MESmith

Asked my wife why the govt hasn't sorted this sh1t out yet. Her reply was that it's the Burmese. After I'd finished choking on the beer I shouldn't be drinking as it's a "dry" day, I asked her why she thought this? "They say so on tv...." By tv, she meant television, not this forum. So there you have it. Nothing will be done here in Thailand, 'cos it's not their fault.

There, I've slept on the idea and I like it, an offcial burning season that starts 10 February each year and runs for twenty one days each year, during that time people can burn what they want when they want. But, if you're caught burning oustide that window then it's 100k fines and 90 days in jail, rewards of 50k to anyone who snitches on a burner. Would that work or not?

That's pretty much what we've just had, but more concentrated

Few will hire a tractor (and pay for the gas) to turn the stubble back into the soil when it can just be burnt for free. Mulching is for landed gentry with time on their hands. The longer the dry season the thicker the haze. Like the farmers and their families, you just have to wait for the rain.

But they use a tractor anyway, to prepare the soil for the next crop.

1039 reading this topic!!

There is no other way for those farmers to clear their lands for the next crops ? they dont think about others ? apparently not .

Well, any other method would be enormously expensive and less effective which would cause a huge increase in crop prices, both in the food shops in Thailand and for export. The Thai economy is based on cheap farming (40%) and much less on tourism (6%) so without practices such as burning off the land, Thailand would be much less economically competitive and this would lead to an increase in unemployment, reduced investment and a poorer economy. It's not a simple case of the farmers not thinking about others, it's more about no-one coming up with a better method for the farmers, who also suffer respiratory diseases, to use instead.

Well, they could always just plough it back into the soil. They do use tractors, you know. Even after they've burnt the straw, much of stubble remains, & gets ploughed in, anyway.

double post

From a review on Amazon.com

"Pros: light, small, fast to fix

Cons: No screen to display current position...that's a must have feature.

Best to get the next model "up"

The only way to know your current position is to make it a waypoint

(storage of which is then optional)"

From the user manual on garmin's website page 24, Units page, it talks about postion format & using a map in conjunction with the etrex H, so I would think it displays this most fundamental readout for a handheld gps. Wouldn't be much use if it didn't.

Can somebody remind me what the benefit is of this thread,

I think if it convinces one expat not to relocate to CM or northern Thailand, then it's been a worthwhile thread.

Your local hardware store will have some evil looking stuff in a plastic bottle for this job. Pour it down the pipe carefully. Wear rubber gloves & take care not to splash. It will clear it. It may even, if you're unlucky dissolve the pipes. Buy a "snake" - they do work, but can take time. We had a problem with waste pipe from the kitchen sink. The builder had built in an inconvenient pair of right angle bends in the pipe that kept clogging up due to residues of oil, food waste & coffee grounds. A combination of the evil looking liquid & a snake cleared it. The white congealed cooking oil etc that came out was enough to convince the wife to cut down on the frying, after I explained the same was happening in our arteries.....

Global House & Home Pro also stock some "waste digesters" in powder & liquid form. Maybe try those, but they work slowly.

They had delicious strawberries up on Doi Inthanon today. Full red colour, sweet. Doubt they'll keep long, so will have to force them all down.....

They also had the larger, anemic hard ones too.

Today we went in search of clean air on the top of Doi Inthanon. Amazingly clean & rather chilly, and very windy Problem was the wife & kids were moaning about it being too cold, around 12C - no pleasing some folk. Must remember to take sweaters, next time. Coming back down, around the chedi you could see big fires lower down to the west & south. In fact, to the west towards Mae Chaem valley, you couldn't see anything. The lower slopes of Inthanon, are dry & brown, but so far, at least near the road, show little sign of burning. Up higher up, the forest is lush & green. The waterfalls refreshing. Worth the trip

Took the new "ring road" south of Pa Sang, crossing the Ping over the new bridge. All around that route, the rice fields are dry & brown - no water for them, I guess. The smog in the morning around Lamphun was pretty bad, compared to San Kamphaeng area. On our return journey, there was huge plume of smoke SE of Lamphun, over by the edge of the valley.

