Saturday.

Friday was spent coming down from the mountains, with stops to view more waterfalls, plus the obligatory shopping and eating breaks. Saturday was meant to be spent driving to the sunflower fields on the way home; but by the time we had had breakfast, more shopping, lunch, more shopping and eating breaks, the day seemed to have too few hours left to visit sunflowers. Plus, we were missing the cats, so decided to go straight home.

Thursday.

Three hours in an inflatable boat. Forty kilometres driving on tracks that were not really suitable for driving on. Four kilometres on foot, down but more often up jungle trails. All to visit a waterfall.

Surprisingly, it was spectacularly worth it. There will be photos.

Right now, I need to sleep.

Comments 🔗

2009-11-06 | genuinej says

This National Park trip seems to be causing you to require an awful lot of sleep. I’ve just spent two days with my equivalent of SWMBO in an Enlish National Park, The New Forest, (as a sort of advance penance for my forthcoming 20 day golfing holiday in LOS) and found that my sleep needs were normal. Perhaps you should try it sometime. Meanwhile I hope you manage to get as much as you want; sleep that is.

Wednesday,

About 150 kilometres and more than 1,200 corners, takes you from Tak, through mountainous countryside to Umphang.

With she who must be obeyed’s army father’s bodyguard as nominated driver, I am free to enjoy the view. In the back there is my wife, her mother and “Auntie Ning”. I have never been entirely sure about how she has auntie status, but she is pleasant enough; and the three ladies settle down to a long journey filled with snacking and a heated debate about Thaksin. Unclear as to whether it is a pro or anti Thaksin debate, but it is certainly heated.

Eight hours on the road, of which around six were spent going in the right direction. The rest was spent getting lost courtesy of the she who must be obeyed navigation service, plus stops to refill the snacks which were being constantly consumed.

620 kilometres later we arrive in Tak, just in time for the Loy Kratong competition. This involved a series of half hour shows by various districts. Dozens of dancers and musicians did their thing while a team of young men risked severe burns by feeding a constant stream of burning coconut shells into the water.

Somewhere between here and Bangkok there is a broken fibre- optic cable. So, no internet and this is being written on a phone.

Hopefully, normal service will be resumed eventually.

Comments 🔗

2009-11-02 | Billy says

I hope it gets better soon.

Wind!!

Lots of it too, at least for a while. Time to try out the new board which felt delightful underfoot and very speedy. Sadly I only got about thirty minutes of blasting before the wind dropped. More please.

Good to see the windsurfing club coming to life as the new season approaches. Plenty of boards on the water and some “I’m only here in the winter” faces appearing.

The actual headline in the local press read “Aussie gambling-ring busted”.

The local police have their hands full, what with all the murders, rapes and general mayhem that is a feature of life in this fine city; not to mention the ongoing vigorous campaign against those not wearing helmets on a motorbike, which is all about increasing road safety and nothing to do with funds collection.

Even so, organised gambling syndicates can bring destitution and despair to those who unwittingly fall under their control, so good to see that the police are taking action against the evil mobsters who run these organisations.

Today is my actual birthday. Given that there can only be a few more years when I am able to get on a board and go sailing, it is of a some significance (to me) to go windsurfing on my birthday and wave a finger at decrepitude. You haven’t won yet you bastard! Last year was not possible because I was in the process of being discharged from hospital. This year there was no wind. Next year perhaps. I did get a cake from she who must be obeyed, and before I eat that we plan to go for a nice dinner somewhere. That’s about enough birthday excitement for someone my age.

There was something else to celebrate today apart from the coming into being of me; the release of the latest, and last, add-on for Grand Theft Auto IV; The Ballad of Gay Tony. Sadly I discovered I did not have enough Xbox credits to buy it, so will have to wait a week for a fresh supply to arrive from Hong Kong. Bugger.

Apart from a host of new missions, there are additional programs on the in-game TV stations. Station CNT, for example, will be bringing us the adventures of Princess Robot Bubblegum.

Also was pleased to see that GTA has not lowered standards in respect of generally pissing off those who adopt some form of moral stance:

The latest service from the Pattaya City Call Centre: