area to join them in the last few months.
They wanted to be in control of the area and they needed more people.
In order to put pressure on villagers they put mines close to rice fields. To avoid being recruited to the army, many have abandoned their homes and farms and gone to live in camps for internally displaced people. Farms are abandoned and homes burnt down.
There are over 3,000 people now in different places on the Thai side of the border.
There are more than 1,000 of us in this village. We are being taken care of for now, but it's really difficult as there are too many people and not enough accommodation. It's very crowded and it's constantly raining.
But there's nothing we can do. We are just waiting to see what will happen.
We are in a very difficult situation. We can't go back because the military has taken over our camp.
This article is on the BBC web site this week
No place to go Burma's Karen unable to return home
Many of those who have fled over the past week were living at the Ler Per Her camp for internally displaced people in Burma - and had already left their home villages.
Rainbow, who is the secretary of the camp and the headmaster of the school there, told the BBC News website about what is forcing the Karen to flee and the difficult circumstances they now face:
Last week government troops attacked our camp. They were shelling every day. The fighting between the Burmese army and the Karen rebels was taking place close to the camp. It became a dangerous place. So we decided to leave.
There were 1,264 people living in the camp. Since October 2008 we've had about 300 new arrivals.
The Democratic Karen Buddhist Amy (DKBA) [allied to the Burmese army] have been trying to force people in the area to join them in the last few months.
They wanted to be in control of the area and they needed more people.
In order to put pressure on villagers they put mines close to rice fields. To avoid being recruited to the army, many have abandoned their homes and farms and gone to live in camps for internally displaced people. Farms are abandoned and homes burnt down.
There are over 3,000 people now in different places on the Thai side of the border.
There are more than 1,000 of us in this village. We are being taken care of for now, but it's really difficult as there are too many people and not enough accommodation. It's very crowded and it's constantly raining.
But there's nothing we can do. We are just waiting to see what will happen.
We are in a very difficult situation. We can't go back because the military has taken over our camp.
Saturday 4 July 2009
Wednesday 1 July 2009
Weekend Coach Trip
The 5 posts below are about my recent coach trip on this coach, it rained a lot, picture of the coach and my friend Jas by the Mekong at Mukdahan
The Freedom Bridge at Mukdahan
The Freedom Bridge between Mukdahan Thailand and Savannakhet Laos which was opened in Jan 2007 is a key part of the new road link described below. The bridge incorporates a switch over from left to right which is a sign of the British influence in Asia, driving on the left in India, Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, but the old French Indo-China, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and China itself drive on the right.
Formal Opening of New Road Link
Two weeks ago there was the formal opening of the South East Asia East-West Corridor. Ceremonies were held at the two major border gates along the East-West Economic Corridor: between Lao Bao in Vietnam and Dansavanh in Laos, and between Savannakhet in Laos and Mukdahan in Thailand.
A seemingly obscure agreement on traffic rights between Vietnam, Laos and Thailand now allows trucks to transit the three countries without having to unload cargo at border crossings for trans-shipment. Shipments previously needed to be unloaded and re-loaded in Lao territory. This will cut costs and time for regional trade, and is expected to have far-reaching consequences. The formal opening of the East-West Corridor is part of a regional plan to break down barriers at borders across mainland South-East Asia. Overland transport time between Vietnam and Thailand has been shortened by the agreement for commercial trucks from Thailand and Vietnam to be able to enter each others' territory for the first time to deliver and pick up goods.
In 10 years narrow dirt trails that were once used to transport refugees and military hardware have given way to modern highways and bridges carrying electronic goods, exotic fruits and tourists and is a reflection of the increasing trade .
France as part of its plan to establish its south-east Asian empire set up the Mekong Exploration Commission of 1866-68 hoping that the river would prove to be a back door to the riches of China. Its efforts are one of the great Asian journeys, following the river from its mouth in southern Vietnam, then known as Cochin China, through what is now Cambodia, Laos and Burma, before travelling north through Yunnan to the Yangtze. The idea of the Mekong as a marine highway to inner China was doomed. Nonetheless France, which had designs on Thailand, persisted in the face of competition with Britain for Asian territory
Now the global centres of power have shifted and the modern-day equivalent is being played out between China and Japan. Beijing is blasting rapids on the upper stretches of the Mekong to open up a commercial shipping route at least as far as Thailand, while the recently built Freedom bridge was paid for with loans from Tokyo.
Sanit Nakajitpi, managing director of the Pacific Strategies and Assessments consultancy in Thailand, said the different approaches reflected the two countries’ goals. “The Japanese have been here in Thailand for the past 20 years, and I think their time is running out,” he said, as Japanese firms have already invested heavily in Thailand and trained highly-skilled workers but are now looking for lower-cost locations. “This bridge is maybe a symbol of Japan wanting to re-invest in that area, moving from Thailand to Laos and Vietnam, while China sees Thailand as a market. It’s the time that China is coming in.”
