Fun in Thailand

Really not seen many this year, yet. There is no shortage of strange stuff I won't eat, here, or anywhere. Snake will have a long slither to make it to the 'maybe, someday' list.

Most I've seen here a pretty scrawny, can't be much meat on them.

In the early 80's i was driving a chrysler cordoba on a back road in south Georgia, US, 0300or so, empty road, except for a large snake I ran over at 60 mph. It was like driving over a speed bump. At first i thought it was a log, or tree branch......fire hose...something. Backed up....it was gone. If it was a snake, it survived being run over by a 4000 pound car, and probably wasn't happy.

:)

It probably was some sort of constrictor, released, Too big for anything native to that area.

snake.JPG
 
Some years back on my motorcycle I was in a campground in Cherokee NC trying to find some friends who were camped in the back. It was kind of remote and on Cherokee owned land so parties could happen safely as the regular campsites were about a quarter mile before the back area. Up the dirt roads I go then I see what appears to be some kind of black cable across the road fully across both lanes into the grass on either side. Looked to be about 50mm (2 inches) diameter. It was dry and it seemed safe to drive over it so there I went. In passing over it moved far more than what I thought a cable would have so I stopped and looked back to see the snake's tail emerge from one side as it crossed. I tried to get turned around to run over it again but it was faster than me, and gone by the time I got there. Found my friends and told them about it- they didn't believe me because the non-poisonous "Black Snakes" we have around here just don't get that big. One beer later another friend arrives with a similar story at about the same spot, and now they believed me.

And in an odd twist of fate, unbeknownst to me, my best friend came walking up from two campsites further on, the last campsite at the very back- he'd heard my bike and knew it was me from the unique sound of the Dunstall Decibel mufflers I ran. He'd got there the day before and hadn't realized the mutual friends I came to party with were even there. By Sunday there were probably 40 people, 25 bikes, and several cars there with "party goods" aplenty- a very memorable weekend for me in many ways.

Phil
 
Here is an annoying intersection I have to transit a few times a day. I previously posted a car using the shoulder and turn lane to get to the front of the que for the traffic light. Here is a jerk using the oncoming traffic lane to pass cars in the correct lane.


NSFW Language (Mine)

 
For the heck of it, my lady friend is from a small village on the western edge of the province. She wanted to go to her home temple on the holiday (yesterday) to make 'merit' with her family. No problem. I run her out there, park the trike in the shade, get the drone out, and avoid the praying/kneeling/sitting on hard floors with insects flying around, while trying to look interested and reverent.
In the morning the monks are fed, two monks at this small temple, collected enough food to feed hundreds. Inside the temple building is a mountain of sacked rice.....more than two monks could eat in 30 reincarnations. Must be doled out for charity cases, or ends up somewhere else?

You can see the two monks at about the 9 o'clock position around the temple building, starting to travel down the line of kneeling people. Usually a couple of runners shuttle food from the monks to a central point. Not see them in this video.


Here's the 'sound truck' and some village aunties, dancing on the way to the temple. The audio wasn't quite as distorted as most, they sound system is powered by a small generator in the truck bed. This truck circled the village with music blaring for an hour, then parked at a village office to collect a crowd. Most of the crowd lost interest in the heat and caught a ride with vehicles heading to the temple.




Collected money, and donations arrive at temple, circle the building 3 times. Kids have minor water fight going on. Some dancing over by the sound truck, but with GF lurking couldn't check out the local talent. (Most who are probably over 60)


 
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He wont last long, leaving his well being to others like that.
 
Seriously, death on the highway is such a fact of life here, it's more of an inconvenience. Occasionally the family of innocent people get paid off a handful of money.

Nobody seems to want to connect bad driving, and no enforcement of the laws, to the carnage. On the big holidays they blame booze, but most of these morons arenot drunk 365 days a year.

The other day I was surprised to see a police car in town, lights on, traveling at high speeds. You almost never see modern police cars. Then I remembered the traffic lights seemed to be timed differently. The police car overtook me on the dual lane divided ring road...followed by a few mercedes. That and the cop near that intersection to turn the light green when they (and me) approached were likely the only cops I saw all day. (and I was on an 80 KM round trip.)
 
the video is private
 
Weekend trip to Bueng Kan province. This temple is famous. There are rickety stairs and catwalks you can climb to the top of the mountain.
(Not me, I stayed firmly on the ground, but slipped and busted my butt on a wet rock hiking to a waterfall, later)




 
well a busted butt are no laughing matter, i was "thrown" off my quad bike at walking pace, and i assume broke my tail bone, so no sleeping on the back for a while and no sitting in hard chairs.
I still feel it if i "lounge" too hard in a chair, and this happened back in 2006
 
Weekend trip to Bueng Kan province. This temple is famous. There are rickety stairs and catwalks you can climb to the top of the mountain.
(Not me, I stayed firmly on the ground, but slipped and busted my butt on a wet rock hiking to a waterfall, later)




well a busted butt are no laughing matter, i was "thrown" off my quad bike at walking pace, and i assume broke my tail bone, so no sleeping on the back for a while and no sitting in hard chairs.
I still feel it if i "lounge" too hard in a chair, and this happened back in 2006
I have occasional back problems going back to a ladder mishap when I was in the army, but apparently nothing shows up on exrays.

Every few years I'm laid up for a few days, often triggered by some lower back torquing.

I'm a little sore , but no big deal.

 
I am glad my severe back pains i have not felt for many years, those are some of the most intense i have tried, even a bit frightening cuz the pain manifest in my chest.
Then i also have my constant lower back pains, which i have had since i was in my teens, but thats low on a pain scale, just annoying to have had for so many decades.

I remember as a kid having been in the saddle of my race bike for the most of a day, actually standing up strait was bit of a problem being hunched over for so many hours.
As a machine worker apprentice i was also the only one there operating a lathe while sitting down on a chair, being hunched over the fairly low manual lathes for a 6 foot 2" guy was no fun with a skeleton build, even if that particular public workplace ( Danish railroads ) we had 1.5 hours of break time every day, where all sane work places you have 0.5 hour and you pay for that yourself.
Working the trains we had 2 X 0.5 hour breaks that was paid breaks. 09:30 - 10:00 and 13:30 - 14:00, and then the lunch break from 11:30 to 12:00 we paid for ourself like normal.
 
If there are any shortwave listeners, left, this is where Radio Thailand, and a lot of VOA/USAID radio is transmitted from.

Near ban dung, in udon Thani province. It also has CIA connections, real, and imagined.
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Passed by on the way home.
 
Not driving the trike much recently. Weather is nice, so fired it up for a 45 minute ride to eat lunch at a friends restaurant.
Mostly empty, back roads, sugarcane fields, rubber trees....and the occasional homicidal maniac driven truck.


 
Seeing "This video is unavailable"- check the permissions

Phil
 
I get "This video is private"
 
a few days after the 'truck' video, I escaped the doomed situation I was in, and am living in a new province, in a nice city, on the Mekong. The rumours I am under the witless protection program may be false.


They repaved a section of road near my new home.
Please note the new lanes don't line up with the existing lanes. You have traffic head on in your lane at that intersection.



The lanes stayed like this for 5 days. Finally, they put some cones up, but they have since vanished. They did restripe the area, but left the old markings on the pavement. Welcome to thailand.

Here's how it is,now

 
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