NxaiPan

Looks like the MRC has backed down from a full blown confrontation over the Sayaburi dam, see attached.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203501304577086012500372618.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Hopefully this is just a face-saving exercise and the new environmental report will drag on a while. Strange though because the MRC rejected the environmental impact assessment report it commissioned last year as it was too straightforward about the likely problems involved with damming the main stream of the Mekong. We then had the joke of a report by the notoriously "open-minded" and generous in its views Swiss company Poyry, all done in less than a month which raised endless issues with the dam and then promptly ignored them to enable the Laos government to continue construction as they had "done" an environmental report.

So humble pie time for Laos, an undignified silence from the Thai side (apart from the cancelling of some expensive Christmas shopping), and while Cambodia has been ambivalent, Vietnam had everything to lose and nothing to gain so must be jubilant.

Some kudos should be given to Clinton and the US State Dept who at the very least gave the issue a major public airing which contributed to today's decision.

Beer Lao?

Article from International Rivers pointing out this dam will be Thai financed, Thai built and 95% of energy will be consumed by Thai customers.

http://www.internati...le-xayaburi-dam

Nice little piece from the WSJ summarizing the situation and what is at stake this week in Siem Reap if the MRC nods through the Xayaburi project.

http://blogs.wsj.com...oogle_news_blog

Classic piece of Thai cash-induced myopia.

"Thailand's energy minister, Preecha Rengsomboonsuk told reporters last week that the dam is Laos's internal affair and Thailand won't intervene. Laos, he said, will have to take care of the environmental impact by itself."

Seems to overlook the fact that the dam impacts 3 other countries (Thailand, Cambodia & Vietnam), that the actual environmental impacts have not yet been properly identified, and also Laos lacks the means to address most of the likely impacts on its own. For exactly these reasons this is why the MRC was set up and that's why Thailand is a member of the MRC, not some disinterested, self-serving observer.

The following link highlights the problems already created by dams on the Upper Mekong in China and tributaries of the Lower Mekong in Laos.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-10-26/china-hydropower-dams-in-mekong-river-give-shocks-to-60-million.html

This will all seem small beer once the Laos government/Thais start building major dams on the main course of the river, starting with Sayaburi if consensus is achieved this week. All it takes is greed and short-sightedness and the Mekong will be transformed with potentially grave consequences.

Dams with transnational impact? What about the Pak Moon Dam? While it is built entirely on the Thai side wouldn't you also say that it has transnational Impact? Afterall - it also does affect fish migration, the natural flow of water leading to the Mekong River is also affected, etc.

Is this Laos Dam a run-of-river dam on the Mekong itself or on a tributary within Laos?

Xayaburi dam will be the first dam (outside China, where there are already 3 and 2 more under construction, see map) on the main course of the Mekong not a tributary.

The concern is that Xayaburi, if approved by the MRC (who cannot stop construction, but countries are expected to reach consensus on any project that impacts other countries represented by the MRC; China & Myanmar are not members but have observer status), will become a precedent and will trigger the remaining dams planned for Laos and potentially Cambodia, along the main river.

I do not think that those high class Brits that hang out at the Gymkhana Club pay barfines or have fallen women hanging around. They have afternoon tea and play croquet with their blueblood wives and that kind of stuff from what I am told.

Rubbish.

Everyone knows there is no such thing as a high class Brit.

That's only true in Chiang Mai.

You have to buy it and you get "free" nights in the hotel, 1/2 off in the restaurants and other stuff for one year.

Is this "membership" card for the Shangri La or Le Meridien? Could be both as most hotels seem to do similar such programmes.

Just tried a bottle of Chang Export last night and don't see where all the bickering is coming from, it is probably one of the top beers i've had here in Thailand, good stuff!

Given a choice between Leo, Singha, Archa, San Miguel, Chang Draught and even Heineken...I would choose this beer over the others, even over Beer Lao and possibly my beloved Guiness. I'd say its almost in the same league as Hoegarden, Stella and Leffee. Just a little bit lighter - which means you can drink it faster, and didn't feel bloated at all.

Some of you with bulging beer guts may want to consider it.

I think I'll have one for breakfast.

:cheesy: :cheesy: you obviously had way too much if you think that.

Agree with the first part, Chang Export is better than the run of the mill Thai brews (including Heineken, San Mig, Chang, Singha etc), simply because the Export actually has some taste rather than just being cold, gassy water.

Secondly lumping Stella with Leffe and Hoegaarden is truly laughable. Stella is a mass market brew designed to compete with Euro dishwater products like Carling, Carlsberg and Heineken.

