Pyoderma gangrenosum

My health is generally fine. I’ve only taken one day off work since moving here, due to a particularly violent bout of food poisoning. I’ll spare you the details, but on two occasions (the other being on a weekend) I have been rendered utterly housebound by the ill-effects of dodgy food. I guess this comes with the territory when living in the tropics, and twice in less than a year and a half is not bad, really.But I am still trying to resolve a health issue which I brought with me from the UK – a leg ulcer which has been present for two years now. I have a skin disease called pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) and I must be very special, because it affects just 1 in 100,000 people!

It is basically an inappropropriate immune response – the immune system attacks a wound or blemish, but gobbles up good skin, too. This is what creates the ulcer and what continues to prevent it healing. Unfortunately the rarity of the condition means there are not many doctors experienced in dealing with it, and on top of that, the same cure does not work for all sufferers.

Luckily I found a doctor in Bangkok who has dealt with PG before and while progress remains annoyingly slow, progress is being made and my doctor does know his stuff. Thankfully I can afford private healthcare here – no waiting months for an appointment with an NHS specialist, or spending thousands of pounds on a private healthcare membership, as would be the case in the UK! For anyone looking for a decent, affordable private hospital in Bangkok, I recommend the Bangkok Christian Hospital on Silom Road.

But the PG is more an annoyance than a hindrance. It doesn’t usually hurt or itch, and it doesn’t affect my mobility, it’s just there, it’s ugly, it requires dressing, and the unknowns are bothersome – how long will it take to heal? Will it heal? But it could be worse. There are much more virulent diseases, and even PG itself can be much worse than in my case. A 4cm x 4cm wound on the lower leg is not so bad when you see how some others have been affected:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Pyoderma_gangrenosum_01.jpg

http://www.john-libbey-eurotext.fr/e-docs/00/04/28/3F/texte_alt_jleejd00278_gr1.jpg

http://dermatology.cdlib.org/122/case_reports/penile/1.jpg

View from Khao Takiab

Hua Hin is the best beach spot within easy reach of Bangkok – by a long way, in my opinion.

Pattaya remains the busiest, but its popularity is more due to it being Thailand’s sex central – and unabashed position as such – rather than its unremarkable beach, dirty sea and culture-less city centre.

Cha-Am and Bang Saen have a nice atmosphere to them, but their beaches are gritty, with parasols spoiling most of the views (Thais like to be beside the seaside as much as Europeans, but hate the prospect of the sunshine darkening their skin).

Ko Samet and Ko Chang are both wonderful, but at around 4-5 hours’ drive from Bangkok, plus a ferry ride, they’re just a tad too far for a short hop.

Hua Hin, then, at 2-3 hours’ drive from Bangkok, is not only viable but also offers a lot that the aforementioned seaside spots don’t. I went there last weekend, my fifth trip there, and enjoyed it as always.

The beach is not world class, such as you’d find in Thailand’s picture-perfect south, but is certainly attractive. Fine, almost-white sand squeaks underfoot, while the water is clean and clear. The dreaded parasols can be found in the stretch of beach closest to the city centre, but it’s only a short walk to find long stretches of uninterrupted sand.

The seafood restaurants are great and the night market is one of the best in Thailand. The bar scene is a little low-key, with only one nightclub that I know of, one stretch of foreigner-oriented girly pubs and/or sports bars, and a few quieter drinking holes, but this adds to the relaxed feel of the town. If I want vibrant nightlife, Bangkok has it in spades, so sometimes it’s nice to somewhere a little more chilled out.

Indeed, there’s something of a “middle-aged” feel to the place. The majority of the western tourists in Hua Hin fit this age bracket. Well, that is somewhat true of Pattaya too, although the difference is that in Hua Hin they are mostly couples, while in Pattaya they are mostly men on the prowl. Hua Hin is attractive to this demographic because it is laid-back, safe, developed and close enough to Bangkok for those who don’t have the time or inclination to go further.

The city itself is nice enough, but there are also a number of attractions nearby, whether the Chinese temple and its resident macaques at Khao Takiab, or Kaeng Krachan and Khao Sam Roi Yod national parks, the Buddha Cave, zoo and Monkey Island.

If I have one criticism, it’s that there is not much “Thai-ness” to Hua Hin. There is still an element of its former fishing village ambience to be found in the pier-style wooden guesthouses and restaurants along Naresdamri Road, but for the main part the city is now geared up for the predominantly European – and significantly Scandinavian – tourist and expat customer base. Western restaurants outnumber Thai, while tailor shops are even more ubiquitous here than elsewhere in Thailand, and many pubs proudly fly British, German and Scandinavian flags.

