Partying On Top Of Tak Dam To Dismiss Rumors Of Dam Collapsing On Jan 1

[webfact]

Partying on top of Tak dam to dismiss rumours

The Nation

A New Year countdown party will be held at the Bhumibol Dam in Tak in a move to dismiss rumours of the dam collapsing on January 1.

"The Tak Countdown Festival will take place right on the crest of the Bhumibol Dam," Deputy Governor Woot Sittisurat said yesterday. "I want to assure everybody that the dam is safe."

Assistant director of the dam operations Sirichai Saengsuwan said the compound would be open to public after sundown for the first time so as to ease worries.

"Sometimes, people have so much faith in rumours that they ignore facts," he said.

According to him, the Bhumibol Dam is strong and durable enough to withstand an earthquake of up to 7.5 Richter scale in magnitude. The dam is currently releasing 45 million cubic metres of water each day because it is at its capacity.

"But the dam has been able to store water to the fullest of its capacity thrice before and there have been no adverse impacts," Sirichai said.

Worries among the residents in Tak was evident as some were seen leaving home to camp out at a hill nearby for the New Year holidays.

Elsewhere, people were in a celebratory mood, especially in the North, where people have been gathering to enjoy cool temperatures.

"Normally, we have 90 buses coming in each day, but today more than 170 buses have already arrived," Somnuk Hasassilp, chief of the Chiang Mai bus terminal, said.

Wissanu Arunbamrungwong, who heads the Tourism Authority of Thailand's Mae Hong Son Office, said all hotels and resorts in Pai were fully booked for the New Year period. In addition, he said, Mae Hong Son's Khun Yuam district had also drawn a huge number of tourists because the sunflower fields there were in full bloom.

-- The Nation 2011-12-31

[FOODLOVER]

Looks full, anybody check it?

[bkkjames]

Silly season is here, rumours of big earthquake on jan 1, banks and dams collapsing-didnt I see a movie about this.

[Yummgasm]

maybe all the dancing on the dam is the little boy's prediction of an earthquake. Any big momma's going there?

[phiphidon]

Partying on the crest of Bhumibol Dam - 10 Billion cubic metres of water on one side, a 150m drop on the other. Add copious amounts of alcohol.

Anyone else see something wrong with this idea?

Perhaps they'll bus up a bunch of expats from Pattaya for an exhibition of Team Balcony Jumping.

[TAWP]

You think this will lead to a public campaign against fortunetellers and soothsayers, about how dangerous and irresponsible they are? No, majority of the gov. still believes in them.

[Oberkommando]

You think this will lead to a public campaign against fortunetellers and soothsayers, about how dangerous and irresponsible they are? No, majority of the gov. still believes in them.

The majority of Thais believe in them, even foreign born and Eton/Oxford educated ones like the previous PM.

The majority of Thais are not Buddhist, but believe in a mixture of Buddhism, Animism and Brahmanism.

Strict Buddhists give little credence to ghosts, fortune tellers and other Animist nonsense.

[Mitker]

Partying on the crest of Bhumibol Dam - 10 Billion cubic metres of water on one side, a 150m drop on the other. Add copious amounts of alcohol.

Anyone else see something wrong with this idea?

Perhaps they'll bus up a bunch of expats from Pattaya for an exhibition of Team Balcony Jumping.

Swimming in the sea, you deal with quite more than 10 billion CM and it doesn't kill you.

If there's a risk at the dam, that's on the other side indeed.

[lungmi]

The Future Teller has a good reputation. His prediction is correct. The year and the date of the crack is correct, but it's the wrong century. I asked him if he knows the date of his dead. Yes, the day and the month I know, but not the year.

Edited December 31, 2011 by lungmi

[hellodolly]

You think this will lead to a public campaign against fortunetellers and soothsayers, about how dangerous and irresponsible they are? No, majority of the gov. still believes in them.

The majority of Thais believe in them, even foreign born and Eton/Oxford educated ones like the previous PM.

The majority of Thais are not Buddhist, but believe in a mixture of Buddhism, Animism and Brahmanism.

Strict Buddhists give little credence to ghosts, fortune tellers and other Animist nonsense.

That's kinda like saying strict Muslims kill the infidels and the rest aren't really Muslims.

[Tanaka]

You think this will lead to a public campaign against fortunetellers and soothsayers, about how dangerous and irresponsible they are? No, majority of the gov. still believes in them.

The majority of Thais believe in them, even foreign born and Eton/Oxford educated ones like the previous PM.

The majority of Thais are not Buddhist, but believe in a mixture of Buddhism, Animism and Brahmanism.

Strict Buddhists give little credence to ghosts, fortune tellers and other Animist nonsense.

