Iolare

Manas, the guy near the Chalong Circle has serviced my Yamaha outboard, and in fact, did a major re-build on this Sea Ray's engine about 10 years ago, so he may still remember the boat. I didn't think of him for this conversion/swap, but now I'll stop in for a chat with him. Thanks Pagillim.

And thanks huuwi for the gear box shop lead. I'll call Manop and visit there as well. I really hope to find a shop that can manage all of the mechanical aspects of this job. I want to deliver the boat to a shop and then, when it's completely done, pick up a fully functioning boat with the diesel engine. I would then do the cosmetic work, upholstery, bimini top, etc., to complete the restoration.

I'd like to re-power a Sea Ray Sundancer from a benzine V/8 to a modern pickup truck diesel. I started a thread about this project three years ago in the Motor Forum, but I'd like to know if anyone has a shop or mechanic here in Phuket who would be knowledgeable and able to do this work. Advice, opinions, and referrals would be much appreciated!

Here's a link to the post in the Motor Forum:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/413877-sea-ray-sundancer-boat-engine-swap/

I'd like to buy some wooden plank flooring that is for sale by a guy on Koh Chang. I would need a shipping company or an individual with a truck to pick it up there and deliver it in Phang Nga Province. Does anyone know a company or an individual who could do this?

SEPTICLO.JPG

I appreciate the additional information and the sketch. In the case of my little guest house, usage would be quite light, with only one toilet and not too many friends and relatives over the course of a year. How high above the normal ground surface would he mound be, and now large in diameter? From the sketch I see that the outlet pipe to the mount is two inch pvc, then it looks like the distribution lines within the mound are only 1/2". Is that correct? Could the mound be as far as 10 meters from the pump tank?

Did your systems either in Florida or Thailand require any service? I will do the right thing and put in the proper system, but I'd like to know if it was problematic at all for you.

Thanks again, Naam, ay the way, I recall your troubles with a koi pond, and I wanted to point out that I've been very lucky with my pond in the picture which is stocked with catfish and talapia. It feeds families of monitor lizards, turtles, kingfishers, and sea otters.

lolare,

the only feasible solution is forced draining by a sump pump meant for this purpose. i have applied that system in my Florida home as well as in my home in Thailand.

in your case a mound would be necessary.

j

Thanks for that information Naam. I was pretty sure that a simple septic tank with drain field wouldn't do the job in this case, but I was hopeful that there would be something other than continuously pumping the tank out available as a solution. I'll investigate the pump tank with mound. I've heard of mound systems but never before had a need for one, so I don't know how they operate. I really appreciate the lead.

I hope this is not highjacking the post, but I also now have a concrete rings "septic tank," and I'd like some advice about how to change it to something more sanitary and effective in the wet season. The house nestled in the mangrove trees in the accompanying picture is on stilts and the toilet is cemented to concrete rings that are embedded in the sea floor.

This abuts my land and the plan is to fix it up for use as a guest house. The picture was taken from the terrace of my place and the pond is about where the water table is, so the land below it is pretty saturated this time of year. I want to dig a plastic tank into the land and as you can see there is plenty of space for a drain field. I fear that the perforated piping and the tank will quickly fill up and the system won't work in the wet season. Any ideas of what to do in this case?

I've played at Blue Canyon and Loch Palm many times and they are both massively overpriced but that's par for the course in Phuket. I love the layout at Loch Palm but the maintenance is irregular. I've played in great shape and other times, it's so so. Same goes with caddies...

Blue Canyon has always been a notch above Loch Palm both with staff, facilities and maintenance. They don't allow mickey mouse things like five some and they manage tee times better. The Lakes course maintenance/greens are not as good as the Canyon course. The Canyon is a proper golf course with no carts allowed, the greens have always been true and fast. Like many businesses in Thailand, there's been some funky stuff happening in recent times and last year there was a situation with carts that took a while to sort out.

I don't envy golfers living in Phuket. Many of the courses are so so and not run like one would expect for what they charge. That being said, it's pretty typical stuff for clubs located in high tourist areas.

I've talked to a few golfers in Phuket who have said that they wouldn't risk buying a membership to Blue Canyon due to an unsettled ownership situation. Anyone have any insight about this?