But I suppose this is inevitable, and at least it’s not yet Westernised enough to have a Queen Victoria pub (as seen in Pattaya) or a Yorkshire Inn (Phuket). If I want the full Thai cultural hit, I can find it in many places in Bangkok, and of course much of wider Thailand remains off the mass tourism trail. The appeal of Hua Hin is that it is a beach town accessible from Bangkok without having to get on a plane or long-haul bus or train. Furthermore it is clean, safe and attractive – which none of the other “local” beach towns can offer all of.

Jitti Damriram

I had a handful of amateur boxing matches when I was teenager and the sport has remained a passion for me ever since, even though I have not competed since I was 19 – 13 long years ago! But with boxing a national obsession in Thailand, I decided to start training again last year – not with the intention of actually fighting again, but as a means to keep fit while enjoying my favourite sport.

I started attending Jitti’s Gym on Ratchadaphisek Road last October. It offers both muay Thai and western boxing tuition and boasts a number of pro fighters. The coaches are all ex-pros, most in both codes, who can speak enough English to guide the foreigners who attend. There are sessions in the mornings and afternoons, the latter of which I attend, and the workout area is in the open-air. Now, boxing training is among the most physical of sports workouts at the best of times, and the intensity increases dramatically when conducted under the blazing tropical afternoon sun – for three hours!

If anyone else is interested, I do recommend Jitti’s. It’s easy to find, very close to Ratchadaphisek subway station, and more details can be found at the gym’s website.

I picked up bits and pieces of Thai simply by virtue of living here and going about my daily business, but it wasn’t until January that I started formal classes. I’d struggled to find one that was both affordable and fit into my timetable. However after a few months of searching, I found one almost opposite where I live! For a set annual fee, I can have unlimited lessons and can schedule them as I see fit. I try to go three times a week, but always manage at least once.

I realise I may not be here forever, and that Thai is irrelevant elsewhere, but of course it is valuable within the country. I haven’t reached a great standard but definitely certain aspects of my life are now easier, and I can read Thai script, which is great for monolingual signs and menus.

If anybody is interested in learning Thai, I recommend the school I attend for both price, convenience and format – the classes are informal and fun and conducted by Thais who are fluent in English. It also offers Japanese, Chinese and English classes. Unfortunately it doesn’t have a website, but the contact details are as follows:

Cambridge Language Centre, 8 Phahon Yothin Road Soi 29, Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900. Tel 02 513 4137

Half and half

Ah, a taste of home. And no, I don’t mean a jar of Marmite or a pint of bitter. I mean a newspaper headline that will be all-too familiar to anyone who is from or has lived in Britain. “4,000 stranded in rail chaos” was splashed on the front page of today’s Bangkok Post.

Rail chaos. Words that are so familiar to the Brit, they’re almost like the lyrics from a favourite childhood song. Nostalgic, even.

The story is that strike action forced the cancellation of the majority of services in, to and from the southern province of Surat Thani, with passengers left stranded or to find alternative means of transport.

These passengers have my sympathies, for I know the feeling all too well. I don’t know how many times I’ve arrived at a train station in the UK to be faced with cancellation notices and information about replacement buses which take twice or three times as long to complete the journey, and which can carry a fraction of the number of passengers.

It’s almost a fact of life in the UK. The fact that such an event made the front page of a national newspaper in Thailand shows how rare it is here. I often compare the public transport systems in Thailand and the UK, or Bangkok in London, and think it’s a matter of national shame that the services on offer in a supposedly G8 nation are often inferior to that of a developing country.

OK, it’s safe to say British trains are more comfortable than Thai ones. A cushioned seat is of course preferable to a wooden one. But that’s assuming you can actually get a seat, as more often than not a British train service will be utterly over-subscribed, leaving all but the most fortunate to stand. And then there’s the price – a journey from London to my home town of Prestatyn, say, would cost me almost 80 pounds for a journey of three to four hours. A similar-length journey here – Bangkok to Hua Hin, say – costs less than ONE pound. It may have wooden seats and may be delayed, but then in Britain you might not get any seat and it will probably be delayed.

Anyway, I digress a little. It’s just that I’ll gladly accept any excuse to rag on the British train network. A lot of people will tell you how much better it was when the government-run British Rail was in control. Which brings me to my next point.

The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) is a government organisation and is in charge of the national train network. In light of the industrial action in Surat Thani, many passengers are demanding privatisation. In which case I suggest they look at how that worked out for Great Britain – crowded, delayed, cancelled and severely overpriced services which are inferior to some in the Third World, run by private companies who answer to nobody but the financial bottom line – and while competition usually drives improvement, in the case of the British train network, they’re all as bad as each other.

