Sporting Dog

I've stayed at Hallo Villas a couple of times - bungalows - I like the place its not right on the beach but not too far (we usually hire motocys)

I lived in Trang a bit over a decade ago (time flies) - just for a bit over a year - so have little to add about what is happening  there now

I have very fond memories - there are waterfalls and hills inland, islands that are easy to get to off the coast - the people were friendly - a mix of thai, chinese and southness.

Its not that far to Hat Yai, Satun, Krabi and Phuket.

I guess the kids I taught are the pillars of society now (or not). We lived in a small gated soi out past the Tesco/ Makro near the airport - many a day after work I would take the Honda Wave for a spin out thru the rubber plantations to the hills or down the coast to Kantang , Had Chao Mai or Pak Meng.- thru the villages, past the gaol and airport. 

The missus worked at Sinocha coffee shop near the railway station - but its probably gone now.

I would be very happy if I was planning  an imminent return there. 

(Maybe one day I will be)

sure there are bigger issues - but why would anyone do that? A dog sitting in the road - <deleted> -  I hope karma does exist.

On 2017-5-7 at 5:44 AM, rooster59 said:

Dusit Fukfat, 33, is the son of the Sai Yok Noi municipal chief.

Unfortunate incident - unfortunate name

Quote

On 11/04/2017 at 6:40 PM, stgrhe said:

The construction of the elevated tracks is not for the railway but for the Khon Kaen tramway that will be operating from the south bus station to Khon Kaen University.

 

I hope that goes ahead - the bus station is a bit of a hike from the hotels I typically stay at when visiting - and I like to catch the bus to BKK etc. 

Thats really good news. Hope its all upwards from here on.

Talk about luck or whatever it is, the coincidence of finding the cancer at stage 1 and the AAA which was pickup on the PET-CT, which I was told wouldn't have lasted too long, I seem to be blessed.

It was this statement that made me think - what a great attitude/ outlook.

I was sent to a lipid specialist for high cholesterol - I'd tried statins previously but couldn't tolerate them - sore muscles etc.

He tried every type and dosage of statins but they all produced the same effects.

I also had a coronary CT and carotid ultrasound done (both non-invasive) - and they showed next to no plaque buildup (?) - which was a great relief (I'm 52 years old). I take ezetrol (which isn't a statin?) and the doc keeps on my back about diet and exercise.

Maybe you could get these investigations done - just to see where you're at (internally).

(Just read your brother had a heart attack at 54 - I know famiiy history is an important indicator so I would go back onto lipitor if you can tolerate it. There are others that could be tried - vytorin, lipidil etc)

Wife's 2010 Jazz - we got the same notification about a month ago - though we are in Australia - I think the Jazz's are built in LOS.

They fixed it - no cost

Thanks James,

Info above and beyond what I was hoping for.

We'll probably stay the night in VN and bus straight thru to KK - better Vn than NK as I need every day of the 15 days I get when going overland into Thailand.

And thanks for the info from the others - not sure how and when we'll get from LP-VV-Vn - just need to be in KK by a certain date.

cheers

We (me, wife and daughter) are travelling from Vientiane to Khon Kaen early next year.

I saw some posts (from 2008) that mentioned a non stop bus from Vientiane to Khon kaen. It used to leave quite early (8am)

Does anyone know if it still runs?

We are actually coming from Vang Vieng - need to decide whether to stop in Vientiane for a night or go straight across the border to Nong Khai and stay the night.

Then either hire a car or bus it from NK to KK.

Any info welcomed - or advice/ suggestions.

Thx

I have plantar fascitis - getting up in the middle of the night or 1st thing in the morning was very painful - I could barely walk. Had it diagnosed with ultrasound - the doc offered to do a cortisone injection but wasn't that positive that it would make much difference in the long term - and it wasn't a very pleasant procedure.

He recommended I lose weight and stop walking (which I was doing daily to lose weight). Orthotics etc were recommended but others I knew suggested I buy standard gel arch supports - as these are cheap and proper orthotics are expensive.

So with the gel supports, exercise other than walking and stretching regime (before getting up - and rolling a golf ball while sitting) its pretty good now.

Try the easy stuff first, it may solve the problem without having expensive shoe inserts or medical intervention.

^ Thanks for the link - very handy info!

I spent a few days in Thakhek earlier in the year with the family. The town itself is fairly laid back - stayed at a pleasant hotel on the river - the riverfront itself is nice (looking back over to NP) but didn't come across any great restaurants etc. Quite a few farangs and backpackers (for the loop)

However the surrounding countryside is pretty good - karst, caves, swimming holes. We did day trips on motocys, and did a trip to Tham Kong Lor which was good, though a bit of a hike to do in a day.

Overall I enjoyed it - I'd go back.

around thakhek

From the hotel balcony - the beer laos went down a treat!

No problem to do a rental between BKK and KK - whether there will be an extra charge for one-way drop off will depend on how long the rental is for. Usually if its more than 3-4 days there will be no extra charge.

I've done it a few times - if you are travelling between decent sized places and use one of the bigger franchises then it won't be a problem.

(I use a consolidator and choose from Budget, Thai Rent-a-car, SixT etc)

I had the same problem at Hertz BKK airport - they didn't want to take the card etc. Ended up taking 30minutes sorting it out - and they said in the future that they wouldn't even allow the waiver. I tried to explain but it was pointless. And the transactions just went thru as expected of a normal credit card.

If you are able - get a visa from the embassy prior to going - then you just go thru immigration.

the letters just allow you onto the aitline and then its a scrum to get the visa (on arrival).

I've done it both it both ways a few times - the only downside to the visa from the embassy is that they need your passport.

(I'm in Aus so I send it to Sydney - comes back in less than a week with the visa stuck in)

However, the true thief was caught this morning with goose in belly:

she'll probably eat that snake too!

I had emergency eye surgery at Rutnin (vitrectomy and retinal re attachment) and they were great. My treating ophthamologist back in Australia was very impressed with the work they did.

And they even gave me foot massage to ease the stress before going into theatre.

Thanks SunsetT and SantiSuk.

I'll probably try to leave the car at a hotel carpark, or catch a bus from Khon Khaen and then back again.

(anyone done the bus trip from KK - how long? do they have decent buses - I looked on the NakhonChai Air site but I don't think they do KK-NP).

I plan on visiting Laos at Xmas - I want to drive a hire car to Nakhon Phanom and leave it there for a couple of days while in Laos.

Are there safe/secure places to leave a car near the bridge across the river (like they have at Nong Khai)?

Anyone ever done this?

thanks...

Flying into Nakhon Phanom in a few weeks - arriving at about 4pm. I want to cross over to Takhek in Laos on the same day.

Does anyone know if that is doable? It will be a saturday and I'm not sure what time the bridge closes. We'll be using public transport from the airport.

Also I may end up driving there - is there a secure place to leave a car for a couple of days near the bridge - like at Nong Khai?

Also if I do get a car I thought I may have a look around - maybe go up to Wat Phu Tok up further north.

Anyone been there - is it worth the drive? Any other suggestions of places to visit? If we've got a car we'll be coming from/to Khon Kaen.

Thanks for any advice

but, as mentioned above, air travel is cheaper now than it has ever been.

Take a coupla mangy soi dogs with ya, or cirrhosis of the liver.

Its not greed - its high season. High demand = high prices and its the same everywhere in the world during high season. I don't know why anyone is surprised

Sang Chang waterfall in Pha Taem NP, East Ubon, after a thunderstorm downpour yesterday - the noise from the water was LOUD