Thursday, May 24, 2012

Sakon Nakhon Highways

 Watching traffic go by


. 

Truck collision kills two


Husband and wife were  in a fierce argument when they left their business, according to witnesses.
Further details at Thai Chanel 3 online

 Anton reports on Facebook:

 Mein erster Unfall My first Accident.

 From what he writes I can only add that
 he's very lucky that it did not reminiscent the O.K coral.

 Why did the fish cross the road?

Officially the rainy season began on May 5 in Thailand, according to the meteorological department.   
Locally, we've had rain here and there, but nothing really to call it the start of the rainy season.  In fact as late as last week there were media reports that drought conditions prevailed in some parts of the province. 
Of course that all changed yesterday, when it rained most of the afternoon and overnight.
At times the rain was heavy enough to inundate the road in front of my house.
Fish were  jumping in the street.
This morning we have a bucket full of fish.
We had to place a lid on the bucket with some heavy weights to keep the fish from jumping away. 

Weather outlook "Soup's on"

Weather is moving from west to east

 Who is next

  • First the Thai government bought rice from farmers to raise their standard of living.
  • Next the government is buying rubber from other producing countries to raise the price of rubber to enhance Thai rubber farmers standard of living.
  • Then the shrimp farmers made their plea to the government 
  • Now it's the pineapple growers demanding that the government buy their fruit
                  Pineapple farmers protest, block road


Grandfather watching his grandson, had to go to the toilet, grandson went for a drive through heavy traffic. Survives unscathed.


Babysitter's prank nearly turned tragic


Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Rain Retreat

English teachers needed 

at Ban Muang Pitthayakhom School
Ban Muang is 120 km north of Sakon Nakhon (city)

Job details at  Ajarn Job Space posted on May 19




Robin Gibb dies at age 62

Visakha Bucha Day June 4

commemorates three Buddhist events:

  • the birth of Buddha,
  • his enlightenment,
  • and his passing.




Funny Mail

Sunday, May 20, 2012

The Football Grinch at Mukdahan

Grinch:  a person who ruins the pleasure of others. 
 กรินช์:   สถานที่ปรักหักพังคนมีความสุขของผู้อื่น 
Sakon Nakhon FC is experiencing one of their worst season since their inception in 2005. 
12 games, 10 losses and 2 draws.  Attendance to some games is less than 10% of stadium capacity. 
Sakon Nakhon FC visited Mukdahan Saturday.  Mukdahan is not faring much better: 8 losses, 2 draws, 2 wins.  The stadium was, at my estimates, at 25% of capacity. 
Within minutes of arriving at the game, an official confronted us and advised us that bullhorns used by cheering fans are not allowed. The official came across as a real ahole, no tact, very unprofessional.
He stated only drums were allowed for cheering. 
Surprisingly a stereo to the right of the stands blared music throughout the entire game. The type of music you'd expect to hear at a nightclub. 
To the left of the stands a band cheered on the Mukdahan team.


At 55 minutes into the game, the official seemed to decide that band music was also not allowed. 
This time he sent in the police to stop the music.  At first the cops seemed confounded and somewhat reluctant to carry out the order of silence.  They did follow orders, they talked to one of the cheering team members in a very polite manner


After that, at times there was a deafening silence from the crowd.  Had it not been for the nightclub music, the stadium could have been mistaken for a library on Sunday. 
The bullhorn has been used by the Sakon Nakhon cheerleader for over a year without incident.

From the looks of the official he didn't enjoy the game.

Frequently this official assumed the duties of police, removing people who wandered past the field gate.

The refereeing at the game wasn't that good either.  There should have been a couple of yellow cards and even a red card.



Sakon FC next hosts Nakhon Phanom, Sunday, May 27, 5 pm
The game will most likely be another loss for Sakon Nakhon FC

Emergency repairs underway at Collapsed River Bank

Memories in the Wild



1974 Washington State, North Cascades National Park

Friday, May 18, 2012

Sakon Nakhon New Road Proposed





  Motorcycle stunts performed at Tha Rae

 My residence is about to change
   from a house on a 'Dead End Soi'
   to a house on a 'Highway,' 
and I'm not even moving

Heard about a new proposed highway some months ago.
At that time they were talking about tearing down houses across the street from me, including an apartment building which was built in 2007.

