It’s been a while since the dollar has been this strong in places I’d like to visit (or visit again), which is weird given the economy, but whatever.
US$1.4 = 1 UK pound (just better, actually!)
US$1 = nearly 35 baht
US$1 = nearly 3.5 Argentine pesos
The Canadian and Australian dollars, and the Euro are fairly strong, and the Japanese yen is crazy strong – only like 89 to US$1 – so I’m glad I went there when I did. But yeah, it’s definitely time for another outside-the-US vacation/mileage run, and I hope the dollar will still be this strong in March or whenever I can actually take one.
From today’s trip to Akihabara and Shibuya, added to the same album as before… yesterday’s trip to the Mikasa will be in its own album but will have to wait, maybe later tonight more likely when I get back to the US unless the internet connections in Thailand have gotten better than I remember them.
Also trying to upload a video of the Shibuya crossing, but no luck so far – the Youtube upload link keeps timing out.
Or view the full album; this was the “Cityrama Morning Tour” with shots from the Meiji Shrine, Imperial Gardens West, and the Asakusa Kannon Temple plus a few of my room and a few of the area nearby in Shibuya.
Nothing edited yet; Picasa is pretty cool for posting RAW shots to the web quickly.
Off to see the Memorial Ship Mikasa tomorrow, and will probably have photos of that for you tomorrow night. Not sure what else I’ll be up to in my remaining pair of days her, but for now jetlag is about to overwhelm me.
John Birmingham’s latest, Without Warning has showed up on Amazon. Looks great, although it isn’t out in the US until February. If I make it to Asia again this fall, I may get it early … as I was able to do with Final Impact, since they get the Aussie editions at some of the Kinokuniyas there (can’t, at this point, remember if it was the Singapore one or the then-new Siam Paragon one in Bangkok.)
It does lead to the interesting question of whether to pre-order (then cancel, if I get it in Asia) or whether to wait to see if the fall vacation (A) happens, and (B) if it’s Asia or Buenos Aires… lots of steak plus the 32.5k mile Citi award (*) make for a tempting option, even with hotel and other prices once I’m on the ground so much higher.
(* vs 40k usually, and 70k for Asia… seeing as I’ve made PLT for the year, this is a good chance to burn miles rather than earn them.)
This has been on my facebook page for a while, but I saw I could embed it here, so here you go…
…or not. But points for creativity either way:
Fed up with jet noise, couple raise the roof
ARMED with white roof sealant and three choice words, a Ridley Township couple has bypassed bureaucracy and taken their grievances straight to the top – of their roof – in letters 7 feet tall:
“F_ck U F.A.A.”
Via Flyertalk
(I am reminded of the “Romani Eunt Domus” scene from Life of Brian)
Went right before the Olympics. Most of my photos there were purely on film; one roll didn’t get developed in timely manner, and when I finally got it developed (2006!) it was cheap to get scanned copies as well. So here you go!
You will likely need to expand the window to see the full size. Taken May 1, 2005 on vacation in London.
Vacation photo album
Just a couple of Tulum shots so far, more to come if I get around to it.
City Settles Flour-Filled Condom Lawsuit
(AP) PHILADELPHIA A woman who was arrested and jailed for three weeks on drug charges for what turned out to be flour-filled condoms has settled a lawsuit against the city for $180,000.
Scorpion bites man repeatedly on plane to Vermont
A scorpion bit David Sullivan on the back of his right leg, just below the knee, then crawled up and down his left leg, he thinks, before getting him again in the shin.
From various posts on Flyertalk. And one extra, from elsewhere:
Australia-bound tourist ends up in Montana
German man mistakenly books plane ticket to small oil town of Sidney
BERLIN – A 21-year-old German tourist who wanted to visit his girlfriend in the Australian metropolis Sydney landed more than 8,000 miles away near Sidney, Montana, after mistyping his destination on a flight booking Web site.
No idea what to make of this, but in case it’s of interest to any of my readers:
Thailand Abandons Limits on Foreign Stock Investments (Update6)
By Suttinee Yuvejwattana and Margo Towie
Dec. 19 (Bloomberg) — Thailand scrapped currency controls on international stock investors one day after their imposition by the central bank prompted the biggest stock market plunge in 16 years.
The government lifted a requirement that banks lock up 30 percent of new foreign-currency deposits for a year for funds earmarked for stocks, Finance Minister Pridiyathorn Devakula said in Bangkok. The rule, intended to slow a 16 percent gain in the Thai currency this year that threatened exports and economic growth, sparked investor selling that wiped out $23 billion of market value in Thai stocks.
Belated coverage here on CH, but…
Thailand to lift post-coup ban
POSTED: 9:38 p.m. EST, November 9, 2006
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) — Thailand’s National Legislative Assembly agreed to ease a restriction imposed after September’s coup d’etat, voting unanimously to lift a ban on public gatherings of more than five people, the head of the body said.
Assembly President Meechai Ruchupan on Thursday announced the decision of the military-appointed assembly, which becomes effective when it is published in the Royal Gazette, a pro-forma action expected to take place soon.
The ban was issued when the military seized power in the Sep. 19 coup against elected Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. It later handed over administrative control to a civilian prime minister who is supposed to head an interim government for a year until a general election can be held.
