Japanese Restaurants in Chiangmai Map

Hares: Hollow Leg and Injection Infection

Where is the hash: See Hash directions

Hash directions: From Canal / Samoeng Road intersection drive south along Canal Road for 3.4 km. Turn right and follow the HHHH or HHH signs from there for 4.6 km.

For those of you, who have a GPS, the coordinates for the “A” Bucket are not known.

Notes:

• The run will be @ 17:00 and the bus will leave the Number 1 Bar, Bistro & Cafe @ 16:00.
• Want or need more info? Use the form in the sidebar to contact us or make yourself familiar with the location by looking at the map below, if there is one. You can click on the pin and the location will be shown. Zoom in or out to get your bearings.

Budget airlines do not do baggage transfer service for you even when it's the same airplane you'll be catching"

I spent my first two days of this trip arriving at ChiangMai Airport, drove straight to Chiang Rai (3 hours), checked out some tea estate, went for a hair-do, then shopping.
All these were done one after another and it was alright towards the end of the night.

BUT, having wasted one whole good day just to get from one place to another is just, I can't explain..exhausting?
Today's Agenda was:

Check in-wait-fly-arrive-collect luggage-check in again-wait-fly-arrive-collect luggage-wait for taxi-someone cut queue mom told her off-40 mins to hotel-hotel gave away room at 6pm even when we told them our flight was at 11pm-went hunting for hotel at midnight-checked in-go to room to freshen up-go out nearby for food-came back showered-watched tv til I fall asleep.

Perhaps I am just bored from waiting. Both me and mom were in grouchy moods. -.-"
My throat hurts :( Where's my baby?

Oh well, looks like mom's laptop's bluetooth isn't working. Would like to put atleast ONE picture of the rabbits I saw at ChiangMai Night Bazaar.

Greetings from ShenZhen.

Happy Earth Hour everyone~ Do your bit of contribution for that hour. You're closer to nature than you think. I will continue about my excitement over Earth Hour next, k? Before that happens, share with me your opinion on what are the objectives of Earth Hour?

pAmornpun Nimanun, the governor of a href=”http://1stopthailand.com/chiangmai”Chiang Mai/a, has announced a new policy that calls on each provincial village to plant 3,000 trees, in an effort to create green areas totalling 60,000 rai. /p

pDuring a meeting this week with officials from the province’s environment and animal department, the governor noted that water supply was a concern currently. He asked all agencies cooperate to ensure the availability and quality water from all sources. /p

pIn addition to provincial departments, the governor also asked Royal Projects officials for information and guidance on water sources and management. He has asked authorities throughout the province to help prevent the illegal destruction of natural resources, including streams and trees. /p

pIt was in this framework that he introduced the plan to increase the province’s green areas, and proposed that each village plant 3,000 new trees. The governor added that as there are more than 2,000 villages in Chiang Mai province, if 100 trees were planted per rai, 60,000 rai of green space would result./p

Link to the original site

Since Pattaya attracts a great deal of tourists and travelers of all kinds every year, there are numerous hotels in the area. Many people consider Pattaya to be a small gem in the Siam Bay, or in the Thai crown as it is said, due to the serenity and beauty of the landscape. However, this natural beauty is not the only attraction that Pattaya has to offer; in fact most of its visitors are mainly coming to participate and experience in person the famous Pattaya nightlife. Pattaya is an Asian city, but as many westerners live and work there, the standards of services provided are similar to the Western Europeans and Americans.

If you are considering visiting the place but you think that a Pattaya hotel reservation is going to be a daunting task then you should definitely check online, as there are numerous directories and websites that offer you detailed information on the hotels, their services and amenities, as well as their location. There are many places offering accommodation around the city and it’s quite easy to locate a hotel and make a reservation online, provided that you have a credit card or even PayPal account in some cases. Pattaya hotel reservations are easily made, no matter where you choose to stay, in a five star hotel resort or in a more budget solution.

There is actually no dearth of hotels in the city, both in the heart of Pattaya or at the beaches and suburbs. Most of them offer packages to travelers and make sure that everything, from the reservation to the arrival and stay are easy and pleasant.