The fatal mistake was comparing Chang Export to a proper beer. The beer in Thailand basically sucks if you want more than something cold and wet with a dollop of alcohol to numb the senses. I'm yet to come across a tropical country with decent beer that tastes of something. Perhaps I've been conditioned by drinking hoppy, dark beers or Czech/German/Belgian lagers & pilsners.

Chang Export in the same league as Hoegaarden? As likely as Chiangmai FC in the same league as Barcelona.

Well said mate, its nowhere in the same street as Stella, but as a palatable drink here in Thailand its top. Having sold loads of beer here to expats in my bars usually Leo, I can honestly say that since the arrival of Chang Export its now nearly taken over with the regulars as the beer of choice.

As a follow up question do you know if Chang Export's arrival at the same time as the floods and the short-term dislocation of beer supplies was just a coincidence, or is Export actually designed for export?

Just tried a bottle of Chang Export last night and don't see where all the bickering is coming from, it is probably one of the top beers i've had here in Thailand, good stuff!

Given a choice between Leo, Singha, Archa, San Miguel, Chang Draught and even Heineken...I would choose this beer over the others, even over Beer Lao and possibly my beloved Guiness. I'd say its almost in the same league as Hoegarden, Stella and Leffee. Just a little bit lighter - which means you can drink it faster, and didn't feel bloated at all.

Some of you with bulging beer guts may want to consider it.

I think I'll have one for breakfast.

:cheesy: :cheesy: you obviously had way too much if you think that.

Agree with the first part, Chang Export is better than the run of the mill Thai brews (including Heineken, San Mig, Chang, Singha etc), simply because the Export actually has some taste rather than just being cold, gassy water.

Secondly lumping Stella with Leffe and Hoegaarden is truly laughable. Stella is a mass market brew designed to compete with Euro dishwater products like Carling, Carlsberg and Heineken.

The fatal mistake was comparing Chang Export to a proper beer. The beer in Thailand basically sucks if you want more than something cold and wet with a dollop of alcohol to numb the senses. I'm yet to come across a tropical country with decent beer that tastes of something. Perhaps I've been conditioned by drinking hoppy, dark beers or Czech/German/Belgian lagers & pilsners.

Chang Export in the same league as Hoegaarden? As likely as Chiangmai FC in the same league as Barcelona.

Nobody has mentioned Disneyland in Hong Kong. If there was a direct flight from CNX it would be great for families with kids to go over there for a few days.

Can anybody comment from first hand experience about Disneyland and other amusement parks in Hong Kong?

Cheers :jap:

I've done the HK Disneyland in 2007. I don't know if it's increased in size since then but I thought it was rather small compared to those in the U.S. I think anyone who has been to Disney and Epcot in Florida has seen the best they have and most others are a bit of an anti-climax after that lot. To be honest I could have done all the Hong Kong one in about half a day if I was in a hurry and there are quite a lot of features where only Chinese is spoken. On the up side; it's very cheap for tickets compared to others and you have time to fit in other sights on the same day if you have a tight schedule and a lot that you want to see.

Don't know about any other theme parks but plenty to do in HK of varied interest, great for shopping and multitude of great Restaurants.

Went there recently, it's a small version so disappointing if you have been to Orlando. Best for younger kids, teenagers would get bored pretty quick. They are just about to open a Toy Story section at HK Disneyland which will increase its size and rides materially.

Ocean Park on Hong Kong Island is another option with more rides and better suited for older kids.

Personally I love HK, great vibe, food and setting, much more interesting than squeaky-clean Singapore. Also as a major transport hub you can combine HK with China, the Philippines, Borneo etc

Roll on Air Asia CNX-HKG.

Casino would be super welcome for the Northern region yes. I can't see it happening of course.

Probably rather missed the boat on the casino plan with Macau catering for HK and mainland Chinese, Genting in Malaysia, and even Singapore now having a casino at Marina Bay.

Only Thailand and Brunei of the ASEAN nations do not have any official casinos, but illegal casinos are apparently very common and Myanmar and Laos have few scruples about building them at the border.

Of course any possible problem with runway-length can be avoided, by stopping half-way somewhere in the Gulf, to fill-up with cheap fuel, thus reducing their take-off weight at CNX ! European charter-airlines flying to Phuket in the winter-season certainly already do that.

I suspect that 3,000 meters would be sufficient for a fully-loaded A380 making a normal take-off, but might not allow for any problem like an engine-flameout during the takeoff-run. We were visited in CNX, a couple of years ago, by an Airbus A380 making a demonstration-flight up from Bangkok ... quite a few enthusiasts went to see it arrive, super aircraft and very quiet !

Meanwhile the 747-400s of TG already operate daily CNX-BKK, with a relatively-light load of fuel & freight, on their 10.00 scheduled-departure.

