The Elephant Story

Thai’s Tied to the Mobile Phone

Nov 25, 2019 | 0 comments

The author was waiting in the departure lounge at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport and noticed the headline Thailand is the Second-Largest Internet Economy in Southeast Asia which was a lead in the November 1, 2019 edition of The Bangkok Post. After scanning the headline and then noting the statistics in the article, it was amazing to learn that Thailand ranks first globally in international mobile internet usage. Now, we have all stumbled into people walking down the street with their faced buried in their cell phone, but who would have thought Thailand led the list? Before reading the article, I looked...

Will Conservative Islam Result in Another Year of Living Dangerously?

Nov 18, 2019 | 0 comments

When Indonesian President, Joko Widodo, found the depth of his Muslim faith being questioned in his April 2019 presidential re-election campaign, he burnished his credentials by selecting Muslim cleric Ma’ruf Amin as his running mate. The Nikkei Asian Review covered that event in a March 19, 2019 article and then followed it with one on October 19, 2019 entitled New Indonesian Vice President’s Islamist Agenda Draws Scrutiny raising the concern of using radical religion for political purposes. That political ploy has been and continues to be an effective concept all over the world including the Crusades of the Middle Ages....

The Year of Living Dangerously Never Ends in Indonesia

Nov 11, 2019 | 0 comments

"The Year of Living Dangerously'' is a 1982 film directed by Peter Weir based on Christopher Koch's 1978 novel by the same name. The story is about a love affair set in Indonesia at the time of the overthrow of President Sukarno from 1965-1966. As the author was working for a company with a significant presence in Indonesia, the first-hand accounts from associates regarding the deaths of over one million people were unbelievable. An internal strife between the post-colonial ruler, President Sukarno, and General Suharto focused on the Indonesian Communist Party with which Sukarno was very cozy and specifically Indonesians...

From the Hot Tub to the Hot Seat

Nov 04, 2019 | 0 comments

Most folks outside of Bangkok have never heard of Chuwit Kamolvisit and would be unaware that a high percentage of reasonably affluent, young Thai males visited one of his famous massage parlors long before they completed their formal schooling. Prior to going legit, Chuwit controlled the Davis Group which owned and operated six Bangkok massage parlors that are listed below for any of our foreign readers who may have visited Bangkok: Copacabana, Victoria’s Secret, Honolulu, Hi Class, Emmanuelle and Julianna. These establishments employed some 2,000 women that operated within a “grey area” of Thai law - massage parlors are legal,...

Bending Buddhist Precepts in Bangkok

Oct 28, 2019 | 0 comments

There are five precepts of Buddhism which are the core of that practice-do not kill, do not lie, do not steal, do not fornicate and do not use intoxicants. For more liberal Buddhist precept followers, the “do not” section is replaced by “refrain from.” As we will be heading out to Bangkok in the near future, there was a news alert in the Nikkei Asia Review entitled Thailand Bars to Stay Open Later to Counter China Slump. That would have been an attention grabber fifty years ago when that sort of thing had appeal. In fact, during the Vietnam War...

Too Many Planes - Too Few Trained Pilots

Oct 21, 2019 | 0 comments

Thanks to airline frequent flyer accounts, which were a later addition to personal international flying adventures that began over fifty years ago, the author has accumulated miles in several airline accounts that approach ten million. That crazy statistic coupled with emergency landings, near misses and the odd crash should qualify one as an experienced traveler and pundit on airline safety. My first known experience of pilot error was an attempted landing in an Air China Boeing 737 into Ulan Bator, Mongolia on a cold winter night many years ago with a one wheel/one wing landing touch down and an immediate...