Situated in the eastern coast of Thailand Gulf, Pattaya resorts are heralded as among the topnotch tourist destinations there is in Asia these days. The city ranks in the same level as that of Bangkok, the country’s capital. With the diversity of beach resorts nestled in Thailand, this is yet so far the nearest to the capital city so the guests make it a point to drop by and feel the wonders that it keeps within its midst.

Pattaya resorts boast of a complete package. You can splurge in various activities such as sightseeing, water sporting, swimming, dining, and shopping. The hotels and dining amenities and facilities are so great that many of the guests are inspired to engage in them. Indeed, this destination has become one of the favorites of the travelers. Not only that. Pattaya does not only stand as a great vacation spot but also as a venue for conventions, parties, seminars, conference, and other special personal and business events.

Another reason for travelers to stop by Pattaya is due to the festivals that come around. They are the Pattaya Festival and Wan Lai Festival, to name a few. Active people have a good cause to feel exuberant given the fact that there are numerous activities to keep them occupied. Among of which are shooting, carting, bungee jumping, horseback riding, windsurfing, jet skiing, kite surfing, scuba diving, sailing, snorkeling, water skiing, and many others.

Hotels, apartments, and guesthouses are adamant in the Pattaya resorts. The service of each is truly commendable. Budget rentals are available to suit the needs of those who want to bag the great savings. Nevertheless, a holiday vacation in Pattaya is surely going to be significant.

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MS CHEN Meiwen was a manager with an IT company in Singapore. Last December, she was told that her company was restructuring and she was one of those to be let go.
Click to see larger image
PICTURE:LIANHE ZAOBAO

Recounting that moment to Lianhe Zaobao, Ms Chen, 31, said she was quite calm at the time.

'I think it was because my boss had mentally prepared me for the possibility. The communication process was very good, so the news did not come as a shock.'

After she lost her job, Ms Chen did not wallow in self-pity. After gathering up her stuff from the office, she packed her bags and decided to go on a long vacation.

'I've always wanted to travel, but never found the time. After being let go, I felt this was the best time to do it.

'So I spent two weeks in Thailand. Besides signing up for a cooking course, I also went up to Chiangmai, to distance myself from all my woes.'

Ms Chen also visited Taiwan with her 78-year-old grandmother. 'Granny had asked me to take her on a vacation before, and I had the time to grant her wish,' she said.

She also felt that it was a good time for her to find herself all over again. Besides travelling, she also spent time reading and started dancing again, signing up for jazz dance lessons.

'When the financial crisis finally reached my doorstep, I felt a bit down initially. But I felt my loss could be turned into some form of gain.'

She said she had put her heart and soul into her work. But after losing her job, she realised that no matter how hard she worked, big businesses always put their own survival as priority.

She finally understood that she had to love herself more and start spending more time with her family and friends.

She said: 'Now I'm going to smell the roses more, to take note of things around me, and to go to places I didn't have the time to visit.'

Ms Chen was lucky enough to find a new job recently. But she set herself some rules, like stopping work at 7pm, to take part in activities like dancing and chilling out with friends as much as possible. She is even planning to take part in a marathon this year.

'My attitude towards work and life now is totally different,' she said. 'As employees, of course we have the responsibility to do our jobs well. But it's important to love yourself and to be happy, too.'
from: newpaper.asia1.com.sg

from : nationmultimedia.com

Hopes are running high that the giant pandas, Chuang Chuang and Linhui, at the Chiang Mai zoo may soon have a baby or two.

"There's a possibility that Linhui might have ovulated twice. She may give births to twins," Zoological Park Organisation director-general Sophon Damnui said Monday.

According to him, two artificial inseminations have just been conducted for the panda couple.

"Every step in the process went on smoothly because we have extensively monitored the pandas' behaviours for a long period of time," Sophon said.

The Nation

Airport names show in bold indicate the airport has scheduled service on commercial airlines.

