WORDPRESS BLOCKED IN THAILAND

Last night when trying to access my main blog at Baan Jochim Phuket, I was greeted by the page above. This translates as:

Sorry. TOT Plc., as an organization of Thai people, has restrained the access to this website as it contains content, text, and/or picture that is unappropriated which affects the mind of Thai people all over the country and cannot be accepted.

Apparently my internet service provider, the government-owned TOT, is blocking all blogs on the Wordpress domain in the latest example of Thai censorship of the media. According to articles on FACT- Freedom Against Censorship Thailand and Global Voices Advocacy, this block has been in effect since 22 August. As with all things that TOT has a hand in (i.e., frequent downtime once they finally connect your service -- it took a couple of months from the time we placed the order to the time they installed the line and connected our ADSL despite us living less than half-a-kilometer from the service center), this blockage seems very haphazard. Until last night, I'd had no problems accessing various Wordpress blogs and they're all coming up fine this morning.

Still, the blatant censorship practiced by the Thai government gets extremely tiring. Readers may remember that I began this particular blog as a result of the Thai Ministry of Information and Communication Technology's ban of the Blogger domain and my inability to access my longtime blog, Goodnight Phuket. We finally just got the ban against YouTube lifted but we always have to wonder what will be next...

Additional articles about the TOT blockage of Wordpress:
DBTB Protests Against the Wordpress.com Blockage in Thailand
Wordpress Blocked in Thailand as Well
wordpress.com Blocked in Thailand

ADSL... FINALLY!!

My problems with getting an ADSL hookup through TOT have been well-documented in this blog.  We'd started the process (and paid the deposit and other fees) back in March and most recently had been told to wait another three months after paying (twice) for a modem.

Imagine my surprise yesterday when my wife called me at work to ask for my computer password so that TOT could set up the broadband connection!  I'd all but given up on them showing up at our house without another round of phone calls.  After work, I expected to be told there had been some unforeseen problem and they couldn't get us connected.  Dtim said that I was supposed to wait for 24 hours for them to "turn on Internet."  Lo and behold, it's working tonight!

I did a test of my online speed this morning using my new favorite broadband site, Speedtest.net, pinging a server in Bangkok:

Compare those results with the test I did just a few moments ago:

Quite a difference on the download speeds!  For some reason, I had a faster upload speed on the dial-up connection.  I also don't understand the "distance" readings as Bangkok is actually a little under 500 miles from Phuket.

I probably won't have time to enjoy the faster connection (i.e., searching around for movies or music to download via BitTorrent) until Sunday, however.  I'm too tired tonight (it was a long week preparing for the start of classes on Monday) and tomorrow we're attending a mesquite BBQ party sponsored by ThaiVisa.com.

HOW CAN TOT STAY IN BUSINESS?

I had been looking forward to a working ADSL connection when I returned home from work today.  After all, TOT's "customer service" center had promised us yesterday that it would certainly be hooked up today.  But, as usual with dealing with this company, our expectations were shattered by being told we'd have to wait another two months and possibly more!

Here's a brief summary of our "adventures" with the only phone company that services our part of Phuket:

On March 22, my wife submitted our application for a phone line and ADSL broadband service at TOT's office in Central Festival.  This was several days after we filled out the application at the large TOT center on Chaofa West Road in Chalong (located less than one kilometer from our home and where all the service calls for southern Phuket originate from).  They had told us that we'd have to pay the deposits and installation charges at the Central office.  At the time, they were running a promotion where the router was included in the installation charge.  Dtim paid fees of more than 5800 baht and upon returning home told me that the phone line and ADSL would be hooked up in a few days.

Workers arrived on March 29, stringing phone cable along the front of the entire row of shophouses (including three soi gaps) before reaching our home.  One worker leaned a very tall bamboo ladder up the side of the house and drilled a hole right under the third floor window in the master bedroom.  The phone line was run straight up the wall, nailed to hold it in place, and run through the hole on the third floor before being tied off in a messy loop and a phone jack attached to the end (just hanging there without being attached).

The leader of this trio of workers (whom Dtim had corralled into putting up two wall fans as well) gave me a sheet of paper listing our new telephone number and the number of the guy who hooks up the ADSL.  He told me to wait 24 hours before calling this other person.  When we called the next day, we were told he'd be out later in the week.

