Pollution Puts Chiang Mai Off The Tourist Trail

[mistitikimikis]

I was in Mae Sai on Thursday and could not see 100 yards in front or behind me...The smell was beyond disgusting..Then crossed over to Burma and it actually got worse...

Locals in Mae Ramat visiting the hospital with various problems got only the answer "you have to wait for fon tok (rain)"

[TeddyFlyfisherDavis]

I was in Mae Sai on Thursday and could not see 100 yards in front or behind me...The smell was beyond disgusting..Then crossed over to Burma and it actually got worse...

Locals in Mae Ramat visiting the hospital with various problems got only the answer "you have to wait for fon tok (rain)"

I can imagine...But the burning goes on. It did rain here in Chiang Rai and Phan but didn't seem to help much...Air is still like pea soup.

[cloudhopper]

I am thinking about heading to Nepal for March to mid-April next year and trek in the solitude and freshness of the Himalayas. ChiangMai is a very nice place to live for at least 9 months of the year and I have no intention of moving, just exercise my options.

Better climb high then. The worst respiratory experiences I ever had were in Katmandu and Pokhara with the smoke, dust and everyone hocking and spitting in the streets.

[Thailand]

Does anyone have a cost effective solution to problem of clearly the fields, fertilizing them and killing the insects without burning? I thought not. Farmers have been burning their fields for a millennium to prepare them for the next planting. Either get used to it or move.

A thoughtful measured response to a serious problem.

[easyas]

I have a good friend that smokes 2 packs a day. Yesterday the smoke was seemingly worse than in many days. He started to bitch about how sh*tty the air is. I just had to laugh. My question is how many complainers on this forum smoke cancer sticks and complain about the air. Yes the air is pretty pretty bad. In a matter of a few weeks more or less the rains will come and things will be back to the abnormal normal.

Hang in there

Sorry can"t answer your question,but I smoke like a chimney and have suffered no ill effects from the bad air quality.maybe something in my genes.

And what ill effects has your smoking had on other people? You don't know? More likely you don't care! Passive smoking causes cancer too! Smoking is banned in public places in civilised countries. And so it should be, you lumpen!

[blakegeee]

Oh ok... liek -- WOW -- It ONLY runs in MS IE. I hate shit designers... No go for Firefox, Chrome or Safari...

Weird, I am using mac/firefox and it works fine for me

[Igor]

2,000,000 per year? dieing? A 2002 study indicated nearly two million people die each year, in India alone, from conditions related to the brown cloud.^[11]

Not a huge percentage in a population of 1.2 Billion - less than 2/10 of a percent...

[orosee]

Does anyone have a cost effective solution to problem of clearly the fields, fertilizing them and killing the insects without burning? I thought not. Farmers have been burning their fields for a millennium to prepare them for the next planting. Either get used to it or move.

So how many farmers, how many fields were there a millenium ago? Does it not make a difference if there is agriculture to supply say 10 Million people for sustenance, or 60 Million people plus a larger amount for export?

A lot of problems in Thailand (and elsewhere) have their roots in doing things the way they were done a millenium ago without adaptation to poluation growth, technological and societal advances etc., and I'm sure we've all benefited for example from NOT doing things as they were done for a millenium in the fields of medicine and government.

That said, how bad is it? Is it possible for a group of corporate visitors on a workshop trip to enjoy CM for about a week?

[Markaew]

I have a good friend that smokes 2 packs a day. Yesterday the smoke was seemingly worse than in many days. He started to bitch about how sh*tty the air is. I just had to laugh. My question is how many complainers on this forum smoke cancer sticks and complain about the air. Yes the air is pretty pretty bad. In a matter of a few weeks more or less the rains will come and things will be back to the abnormal normal.

Hang in there

Sorry can"t answer your question,but I smoke like a chimney and have suffered no ill effects from the bad air quality.maybe something in my genes.

Your lungs are just training to respire bad air. They don't know the difference but your shortened life span will reveal the truth.

[Markaew]

It's not just CM it's all the farming areas. This people like to burn, burn, burn. Here, they seem to like to wait until people return to their homes in the evening waiting for the still air and begin burning creating a dense fog that lingers all night. TiT. It's their culture given right to make as many people miserable as possible!

[Markaew]

I am thinking about heading to Nepal for March to mid-April next year and trek in the solitude and freshness of the Himalayas. ChiangMai is a very nice place to live for at least 9 months of the year and I have no intention of moving, just exercise my options.

Better climb high then. The worst respiratory experiences I ever had were in Katmandu and Pokhara with the smoke, dust and everyone hocking and spitting in the streets.

Thanks for that nice visual.

[Thailand]

I have just added a picture of a poster that I had not seen before.

As per forum rules I cannot make a direct link,are these posters all over?

http://www. chiangmaigolfcourses.com/blog/

[mowgus]

Ok... so maybe they "need" to burn for the crops (although I don't believe that argument because we don't burn in North America anymore) however, I've seen just random burning of underbrush in the forest. No crops, no garbage...just fires for no reason it would seem other than to burn the leaves in the forest. Which is plain, stupid. Those leaves decompose and provide nutrients to the soil for more trees and other plants to grow.

I've lived in Chiang Mai this year and I developed some sort of nasal infection that still hasn't completely gone away. I left for a week to Malaysia to escape it and try and get better. One of my Thai friends was hospitalized for about 4 days due to respiratory problems (and he's quite young).

All the Thai's complain about it too. But no one will do anything about it...it's just a way of life. It's smoke season. Soon enough it'll be flood season.

I for one, will have to think of alternative places to go next year. I can only imagine what it is doing to my lungs.

[Thailand]

I have just added a picture of a poster that I had not seen before.

As per forum rules I cannot make a direct link,are these posters all over?

http://www. chiangmaigolfcourses.com/blog/

Here it is.

At least an effort and acknowledgement of the problem.

[Thailand]

At least an effort and acknowledgement of the problem.

I guess the very prominent "STOP BURNING" in English is aimed at the foreign media or Farangs using BBQ's.

[BigJohnnyBKK]

That said, how bad is it? Is it possible for a group of corporate visitors on a workshop trip to enjoy CM for about a week?

Absolutely, IMO much more of a problem with the aesthetics of having to squint through the smog.

Only people who have experienced respiratory problems with pollution before may notice anything at all.

I live in Bangkok, grew up in New York (before the EPA) and didn't have any problem myself.

Still a great place to visit, just not great views from the mountains ATM.

I can't speak to long-term health effects, but suspect that smoke from burning natural substances isn't as bad as industrial pollution.

[mistitikimikis]

The Thai way.............. http://www.flickr.com/photos/toni_uni/6949958148/in/photostream

[mistitikimikis]

The Thai way.............. http://www.flickr.co.../in/photostream

Well, I saw this morning that the paddy-field in between Soi Liap Khlong Phra Rachadamri (Khlong Samwa) and KC Garden Home 15 (Bangkok) has been "cleaned" now in a, for the farmer, cheap way.............

http://www.flickr.com/photos/toni_uni/7098019491/in/photostream