Btw, I imagine the smog has been getting better around CM the last few days, because of the local windy conditions we've been experiencing. Blowing away all the local pollution.

Photos taken tonight March 3 Saturday of a big fire on the mountain. From a distance of ~ 10 km, I can see huge spikes of flame as trees are engulfed.

Air quality will be worse tomorrow, I guarantee.

Just looked out the window - I can see that from south of San Kamphaeng!!

What were the PM10 levels in CM today? Visibility in Mae Taeng continues to be less than 2 km in the morning, but the winds cleared things up in the afternoon. Had quite a bit of black soot fall today so the burning is still active. In 2007 there was quite a push by the Public Health department for folks to stop burning and village announcements and forest officials back then spread that word as well. This year there seems to be nothing of the sort even though it is considerably worse.

At the 'Chiang Mai' measuring station (near the Provincial Hall) it measured 171.6 µg/m³. Since you are a ways north of town, it might be more relevant to look at Chiang Rai at 250.6 (or even Mae Sai at 323.4!!!!!).

Please accept my deepest sympathy

/ Priceless

Thanks Priceless for those rather scary numbers. And regarding sympathy, I didn't even tell you we are camped out in it...... The scourge of the air coming down the mountain at 3 AM is horrible.

Head for higher ground T-Dog, especially if you're camping

I don't CARE what idiots think.

+1

They never call me farang or falang, people call me Khun Henry, or Khun if they don't know my name.

And my family call me Khun henry, lung henry, or just Ta. And when people ask where I come from I simply answer Nonthaburi,55555

is 55555 your postcode?

ME and Mrs Smith did a circular hike from Ban Doi Pui up to the peak of Doi Pui at 1685m. Air very clean up at the top. From the view point above Ban Doi Pui, however, I could see that we were still in the smog, as we gazed at light brown haze hiding the view of anything but the nearest ridges, though much better than down at the valley floor. No coughing up there, & no sore eyes. Those returned back on the valley floor. The forest is very green up there. Worth the trip, & will go again soon

Also it seems the first class insurance is free only for the XLT models - not for the wildtrak.

That was also the case last month.

Ford has updated the Ranger pricelist

The 3.2 4x4 Wildtrack is now on the list. Also the 2.2 XLT Double cab AT Hi rider gone up 10,000 baht.

I think we were typing at the same time gosompoi

If I was back in UK, I'd be spending too much time on internet forums, looking into how to import my 2001 Strada from Thailand

Northern Thailand fires pollute northern Thailand. Burmese fires pollute Burma.

http://firefly.geog.umd.edu/firemap/

The smog appears & disappears too quickly once the wind builds up. I don't accept the "it's from outside Thailand" theory.

If it were me and the noise was an issue then its simple

DOUBLE GLAZING

I am sure Spicy is not going anywhere so best start addressing the issues best way you can and Double Glazing would take care of the noise issue.

DK

If they are literally next door to a nightclub, adjoining walls, I doubt double glazing will keep the thumping bass out.

You're not an ex double glazing salesperson are you? Cold calling around dinner time on the off chance the recipient of call was desperate to to discuss their glazing requirements with a complete stranger while trying to feed their family

How much do you expect to get for this vast amount of cash?

He claimed it was very difficult for government officials to prevent people from lighting farms to burn garbage and clear farmland.

-- The Nation 28 February 2012

Very difficult indeed!! It would involve leaving your air-conditioned offices & actually doing something.

What are the chances of a 3.2lt 4x2 with all the features of the top of the range 4x4 model, which looks like it'll be over 1 million baht? For most folk, 4x4 not really needed unless you want to drive muddy mountain tracks in the rainy season. 80 - 100,000 bt less would bring you the 100,000 bt tax refund for first time buyers.