A week went by and we were into the second before I had my wife call and find out what was going on with the Internet hookup.  She was told that the guy who does this (apparently, TOT only has one employee who installs ADSL) had gone home for the Songkran (Thai New Year's) holiday and would be out the following week.  Another week and Dtim called again.  Tomorrow.  Another call.  If not by Friday, definitely on Monday.

Yesterday (April 24th — mind you, we paid our money on March 22), I had Dtim call again.  The ADSL hookup guy asked her if we had a modem.  TOT never gave her one when she paid the installation fees despite the then-current promotion that said the router was free.  She was told she'd have to buy one from him at a cost of 3000 baht!  I told her that was bunk and proceeded to dig out the original flyer from the promotion plus the receipt of what she'd paid (itemized, but it was in Thai).  There was nothing about a modem on the receipt but there was a phone number to the customer center at Central Festival.  She called them was told that the promotion had finished on March 30th (we signed up on March 22) but we could buy a modem there for 1,470 baht and that they would "definitely install tomorrow."  Again, I said that was bunk (not my exact words, of course) that they were trying to sell us the modem since the promotion was in existence when we applied and they needed to honor that.

We decided to go down to the customer service center in person since we were getting nowhere on the phone.  There was A LOT of confusion while we were there in that there was no record of us even having telephone service in their computer and various employees would come over to the cubicle we were sitting in, fiddle with the computer, and leave.  Dtim did all the talking and they only spoke Thai so I was fairly lost except for the occasional phrase such as mai dai ("cannot") and mai kao jai ("don't understand").  Every once in a while, someone would bring over a large looseleaf binder and flip furiously through it; I assumed they were looking for our application.  At first, I would occasionally ask Dtim what was going on but she told me to remain quiet.  So I spent two hours siting there — grinning like a bewildered idiot so as to demonstrate jai dee ("cool heart") because getting angry in public is a sure-fire way to loose face in Thailand — wondering if the fate of our first-born was being decided.

Sometime in the middle of this confusion and negotiation, a fellow farang barged into the center screaming at the various employees about how his business had been ruined because he's been without internet for a week despite his repeated calls and their repeated promises of help.  He soon left muttering how he'd be writing letters to The Phuket Gazette about the terrible service TOT provides.  It seems that this is very common as TOT has many complaints againt the company on a regular basis.  If we were able to have TT&T or somebody else provide home phone service, we'd jump ship in a second.

Anyway, the end result yesterday was the discovery that our service had been (conveniently) cancelled out of the computer so they couldn't give us the "promotion" since they had to enter a new service contract.  This despite Dtim repeatedly pointing out the dates on the desposit/fees reciept and our copy of the invoice when they had installed the phone line (both of which fell BEFORE the promotion ended).  In fact, the TOT people didn't believe we actually had a workng phone until they called our home!  We ended up paying 1,470 baht for a router; my wife later told me that the girl who had taken over the computer for the last stage of our drama was actually going to honor the promotion and give us the modem but Dtim overheard the center's manager saying to charge us since I was a farang.  Dtim was very angry at this obvious example of corruption (there's a new series of commercials on TV educating the Thai people about the evils of corruption) but I just accepted it as one more form of two-tiered pricing.

We left with the "promise" that they would be out to setup the modem the following day (I told Dtim that I could probably do it myself if only they would give me the username and password for our account).

Today, it was a different story.  TOT called Dtim sometime in the morning saying that it would take between another week to a month.  She couldn't explain to me what the lady had told her (I wasn't sure if Dtim was saying they needed a "part" or a "port") so I called them back after work.  At first, the "customer service" agent wouldn't tell me anything.  She kept saying, "I talk to Khun Sangwan this morning."  When I asked her to tell me what she'd told my wife the response was, "I tell Khun Sangwan already."  "Well, can you tell me what you told her?"  Finally, she said that the ADSL department didn't have a "part" or "port" — again, I couldn't quite understand until she told me "they full port" and that I was on a waiting list.  When I asked how long this waiting list was, I was told "two month, maybe three month."

This is just totally unacceptible.  They happily took our deposit and installation fees, failed to honor a promotion and collected more money for a modem over a month later and still won't hook up the broadband for at least another couple of months!  And it's not like we have a choice of providers here otherwise I'd switch in a heartbeat.  I'm tempted to cancel the entire service, including the phone line, but we'd end up without anything at all (refunds are nonexistent in Thailand) — I did purchase a dial-up service card (unlimited for 30 days at 320 baht) but the speed is so slow (just meausured at 8.10kbps using the bandwidth meter at DG Shipping) as to be completely useless.  At the time being, I suppose I'll remain reliant on internet cafes (the nearest one is quite a drive from our new home) or occasional computer time at work (which I feel guilty about using for non-school purposes, even to check email).

