Outsourcing work to other countries is nothing new – heck, even I hire people to do odd jobs for me – but when it comes to journalism, you don’t expect a newspaper’s reporters to be working from another country. It isn’t just call centers that are hiring staff in India.

The Los Angeles Times recently hired a $12,000-a-year reporter who lives in Mumbai. Another, who lives in Bangalore, was also hired.

Then there’s the Pasadena website (“All Pasadena, All the Time”) that took on a staffer member from India.

Is this the future of the media, given the enormous pressure that newspapers and magazines are under with sales tumbling and cutbacks being made across the board? At first I thought the whole idea was mad. How can someone write about a place in which they don’t live? Then I remembered that many journalists at some point write about places they haven’t been.

Andrew also wrote about this topic, saying, “Why can't Thailand grab a share of this business too? The Kingdom has some talented journalists and designers, and costs are low.”

While such a move would be a serious boon for journalism in Thailand, I have reservations about whether those fluent in English would be tempted by this kind of work when there is more money to be made elsewhere. Andrew points out that there are very few media companies who could handle such work, but the way I see it, it doesn’t take entire media companies to make this possible.

If a US company hires someone in Thailand for this kind of work, paying that person about 30,000 baht a month, then surely that person doesn’t need an entire team behind them.

Do you think Thai people would go for this of work?

Bangkok Pundit, who now writes more blog posts in one day than I do in a week, has a really interesting post at the moment about the portrayal of rape on Thai TV. The issues raised stem from the Thai soap opera Dao Puan Din, which airs on Channel 7 Fridays to Sundays.

The show’s producers made the decision to punish one of the lead characters by having her gang-raped. The character, Rinlada, is a bad girl who regularly tries to “steal the boyfriends” of her nemesis, Uamdao. The rape of Rinlada is supposedly her just desserts for leading a bad life.

I had to take a minute to for this to sink in.

From an editorial in The Nation:

The argument from “sensitive” quarters is that “inappropriate” behavior by young women could increase the number of sexual assaults or rapes.

This is something I came across recently after the murder of the young Swedish tourist, Hanna Backlund, who was stabbed to death while sunbathing at Mai Khao Beach in Phuket. Thai authorities immediately suspected that the murder was a botched gang rape by up to four men. It has now transpired that there is only one suspect and the issue of rape remains unclear.

The police initially suggested that Hanna sunbathing topless was part of the reason why she was attacked. As a result, warnings were issued by Thai authorities that women should not sunbathe topless or else they might be prone to the same fate as Hanna.

It was never explicitly said that it was Hanna’s fault that she was murdered, but the idea was implied. I was unaware that this whole attitude to rape figured so prominently in Thai soap operas. It astounds me that rape is treated with such triviality in Thai society, when a movie such as Oliver Twist is censored so that people can’t watch the devious act of pipe smoking.

Also from The Nation:

According to Channel Seven, one way to decide on the issue is to take a vote. The public will have their say about whether they want to see the rape scene on television or have the script rewritten.

Notice that the vote is whether or not the rape “scene” should be shown and not whether or not the storyline is morally questionable. It’s incredible to think that minor issues are blown out of all proportion while rape is put in an indifferent light.

Compare this to storylines in UK soap operas, such as the rapes of Kathy Beale and Mo Morgan in Eastenders. Those were hard-hitting storylines that shocked millions of viewers. TV producers have a duty to treat such storylines with sensitivity so as to avoid social the propagation of attitudes that seemingly condone rape in certain situations.

I haven’t watched enough Thai TV to really get into this subject, so I’d love to hear some other opinions on the matter.

I don't fly very often, but when I do, I choose my airline based on which one offers the cheapest ticket. One of the great things about living in Thailand is that it's inexpensive, quick and easy to fly from one end of the country to the other.

The airline I fly with most is Thai Air Asia. The tickets are usually very cheap, although the further in advance you book, the less you pay. The Thai Air Asia website usually tries to add on a few extra charges without you noticing, such as insurance or queue jumping. Thai Air Asia recently introduced a baggage fee for checked-in bags. At the moment, it's 30 baht a bag. My only gripe with Thai Air Asia is that, in my experience, its flight are almost always delayed or cancelled. If you input a valid phone number when you buy your ticket, Thai Air Asia will SMS you if your flight is delayed. You can buy cup noodles and tiny sandwiches on flights, but you don't get much leg room.

People are still worried about flying with One Two Go, but I think if you take that line of thought then you should not fly any budget airline. One Two Go is good because ticket prices are all-inclusive. The price you see on the website includes all tax and handling charges (minus a 100-baht airport tax), so you don't have to bother with trying to order a ticket and guessing what the final price will be. All tickets for One Two Go used to be 1,800 baht (I think), but now tickets are priced 999 baht, 1,499 baht, 1,699 baht or 1,950 baht, depending on how far in advance you book and how many privileges you want. For some reason, you can only order the cheapest tickets once; every time after that a 500-baht fee is added.

