Bangkok:
Given costs, if necessary, it would be easy to bring
in additional
volunteers from nearby countries to form a larger 'local' committee to
help planning everything.
That is what I was actualy hoping to hear but didn’t dare suggest it. Deryk Chan would be
an excellent aly (in fact I mentioned it to him in Esino) , but I belives he prefers to
live iEngland now.
Kudpung
> On 17Oct, 2016, at 17:28, John Mark Vandenberg <jayvdb(a)gmail.com> wrote:
>
> I agree Bangkok would be great for the next Asia Wikimania.
>
Given costs, if necessary, it would be easy to bring
in additional
volunteers from nearby countries to form a larger 'local' committee to
help planning everything.
>
>> (only 20 mins from the backpacker ghetto (rooms from 4 quid a night)
>
> There are also lots of really nice places to stay across Bangkok, and
> very reasonable accom for USD $10 per night, and *nice* accom for USD
> $20.
>
> The main thing to be wary of is arriving at the Don Mueang
> International Airport, which is not connected to good local transport.
> It isnt worth saving $50 on a lower-cost flight to arrive here as
> opposed to the new Suvarnabhumi Airport.
>
>
> On Mon, Oct 17, 2016 at 4:27 PM, cs <cs(a)edubkk.org> wrote:
>> 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
>>
>> On 17Oct, 2016, at 15:15, WereSpielChequers <werespielchequers(a)gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>> Hi Chris,
>>
>> That sounds like a really good option for 2018 or later, especially when you
>> consider how open Thailand is for visitors.
>>
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_policy_of_Thailand
>>
>> Also it would be the first Wikimania in the far East for five years.
>>
>> If Bangkok traffic is as bad as its reputation, would it be possible to get
>> a compact venue with food accommodation and conference all in walking
>> distance?
>>
>> WSC
>>
>> On 17 October 2016 at 07:33, cs <cs(a)edubkk.org> wrote:
>>>
>>> I am seriously interested in organising a Wikimania in Bangkok.
>>> The Thai Wiki does not have a functional chapter, but there is a user
>>> group chaired by a professor at Thailand’s major Medical College, and we
>>> have collaborated on various projects.
>>> With our combined knowledge we could get a team together fofr 2018 0r 2019
>>> probably 2019 would be best. .
>>> I have experience in event management. Taweetham has lived and studiedfor
>>> his PhD in Australia and has attended several Wikimanias. I have lived in
>>> Thailand for nearly 20 years and was a professor at a government university
>>> in Bangkok for several years.
>>>
>>> Bangkok has an ideal geo location, it’s a very modern city with excellent
>>> transport and communications infrastructures. (two large interation
>>> airports only 20 mins from the city centre; highly developed urban rapid
>>> mass transport systems; first class Internet).
>>>
>>> Food, accommodation, and other facilities for visitors cost roughly one
>>> sixth of those in Western (USA, Canada, Australia, Europe,) or Westernised
>>> economies (HK, Singapore, etc).
>>>
>>> Chris
>>> (Kudpung)
>>>
>>> On 17Oct, 2016, at 07:24, Ellie Young <eyoung(a)wikimedia.org> wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>> This is a follow-up to a posting to this list by the Wikimania Committee
>>> in July soliciting proposals for people who might be interested in hosting a
>>> future Wikimania (especially 2018 and 2019), as follows:
>>>
>>>
>>> "
>>> We are now looking for proposals of teams and locations. This is not a
>>> bidding process; we are keen for this to be a light-weight, simple request
>>> for suggestions. You don’t need to have a venue locked down, contracts
>>> drafted or sponsors lined up. You can have a quick look at the “judging
>>> criteria” which were used for 2016,[2] but the key part is commitment. In
>>> deciding where to hold conferences, we have to take into account additional
>>> factors about potential sites such as cost,
>>> accessibility, and security.
>>> "
>>>
>>> I will be following up with various people who have expressed interest in
>>> the coming week. If anyone else is interested in discussing the
>>> possibilities (the team/prospective host need not be tied to a particular
>>> venue), please get in touch with me directly by October 30, 2016. We will
>>> be working with the WM
>>>
>>> F
>>> in the coming months in finalizing a venue/team for 2018, and we also want
>>> to get an early start at identifying potentials for the following year.
>>>
>>> Thank you,
>>>
>>>
>>> Ellie Young
>>>
>>> WMF Events Manager
>>>
>>> eyoung(a)wikimedia.org
>>>
>>>
>>> [2]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimania_2016_judging_criteria
>>>
>>>
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>>>
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>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>>
>>
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>
>
>
> --
> John Vandenberg
>
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