So I say let the SRT continue as it is. Of course problems such as those experienced in Surat Thani are unpleasant, but they are very infrequent, at least on this scale. Thai trains are not the most comfortable, nor are they the most reliable, but nine times out of ten you’ll get where you want to go without too much fuss, and for a very modest price. Which is very far from the case in the UK.

A privatised rail network? That’s a taste of home I can do without.

Thai beauty

Thai people have brown skin. Well, there are different ethnic groups within Thailand, but generally speaking, the average Thai person has light to medium brown skin. I state the obvious merely because it is seemingly something the Thai media likes to avoid.

If you had never been to Thailand and only watched the majority of Thai movies, TV shows or music videos, and look at the advertising at subway stations, in magazines, and so on, you’d be forgiven for thinking Thais were a light-skinned race. Creamy, white complexions, sometimes even with rosy cheeks, represent a tiny minority in real life, but the great majority of the media’s idea of what Thais (should) look like. Pale skin is absolutely considered to be – and promoted as – attractive, and in many cases is actually a prerequisite to success. It doesn’t need me to point out how unfair this is, when skin colour is entirely a matter of birth – and something that cannot be changed, regardless of what the enormous market for sinister skin-whitening lotions will tell you.

I’m not sure if “racism” is the correct word for this peculiar cultural prejudice, since it’s Thai-on-Thai - although race does “help”, as a Thai with dose of Caucasian, Chinese or East Asian blood to lighten the mix can count on using this as an advantage. But whatever you call it, it is at the very least highly ignorant and offensive – and I say that as someone with white skin.

I could write at length on the subject, but maybe I’ll save that for another time. A couple of examples for now: There was the article on cosmetics I edited in work which contained the line “As every Asian girl knows, the key to self-worth is a pale complexion”.

Self-worth? How about confidence in your natural self and what you were born with, and not allowing people you will never meet to dictate to you what is attractive? Suffice to say I changed that particular line.

And then there was the drunken Thai man who approached a fellow farang and myself in a bar, asked if he could practise his English with us, and then fired off his first question with a disgusted sneer: “Why European man like the black one?”

We told him it was because we looked far beyond such superficial concerns, and that while it is true that you often see farang men with darker-skinned Thai women, it’s not because we actively “like the black one”, it’s simply because we don’t allow her being “the black one” to disqualify her as a partner. He either didn’t understand or didn’t accept this, shaking his head with contempt – clearly “the black one” was beneath him, and therefore so were those who would date such types.

Moving on, and to a point that brought home this situation again yesterday – Miss Thailand 2009, which was broadcast on terrestrial TV.

Naturally, the line-up was amost exclusively pale-skinned. A couple could have been described as olive-skinned or perhaps of a light caramel complexion, but the rest were typically paper-pale. While, again, this is not representative of Thailand, after a year and a half here I am accustomed to it. This is the Thai idea of beauty, so of course that was what would the contestants would look like.

However this competition crossed the line. The pale skin fetish certainly exists, but like most forms of prejudice, not many people will actually admit it, and even fewer will actively promote it in a public forum. But the criteria for judging Miss Thailand actually included “Complexion”, and this was even worth more points than figure, comportment and intelligence. And of course the “complexion” score was taking into account more than just a lack of blemishes – although in much of Thai society, darker skin apparently is a blemish.

Pathetic.

Yellow shirts rise up

The first item on the agenda is to fill in the gaps between September 2008 and September 2009, before I will start writing about more timely stuff, as and when it happens. I will be concise, because 12 months is a long time to chronicle, and will perhaps return to certain points in more detail at a later date.

There have been two major anti-government protests during my time here. The first, aforementioned one culminated in the “yellow shirts”, or People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) closing down Bangkok’s two airports for a week in November. This essentially forced out the then-government led by Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, to be replaced by the unelected then-opposition Democrat Party Abhisit Vejjajiva.

The PAD, despite the use of the word “democracy” in its name, was protesting against a government which had been democratically elected, and happy enough that their favoured premier took the reins without the public having been asked their opinion on the matter.

Inevitably, there was in turn a corresponding protest against the new government, this time by the “red shirts”, or United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD). This protest, in April, was shorter-lived but more violent, as the army, which sat idly by when the entire nation was essentially held hostage by the PAD’s closure of the capital’s airpots, suddenly sprang to life and quelled the UDD’s uprising in very short order. When you compare the two incidents, it doesn’t take much to suspect that the army – which is supposed to be an independent defender of the nation’s security - might be acting on orders from higher powers with vested interests in who runs the country.

