April 30 2007

Mac attack: Westerner beaten in Bangkok Apple Store

mac attackWhen you order a MacBook Pro from an approved Thai dealer, you don't expect to be beaten-up and arrested in the store - but this is exactly what happened to an unfortunate Mango Sauce reader.

Last Friday, I placed an order for a MacBook Pro, a 30' display and accessories at The APPLE Store in Siam Discovery Center, Bangkok. The total came to 188,000bt. Paid with a VISA Card. The APPLE employee would deliver the setup later.

While waiting for the delivery at my condo, the APPLE salesperson, phoned me and claimed to have made a mistake on the bill and wanted another 12,500 before delivery.

April 23 2007

Thai girls with guns

Thai girls with guns

A Thai girl's handbag always contains surprises but you don't expect to find a 9mm semi-automatic pistol.

April 18 2007

Conan's Thai restroom threesome

conan_toilet.jpg

Many of us imagined that Conan's double-dunny exclusive would prove to be the last word on Thai toilet tomfoolery but the oversized Aussie actor has outdone himself once again.

April 13 2007

Blog wars: Bangkok diplomat's own goal

ian_proud.jpg

"I saw him walking arm-in-arm with a girl that could only be described as a 2 dollar whore," writes Simon Peltier beneath an innocuous blog entry by Ian Proud, head of the British embassy's political section.

When the thirty-eight year-old diplomat agreed to be a guest blogger on The Nation's website, he also let them publish this photo.

Big mistake.

April 11 2007

Have we worn out our welcome in Thailand?

borat_thong.jpg

When a one-legged German infects half the schoolgirls in Chaiyaphum with HIV, it reflects badly on all of us but Thailand's noticeably cooler attitude towards Western immigrants has little to do with our sexual peccadilloes.

Fun-loving tourists won't notice any change but those of us who choose to live here are feeling less and less welcome.

April 5 2007

Mr T talks to Mango Sauce

mr t speaks

MS: Your term as Thailand's PM was characterised by corruption and abuse of power...

Mr T: What you talkin' 'bout, fool!?! I don't remember none of that! You just a crazy man seein' things that ain't there.

MS: Subsequently, you've been accused of stirring up social divisions in the country.

Mr T: Trouble? I don't start no trouble. I mind my own business.

MS: But General Sonti has made specific allegations.

Mr T: The man's a pothead. He's high on smack, or speedballs, or something...

MS: The question of how you acquired your unusual wealth isn't going to go away.

Mr T: Better make sure nothin' happens to my gold.

April 5 2007

YouTube banned in Thailand

youtube banned

Coming hard on the heels of this week's disruption of Yahoo, video-sharing website, YouTube, has been banned in Thailand following a spat between its owners, Google, and the Communications Ministry (ICT).

The dispute centres around Google's refusal to remove a 44 second clip containing altered images of someone rather important (Four letters, begins with a K - and who can't be discussed on this website for reasons too obvious to mention).

April 3 2007

Nude Thai actress bends over for charity

thai actress

Cue the canned outrage. It's the same old "Thai actress goes nude while the Culture Ministry goes ballistic" story we've heard a thousand times before - with the whole world looking on in disbelief because, for most people, Thailand will always be synonymous with ping-pong pussy banana shows and whoring.

I'm sure we could debate the ethical implications for hours but the only question on my mind this week was "how do I get my hands on the naughty pictures?"