Woman smuggled monkey into the U.S. from Thailand under her shirt

by Jamie Rhein on

Not long ago,a woman was arrested in New Zealand for trying to smuggle three banana plants in her underwear. Here’s another smuggling story, but this woman almost got away with it.

In November 2007, the woman, looking to make money, smuggled a rhesus monkey into the U.S. from Thailand. She wasn’t arrested right then. Instead, she breezed right through U.S. customs without anyone noticing that she wasn’t pregnant at all, but had a drugged furry cutie tucked under her shirt.

Later, feeling pleased as punch with herself, she told a clothing store clerk about her escapade. The store clerk snitched.

Two days ago, the woman, along with her mother who went along to Bangkok for the heist, were found guilty of smuggling and conspiracy and will be sentenced in March.

I heard about this story on David Letterman last night. Letterman, in his sardonic way, embellished a bit. There were comments about no one noticing when, on the airplane, the woman started putting a banana down her shirt and a small hairy arm reached up to grab more. The joke went something like that. Intrigued, I looked up the story and came up with this article in Mail OnLine.

The article mentioned two other foiled attempts at animal smuggling that have recently earned one smuggler a conviction and jail time, and the other one an arrest that is still pending a trial.

The South African man, who was smuggling chameleons, snakes, lizards, and other rare critters that don’t sound easy to put under a jacket, was given a year in jail. He was trying to get them out of Madagascar. Perhaps the jacket was moving?

Another guy was caught with animals in his clothing and luggage in November. That guy is a zoology student. Perhaps he was obsessed with getting an A on a project that would really wow one of his instructors.

Flights resume in Bangkok

by Josh Lew on

Gadling has been following the situation in Bangkok over the past few days. Hundreds of thousands of domestic and international travelers were stranded when anti-government protesters occupied Suvarnabhumi Airport, the country’s international hub. Things came to a rather anti-climactic end yesterday (thankfully for those involved) when Thailand’s highest court convicted members of the ruling party of rigging elections held last year. Getting the result that they wanted, protesters simply abandoned the airport peacefully.

In the past few hours, those who were previously unable to leave have been flocking to the airport and to travel agents around the city in an effort to book their flights home. Cleaning and inspection crews have been working around the clock to bring the airport back to international standards. Airport officials claim that it will take two weeks before the airport is fully operational. For now, flights are trickling in. Travelers stranded might have to wait several more days before they can procure a seat on a departing flight.

[related]

Thai government dissolved as protesters finally leave Bangkok’s airport

by Josh Lew on

The Constitutional Court of Thailand decided that the ruling People Power Party had to dissolve. Its leader, now former PM Somchai Wongsawat, was forced to leave office. That was exactly the result that the anti-government mob occupying Suvarnabhumi International Airport was hoping for. Their goal was to shut down the airport until the government was taken from power or stepped down voluntarily. Their goals achieved, the mob at the airport dispersed earlier today.

Supporters of the government criticized the court’s ruling by calling it a judicial coup. However, the court claimed it had evidence proving that the PPP, as well as several other parties, cheated and bribed their way to victory in last year’s elections. The party’s leaders will be banned from politics, but other members are already at work forming a new party called Puea Thai.

Suvarnabhumi is now empty, but it was damaged during the protests. The head of Thailand’s airports, Serirat Prasutanont, said that the airport would remain closed until 6 pm on December 15th. Equipment and systems must be checked prior to the reopening. The closure cost the airport more than $10 million.

[Related coverage @ The Nation]

Travelers getting out of Thailand, but the situation is worsening

by Josh Lew on

Following the lead of Etihad Airways, more than a dozen international carriers have sought out secondary airports to get passengers out of Thailand. Tiny U-Tapao Airport in coastal Rayong (a few hours south of Bangkok) has seen 50 flights per day. Passengers have been squeezing into the one terminal, but tents and portable toilets have been sent up outside to help with overflow.

Don Muang, the old international airport in Bangkok, has also been receiving some international flights, though the chaos in Bangkok makes U-Tapao a better choice in the eyes of most carriers.

Meanwhile, anti-government forces are still controlling Suvarnabhumi Airport, Bangkok’s international airport. Protesters are in the terminals and armed guards loyal to the protesters have set up checkpoints at various points around the airport. Small bomb blasts are occasionally heard throughout the airport grounds and a news truck was recently riddled with bullets after it was stopped at a PAD checkpoint. No one in the truck was injured.

Police have surrounded the airport and are organizing themselves. An end to the stand-off is most likely immenant. The question is, will it be a peaceful or violent end.

[full coverage: The Nation and BKK Post]

The State of American Tourism: Thailand, India, and Cuba

by Brenda Yun on

The internet is abuzz with news from abroad right now. Thailand’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok remains closed; India is reeling from a devastating terrorist attack aimed at British and American tourists in Mumbai; Raúl Castro is open to ending Cuba’s 40-year feud with Washington, thereby allowing Americans to travel there more “freely.” The last thing most Americans want to do right now is travel to a place where they are not welcome. We no longer want to travel because there is a greater fear of it. The state of things as we knew them is suddenly turning on its head.

Fear exists even in the most intrepid travelers. As a solo, female traveler stepping off the plane in Vanuatu, Myanmar and Colombia last year, I had little knowledge of exactly what I was walking into. However, the one thing I have going for me every time I travel to some less-trodden destination is that, although I carry a U.S. passport, I don’t look American and I’m from a state that sits in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, thousands of miles from the mainland.So, when people ask where I’m from, I tell them I’m from Hawaii. Sometimes they don’t know where that is. Sometimes they think it’s a country in itself. Only rarely do they know that it is part of the United States. There’s an advantage to looking the way I do and being from where I am: They don’t have to know I’m American. But plenty of Americans cannot hide behind their fair skin, accent, or residence, so most stay at home for fear of the unknown.

As of late, I have become increasingly interested in news from Cuba. My friend and I are planning a trip there early next year and quickly discovered a lack of resources and general antipathy for American tourism in Castro country. We hope to help out for a week in Cuba with hurricane relief, but even a complex Google search for “volunteer in Cuba” came up empty. The message coming from Cuba is clear: “We don’t want help from Americans. Stay out of our country.” This message is increasingly resounding around the globe, and the state of American tourism is, I would say, grim right now — and the hope that Obama can turn things around come January just isn’t enough to quell our fears.