Thanks for the locations of the parts stores; that's exactly what I needed. The post was prompted by two recent incidents. In the first, my battery was dead and I jumped it and went to get a new one installed. A couple of days later the new one died so I jumped it again and went back to the battery store. They said the battery was fine but I apparently had a loose belt to the alternator, but they weren't equipped to deal with it. I took it to the dealer and they replaced all the belts and told me that I also needed new pulleys which they would have to order from Bangkok. I said no thanks to the pulleys and the battery has been charging fine ever since. In the second incident I noticed that the steering seemed a little loose so I went to the dealer to have it checked out. they needed to keep it a few days and when I went to pick it up they had a long list of additional work that they said was needed. It steers fine but I wanted to get a "second opinion" about what on the list was really needed and what was piling on. I won't skimp on maintenance, but I want to be sure that all that's needed is done and nothing more. That's why I'm on the lookout for a parts store, and I think I have sourced an experienced mechanic.

My truck and car are both out of warranty now, and it seems that the dealerships are charging way too much for labor and especially parts, so I'm looking into alternatives. One possibility is to hire an independent mechanic, and I'm wondering if there is an alternative to getting parts from the dealer?

In America you'd have to endure being gouged for motorcycle, boat and airplane parts, but at least for car parts there was a lot of after-market competition. Chain stores like Napa, Autozone, and Pep Boys are almost as common as McDonald's and 7-11's, and that competition kept prices down to reasonable levels. Is there anything like that here in Phuket? And do independent mechanics get a wholesale deal from the dealership parts department (while Farang customers pay super-retail)?

It seems wildly inconsistent to giggle off having to pay a 300 bribe to the immigration officer, considering it just a tip and no big deal; while concurrently having a full blown rant about having to tip "useless caddies" over in the golf forum. At least the caddies drag the clubs around the course for 3 hours or so for the tip.

I was channel surfing last night on True Visions and came across a show about crocodile hunting in the Australian outback. What was remarkable about it was that the show's producer thought it necessary to supply subtitles written in English even though the hunters were talking in English. That was startling and funny to me, but I got the point as it was helpful in understanding the dialect. What made me think of that this morning was a comment made by a poster from down under in the thread about selling a used car in which he wrote "So it seems like you are taking the p ....ss." Some of these regional colloquialisms could use subtitles I think.

Vacation.

May be back soon.

Glad to read that he's on vacation, as opposed to sick or worse. Thanks

Curious about petercallen. Up until about a month ago he was one of the most prolific posters on this board with an opinion or advice on nearly every subject. Is he on vacation or??

This is probably just a coincidence, but there were cops on the main highway intersections around 8:00pm last night, and the turnoff to the airport was blocked off for awhile. My wife and I were trying to get to Nai Yang beach to meet another couple for dinner and a New Year's Eve party. When we got to Nai Yang Seafood restaurant, the beach to the north was cordoned off for a private party for 25 russians. They had a very elaborate Chinese dragon dance, fire dancers, an excellent live band, great fireworks, and body guards all around the perimeter of the party are to keep rubber-neckers at a distance. Our waiters said that the party cost in excess of three million baht. Looks like they had a great party (as did we), and who knows, maybe Putin was one of the 25 guests.

I had dinner at Nai Yang beach last night with one of the business owners there. She mentioned that the Russian New Year's party was organized for Putin who stayed for a couple of days at the Indigo Pearl. I guess that explains the extravagant production, and all the Russian plain clothes security men around the parameter of the party.

This is probably just a coincidence, but there were cops on the main highway intersections around 8:00pm last night, and the turnoff to the airport was blocked off for awhile. My wife and I were trying to get to Nai Yang beach to meet another couple for dinner and a New Year's Eve party. When we got to Nai Yang Seafood restaurant, the beach to the north was cordoned off for a private party for 25 russians. They had a very elaborate Chinese dragon dance, fire dancers, an excellent live band, great fireworks, and body guards all around the perimeter of the party are to keep rubber-neckers at a distance. Our waiters said that the party cost in excess of three million baht. Looks like they had a great party (as did we), and who knows, maybe Putin was one of the 25 guests.

If there ever was a need for an underpass, that circle is a prime candidate.

I was down there a couple of days ago and was stuck in the long tail-back south of the circle, so I agree that something should be done about the Chalong Circle, but probably an underpass is not the solution. If you were traveling from Rawai north through the circle to Choafa West the underpass would be perfect for you, but what about the folks who wanted to take Choafa East? With five streets coming into the circle it doen’t seem practical to consider an underpass.

The whole transportation picture needs a creative re-think. Underpasses for the Central and Big Tesco intersections will probably be helpful when they are finally done, but really, they are ust bandaids and won’t solve the traffic problems. Same for all the new traffic lights which just seem to slow progress.

