Now that's a tourist attraction

Here's the headline that should make rubber tappers happy.

Thailand to give out 30 million free condoms

Yesterday, December 1, was world aids day.

Living like a native

Did my weekly shopping .
Yeah I know... in the west I would have received at least a warning, if not a ticket for unsafe load.

Eleven bags
But then T.i.T.

Special thanks for the candy I recently received.
Haven't had that sort of candy in over six years.
Thank You, Thank You, Thank You, Thank You,

Sakon Nakhon Cable service grows

Sakon Nakhon Cable recently added a number of new channels to their lineup, and in the process made some changes.

At first I was a bit upset that the only English language movie channel got the ax. It was replaced with UNIVERSAL and SciFi.

Now if I miss the Jay Leno show on internet television, I can watch it weekdays at 5 p.m. on Sakon Nakhon cable.

English language channels on Sakon Nakhon Cable:

5 Universal, 8 Sci Fi, 9 Fox Crime, 21-22-23-24 S-Sport, 25 ESPN, 29 Music Lifestyle, 30 MTV, 41 National Geographic, 42 Zone Reality, 43 Bloomberg, 44 Aljazeera, 46 CCTV, 47 NHK, 48 Fashion

Cable service is limited to the Sakon Nakhon City area. Some channels are switched at times for special events and purposes

Sakon Nakhon TV Network 042730977

Single Didgit Temperatures Ahead ?

Single digit temperatures are forecast for mid December.
A month earlier than noted last winter season. It was January 12, 2009 when I noted It's shivering cold. Night time temperatures dropped to 7 C or 45 F.

Over the next few days nighttime temperatures will begin to drop to 16-15-13-14

30 year Average (1961-1990) low for November is 19C

All you can eat 49 Baht

Most all you can eat places had raised their prices in recent years.

But one near my house didn't, and is doing brisk business.

Ideally suited for large family dinners. This one was for mama's birthday.

Sakon Nakhon not a two airline town

TR Weekly has some more news regarding airline service to this area.

The NOK Air Schedule which starts Dec 4 ends February 1.

Sounds to me like high season service only.

Meanwhile PB Air is still struggling with airplane delivery, and may return to the local market.

Personally I would have preferred newer aircraft than the 12 year old planes they are expecting.

What this area really needs is a air shuttle service to Udon Thani for connecting flights.

With no great options on the horizon, I'm considering a trip to Vientiane to accomplish what a trip to Bangkok should have.

Read the TR Weekly article

Sakon Nakhon Flight Pricing

In response to a comment about pricing I did a bit of research. Here is what I came up with.

Destination	Rt Price Baht	Air 1 way	Price per km
Sakon Nakhon - Bangkok	5,530	524km	5.28
Udon Thani - Bangkok	3,298	450km	3.66
San Francisco - Los Angeles	*2,660	554km	2.40

*exchange rate USD 1 =33.3Baht

Reminds me of Thai bar pricing: Fewer customers, higher prices.

The limited three times a week schedule is a deterrent for me.

Considering the Bus for my upcoming round trip.

NOK Air anounces Sakon Nakhon Flights

NOK Air has posted flight schedules to Sakon Nakhon and Nakhon Phanom to take effect on December 3.

Sakon Nakhon flights will be limited to Monday, Friday, and Sunday. Round trip cost start at Baht 5,530 . Online Booking is available.

According to news reports the Sakon Nakhon route, among others has been revoked by PB air