I haven't flown Nok Air many times. Nok Air has three types of ticket, the cheapest of which usually works out about the same as Thai Air Asia. The more you pay, the more privileges you get, such as a newspaper, a larger seat, a drink and some free snacks. You pay about 1,500 baht extra and you don't really get a whole lot to justify that price difference.

Bangkok Airways recently introduced a business class. Domestic destinations served are Chiang Mai, Krabi, Samui, Phuket, Sukhotai and Trat. In terms of cheap flights in Thailand, I don't recommend Bangkok Airways because the tickets are quite expensive. I don't know if you'd call Bangkok Airways a low-cost airline. The service is superior to the cheaper airlines, so you get what you pay for.

Thai Airways is pretty much the best airline in Thailand; it's also the most expensive. You get a decent amount of leg room and flying with Thai Airways is very comfortable. You feel less like your being herded on and off the plane like cattle than with other airlines, but when you're paying about three times the price, you expect to. The food is reasonable but nothing out of the ordinary.

As far as I'm aware, that's all the airlines that fly within Thailand. Which is your favorite?

The past 24 hours have been something of a nightmare. For the third time since I moved to Phuket, I had food poisoning. The culprit this time was a pasta dish comprising black linguini and seafood. I started throwing up at 6:30 am yesterday and didn’t stop until about lunch time. I went to work for an hour, went home and then returned to work after midday feeling like a train wreck.

I had never had food poisoning before I came to Phuket. Funny how it’s never Thai food that makes you sick. After throwing up black linguini, I can honestly say that I never want to have to go through such a debacle again.

So I did a bit of research on how to avoid food poisoning. People with weak immune systems are most at risk, which might explain why I became sick but my girlfriend, who ate the same dish, did not.

There are several ways to boost your immune system:

• Drink lemon juice
• Sleep more
• Eat more protein
• Drink more water
• Don’t drink coffee
• Don’t consume sugar
• Eat more fruit
• Spend some time outside in the cold (maybe not)

I’m definitely guilty of a few violations here.

Other ways to avoid food poisoning include:

• Thoroughly reheat meals (this may have been where I was caught out this time)
  Keep your kitchen clean
• Protect food from insects and animals (ants seem to get everywhere these days and I do play with my cat rather a lot)
• Wash your hands thoroughly before and after preparing food
• Wash your hands before eating

I once caught food poisoning after eating at Fuji restaurant in Phuket. Raw fish requires a high level of hygiene in its preparation.

So that’s everything in the known universe about food poisoning. Anyone have anything to add? What have your experiences been?

The epic of Thailand Vs. Tesco is reminiscent of similar battles with foreign entities. Tesco is a British-based chain of grocery stores. Some people are under the impression that the brand is French. Carrefour, another retail juggernaut tearing through Thailand, is French.

In the UK, Tesco has an outstanding reputation – or at least it did while I was in England. The Tesco brand is one that people trust and know, much in the same way as the BBC. In Thailand, however, the situation is different.

Down here in Phuket, we've noticed the expansion of Tesco perhaps better than anyone else in Thailand. New stores have been popping up, but not without controversy. One point of concern for Tesco is the locals who have been protesting over the opening of new stores. There have been allegations of improper conduct on the part of Tesco, although the protests have failed to really gather any momentum.

Part of the argument of the protesters is a very real fear that Tesco is running smaller retailers out of business. This assertion is debatable, but Tesco has evidently had a large impact on Phuket.

I interviewed British Ambassador Quinton Quayle the other day. He spoke strongly in favor of Tesco, citing how the British chain creates jobs and generates trade for Thailand. He also said that businesses being affected by Tesco is just part of modern-day economics — casualties are inevitable.

He is right, of course, but that doesn't mean that the people whose lives are affected don't have a right to speak up.

There have been several allegations against Tesco in recent months. Tesco plays hard ball, there's no doubt about it. The trouble is that even if Tesco does wrong, the government refuses to take a stand against the retail giant. In short, there appears to be no stopping Tesco. Carrefour conducts business in a similar manner.

On a personal level, I shop at Tesco because it's near my place and stocks pretty much any product I need. I can't get the things I want from 7-Eleven or mom-and-pop stores. In that respect, there is a need for Tesco. Furthermore, the smaller retailers are now buying their stock from Tesco because Tesco undercuts most suppliers.

What are people's thought on this? Are you pro- or anti-Tesco? More to the point, where do you guys do your shopping?