the train

The train went by as I crossed the track.  This is a passenger train to Nong Khai.  I have never seen a freight train.  Only passenger trains on these tracks.

Train wrecks

Local news today:

7 killed when their pickup truck hit by speeding trainUdon Thani - A pickup truck was hit by a speeding train it his northeastern province after the truck refused to stop at a rail crossing. Seven people inside the truck were all killed, police said.The accident happened at 4:20 am on the Mittraparp bypass road outside Udon Thani provincial seat.The truck was dragged by the Bangkok-Nong Khai train for about 300 metre.Police said the automatic system already blocked the road with a barrier but the truck crisscrossed the blockade and was cut into the middle by the speeding train.

End news.

There have been other train wrecks in Thailand recently but this one happened not much more than a mile from my house. Actually as the crow flies or as the train track runs it was probably not much more than a half mile because the train track runs within about 100feet of my front door! I have wondered and worried about the train track so close. The tracks cross the road out front of my house about 100 feet away. There is no barrier there. I am always extra cautious when crossing the tracks because the train does not always sound a horn. I think that on some trains it may be broken. On others it sounds quite pathetic like the horn is ready to die. But I also think if there were a derailment right there that my house is surely apt to be crushed by flying rail cars. There is also a guy that owns cattle living next to the tracks and he allows his cattle to graze along the tracks. It seems very risky to me but the cattle seem to know when to get out of the way. We are about 3 miles from the train station in Udon so the train is getting up good speed as it passes the house and heads out into the country on the way to Nong Khai. First 2 pictures are at the train crossing outside of my house. The last picture is the train station in Udon. Udon Thani, Thailand

Nong Khai Thailand

Nong Khai is on the Mekong River and a tourist site in Thailand. The first week of October there is a festival there that has something to do with balls of light that show up each year over the river. No explanation for them. I have been there a few times but once we visited a park there with huge statues. I show some pictures here.

For those seeking "Retirement" Visa in Thailand

I now have 2 visas in my passport. One is a Non-immigrant "O" visa good for 3 months and now I have the coveted "Retirement" Visa good for 1 year. They run consecutive and are good for 15 months. I wanted to mention this for those that are seeking the "Retirement" visa for one reason. If you REALLY want to uncomplicate things get a consultant. I know it is an additional expense but it is worth the peace of mind. I'll run it down real quick. First, there is a long laundry list of items you must get together in order to get the "Retirement" visa. Here are a few. 1. You have to have a current non-immigrant "O" visa, 2. you have to have pictures of yourself like passport photos that are 4cm X6cm in size. 3. you must be 50 years old, 4. you have to prove you have either sufficient monthly income (65,000b) or have money in a Thai bank (800,000b) for 3 months before your visa renewal and it must have come from a bank outside of Thailand. 5. you have to have your passport and have copies of every page which should be signed by you. 6. You must have copies of the information about your residence. You must have a form filled out by your landlord and copies of his/her ID card. 7. 1900b for the visa fee. If all this is not enough you also need to go to your embassy to get a certification of your income if you are depending on the monthly income route for money.

It is a mess. The best advice is to use the consultant. I used Roong from Squires Consultants (089-2507619). She is the best. One thing I liked about her is that if you had a question and she did not know the answer she just phoned the immigration office and got the answer while you sat there. She has great contacts both at the Thai immigration and at (in my case) the US embassy. When it came to the day I was to go to the immigration office to see the immigration officer, I went to her office, she loaded me into her car, and she drove me to the immigration office in Nong Khai (about 50 kilometers one way). She had an appointment. We did not wait in a que. We sat down directly, did our business, and left. We had pleasant conversation all the way there and back. It was VERY painless. Her charges are reasonable. I can say the fee for the trip to the Immigration Office was 1000b. What was great was that she did all the talking and of course with her help we had more than enough paper work to satisfy the officer we met. I was told later that the officer we met was one of the tougher ones to deal with but we had no trouble at all and he offered, as I left, to help me with any other issues I had in the future.