Tha Rae Christmas Star Convoy

Got a late start getting to Tha Rae.  Parking was at a premium, but we got lucky.  The parade route was changed from previous years.  Walked through town thinking the parade was already done.  When we decided to head for a place to eat we were confronted by the parade taking up one lane of westbound traffic on the main highway.

More street vendors than ever, more lights than ever.

Stopped off to get something to eat, where a number of local friends joined us for the evening

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Football, Christmas, and an anniversary

Had the option to attend three football games Saturday.  Took the first offer which was the U-15 game. Some of those players sure looked a lot older than 15.
These young guys played fiercer than their adult counterparts.  Quite a few injuries and a few referee reprimands

181222 U-15 Sakon 1 Mahasarakham 2

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Tha Rae Christmas Festival gets in high gear tonight Dec 23

TAT advertises the longest fireworks display ever this New Year

Celebrating one year without cigarettes today. Used to smoke two to three packs a day.

The trade off has been weight gain on 10 kilo.

Due to injuries I have to limit my exercise to avoid pain medications. I hope to get some help with the aid of a tens unit. Used on for many years during my working years.

Late harvest hibiscus tea

As I harvest the last crop of the year over one hundred plants are already sprouting for next spring crop.  Each one of these buds has close to a dozen seeds. 

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It's the season, expect evening road checks

I lucked out a few years ago. I was such a heavy smoker that not enough air came out of my lungs to activate the analyzer. I quit smoking December 24, 2017

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Pleasant temperatures over the holidays

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Whispers are getting louder "Economy heading south"

Locally heard at a wholesaler "restaurant shopping is down."
Restaurant business is down, more empty tables visible
A Facebook user mentioned that business is very slow where he works at a Sakon City home improvement center.
Tourism is way down, even though government agencies stated it's not.

Why are so many hotels for sale? | Bangkok Post: business 10 Dec 2018 

My picture diary keeps on growing

Had planned to create a slideshow of 2018 when I realized that I still had quite a collection of unedited photo albums on my hard drive

Uploaded a series of pictures of a local temple to facebook which promptly  asked me to identify these characters. 

I do not identify any persons in my photos.  Facebook does that automatically, occasionally  it's wrong

It wasn't all that long ago (November 1st, 2016) that the U.S. government came out with a directive that you could no longer wear glasses for passport pictures.

Facial recognition software had problems identifying people with glasses. 

Still today at Thai 7-11 stores software has problems identifying faces with glasses.

Not too far in the future, you won't need a wallet. You can already board a plane without a boarding pass, facial recognition handles all the details, including charging the flight to your bank account. The challenge here will be identical twins.

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Slight warming trend over the Christmas holidays GO SEE Tha Rae

From the looks of this video, there's a lot more lights and decorations this year 

Sakon FC U-19 bad day at the office

Scored first, then let the opposing team score four times
1-4
The previous day U-15 returned home with a 1-1 draw

181216 U-19

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Father take Son To Work Day

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Christmas Rush at the US Embassy: Fifty dollar notarization stamp special. Embassy full day ends at 2 pm

---------- Forwarded message ---------

From: <acsbkk@state.gov>
Date: Fri, Dec 14, 2018 at 3:03 PM
Subject: Message for U.S. Citizens: Notarial Day

  

The Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok is pleased to offer a full-day of notarial services.

Date:  December 20, 2018.

Time:  0730-1400

Place: US Embassy Bangkok 95 Wireless Road, Bangkok

           

There will be approximately 400 notarial appointments available. All services will be provided by appointment only.  Please visit us here to make an appointment. 

Fees for notary services are $50.00 USD or 1700 Thai Baht per notarial stamp.

To expedite your service, please bring exact change or consider paying by credit card to facilitate the movement of people through their appointments.

Please arrive with your passport, a copy of your passport and documents filled-out completely, correctly, and NOT signed. Documents can be accessed through these links:  Notary– including Income Affidavits

general consensus "cool"

สกลนคร Sakon Nakhon

High amounts of pesticide found in study

further reading

 Weed Killer Residues Found In Popular Vegetables And Fruit - Khon Kaen Times November 26, 2017

 Study Finds High Pesticides Levels In Local Food - Khon Kaen Times  December 3, 2017

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From Clapsticks to Flutes

Times change, nothing stays the same.  That's very obvious with the Sakon Nakhon Chinese celebration in December. The yearly tradition continues with less fanfare.

Don't get me wrong, it was great fun today, things have changed.

Missing from today's celebrations were clapsticks, face painting, cobras, ankle wraps, high pole acts, just to name a few.

 Weeks before the event, 
 neighborhood kids would 
 spend their free times training with clapsticks. 

 There were a few painful learning moments.

 Participants arrived the evening before 
 and spent the night at the shrine for makeup 
 and a sleepover

 The high pole dragon fight 
 hasn't been part of the celebration 
 for a number of years

The human totem pole also has gone the way of history

Banners which were carried by two persons were this year pushed on racks. Eight banners pushed by four people per rack 

Totally missing this year was the fancy attire

Seems to me there were a few extra yellow lions in past years

  

New this year was a truck platform with a musical group and kids playing flutes

สกลนคร Sakon Nakhon x

New Facebook group : Expats in Sakon Nakhon

x
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Tradition: New Year Day gift exchange

Christmas is a christian holiday, not generally celebrated by Buddhists. There are some local enclaves where Christianity is practiced. 

Don't expect too many Christmas presents from Thais, even though they are quite willing to accept Christmas presents.

Over the years it's been my experience that Thais exchange gifts on New Years day. It's a good idea to have a few gifts at hand for any visitors on New Year Day.

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COOL SEASON Starts

Wednesday daytime 29, night time 16, temperatures and feels like are identical
similar temperatures till the new year. 
New Year daytime 26 nighttime 13


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Friday Cadet Event

I enjoy photographing people, editing the pictures becomes somewhat of a social study.  Some group photos I count the number of mobile phones in use. 

Some faces obviously indicate they'd really prefer to be doing something else right now.

Many of these photos where taken across the football field, so there was little posing for the camera: au natural 

A monk with an ingenious way of spraying holy water over a large group of cadets

Holy Water 'four point oh'

album 181207 Cadet

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Location settings follow you

Don't carry my mobile phone regularly.  It's obvious from my timeline on Google maps.  Carried it today and my timeline reflects when I started this trip, how long I traveled and how many kilometers I drove

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