Wax Castle Festival 26-30 October 2012

The best time to visit ANYWHERE, Thailand is when locals are throwing a party  Some of the better known Thai parties are Songkran and Loi Kratong. Consider regional events with local culture. In Sakon Nakhon it's the annual  Royal Longboat Race  and Wax Castle Festival Held each year at the end of the Buddhist lent, when the rainy season comes to an end. The dates vary slightly each year according to the lunar calendar.  Generally the four days before and the full moon day in October, Arrive early:  A few days before the festival gets under way. Many of the nearby villages and towns have their own preliminary boat races with entertainment ... plenty to see, do and experience. A visit to the local temples where artisans are preparing for the wax castle contest,  is well worth your time. Make hotel reservations early, especially if you want a room close to the action. Reservations may be tricky. Only a handful of local hotels accept online reservations. hotels2thailand    tripadvisor   agoda  My own local hotel listing has not been updated since 2009  Furnished apartments are a cost saving option to hotels. Numerous events and activities for four days.  It's important: as soon as you arrive ask for a schedule of events The map shows the parade routes and locations of special events. Unfortunately the guide may not be in your language. The guide is distributed usually a week before the action begins. I list a translation on this blog within a day or two after receiving my copy. Local expat establishments are also a great source of information I've had the good fortune to sit in the VIP viewing stands and used the oprotunity to videotape most of the 2007 parade 2011 Wax Castle Parade photos: 112 2011 Wax Castle Construction photos: 12 2008 Wax Castle Parade photos: 273 2007 Wax Castle Parade photos: 101 2006Wax Castle Display  photos: 12 2005 Waxcastle Construction photos: 15 2004 WAX CASTLE  dinner photos: 54 2003 Waxcastle Sound & Light show photos: 69

2012 Wax Castle Festival Dates Announced

Big Changes at Sakon FC New Million Baht Sponsor New and improved starting lineup A big win at home It wasn't easy pickings. Mahasarakham FC ain't no slouches*, they're number 5 in the league. *   slouch: an awkward, clumsy, or slovenly person Possibly the most fast paced action Sakon Nakhon Fans have witnessed this year. First score by Sakon FC, 13 minutes into the game. Five minutes later a  Mahasarakham player was rushed away by ambulance for medical services related to his 'sports injury.' Mahasarakham FC scored with ten minutes remaining in the game. Sakon FC sealed a win  during the 3 minute added time. video published on. Jul 15, 2012. by. POOnGPenG.

Childhood disease returns If you've had chicken pox earlier in life, chances are you can have shingles (herpes zoster) later in life, especially when your immune system begins to weaken. Treated,  chicken pox remains dormant in your body most of your life. NOTE: herpes zoster is not a sexually transmitted disease When shingles appear, it's usually painful blisters.  Treatment must begin within 24 hours of onset to be most effective. My first major outbreak, almost two years ago, was not properly diagnosed until a week after onset. I even resorted to alternative healing methods at that late period. A year later I had a single outbreak on my gums.  It had to be attended to surgically, so I could use my dentures. The most recent  eruption was on my right eyelid.  Caused nearsighted blurred vision. A doctor wrongly prescribed antibiotics.  They are not effective against shingles. Explained my dilemma to a local druggist. Now using special eye drops and anti viral drugs.  Vision seem to be slowly returning to normal.  Lesson:  Pharmacist may be more familiar about pharmaceuticals available, and their proper use.

2012 Royal Long Boat Races and Wax Castle Festival to be held     26-30 October   Source: SAKON NAKHON "City of Beautiful lake, Beautiful Mountain and Beautiful Girl

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Apple's Menu Day

English teachers; Rice Planting; Sakon FC

English Teachers on Parade

Rice Planting at the edge of the City A recent article on line suggested that rice planting, as it's done still today in Thailand will drastically change over the next decade.  Thailand's Facebook generation is not interested in backbreaking labor with a low profit margin.  Possibly in a decade it will be all done by machinery owned by big corporations.   Time will tell. Until then, it's still done the old fashioned way. These pictures were taken on Serithai road, the southern edge of Sakon City. Most likely these fields will give way to new construction, as soon as the price is right.

