You very often see the sight of an overloaded school bus in Thailand. Drive carefully.
Thursday, January 2, 2014
Monday, November 18, 2013
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Loi Kratong, Thailand festival.
Here is some back ground information on the Loi Kratong festival.
Loi Krathong takes place on the evening of the full moon of the 12th month in the traditional Thai lunar calendar. In the western calendar this usually falls in November.
Loi literally means 't
Picasa Content
o float,' while krathong refers to the lotus-shaped receptacle which can float on the water. Originally, the krathong was made of banana leaves or the layers of the trunk of a banana tree or a spider lily plant. A krathong contains food, betel nuts, flowers, joss sticks, candle and coins. Modern krathongs are more often made of bread or styrofoam. A bread krathong will disintegrate in a few a days and be eaten by fish and other animals. The traditional banana stalk krathongs are also biodegradable, but styrofoam krathongs are frowned on, since they are polluting and may take years to disappear. Regardless of the composition, a krathong will be decorated with elaborately-folded banana leaves, flowers, candles and incense sticks. A low value coin is sometimes included as an offering to the river spirits. During the night of the full moon, Thais will float their krathong on a river, canal or a pond lake. The festival is believed to originate in an ancient practice of paying respect to the spirit of the waters. Today it is simply a time to have fun.
Blogger Labels: Loi Kratong,Thai,Kratong,Thailand,festival,Klong
Friday, October 7, 2011
Thailand worse floods ever 252 dead.
A total of 252 people were confirmed dead and three people were missing in the floods that have inundated many provinces for more than two months, the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department reported on Friday.
Floods still prevail in 212 districts of 28 provinces, effecting 2,696,521 people.
The provinces are Sukhothai, Chiang Mai, Lampang, Phichit, Phitsanulok, Nakhon Sawan, Uthai Thani, Chai Nat, Singburi, Angthong, Ayutthaya, Lopburi, Saraburi, Suphanburi, Nakhon Pathom, Pathum Thani, Nonthaburi, Ubon Ratchathani, Khon Kaen, Si Sa Ket, Surin, Nakhon Ratchasima, Loei, Roi Et, Buri Ram, Chachoengsao, Nakhon Nayok and Prachinburi.
Photos by Tawatchai Kemgumnerd
Disaster centre officials reported the confirmed death toll from the floods at 252, with three people missing.
In Bangkok, the government has set up a flood relief command centre at Don Mueang Airport, using a vacant meeting room.
Prime Minister's Office secretary Wim Rungwattanachinda said Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra is the director of the centre.
Ms Yingluck late this morning chaired an urgent meeting of state agency officials at the flood war room to discuss ways to tackle the continuing disaster, which just seems to get worse.
I just hope that they can avoid the Chao Praya river breaking it’s banks, as that would be a disaster given that many parts of Bangkok are below sea level.
Blogger Labels: Flooding,Thailand,Disaster,Prevention,provinces
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Pattaya Tourist Police arrest suspected Jet Ski scammers
Pattaya Tourist Police arrest suspected Jet Ski scammers Blogger Labels: Pattaya,Tourist,Police,scammers
Pattaya Tourist Police arrested 5 Jet Ski Operators early on Saturday Morning, accused of attempting to extort money from two tourists from Saudi Arabia who had earlier hired Jet Skis from the operators on Pattaya Beach. The two tourists were confronted by the operators after they arrived back to shore and they claimed that damage had been caused and they should pay for the damage in what has been described as a classic case of a Pattaya Jet Ski Scam. Initially the operators and the tourists made their way to Pattaya Police Station where they could not come to a compromise. The tourists claimed that when they left the Police Station they were prevented from returning to their hotel, the Marriott Resort & Spa, further along Pattaya Beach and threatened to either pay or encounter problems. At this point the Tourist Police became involved and did something no local Police Division had done in the past.
Full story and pictures HERE
So finally they begin to arrest the Jet ski scammers and it takes the Tourist Police to take action. The ‘boys in brown’ (Thai Police) as they are affectionately called are usually in on the scam so always side with the scammers, so that they can share the ‘tea money’
This is a big step in the right direction for the Thailand tourism business
Blogger Labels: Pattaya,Tourist,Police,scammers
Friday, September 16, 2011
Very bad flooding throughout Thailand 98 killed
Very bad flooding throughout Thailand 98 killed
Picasa Content
This is the worst flooding that I have ever seen in Thailand during my 12 years here. Whilst driving from Pattaya to Bangkok on Sukhumvit road Pattaya the water was washing over my car bonnet. How the engine did not stop I will never know. Some people were not so lucky.