Location	ICAO	IATA	Airport Name
Bangkok	VTBD	DMK	Don Mueang International Airport (Old Bangkok Int'l) [1] [2]
Bangkok (Bang Phli, Samut Prakan)	VTBS	BKK	Suvarnabhumi Airport (New Bangkok Int'l) [3] [4] [5]
Buriram	VTUO	BFV	Buriram Airport [6]
Chanthaburi	VTBC		Chanthaburi Airstrip (Royal Thai Navy) [7]
Chiang Mai	VTCC	CNX	Chiang Mai International Airport [8] [9] [10]
Chiang Mai	VTCM		Ban Thi Airport (Lanna Airfield) [11]
Chiang Mai	VTCY		Nok Airfield [12]
Chiang Rai	VTCT	CEI	Chiang Rai International Airport [13]
Chiang Rai	VTCR		Chiang Rai Airport [14]
Chonburi	VTBS	QHI	Sattahip Airport
Chonburi	VTBT		Bang Phra Airport
Chumphon	VTSE	CJM	Chumphon Airport [15]
Hat Yai / Songkhla	VTSS	HDY	Hat Yai International Airport [16] [17]
Hua Hin / Prachuap Khiri Khan	VTPH	HHQ	Hua Hin Airport [18]
Kamphaeng Saen	VTBK	KDT	Kamphaeng Saen Airport [19]
Ko Samui	VTSM	USM	Samui Airport [20] [21]
Khon Kaen	VTUK	KKC	Khon Kaen Airport [22]
Krabi	VTSG	KBV	Krabi Airport [23]
Lampang	VTCL	LPT	Lampang Airport
Lamphun	VTCO		Lamphun Airport [24]
Loei	VTUL	LOE	Loei Airport [25]
Lom Sak / Phetchabun	VTPL	PHY	Phetchabun Airport [26]
Lopburi	VTBL	KKM	Khok Kathiam Air Force Base [27]
Mae Hong Son	VTCH	HGN	Mae Hong Son Airport [28]
Mae Sariang	VTCS		Mae Sariang Airport [29]
Mae Sot	VTPM	MAQ	Mae Sot Airport [30]
Nakhon Phanom	VTUW	KOP	Nakhon Phanom Airport [31]
Nakhon Ratchasima (Khorat)	VTUQ	NAK	Nakhon Ratchasima Airport [32]
Nakhon Ratchasima (Khorat)	VTUN		Khorat Air Force Base [33]
Nakhon Sawan	VTPI	TKH	Takhli Air Force Base
Nakhon Si Thammarat	VTSF	NST	Nakhon Si Thammarat Airport [34]
Nakhon Si Thammarat	VTSN	NST	Cha Ian Airport
Nan	VTCN	NNT	Nan Airport [35]
Narathiwat	VTSC	NAW	Narathiwat Airport [36]
Pai, Mae Hong Son	VTCI		Pai Airport
Patong Beach, Phuket		PBS	Patong Beach Airport
Pattani	VTSK	PAN	Pattani Airport [37]
Phetchabun	VTPB	PHY	Phetchabun Airport
Phi Phi Island		PHZ	Phi Phi Island Airport
Phitsanulok	VTPP	PHS	Phitsanulok Airport [38]
Phrae	VTCP	PRH	Phrae Airport [39]
Phuket	VTSP	HKT	Phuket International Airport [40] [41]
Phumipol (Bhumipol) Dam, Tak	VTPY		Phumipol Dam Airport (Bhumipol Dam Airport) [42]
Photharam	VTPR		Photharam Airport (Photharam Ratchaburi Airport) [43]
Prachuap Khiri Khan	VTBP		Prachuap Khiri Khan Military Airport
Ranong	VTSR	UNN	Ranong Airport [44]
Rayong / Pattaya	VTBU	UTP	U-Tapao International Airport (Utapao/U-Taphao) [45] [46]
Roi Et (Roiet)	VTUV	ROI	Roi Et Airport (Roiet Airport) [47]
Roi Et (Roiet)	VTUR		Rob Muang Airport [48]
Sakon Nakhon	VTUI	SNO	Sakon Nakhon Airport [49]
Songkhla	VTSH	SGZ	Songkhla Airport
Sukhothai	VTPO	THS	Sukhothai Airport [50]
Surat Thani	VTSB	URT	Surat Thani Airport [51]
Surin	VTUJ	PXR	Surin Airport [52]
Tak	VTPT	TKT	Tak Airport [53]
Trang	VTST	TST	Trang Airport [54]
Trat	VTBO	TDX	Trat Airport [55]
Ubon Ratchathani	VTUU	UBP	Ubon Ratchathani Airport [56]
Udon Thani	VTUD	UTH	Udon Thani International Airport
Uttaradit	VTPU	UTR	Uttaradit Airport [57]
Watthana Nakhon, Sa Kaeo	VTBW		Watthana Nakhon Airport [58]

