I am also thinking to bid for Kish Island in Iran for 2020. or 2019, so keep your finger crossed for us :) ّ
Mardetanha On Mon, Oct 17, 2016 at 12:57 PM, cs <[email protected]> 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 <[email protected]> > 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 <[email protected]> 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 <[email protected]> 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 >> >> [email protected] >> >> >> >> [2] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimania_2016_judging_criteria >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Wikimania-l mailing list >> [email protected] >> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Wikimania-l mailing list >> [email protected] >> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l >> >> > _______________________________________________ > Wikimania-l mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l > > > > _______________________________________________ > Wikimania-l mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l > >
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