Sakon FC hosts Mahasarakham this Sunday Mahasarakham is fifth in the league. They defeated Sakon FC on their own turf on March 18. Of course we are looking forward to see some of the Mahasarakham fans here in town. Expect some changes in the Sakon FC lineup, some old faces returning

Funny Mail     Comment from a reader The reviews said it had a plot and wasn't half bad.  I disagree.  My review is:  Save your money.

Weather If you are looking forward to cooler temperatures, wait... Possibly next Thursday or Friday according to Meo Weather and Thai Meteorological Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Mon AccuWeather 32 33 34 33 33 31 32 32 32 32 AccuWeather Feels Like 41 42 43 43 44 41 38 38 40 40 MeoWeather 31 32 33 33 33 30 26 Thai Meteorological 31 32 33 32 32 28 * * * * The Weather Channel 32 33 33 32 32 31 31 31 31 30 Wunderground 31 34 *34 37 30 31 30

Apple Restarant presents menu

Play Pool at Apple's

Sakon 'OTOP Lampang & Lanna Fair 2012'

This is one of the best OTOP fairs in Sakon Nakhon Seen plenty of these fairs over the past ten years. Ho hum, always the same products, nothing new.   Not this time  !! Yes of course they had a few of the usual fares under the 'big top.' The big surprise was an extensive display of Thailand fine art. I love seeing such things Worn out from all that shopping and browsing.  Then you can stop off for a relaxing massage Last day of the fair is July 15

Pool Table at Green Apple restaurant Not a standard size pool table, but apparently just the perfect size for the restaurant. All Dan has to do now is teach the ladies what end of the table to shoot from

Sakon Nakhon 2012 MX, missed it

Sakon Nakhon OTOP Fair July 9 through 15 at the Municipal Grounds (across the police station)

No Hurry Heavy winds during yesterdays evening rainstorm knocked over an advertising sign at GLOBAL.  I pointed it out to employees when I stopped by this afternoon. They all knew and chuckled about it. No one seemed concerned about repairs

Sakon Nakhon 2012 MX (motocross), June 29, 2012 Unfortunately missed it this year.  Had no advance knowledge of the event.

Heavy rain yesterday, early evening Lasted only half an hour, missed my favorite TVshow of the day Strong wind gusts at times   Today:  Mostly sunny, hot and humid Expect 32C/91F feels like 43C/110F, clouds at times, t-storm possible

Funny Mail    The Barbershop A guy stuck his head into a barbershop and asked, 'How long before I can get a haircut? The barber looked around the shop full of customers and said, 'About 2 hours.' The guy left.. ... A few days later, the same guy stuck his head in the door and asked, 'How long before I can get a haircut?' The barber looked around at the shop and said, 'About 3 hours.' The guy left. A week later, the same guy stuck his head in the shop and asked, 'How long before I can get a haircut? The barber looked around the shop and said, 'About an hour and a half . The guy left. The barber turned to his friend and said, 'Hey, Bob, do me a favor , follow him and see where he goes. He keeps asking how long he has to wait for a haircut, but he never comes back.' A little while later, Bob returned to the shop, laughing hysterically. The barber asked, 'So, where does he go when he leaves?' Bob looked up, wiped the tears from his eyes and said, 'Your house!

Sakon Monk Commits Suicide

Pardon me !!   I realize suicide by a monk is a tragic event, not to be made fun of.  It's the translation which caused me too fall out of my chair: Google translate: The abbot of Nakhon neck tie die. You Tube video by Mr Smith PNS

Expect Flooding in 'Some' Places

Youtube upload by  djmzaa July 6  Meteorological Department Warning of heavy rain in the Province Housing is built, blocking all natural water flows. Lacking proper drainage, street runoff at times takes hours or days to dissipate. Here in the city we've been avoiding the heavy stuff for the last couple days.

Best Sakon Nakhon Website (in Thai script) Turn down your volume before you go there !! The website has a local radio station broadcast embedded. To turn off the radio, scroll to the bottom of the page to the radio control   Best map of Sakon (in Thai script) Highlight the desired text (see photo). Copy and paste it into Google Translate

Ubon FC trumps Sakon FC  Watched the game on my TV linked to the Sakon FC website broadcast. T.i.T. Start-time was changed from 4 pm to 5:30pm Halftime Ubon was leading by 2-0. After Halftime for a while the game was 2-2. Game ended 3-2 Sakon FC hosts Mahasarakham, July 15 It's all but obvious: Sakon FC will sit out a one years suspension in the coming year

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