Tight minge

Yes,. Its enveloped into the landing card you can do online. https://eservices.ica.gov.sg/sgarrivalcard/

Not quite Shantaram but a decent enough yarn.

Read Shantaram, then the Mountain Shadow by Gregory David Roberts A long slog for both, but all in all decent reads and excellent depictions of India.

Surely the country is pretty fucked if it had a president that used to be a 1970’s magician.

The Quran has been translated into many languages and also has many dual language versions so anyone can read it and everyone is encouraged to read it, exactly like the bible and every other religious texts. A dual version is preferred by most as, yes the original text is sacred. Arabic is also taught in many schools in countries that are Muslim or majority Muslim so that people can read the Quran in its original language. it’s true the original language of the Quran is a challenge, like any historic book or document, and like the bible and other religious documents there are historic and symbolic copies that are ornamental only. But to suggest that Muslims in the whole don’t read the Quran is incorrect. To suggest that they are led to read Arabic without knowing what it means is also not completely true either. Yes there are swathes of text people won’t understand, but they are taught. Whether they remember or not is a different story. Its not really much different than the bible in the basis that most homes of the persuasion will have copies. That not everyone will read those copies, but many will and everyone will cherry pick what they want from them. As for the burning, for Muslims it’s sacred and there is a process to follow when disposing of old copies that should be followed and done by a ‘professional’. So burning a copy will always get a reaction. Burning books or anything else that sets out cause offence or hurt or denial is a stupid thing to do, but to burn the item itself is not illegal, but how, where and why could be.

It’s just starting into the rain season then, but all in all shouldn’t be a big deal. Showers should be very heavy and short. Normal temperature and not particularly overcast.

A world cup in Indonesia would be phenomenal, but absolutely impossible. It's not shitty hotels and public transport, but a complete lack of them. The investment needed to make it possible would be wholly impractical and complete waste of money.

No big surprise With Israel qualifying. It was always going to become seriously problematic. I don’t think it really has any significant impact on future hosting rites as these would have been unrealistic anyway. Indonesia have zero ability to host a world cup and even a joint regional bid would be most practical with either or both of Malaysia and Indonesia and it would be near impossible for Malaydia to make the guarantees Indonesia tried to do. All in all its the right decision as an Israeli team/supporters in Indonesia would have been a magnet for the nutters. I wouldn’t be surprised that after extensive discussions to make this work, it's been mutually agreed between Indonesia and FIFA and any sanctions will not have a major impact. The current government is constantly undermined by some of the right leaning religious groups. Any team sanction will be a shame as the current Indonesian team is young and pretty good (by regional terms) and getting better under Shin Tae-Yong (ex South Korea Manager).

That's the sorry state of the Lambretta name, technically they are Innocenti. They are part of the holding company and licenced out the name and of course gain profit from the sales. The whole thing is a mess, and for some like yourself, who is obsessed with the original, you’ll spit at these (and quite rightly). As I see the design is in Austria and the build is with SYM, so either manufactured in Taiwan or China. They are allegedly looking at some production in Italy, which would be purely to keep this tenious link to the originals. The licencing of the Lambretta name has been quite the embarrassing story.

My 6 year daughters accent is pretty neutral, but I am constantly correcting the Americanisms from school. I get frustrated with some of the locals exaggarating American accents here, it's not natural, especially compared to Singlish. When I was 3 I lived in Canada and on returning home had a heavy North American accent, but it only took a few months for that to go away. Now been incerseas for 20 years and still got my Scottish accent, maybe a little slower in the way I speak now, which is a necessity to be understood.

https://lambrettascooters.com/v-special-series/ https://lambrettascooters.com/g350/ I’m based in South East Asia. Motorbike/Scooter Central.

