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A Sweet Unexpected Journey – By Maida Pineda
CHIANGRAI – Beyond bargain shopping at Chatuchak Market or visiting the different temples in Bangkok, much remains unexplored in Thailand. On my last stay, I discover interesting attractions off the beaten tourist path that lead to rather unusual experiences.
Here are some of them:
1. Trainspotting at the River Kwai
Nestled between limestone peaks and a river, Kanchanaburi makes for an ideal retreat from Bangkok’s bustling city life. But this idyllic setting was also the location of the infamous bridge over the River Kwai, whose tragic World War II history was behind the plot of the award-winning movie of the same title.
Under Japanese rule, captured allied forces were tasked to build a railway connection from Bangkok to Yangon in Burma to transport men and military supplies. It became known as the Death Railway, 415 km of rail built in 16 months when it would have taken five years of normal labor to complete a project of this scope.
During the war, the Kwai River Bridge claimed more than 100,000 lives, now honored with a War Cemetery and the Thailand-Burma Railway Centre Museum documenting the railway’s history.
Today, trains still run over this railway and bridge, as local folk and a few tourists opt to use the train as a cheap way to get around the country.
2. Momentary Markets
A few steps away from the Maeklong Station, beneath makeshift tarps, is a market along the railroad tracks. When no train is passing, you find vendors on the tracks hawking just about anything: six different types of eggplants used for curries, a variety of rice noodles, curry pastes in mild yellow, spicy green, and extra spicy red, skewered grilled frogs, fiery red chilis, Thai desserts, super-sized beans, dried fish and a whole lot more. Fruits are in abundance, and cheaper than in Manila. My favorite find amidst the varied squid and fish balls was seafood balls shaped and colored like Red Angry Birds. Once a train arrives, the vendors scramble to secure their wares, while shoppers run for their own personal safety.
3. Muang Sing National Park
If you haven’t been to Cambodia and wish to see ancient temples, head to Muang Sing National Park, which features the remains of two Khmer temples dating back to the 13th Century. The temples are in Bayon style, in honor of the ancient Khmer Kingdom during the reign of King Jayavarman in the 12th century. There are Mahayana Buddhist images inside the main temples and one of Prajna Paramita, the goddess of transcendental wisdom. Thai people still come to offer flowers and pray to this image with its face, knees and heart gone shiny from the devotees’ frequent rubbing. Inside this ancient city have been found prehistoric human skeletons, metal tools, vessels, brick bases of Dvaravati period architecture and other artifacts from the 13th century.
4. Ancient Temples in Chiang Rai
While there are temples all over Thailand, at the Chiang Saen District of Chiang Rai, two ancient temples stand out: Wat Phra That Chedi Luang and Wat Pa Sak. The former is the tallest Lanna monument at 88 meters in Chiang Rai, with Lanna-style bell-shaped chedi. There are different styles of pagodas around it, and the Chiang Saen national museum next to it.
Close by is Wat Pa Sak, built in 1295, whose main pagoda contains holy relics of Lord Buddha’s bones from India.
5. Hanging out with the Hill tribes
If you wish to be transported to a different time and a totally different culture, immerse yourself in the hill tribe cultures of Northern Thailand. In the midst of the jungle is Lanjia Lodge located in Kien Karn village, where we were hosted by Hmong and Lahu villagers who cooked us traditional meals. Children and parents danced in the evening and allowed guests to laugh, talk and take photos. During the day, one can visit the village shaman to learn practices about spirits and how to heal illnesses. You can also try your hand at batik art and make a handkerchief using natural dyes and traditional patterns. Rooms were comfortable, and aptly equipped with mosquito nets.
But my biggest joy here was waking up to the cool, crisp, clean mountain air, and lounging in the open-air hut as the sun started to rise. Immersed amidst the Lahu and Hmong people, I realized how good it was to return to a simpler way of life.
6. Sparkling White Temple
Even if you have seen many pagodas in Thailand, this one stands out with its intricate details and blindingly white color. Known as Wat Rong Khun, this White Temple is not really a place of worship. Rather, it is a work of art by Chiang Rai artist Achan Chaloemchai Khositphitphat.
The ordination hall is decorated with tiers of glittering mirrors. Inside the temple is a mural with super heroes, even an image of Keanu Reeves in “The Matrix.” In this setting, you almost expect the Ice Queen to surface.
