My Thailand Blog by Richard Barrow

If you don’t like the pollution and traffic jams of Bangkok but you still would like to ride a bicycle, then an easy escape would be across the river in Bangkrachao. You won’t find any high-raised buildings here. Only green jungle. The cross-river ferry can be found at Wat Klong Toei Nok which is the port area of Bangkok.

Once on the other side you will find a shop by the pier that rents out bicycles for only 100 baht per day. That is a lot cheaper than the bike tours that come here from Bangkok which charge something like 1,000 baht or more. But obviously, you get what you pay for and you are basically on your own. So, if you don’t mind getting a bit lost, then this is ideal for you. If you have nothing to do at the weekend then come and spend the day in the “lungs of Bangkok”.

- Posted from my iPhone

I am visiting the Siamese Fighting Fish Gallery in Bangkachao which is a sub-district of Phra Pradaeng. Many people call this area the “lungs of Bangkok” although really it is in Samut Prakan Province. There is quick access here from Bangkok via the cross-river ferry at Klong Toei Port.

This place is really a museum about fighting fish. There are many on display in large glass jars. The museum had its soft opening recently and so it is still relatively unknown to the general public.

It is open every day apart from Wednesday. If I was you, I would visit the gallery as part of a bigger trip to visit the Bangnampheung Floating Market. It would make a nice day out at the weekend. At the pier you can rent bicycles for 100 baht per day. There is plenty to explore around here.

- Posted from my iPhone

You may have read in my blog the other week that I have been having a problem with my visa. The local immigration refused to renew it this year because they said my company wasn’t making enough money. True enough. But then, there is a world recession going on at the moment and like other companies we have been suffering.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, I went to see the Governor of Samut Prakan about this little problem of mine. Luckily for me, he is a fan of one of my websites which promotes our province. All it took was one phone call from him to the Inspector General of the local Immigration and then things started moving forward again.

I went to Immigration in Samut Prakan this morning to have my passport stamped again to say that my visa application was under consideration. They had crossed this out before and then stamped “denied” below it. But they had to cross that out this morning! Then I went to the employment office to start the process of having my work permit renewed. Hopefully things will go much smoother now that they know that the Governor is personally keeping an eye on this matter.

- Posted from my iPhone

I went to the book fair in Bangkok today. We usually have two big ones each year during the school holidays in March and October.

I like going there to browse new books on sale for discounts of at least 20%. Most books are in Thai but there seems to be more English and bilingual books every year. I took Nong Grace to the book fair for the second time. She is really enthusiastic about reading English books.

Although it is good to see more and more Thais at these book fairs each year, the large numbers this year were crazy. It is difficult to park, find an empty table to eat lunch and basically browse the books. Some areas there was just too many people. But we got some good books for Grace. Her website is at www.NongGrace.com.

- Posted from my iPhone

I am at Lakewood Country Club in Samut Prakan to take pictures of a charity golf match.

It wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be to photograph the governor. It also didn’t help that he had a golf cart and I didn’t! On the way back I nearly got hit by a golf ball.

- Posted from my iPhone

I am at a seminar in Bangkok called “Thailand: Today’s Trends, Tomorrow’s Tourism” organized by the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

The event was opened by the Minister of Tourism and Sports. We then had four speakers talking about various tourism products.

The first speaker talked about “Healthcare Destination Thailand”. He told us that within 5 years the number of medical tourists have gone from half a million to 1.4 million.

The next speaker talked about “Community Based Tourism”. We have two more speakers to go. “Today’s Experience, Tomorrow’s Memories – Lasting Thai Ties” and “Tourism in Thailand: Beyond Luxury”. I will write more about today’s seminar in my main blog over at www.Thai-Blogs.com.

- Posted from my iPhone

I am at a press conference at Muang Boran. They are showing the media the events that they have planned for this Songkran.

The people at Ancient Siam always put on a good show for the media. There is always delicious food too.

During the month of Songkran they are organizing four different events which I will write fully about later. At the moment we are on a night time tram tour. Afterwards there will be a meal.

- Posted from my iPhone

I am at Commart Thailand 2010 at the QSCC to check out the latest gadgets and computer hardware. Good to see so many people here despite red shirt protests.

- Posted from my iPhone

I drove over to Suvarnabhumi Airport this afternoon for an opening ceremony for an art and culture exhibition.

On the approach roads to the airport we came across a couple of army roadblocks. It looked like they were just setting them up in case the red shirts come this way tomorrow. There were both army and police.

The art exhibition was at the Novotel Hotel. In this picture you can see the manager of the hotel and the Governor of Samut Prakan. The exhibition is called Life Along the River and goes on until 19th April.

- Posted from my iPhone

I was at Samut Prakan Immigration earlier today to submit my documents to renew my visa. It is an annual event that I have been going through for the last 16 years. It is hard to believe that I have been in Samut Prakan for so long. But maybe for not much longer.

Today the immigration officer informed me that as my company hasn’t been making enough money then he wouldn’t be able to renew my visa. He was sympathetic showing me the regulations. It is not his fault. His hands are tied.

The main problem we have been facing is the fallout affect from the world recession and a bad exchange rate. In addition, in order to get a work permit, my company had to pay me a minimum of 50,000 baht per month. It was all too much and it looks like I will have to leave Thailand. I am not sure what I will do yet.

- Posted from my iPhone

This first video shows red shirt march from Samut Prakan to Bangkok.

I shot this second video from up on the red shirt rally stage.

- Posted from my iPhone