itishothere

Was at the Moutain Bike competition this morning. Loads of people there including a lot of kids.

Another good event to put Samui on the map.

And of course plenty of bikers on the ring road. Not many wearing flip-flops (thongs for our anitpodean mates) or t-shirts, so look kind of serious (and a tad menacing sometimes).

Which brings me to the Ballroom Dancing Competition this September. (Yes, there is a link here somewhere.) I was told by one of the spectators that apparently there is to be an international (10 day?)  event across the island. Don't know much more than that, nor, to be honest am I all that interested. But yet another event for the Samui calendar.

The current news article http://www.thaivisa....t/page__st__100 is all about improving the operations at BKK. It says ... "Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has ordered that all low-cost airlines move to Don Mueang Airport to improve air and runway traffic at Suvarnabhumi"

The article also states that ...  "Apart from AirAsia, major low-cost airlines using Suvarnabhumi Airport are Bangkok Airways and Orient Thai."

I am not sure how much truth there is in the article. For a start, Bangkok Airways could hardly be called a low-cost carrier, and if I remember, it is the second largest user of Suvarnabhumi after Thai Airways with some 10% or so of the number of passengers.

Anyway, the thought of them having to shift operations to DMG is worrying. I know that there are many day trippers to Bangkok from Samui who might not mind the move, but there are also a number of code share agreements that Bangkok Airways has which would make connecting flights a nightmare for the international tourists coming here.

Personally I cannot see it happening. Bangkok Airways is too important too Suvarnabhumi, and far too influential.

New tarmac is being laid from the traffic lights at Bophut down to the entrance to Fishermans, and it would appear around the corner towards Bangrak. Good news, but probably best to avoid that area in the meantime.

Driving past tonight, I saw a huge pile of concrete pipes by the side of the road in Bangrak. Just about where the road floods badly (near the ghost road). So, maybe some water drainage is being planned for there which will be good news.

Anybody in the know about what Tescos are planning here? They seem to have quietly started expanding with their new Express stores opening up all over the island - usually in direct competition with Family Mart and 7-11.

I read this article today ... http://www.ft.com/in...l#axzz1oCIwBLu2

It's from the Financial Times in the UK, and tells about the $600m (in THB) that the Tescos Property Fund has just raised and plans to "invest the proceeds of the IPO in its Thai network. Its more than 900 retail outlets around the country range from small “value stores” to hypermarkets in large malls." Seems to me that they have spotted an opportunity as daily they are sending over lorries full of produce for their 2 main stores on the island - it shouldn't be that difficult to supply the smaller stores at the same time?

Maybe they are taking on the convenience stores we already have here?

The article also states that in the next few months they "also plan(s) to become Thailand’s first online grocery retailer". Have to admit I am a bit sceptical about this last bit, I mean, 3B who installed my telephone line can't find me. So what chance does Tescos have?