7. Black Houses
Less prominent than the White Temple are its hidden counterparts called the Black Houses. Created by Thai national artist Thawan Duchanee, the 25 Northern Style houses are where he exhibits local art and artifacts. Seeing antler, elephant bones, giant baskets and gongs inside these black buildings make for an interesting afternoon.
8. Tea Plantations
India and Bangladesh are known for their abundant tea plantation. Even the Cameron Highlands in Malaysia is popular for its tea fields. But unknown to many, Thailand produces fine Oolong Tea or Black Dragon Tea. This area has the biggest tea plantation in the country.
After a 70-kilometer drive from Chiang Rai on dizzying zigzag roads, one arrives in Mae Salong and immediately feels like being in a different country all together. At 1,200 meters above sea level, the plantation has a mild temperature ranging from 150 to 200C.
The people look Chinese and speak Chinese dialects, not Thai. They are retired Chinese soldiers from the 93rd Division of the KuoMinTang party who fled China for Burma during WWII. With Burmese soldiers fighting them off, they eventually moved down to Thailand and settled in Mae Salong.
The cool climate and fertile soil make this area ideal for growing tea. Naturally, there are also restaurants serving authentic Chinese food, as well as pagodas.
With limited space in my luggage and still more destinations on my journey, I regret buying just one box of tea. The Emerald Thai tea I bought was naturally sweet, with no added sugar, and was an apt souvenir of this trip. •
For more golden delicious moments in food and travel join the author’s journey at Facebook/MaidasTouch, follow her on twitter/themaidastouch, read Maida’s blog, www.themaidastouch.blogspot.com or e-mail her at [email protected].
News
Trudeau’s Gun Grab Could Cost Taxpayers a Whopping $7 Billion
A recent report indicates that since Trudeau’s announcement of his gun buyback program four years ago, almost none of the banned firearms have been surrendered.
The federal government plans to purchase 2,063 firearm models from retailers following the enactment of Bill C-21, which amends various Acts and introduces certain consequential changes related to firearms. It was granted royal assent on December 15 of last year.
This ban immediately criminalized the actions of federally-licensed firearms owners regarding the purchase, sale, transportation, importation, exportation, or use of hundreds of thousands of rifles and shotguns that were previously legal.
The gun ban focused on what it termed ‘assault-style weapons,’ which are, in reality, traditional semi-automatic rifles and shotguns that have enjoyed popularity among hunters and sport shooters for over a century.
In May 2020, the federal government enacted an Order-in-Council that prohibited 1,500 types of “assault-style” firearms and outlined specific components of the newly banned firearms. Property owners must adhere to the law by October 2023.
Trudeau’s Buyback Hasn’t Happened
“In the announcement regarding the ban, the prime minister stated that the government would seize the prohibited firearms, assuring that their lawful owners would be ‘grandfathered’ or compensated fairly.” “That hasn’t happened,” criminologist Gary Mauser told Rebel News.
Mauser projected expenses ranging from $2.6 billion to $6.7 billion. The figure reflects the compensation costs amounting to $756 million, as outlined by the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO).
“The projected expenses for gathering the illegal firearms are estimated to range from $1.6 billion to $7 billion.” “This range estimate increases to between $2.647 billion and $7 billion when compensation costs to owners are factored in,” Mauser stated.
Figures requested by Conservative MP Shannon Stubbs concerning firearms prohibited due to the May 1, 2020 Order In Council reveal that $72 million has been allocated to the firearm “buyback” program, yet not a single firearm has been confiscated to date.
In a recent revelation, Public Safety Canada disclosed that the federal government allocated a staggering $41,094,556, as prompted by an order paper question from Conservative Senator Don Plett last September, yet yielded no tangible outcomes.
An internal memo from late 2019 revealed that the Liberals projected their politically motivated harassment would incur a cost of $1.8 billion.
Enforcement efforts Questioned
By December 2023, estimates from TheGunBlog.ca indicate that the Liberals and RCMP had incurred or were responsible for approximately $30 million in personnel expenses related to the enforcement efforts. The union representing the police service previously stated that the effort to confiscate firearms is a “misdirected effort” aimed at ensuring public safety.
“This action diverts crucial personnel, resources, and funding from tackling the more pressing and escalating issue of criminal use of illegal firearms,” stated the National Police Federation (NPF).
The Canadian Sporting Arms & Ammunition Association (CSAAA), representing firearms retailers, has stated it will have “zero involvement” in the confiscation of these firearms. Even Canada Post held back from providing assistance due to safety concerns.