I just can't understand how a company which has such a consistant record of poor service (back issues of Phuket Gazette and the various expat online forums are full of complaints against TOT) can remain in business.  In the West, this type of incompetence would not be tolerated.  Sometimes the mai pen rai and sabai sabai attitudes are not so endearing...

MISCELLANEOUS UPDATE

Just to bring us more or less up to date:

We've moved almost everything from our old house to the new.  In fact, my office is nicely setup in our (huge!) master bedroom.  All that remains at the old house is a few odd pots & pans, cleaning supplies, and the modem and broadband cable.

I'm still operating with a barely-functioning computer — I have to connect to the Internet while using the Linux OS and then only in brief sessions at the old house since the telephone company still hasn't shown up to install phone lines and broadband (worse than the cable companies in America, TOT will tell you the week they will be out but not the precise day or a range of hours).  I can't even play MP3's on Linux as I can't figure out how to properly install the decoder through the command line and don't have the time to learn right now.  I'm still burning backups of my photos from the crippled Windows system; once that's completed, I'll try reformatting the hard drive and see if I can reinstall XP (or, perhaps, Vista).

We had a tough time getting Alex ready for school this morning.  This was much more than the usual kicking-and-screaming we endure just getting him into the shower.  It took us almost two hours just to get him down the stairs (sans shower and teeth-brushing).  We finally got him outside by making a big show of my giving his his mom 1000 baht which she told him was to buy his bus ticket back to live with his old father.  It worked but I felt guilty about using such a frightening form of blackmail.  But at least Tim and I worked as a team and really played off each other very well.

There really isn't much other news.  Doug left for Vietnam this past weekend and isn't sure if he'll return to Phuket.  "Little" Mark managed to create havoc during the brief time he stayed with us and is now on Tim's "shite" list.  He left last night to retrieve his things from Bangkok; he's been offered a job at Kajonkietsuksa as well but he may take a job at a Krabi resort instead.

Tim's friend Tom (a Lamphun girl) has been staying with us — she came down a few days before "little" Mark arrived as my wife had planned to do some matchmaking.  Needless to say, it didn't work out (hence part of the reason Tim's upset with him right now) but she's a lovely woman who should have no problems finding a boyfriend.  Quite reserved at first, she's beginning to open up a bit more although she still seems overwhelmed much of the time.  Tom's started looking for work (mostly at local spa's so far) but it's low season and jobs are few and far between.

Since my wife and her friend both have nicknames that are boy's names in America I'm considering writing them differently in these blog entries.  It might be less confusing for new readers if I spell the "T" sounds in their names as "Dt".  Since I've been learning the Thai language, I do actually hear the "Dt" sound when they refer to their names with each other than just a plain "T".  Think of it as a hard "T".  So, I'll try to remember to write "Tim" as "Dtim" and "Tom" as "Dtom".  It looks funny to me right now but might be better than someone thinking my wife is a man rather than the 100% woman she truly is...

It looks like we'll also be purchasing a car very soon.  I've always told my wife that I'd consider it once I'd found a job and we had more income.  Yesterday, she gave me a brochure for the new Mitsubishi Triton 2WD pickup truck.  It can be financed with 39,000 baht down then 7000 baht per month for five years.  I'd rather not finance a vehicle down here, preferring to buy and be done with it.  I've seen good-condition/slighly-used Diahatsu Mira's out here for 70-80,000 baht (USD $2000-@2500) that (I think) suit our needs.  They're similar in size to a Ford Festiva — which I owned once and was always amazed at how much stuff I could cram in one.  Last night, I told Dtim that if I was offered the job today that I would buy a car in either June or July (once I got past the standard three-month probationary period for new teachers).

I'll be glad once we finish cleaning our old house (and, hopefully, having the lion's share of the deposit returned).  There's still plenty to do with the new house but at least it's liveable.  The ground floor will require the most work (such as installing a kitchen as there isn't even a sink or counter or anything) but we're saving that for last.  It does get dreadfully hot in the master bedroom despite having two fans on and a cold-water air cooler operating almost constantly.  This is mainly because of the large sliding glass doors leading to the balcony.  Once we hang curtains it should remain much cooler in there.