Probably the solution would have to be a limited access tollway starting in Rawai and running north through the hills to the airport, or even to the Sarasin Bridge where there has been talk of a railroad station on land the RR already owns, with connection to Suri Thani, and Bangkok.

The new highway could have ramps for Karon, Patong/Kathu, Kamala/Heroines Monument, Laguna/Thalang, the airport, maybe the convention center (if they decide to do it). It could also have light rail on the same route with branches around the island.

That’s what’s needed to get ahead of the problem. I think some of the big Asian construction companies who have been making light rail proposals could undertake this whole project and recover their costs and profit through the toll and rail fares, so the Thai govt wouldn’t have to front the cost.

I was having lunch yesterday at the Sizzler in Central Festival and had a window table with a good view of the underpass project. The only action I observed was a few guys re-arranging the piles of steel re-bar. The signs indicate that this is a European/Thai company, and one would expect they would have thought through an efficient plan of action before restricting traffic flow. When the new Sarasin Bridge span was built, the company literally worked day and night until it was finished. Why not the same intensity here? Mid-day, mid-week one would have expected to see scores of workers and heavy equipment in action, but instead it was just a few laborers and much traffic congestion. Why?

My wife and I would like to thank the Thaivisa and Rawai Sports Cllub folks for the nice party. It was great to meet many of the posters and put faces to avatars, Too bad the weather didn't cooperate as there were a few on the guest list that I would liked to have met who didn't make it.

I think you may find what you're looking for in the Nai Yang beach area south of the airport.

I was sitting on my terrace enjoying reading this post and didn't think I had much to add to what was already said, but I looked down to my pond and saw a monitor lizard walking across the yard back to the jungle after having breakfast on my talapia and catfish in the pond. This is a daily occurrence here, and fortunately those fish are prolific breeders as it seems that they support a family of lizards as well as sea otters, sea birds, and turtles. I decided to try to snap a photo but as it usually the case when I try to get a picture of the wild life here I am disappointed that it ends up being a dark spot in the middle of the photo. I need to get a good camera with a telephoto lens. Oh well, I'll attach the pic here so you can see the small silhouette of a 2 meter lizard. Some of them up here remind me of Florida alligators as they are longer than I am tall and probably heavier too. I had one come up the hill and end up in my swimming pool one time and i can report that they can stay under water forever, and they don't take kindly to efforts to help them out of the pool. I can report that they also really love chicken eggs and new-born chicks. I've learned that their hide is tough as leather in my efforts trying to protect the chicken house. Despite having them eat my animals, I like having them around.

Build yourself a "snake stick" and next time you go fishing for lizards in the pool it will be easy. I have been getting about one cobra a week lately with mine.

I enjoyed seeing the photo of you, your snake stick, and your property protector. I think your dog could put up a better battle vs a lizard or a monkey than mine, but my Cookie is a pretty valiant warrior for her size. She’ll tree a lizard of the size of the one that Oilinki showed above, and will chase a monkey off, though I think both the lizards and the monkeys could dispatch her quite easily if it came to a battle.

I’m assuming your stick is actually a noose, right? Are you able to choke the snake to death or do you have to loosen the grip and let it go? In the case of the moniter in my pool, I first tried to hoist him out using the telescoping pool pole with the brush attachment, but I ended up bending and ruining the pole. I was able to weld together a section of angle iron and a length of ¾” pipe and that finally worked in getting him over the edge. I reasoned that the pipe device would have served as a weapon if necessary, but I didn’t fancy the lizard (or me for that matter) bleeding out into the pool. I can report that they’re all teeth and claws when cornered, so a pretty long pole is advisable.

I’ll attach a photo of my little fighting soi dog next to the pool so you can get the picture. The far side of the pool is about a meter above the ground so I’m still amazed that the lizard managed to get into it.

Yes you loosen the pressure on the pull rope to release whichever man or beast you have caught. Your dog is probably much better at catching these critters than mine. So far the score is even...one snake for the dog, and one dog for the cobra. He got bit last month and I figured he was a goner. Very close to complete paralysis. One vial of Cobra anti-venom brought him back to full recovery after about three days. Now, I get him into the house before I enter the battle with my "stick" . It works very well but not easy to secure them near the head. Once you have them though they are doomed...no wiggle room. Sorry to kinda get off track about the lizards though...