The consultant previously assessed that retailers are sitting on almost $1 billion worth of inventory that cannot be sold or returned to suppliers because of the Order-In-Council.
“Despite the ongoing confusion surrounding the ban, after four years, we ought to be able to address one crucial question.” Has the prohibition enhanced safety for Canadians? Mauser asks.
Illegally Obtained Firearms are the Problem
Statistics Canada reports a 10% increase in firearm-related violent crime between 2020 and 2022, rising from 12,614 incidents to 13,937 incidents. In that timeframe, the incidence of firearm-related violent crime increased from 33.7 incidents per 100,000 population in 2021 to 36.7 incidents the subsequent year.
“This marks the highest rate documented since the collection of comparable data began in 2009,” the criminologist explains.
Supplementary DataData indicates that firearm homicides have risen since 2020. “The issue lies not with lawfully-held firearms,” Mauser stated.
Firearms that have been banned under the Order-in-Council continue to be securely stored in the safes of their lawful owners. The individuals underwent a thorough vetting process by the RCMP and are subject to nightly monitoring to ensure there are no infractions that could pose a risk to public safety.
“The firearms involved in homicides were seldom legally owned weapons wielded by their rightful owners,” Mauser continues. The number of offenses linked to organized crime has surged from 4,810 in 2016 to a staggering 13,056 in 2020.
“If those in power … aim to diminish crime and enhance public safety, they ought to implement strategies that effectively focus on offenders and utilize our limited tax resources judiciously to reach these objectives,” he stated.
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Google’s Search Dominance Is Unwinding, But Still Accounting 48% Search Revenue
Google is so closely associated with its key product that its name is a verb that signifies “search.” However, Google’s dominance in that sector is dwindling.
According to eMarketer, Google will lose control of the US search industry for the first time in decades next year.
Google will remain the dominant search player, accounting for 48% of American search advertising revenue. And, remarkably, Google is still increasing its sales in the field, despite being the dominating player in search since the early days of the George W. Bush administration. However, Amazon is growing at a quicker rate.
Google’s Search Dominance Is Unwinding
Amazon will hold over a quarter of US search ad dollars next year, rising to 27% by 2026, while Google will fall even more, according to eMarketer.
The Wall Street Journal was first to report on the forecast.
Lest you think you’ll have to switch to Bing or Yahoo, this isn’t the end of Google or anything really near.
Google is the fourth-most valued public firm in the world. Its market worth is $2.1 trillion, trailing just Apple, Microsoft, and the AI chip darling Nvidia. It also maintains its dominance in other industries, such as display advertisements, where it dominates alongside Facebook’s parent firm Meta, and video ads on YouTube.
To put those “other” firms in context, each is worth more than Delta Air Lines’ total market value. So, yeah, Google is not going anywhere.
Nonetheless, Google faces numerous dangers to its operations, particularly from antitrust regulators.
On Monday, a federal judge in San Francisco ruled that Google must open up its Google Play Store to competitors, dealing a significant blow to the firm in its long-running battle with Fortnite creator Epic Games. Google announced that it would appeal the verdict.
In August, a federal judge ruled that Google has an illegal monopoly on search. That verdict could lead to the dissolution of the company’s search operation. Another antitrust lawsuit filed last month accuses Google of abusing its dominance in the online advertising business.
Meanwhile, European regulators have compelled Google to follow tough new standards, which have resulted in multiple $1 billion-plus fines.
Google’s Search Dominance Is Unwinding
On top of that, the marketplace is becoming more difficult on its own.
TikTok, the fastest-growing social network, is expanding into the search market. And Amazon has accomplished something few other digital titans have done to date: it has established a habit.
When you want to buy anything, you usually go to Amazon, not Google. Amazon then buys adverts to push companies’ products to the top of your search results, increasing sales and earning Amazon a greater portion of the revenue. According to eMarketer, it is expected to generate $27.8 billion in search revenue in the United States next year, trailing only Google’s $62.9 billion total.
And then there’s AI, the technology that (supposedly) will change everything.
Why search in stilted language for “kendall jenner why bad bunny breakup” or “police moving violation driver rights no stop sign” when you can just ask OpenAI’s ChatGPT, “What’s going on with Kendall Jenner and Bad Bunny?” in “I need help fighting a moving violation involving a stop sign that wasn’t visible.” Google is working on exactly this technology with its Gemini product, but its success is far from guaranteed, especially with Apple collaborating with OpenAI and other businesses rapidly joining the market.
