Penfold's South East Asian Odyssey

It's been a very unhappy weekend at chez Penfold, as one of our pet dogs sadly died. The mutt in question was Chewbacca, affectionately known as Chewy. Although he was very old, he had only been with us for 2 years. We adopted him, together with another dog called Yoda, from a rescue centre near Bangkok. During the terrible flooding in 2011 countless dogs were separated from their owners and many people also rescued stray dogs that they encountered. Faced with such a large number of animals, the local government set up a temporary shelter at a place called Banpakong, on the outskirts of the capital. We found out about shelter from the internet and paid a visit to donate some food and see if we could adopt any of the homeless dogs. Whilst we were there we were introduced to numerous dogs but we took a liking to Chewy and Yoda. Very little was known about his origins or previous life. All the rescue centre could tell us was that he was found wandering the flooded streets and ...

You may remember the Hollywood movie "Snakes on Plane", but I doubt the inimitable Samuel L. Jackson will be signing on to star in the Thai version.........."Snakes in the Shitter".   ((I am not the owner of the photograph above, nor do I hold its copyright. It is reproduced courtesy of testusatest.blogspot.com) It transpires that this story has been bouncing around the internet for several years now, but it's only recently that it was brought to my attention. My wife stumbled across it, one evening, whilst browsing the web. Here is a link to the blog that first featured the story......... http://testusatest.blogspot.com/2010/05/meaning-of-picture-snake-in-toilet.html What's more frightening than the venomous serpent dangling inches away from your bum-crack is the disgusting state of the toilet bowl. You're more likely to get necrosis in your nut-sacks from the filthy porcelain than from a snake bite!!!! You may think that this is reminis...

I'm a vehement critic of the Asian practice of double pricing and almost fell victim to it on a recent day-out with my wife and extended family. We had decided to visit the Pattaya Dolphin Show, as it was an attraction that had not been to before. But, upon arriving at the ticket kiosk, I was informed that as a foreigner, I would have to pay 500 baht (about  £ 10), despite showing my Thai driving licence. Normally, upon producing your Thai driving licence at tourist attractions, national parks, museums etc you will pay the same rate as the Thais, which in this instance was 250 baht (about  £ 5) But, even with proof of residence, I was considered to be a tourist and worthy of being robbed. Why should pay double the price you cheeky thieving bastards? The attitude of the clerk on the ticket desk was also extremely poor. When I asked why I was being charged twice the price she just said "farang pay more" and upon showing my driving licence she said "cannot do, c...

I am constantly lambasting the Thais for their stupidity and lack of common sense, but this time the flip flop is firmly on the the other foot.  Khun Somchai looks like an Oxford Don next to the hapless Isabelle Brennan, the English backpacker who was recently mauled by a tiger on a trip to Thailand. ( I am not the owner of the 2 photographs above, nor do I hold their copyright. They are reproduced courtesy of Featureworld.co.uk)  Miss Brennan, along with her sister and a friend were one week into their "trip of a life time", when she almost became lunch for one the feline denizens of Wat Pa Luangta Bua Yanasampanno , better known as the Tiger Temple Sanctuary, in Kanchanaburi. Young Isabelle was one of many visitors who take part in the activities of washing, walking, petting and posing for photos with the tigers. Yes, you read that right, petting a tiger!!!!! Jesus, Mary and Jospeh, that's just asking for trouble!!!! Did she not think it might be d...