THE WEEK AHEAD
MONDAY
Please wear yellow as a sign of respect for the late
King Bhumibol Adulyadej during today’s holiday.
Vietjet will begin daily flights today between
Bangkok and Da Nang.
Fares on the swell lowfloor, gas-powered buses go up by 2 baht today, and max out between 13 and
25 baht per ride.
It’s the last day to register for the Democrat Party in order to vote in the Nov 1-5 leadership selection.
Spain play England in tonight’s Uefa Nations League football — actually tomorrow morning, 1.45am. On Tuesday night slash Wednesday morning, France host Germany.
TUESDAY
The next trial begins today for Wiraphon Sukphon, previously the monk known as Luang Pu Nenkham, who is already in prison for 114 years for fraud and money laundering. He is most infamously charged with rape of an underage girl. If DTAC fails to submit documents today to bid for bandwidth at Saturday’s auction by the always-interesting National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), the NBTC will file an appeal at the Supreme Administrative Court against DTAC’s G2 operations. Not that the NBTC would blackmail, this is something completely different.
The Naga (say “nahk”) fireball festival is tonight, when the monsters emerge from the Mekong River and spit reddish-pink fireballs to officially end Buddhist Lent, especially in the Nong Khai-Vientiane region.
WEDNESDAY
The various vegetarian festivals across the South — Hat Yai, Phang Nga, Trang, Krabi, Phuket and more — all end today, so last chance for a while to dig into some huge veggie buffets.
Book Expo Thailand for Young People opens today and runs through Oct
28 at Queen Sirikit National Convention Center.
The 3 million baht Singha Pattaya Open tournament for world tour points winds up the All Thailand Golf Tour season, today through Sunday at Burapha Golf and Resort at Sri Racha.
The Man Booker literature prize winner will be announced this morning (Thailand time).
If you’ve got ‘em, smoke ‘em in Canada, so long as they’re marijuana and not tobacco or vape.
The UN will richly celebrate International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.
THURSDAY
It’s the first anniversary of the Payment System Act, and so far (at deadline for this column, anyhow) there have only been three total failures of the system. All Asean ministers of defence including Watchman will meet and then party in Singapore today, tomorrow and Saturday. Must be nice.
The last comfortable train to Brexit leaves today from Brussels and it remains to be seen whether Prime Minister Theresa May will ride.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in will have an audience with Pope Francis today at the Vatican, and try to convince Il Papa to visit atheistic North Korea.
FRIDAY
The first Bangkok Art Biennale, a contemporary art festival, begins today and runs through early February at four diverse venues. There’s a calendar and lots of details at (www.bkkartbiennale.com). The Asian Football Confederation’s biennial
U-19 Championship has begun in Indonesia. Thailand, in Group B with defenders Japan,
Iraq and North Korea, face Iraq this afternoon and Japan next Monday evening. Thailand have won the tournament twice — but not since 1969.
The Premier League is cancelled this weekend for Nations League and friendlies. Croatia play English in the Uefa Nations League tonight/tomorrow morning at 1.45.
SATURDAY
The NBTC has 900MHz bandwidth available at auction today. Afghanistan is to vote for a new parliament today, because Afghanistan is much more peaceful and organised and politically aware than any country beginning with “T”.
A mass rally in Taipei will demand independence for Taiwan, which will not raise smiles in Beijing.
The Premier League weekend begins at 6.30pm with a barn-burner: Chelsea vs Man United. At 9pm, Man City host Burnley, while the 11.30pm wrap-up game is Huddersfield vs Liverpool. The Sunday match is Everton vs Palace at 10pm.