The Elephant Story

THE REWARDS OF EDUCATION

Aug 07, 2023 | 0 comments

THE REWARDS OF EDUCATION As the presidential contest in the U.S. is moving into full swing, many politicians seem to believe they can seize upon education to reward their constituents by manipulating class curriculums to conform with whatever suits their purpose which is to win votes. Their self-serving rewards come at a costly price to the educational process and the youth of America. Over the years, we have left those issues behind and focused on the more manageable village of Ban Ta Klang in Surin Province, Thailand near the Thai border with Cambodia. As the isolated village is...

THAILAND - TWO STEPS FORWARD FOLLOWED BY ONE STEP BACKWARD

Jul 31, 2023 | 0 comments

THAILAND - TWO STEPS FORWARD FOLLOWED BY ONE STEP BACKWARD We have followed the election results and the ensuing drama in Thailand since May 14, 2023, when The Move Forward Party (MFP) won the first election in nine years. The Thai Military had previously taken control in a coup and finally succumbed to pressure to have an election. Coups are a rather common experience in Thailand but the shattering news in this election was the success of an unknown party of “youngsters” who took over the political arena and won which stunned a great many people. MFP...

FOREIGN NEWS MEDIA AND SPOOKS SWIM IN THE SAME POND

Jul 20, 2023 | 0 comments

FOREIGN NEWS MEDIA AND SPOOKS SWIM IN THE SAME POND For many years, a reporter friend of mine in Bangkok who worked for an Asian news agency always wanted to interview me following one of my trips around the Far East. She would come over to our hotel for a meal. I enjoyed her questions and insight into my favorite part of the world outside of Texas. I also assumed she was a good spook in addition to being a solid reporter. Nonetheless, I conned her into doing an elephant video for her network which she did. Following...

THE SAINT OF MYANMAR VERSUS THE SINNER MILITARY

Jul 16, 2023 | 0 comments

THE SAINT OF MYANMAR VERSUS THE SINNER MILITARY As you might suspect the “Saint of Myanmar” is Aung San Suu Kyi, shown below in the poster to the left, and the “Sinner Military” is encapsulated in the image of General Min Aung to the right. I first went to Burma fifty-five years ago as it was just coming out of its cocoon and one could only stay 72 hours on a shore pass. It was way too soon to visit as there was no transportation from the airport into town. Anyone who went there had a private vehicle...

VIETNAM IS THE STONE IN CHINA'S FLIPFLOP

Jul 09, 2023 | 0 comments

VIETNAM IS THE STONE IN CHINA'S FLIPFLOP I have had a successful commercial involvement in Vietnam for some thirty-five years. I like the country, the food and, more importantly, admire the Vietnamese for their resilience and interpersonal strength. Yes, they have had serious issues with their neighbors and the western world. Most of those difficulties arose out of a chasmic lack of understanding by their adversaries who have paid dearly by not studying the history of Vietnam. The Diplomat recently published an article entitled Remembering Vietnam’s Great Famine by Christelle Nguyen which is a little-known chapter in the...

LOST IN THE CAMBODIAN JUNGLE IS SAFER TODAY THAN 50 YEARS AGO

Jul 02, 2023 | 0 comments

The Cambodian Jungle About Us|Products|Our Blog LOST IN THE CAMBODIAN JUNGLE IS SAFER TODAY THAN 50 YEARS AGO Ironically on April Fool’s Day in 1973, I found myself in a misadventure on the Thai/Cambodian border. We were visiting a primitive teak-smuggling/logging camp and decided to have a walk-about in the jungle which was stupid. Shown below is the camp and an old-friend, Khun Toy, who worked for me and whose father was a Minister in the Thai government. Khun Toy had a new .45 caliber Smith & Wesson “Dirty Harry” special that was the talk of the camp. Two...