Ground Zero for Commerce Exposure to Climate Change

Oct 14, 2019 | 0 comments

The author has experienced flooding in Southeast Asia for much of his life which was always taken in stride by everyone. Houses on the rivers were built on stilts and everyone was quite sanguine wading through flooded streets while plenty of small personal boats were at the ever ready. Canals gave way to highways and concrete which exacerbated annual rainy season flood conditions. Moreover, industrialization changed the nature of the inhabitants from rice farmers to a population profile based upon modern economic communities. However, climate change is kicking in to have a major impact on commerce and, more importantly, the...

News from Our Buddhist Brethren in Tibet

Oct 07, 2019 | 0 comments

We have previously published Buddhist commentaries about our friend, Mynak Tulku Rinpoche - A Pilgrimage to Bhutan, regarding his work in the reconstruction of the Tibetan Minyang Rikhud Monastery following a massive earthquake as well as, Meditation to the Next Life and Beyond, concerning the passing of the oldest monk in their monastery. The oldest monk, Dura Lagan, passed at the age of 92 following 40 years of meditation. Mynak Tulku recently shared an update of what has happened with respect to both subjects which we would like to share. Sadly, the Chinese were not issuing visas to enable him...

An Englishman Saves the Cherry Varieties in Japan

Sep 30, 2019 | 0 comments

Recently, the author was flipping through The Times in London and came across an advertisement promoting a trip to Japan to view the cherry blossoms some eight months hence. In another life, the author was in a very high-end Geisha house near Yokohama, Japan as the guest of a wealthy Japanese industrialist during cherry blossom season. In three years of living in Japan, this event was the only invitation received to such an establishment which would have cost his guests several month's salary. Moreover, a "Gaijin" (foreigner) would not be welcome unless hosted by a Japanese of massive pedigree. By...

The Sensation of the Shibuya Scramble

Sep 23, 2019 | 0 comments

From 1972-1973, the author lived in Yokohama, Japan and most every workday in the country hopped a neighborhood train, transferred to a high-speed commuter train, disembarked in Shibuya station and grabbed a taxi to the office in Tokyo. Shibuya was just a stop on the way to and from work that did not merit much attention. However, in today’s world, the huge train station has become a tourist highlight that begins and ends with the “Shibuya Scramble.” The Shibuya Tourism Association created a new fad which is to experience the crossing of a multi-directional street crossing. Every time the light...

The British Midnight Express

Sep 16, 2019 | 0 comments

In May 1997 the author listed his company on the London Stock Exchange. Over the ensuing twenty-two years, considerable time has been spent in former British colonies and in London, among many other far more unusual places. It was believed that the London financial markets would have a better understanding of the international nature of the company’s oil assets. There was a point in time when Britania ruled the waves. Therefore, the British people understand worldwide geography better than most anyone. The author had a business relationship in Hong Kong, a British colony from 1898, that was impacted shortly after...

Elephants Have Sensitive Skin

Sep 09, 2019 | 0 comments

The typical image of an elephant is a massive body draped in thick-skinned armor. In the dark days, cowboy bootmakers would make elephant hide boots to sell to big game hunters which is an abhorrent thing to consider in today's world. Elephant skin is thick but very sensitive to elephants. In 2015, the King's Cup Elephant Polo tournament was played on a horse polo field near the Suvarnabhumi Airport some 20 miles east of downtown Bangkok. There were two things that were unfortunate about the venue and the timing -- the tournament was held during the Thai monsoon season and...

Radical Activism in Buddhism

Sep 02, 2019 | 0 comments

Radical activism in Buddhism is about the furthest thing one can comprehend given the precepts of the practice of Buddhism which serve as the system of morality and code of ethics for Buddhist lay people. There are five simple rules: abstain from killing living beings, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying and intoxication. Therefore, an image that comes to mind is making merit by offering alms to Buddhist monks at first light in the morning. While another image is one of monks chanting mantras in the evening. Recently, Hannah Beech published an article in The New York Times...