The majority are not Buddhists? I think around 95% of the population qualify as a majority. There is no such thing as strict buddhists. There are different "schools" of buddhist beliefs, one is Theravada which is in Thailand the most practised.

[Tanaka]

You think this will lead to a public campaign against fortunetellers and soothsayers, about how dangerous and irresponsible they are? No, majority of the gov. still believes in them.

The majority of Thais believe in them, even foreign born and Eton/Oxford educated ones like the previous PM.

The majority of Thais are not Buddhist, but believe in a mixture of Buddhism, Animism and Brahmanism.

Strict Buddhists give little credence to ghosts, fortune tellers and other Animist nonsense.

That's kinda like saying strict Muslims kill the infidels and the rest aren't really Muslims.

Isnt that what they say themselves?

[TAWP]

You think this will lead to a public campaign against fortunetellers and soothsayers, about how dangerous and irresponsible they are? No, majority of the gov. still believes in them.

The majority of Thais believe in them, even foreign born and Eton/Oxford educated ones like the previous PM.

The majority of Thais are not Buddhist, but believe in a mixture of Buddhism, Animism and Brahmanism.

Strict Buddhists give little credence to ghosts, fortune tellers and other Animist nonsense.

The majority are not Buddhists? I think around 95% of the population qualify as a majority. There is no such thing as strict buddhists. There are different "schools" of buddhist beliefs, one is Theravada which is in Thailand the most practised.

Want to have fun? Gather a few neighbors and ask them what their position on eating beef is.

[bkkjames]

Medium rare-the beef that is. Now back to dams....

[Oberkommando]

The majority are not Buddhists? I think around 95% of the population qualify as a majority. There is no such thing as strict buddhists. There are different "schools" of buddhist beliefs, one is Theravada which is in Thailand the most practised.

Of course there are strict Buddhists. Don't talk nonsense. The vast majority of Thais are not strict Buddhists. Anyone that knows a modicum about Buddhism, including Theravada Buddhism knows that Thais regularly break one or more of the five precepts of Buddhism, which include sexual misconduct and consumption of drugs and alcohol.

Ghosts, fortune tellers and other superstitious beliefs are nothing to do with Buddhism.

Thais beliefs are a mixture of Buddhism, Animism and Brahamism, and as TAWP rightly points out, there's a bit of Hinduism and some other stuff mixed in too.

Edited December 31, 2011 by Oberkommando

[EyesWideOpen]

Am curious what the effect would be of the dam failing. End of Tak? A dent in the latest TAT campaign? Some serious knock on effects downstream? Apparently half of all dam failures occur during the first filling or the reservoir. As this dam appears to be pretty seasoned, I suspect the revelers should be ok.

[BookMan]

Partying on the crest of Bhumibol Dam - 10 Billion cubic metres of water on one side, a 150m drop on the other. Add copious amounts of alcohol.

Anyone else see something wrong with this idea?

Perhaps they'll bus up a bunch of expats from Pattaya for an exhibition of Team Balcony Jumping.

As long as the dam is safe from collapse...

[Prairieboy]

It is certainly not the best place for a party - alcohol, heights, water - certainly could contribute to the holiday death toll!

[mccw]

The majority are not Buddhists? I think around 95% of the population qualify as a majority. There is no such thing as strict buddhists. There are different "schools" of buddhist beliefs, one is Theravada which is in Thailand the most practised.

Of course there are strict Buddhists. Don't talk nonsense. The vast majority of Thais are not strict Buddhists. Anyone that knows a modicum about Buddhism, including Theravada Buddhism knows that Thais regularly break one or more of the five precepts of Buddhism, which include sexual misconduct and consumption of drugs and alcohol.

Ghosts, fortune tellers and other superstitious beliefs are nothing to do with Buddhism.

Thais beliefs are a mixture of Buddhism, Animism and Brahamism, and as TAWP rightly points out, there's a bit of Hinduism and some other stuff mixed in too.

The "strict buddhists" as u put them, who I've come across don't deny the existence of the various super natural things in this world, mostly they say some thing like " this is not Buddhist" by delving onwards to what they mean, they most elaborate to the effect that they needn't concern themselves with such things as Buddha has already provided the knowledge to attain happiness so that is their sole focus.

I think you'd struggle to find a Thai who didnt have a single superstitious bone in their body whether they admit it or not.

[BigJohnnyBKK]

The majority of Thais believe in them, even foreign born and Eton/Oxford educated ones like the previous PM.

The majority of Thais are not Buddhist, but believe in a mixture of Buddhism, Animism and Brahmanism.

Strict Buddhists give little credence to ghosts, fortune tellers and other Animist nonsense.

Jesus wouldn't have approved of the majority of what the various "Christian" churches have got up to in the past two thousand years, that doesn't make their followers "non-Christian".