chiang mai airport
Chiang Mai is a major gateway to Northern Thailand that is becoming an increasingly popular tourist destination and its international airport welcomes over 2 million visitors per year, receiving 130 flights a week from Bangkok as well as Singapore, China, Taiwan, Myanmar and Laos. The airport has a full range of facilities to offer to its visitors.

Located less than 10 minutes by taxi from the city center, Chiang Mai International Airport consists of a domestic and international terminals in a single building.

There are travel agent offices at the airport and customer service desks for Thai Airways, Singapore Airlines, Bangkok Airways, AirAsia, Nok Air, One-Two-Go and a number of other airlines. There are several exchange bureaus and ATMs in the terminal as well.

Chiang Mai Airport has several food outlets, including two coffee shops, a deli and a fast food outlet. There are also a number of shops selling silk, handicrafts, fresh produce and souvenirs.

Within the departure lounge there are additional food and merchandise shops.

coyote bars chiang mai

chiang mai girls Bar girls and go go bars in Chiang Mai
Bar girls: where to find bar girl in chiang Mai
Most of the Chiang Mai bar scene is confined to the Western end of Loi Kroh road, There is also a small cluster of bars at rear of the Night Market in the Peak Entertainment area near the Foxy Lady Go Go. It’s small compared to other tourist centres but offers a decent choice.

Like every tourist place in Thailand Chiang Mai has its bar girls scene, catering to foreigners and visiting Thais. It’s a prominent attraction in the city, with some areas given over to bars full of girls for hire. Compared to Bangkok, Pattaya or Patong it’s far more casual, less raunchy or intense and generally cheaper.

chiangmai-bar-girls

The most obvious place to head is Loi Kroh road at the moat junction, where you’ll have trouble walking down the street without being distracted by ‘helloooo, you’re welcome’. If you cross over to the inside (Old Town) you’ll find another cluster as you walk towards Thapae Gate, these are bit more tame. One of the go go bars, Spotlight, is on the outside of the moat, near Thapae gate.

The other area, in the Peak Complex (Northern end of the Night Market street, left side), is a bit neglected and many are gay, but the best go go bar in town, certainly with the sexiest girls, is Foxy Lady. You can find it behind the D2 hotel or by exiting the rear of the Vieng Ping Night Bazaar arcade. It has by far the sexiest girls, and a decent atmosphere, no drinks rip offs either.

You can also try your luck with karaoke bars. This appeals mostly to Asian men who hire girls to sing with them, usually in private rooms. The girls are generally very young, very pretty, speak very little English and don’t often agree to ‘go with customers’. Some do but the bar fine (on top of the 200 baht hourly ‘singing fee’) is 500 baht or more. There are some of these on the inside of the moat near Loi Kroh, but the biggest selection is found at the bottom end of Chang Klan road (south of the Night Bazaar) and down Chiang Mai Land avenue. It’s a fun experience for the shy.

When you enter a bar you can site alone until you’ve spotted a girl you like (they’ll make eye contact), and if you don’t make any moves one will come up and sit with you. There’s no pressure (like Bangkok’s Nana Plaza), the girl will ask for a drink - known as a ‘lady drink’ which is watered down and a set price (about 120 baht - some of it goes to the girls). Buy them a beer if you want to get them drunk. They’ll play pool with you, make light conversation in their limited English and wait for you to ask them to go home with them. It’s that simple.

Go go bars: are slightly different in that girls also dance on a stage in bikinis and costumes and are far more sexy. When not dancing they come and sit with you, or you can ‘order’ them from off the stage. These places are more discreet, not open to the street like most others and have a darker atmosphere. Some have private rooms upstairs. You can sit and watch, or blend into a corner.

