timber

Met a group of people, various ages men and women, going from the UK to Singapore by bus.

They had gone through Turkey, Iran and Pakistan. Didn't talk to them very long, but they

didn't seem to have any problems and were enjoying their trip. I am sure they brought

a bit of luck with them.

I took a couple of courses at Wat Pho that were quite good.

They were more than a few days. They might have a short

course. Worth giving them a call

The posting was a bit tongue in cheek. We normally get 3 to 5

days of surable waves in late October or early November.

The time can not be scheduled. A couple of South Africans

came to Sawi to teach English and brought their boards with

them. They looked out patiently every morning looking for

the surf, they live across the street from Sairee Beach Sawi,

and then they rode their bike to school. Finally the surf was

up. The waves were 1.5 meters plus, but the breaks were crashing

and reforming. Very hard to surf and not for very long. We

went looking for some point break surf, and found some not

bad waves at Khaow Tan, a small fishing villiage. They got

some fun rides in and made local history. Not sure if the east

coast has been surfed or not. Pretty sure nothing locally.

I took some pictures, but with the dark stormy weather, and

a poor telescopic lense they were pretty crappy. I have poor

bandwidth here, but when it is good enough I will post some

of the pictures.

Many have been contacting me asking how the competition went.

This is the first competition that has been held at Sawi, which is

about 40 K's south of Chumphon. In the first day of the competition

the surf was running about 1.75 meters at Sairee Beach. Ira Knight,

from South Africa, finished the day with a time of 7 seconds.

The break was not holding and was difficult to stay up for long.

The second day of competition was held in the, "Mix Master,"

at Khow Tan. The waves were 2 meters and Ira Knight won

again, with a time of 15 seconds. Weather forecasts from

WindGuru indicated a wave height of 3 meters was expected

for the third day. The storm moved south and the wave height

was only 2.2 meters. Ira Knight won the Monsoon Surfing

Competition with a time of 12 seconds. Shona, a lady from

South Africa came in second with a time of 9 seconds.

A big thanks to the competitors, and remember to get ready

for next year.

Yes, had an egg cook. Only thing missing was hash browns.

Maybe there isn't such a thing. Maybe only in my dreams.

Been so long since I had hash browns not sure if there is such

a thing.

I have been meditating most of my life. With me meditation is not a religious spiritual thing,

but a form of self hypnosis. I have been involved in very stressful projects. Meditation was beneficial in many ways.

1) It relieved stress.

2} If I was tired I power napped and got rest.

3} I could view problems in the subconscious and analyze them in a wonderful subconscious manner

Somewhat like a computer.

I find the secret is to go into your subconscious in a relaxed peaceful state where things are

more black and white and clear. Your conscious mind carries a lot of garbage.

At times when stress or problem solving was not a priority, you can reach a wonderful

state of mind. I am sure to some that achieve it, it would feel like a religious experience.

Just came back from Krabi and Trang. Stayed in a very nice hotel

in Krabi for 1200 baht a night and the breakfast was included,

and it was worth 400 baht. Some pretty nice deals this time of

year. I was raised in the rain, but is still pretty. Stayed over night

at the Pak Meng beach. It is quite pretty there. A really nice beach

and this time of year and no people. Was funny that the bungalow that

we stayed at ended up costing the same as the nice hotel in Krabi

when you took off the cost of the breakfast that was included.

Is an interesting area. The roads are in good shape and it doesn't

seem to take long to go from place to place.

Went East of Trat with some Thai's for New Years and we just

set up tents just inside the timber on the beach. There was a

Western style camp cooking center. I think you have to use

a little common sense on the type of people who frequent the area.

I think anywhere in the Gulf of Thailand is going to be suspect in water

quality. I was East of Trat sometime ago when there weren't that many

tourists and you could see the drift from the west.

Went to the bookstore in Krabi by McDonald's. It had a small selection of

books. Some good ones. Different languages. Prices a bit high.

Thanks for the help. Walked by the one at McDonald's, but was closed.

Will try tomorrow.

Thanks again

I generally buy used books at a good store in Koh Samui,

Not going there this year, so asking where there would

be a good store to buy used books in Krabi.

Thanks for any help.

In the south as with the north there are a surprising amount

of farangs living in the bush and enjoying it. They aren't looking

for city excitement. They like the bush as we would say in Canada.

Enjoy working outside, their family, maybe internet and a few friends.

I have gone into the mountains and found farangs that don't particularly

enjoy being with other farangs for an extended period of time.

Pretty hard for anyone to say with any certainty of a place where there

won't be one week of rain in October. Just have to find a place that can

be enjoyed whether it rains or not.

I wouldn't think there would be much of a problem

finding something in Chumphon. Chumphon is what

you want to make of it. Have good shopping and

reasonable internet on fixed phone line. It's not

Bangkok, but you sound like a person can take

care of themself. Give me a note if you need to know

more.

Has anyone had to take the motor cycle test. Used my Canadian License to avoid

the regular driving license, but have to take the test for the motor cycle license.

So far had to give them copies of passport, health certificate, drivers license and

residence book.

Between Chumphon and Surat Thani there are lots of nice beaches and small

villages with very few farangs. Lots of fun markets near the ocean.

Want more information PM me.

Mosha

Very different on the East side. We start to lose leaves in March and come back

toward the end of April, but change year to year, by a few weeks.

There is an interesting article rating cooking oils

by family nutrition at

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/4/t043800.asp#T043816[/size][/size]

As per Mosha, wife gets between 1500 and 2000 baht per rai per month.

with many qualification. Water, fertilization, weeding, cost of harvesting

and transportation, etc. These will be different for everyone.

There may be minor variations due to elevation and latitude but other than that

probably it is some other problem. Is there an agricultural station you can check with.

I can confirm when they lose their leaves depends on location. My mate commented on it last year when he drove down from BKK

Mosha

FAO indicates when a tree is 50 cm in circumference 1 meter above the ground it can be tapped.

Your stand looks pretty healthy. As indicated be careful on the first tap and

doesn't hurt to talk to the locals to see if there are any rules of thumb for the area.

Co-ops are quite common in the west and sales is a small part of

the services they provide. Other services include seminars, insurance,

better rates on products that are commonly needed, such as fertilizers and

tools. If you have a large group buying or selling there are a lot of

opportunities as long as the directors are chosen wisely.

I would give them a call. I have had good support from them. Talk to a guy named Tim, British.

I was warned about the AIS signal not being as good as DTAC, but seems to work, although spikey. Surprised you

got on with out going through channels.

Sorry, that was 1500 baht per month