The corridor - an upgraded highway with the transit agreements in place - runs from Danang, Vietnam, through Savannakhet, in the Lao People's Democratic Republic, or Laos, and into Thailand. Ultimately, the corridor is intended to extend to Burma, also a member of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean) Thailand is providing financing to upgrade the road to the Andaman coast of Burma, while the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has been the prime mover behind the corridor idea. Arjun Thapan, director general of ADB's South-East Asia department said "You can now set out from Thailand, do business in Laos, and arrive in time for dinner at Danang in Vietnam - all in the space of a single day,"
A seemingly obscure agreement on traffic rights between Vietnam, Laos and Thailand now allows trucks to transit the three countries without having to unload cargo at border crossings for trans-shipment. Shipments previously needed to be unloaded and re-loaded in Lao territory. This will cut costs and time for regional trade, and is expected to have far-reaching consequences. The formal opening of the East-West Corridor is part of a regional plan to break down barriers at borders across mainland South-East Asia. Overland transport time between Vietnam and Thailand has been shortened by the agreement for commercial trucks from Thailand and Vietnam to be able to enter each others' territory for the first time to deliver and pick up goods.
In 10 years narrow dirt trails that were once used to transport refugees and military hardware have given way to modern highways and bridges carrying electronic goods, exotic fruits and tourists and is a reflection of the increasing trade .
France as part of its plan to establish its south-east Asian empire set up the Mekong Exploration Commission of 1866-68 hoping that the river would prove to be a back door to the riches of China. Its efforts are one of the great Asian journeys, following the river from its mouth in southern Vietnam, then known as Cochin China, through what is now Cambodia, Laos and Burma, before travelling north through Yunnan to the Yangtze. The idea of the Mekong as a marine highway to inner China was doomed. Nonetheless France, which had designs on Thailand, persisted in the face of competition with Britain for Asian territory
Now the global centres of power have shifted and the modern-day equivalent is being played out between China and Japan. Beijing is blasting rapids on the upper stretches of the Mekong to open up a commercial shipping route at least as far as Thailand, while the recently built Freedom bridge was paid for with loans from Tokyo.
Sanit Nakajitpi, managing director of the Pacific Strategies and Assessments consultancy in Thailand, said the different approaches reflected the two countries’ goals. “The Japanese have been here in Thailand for the past 20 years, and I think their time is running out,” he said, as Japanese firms have already invested heavily in Thailand and trained highly-skilled workers but are now looking for lower-cost locations. “This bridge is maybe a symbol of Japan wanting to re-invest in that area, moving from Thailand to Laos and Vietnam, while China sees Thailand as a market. It’s the time that China is coming in.”
The corridor - an upgraded highway with the transit agreements in place - runs from Danang, Vietnam, through Savannakhet, in the Lao People's Democratic Republic, or Laos, and into Thailand. Ultimately, the corridor is intended to extend to Burma, also a member of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean) Thailand is providing financing to upgrade the road to the Andaman coast of Burma, while the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has been the prime mover behind the corridor idea. Arjun Thapan, director general of ADB's South-East Asia department said "You can now set out from Thailand, do business in Laos, and arrive in time for dinner at Danang in Vietnam - all in the space of a single day,"
Weekend Bus Tour
Last weekend I went on a coach tour with my friend Jas to Issan, the north eastern part of Thailand. We covered a lot of ground maybe 1000 km, visiting Nakon Panom, Mukdahan, and Khorat and 12 temples on the way. My Thai friends do not have much holiday and they have to work a lot to earn money, so a lot of travelling is at night. We left on Friday night returned late Sunday night and slept on the coach. The coach has two drivers and a bed for one of the drivers so they can drive continuously. The reclining seats are quite comfortable to sleep, generally the roads are good and eye shades, ear plugs and blow up pillow to support the neck is really helpful, except on this trip I forgot the pillow!. Forty eight hours on a coach does not seem like a holiday but it was really interesting and cheap, only 950 baht (£18 per person).
I have started to make a separate account of temples as they are so many, varied and interesting, I will publish more on this later.
I have used this trip to put together something about the development of the country which I find really interesting, particularly the influence of the Japanese and the Chinese. One of the places we visited is Mukdahan on the Mekong River which is an important trade link between Thailand and Loas/Vietnam.
I have started to make a separate account of temples as they are so many, varied and interesting, I will publish more on this later.
I have used this trip to put together something about the development of the country which I find really interesting, particularly the influence of the Japanese and the Chinese. One of the places we visited is Mukdahan on the Mekong River which is an important trade link between Thailand and Loas/Vietnam.
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