How much
The basic cost of ‘hiring’ a girl is about 1500 baht. It can get cheaper for short time sessions or freelancing street girls but as a tourist you’ll probably not want to risk an unsatisfactory experience. Obviously you get cheap and nasty girls and you get expensive and sexy girls, and the less they are receiving the less likely they are to give you a really good time. They’re selling their souls so don’t expect to bargain hard and still get a smile on her face.

The first thing you have to take care of is the ‘bar fine’ - a common fee for all bar girls in Chiang Mai and Thailand. This is paid to the bar for taking the girls away, it’s how they earn the money to pay off officials, and it ranges from 200 to 500 depending on the place. In Chiang Mai bar girl fines are usually about 300 unless you’re in a go go bar.

Then you have to negotiate with the girls. This is done in the bar before you pay the bar fine, and usually starts with ‘you go with me?’, ‘You pay bar fine, how much you pay for me’. Girls will go back to a hotel with you for as little as a 1000 baht if its ‘slow’ (ie lots more girls than tourists in the bar), or you’re not too old and ugly. They will also offer you ‘short time’ (a few hours) or long time (all night) depending on what you’re willing to pay. The more sexy and popular the girl is the more she’ll ask for, so it’s worth trying your luck with several girls to get an idea first. Of course this involves buying quite a few ‘lady drinks’, so you might not save anything, and it depends on how new you are, as bar girls are good at sensing when you’re fresh off the plane.

Large Massage Building in Chiangmai, situated next to the Park Hotel on the Changklan road, Soapy or Thai Trad

Lila Thai Massage Shop has been established by the Director of Chiang Mai Women’s Prison from 2001-2008, Naowarat Thanasrisutharat, to support the released inmates to earn a legal living. Mrs. Naowarat strongly believes that the participation of the community can contribute to the successful reintegration of the prisoners. Over 40 years of dealing with people who made a wrong move in their lives, she realized that the endless circle of correction works is the public’s un-acceptance of the former inmates and the inmates’ difficulty in adapting themselves into the community. We can not deny the fact that some types of employment still refuse to admit them, even though they are well trained and skillful. This is reason why they back into the circle of crime. Then, we hope that Lila Thai Massage shop is one of the efforts to eliminate such problem.
Due to the cooperating of Chiang Mai Women’s Prison and Institute of Skill Development, our masseuses gained skill from 180 hours massage training course during their imprisonment and have been through satisfactory assessment by Chiang Mai Public Health. Thus, we certainly trust that you will receive fully trained professional massage services and have a more positive attitude toward the former inmates. Furthermore, you will have a chance to support them in starting new lives and make them feel proud of earning a legal living.

from: http://uk.reuters.com/home

HUA HIN, Thailand (Reuters) - Leaders of Southeast Asian nations want to see a $120 billion currency swap pact put in place in April, a month earlier than their finance ministers had agreed, a top ASEAN official said on Sunday.

"I have detected some sense of impatience among the leaders at the summit. Why is it taking so long?" Surin Pitsuwan, secretary-general of the Association of South East Asian Nations, told Reuters in an interview.

Asian finance officials agreed last weekend in Thailand to enlarge a foreign currency pool to $120 billion from $80 billion proposed last year, to help defend their currencies from the fallout of the global economic crisis.

The 10 ASEAN nations would participate in the fund, which was to be operational by May along with China, South Korea and Japan.

Surin said leaders of the 10 Southeast Asian nations would prefer to see remaining issues resolved and the pact to be signed at an April summit between ASEAN and leaders from China, South Korea and Japan in Thailand.

But Surin said ASEAN finance ministers and their counterparts from South Korea, China and Japan would need to meet earlier and sort out their difference before May.

The 10 members of ASEAN plus Japan, China and South Korea -- known as ASEAN+3 -- pledged last year to pool bilateral currency swap arrangements under the so-called Chiang Mai Initiative (CMI) within a multilateral fund that could be tapped in emergencies.

