gomangosteen

Appears to confirm post I made earlier.

Different news stories ... Khaosod has this

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SA KAEO — A manhunt for drug suspects who staged a dramatic breakout from a Pattaya court came to an end Wednesday with one of the fugitives committing suicide and police arresting the other two.  

 

Bart Allen Helmus briefly held his wife and accomplice Sirinapa Wisetrit as a hostage at gunpoint as police were closing on them in Sa Kaeo province before turning the gun on himself. The other suspect, Noi Nilthes, also surrendered himself to the police on the same day. 

Regional differences ... In 2013 the two national parks near us had signs up clearly stating 'Thai ID card' only for the lower price. 

For the ticket sellers, and remember it's not their decision, would have made their job easier. No foreigners waving driver licences (never understood that argument, it's a driver licence, nothing more) or work permits

We still go often to Namtok Phliu, 200 b (for me) is a bargain for all the place offers, great for our family day out.

Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia also have similar reduced prices for locals, we travel often and don't complain about their price structures.

Heading to/from Koh Chang?

On the mainland, this is Phliu (near Namtok Phliu National Park) between Chanthaburi city and Khlung in Trat province yesterday evening

^ Chanthaburi's best known landmark is the Cathedral. A significant Catholic population:

Chanthaburi Diocese:

45,931 Catholics (2015)

Statistics: 40 parishes, 11 missions, 96 priests (79 diocesan, 17 religious), 305 lay religious (148 brothers, 157 sisters), 13 seminarians (2015)

2 hours ago, Rocking Robert said:

WHY THAILAND AND JAPAN DOES NOT MAKE SENSE 

Why the block capitals?

If you can read the original post:

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the 350th anniversary of the founding of the "Mission de Siam" by Pope Clement IX to oversee missions in Siam

September storms, no swimming on the Chan coast 

And some of my earlier photos of the salt harvest, Pa Daeng, Chanthaburi

Salt farm at Pa Daeng Chanthaburi, about 20km from Chan city and 10 from Chao Lao.

The cafe opened late 2018

Chan, across the river from the central city, possibily from KP Grand Hotel

In the news ... another Spitfire, this one in Australia

THE UNTOLD TALE OF THE LAST AUSTRALIAN SPITFIRE

The local story of a flying legacy.

19 August 2019

With only 60 Spitfires deemed air-worthy in the world and the rest retired to exhibitions, the question of how this particular Spitfire, still in its immaculate factory form and certified for flight, ended up in a quaint Australian hangar in central New South Wales. 

RIP Nat, a huge contribution to surf lifesaving in Phuket, and a legacy for the future. One of the genuine good guys.

He was there from the start, 2001.

Found this article A History of Lifesaving in Phuket Thailand 2001 -2011 an indication of his involvement and dedication for almost 20 years

I was a volunteer 2009-10 till we moved from Phuket, sea and pool water safety for kids, they'll be adults now

3 October 2009, 2nd Phuket Surf Lifesaving competition

1st progress report

Silver Spitfire pilot log week one: starry send-off propels record attempt into ice-cold skies

16 August 2019

Last week, the Silver Spitfire project took off from Goodwood with a daring challenge ahead: to complete the wartime aircraft's first ever circumnavigation of the globe.

Helming a restored and slightly modified Mark IX, pilots Matt Jones and Steve Brooks flew north, stopping first in Scotland, then Iceland. Earlier this week, they made it to the Arctic Circle, where the Spitfire's polished silver regalia echoed the pristine white of Greenland's extensive glacier.

So far, the duo have racked up approximately 14 hours of flight time, and landed at seven different airfields. In the coming weeks, they will be updating Telegraph readers on their adventure, as they head through North America and into the wilderness of western Russia.

The next Silver Spitfire pilot's log will be published at midday on Friday 23 August.

