Lazy Lanta

This week I have most been in Koh Lanta, a sleepy little place near Krabi in Thailand. We went there because Tiger Airways were giving away tickets 4 months ago, we weren't aware back then that it is the off season in August. No wonder they were giving away tickets, it is the off season because it is also the rainy season and with good reason, it rains a lot. Except for one morning when it didn't and we got sunburnt instead of wet.
But we did have a very pleasent time mooching about our island resort, especially as we were the only people there for the first 24 hours; very rock n roll. The illusion was shattered by the arrival of more guests on the Saturday, admittedly only 6 of them, but still they were invading our space so we took off on a scooter humming a mandatory Machine Gun Felatio tune as we went.
Lanta is probably only slightly more busy in the not so rainy season, it is pretty much unspoilt with a strip of resorts on the West Coast beach. Do go to the Corner Cafe if you are ver there, their curries bring tears to your eyes both at the table and later in the toilet. Other than that it is jungle, rubber trees, cashew nuts and little fishing villages.
Singapore on the other hand is not and is currently reinventing itself as an even squeakyer cleanier place with the pending IMF forum here in September. As a result the government is ripping up all the roads that people are likely to travel on in the week they are going to be here. They are also painting the gutters and planting new plants. Bit weird really, but quite impressive to walk down to the train in the morning and see they have not only ripped up 5 lanes of Orchard Road but replaced and marked it again in one night. Couldn't imagine the Sydney Department of Main Roads pulling that off, but then they don't have access to the Bangladesh labour market.
In further preperaion for the IMF thingy that the government has been practicing handling riots and protests, even invited the media along to watch, which was a little surreal. However the Riot Police are unlikely to be doing much except drinking tea as protesting is surprisingly illegal here. But to show they are open to free speech they have made an allowance for protestors to book a time for discussions with IMFers if they so wish in a small area near the convention centre. I would imagine it would also involve people loitering in the background with guns.
Finally I was excited to see a huge tabloid headline describing the shame of the ugly behaviour during the recent National Day fireworks, maybe something crazy had happened here. But as I read on I was disappointed the ugly behaviour was actually just people jaywalking and illegally parking on one of the bridges to watch the display. I think the journo responsible for the story should wander the Rocks in Sydney after the midnight fireworks on New Years Eve to get a better definition of ugly behaviour at fireworks.