But I'm wandering off-thread, apologies to the OP. :jap:

All fascinating stuff, but sadly I fear direct flights to Europe or the US from CNX are unlikely to happen anytime soon.

In the meantime, being more realistic, let's just hope that Air Asia can deliver on a flight to HKG, with Luang Prabang, Mandalay, Siem Reap and Vietnam being next on the wishlist.

Why bothering about booze when water is still a scarce supply?

Beer is 95% water. Just as good!

Could actually be part of the answer. Throughout Middle Ages Europe beer was drunk (albeit at very low alcohol levels) as a substitute for polluted water, hence most villages had their own brewhouse.

it also doesn't half take the edge off a crappy day surrounded by floodwater.

I know they have them on the Bar at The Red Lion as I was in there last night

Thanks for the tips.

Just got back from the Olde Bell where they have a box of poppies on the bar for sale.

In case there are any misconceptions out there, Remembrance Day and the poppy is not about glorifying war. The most genuine anti-war people are soldiers who have actually experienced it. The money raised goes to the Royal British Legion, who do a great job,alongside many others, of helping out some of the physical and mental victims of warfare.

Without wishing to get too preachy, if folks are in the Olde Bell or Red Lion tonight or tomorrow, it would be great if you thought about buying a poppy.

Keen to get hold of some poppies for Remembrance Day tomorrow, for myself and other Commonwealth colleagues.

Any suggestions re where I can get some?

There's a handful of South Africans/Zimbabweans working in the tobacco business around Lampang.

I heard about flights to Yunnan, but not sure. Maybe a nice visa trip.

China Eastern daily from CNX at 7.30pm to Yunnan.

90 minute flight on a CRJ.

Chinese visa from the consulate on south side of moat, easy trip.

You can also fly Lao Airlines to Luang Prabang daily, Air Bagan to Yangon and Korean Air to Seoul both fly Thursdays & Sundays on these routes.

Think that the China Airlines flight to Taipei no longer runs.

neat question.

the flood area map produced post the 2005 CM floods (and reproduced in many posts in the last few days) highlights a simple fact that jumps off the page. The original site for CM within the moat was chosen 715 years ago to avoid the risk of floods.

Much subsequent development has overlooked this very real threat and as a direct consequence has to occasionally pay the price for being located on the Ping flood plain.

Human action or inaction; damming, dredging, wall building etc do little in the long run to address the fundamental problem. The function of flood plains is to absorb excess capacity during flood events.

Obviously it is way too late to turn back the clock in CM or in any other flood plain located city in the world. Millions of people and billions of $ worth of property are on floodplains and cannot be simply shifted.

Massive problem, no easy solution. That old cliche concerning "rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic", unfortunately sums up much "flood prevention" engineering.

looks like Typhoon Nesat should have blown out by Sunday when it could get here

http://www.wundergro...g/wp201120.html

Sure hope it does die out or at least turn more northerly. Still looks like quite a bit of moisture heading this way and that's just what we don't need.

See attached for update on Nesat storm track.

Good news. Nesat already downgraded to Tropical storm (wind speeds 39-73mph) and is due to be downgraded to a Tropical Depression (wind speeds <39mph) soon after it makes landfall in the Red River Delta SE of Hanoi.

Given that we are over 500 miles from the predicted landfall location , plus the intervening relief, it is likely that this storm will have lost much of its punch (tropical cyclones derive their energy from warm seas) by the time it reaches this area on about Tuesday.

But as ever it's worth keeping an eye out just in case things change.

The 2005 flood record posted above (#27) is significant if you want to compare events. Note the peak water levels in 2005 were far above those now anticipated from the hydrological stations.

Even more significant, probably, is the continued paths of Pacific storms making landfall to the east. The ground is very, very saturated in NW Thailand. That suggests that run-off will be even greater in the near term.

Rent an Army Duck (if people can remember what they were and find one)!

You won't have much joy renting an Army "duck" in Thailand. Presume you mean a DUKW, and they went out of service 30 years ago (though the Bootnecks still use a handful as runarounds at Instow in north Devon).

Your best bet for a DUKW in this neck of the woods is Singapore where 2 different tour companies run DUKWs for land/water trips around the city.

The RTA do have Vikings for flood relief work, prefer one of those to a DUKW anyday.

Can't comment on this particular restaurant but we did come across Francesca Pizzeria last weekend, which is on the ring road, and close by. We thought the food was authentic and of excellent quality. Believe the owner, Luca, used to work at another Italian restaurant in CM and is well known. Small and cosy setting and I hope he does well.

