Life In Inspiring Isaan

Back from Vientiane

2011-06-05T09:25:00.000+07:00

Going to Laos, big queues at the border. Thai immigration had 2 counters open. I arrived just after one bus and another two arrived shortly after. Result, a long wait. Got to Laos and it took 5 minutes to get my visa and be in a taxi to Vientiane.

Low season is biting. My Tuk Tuk from Nong Khai bus station was only 80B. previously it had always been 100. Taxi from the border into Vientiane 200Baht, previously always 300B.

Vientiane itself was quiet, very quiet and it seemed hotels almost empty.

Had my baguette and coffee at my usual little coffee shop, Croissant D'Or, Enjoyed some nice wine and a good dinner which ended up being by candlelight as there was a power out.

Returned to my hotel to find it in darkness and the sole employee on duty sat outside. Asked him if he had a torch so I could get to me room. 'Sorry no, I only have my cellphone' And no offer to guide me. After a further 20 minutes of no lights I used my own cellphone and found my room, collected my bags and left for a hotel round the corner that had electricity.

Things are looking green thanks to the rain

2011-05-26T14:41:00.000+07:00

Eye of the storm

2011-05-21T18:50:00.000+07:00

Yep today is rain again.. One of the more violent, if less wet storms of the week.

First there is the distant role of thunder

The gathering storm clouds

Then the wind gets up

There is often a brief power outage

and finally the rain arrives.

It's stop after a brief downpour, but lookin g at th sky and hearing the trees in the wind, maybe we are just in the eye of the storm.

If it has truely passed then we were clipped by the edge. but yes, the wind has risen, teh rain has returned, we were in teh eye of the storm

I was not surprised when Nit and crew arrived back early.

2011-05-11T18:13:00.000+07:00

I could hear the thunder to the south... towards ku khao where they were selling and could sense the wind rising. The new tent struture could not stand up to the wind....

I am sensing a downpour soon..... The first drops have started, and the sky has darkened.

At least the oppresive humidity of earlier has gone.

The worse could still bypass us but we'll see.

Remember When....

2011-05-07T08:00:00.002+07:00

You were raised on egg & chips, played in the dirt, got smacked when you misbehaved, had 4 TV channels & no remote, school day always started with assembly, shops were closed Sunday, watched films without thinking they were real, recorded the top 40 from the radio by blocking the holes on casette tapes, drank water from a hose, didn't know what a Happy Meal was, and you still turned out OK

Back after my break

2011-05-06T16:22:00.000+07:00

I quickly remembered why I left Pattaya!

Signs iof low season with more bars restaurants with 'For Sale' signs than I've seen in some time.

Travels

2011-05-01T22:20:00.002+07:00

Off to patta for a few days tomorrow....

Need a change of scene

On This day - 1975: Saigon surrenders

2011-04-30T09:36:00.001+07:00

The war in Vietnam ended today as the government in Saigon announced its unconditional surrender to North Vietnamese forces. The President, Duong Van Minh, who has been in office for just three days, made the announcement in a radio broadcast to the nation early this morning. He asked his forces to lay down their arms and called on the North Vietnamese Army and Vietcong to halt all hostilities.
In a direct appeal to the Communist forces, he said: "We are here to hand over to you the power in order to avoid bloodshed."

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In The News

2011-04-28T09:39:00.000+07:00

Border Clashes Continue - Read More

Thai Navy wants U Boats - Read More

raids on radio stations boost fears of coup - Read More

Special Tourism Zone sought for Pattaya - Read More

More Fun

2011-04-23T14:39:00.004+07:00

Family are like underpants!!!! Some crawl up your ass, some get a little sideways, some are your favorite, some are holy, some are cheap and just plain nasty, some of them are full of shit, some you don't know how you got them, and some actually cover your ass when u need 'em too!" Re-post if you agree

I Like It.... Middle Ager Texting Codes

2011-04-22T18:06:00.001+07:00

ATD -at the doctors.

BFF -best friend fell.

BTW -bring the wheelchair.

BYOT -bring your own teeth.

FWIW -forgot where I was.

GGPBL -gotta go, pacemaker battery low.

GHA -got heartburn again.

IMHO -is my hearing aid on.

LMDO -laughing my dentures out.

OMMR -on my massage recliner.

ROFLACGU -rolling on floor laughing and can't get up.

TTYL -talk to you louder

in The News

2011-04-22T09:31:00.000+07:00

TV Blackout and troop movements in Bangkok - No Coup

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Another border clash with Cambodia

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Thai Ecotourism and Adventure Travel Association joins hands with Tourism Authority of Thailand to promote both domestic and international tourism to the Northeast using soft adventure and eco-tourism as the draw cards.

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In The News

2011-04-21T09:38:00.000+07:00

Thaksin faces party rebellion - Read More

Airlines hike surcharges - Read More

And In Korat......

The superintendent of Pho Kaew Police Station, Colonel Passakorn Klanwan, has been slapped with a transfer order for allowing an entertainment venue in his jurisdiction to stay open beyond authorised hours and welcome under-age patrons. - Read More

Appatrantly the police are to launch an investigation as to how the Pub could flout the law.... The article seems to given the answer when it says Pub records indicate 20 policemen were paid 500Baht a day by the pub.

I Like This

2011-04-20T22:17:00.003+07:00

AOCDRNDICG TO RSCHEEARCH AT CMABRIGDE UINERVTISY, IT DSENO'T MTAETR WAHT OERDR THE LTTERES IN A WROD ARE, THE OLNY IPROAMTNT TIHNG IS TAHT THE FRSIT AND LSAT LTTEER BE IN THE RGHIT PCLAE. TIHS IS BCUSEAE THE HUAMN MNID DEOS NOT RAED ERVEY LTETER BY ISTLEF, BUT THE WROD AS A WLOHE. IF YOU CAN RAED TIHS, PSOT IT TO YUOR BOLG

Songkran News

2011-04-20T10:22:00.001+07:00

The number of deaths from accidents during the seven-day Songkran long holidays this year has fallen by 25% from the same period last year.