A Google spokeswoman referred to a blog post from last week in which the company unveiled ads in its AI overviews (the AI-generated text that appears at the top of search results). It’s Google’s way of expressing its ability to profit on a changing marketplace while retaining its business, even as its consumers steadily transition to ask-and-answer AI and away from search.
Google has long used a single catchphrase to defend itself against opponents who claim it is a monopoly abusing its power: competition is only a click away. Until recently, that seemed comically obtuse. Really? We are going to switch to Bing? Or Duck Duck Go? Give me a break.
But today, it feels more like reality.
Google is in no danger of disappearing. However, every highly dominating company faces some type of reckoning over time. GE, a Dow mainstay for more than a century, was broken up last year and is now a shell of its previous dominance. Sears declared bankruptcy in 2022 and is virtually out of business. US Steel, long the foundation of American manufacturing, is attempting to sell itself to a Japanese corporation.
SOURCE | CNN
News
The Supreme Court Turns Down Biden’s Government Appeal in a Texas Emergency Abortion Matter.
(VOR News) – A ruling that prohibits emergency abortions that contravene the Supreme Court law in the state of Texas, which has one of the most stringent abortion restrictions in the country, has been upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States. The United States Supreme Court upheld this decision.
The justices did not provide any specifics regarding the underlying reasons for their decision to uphold an order from a lower court that declared hospitals cannot be legally obligated to administer abortions if doing so would violate the law in the state of Texas.
Institutions are not required to perform abortions, as stipulated in the decree. The common populace did not investigate any opposing viewpoints. The decision was made just weeks before a presidential election that brought abortion to the forefront of the political agenda.
This decision follows the 2022 Supreme Court ruling that ended abortion nationwide.
In response to a request from the administration of Vice President Joe Biden to overturn the lower court’s decision, the justices expressed their disapproval.
The government contends that hospitals are obligated to perform abortions in compliance with federal legislation when the health or life of an expectant patient is in an exceedingly precarious condition.
This is the case in regions where the procedure is prohibited. The difficulty hospitals in Texas and other states are experiencing in determining whether or not routine care could be in violation of stringent state laws that prohibit abortion has resulted in an increase in the number of complaints concerning pregnant women who are experiencing medical distress being turned away from emergency rooms.
The administration cited the Supreme Court’s ruling in a case that bore a striking resemblance to the one that was presented to it in Idaho at the beginning of the year. The justices took a limited decision in that case to allow the continuation of emergency abortions without interruption while a lawsuit was still being heard.
In contrast, Texas has been a vocal proponent of the injunction’s continued enforcement. Texas has argued that its circumstances are distinct from those of Idaho, as the state does have an exemption for situations that pose a significant hazard to the health of an expectant patient.
According to the state, the discrepancy is the result of this exemption. The state of Idaho had a provision that safeguarded a woman’s life when the issue was first broached; however, it did not include protection for her health.
Certified medical practitioners are not obligated to wait until a woman’s life is in imminent peril before they are legally permitted to perform an abortion, as determined by the state supreme court.
The state of Texas highlighted this to the Supreme Court.
Nevertheless, medical professionals have criticized the Texas statute as being perilously ambiguous, and a medical board has declined to provide a list of all the disorders that are eligible for an exception. Furthermore, the statute has been criticized for its hazardous ambiguity.
For an extended period, termination of pregnancies has been a standard procedure in medical treatment for individuals who have been experiencing significant issues. It is implemented in this manner to prevent catastrophic outcomes, such as sepsis, organ failure, and other severe scenarios.
Nevertheless, medical professionals and hospitals in Texas and other states with strict abortion laws have noted that it is uncertain whether or not these terminations could be in violation of abortion prohibitions that include the possibility of a prison sentence. This is the case in regions where abortion prohibitions are exceedingly restrictive.
Following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which resulted in restrictions on the rights of women to have abortions in several Republican-ruled states, the Texas case was revisited in 2022.
As per the orders that were disclosed by the administration of Vice President Joe Biden, hospitals are still required to provide abortions in cases that are classified as dire emergency.
As stipulated in a piece of health care legislation, the majority of hospitals are obligated to provide medical assistance to patients who are experiencing medical distress. This is in accordance with the law.
The state of Texas maintained that hospitals should not be obligated to provide abortions throughout the litigation, as doing so would violate the state’s constitutional prohibition on abortions. In its January judgment, the 5th United States Circuit Court of Appeals concurred with the state and acknowledged that the administration had exceeded its authority.
SOURCE: AP
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