Spirits in Southeast Asia

Aug 26, 2019 | 0 comments

Recently the Nikkei Asia Weekly published an article entitled State Tries to Dampen Vietnamese Love for Alcohol. Therefore, this commentary will focus on consumable “alcoholic spirits” rather than the “ghost spirits” that occupy daily lives in most southeast Asian countries. The Vietnamese Government is attempting to tighten up the controls on alcohol consumption but the history of the country indicates it will be a massive undertaking given its past, going back to the Chinese, French and Russian eras. Vietnam was the ninth largest worldwide per capita consumer of alcohol in 2017 but the government is trying to bring the explosion...

Laundromats are Booming in Cambodia

Aug 19, 2019 | 0 comments

For many years, we have been the most frequent guests of The Four Seasons Tented Camp located in Thailand in an area known at The Golden Triangle where Thailand, Laos and Myanmar join. From the “Black and White Days” of the 1960’s, The Golden Triangle has been known as a wild and wooly drug smuggling center. When one is resident in the wonderful Tented Camp, it is hard to imagine that anything untoward is going on beyond the jungle setting. The image below is taken from a mountaintop at the highest point on the property where one can see the...

The Caste System in India Influences the Cast of Democratic Votes

Aug 12, 2019 | 0 comments

Democracy and voter turnout in India, the largest democracy in the world, is influenced by the caste structure of India providing a large voter turnout by the least privileged people-it is their day in the sun. Tasha Wibawa published an article in ABC News entitled India’s Caste System Could Play a Pivotal Role in This Week’s Coming Elections. The author first encountered the caste system’s impact in real life in the home of an Indian couple living in Bangkok over fifty years ago. The wife was cooking chicken curry but wearing rubber gloves. When asked whether she was allergic to...

Magical India, The Largest Home of Democracy for Evermore

Aug 05, 2019 | 0 comments

We have devoted a lot of time to the erosion of any form of free speech and basic freedoms in China and their intent to extend their sovereignty all over the world. Moreover, true democracy has waned in many parts of the world to populism and just basic unscrupulous dictatorships in otherwise former democracies. In terms of scale, China is the most populous country with approximately 1.42 billion people in 2018. India is the second largest country in the world by population with approximately 1.35 billion inhabitants in 2018 which is roughly split between men and women. Together these two...

A Future for Elephants in Black Ivory Coffee Inventory Control?

Jul 29, 2019 | 0 comments

Our friend and elephant behavioral advisor, Dr. Joshua Plotnik -- Faculty of Department of Psychology of Hunter College, New York and President and Executive Director of Think Elephants International -- recently published the results of his studies to demonstrate that elephants have the ability to count. Incidentally, Josh, as an elephant psychologist and his wife, Sherry, represent the complete elephant wellness couple in that Sherry is an elephant veterinarian featured in an elephant inoculation in the film, POLO, For The Love of Elephants referenced below. Josh is shown here in one of his countless elephant encounters. Dr. Plotnik has a...

China - What Do the Next Thirty Years Have in Store?

Jul 22, 2019 | 0 comments

Over the thirty years following the Tiananmen Square massacre, we have seen China develop into a powerhouse economy with unprecedented economic growth in foreign exchange reserves, foreign direct investments and a clear direction to exert as much control as possible through its “Belt and Road Campaign” around the world. In a short period of time, many of the developing countries will be sufficiently indebted and subordinated by China to potentially become vassal states with a clear commitment of their resources to support future economic growth back home in China. Confucius Institutes, funded by Beijing, have appeared on hundreds of college...

The Thirtieth Anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre

Jul 15, 2019 | 0 comments

Several days prior to the thirtieth anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, the author was sitting in a hospital with a prominent Chinese physician and dear friend discussing the consequences of dehydration following a family member’s e-coli bacteria infection. He related his personal experiences as a young boy in a remote Chinese village when his physician was being persecuted by the Red Guards during the cultural revolution. His family spared what little money they had to buy sugar and salt to save their son from dehydration following a bacterial infection. He drank that mixture with water and re-cycled his urine...