AndyFarang

Has anyone else noticed that Suthep Thaugsuban is an anagram of "Bah Thug Unseats Pu" ??!!! Too unreal........!! 555

But why has the rescue worker (?) at the front of the bus got his arse hanging out....??!!

This is the same as in any country, just look at Britain and the few people who own most of the papers and media. Stories that produce "scandals" are (most of the time I would wager) rolled out in a way that still suits one party or the other (s).

It might help Thai "journalism", if reporters asked questions rather than writing down verbatim all of the bizarre quotes that come out of politicos mouths.....

One would have thought that after 12 months, you would be aware of the "wai". Lets hope it was cultural ineptness, rather than arrogance.

The site is http://www.pavenafoundation.or.th

And i have just used their contact form to highlight the below link, which has a video on it (posted 00.15 on 28 Jun, was on left near top, just now) - it shows a fat bitch beating a young girl; pure evil (though I dont know whether or not it is human enslavement or big-little sister). There's also another video of one girl kicking ten tonnes of **** out of another (which is how i found this page, as I follow the poster). What a life, eh!!?!

https://www.facebook.com/sexyroom.xzeed

PS Hope i can post links, pls move somewhere else if more appropriate, this kind of behaviour needs publicity to change the minds of idiots such as this!

Why do they let these scumbags out after only a short time. She didnt care about the problems her actions would inflict on others so she should still be rotting there now!!!

Yeah, none of the people who use those drugs had any choice whatsoever in the matter.

I wonder if there are any other ways the government can intrude into my life to protect me from my own decisions? We should ban everything just in case.

+1

Lets not forget Roy Buchanan - now there's a gifted guy (sadly recently deceased :-(

His rendition of Down By The River is one of my all-time fave tracks

morning all

left lam luk ka khong 4 at 6,45 am this morning , water down 2 cm so that's 10 cm in 5 days,

on to the number 9 , south to fashion island , come off 9 to ramintra , no water out side fashion island, no water on that part of ramintra,

went down panya intra getting high now , but can still ride my scooter through it, down to pharaysuren that junction is getting bad , but still passable.

then on to pharaysuren to my school, where it was knee high all the way, got to school 8am

when there is no flood the journey takes me 25 mins when flood = 1and 1/4 hours , nice

i will on my way home go to look at khu bon , to see how high it is now,

have a good day people keep safe.

Thanks Scott, very useful for me (and no doubt others!) - I was wondering how I can get to BKK from Nimitmai Road, since north and south from Hat Thai Mit is no-go. But seems that getting on the 9 highway at Ramindra near Fashion Island will be OK from your report. I would be coming from the east-west road running past Safari World, so I wondered if your school was north of the Panya Indra junction (ie you turned left on to Pharaysuren )?

If you do check out Ku Bon area, that would be great for alot of members, I know some have asked for it - but I was also wondering what the small road is like that runs parallel to 9 and goes down to Fashion Island (ie turn left before going under the 9 bridge down towards Wat Kubon).

Will eagerly await your update after you clock out :-)

Hop u get back home OK!

cheers

Can you

I posted earlier that Suwintawong (Highway 304) is waist deep. Just went down and checked--it's at least chest deep and all traffic has ceased--even the biggest, highest trucks are completely absent. There is an area of about 2 kilometers from the Ramkamheng intersection past Nong Chok turn off that is prone to water, after that I have no idea. The water is also flowing--I don't know where, but it seems to be moving somewhat quickly, so no longer wise to try and get through it unaided.

morning all, north east ish of bangkok the lam luk ka road khlong 4, next to the number 9 outer ring road, the water is still going down , i can see no correlation between the opening and closing of the now infamous gates , been going down steadily for 4 days now , i am no expert here , only from what i have seen with my own eyes, and the great posts on this thread.its like a big wave that is in slow motion, do you try and stay a head of the wave, or do you double back on it as i did while you still can.anyway of topic, sorry,news in short , khlong 4 lam luk ka road, down again this morning

Update from Nimit Mai Road (Klong Samwa)

South from the junction with Hat Thai Mit (HTM, where the infamous Klongsamwa sluice gate is located) is all flooded down to the Suwintawong junction, only high trucks can get through. Then again Nimit Mai north of HTM junction after about 1km is also flooded up to Lam Luk Ka. Only dry part is between the 2 klongs going west-east (which is the flow of the water currently) just north of HTM (from Soi 40 north its flooded badly).

