Re: [Wikimania-l] Future Wikimanias

There are very few countries that need a visa for visiting Thailand for up to 15 days and the nationals of most Western countries can stay for 30. This is a simple stamp in the passport on arrival although if you just got off a A380 it might take you 10 minutes queuing at the immigration desks. Members of ASEAN countries have even greater benefits (a bit like EU borders - oops! Should I have said that?) Ultra modern mass rapid transport (overhead and subway trains) make transfer from the airport to the centre of downtown a doddle and extremely uncomplicated at not more than 20 minutes and just over a dollar or two for a ride; a taxi costs only 10 dollars so 4 sharing is even cheaper than the railway or the bus. Signage everywhere in Thailand is in English, even in the tiniest rural villages. Plenty of facilities everywhere for people of reduced mobility (ramps everywhere for wheelchairs, special toilets, etc.). Most people under 30 can speak enough English to point you in the wrong direction. Despite the silly reports in the Lonely Planet, BKK is an extraordinarily safe city, no mugging, and hardly any pickpocketing. Most petty crime is done by the foreign tourists themselves. Transport in town by proper air conditioned taxis or the touristy tuk-tuks (motorcycle rickshaws for the more adventurous) costs only 2 - 4 dollars for a ride that in a black cab in London would cost over 20 quid. Road traffic in the city is dense, but not as bad as central Berlin, London, Manhattan, Paris, or Marseille. In fact I don’t mind driving around it at all. Helps to know where you are going though (but I do, and I know the shortcuts through the back alleys). Unlike DC, Hong Kong, or Esino, a compact venue with a very short walking distance to/from accommodation and reasonable eating places is absolutely no problem. Everything is flat and there are no hills (no collapsing in the street from asthma attacks like on the steep slopes in the rare air of Esino Lario) Something like the government Chulalongkorn University (Thailand’s Oxbridge) campus is right in the middle of town and there are budget hotels up every alley. For those who feel they must exploit the conference for some sight seeing, BKK is a hugely fascinating city. Even has what I believe is the world’s largest shopping mall (Panthip Plaza) dedicated entirely to IT. Fast river and canal boat-busses also provide a dense transportation network in and around the city and suburbs (only 20 mins from the backpacker ghetto (rooms from 4 quid a night) in Banglamphu district to Siam Square, the downtown epicentre. Tourism speech over. Kudpung