Perfect

On a more cheery note, we've come to Koh Chang for the half-term holiday.
Sara and I sitting by the beach with a chilled glass of wine, a warm breeze, palm trees, the extravagance of the sunset being replaced by the excitement of an electrical storm moving in from the sea - sometimes you have these moments that are just perfect.

Grim Reading

Back home, the newspapers seldom show detailed pictures of human carnage; a photo of a bus bomb shows the bus, not the bodies. The Thai press clearly don't follow the same sensibilities; perhaps Thais aren't so squeamish. Yesterday, there was yet another bombing in the South. The front page of the Bangkok Post didn't baulk at displaying the dying monks, their orange robes turning crimson.
Not sure if you're aware, as it's little reported in the UK, but there's a long-running Muslim insurgency in the South of Thailand. Every day seems to bring fresh news of shootings and bombings. Unbelievably, school teachers are a key target. Perhaps education is the biggest threat to religious fundamentalism.

Dog Tired

I think I mentioned that the removal of the airport has uncovered a new nocturnal soundscape; last night I was woken by those bloomin' soi dogs. Or, having read the news, perhaps it was the aftershocks of North Korea's Big Bomb? No, it was definitely the dogs. Things seem to kick off around 2am - closing time at the doggy bars perhaps? It really does sound like a mass brawl, with one poor dog apparently being torn limb from limb. Reminds me of Essex.
In case you're wondering - Bangkok has an enormous population of feral dogs; quarter of a million by some estimates. Being Buddhist, people leave food out for them; you never know, that could be Grandpa after all.