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meanwhile it seems some might have been over zealous in their partying...

Topless teenage revellers fined B500 for obscenity Read More

In The News

2011-04-20T08:22:00.000+07:00

Pattaya gained the highest occupancy averages, January through to the end of April’s Songkran festival, of all the regions monitored by Thai Hotels Association,

Russia represents 40% to 45% of the international tourist market, followed by Korea, India and the domestic market, which supplies 15 to 20% of the resort’s year-round business.

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Tourism Authority of Thailand’s Nakhon Phanom office has partnered with the town’s municipality and tourism association to establish rent-a-bike tours that will follow a specified route along Mekong River embankment.

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A Hong Kong airline is making all its cabin crew take kung fu lessons to help them to deal with drunk and unruly passengers.

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Diesel taxes set to be dropped.... Read More

The Everything Thai Cookbook

2011-04-19T10:54:00.001+07:00

Football

2011-04-19T10:10:00.000+07:00

mukdahan 1 - Udon Thani 1

Next mtach - Udon - Korat April 24th

Death By Pad Thai

2011-04-18T10:48:00.001+07:00

Death by Pad Thai
Food isn’t just a gustatory pleasure; it is the stuff of life. At its best and most memorable, a meal becomes a story—and a story becomes a feast. In this collection of essays by some of the country’s finest writers, food is the central player in memories both exquisite and excruciating. Steve Almond recounts the gleeful daylong preparation of a transcendent lobster pad thai dish. Sue Miller reveals that after a lifetime of practical cooking, she is finally fed by a man who presents food as an offering, made just for her. Aimee Bender ponders her lifelong envy of what everyone else is having for lunch. Richard Russo relates the celebratory day he and his wife spent eating their way through haute Manhattan—and departing utterly famished. Expertly compiled and edited by Douglas Bauer—including pieces by Amy Bloom, Peter Mayle, Jane and Michael Stern, Ann Packer, and Andre Dubus III—this unforgettable collection presents food as education, test, reward, bait, magnet, and, most of all, gift. Gathered here are meals that sate our most complex palate, the appreciation of life. From the Trade Paperback edition.

Great Reads - Bangkok Haunts

2011-04-17T10:42:00.001+07:00

The Scoreless Thai

2011-04-16T10:52:00.002+07:00

The Scoreless Thai
Evan Tanner can't sleep. Ever. Which gives him plenty of free time to get involved in lots of interesting endeavors in all sorts of exotic locales. Now Tanner's in Thailand with a partially baked plan and a butterfly net, hoping to snare a beautiful missing chanteuse who's metamorphosed into an international jewel thief. Tanner hopes everyone will buy his disguise as a rare butterfly researcher. And everyone does . . . Except the guerilla band holding him captive. They intend to remove his head when the sun rises, so Tanner must put his fate in the hands of a randy Thai youth who will do anything for a woman, even set a suspected spy free. Soon they're running through the jungle together, chased by bandits, soldiers, and yellow fever, and racing headlong into the heart of darkness—and into the flames of war.

Pearls of Wisdom

2011-04-15T21:06:00.001+07:00

To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people just exist, that’s all."So live each day to it's fullest. ENJOY!

On This Day - 1998: Former Cambodian dictator dies

2011-04-15T09:35:00.001+07:00

The former Cambodian dictator, Pol Pot, whose regime led to the deaths of millions of his people, has died. Journalists who were shown his body in a village in western Cambodia were told he had died of a heart attack.
After initial scepticism most of the journalists said they were confident it was Pol Pot.

Great Reads - Bangkok Tattoo

2011-04-14T10:40:00.006+07:00

Bangkok Tattoo
Detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep of the Royal Thai Police returns in his riveting and smokily atmospheric new thriller. A farang–a foreigner–has been murdered, his body horribly mutilated, at the Bangkok brothel co-owned by Sonchai’s mother and his boss. The dead man was a CIA agent. To make matters worse, the apparent culprit is sweet-natured Chanya, the brothel’s top earner and a woman whom the devoutly Buddhist sleuth has loved for several lifetimes. How can Sonchai solve this crime without sending Chanya to prison? How can he engage in a cover-up without endangering his karma? And how will he ever get to the bottom of a case whose interested parties include American spooks, Muslim fundamentalists, and gangsters from three countries? As addictive as opium, as hot as Sriracha chili sauce, and bursting with surprises, Bangkok Tattoo will leave its mark on you. From the Trade Paperback edition.

Great Reads - Bangkok 8

2011-04-13T10:38:00.005+07:00

Bangkok 8
A thriller with attitude to spare, Bangkok 8 is a sexy, razor-edged, often darkly hilarious novel set in one of the world’s most exotic cities. Witnessed by a throng of gaping spectators, a charismatic Marine sergeant is murdered under a Bangkok bridge inside a bolted-shut Mercedes Benz. Among the witnesses are the only two cops in the city not on the take, but within moments one is murdered and his partner, Sonchai Jitpleecheep—a devout Buddhist and the son of a Thai bar girl and a long-gone Vietnam War G.I.—is hell-bent on wreaking revenge. On a vigilante mission to capture his partner’s murderer, Sonchai is begrudgingly paired with a beautiful FBI agent named Jones and captures her heart in the process. In a city fueled by illicit drugs and infinite corruption, prostitution and priceless art, Sonchai’s quest for vengeance takes him into a world much more sinister than he could have ever imagined. From the Trade Paperback edition.