But things have quietened down since then. Sure, there are still gatherings and arguments, and I suspect the situation is simmering rather than solved, but PM Abhisit, despite his tenuous rise to power, seems to be a calming influence – charismatic, good-looking, multilingual and media savvy, with more presence than Somchai, a less combative stance than Samak Sundaravej and – on the surface, at least – without the scandals that follow Thaksin Shinawatra. Abhisit could just be a PR job, but he is for now providing at least a symptomatic cure, and there is value in that.

Ko Chang

The first item on the agenda is to fill in the gaps between September 2008 and September 2009, before I will start writing about more timely stuff, as and when it happens. I will be concise, because 12 months is a long time to chronicle, and will perhaps return to certain points in more detail at a later date.

TRAVEL

Everyone who knows me will know how much I love to travel. The prospect of living and working abroad always excited me, and now I am doing it. I expected that living in Thailand would enable me to jet off to nearby Asian countries frequently, not to mention that Thailand itself is chock-full of attractive destinations.

Alas it has not been so. One side-effect of Maki’s sudden departure was that I was left paying her share of the rent for nine months of the 12-month contract she agreed to. Never mind. My finances are in better shape now. In my first year here, I only managed a couple of days in Singapore for visa purposes and one trip home to the UK. I hope to see a lot more from now on.

I have, however, taken a few domestic trips, although all within convenient reach of Bangkok – Pattaya, Hua Hin, Sri Racha, Ko Si Chang, Ayutthaya, Amphawa, Bang Saen, Ko Chang, Chachoengsao, Samut Prakan and Suphan Buri. My one attempt at a long-distance domestic trip – Krabi – since starting work was thwarted by last year’s occupation of Suvarnabhumi airport by anti-government protesters. Again, I also hope to see more of Thailand this year.

Ofu, American Samoa

Again, a part of the world that is dear to me has been devastated by a tsunami. Last time was the 2004 Boxing Day disaster which wreaked havoc on several Indian Ocean countries, most famously Thailand. This time the Samoan islands have borne the brunt of killer waves resonating from a huge earthquake in Indonesia – also the epicentre of the 2004 catastrophe.

Phuket was worst-hit in 2004, while Krabi also suffered extensive damage, and scenes of the damage there were poignant for me at the time, as I had only two months earlier enjoyed my first trip to Thailand, spending half of it in Krabi, a dramatically beautiful province which remains my favourite place in the kingdom.

Last week the Samoan islands – both independent Samoa and the US territory of American Samoa - have been hit by a tsunami of a similar ferocity, with reports of waves of anything between three and seven metres high washing up to a mile inland, devastating the southern coastlines and in some cases destroying entire villages. Tonga, too, was hit.

The South Pacific tsunami death toll – nearly 200 as of today, but continuing to rise – pales in comparison the 150,000 who perished in 2004, but the damage to the countries and communities could be just as pronounced. Consider that these are nations with populations in their thousands, not millions, and with land areas that would constitute mere provinces in the bigger countries that were hit in 2004. Further, the majority of the inhabited areas are on the coast. The impact of this disaster in national terms cannot be overstated.

Furthermore, in economic terms, the Samoas will almost certainly face a longer and more difficult road to recovery than the 2004 victims. Thailand is one of the world’s foremost holiday destinations, while the likes of Indonesia, the Maldives, India and Sri Lanka, also affected, likewise enjoy a healthy tourism industry. And, with the exception of the Maldives, these are much bigger, vastly more populous nations with a myriad different industries from which their people can make a living.

Not so the Samoas. Offering the South Pacific ideal of pristine tropical beaches and rainforests, a relatively unspoilt native culture, and a largely subsistence-level lifestyle of which generosity and hospitality are the backbone, they do draw tourists, whether in search of a world class beach break or an authentic adventure. But the numbers are small. 125,000 holidaymakers arrived in independent Samoa in 2008. Compare that to Thailand’s 17 million last year, even during a time of recession and political instability.

Of course the Samoas are much smaller so would not be able to cope with tourist arrivals in their millions. But the point is, for small countries that do nevertheless rely on the tourist dollar, the loss of visitors in their thousands will be felt that much more keenly.

Which is a terrible shame. I visited all three nations – independent and US Samoa, and Tonga - in 2006 and was charmed. Over the course of nearly six weeks, I enjoyed jungle treks, coral reefs, delicious food, the vibrancy of the capital and the tranquility of the countryside in independent Samoa, and then ventured to American Samoa, with its towering, dark green peaks and the best beach I have ever seen, Ofu, where powder-white sand met sea with the clarity of bottled water, inhabited by marine life coloured like cartoons, while enormous flying foxes took the skies above me in the early evening. On top of this, the Samoan people were among the most charming I had met anywhere in the world. I also spent a week in Tonga, and while a much shorter experience, similar impressions were gained there. 

