Route21

route21, if you zoom in your attached pics you will see the buildings surrounding the driving range are white featureless squares......

Yes. The buildings that looked OK, with well-defined roofs, were those in the zoomed in version of my screenshot, below.

I do agree about those directly around the driving range - they were virtually obscured by text overlaying the shot.

I'm not familiar with Chiang Mai and so took some time locating the Promanada Mall.

Regards

R21

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That's weird. My ipad, android phone and laptop have them blurred in both maps and earth. For example all the buildings surrounding the golf driving range opposite central airport plaza are censored.

Looks OK on my Google Maps, except for the haze. No doctoring of the image. See attached screenshot.

R21

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PS It looked like it didn't upload the screenshot, but when I reloaded it did. App's editing facility doesn't allow deletion of unwanted attachments!

George: Can you add ability to delete unwanted attachments in future app update? Many thanks. R21

Some other things that might be of interest, related to the House Registration books:

Everyone is entered on a separate page of their blue/yellow book, complete with a 13-digit "ID" number, their parent's 1st names (but not surnames) and nationalities (and "ID" numbers, if Thai). It also notes the previous registered address of those "registered".

So, although a foreigner may not be "registered" in a "blue-book", their 1st name and nationality could appear as a named parent of someone who is "registered" in a "blue-book".

R21

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Now this looks really strange to me, you can only be registered in blue Thabian baan if you are a permanent resident...correct me if I am wrong?

I think the confusion arises in that they both say, in Thai, "Copy of Thabian Baan" (i.e. House Registration) on the front cover.

They are absolutely identical documents (except the one with the yellow cover, for non-Thais, has ท.ร. 13 in the top right hand corner of the cover and the blue covered one, for Thais, ท.ร. 14).

R21

PS Apologies if the Thai font doesn't display correctly.

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I have just got conformation that the site next to amway WILL be a homepro

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Many thanks.

My only regret is that, like Ford, it comes too late for us. We completed the build of our place a year ago.

R21

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I have heard from various sources that it is a HomePro hardware store.

The land that the Sunday market is on, is apparently owned by Central. One day Phetchabun will be forced to join the rat race.

The "Amway" site certainly looks big enough for a Home Pro, but, after the initial rush at the opening, Thai Watsadu's carpark looks decidedly empty, even compared to Big C where we've had difficulty parking recently.

If it does turn out to be a Home Pro, it will probably force Watsadu to cut their prices, possibly by employing fewer sales staff - we're normally descended upon by 4-5 sales assistants as soon as we enter.

Watsadu is supposed to be a one-stop shop - you walk in, you see what you want, you can take it with you that day (without waiting weeks for it to arrive, special delivery, from the suppliers). We've often gone in and left disappointed! Even when they said they would back-order a 15+kbaht item (that was physially on display) they didn't back-order and didn't phone/tell us until we went in and asked a month later.

Significant customer service training is desperately needed for those that stay - the others will probably be taken on by Home Pro as "experienced hands"!

R21

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The admin building north of Phetchabun city, a few years back there was a big rumour that would be the new immigration office. Regards to the new piece of land maybe a central plaza/Robinson's, who knows. I keep an eye on the new Ford & Mazda dealerships being built. It looks like Ford are in front.

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Yes. We would have definitely bought a Ford Ranger rather than a Hilux if Ford had been here in 2010. Pichit was just a tad too far for service if anything went wrong. A Hilux was the 2nd choice. Considered a Fortuner (large extended family), having had to rent them previously, but delivery was 3-4 months!

With the Hilux, the extended family go coach class (outside) - you can fit more in that way!

The new plot is big enough for a large car dealership, but maybe not for a shopping mall. Or maybe it's another Thai Watsaname look-alike! :-)

R21

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When they were building the new administrative building out on R21 some Phetch city bods were convinced that was the new Immi office!. " my wife told me------".

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Which one? The new admin building or the place next to Amway?

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Probably the new Immigration Office. Oh we had that rumour back in '07, I forgot.

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Nah!

Too big for an immigration office - unless, of course, there's going to be a mass migration from Bangkok, as it sinks into the sea. That could do wonders for those who've already bought potentially spare land and built their home up here ;-) :-)

(Hope they don't for some time, however, as Phetchabun's currently a pleasant, relaxing place to wind down, after escaping the rat race! Nice house, nice scenery, nice people, regular get togethers/parties etc with friends/extended family locally and inexpensive!).

R21

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Has anyone heard, via the grapevine, what they are building just immediately South of Amway's place on Route 21?

It looks quite substantial.

R21

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Yes. That's the one.

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guano actually is a big business

Oh! I thought that was just chicken sh1t!

Sent from my jelly bean!

we got crazy birds that start to sing at midnight or even before the sun comes up ... very loud and drives us crazy...so also very interested if anything for sale in thailand against those flying rats

If it's a whooping sound, when all the other birds are quiet, it's probably a coucal ( http://www.pbase.com/peterericsson/greater_coucal). They're a relative of the cuckoo. They don't really bother me - I quite like them.