Water still rising in this area, but very slowly. If things are going down where "scott1999" is, then should hopefully mean that the water east of him will also be going down and thus flow past HTM junction within 4-5 days (???).

GM Link

I would like to thank the nice folks at Nimit Mai for tearing down the flood gate.

Nice of them to send the water racing down the khlong to Khu Bon.

Out of interest, how does water from Klong Sam Wa/Hat Thai Mit get to Khu Bon? I thought Khu Bon was due west of there and fed from Klong Phraya Suren, directly south of Sai Mai?

Have a look at the khlong running roughly west-east. http://g.co/maps/rfa63

Wat Khu Bon is flooded according to scott1999. I spoke to him last night. He lives in the area. He said he would do a recon in the area to check out our soi and post pics later if he can.

Just hope he is OK.

Yeh, I seen that one, and this klong actually started running east 2 days ago, quite fast too, whereas normally it is fairly static. I has assumed that if the gates at HTM were closed, then the water would therefore spread east and west along this klong, as nowhere else to go (apart from the fields around HTR and Nimitmai) - so any gate opening ceremony might actually lessen the impact in Khu Bon, as the water will flow in a straight line down to Minburi, rather than doing a right/left turn.

But I'm no water expert.........!

GM Link

I would like to thank the nice folks at Nimit Mai for tearing down the flood gate.

Nice of them to send the water racing down the khlong to Khu Bon.

Out of interest, how does water from Klong Sam Wa/Hat Thai Mit get to Khu Bon? I thought Khu Bon was due west of there and fed from Klong Phraya Suren, directly south of Sai Mai?

Latest update at 13.00 Monday - Mimitmai & Hat Thai Rat section closed again, there was a meeting in front of the local Govt offices this AM, but obviously wasnt resolved. Wife on her way down there now to check whats going on.

Water has now crept further south on either side of Nimitmai and is now flooding over in parts at Soi 43, but not yet too much. Didnt venture further up as the next u-turn too far!

cheers

Nimitmai Road

Large crowd has gathered at corner of Nimitmai and Hat Thai Mit road protesting the BMA's ? placement of sandbags all along centre island of Nimitmai road down to Suwintawong junction. Water slowly rising from drains at the corner of Nimitmai and Hat Thai Mit roads. Eyewitness and security from our moobarn advise approx 1000 people gathered. My wife informs me the TV states only approx 400 people but fails to advise why they are there. Maybe fishing or a boat auction??

I just left there.

Locals had blockaded both Nimitmai & Hat Thai Mid with gravel and trucks. Maybe around 70 police, with a few big meat wagons. And a red shirt guy turned up late PM to negotiate with the lock keeper. Gates had been open at about 60cm, they tried to get 80cm, but finally agreed on 75cm. The gates would probably closed down again after the crowd dispersed, which it had done by 6pm (alot of mozzies in this area, so no surprise there!)

People were complaining that the canals further down (and land also) was still 'dry', so the gates should be opened more at Hat Thai Mit to let the water flow down to Minburi, and into Saen Saep (?).

In addition, anyone wishing to travel up Nimitmai to Lam Luk Ka, road is now flooded down to Soi 53, 1km south of where it was at yesterday, so waters are definitely coming down slowly, but surely, from Klong Hok Wa, mostly filling up between Hat Thai Rat & Nimitmai Roads, and no doubt to the east of this also.

Mai sanook.......

Can anyone report the outcome of the protest at the intersection of Nimitmai rd and Hat Thai Mit road? Andy Farang gave a nice report re the sluice gates further down the road but I am interested in knowing whether or not the protesters got their way re having the sandbags removed from the middle of Nimitmai road. Someone else mentioned that Nimitmai road is now closed but I dont know if its because of the sandbag protest or because of the floods?