Had not heard much about it since and considered the matter as just a rumor.

My heart almost skipped a beat when I saw a map at Facebook - Sakon Nakhon Daily  depicting the "new red road.

The map is quite small, so it's impossible to tell the exact route.  No one in the neighborhood seems to be aware of the latest developments.  No one is packing.

It's going to be interesting how this unfolds

 Sakon Nakhon FC at Mukdahan

 Saturday, May 19 4 pm

Sakon Nakhon Teaching Jobs

 Sakon Nakhon Rajabhat University 


  • applications accepted through May 22

 Donna Summer 

  Dead at age 63 (1948 - 2012)


Thursday, May 17, 2012

Sakon Nakhon avoids heavy rains

 Santol

Apricot look and feel, (except for the long stem).

Extremely tart (sour), probably the reason why it's also called sour apple.

Probably would make an excellent wine

wikipedia

 Weather

System to the north of us (Sakon City).
System to the south of us.
Been like that for over a week.


 Storm hits North, Southeast; one killed in Chonburi - MCOT
Ocean temperatures are heating up with the first thunderstorms of the season in the East Pacific

 Worth reading

 Artist's rendition of Nong Hang Park development

 SAKON NAKHON-City of Beautiful lake, Beautiful Mountain and Beautiful Girl Page 229


Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Overnight travel to Nakhon Phanom

 The reason for this trip

I had been asked to attend a school event.  I'm taking a guess that is was a student activities day.
The invitation came from the same person who welcomes me into his house during the Tha Rae Christmas and Easter celebrations.
The musical entertainment was worth the trip in itself.
Students and teachers were just super friendly, all the makings of a very pleasant day.

 Overnight stay at Nakhon Phanom

Stayed at what used to be called Grand View hotel.
Now it's listed as View Kong, but I did not see any oversized guerrilla.
The Mekong river water level seemed quite low




Protected by a wall of sand, they were busy scooping up truckloads of sand, possibly to improve the river's shipping capability.  The sand is being used at constructions sites.

Something became very obvious on this trip: Driving at night I was going much slower than the 100+ on the return trip during the day.
I used twice as much gas going at high speeds

 A must read for all Expats living in Thailand



 Now there's an alternative

 Heavy rain expected throughout Thailand,

   Except Maybe...

The National Warning Center advises heavy rain is  expected throughout the country.
 "... also heavy rain in the country’s northern, northeastern and eastern regions as well as the western coast of the South from now until May 18th."
A weather warning posted May 16, at the Thai Meteorological Department makes no mention of the North East, but extends the warning until May 19 

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Too Much Hullabaloo

The making of a Temple  Statue


Very ceremoniously, dignified ritualistic event 

Nakhon Phanom F.C. clobbers Mukdahan F.C.

Very seldom are football games from the Thai Division 2 League North Eastern Region broadcast live on television.
Sunday, the game between Nakhon Phanom and Mukdahan was the exception.
It's of local interest for a number of reasons:
Sakon F.C. travels to Mukdahan for it's next challenge on May 19.
The following weekend (May 27) Sakon F.C. hosts Nakhon Phanom.
The Mukdahan game next weekend is winnable by Sakon.
Mukdahan is in 14th place, while Sakon is in 16th (last) place, in the league.
Nakhon Phanom is in third position in the league.  A number of their players are former Sakon FC players.

At the Edge of a storm

May 14, 5 am
   
May 15, 4:20 am
A storm had been growing just north of us for the past three days.
Hasn't moved very much, just been growing in intensity.
Weather services seem to be at odds what's going to happen locally.
Some predict 75% chance of rain, while others are at a low 20% today.
Chance of rain seems more likely in the coming days.
5 am this morning temperatures dropped to a very pleasantly cool.

Blinded by the light


Naga Hullabaloo 



Months after the sighting of the phenomenon on Nong Han, claims continue to surface that Naga has appeared.
I'm more of a believer of the scientific explanation, especially since no sighting to the dragon head have been reported.
 A standing or stationary wave. It is created when two opposing waves meet 

Crystal Ball Vision?


Funny Mail