Angthong and Nakhon Sawan are still faced with heavy flooding, holding both extra rain water and flood water travelling southward from the upper North.
The average flood level in Angthong is at 1 to 2 metres, especially in urban areas, where schools and markets are closed.
School staff and teachers shuttle between dry areas transporting school supplies all day, and amidst darkness at night following shortages of electricity.
A water gate in neighbouring Sing Buri broke Thursday night, flooding a vast area and 220 homes in Pho Thong district of Angthong.
In Lop Buri, where stagnant flooding remains for three days after flash floods receded, survival kits presented by HRH Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana were handed out to flood affected villagers in Ban Mi district.
A swelling Chao Phraya River section in Nakhon Sawan is breaching many long areas of riverside flood embankment walls, prompting hectic emergency repairs using military and volunteer personnel, together with the evacuation of people and transport of belongings in other residential areas and flooded government centres.
A Royal Irrigation Department statement warned of rising rivers and flash floods in riverside areas in 10 provinces from Nakhon Sawan down to Bangkok, after likely swelling during coming peak tides.
There are 173 government clinics inundated, most of them small and at the community level. There are 233,996 people seeking treatment or being treated with five most frequently found diseases: foot infections, colds, muscle pains, rashes and skin diseases, and stress.
An official damage report update released yesterday said there were 195 deaths and two going missing, and 1,148,250 people affected, in 29 provinces still facing flooding.
There were now around 4.8 million rai of farmland and more than 54,000 rai of fish ponds and shrimp farms inundated.
Of those killed, 73 of them drowned, two hit by felling trees, 15 in mudslides and 15 through electrocution.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Friday, August 19, 2011
Khao Kieow Country Club
This Golf course is located about 45 min’s drive from Pattaya towards Bangkok and is well sign posted.
This is a very beautiful, but challenging course and it is by far my favourite in this region.The club house and facilities are to a high standard and in my experience the caddies know their stuff.
The course is a 27 holes par 72/36 (7077 yards)
View from the clubhouse
Blogger Labels: Khao,Country,Club,Golf,Pattaya,Bangkok
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Dalai Lama quote
“Man, because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then he dies having never really lived.”
Blogger Labels: Dalai,Lama,health,moneyFriday, July 29, 2011
Buddha shrine, Thailand
The above is a picture on my wife’s Buddha shrine located in our living room. It is hung high on the wall because by tradition it must be above head height.
It is customary for food and drink to be left for the Buddha image and this is changed frequently along with the flowers. My wife does this around twice a week.
Blogger Labels: Buddha,shrine,Thailand,tradition,food,image,flowersThursday, July 28, 2011
Plutaluang Golf course Pattaya Thailand
Monday, July 18, 2011
Chinese Breakfast
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Wayne Rooney in China
I am staying in a small city in China called Mainyang, well small by Chinese standards.
This is a store that I saw on the high street, so we know what Wayne Rooney is doing in his spare time. No wonder he under performs for England when it appears that he is truly Italian!
Blogger Labels: Wayne,Rooney,China,Mainyang,Chinese,England,Italian
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Thaksin save your sister Yingluck
Thaksin save your sister Yingluck
Here is a very good article from the Nation regarding Thaksin’s meddling in Thailand politics. I am sure that many Thais think this way.
Dear Khun Thaksin, save your sister
By Somroutai Sapsomboon
The Nation
Media reports of your active political role after the general election have worried me so much that I had to write this letter to you.
I believe that I share this feeling with many other Thais, whether they voted for the Pheu Thai Party or not. I accept the election result and am excited for Thailand to welcome its first woman prime minister.
Prime minister-to-be Yingluck Shinawatra is your younger sister and she just entered politics a few weeks before the election, but I hope she can be appointed the country's prime minister on her own merit.
It is undeniable that the overwhelming victory that Yingluck and her Pheu Thai Party scored was because of you, Khun Thaksin.
But although you are credited with bringing her up to this point, I think it's time for you to allow her to show her ability to the Thai public.