Nimitmai Road

Large crowd has gathered at corner of Nimitmai and Hat Thai Mit road protesting the BMA's ? placement of sandbags all along centre island of Nimitmai road down to Suwintawong junction. Water slowly rising from drains at the corner of Nimitmai and Hat Thai Mit roads. Eyewitness and security from our moobarn advise approx 1000 people gathered. My wife informs me the TV states only approx 400 people but fails to advise why they are there. Maybe fishing or a boat auction??

I just left there.

Locals had blockaded both Nimitmai & Hat Thai Mid with gravel and trucks. Maybe around 70 police, with a few big meat wagons. And a red shirt guy turned up late PM to negotiate with the lock keeper. Gates had been open at about 60cm, they tried to get 80cm, but finally agreed on 75cm. The gates would probably closed down again after the crowd dispersed, which it had done by 6pm (alot of mozzies in this area, so no surprise there!)

People were complaining that the canals further down (and land also) was still 'dry', so the gates should be opened more at Hat Thai Mit to let the water flow down to Minburi, and into Saen Saep (?).

In addition, anyone wishing to travel up Nimitmai to Lam Luk Ka, road is now flooded down to Soi 53, 1km south of where it was at yesterday, so waters are definitely coming down slowly, but surely, from Klong Hok Wa, mostly filling up between Hat Thai Rat & Nimitmai Roads, and no doubt to the east of this also.

Mai sanook.......

In Khlong Samwa, but to the west of Safari World. Khu Bon road seems to still be dry, although the KFC at the end (where the Big C supermarket is) was closed yesterday and Big C looked to have low stocks. MaxValu on Panya Indra road on the other hand seemed to have stock of the stuff that was getting hard to find locally. i.e. got loaf, ham, milk etc. there yesterday.

There is some flooding on Phraya Suren Road, at the Northern end (i.e. past soi 43 or so, but was still passable in a 4WD, and by going along Khu Bon road and then north on the road alongside Kanchanapisek, that flooding can be avoided if you're going to the expressway.

However the water level has risen in the ditches at the side of the roads near there, so wouldn't be surprised to see water crossing that road also. (i.e. near the entrabce to the Honda R&D place water is encroaching onto the road)

Fashion Island seems to be set up for a lot more water. Basement level is closed and all entrances to that level have had big concrete block walls built up. (The upper levels in the car parks at Fashion Island are all full. If you're going there to shop, you can only get parked at ground level)

Hey Mike - u talked about the road parallel to Kanchana, past Honda R&D - did you go all the way to the top where the road goes under the Highway to get onto the tollway? Been wondering if that part is flooded yet, since that "river" is part of Klong Praya and further upstream on Sai Mai Road this canal is spilling out all over (well, it was 2 days ago). I use this road to get onto the Chalong Rat Highway for work, but been working at home on Nimitmai last few days. Last time I went by that road, the football pitch about halfway up was still holding as they had sandbagged the norther side to keep that overfilled rice field from coming thru! Wonder if they still can play footie?!

cheers

A good map for updates (but in Thai) - more users than other maps for the East of BKK

http://www.gamling.org/

NIMIT MAI ROAD UPDATE

As of Friday 28 Oct, 14.00, from Soi 57 on Nimitmai Road all the way up to Klong Hok Wa - the water has now come from the west side and started to creep over the road, albeit slowly.

Cars coming down Nimitmai from Klong Hok Wa direction, but not many and seemed to be mostly trucks and pickups, so perhaps saloon cars cant make it (we didnt go all the way to the top, so not sure).

Top of Hat Thai Rat Road (just before Kanchanapisek Highway bridge) has more water on the north/east side, up from yesterday, and 1 more village is now under water (maybe 30c-50cm). May not be long before going north-west on HTR is not possible.

cheers

Thanon's : Hat Thai Rat - Sai Mai - Nimit Mai - KLONG SAMWA

27 Oct today, drove up HTR from Hat Thai Mit. HTM lock gate still closed, and now the water up about 30cm from yesterday. Seems they are only letting it go down stream to Minburi at a very slow pace.

