Shado wrote:Thanks, we away over the weekend and not sure if we'd missed it or not.

You didn't miss much Shado. This year it was a pale shadow of previous years thanks in part to the dictator who decreed no elections to be held .The elected officials in Tessabahn who normally arranged everything were disbanded when their elected term expired last year and of course no new elections were allowed. So since then we have had no one really interested in keeping things going. This year the letting of space for the stalls instead of being done direct from Tessabahn, was sold off in one lot to an individual who then sublet, you can imagine the consequence on the price . So much so we only had half the number of vendors with the plant sales people being particularly effected as the price being charged was a massive 500bht per mtr width .With trees and plants requiring a lot of space, most of them wanted at least 30-40 mtrs, so15-20k for just three days selling .On top of that they were relocated to a secondary retail space across the main road from the fair.Inside the grounds the effect was very noticeable with less than half the normal space taken .
The spending on the entertainment was also drastically reduced with a morlam group at just 40k compared to the previous ones who were recognised as the best, but cost 200k.The new lot were such rubbish they closed at 4am instead of 6am. Guess even the drunks went home .Talking to many on both sides of the fence they are even doubting whether it will take place next year .Following this fiasco, not sure if connected, the old Tessabahn team has been asked to resume their duties , unelected for a further 12 months .
Keep the people happy? Didn't look it from where I stood. :-"

Thanks for the update trubrit. We were at a three day family tamboon in the wife's village this past weekend (including a very robust morlam show) so I suppose, according to your report, it was for the best.

We enjoyed last year's mango festival and would have liked to have made a return visit. It's a shame things have worked out like they did. Hopefully, in the future, the festival can find some of it's previous appeal.

For all the locals, a new Greek restaurant has opened on main street in Nong Wuaso...It is in the block between the traffic light and the market...Have been there twice and food is very good...Had a good Greek salad and gyros..all at reasonable prices..It is run by a Greek ex-pat named Tom and his wife, Jee...

what hours do they operate??

guess i know now what i'm having for dinner.

off track..............has anyone tried to talk to the police about all the double parking in front of the market/7-11.
really surprised no one has been killed (blocked view of on coming traffic by pedestrians....not to mention everyone zipping thru on the wrong side of the road due to double parked vehicles), always tempted to park down the road and walk back to key the car or truck. ok, have parked and walked back (mainly to hit the 7/11)...........just can't get my timing right to covertly key the vehicles.

Mosquito wrote:what hours do they operate??

guess i know now what i'm having for dinner.

off track..............has anyone tried to talk to the police about all the double parking in front of the market/7-11.
really surprised no one has been killed (blocked view of on coming traffic by pedestrians....not to mention everyone zipping thru on the wrong side of the road due to double parked vehicles), always tempted to park down the road and walk back to key the car or truck. ok, have parked and walked back (mainly to hit the 7/11)...........just can't get my timing right to covertly key the vehicles.

Mosquito...About 18 months ago, the police put signs out in front of the 7-11 and the Chinese grocery...but no one paid any attention...On the market side, there used to occasionally be a policeman in the police box there on the corner...but not any more...

There really isn't an answer...

standard, guess we'll have to wait for someone to get killed or i key enough vehicles (hard to do with so many eyes in that area).

oh, had a gyro yesterday...............very good and a full meal.
baked potato/cheese and bacon also good.
salami pizza...........was suprised the daughter and wifey really like it (they normally don't eat pizza).
tom yam kung............for the wifey............not hot enough for her. sap, but not sap eily.

Been a long while up dating the local news so here's two items that may be of interest.
We have two new chain supermarkets in Nong Wai ,Tesco and Tops, the latter under it's brand name of Superkoom, both offer most of the items found in their bigger stores, but not fresh food .Handy anyway .
Now the big one. The annual Nong Wau So mango festival starts on the 1st March. On offer, of course lots and lots of mangoes plus other fruits and veg. A large Red Cross tent with a fund raising raffle , lots of goodies on offer with some good prizes, fridges , fans , rice cookers and many other items donated by local business owners and other individuals. Everyone wins something, tickets just 20bht. Come and support your local community you will have a fun day, plenty of parking available outside my house . LOL.

.Just a reminder of the Mango Red Cross fair. A selection of some of the prizes on offer, the larger items arriving today include the motorbike and three fridges. Come along and support this worthy cause that helps out both the old and young in the local community.
Some recent acts include blankets for the elderly and school shoes for underprivileged kids.

Some of the lovely mangoes from the festival. too late to get any more, finished last night.
This year was the best ever for fund raising for the Red Cross, almost double last years takings. Thanks for anyone that came and contributed to it's success, although I was there three days , didn't see many farangs .
Whilst posting just add. A nice little coffee shop just opened near the market in Nong Wai, delicious cappuccino only 35bht. Sit outside and watch the world go by while enjoying.