I didn’t know that. It’s pretty much impossible to get an old Lambretta out here, but plenty of old Vespas. I hadn’t given Lambrettas a second thought for long enough, but recently a few of the Innocenti Lambrettas started popping up and the G and the V look quite nice. The X looks crap. There is a clear difference in the quality of the Italian and Vietnamese built Vespas. Out here is flooded with Japanese bikes which are decent enough machines but ugly as shit.

What would your opinion be of the new Lambretta? There are a few knocking about here and look okay, but no idea the quality of them.

Have a Vespa LXV150 currently in storage in Indonesia, but due to flooding is ruined. Was one of the Vietnam builds and was a great bike but always had a few issues with the engine. Too expensive to have a bike here just now but will invest in, probably a GTS 300 if/when I head back to Indonesia. Owned a Kawasaki in The Philippines and maybe not the nicest, but was a decent bike. Drove a SYM scooter when I lived in Vietnam, it done a job. Considering the year round weather out this way, driving bikes here is wonderful. Have driven one of the Indian Royal Enfield in India and it’s okay.

Legendary. Many years ago the company I worked for kitted out a truck with samples, marketing literature and TV and video. They would take it round the customers and tradeshows to drum up interest. It was a complete failure, until one day, our Sales Guy in Scotland got it to take to a customer and within an hour or so had queues of people waiting to get in. MD turns up and is completely delighted to see the activity until he entered the truck to see that the sales guy was showing his porn video collection. The actions of sales guys and executives like this can be nothing short of legendary.

Please tell me you wrote that with a sense of irony

As long as the Red Horse and Emperador flows!

I shouldn’t bother responding but, Indonesia have clearly stated they do not want to be party to any of the shit between China and US and have been the only country to really take a military stand against China. Vietnam have been much closer to the US for years. Chinas actions in the region have been going on for a long time now and pre-date any of the more recent trade war. It’s not as simple nor recent as you wish to paint it. And again, the US are a huge problem, but you should be a little more concerned about China. Look at them like the arse cheeks of the Old firm. They are both detestable. Anyway. Back to the Russia/Ukraine thingy or much more importantly figuring out what constitutes a tank!

Like nearly every country in the region they are being sucked into a choice they don't want to make. It's a tightrope for nearly all the countries here. There either getting beaten with the stick or force fed a carrot.

Honestly, your seriously either looking for a reaction or have little knowledge of the situation in the South China Sea. Chinas actions, which have been governed as illegal based on UNCLOS that they were a signatory of are destabilising a region. Americas involvement is far from helpful, but is prinicpally legal. Right now we have China and the US really destabilising the region and the situation between China and the US should be addressed as is and not based because something happened in the past. I do not particularly like the US, but if you cannot see the risks that China brings you have your eyes shut. The politics in the region just now go far beyond just the claims on the South China Sea. It would be better not to have The US pissing about here, but the reality is China is a growing power and I am not sure you would really want that to continue unchecked. Better the devil you know.

Your better heating north on Bali, Ubud and around is great, whereas anything close to Depensar is overcrowded and overdeveloped. However, your right, it’s massively overrated. It is more or less Australias ‘Ibiza’. There are many better places in Indonesia than Bali. It’s been plagued by issues over the past few years with foreigners bending the immigration laws and causing issues and now, as you said, have a large number of Russians arriving due to the war.

Yes to the second question.

Many, many years ago while living in Hungary. The local Tesco got a pallet of Heinz Beans delivered, I guess in error, and it lay forlorn at the top of one of the isles being ignored by all the locals. Texts and emails started pinging around the ‘British expat community’ about this discovery and it wasn’t long until the pallet was picked clean. When living in Ho Chi Minh a local shop got in Irn Bru, but it looked like was only myself and my mate who worked our way through that order.

Absolutely not apples for apples. From stepping off the plane I can be in my house in 30 minutes and I live 20kms from the airport (50 minutes if I have luggage). So much of the process is fully automated making it hugely quick and efficient. The downside to all the efficiency is how fucking expensive it is here.

Fixed that for you.