No flooding along HTR left and right until almost near the top where the bridge crosses Kanchanapisek Highway. Here, villages on the right are starting to flood. Crossing the Highway, the water has started flowing across Sai Mai Rd (right outside the Western University). Straight on towards the bridge over Klong Phraya Suren, all villages on right were flooded about 1m or more. Lock gates at Klong Phraya Suren were opened at 80cm, but the water is almost up to the road level, so I guess it wont be long before the water comes and closes that road. Some officials were there to take photos and notes, but they wouldnt give any answers to local's questions, oddly........

But all this water is coming down from Klong Hok Wa.

Nimit Mai Road - no flooding until you get up to the 3-way junction at Lam Luk Ka - about 500m before, alot of water on the road, so I did a u-turn and came back. Still alot of cars and trucks traveling up and down even this evening (in fact more than usual!)

Finally, they just completed laying sandbags from Suwintawong right up Nimit Mai Rd (in the middle raised reservation part) until junction with Hat Thai Mit (where the lock gates seem to be closed on Klong Sam Wa) - seems they want to try and box in water and push it to the east of Nimit Mai.

Nimit Mai may well get flooded heavily in 1-2 days time, blocking off any escape route from Lam Luk Ka area towards the airport.

cheers

Hat Tai Rat/Ek Burapa school

Just got an email from a friend at the above location, I think he's soi 26, almost opposite the school. He tells me the school is flooded and the lower roads starting to flood. Didnt give any depths but his soi into the moobarn is not yet flooded so obviously not deep as yet. He has been told to expect the floods by 2 to 3 pm.

take care everybody.

That is next to a khlong, right?

Here? http://g.co/maps/evf8y

Yes thats right, Klong Samwa I believe. Cant remember if he is soi 22 or 26 but thats the general area.

I cannot be 100% sure, but Im pretty certain that Ek Burapa school is actually in Thanon Samwa, maybe 200m up from Suwintawong Road (sp?) - which is ALOT different from being in Soi 26 of Hat Thai Rat!!

I drove up near there at 1.30pm today (from Suwintawong, near Big C, up Hat Thai Rat) - some flooding about 30cm at this 3-way junction, and inside some of the sois to the left and right on Hat Thai Rat (HTR). The flooding now extends about 3-200m into HTR, whereas 2 days ago it was just at the junction.

From what I know, this water is coming from the drains overflowing, similar to further along Suwintawong (where BigBike had a video 2 days ago).

I also think JackRyan (?) lives near this area, so he can probably update later also.

I also looked at lunchtime at Klong Saen Saep - less than 1m from the top of the embankments. Minburi near the market has now got some minor flooding, but again this seems to be from drains.

The gates on Hat Thai Mit (between HTR and Nimitmai) are still closed (as they have been for days, for some reason!) but water doesnt look much different in the canal compared with few days ago, and its not running fast either.

cheers

You mean on the way to the airport from Ramkamhaeng?

Suwithawong minburi seems ok now. Heavy rain right now which isnt good. Klum khao rd just from suwithawong to latkrang/romklao is underwater, Thats a no go area if you have to drive.

EAST BKK - KLONGSAMWA - NIMIT MAI ROAD (4km due East of Safari, 1km East of the main Klong Samwa crossing Hat Thai Mit)

Water gate on Hat Thai Mit was opened slightly yesterday PM (not open as much as previous day), with about 3" rise in water to the south of the road.

Hat Thai Rat & Nimitmai roads still no sign of flooding to the north of Hat Thai Mit as of last night. Will post again after lunch when had an updated look.

Lam Luk Ka - anyone up in that area??

That is the last time I am using or buying anything from TrueMove. This is not the way to fight with one's competition. The way they do things is disgusting

Agreed, I'm about to get a smartphone plan and was going to go to true because the internet is faster, but after this I will definitely get dtac and deal with slower internet just so I don't have to give a dime to the xenephobic, scumbag dirty pool players down at true

Ditto!! TRUE (who are basically a bunch of farmers, "Chicken & Pigs") screwed over Orange years ago once they had been taught the ropes, as well as pushing for Shin Corp to be disbanded and now they use more dirty tricks. Their service is appalling and they always use playground-type tactics with competitors, as well as treat their own customers with disdain.