Glad your dog made it, and we should swap cobra stories sometime as I have had a couple of extremely close encounters I could share---Maybe at the TV 10^th reunion party. Anyway, back to the OP’s original request:

The boy who lives next door to me and raises chickens and ducks decided one day to catch a monitor lizard. He set up a bamboo tripod and balanced a pole on that to which he affixed a cord and a large hook which depended from the pole to a height of about 1/2 meter above the edge of my pond. He baited the hook with a chicken carcass and tied the cord to the fence post. Before too much time went by, a lizard that was practically as big as a Kimono Dragon came by and got himself hooked. That’s when I should have remembered my camera! The beast would struggle until tired and then rest before resuming. This went on for about ½ hour and then he got free and disappeared.

My wife enquired with the boy’s mother about why he would try to catch a monitor and the mother said that the boy’s father had arranged to sell the lizard to people in the nearby Burmese work camp. So if the OP’s herpetologist friend isn’t horrified at the notion of catching one by hook and line, I’m pretty sure the neighbor could be contracted to catch one for a fee.

I was sitting on my terrace enjoying reading this post and didn't think I had much to add to what was already said, but I looked down to my pond and saw a monitor lizard walking across the yard back to the jungle after having breakfast on my talapia and catfish in the pond. This is a daily occurrence here, and fortunately those fish are prolific breeders as it seems that they support a family of lizards as well as sea otters, sea birds, and turtles. I decided to try to snap a photo but as it usually the case when I try to get a picture of the wild life here I am disappointed that it ends up being a dark spot in the middle of the photo. I need to get a good camera with a telephoto lens. Oh well, I'll attach the pic here so you can see the small silhouette of a 2 meter lizard. Some of them up here remind me of Florida alligators as they are longer than I am tall and probably heavier too. I had one come up the hill and end up in my swimming pool one time and i can report that they can stay under water forever, and they don't take kindly to efforts to help them out of the pool. I can report that they also really love chicken eggs and new-born chicks. I've learned that their hide is tough as leather in my efforts trying to protect the chicken house. Despite having them eat my animals, I like having them around.

Build yourself a "snake stick" and next time you go fishing for lizards in the pool it will be easy. I have been getting about one cobra a week lately with mine.

I enjoyed seeing the photo of you, your snake stick, and your property protector. I think your dog could put up a better battle vs a lizard or a monkey than mine, but my Cookie is a pretty valiant warrior for her size. She’ll tree a lizard of the size of the one that Oilinki showed above, and will chase a monkey off, though I think both the lizards and the monkeys could dispatch her quite easily if it came to a battle.

I’m assuming your stick is actually a noose, right? Are you able to choke the snake to death or do you have to loosen the grip and let it go? In the case of the moniter in my pool, I first tried to hoist him out using the telescoping pool pole with the brush attachment, but I ended up bending and ruining the pole. I was able to weld together a section of angle iron and a length of ¾” pipe and that finally worked in getting him over the edge. I reasoned that the pipe device would have served as a weapon if necessary, but I didn’t fancy the lizard (or me for that matter) bleeding out into the pool. I can report that they’re all teeth and claws when cornered, so a pretty long pole is advisable.

I’ll attach a photo of my little fighting soi dog next to the pool so you can get the picture. The far side of the pool is about a meter above the ground so I’m still amazed that the lizard managed to get into it.

A friend and I went to a new restaurant yesterday called the Monkey Pod and were pleasantly surprised at how nice it was. The location is the northeast part of the island in the Pak Lok, and Bang Rong area. It's on the road that goes northeast from the Heroines's Monument circle past Cape Yamu and is up near the Phuket Airpark and the Gibbins Rehap Center. That road makes a loop and goes past Ao Po then Mission Hills golf course before it rejoins the main highway below the international airport turnoff.

There aren't too many restaurants to choose from in this neck of the woods, and most are of the bamboo an straw roof variety, but this one is a modern, purpose built building of elegant design. More importantly, the food was really good and so was the service. I had fish and chips and my friend had an Italian pasta dish. Prices were reasonable and the service was attentive. This place was built and is run by a Thai man who used to be the general manager of the blue wave radio station and he speaks English well.

Very nice to have a place like this up here, and I heartily recommend it.

Iolare + 1. Looking forward to the party.

I don't know whether or not it's the best, but there's a large Aquarium shop opposite the Anuphas Honda showroom on the Chaofa West Road. It's a couple of hundred metres or so on the right going north towards Central.

I'd like to also put in a good word for Chao Fa Pla and owner Graham Cassell. I've got a pretty good sized Koi pond with a fountain and I was having trouble keeping the water clear and the fish alive. Graham looked over the drawings and photos and recommended a pump and filter system which has solved my problem. The filter even has a backwash feature so you don't have to disassemble it and clean it by hand. I'm a very satisfied customer but I must admit that the fish at Super Cheap are less expensive.