pgangell

And they want the F1 in 2014??

.........or maybe the police knew who owned the black car??

Once again it looks like us poor blokes in Phetchabun are going to miss out - it flies right over our beautiful airport which has no scheduled flights.

As far as I know it is not. It did resume flights last year for about 2-3 months but it could not be sustained. I live on the flight path and, although I have heard a plane going and coming about three months ago it hasn't been about recently. I think it is the chartered plane that is on the tarmac at the airtport. Sorry

A couple of comments

1. Travelling from Swampy to Mor Chit after a 9 hour flight from Melbourne the taxi driver talked me into letting him drive me 360km to Phetchabun. Long before Sara Buri he was into the servo for some pcik-me-up which didn't work. I asked him if he wanted me to drive to which he answered yes. So, I drove the rest of the distance - about 300km - after a long flight. I was probably in no better condition than he but at least I was in control.

2. Unlike Gohmer, some of us are not lucky enough to have air travel available so are forced to take the bus. We have a beautiful 1st class airport but no schedule flights. After 18 years bus travel I have never had a concern. We do chose the dearer of the 2 alternatives. Having said that I have seen the results of about 4 serious bus crashes over this period.

It's a tragedy and the authorities would be less than resposible if they didn't investigate the cause to the fullest and take remedial steps. RIP

I guess we Melbournians are lucky. I've been flying direct Jetstar now for several years for never more than $900 and as cheap as $500.

Looks like you need a bit of support here. Our experience is not identical but has the same root cause - envy and greed.

My wife's grandfather, for one reason or another, 'bequeathed' the family land to my wife's auntie to look after, even though she was not the oldest but was the most favoured by him. This land had several houses on it each being occupied by daughters of the grandfather, one of which was my mother-in-law who in fact was the oldest. My mother and father-in-law, unlike your situation, had built and lived in the house since their marriage - about 40 years. The house was a typical village house and, when I came along, we made some improvements to make it more comfortable.

While my in-laws had a family book, which of course included my wife, they had no sha noot for the land on which their house stood. So the Auntie decided that she wanted a bit of the action and told my mother-in-law to give her some money (bt30,000 from memory) or leave the property. She really had no grounds for either demand and my wife wanted to take it to the Amphur. She would have won the case hands down but it would have caused untold animosity. I ended up suggesting that, for the sake of maintaining peace, it would be best to pay the money but get the land subdivided and put into her name. This happened and, while the auntie still plays no speaking games with our family, at least she has no further claim to the land or house.

I guess what I'm suggesting is the same as a previous post. Look for a compromise that will guarantee the security of your wife's family even though it may cost you some money because, ultimately, that's what they are after.

My wife used to use the expression to mean 'very dead'. She heard the song and said 'there you are - dats amore eh'. We had quite a good chuckle over this when I told her the real meaning. She said that all Thai's know this expression to mean 'really dead'. Who am I to argue?

You could try this site - http://www.bondall.com. They are an Australian company and have an agent in Thailand. His email is [email protected]. I got some stuff from them to seal my concrete fish pond. Very good products.

Called Beeruccino in Jomtien Bar - served in coffee mugs!

Don't really want to buy into this one but to quote further down in the article - 'to complete the planting of fast-growing trees and the construction of check dams within 3 months'. I think that's it's just poor journalism to let's move on.

I'm back in Aus at the moment so unable to find the information about the Gym for you.

There is also a pool in Kosit Hotel in Phetchabun itself and one in a Gym somewhere in Phet. You would need to ask the farangs in Toffee Home (bar) about the latter.

My filter tank has three sections. The wall between the first and second section comes up half way from the bottom so that the water is forced over the top half thereby trapping leaves and heavy material. The wall between the second and third section starts at the top but has a 30cm gap at the bottom. I have pushed a plastic storage box up against the wall with holes in the top and holes in the side against the gap and have tried to seal around the box so that the water is forced in through the holes at the top and out into the third section through the holes in the bottom. In the box from bottom to top is a layer of coarse material not unlike hair curlers covering the holes at the bottom, then a layer of medium foam rubber material, then about 3 inch of caramic stones, then another layer of medium foam rubber and on top a layer of coarse foam rubber. These are recommendation from several members who have been experimenting with Koi pond filters. This seems to be working as the water in the last section is relatively clean before it is drawn out by the pump and sent over the waterfall back into the pond. As I said previously, I think it needs a bigger pump and I will apply your figures to determine if my spare pump is big enough. My photos exceed 2mb so if you want to see them could you send your emailaddress to the address I gave in a previous post. The one I have attached is of the original surface prior to applying the rubber solution.