You don't need to leave her alone but you should just look after her from a distance and provide her support when necessary.
This is really different from what you're doing now - speaking and doing things as if you were the prime minister-elect without caring about any possible consequence.
As a new Thai government is taking shape, it appears you are dictating what the Yingluck administration should do, including details about its policies and the composition of its Cabinet.
This does not mean I'm encouraging you to do all these things secretly behind the scenes. No. In fact, I would like you to keep your hands off my next prime minister, although I'm aware that this could be just wishful thinking.
Today Khun Yingluck is not just your kid sister, she is going to become the country's prime minister. You should respect that. If not for Thailand's sake, it should be for her own sake.
I want the international community to accept Khun Yingluck as a credible and capable prime minister. I don't want her to be viewed as just a puppet or a political clown, with someone pulling the strings behind her back.
I believe you must agree with this, too.
Some people may view what you're doing as something against the law. You're now being deprived of your election rights and it's against the law for banned politicians like you to influence any political party's affairs.
Your political enemies will likely use this argument to take legal steps to dissolve the Pheu Thai Party.
However, what's more worrying for me is that what you're doing is going to undermine the credibility of my next prime minister and your own sister.
Some colleagues try to allay my concern by saying that you're likely going to change your role after Khun Yingluck officially becomes prime minister.
I can only hope they're right.
Yet, my brain tells me you still think this is all about you and I still have to worry about your role vis-à-vis Thai politics. This is why I decided to write this open letter to you.
Please save the prime minister of Thailand and your own sister.
People tell me you love her dearly, so please sacrifice your personal interests to prove it.
With sincere regards,
Somroutai Sapsomboon
-- The Nation 2011-07-13
Blogger Labels: Thailand,Thaksin,Yingluck,sister
Wheels of China 8
Monday, July 11, 2011
Chinese classic copy
Wheels of China 7
This is a nice little touch for those more than hot sunny days. I don’t know just how it affects the steering though.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
More trouble on the Thai/Cambodian border
Provinces Near Thai-Cambodian Border Brace for Possible Tensions
Villagers residing along the Thai–Cambodian border have been notified of an immediate evacuation plan, for fear of possible fresh clashes, after Thailand's withdrawal from the World Heritage Convention.
Meanwhile, the Region 2 Army commander has reaffirmed troop readiness for combat.
Region 2 Army Commander, Lieutenant General Tawatchai Samutsakhon, along with Nakhon Ratchasima Provincial Governor Rapee Phongbupakit, local Red Cross members and business people, visited the 26th Army Ranger Company in Surin's Phanom Dongrak District to give cash aid to families of military officers and volunteer rangers who were killed on duty in clashes along the Thai-Cambodian border, to boost their morale.
Tawatchai said the Army is reorganizing troops for combat and has prepared reinforcements as well as emergency plans.
He added that both Thai and Cambodian troops are in constant communication, and relations remain normal.
There have been no additional reinforcements on the Thai side, but soldiers have been instructed to be on high alert.
In Buriram Province, Provincial Governor Thanee Samartkit has urged the military, police, and other security agencies in Baan Kruad and Laharnsai districts to step up safety measures and surveillance along the border, to prevent possible clashes.
Most recently, there have been reports of mysterious gunfire from the Cambodian side, but no mobilization of troops or weapons was seen at the border.
Thanee said the Comptroller's General Department is considering a budget for the construction of bunkers at border villagers in the two districts.
-- Tan Network 2011-06-29
Monday, June 27, 2011
Wheels of China 5
OK so from the old to the new. Here are the spectacular Chinese high speed trains
These trains have achieved speeds of 480 Km’s per hour in testing and are now running on the new tracks between the two most important cities in China, Beijing and Shanghai. They were initially going to be run at speeds of 350 Km’s per hour, but this has been reduced to 300 Km’s and hour for safety reasons.
The distance between the two cities is around 1300 Km’s and this will be achieved in 4 hours 48 minutes. The cost of the trip depends on which class you take, but comes in at a basic 410 RMB, around 40 GBP
This mode of transport ha really put the pressure on the domestic airlines as it is faster and cheaper, so the price war rages on.
I hope to try this high speed train journey at some point so I will let you know how it goes.
Blogger Labels: High speed train,China,Chinese,Shanghai
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)