THAILAND PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION CONFIRMATION HOT OFF THE BANGKOK POST PRESS

Jun 26, 2023 | 0 comments

THAILAND PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION CONFIRMATION HOT OFF THE BANGKOK POST PRESS This headline may not have the same impact on you folks as it does me, but you likely have not followed the election process of Thailand for over half a century. The Bangkok Post headline on June 19 read All MPs-Elect Endorsed, Fraud Probes Continue. The “fraud probe” bit might be concerning to many but that will be explained a bit later. By way of background, there was a Thai parliamentary election when we were recently in Bangkok on May 14 in which 40 million Thais voted representing some...

THE LAST LAP OF LOSER LAOS IN THE CHINA GAMES

Jun 16, 2023 | 0 comments

THE LAST LAP OF LOSER LAOS IN THE CHINA GAMES It seems like I have had a lifetime of peripheral involvement in Laos that began in the late sixties by commuting there during the illegal war which the U.S. and the “independent government” of Laos lost. In fact, one can argue that Laos has seldom had an independent government as they traditionally were a vassal state of a larger power. If we looked back a couple of centuries, Laos was part of “Indochine” which was a grouping of French colonies composed of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. Of...

CHINESE FORTUNE COOKIES CAN CRACK OPEN WITHOUT A FORTUNE INSIDE

Jun 11, 2023 | 0 comments

CHINESE FORTUNE COOKIES CAN CRACK OPEN WITHOUT A FORTUNE INSIDE Have you ever opened a Chinese fortune cookie and you were the only one at the Chinese round table banquet with no fortune inside? I have had that experience in China when there were gasps around the table as the Chinese can be very superstitious. Fortunately, I am not superstitious and I shrugged it off. China, at that time, had nothing I wanted. Their exotic banquet ersatz food like bear claws, pickled snakes and strange innards was not up to par with my favorite Peking duck in Bangkok. Moreover, their...

KINGS, GENERALS, AND COMMONERS

Jun 04, 2023 | 0 comments

KINGS, GENERALS, AND COMMONERS I doubt that very few of us have personally met royalty so we can discard any firsthand comments on that category. On the other hand, I have known generals both in Thailand and the U.S. as well as commoners functioning in politics in both countries as well. My Thai general acquaintance was deeply involved in the Vietnam war as some 4,000 Thai soldiers fought in Laos. There is a photograph of him in his office next to U.S. General Westmoreland. What our Thai friend gave up in height to the American, he made up in...

WILL THERE BE MEKHONG WHISKEY WHEN THE MEKONG RIVER VANISHES?

May 29, 2023 | 0 comments

WILL THERE BE MEKHONG WHISKEY WHEN THE MEKONG RIVER VANISHES? Having just returned from Thailand, where a bottle of Thai Mekhong whiskey is present in most hotel rooms, I was reminiscing about Mekhong whiskey and the plight of the Mekong River. Note that the name for the river is spelled differently than the name for the whiskey which has been modified in some modern refinement in English. Mekong literally means the mother of water though the English spelling of the whiskey is more in line with the actual Thai pronunciation. Over the years, I have had my fair share of...

WE WILL ALWAYS HAVE THE SIAM

May 21, 2023 | 0 comments

WE WILL ALWAYS HAVE THE SIAM With the name “The Siam,” I am referring to the iconic The Siam Hotel in Bangkok which is our favorite hotel in the world and our principal home away from home. I first went to Thailand in 1968 to live and work in the Far East for seven years. After that period, it has become a major part of our lives as I use it as a base to conduct business all over Southeast Asia, most notably Vietnam. The Siam Hotel was opened in 2012 and, since that time, we consider the owner and...

RAND CORPORATION WAS RIGHT, THOUGH THE POLITICIANS IGNORED THEM

May 14, 2023 | 0 comments

RAND CORPORATION WAS RIGHT, THOUGH THE POLITICIANS IGNORED THEM Recently, we published an article entitled a Critical Voice in The Vietnam War Passes. We referenced Daniel Ellsberg who worked for the RAND Corporation and his role in the release of the Vietnam War research and evaluation by former foreign service officers Lowenstein and Moose in the late sixties. The research efforts directed by Senator William Fulbright were compiled in a document referred to as The Pentagon Papers. Ultimately, Senator Fulbright was unwilling to release the condemnation of the war and the actions of President Nixon. Lowenstein then passed the findings...