Regards

R21

PS: My main annoyance is the pigeon poop.

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unfortunately, ultrasound will also scare other birds.

Pigeons go for rooftops the others don't.

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I'd also be interested in such a device.

It would have to be a pretty localised device, as I don't necessarily want to scare off the other birds (kingfishers, myna birds, treeswallows, open-billed storks, egrets etc).

We're in Phetchabun.

R21

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PURE do a box under the sink that I used filters and UV light. separate tap is fitted to your existing sink for the 'pure' water. worked fine for me!

Pure have branches all over Thailand google 'em

I use the same unit. Works fine, but would like to be able to recharge the ion-exchange unit with salt rather than have to buy replacements.

We have very chalky water.

R21

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It's a tad warm.

Just dug a massive hole out back searching for water (unsuccessfully). Mains water is also unreliable at present.

Had to install an A/C to avoid meltdown - relied on fans up to now.

According to the internet weather forecast Nong Phai area can't expect any significant rain till mid-end April.

Also busy on other forums.

R21

Well!

They dug down & down deep, looking for water. We now have a very deep hole beyond our back garden fence but no further water!

The water that was in the pond, which we believed represented the local water table, was just previous rain water that couldn't drain out through the impervious bed/walls of the pond.

Despite having not fed the fish in the pond, we got lots of large fish, including a large Koi that was a tad sickly in our small Koi pond, so we'd thrown him into the main pond. He was much bigger than any of the "pet" Koi.

The soil they excavated looks like excellent growing soil, if only we had the water for growing plants.

So..... Over to Plan B:

Channel all rainwater (whenever we actually get any), from every available source, directly into the newly enlarged pond and grow edible/saleable fish varieties (including Koi - but not catfish) in the new pond and fruit/veg on the newly placed soil.

R21

(PS I'm a lapsed fish-eating vegan!)

I used a heaped teaspoonful in enough water to cover the element and, after the immediate frothing, boiled the water.

It's now working great and, after the 2nd treatment, has removed all the furring from the element.

R21

"Commerce Ministry to step up clampdown on copyright violation before Songkran...."

Will they claim Songkran as a watershed in their fight against organised crime?

R21

I think its a thai dream to have ambulances

arrive on a emergency in 8 minutes but hey small steps?

It's probably worth remembering that the "8-minute window" clock starts ticking from the time of the actual accident/emergency not from any 911 call.

If the EMS/first responders team can get the person stabilised, the actual time to get the patient to hospital may, hopefully, be less critical.

I think in Thailand - trained paramedics on bikes would be a fantastic solution.

Only problem here is it would probably be a bicycle, they'd have to buy it themselves and no one would hear their bell!

R21

The main immediate problem, getting back to the OP, is that, with the escalating mortality rate of farmed shrimps, we may run out of time before the solution is implemented.

R21

But, there was a similar article on the Sunday times 2 weeks ago. Seems Thailand fish and shrimp industry is getting a lot of unwanted attention.

I was discussing today. I reckon they should have to print the paid daily wage rate on the packaging next to the ingredients.

If you want shrimps for rock bottom with wage rates of 300 baht a day up to the consumer.

There is"fair trade" coffee. Why not "living wage" shrimp?

Looks like the UK/European shrimp/fishing industry is feeling the pressure and winding up the lobbyist pressure to minimise their competition.

To achieve a "fair trade" situation you would effectively have to sell direct from the primary source, or their cooperative, to the major Western supermarket chains.

To do that you would have to do for the Thai fishing industry the phenomenal things that have already achieved for the fruit, vegetable and flower industries in North Thailand.

It would then, not only result in fair wages but require very, very strict quality control at every stage of the process. I believe it's possible, but may take years to achieve.

I don't personally believe putting wage rates on packets is meaningful for 2 primary reasons:

1. The cost of living/taxes in Thailand differs substantially, for the average person, from that in the "West". It just isn't directly comparable.

2. It is too easy to manipulate the wages figure. Does it include the shrimp feed boat owner/captain etc or the manual workers? Does it include selective bonuses based on catch size etc? Does it include the food processing/feed preparation workers and their supervisors/managers? Does it include the shrimp farm labour/supervision/management/owners?

You also need to draw a distinction between industrial/non-industrial style farmed/non-farmed situations and take into account the precursor work involving feed production/preparation and environmental impact.

Too many complex factors to explain on a packet!

I would personally favour the Northern Thailand type solution - sell a premium product at a premium price with the primary profits in the supply chain being retained at source.

R21

The "otherpaper" has a super front page story about the Thai fishing industry.....

Yes.

The story is based on an article written for a UK paper and advocates that the UK stops eating Thailand's "warm-water prawns".

It uses emotive language such as: "... panicked marine creatures ....scurrying across the deck...".

Catching cold water fish for "fish & chips" is, of course, done much more humanely?

Thinks ....

Their proposal would reduce (by a huge factor of 2/3rds) the total volume available, by excluding the competition. The price, and hence profitability, of the local "cold water prawns" would rise significantly.

But they surely wouldn't do it for those reasons now would they? They're British! ;)

R21