We, like you enjoy the pond and hope that all our troubles are behind us. To ensure the parisites are dead we intend to drain the pond once more and dry it out. There are very few (about 5) fish left in the pond so I will put them into a tub for the duration. This is the advice of the fisheries dept here.

Hi Bob, Like you I am spending some time trying to establish a pond for Koi. When I built the house 3 years ago the landscaper put in a 20 cubic meters (20,000 liters) inground pond out doors with a inground concrete filter tank conected under ground by a 4 inch pipe. Water is drawn from the pond though the filter by a submursed pump in the filter tank, The water is then pumped over a waterfall back into the pond. I placed about 20 Koi in the pond and, while the water became dirty, I did not loose any fish over 3 years. I have however had several problems which I am working through. I have found that there are no easy answers - it's all trial and error and depends very much on your environment. My first problem was leakage - due to excessive cleaning of the concrete walls they became pourous and I was loosing a lot of water. I found a product from Perth, Australia called PondTite (there is a Thai agent) which is a rubber membraine that you paint onto the surface of the pond. The pond is now completely water tight. I put the fish back into the pond and they were fine until my wife purchased several small Koi from Chutuchuck market which, one by one, curled up there heals. Then my original 12 inch plus fish started to die as well. I took samples of water and dead fish to the local fisheries dept and they said that the water was fine but the fish had contracted worms (presumably from the Chutuchuck fish). Out of 30 fish (including the new ones) I have 5 remaining! I have also not really resolved my filtration issues as I get a build up of algee within about 3 weeks of filling the pond. I took a member's advice and constructed a filter box using a Big C plastic storage box which I have placed in the filter tank. The box has holes in the top and along one side at the bottom. It contains filter material recommended by other members. Water is then drawn through the box from the top to the bottom by the submersed pump. I think that I need a stronger pump to draw more water through the box which will be the next thing to try.

I live in Phetchabun and if you wish to discuss this some more my email is [email protected]

Bad news. They only supply to US. How then is an Aussie adviser recommending this? I am going to give Bosny a go.

I have the same problem and have approached the people in the add accompanying the forum backyard-pond.justanswer.com. They made the following comments which I thought may be useful.

1. Bosny Water Seal is mainly to seal surface masonary and is not meant to cope with the strains of a big fish pond.

2. The product they mentioned to do the job is Herco No. H-55 Neoprene Rubber coating - their web site is http://hechtrubber.com/Pages/KoiLink.htm?gclid=CM6ZgZnBlKwCFQtU7Aod_xN_pg

I have asked Hech Rubber how to get their product in Thailand and am waiting for an answer.

Love the place. Spend 6 months of the year here. Have a house about 17km north of Phet city. Plenty of things to see and do particularly around Khao Kho (Thai tourist area just north of Phetchabun city). Many national parks further north with waterfalls and scenery. A group of farangs get together just about every day in Toffee Bar in Phetchabun. On Saturday they meet in Tesco's. Hope this helps.

I had the same problem in Phetchabun and applied grease to the tracks. This worked really well stopping the screaching. The only remaining noise is from the rotation of the drum itself and I can't get in to the bearings as it is boxed in. I would need to undo the pop rivets. This noise is cyclic as the door unwinds and we can put up with it. It doesn't occur on the way up. We live in the country so not too much of a dust problem. Go with the grease.

its lomsak, north in petchabun province.

The body was found in the river out the back of Thaphon by locals fishing, about half way between Lom Sak and Phetchabun. The body of a Thai person was also found in the river upstream nearer to Lom Sak. Local police here in Phetchabun don't seem to know much about it or are not saying.

Had a phone call from an ex who wanted to know if I am OK. Said she heard about a 'Farang' who died in Phetchabun today. When I asked how he died she says he was murdered. Saw pictures on television but no face. Though some may be lost in translation as her English is not the best.

Any more news on how he died? Accident or some misdeed?

Can't say that I have this all corrrect but this is what I have been told. Two bodies were found in the Sak river. One, a Thai, was found at Lom Sak and the other a farang, out the back of Thaphon (mid way between Lom Sak and Phetchabun). The farang at least had head wounds thought to have been inflicted with a sharp instrument. No identification was found.

Only problem is that for some visas you have to go to either Sydney or Camberra - e.g. Retirement visa

Hi Christain

My wife Eiam and I have been married 15 years and have a house in Thaphon (17k North of Phetchabun). We regularly go to Phet to meet with guys at either Farang corner (on the way to the market from Top Land) or Toffee's Bar. We are in Australia at the moment but will be back on the 3rd. Hope to meet you then. Just look out for the old Aussie - there aren't too many of us!!

Good luck to you both

Cheers - Peter