THE TWO LADIES OF BANGLADESH

May 07, 2023 | 0 comments

THE TWO LADIES OF BANGLADESH In the seventies, a fellow worked for me in Bandung, Indonesia with the almost impossible task of dressing up a bulk asphalt company for sale that had been mistakenly financed by my predecessors through an incompetent and corrupt Indonesian. During that period, we were both caught in Bandung, Indonesia amid rioters and gun fire in the streets as back in Jakarta one general was trying to overthrow another. Our transplant into Indonesia shared his experiences in Bangladesh with me which was previously known as East Pakistan. He gave me a vivid description of his period...

BAD NEIGHBORS IN THE STEPPE

Apr 30, 2023 | 0 comments

BAD NEIGHBORS IN THE STEPPE I have had an extensive involvement in Mongolia dating back to the country’s first elected government following the dissolution of the former Soviet Union. In fact, I just received my renewal U.S. State Department card recognizing my role as an Honorary Consul of Mongolia to the U.S. that goes back to that era. Accordingly, I have had the vantage point of witnessing the country’s continuous evolution into a democracy. Joey and I have a condominium there as the hotels were not quite Aman standard back in the old days. Therefore, the Mongolian people are very...

MAMBO IN MYANMAR

Apr 24, 2023 | 0 comments

MAMBO IN MYANMAR For those of you who are not familiar with the Cuban dance of Mambo, it is notable for the dancer’s directional change on a given note. What is happening along the border of Thailand and Myanmar is a series of directional changes in traffic flows much like that of the Mambo. During the Southeast Asia troubles of the Sixties, the directional flow was somewhat equal in that opium flowed into Thailand while guns found their way to what was formerly Burma. The opium bales supported the Hmong forces in their war efforts in Laos and the guns...

FREEDOM OF THE PRESS— A THING OF THE PAST IN RUSSIA

Apr 17, 2023 | 0 comments

FREEDOM OF THE PRESS— A THING OF THE PAST IN RUSSIA After some ten years in and out of Moscow and Perm Russia, I can attest to the fact that there is no solid rule of law, even in an oil and gas joint venture with a Russian state company. We went there at the very beginning of the Yeltsin era facing rampant corruption and left under the Putin regime which was becoming much more uncomfortable and off the rails. The Russian state portion of our joint venture was privatized by a slick Russian, fluent in “no-accent” English, who happened...

MOTTO FOR BUSINESS IN INDIA—CAVEAT EMPTOR—BUYER BEWARE

Apr 10, 2023 | 0 comments

MOTTO FOR BUSINESS IN INDIA—CAVEAT EMPTOR—BUYER BEWARE Business in India is crony capitalism at its best. Over my long tenure there, we were largely beholden to the state enterprise bureaucrats who were slow and methodical but for the most part, all on the up and up. Moreover, energy needs in India take a visible priority that surpasses most personal interests on the part of the politicians. On the other hand, cronyism and deception can have a prominent role to play in other commercial and political endeavors. The friends of Prime Minister Modi are no different than those most anywhere though...

MODI HAS MOVED TO THE WORLD STAGE

Apr 03, 2023 | 0 comments

MODI HAS MOVED TO THE WORLD STAGE The most recent forward-looking development in India is that it has surpassed China as the most populous country in the world. Not only is India now the most populous of the largest countries, but it also has a younger population with a median age of 28 years as compared to that of China where the median age is some 10 years older. Moreover, China has ranked first in the world with the highest average age record of 12% of the population being over 65. It is the first change at the top of...

GANDHI'S TEACHINGS ARE LONG GONE

Mar 26, 2023 | 0 comments

GANDHI'S TEACHINGS ARE LONG GONE It seems like I have had a separate career of being on Indian oil and gas company boards for the past twenty-five years or so. What can I say, I like the people, the food, and the controlled chaos of life in India. Over the years, I have known many Indians ranging from wealthy oligarchs to fellow associates throughout India. The sad aspect of this period is the recent use of religion by politicians to strengthen their own personal positions. This trend is by no means unique to India but the degree of departure from...