Examples of recent restorations in Chanthaburi

These seven buildings inside the army grounds are from the mid 1890s when under French occupation, restored between 2013-17 and now open to the public on holidays/long weekends

Built 1896

News item on this Spitfire

HOW IWC SCHAFFHAUSEN IMMORTALISED AN ICON OF THE SKIES WITH THE SILVER SPITFIRE

In 2019, IWC Schaffhausen wanted to immortalise the Spitfire in their own unique way, so they resurrected it and pitched it in a flight around the world. This is the story of the ‘Silver Spitfire’. 

IWC and the Boultbee Flight Academy, in collaboration with Aviation Adventures Ltd, have debuted a fully restored example of the legendary Spitfire Mark IX in a striking polished aluminum finish complete with the new G-IRTY registration. 

Starting on August 5th IWC’s ‘Silver Spitfire’ embarked on a global journey covering a distance of over 43,000 kilometres and visiting some 30 countries on their way.

Preparing an 80-year-old plane to take on this monumental task is no easy feat. It took 15 specialised engineers from Duxford’s Aircraft Restoration Company to work tirelessly over two years in order to bring the complex restoration program up to modern standards.

The Spitfire is made up of tens of thousands of distinct parts and with more than 80,000 rivets adorning the plane’s body, each one had to be individually inspected, cleaned and, if necessary, replaced.

The original WWII plane also arrived at the facility with no instrument panel and flying instruments. Vital components such as the hydraulic system, undercarriage legs and the propeller were no longer in their original condition. IWC and the restoration team took immense pride in procuring these rare components to bring the plane back to its former glory. 

One interesting modification is the fuel tanks – the ‘Silver Spitfire’ now has eight as opposed to the original’s two. This along with an overhaul of the Rolls-Royce Merlin 70 engine ensures that the plane can afford a flying range of 1,500km (with auxiliary tank in fuel-saving mode).   

The result is a classic fighter plane equipped with modern safety and navigation systems which doesn’t compromise the vintage design of the original Spitfire Mark IX.

Every 3-4 months dependent on my work/travel schedule, I suffered jaw and dental damage in a cycling accident 2013 and was referred to a newly-opened surgery, hospital and dental repairs all covered by insurance;  and now it's a family affair, we all go to same dentist, daughter begins process for braces later this month.

Best wishes for your trip, and hope all your transport arrangements work out ok

Just one more ... directly inland from the aquarium a road leads to the Khung Krabaen estuary, about 1.5-2km around there's the marine education centre, free entry, there's a series of netted enclosures with walkways, usually some big turtles recovering from injuries when caught in nets, the occasional shark ... really does depend on time of year and water clarity as to what can be seen

Nice views across the entrance to the gulf of Thailand, the area on the other side is Khung Wiman, popular tourist area spread along 3-4km of coast,  about 12km around the estuary from Chao Lao to get there though

Namtok Phliu National Park

Last visited here in May, very low water flow, the waterfalls and rivers will be much higher now, possibility they are closed for swimming

Entrance off Sukhumvit Rd 3 about 20km from Chan city heading south towards Khlung and Trat

More of my pics at link in header.  It's a huge area, there are other entrances but this is the most popular one

I

Aquarium

The aquarium at Laem Sadet ... it's small, not a commercial venture and often see marine science students from Burapa Chanthaburi University working there

It's free. 30 minutes probably enough, we go often (daughter and her friends love it). Has small walk-thru tank, as below

Hi again

Wouldn't necessarily say we have taxi mafia, just taxi drivers. We live 15km from Chan city, in 2011 it cost 150b, in 2019 180-200b. There's agreed fees for the longer-distance towns. Often see the coast resorts with their own minivans, i dont know if Ton Wa do pickups but they do have their resort vehicle.

Rain. Been a lot of it in the last week. This from the office at Noen Sung on Sukhumvit 3 yesterday, lasted almost two hours. There was some surface flooding in the city on Tuesday.

KP Grand - I've been told it's not so Grand anymore, old and tired ... one day I'll go in and ask if I can go to the top for some photos, it's the tallest landmark building in Chan city, on clear days can see it from the coast - Laem Sing bridge. 