As a foreign shareholder in a company here, I shall be canceling any True products that might be used by our staff in this coming week.

The wife had to take out both insurances also, but double your amount for the death/accident/etc one - but it covers for 10 yrs.

The best deal we can get from a bank (for 80% of property value) seems to be Year 1 & 2 @ MLR - 2.5%, then -1.1% for remaining 13 yrs.

Only insurance companies offering fixed now.

Thanks Siri for the input - the above mortgage has no balloon payments, and no major penalties if re-finance after 3 yrs.

We'll go to sign it all this week, before the offer gets withdrawn ;-)

cheers

Our death/accident insurance also covers the 10 years of the loan, but your loan may be double the amount of ours. We are only borrowing 1.2M. From Bangkok Bank, we are getting;

Year 1: 4%

Year 2: 4.25%

Year 3 and after: MLR - .25%

So it sounds like your interest promotion was better than ours. Ours is the "Home Expo" promotion or something like that. It has actually just finished now but we are in already.

Ah I see, yes, the wife got a loan for more, so that makes sense.

FYI, she went with Std Chart:

1st - 3.7%

2nd - 3.95%

3rd ==> MHR - 1.1%

Seemed to be the best deal from all those we went to see in past 2 months, though hoping interest rates dont climb "too" much ;-)

The wife had to take out both insurances also, but double your amount for the death/accident/etc one - but it covers for 10 yrs.

The best deal we can get from a bank (for 80% of property value) seems to be Year 1 & 2 @ MLR - 2.5%, then -1.1% for remaining 13 yrs.

Only insurance companies offering fixed now.

Thanks Siri for the input - the above mortgage has no balloon payments, and no major penalties if re-finance after 3 yrs.

We'll go to sign it all this week, before the offer gets withdrawn ;-)

cheers

6.25% is the current rate, so if one can get a 2-3 year reduced rate on this, all the better. After 3 years I believe its possible to search for another provider, though with a penalty which varies depending on your original lender.

I guess noone has experience with Std Chartered or AACP, and from other sources I seem to be getting the feeling that so long as we can change lenders, then variable is just as good as fixed - though the gamble still remains..........ho hum...

The better half is applying for a loan of 4M over 20 years, seems that the banks currently do not offer a fixed rate for the term, all of them have MLR-x% (apart from the 1st or 2nd years).

Standard Chartered seems to have one of the most attractive at the moment (named Mortgage One) with a rate of MLR-1.1% from Year 3 onwards.Their MLR (actually called 'MHR') is currently 6.45%.

However, when looking for a Fixed rate over the long term, the only one on offer nowadays is from AACP Insurance (Allianz CP) who offer a fixed rate of 6.25% over the term. (Its a shame the loan wasnt needed 8 months ago as Krungsri had a fixed rate back then of around 4.2%!! :-(

My questions, if anyone can throw some light on things, are:

- Does anyone have experience with mortgages from an Insurance company? What might be the pitfalls compared with a bank?

- For a period of 20 years (assuming we might pay if all off halfway through, if we're lucky) would Variable rates be a better option, as the last 10 years Thailand has seen an average MLR of around 6%, so the Fixed rate might mean we pay more - I guess its a gamble....

- What are the key questions that should be asked of the banks before signing for the loan?

- Does anyone have experience with either Standard Chartered or AACP mortgages?

Thanks in advance for any opinions :-)

RGS, Dom & Mark

Thanks for the input, some good ideas and helpful comments :-)

We are still keeping an eye on P/Place to see if any fair-priced properties come up, but also looking towards Minburi, and in Nimit Mai Road - nice fresh air, and only 15 mins to the Airport Rail Link at Lat Krabang.

I'm fortunate I can work at home alot and dont need to join the early morning rat race into town, so peak time traffic jams are not a main concern ;-)