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 <c...@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 <werespielchequ...@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 <c...@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 <eyo...@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 >> >> eyo...@wikimedia.org >> >> >> [2] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimania_2016_judging_criteria >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Wikimania-l mailing list >> Wikimania-l@lists.wikimedia.org >> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Wikimania-l mailing list >> Wikimania-l@lists.wikimedia.org >> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l >> > > _______________________________________________ > Wikimania-l mailing list > Wikimania-l@lists.wikimedia.org > https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l > > > > _______________________________________________ > Wikimania-l mailing list > Wikimania-l@lists.wikimedia.org > https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l > -- John Vandenberg _______________________________________________ Wikimania-l mailing list Wikimania-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l