Asian currencies have been battered in recent months, and analysts said that made the swaps pact all the more urgent

By The Nation on Sunday
Published on March 1, 2009



The fine dust in northern provinces is eroding air quality, posing a threat to respiratory health and prompting the authorities to beef up measures to prevent forest and outdoor fires.

The Natural Resource and Environment minister is scheduled to discuss outdoor-fire prevention and air pollution with eight northern provincial governors at Chiang Mai City Hall tomorrow.

The Pollution Control Department's air-quality stations reported that dust particles of 10 microns in Chiang Mai, Lampang and other northern provinces yesterday at 9am were above 120 micrograms per square metre (mpsm) and the Air Quality Index (AQI) score was higher than the safety standard of 100.

Central Chiang Mai's air-quality station at Yupparaj School measured 10-micron dust at 149.6 mpsm and an AQI score of 113, while Lampang reported 272.5mpsm and an AQI score of 166. Chiang Rai had 181mpsm, Nan 141.3mpsm, and Phayao 145.6mpsm.

A 15-per-cent increase of respiratory patients was reported at Lampang Central Hospital in the past week, hospital director Songwuth Sabthavisin said.

Chiang Mai environment officer Phuchong Insompan said the hotline 05 34... on outdoor fires had received 60 calls since January 1, with roadside forest fires the most frequently reported, especially in Mae On, Chiang Dao and Chaiprakan districts. In March fire-prevention officials will be dispatched to Hot district, where farmers are expected to burn some 10,000 rai of woodland to plant maize.

from: Thai Nation

By JAMES HOOKWAY

HUA HIN, Thailand -- Leaders of Southeast Asia's struggling economies met on Sunday to urge major trading partners, such as the U.S. and the European Union, to continue opening up trade, even as many countries in the region grapple with protectionist legacies amid the global economic slowdown.

The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations signed a free-trade agreement with Australia and New Zealand on Friday during its annual summit to add some meat to its pitch, which it intends to take to the Group of 20 nations' meeting in London in April. The pact with Australia and New Zealand, to take effect in December, is projected to expand trade among the 12 countries by $48 billion by 2020. But Asean leaders say they are eager for more.

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who hosted the summit, on Saturday urged Asean to take the lead in resisting protectionist policies. "If we start going down the route of protectionism, everybody will go down. It doesn't help anybody at the end," he said.

Several Asean members -- notably Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore -- are heavily dependent on exports. Since the onset of the global financial crisis, they have seen their economies contract or sharply slow as the economic situation in the U.S. and other major nations deteriorates.

Indonesian Trade Minister Mari Pangestu said in an interview on the sidelines of the summit that the world's biggest trading powers need to re-engage in the stalled Doha round of free-trade talks at the World Trade Organization "as soon as possible" to help offset a deeper global downturn. Ms. Pangestu noted that none of Asean's member nations had adopted tougher trade barriers in response to the onset of the global crisis last fall.

But some countries in Asean are turning to other, nontariff measures to aid their local businesses, sometimes at the expense of foreign competitors. Malaysia, for example, offers companies based there financial incentives to lay off foreign workers instead of Malaysians.

Write to James Hookway at james.hookway@awsj.com

Border disputes, human trafficking and illegal logging will pose great challenges to ASEAN member states as they gear up to live under one security community umbrella by 2015.

As member states clinched their commitment under the ASEAN Charter and adopted the blueprint for security community during the 14th ASEAN Summit in Thailand last weekend, relations among members in the 41-year-old bloc have remained testy, with the thorny issue of border security threatening to jeopardize the idea of a security pillar.

Analysts have warned the vague concept of a security community amid the lack of commonality in standards of maintaining border security and settling disputes among member states might render the charter a toothless document.

Philip S. Robertson Jr., adviser to the Bangkok-based Southeast Asia Regional Cooperation in Human Development (SEARCH) human development group, said the governments were left with a raft of homework to improve their security gaps before they could really implement the idea of one community. However, he highlighted the governments' "lack of political will" as a major obstacle to any good ideas they had given birth to.

"They might tell the public about how much or how well they have progressed at the negotiation tables, but at the end there's not much to expect. Disputes will prolong and it's just an on-and-off matter," Robertson said.