Alex made a big deal about us buying him a bunkbed when we took him to the furniture store last week.  Last night was to have been the first night he was to sleep in it.  But when Dtim told him that she wasn't sleeping up there with him he made a big fuss and she ended up sleeping on the floor of his room with him while Dtom slept in the bottom bunk.

The night before was supposed to be Alex and me spending the night alone in the new house.  I'd finished putting together all of the furniture and setting up the video system in the master bedroom.  I had the first (Episode III) Star Wars movie on a Thai-language DVD and my wife thought it would be a good bonding experience for us to "camp out" together with movie night.

Unfortunately, I don't think she told Alex he would be staying with me alone.  Dtim dropped him off and hung out while he did his homework and had a bit of dinner.  I started the movie and then walked her downstairs to let her out — she'd planned to pack up the kitchen and a few odds & ends.  I sat watching the movie with Alex for around 45 minutes when he suddenly began looking around and asked, "Where's Dtim?"  "She's staying at the old house tonight," I told him.  Tears welling in his eyes, he jumped up and ran to open the door.  Peering out, he screamed for his mama.  I didn't waste any time getting her on the phone so she could talk to him and calm him down (past experience has proved that is the only thing to work).  That just made him more upset and angry; he screamed at her over the phone (cursing in Thai sounds even worse than in English) and even threw my phone to the floor (luckily, it's pretty sturdy).  Picking it up, I asked Dtim if she could come back and help calm down Alex.  She said it would be about an hour.  It turned out to be almost two and during that entire time Alex was crying, throwing his entire body around on the bed (he doesn't just hit with his arms but with his head and legs as well), and screaming (I worried if the neighbors thought he was being tortured).  The only time he quieted down was during the attack on the Death Star at the end of Star Wars.

By the time Dtim and Dtom arrived, Alex was coughing and hoarse from screaming.  The three of them ended up sleeping on a mat on the floor while I slept alone in the big new bed.  Unfortunately, this crying-and-screaming routine is the norm everytime Alex is left to sleep without his mom.  Usually, she ends up sleeping in his room and I'm left alone.  The few times both of them have slept with me I haven't been able to sleep at all because he tosses and turns all night long (I call him the Tasmanian Devil when he's sleeping).  The first night that "little" Mark stayed at our house, he made a big deal that Alex could sleep in the bed with him (mainly so my wife and I could have a badly-needed night alone); Alex thought that would be great fun.  But he flung himself around so much while sleeping that Mark put him out of the room and locked the door.  Alex began screaming and managed to empty the contents of Mark's backback all over the living room floor before I had a chance to go out and see what was happening.  He quieted down as soon as we said he could sleep with us and, again, I was awake all night because I had to avoid getting hit from his constantly flailing arms.

Sometimes, Dtim is able to sneak out of Alex's room after he's fallen asleep so I at least get partial nights alone with her but those aren't near as often as we would like.  When Alex first came to stay with us, I never could fall asleep when Dtim wasn't by my side (so accustomed I'd become to her constant presence) but now I've become (more or less) accustomed to it as the norm rather than the exception.  My hope is that Alex will (soon) grow out of his constant need for mama to be with him.  I don't think this is normal behavior for seven-year-olds, not even in Thailand (however, Dtim did sleep in the same room as her parents until she was in her twenties but then again they only had one room in their house).

Well, I suppose that's all there is to right about on this hot, hot day.  I'm in a great mood now that I'm employed (a little fearful as it's been a long time since I had somewhere I had to be on a daily basis.  And I'm very happy that I have this nice new house (the view outside my window as I write this makes it ALL worthwhile) despite the amount of work that remains.  And I still think coming to Thailand to begin a new family was the best decision I've ever made, despite the setbacks and oddities.

Until next time...

UPDATE:

TOT showed up soon after I wrote the draft for this entry.  They hung a spool of telephone cable on a pole at the end of our row of shophouses (five houses away) and then ran the line by threading it through holes just beneath each of the houses' second-storey balconies.  Finally, they leaned a VERY LONG one-section bamboo ladder against my wall, climbed up to the third floor and drilled a hole underneath the side window.  They ran a bit of cable through the hole and tied it off in a loop before dangling a small phone box connector to the end.  I suppose it'll work but it's looks rather primitive.  I'm supposed to wait for 24 hours before calling for the ADSL to be connected.

While the TOT guys were at our home, my wife talked the supervisor into drilling holes and hanging the new wall fans she'd just purchased.  This only required a "tip" of 150 baht — a bargain (and I'm considering doing the same for our mailbox, etc.).