Stocking up the freezer

Went to the Thai French butcher here in town and spent 1,200 Baht on a side of sirloin. Sliced it into eight servings of 450 grams each.  After a bit or marinating, they're ready for the freezer

Sakon Nakhon

The SOUND of ISAAN: Mor lum Night at the Temple Fair, January 11

Fair ends today January 12

Sakon Nakhon

ISAAN makes the list of CNN "17 best places to visit in 2017"

No Pandas in Isaan to my knowledge, the picture represents Chengdu, China in the CNN article
Isaan consists of 20 provinces in the northeastern region of Thailand

Sakon Nakhon

On the road in Thailand

5:15 futsal was on my schedule. I left home mid afternoon with a Chilly stop in mind. My motorcycle stereo is drawing quite a bit of attention, mostly smiling approval.    Of course there's that occasional "Crazy Foreigner" look.  610 baht and it's a mini ghettoblaster  Sitting at Chilly's  I was watching the after school rush hour.   Even at this major highway helmet wearing was way less than the 100% goal. Fact is, traffic was downright humorous entertainment. I'll have to set up my HD camera and let it record a few hours of traffic.  It wasn't as bad as some of the recent facebook postings

Sakon Nakhon

Futsal season

Told it starts at 5:15, but the team I came to see was the second game of the evening.  Watched a game of girls futsal.  Was intense action. A bit of pushing and shoving that was overlooked by the referee. First half was a bit dissapointing down 0 - 2. Second half was a different story, a 4 - 2 win. Known most of the team for many years from football to family parties.

Sakon Nakhon

Traffic advisory: January 14 and 15 Cycling tour

14 January STAGE 2 : Kalasin - Sakon Nakhon (131 KM)  15 January STAGE 3 : Sakon Nakhon - Nakhon Phanom (131 KM)

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Mourning cruise

If you're going to the fair, parking is best at the rear of the temple. Saw at least a dozen motorcycles getting ticketed in front of the temple where curbs are painted candy stripe red Went there early in the day to avoid the crowds Current exchange rate 100 baht equals US$2.81 Some of those herbs really smelled enticing No parking or reserved parking road markers

Sakon Nakhon

Great Entertainment

A Blues Session With Eugene Hideaway Bridges From Houston Texas USA. Venue: "2499" @ 217 Ban Ngio Don Moo 1, District Muang Sakon Nakhon Thailand Tel: 0934769790 Date: 11 January 2017 (2560) Time: 2100hrs Admission Free 2 Kilometer south of the last traffic lights on Thanon Borannasathan (I.T.U) road if you see this sign you are on the right road You can see the temple gate in the distance on your left view from the south Eugene last visited Sakon Nakhon in August of 2003

Sakon Nakhon

Ten years Sakon Nakhon - Live, a few memories

For the first four years my website and then the blog pretty much was the only effort to promote Sakon Nakhon tourism and the expat community. There was always this argument, was it a lake or was it a pond Pitstop begins My friend Colin always came with gifts One of the benefits of teaching was a visit to the governor's mansion

Sakon Nakhon

Some warm nights, some drizzle, cooler weather returns Friday

Sun 8 Mon 9 Tue 10 Wed 11 Thu 12 Fri 13 Sat 14 Accu Real Feel 35/22 34/22 34/23 38/24 37/23 35/20 32/14 Wunder feels like 34/22 34/23 33/23 34/23 34/22 31/18 30/17 Thai MD 32/22 31/21 30/20 30/21 31/21 30/19 Weather arriving from west-southwest. Slight chance of rain. Return to cooler temperatures begins Friday

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Temple fair first day

Not fully recovered from strep throat, so I had to forego the parade and opening day activities at the temple and of course the first night concert. Of special interest to me, this may be last chance of the season for chestnuts  Of course it's a non-alcohol event.  Evening concert with heavy security presence

Sakon Nakhon

Drug related shootout

Don't recognize the location. Post indicates PTT

Sakon Nakhon

Thailand Roads DANGEROUS

With much of Thailand's media restricted to report freely on select topics, highway accidents are becoming major news, as there are no restrictions on reporting such news.  Driver education is desperately needed

Sakon Nakhon

Strep throat is in the neighborhood, take precautions

Even though the temple fair officially starts Friday, everything has been in place for almost a week and vendors are open for business.

Will not be attending any public events for at least a few more days, as a quite serious strep throat became apparent yesterday afternoon.  I know now where and when I caught it.  Took three days till it hit me full force Strep throat is bacteria known as Streptococcus pyogenes, are highly contagious. They can spread through airborne droplets when someone with the infection coughs or sneezes, or through shared food or drinks  x

Sakon Nakhon

Maybe they should require passengers riding in pickup beds to wear helmets

The most horrific New Year accident, one of thousands is still being investigated. The cause to this point is a guess. Some say the driver fell asleep, others guess the driver lost control.  No matter what the final verdict, a serious lack of driver education and training is in part to blame.    If the driver lost control, then most likely he was traveling faster than safe. If he fell asleep, he should have been aware of warning signs and acted accordingly.    Passengers traveling in the bed of pickups would probably have fared better if helmets were required and worn

Sakon Nakhon

Evening US TV served up for breakfast tor brunch in Thailand

Schoener Fernsehen, a live tv streaming service, which had been free for a number of years, is now a pay service.  At 10 € per year it's very reasonable. The website broadcasts mostly German programming.  Some of it's English programs can be received free or at more advantageous pay packages.  USTV NOW provides US television overseas.  A number of channels are free once you register.  Pay packages start at US$19 per month for the first three months thaiexpat  Available in Thailand, offers UK and Australian packages starting at 600 Thai ฿   ilikehd Available in Thailand, extensive English, French, German, and Indian television. Packages start at 150 Thai ฿. Free Thai channels after registration  iflix starts at 100  per month. Free introductory month  I have used or am using these services for a number of years. Undoubtedly there are many other services which I am not familiar with. Feel free to leave a comment. My more extensive list of TV streaming services

Sakon Nakhon

Saturday feels like 35 to 37

Temperatures for the week very similar to today (Monday), high 32C, low lower 20C.  Weekend is going to be noticeably hotter with a possibility of light to heavy  rain, depending on location (scattered)

Sakon Nakhon

Recent facebook posts

So you thought you could beat the light

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The rest of the world is slowly catching on, they've even given it a name

The Bum Gun Been using them for years.  Must admit I have used it on occasion when needed for medical relief (enema).  Many public facilities furnish these sprayers instead of paper.  I never quite got used to using this method When traveling it's advisable to carry wet wipes

Sakon Nakhon

There's no 'Blue Monday' in Thailand

Thailand curb markings   Red and white stripes = No parking Yellow and white stripes = No parking, temporary loading zone Black and white = Distinguish the roadway, parking may be allowed Thailand colors of the day  Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
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