Member states have been faced with many disputes over their border security and boundaries, which have sparked military tensions and some ominous saber rattling. Standoffs have spilled over to the political stage and triggered exchanges of arguments among politicians, such as between Indonesia and Malaysia. Both countries have been locked in a dispute over the oil-rich Ambalat maritime area in the Sulawesi Sea, off the northern coast of Kalimantan, since the 1980s.

Although the idea of using the ASEAN forum to settle disputes might strengthen the region's leverage on the global stage, a foreign minister in the region said member states might be underwhelmed with the idea.

"Border disputes are a very sensitive matter," said the minister, who refused to be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue.

"If solved in a regional forum and later *the body* has to rule in favor of a certain country, there could be tensions, not only between the two *conflicting* countries, but also *among members* in the whole region."

Despite the many disagreements over how ASEAN should handle border disputes or disputes triggered by a lack of security, ASEAN governments have committed to cooperating with each other in the bloc, home to more than half a billion people.

There is no shortage of problems in the region. Member countries often quarrel over the issues of illegal fishing, illegal logging, human trafficking, migrant workers, haze, pollution control and border disputes.

Antara reported that Indonesia suffered US$3 billion a year in losses from illegal fishing in its vast waters, amid a lack of human resources to control its maritime borders. Indonesia, Cambodia, Myanmar and Thailand have long been countries of origin for human trafficking victims destined for Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, South Korea and a number of European countries.

On haze and pollution, ASEAN members have yet to reach agreement on a control mechanism. Indonesian lawmakers rejected in 2008 a bill that would have allowed the government to ratify the ASEAN treaty on trans-boundary haze control. They argued ASEAN members would first have to agree on measures to curb illegal logging from Indonesia to a number of ASEAN countries before they could proceed on the haze control issue. Haze from Indonesian forest fires has become the center of the issue as it disrupts flights and creates breathing problems for residents of neighboring Malaysia and Singapore.

ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan said all members should improve the way they sorted through their disputes and engaged themselves more on the regional stage for a better new community.

"If you want to be taken seriously as a regional organization, members have to sort through their problems in a manner that is acceptable to the international community. Whether conducted in informal or formal talks, *problems* should be addressed among them. We are now under a new chapter of ASEAN and members should not jeopardize it," Surin said in Cha-am, Thailand.

from: http://www.thejakartapost.com/

Hua Hin (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has said that there is no panacea that could be used to resolve instantly the impact of the current global financial crisis which has hit almost all parts of the world, including countries in South East Asia.

"With regard to regional cooperation to minimize the impact of the economic crisis, there is indeed no panacea or solution that could instantly resolve the problem. We all are aware of this. All advanced countries are affected. Their markets become gloomy. Our exports are therefore disrupted and a number of problems are now facing all nations, including ASEAN," the president told reporters after attending the 14th ASEAN summit in Hua Hin, Thailand, on Sunday.

The president said that all countries, including Indonesia, had done the best they could. Indonesia has done its best to contribute efforts to minimizing the impact of the financial crisis, both at regional level in ASEAN and at multilateral level in the G-20 forum.

"All countries wanted to do their best so that the global economic crisis would not worsen, instead the recession would eventually stop so that the world economy would revive," President Yudhoyono said.

However, all of the efforts are not without limitations so that regional and multilateral cooperations are being made, the president said.

In order to help cope with the financial crisis, Indonesia, he said, has proposed three levels of cooperation schemes in the G-20 forum in the United States last year.

"The three levels of cooperation schemes are cooperation in the multilateral level, cooperation in the regional level and cooperation in the national level," he said.

He said that at the regional level, Indonesia worked together with ASEAN to establish the Chiang Mai Initiative. "We hope the Chiang Mai initiative would be implemented soon."

ASEAN also agreed to increase intra-economic cooperation in the trade and investment fields and agreed not to adopt protectionism.

"The ASEAN nations are advised not to close themselves (against goods of other ASEAN members) which otherwise would worsen our respective economies," Yudhoyono said.

Indonesia in its capacity as chairman of the Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT GT) and the Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippine East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP EAGA), has specifically proposed that sub-regional cooperations should provide stimuli packages for infrastructure development, he said.(*)