Strong gale force winds hit two villages in amphoe Non Wau Sor last night causing extensive damage to many homes, some were totally demolished. Tambo's Nam Pong and Nong Wau Bahn seem to be the worst effected. The local Red Cross are on the scene providing aid to the locals who have lost everything.

Yes big winds last night,took roofs off some of the shanti sheds that Thais call a house.they are ok though as their new pick ups and Mercedes were were untouched.another way of looking at it is that the storms take away the dangerous and unstable buildings that haven't been maintained.its the law of the jungle out here in nong wua so,only the strong survive.good to have the rain though,the air and roads got a clean and the farm had a needed soaking.

Marcosteffano wrote:Yes big winds last night,took roofs off some of the shanti sheds that Thais call a house.they are ok though as their new pick ups and Mercedes were were untouched.another way of looking at it is that the storms take away the dangerous and unstable buildings that haven't been maintained.its the law of the jungle out here in nong wua so,only the strong survive.good to have the rain though,the air and roads got a clean and the farm had a needed soaking.

Rather unkind that.I was out there yesterday and I can assure you there wasn't a Mercedes or anywhere near a newish pickup to be seen, just impoverished villagers mostly elderly, looking shell shocked at the remains of the shanty sheds as you call them, and all their treasured , to them, possessions littered around open to the elements .The Red Cross representatives were able to donate roofing sheets and nails for them to do their own repairs, plus tarpaulins for immediate protection .
I have lived in the province of Non Wau Sor for fifteen years, don't consider myself particularly strong, nor my surroundings a jungle, but have not only survived but thoroughly enjoyed my life here .

Ok I may of been a bit harsh and it has effected some of the poorest around here.i see Thais in a different light to tell you the truth.they will plead poverty even though they may have large farms,big bank accounts and pick ups I would love to own.i paid 600,000b for a bit of land and I asked how much do you get for growing a crop on this land to which she replied 6,000b-ish.i said oh well I'll just farm it for the next 100 years and break even then.my Thai family house rocks from side to side in these storms and they are poor but own at lest 10 fold the land I own.my neighbors have a big house constructed out of rusty corrugated sheet with a brand new Mazda bt50,Honda civic but by the looks of things never would dream of buying a bag of screws or a tin of paint for any sort of maintainance.i think they are waiting for the roof to blow off so the Red Cross will come in and fix it for nothing.

Talk of the villid at the moment is the new shop is owned by Robinson as some of the farang have signed up and got their new club cards.i can't understand why this shop as come about as the cash n carry next door is super cheap and will take some beating on price wars.why I'm on the subject of club cards can anyone tell me what you get in the way of discounts as I've got a wallet full of VIP cards that don't seem to give me anything apart from Tesco.ive spent over 250,000b in do homes on the nong Khan road and when I ask them what do I get they just look at me with that look of confusion.not even a bottle of water so far.i hope the new shop does some kind of real bread,I'm sick of 7-11 over priced crap.

Marcosteffano wrote:Talk of the villid at the moment is the new shop is owned by Robinson as some of the farang have signed up and got their new club cards.i can't understand why this shop as come about as the cash n carry next door is super cheap and will take some beating on price wars.why I'm on the subject of club cards can anyone tell me what you get in the way of discounts as I've got a wallet full of VIP cards that don't seem to give me anything apart from Tesco.ive spent over 250,000b in do homes on the nong Khan road and when I ask them what do I get they just look at me with that look of confusion.not even a bottle of water so far.i hope the new shop does some kind of real bread,I'm sick of 7-11 over priced crap.

The new village shops are under the brand Super Koom They are part of the Tops supermarket chain, which in Thailand is part of the Central group which also owns Robinson stores . The No 1 card is available to use at all shops in the group.It gives an advantage of discounts on goods purchased in all stores. The Tops, Super Koom supermarkets send out discount coupons to all regular customers depending on previous months spend, I personally get coupons worth about 1, 000bht every couple of months .So really worth while in my book. The local , Nong Wai branch unfortunately doesn't as yet sell any fresh foods so it isn't selling much more than the ma & pa places. I think it was only opened to compete with the Tesco mini mart which opened last year .I would agree with you though the Tesco, Big C cards are next to useless, small discounts on a restricted range of goods, most not of interest to me, ie baby shampoo etc, and expire before you can use them unless you are very quick.

'Photo courtesy Udon Update .
This is an accident spot just waiting to happen, no bets on how long that lamp post will last.

Yes all these very stupid works on the road towards Loei are many accidents waiting to happen, what idiot designed all the accident black spots??

The narrowing of the outer lane to make room for a turning lane will make some interesting moments in the dark when people are along a big truck. The inside lane is made wider at the spots but who sees that and who will swerve left to follow that, especially when it is dark?

Bearing in mind that very few locals will use the left hand lane, I would give it 2 days at most before someone takes off over the kerb into a lamp post. This photo should be printed all over the world to show some of the idiocy we encounter.

Villagers are up in arms about the highway....enough to get the attention of the government. With Songkran traffic, the potential for accidents is increased...even more.
https://www.thairath.co.th/content/911726