Apologies that should have have read,of course, Canal Road

Exactly where is this Francesca Pizzeria on the Canal Rd? After all it must be about 20km long!

Hang Dong Rd south to Big C.

Turn right/west. (pass Pizza n Pasta's new location 500m on left). Pass new Siwalee development and the ludicrous windmill.

Turn left/south on Canal.

Pass the market, Tesco Express and 7-11. Right hand bend.

Emperor 1 moo baan on right hand side, row of shops on left, Francesca's is on the end of the row on your left, large sign on edge of road. If you get to the row of shops on left with another 7-11 you have gone too far, so double back oppsite the entrance to Nai Fan 2.

Well worth a visit, go beyond the pizza and pasta to really enjoy Lucca's cooking.

Beer Laos' niche is more being a palatable beer from an exotic land than anything else. No particular reason to think that it's an organic product.

I don't mean for it to be organic, just free of chemicals or additives or other toxic substances. I doubt many or any beers in england are organic. It would just be nice to find a bottled beer here that is only brewed with natural ingredients. Just like many beers in britain or germany or belgium.

Federbrau brewed by Chang and is claimed to be brewed naturally under the German Brewing laws.

bout as rare as hen's teeth these days. Shame as it's quite tasty.

Federbrau is available in Tesco Express in either the small can or 650ml bottle, and is better than most but Beer Lao benefits from the fact that it's largely owned by Carlsberg and has the all important ingredient, imported European hops.

Hops seem to be completely absent from Chang, Singha etc, hence the reason they taste as good as that old rice beer Bud.

I got stung on the ciggies when I asked a friend to get me some while he was there a few years ago

He bought from a street vendor instead of the proper duty free shop. My fault, I should have told him.

What I ended up with was beutifully copied packs and ciggies that were filled with Lord only knows what, certainly unusable

Never buy ANYTHING from the street vendors there.

Just wondering having read about the prevalence of counterfeit wine, is any of the stuff for sale in Tachilek the real stuff or just plonk with fancy labels?

If you buy from the duty free shop just on the other side of the border crossing (right hand) all their wine is genuine and very good value for money with a decent bottle bottle being 99 baht.

They also sell genuine spirits, you can get a bottle of gin for 100 baht , but its not that good, but the brand names are also cheap, a few years ago me and some freinds brought some High

Commssioner scotch, very good, 850 baht for 5 litres, of course thats way more than you are allowed to bring

in and we were stopped by customs, but we argued we had only got one bottle each, and on that particular

day we got away with it, on another day we probably would not ,plus they are stricter than they were at

customs these days, but at the price it was worth taking the risk at 170 baht a litre:)

Is that the store down a lane to the right and on the right? Quite fancy with lots of fancy looking wine and spirits?

Joe

While I teach at Lanna Intl I would like to think I can be objective. What sort of school are you looking for? Give me your requirements and I will make some suggestions.

crikey it's depressing reading this with my first boy about a year away from entering primary school and another not far behind....

i've been researching this topic pretty diligently for months now by reading forums, looking at the school websites and brochures, trawling through the various other sites that feature reviews of the schools in thailand and canvassing the opinions of other parants i know with kids in school in thailand with the desire to make the considered choice my kids deserve.

we're free to live pretty much anywhere in thailand as i work offshore and would gladly move to the place with the best schools for the kids, so location wasn't a factor it really came down to which school was best.

i had hoped given the time and effort i have put in by now that i would be nearing some sort of conclusion about where to send the kids. but i keep experiencing the same thing - namely that all the schools are damned in one place or another - most of them indeed are widely damned - and even schools widely regarded as the "best" still come in for some pretty convincingly argued and severe criticism - by that i mean arguments and points made convincingly enough that if they were about a school private or otherwise in the uk i would run a mile!

given all this i think in all likelihood, we'll educate the kids until the end of primary school here, then move back to the uk.

shame, really .....

If you are able to live anywhere inThailand, would Chiang Mai not be a better bet? nicer place and much cheaper than BKK IMHO. Good range of intl schools at a range of prices.

We're only blessed if there are decent candidates, the people are smart enough to elect them, and the military doesn't stage a coup after a few months.

All very big if's.

First 2 problems are sadly found in all democratic countries hence the electoral success of bozos like Bush junior, Blair & Berlusconi is purely down to voters being foolish enough to vote for them (and in these 3 cases, more than once).

Third issue is luckily only found in half-baked democracies where the politicians lack the cojones to face down the military. Turkey was once little different interms of the military believing it upheld some sacred function to save the country from it's voters preference as only the military know best. Erdogan's greatest legacy in Turkey will be returning the military to being a servant of the state rather than the reverse. One day it might even happen here, but I won't hold my breath.