The post about the suicides in Pattaya inspired me to post this thread.

Here's mine.....

I was at the Naga festival last year to see the fireballs shoot out of the Mekong.

Due to the Thai film, interest was at a peak and brought throngs of curiousity seekers to the event (me included).

Anyway, I parked at a wat and joined the packed shores with hundreds of locals waiting for the miracle(?)....

Unfortunately, the weather was not cooperating. I took a seat under a tarp and ate and drank with a group of locals...had a lot of fun until....

All of a sudden a downpour ensued accompanied by heavy winds....

Soon hundreds came to the tent for cover from the rain. I knew the situation was turning dangerous when from the corner of my eye I saw men holding down the poles of the tent.

they were struggling as the wind 's force was pushing the tent upward. it was too strong. the people in the middle were pushing in an ttempt to stay dry...

i have to add that there were long extension cords with bare light bulbs dangling from each of these poles.

suddenly the top of the tent blew upward and came down upon the heads of some of the crowd. panic gripped some of the crowd and a mass stampeed started heading for new cover....

one of the poles just missed me and when i looked at the ground I saw a man on the ground with bulging eyes, his hands frozen to an electrified pole....

i attempted to pull the pole out but felt the electricity (i know stupid thing to do) i was about to kick his arm with all my might when a wire came swinging across my face. ....i looked up and saw that another pole was about to collapse and there was one of the many open wires dangling on the ground swaying with the wind....

there was a group of men nearby so i figured they would be better suited to help him......i ran like ######.

i did check the local papers the next day (had a friend translate) and there was no mention of the incident. I stayed at a village not too far away and I asked around if there was any accidents. didn't hear any.

heard from different people that since the voltage is 240 here that water and electricity kills pretty quickly....others say that upcountry the voltage surges alot and there is a possibility that the current was much less than 240....

anyway, i hope the guy made it out alright....

Nice post Lizard and let's hope he was just a little shocked by the incident, but otherwise undamaged.

Near death experiences, huh? That's not difficult ----- every time I venture on to the local highways I'd say qualifies for this category. It makes the war in Iraq seem like child's play statistic wise. Over 40 do not cheat it, each and every day.