I have talked glowingly about these experiences ever since, and recommended them to all as travel destinations. In fact, before I moved to Thailand last year, I had identified both Thailand and Samoa as the two places I’d visited where I’d most like to live and work. Ironic, then, that both have now become tsunami victims.

Presumably most people who have upcoming holidays in the Samoas and Tonga booked will cancel, and those who were thinking of visiting will now look elsewhere. With the infrastructure badly weakened and several resorts badly damaged or even destroyed, this is understandable. But recovery will take years, and a dip in tourism will compound this. Tourists will stay away because of the damage, but the damage cannot be quickly fixed without the tourist dollar. A vicious cycle.

Furthermore, while global news outlets have covered the story in the past week, inevitably it will fade from international consciousness sooner rather than later. That’s the way it is with natural disasters, especially when the countries affected are so far away, both in terms of geography and personal relevance, to the average First World citizen. The Indian Ocean tsunami was different, partly because of its unprecendented scale, and partly because Thailand, in particular, is so firmly on the tourist map and has such a large expat community.

But Samoa? Relatively speaking, very few people outside Oceania will have any connection these islands, let alone will have visited them. So they will look at the images on the BBC or CNN and spare a thought for the dead and the stricken, and then forget about it. I’m not criticising these people; it is natural and I have been guilty of the same when watching footage of crises in places which have no relevance to me. But it does mean that outside of those who do have an existing stake in the Samoas, there will be two kinds of people:

1) Those who have considered a holiday there, who will now choose to go elsewhere, thus depriving the islands of much-needed income; and

2) Those who had never previously thought about Samoa, and likely never will again.

The latter will, unfortunately, make up the majority of the international community, and this means donations and aid will be in short supply. The Indian Ocean tsunami generated an enormous global response, but again this due to the countries involved meaning something to so many people. Thailand as one of the most-visited holiday destinations, India and Indonesia as among the world’s most populous nations, and so on.

So, the effect on tourism, coupled with lesser international aid, looks to be economically devastating, beyond the physical chaos which has already been wreaked.

But what can you do? As for me, I just hope that this article raises awareness of a very special part of the world, and that in turn that might encourage some people to visit. Because that is the best thing you can do – visit the Samoas. Your money will make a difference. By all means wait a while until the worst of this disaster has passed, but please do go in future. Spend your money in independent hotels and restaurants – the American and Australian chains will be fine without you, but to the smaller businesses you can make a very real and immediate difference. And beyond that, Samoa will have a very real and immediate effect on you. The rewards to both sides are obvious – I say that as someone who has been to the islands and continues to cherish my memories of them.

My thoughts and prayers go to the islands and their people .

www.helpsamoa.com

Bangkok Post

The first item on the agenda is to fill in the gaps between September 2008 and September 2009, before I will start writing about more timely stuff, as and when it happens. I will be concise, because 12 months is a long time to chronicle, and will perhaps return to certain points in more detail at a later date.

I work for the Bangkok Post, the leading English-language newspaper in Thailand. I edit the stories, which are mostly written by Thai reporters. They write in English, to varying standards, but require native speakers to polish their work to native quality. It’s essentially the same role as a sub-editor on any newspaper back home, but with the added task of dealing with non-native English. Sometimes it’s easy, sometimes it’s difficult, but it’s a rewarding job with nice hours on a publication that has a good reputation and a nationwide readership. In that regard, it’s the best job I’ve had so far.

I started out on the national news  desk. This is the “front end” of the newspaper and therefore the most prestigious. It was a great start and also an invaluable experience for me in my formative months in Thailand, as it helped me get up to speed on Thai politics, business, geography and so on. It was a nightshift, which a lot of people don’t like, but which suited me because I’m not a morning person! Also it was nice to have the majority of the daytime to myself.

But six months later I was asked if I’d be interested in a move to the features department. The Real Time supplement, which covers arts and lifestyle, and Database, which covers IT, were short-staffed, so I agreed to the move, because while I did enjoy the newsdesk, I figured experience on other sections would further boost my CV. Furthermore, it’s a Monday-Friday role during normal office hours, which means I get normal weekends and evenings off. No, I still don’t like getting up in the mornings, but the upside is that my social schedule now falls in line with most other people’s – including my girlfriend’s.