The riverside area of old Chantaboon is a nice place to spend an hour or two, have a meal at one of the cafes with a balcony over the river, coffee at our favorite Sweet@moon, cross the bridge to the cathedral

I'm not a fan of the city, holds little appeal and we don't go there very often. The lake in Taksin Maharat Park (one block away from the bus station) is a nice walk, cross over to the island from one of the three bridges

Chao Lao beach 16 July 2019

I wouldn't recommend swimming at this time of year, despite the small waves there can be a strong drift current

Hi smo, and welcome to Chanthaburi ... Unsure where you're coming from so some general info

Chanthaburi city is inland, and 30km to the best stretch of beach on this coastline at Chao Lao

Note there's not much English spoken here, many signs are in Thai script only so a huge advantage of you have aThai with you

Transport option to the coast is a Chanthaburi 'taxi' they are all Mazda pickups with a covered in tray with bench seats, guessing cost one-way would be 400-500 baht

Chao Lao has resorts at costs from 500 to around 10,000 a night. 

We first stayed at Ton Wa when we were holidaying in 2010 and still go there one-two times a year for a weekend break, nice family run business on the main road, about 300m walk to the sea, their chalets are 600b a night, clean, basic (double bed, tv, aircon - no cooking facility, small pool) 

This time of year it'll be quiet. 

Without your own transport, ideally the owners can arrange for you to get dropped off/picked up from Laem Sadet 3km away, there's the Khung Krabaen Royal Development area, raised boardwalk thru mangroves to an estuary of over 8sqkm, an aquarium, demonstration areas of fruit trees, a few small cafes, cool under the trees

Let me know when you're thinking of going I'll come up with some more details for you

Ton Wa Resort, Chao Lao pH 086 017 5726

18 minutes ago, thasoss said:

As to cancelling the pension for people living overseas after 6 months,yes i could believe they would do that just as NZ have.Hopefully it would only apply to new retirees.

Totally incorrect.

Living overseas: NZ Work and Income

You can live (reside) almost anywhere in the world and still get part or all of your New Zealand Superannuation or Veteran’s Pension payments. What you’ll get depends on where you go to and how long you’ve resided in New Zealand.

If you are going to reside in any other country not covered by a Social Security Agreement or a special portability arrangement, you can get up to 100 per cent of your New Zealand Superannuation or Veteran’s Pension.

On 7/28/2019 at 6:23 PM, jaiyen said:

One of the problems is that some of the banned substances that they find are in precription medicines

Yes, often, but doesn't appear to be the case here:

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Ligandrol is a drug popular with bodybuilders and used for repairing worn-out muscles and increasing muscle mass.

She faces an Australian Anti-Doping Authority (Asada) hearing on Friday.

The Daily Telegraph said Jack would receive the maximum four-year penalty unless she could prove her innocence and that she did not take the drug.

A cautionary tale ... on Sunday 7th my partner cycling to the exercise park, 800m from home, had not seen or heard a dog which lunged, bit into the back of her upper leg, leaving her on the road, nothing broken, but grazed. 

Straight to hospital, risk of infection was her concern, but their response was straight into rabies vaccination process.

That evening she had rabies immuno globulin at site of the bite, 2 x rabies vaccinations, tetanus.

The rabies jabs are one in each deltoid/shoulder.

Wednesday evening, and Sunday, more in each shoulder, and final ones this Sunday 4 August.

0, 3, 7 and 28 days

We're in Chanthaburi, no recent rabies incidence here that I can find, last/nearest death I found a report on was in Buriram, in April this year, however hospital taking no risks.

Like many, maybe, I didn't realise how serious (fatal) rabies is. Last year we were at a temple in Khao Chakan, Sa Kaeo, where there had been an outbreak of rabies in the monkey population, didn't think any more of it.

Don't ignore any dog bites....