Most "Christian" celebrations, holy sites, many saints etc came about as adoptions (co-opting) of the preceding belief's rituals and objects of worship.

And whether or not they believe in things that are basically irrelevant to that religion is also irrelevant to their identity as a practitioner of it.

How strictly they observe their sect's precepts is of course an entirely different matter.

How any one person chooses to define a "genuine" follower of any religion is pretty irrelevant, I'd go by how people self-identify. 90% of Thais are Buddhists that happen to also believe in non-Buddhist magic, spirits, astrology etc. The fact that the leading practitioners in many of these beliefs happen to also be Buddhist monks complicates the picture. One can argue that some of these practices are forbidden by some arbitrary "strict" version of the religion, or that they are simply irrelevant distractions, but since every form of worships is inextricably linked to the context of the people and times, it's extremely pedantic to argue such "impurities" make the mainstream believers "non-Buddhists".

[lungmi]

The New Year just starts. I have no information from the Bhumipon Dam where some of my friends have their home.

I say thank you to all the posters who answered to Oberkommando to blame him for the arrogancy and ignorance of his posting.

[lungmi]

My house is full. We are 15 m higher than the 9 m pedicted over flow. They came for the Happy New Year party, not for the Big Crack. But their cars were full with things they don't need for a Party. Instructed people, but security first..

----

Good jokes with them, most Sino-Thai. When a future teller predict a good future, we believe. If not, we go to a New Years Party and forget the future teller.

[lungmi]

You think this will lead to a public campaign against fortunetellers and soothsayers, about how dangerous and irresponsible they are? No, majority of the gov. still believes in them.

The majority of Thais believe in them, even foreign born and Eton/Oxford educated ones like the previous PM.

The majority of Thais are not Buddhist, but believe in a mixture of Buddhism, Animism and Brahmanism.

Strict Buddhists give little credence to ghosts, fortune tellers and other Animist nonsense.

Ignorancy at the highest level.

"Strict Buddhists give little credence to ghosts, fortune tellers and other Animist nonsense."

(You abolish some basic believings of the Catholic Church)

Animist nonsense exists only in a nonsensed mind.

Animism/Shamanism is the inherited Religion of Mankind.

You are an isolated part of Mankind because you have the higher knowing of the Oberkommando (SS or SA)?

Edited December 31, 2011 by lungmi

[lungmi]

Phone from the Dam. Big Party. Some of my friends want to join the Party (30 km), no more beer at my home.

The most excited are the SinoThai. I ask them why? Answer: Big Party and good luck for the New Year.

[phiphidon]

Partying on the crest of Bhumibol Dam - 10 Billion cubic metres of water on one side, a 150m drop on the other. Add copious amounts of alcohol.

Anyone else see something wrong with this idea?

Perhaps they'll bus up a bunch of expats from Pattaya for an exhibition of Team Balcony Jumping.

Swimming in the sea, you deal with quite more than 10 billion CM and it doesn't kill you.

If there's a risk at the dam, that's on the other side indeed.

Have you tried swimming when pi**ed,well you probably have, but it increases your odds of drowning - anyway it was meant in a lighthearted way, sorry you missed that.

[FOODLOVER]

Still alive, just checking?

[Scott]

It may be too early to answer the question about the dam for those of us in Bangkok. It's 6:47 am on Jan. 1. I am still here, but how long will it take the deluge to reach BKK from there?

I once lived downstream from a major dam. Once a year, there was an evacuation drill for the city. Mostly it was government agencies, hospitals, police, elder care facilities, jails and schools that were mandated to participate. I was surprised to know that if the dam actually gave way, there was a good six to 10 hours before the water would reach the city.

[sjjmmi]

It may be too early to answer the question about the dam for those of us in Bangkok. It's 6:47 am on Jan. 1. I am still here, but how long will it take the deluge to reach BKK from there?

I once lived downstream from a major dam. Once a year, there was an evacuation drill for the city. Mostly it was government agencies, hospitals, police, elder care facilities, jails and schools that were mandated to participate. I was surprised to know that if the dam actually gave way, there was a good six to 10 hours before the water would reach the city.

Think we will have too WLL wan

[Scott]

Perhaps we have some of those science/math people who can give us a time estimate?

For some reason, I just don't trust the gov't or bureaucracy to let us know! I am sure they would use the same old reason: "We didn't want to create panic."

[thaiedward]

Phone from the Dam. Big Party. Some of my friends want to join the Party (30 km), no more beer at my home.

The most excited are the SinoThai. I ask them why? Answer: Big Party and good luck for the New Year.

Nice posts, Lungmi. I wish the best for you and yours. Happy New Year.