Rice harvest

A picture of a couple of fields after the harvest

Cool tractor

I want one. Check out the handle bars. The engine is a diesel that just putts along. They have many attachements for these. You can see the wagon on this one.

Electric service for several houses

Check out this utility pole and the meters for several houses attached.

cigarette health warnings

I had mentioned the cigarette package health warnings before. Here are couple of pictures from Thai Cigarette packs. The picture must cover 1/2 the pack. It would be difficult for me to smoke looking at these pics.

Pepsi has a new friend

Pepsi has been such a pain but he is getting older (and bigger) and starting to settle down some. He lets me sleep at night now. But he has a new friend Panda. Panda is a tiny currly haired dog. Pepsi thinks he is a pillow.

sunset pictures

Sunsets can be spectacular here due to the dirty air.

now we are entering dry season

I have a rainy season/dry season picture of a field near the house. It has not rained for weeks and all the water is disappearing now. During July/August everything was under water. Now everything is drying out and it is getting cooler. Temps are down to about 60 mornings now. The Thais suffer when it gets this cold. Winter coats are in use everywhere.

cool utility vehicle

This a cool truck. There is no windscreen. There is a diesel engine mounted sideways in the front. These things putt around farms and neighborhoods. I guess they are just a general work vehicle like a tractor. But I want one!

Click the picture to get a better look.

Alibaba

Grapefruit?

Looks a bit like a grapefruit and tastes like it. These are twice the size of a regular grapefruit. As you can see this one is partly peeled. You can also get them completely sectioned in a styrofoam tray. The cost for one is about 35b or about $1.15. They are pretty expensive but tasty.

Things go better with Coke in any language

Things go better with Coke in any language

Feeding the fish and birds

Uefa and I went to Nong Prajak to feed the fish.

For Dale

Here are some of the caterpillars eating the milkweed plants I found. They are colored black, yellow and white like the Monarch but have 3 sets of antennae. Maybe they are somewhat like the queen butterfly caterpillar. The butterfly itself is orange with black markings and white slashes along the outer part of the wings.

a couple of pretty flowers

Just two flowers I saw along the road today. One is a lily and the other looks like a morning glory but is not at all. The leaves of the plant are like arrowhead and they grow near water alot.

Is this safe??

Here are 2 pictures of Thai guys working on the electric wires near my house. No safety systems are seen at all. I am sure a lineman in the US would freak.

Sabai Sabai Fishing park

Took a walk to a fishing park today. They have a variety of fish (16 species). The weights go on up to about 5 kilograms. Mostly they are some kind of carp. The bait used is bread. Cost is about $2 to fish and $1 for the bread. You pay for the fish kept by weight. The cost for fish is around $2 per kilogram. The place is owned by a Scottish guy. They also have a menu and food. They will prepare the fish you catch as well.

sights in the market

Just 2 pictures from the market. One is of a flower stand and the other a picture of eels, turtles and fish in tubs. These eels, turtles and fish are for eating. If you enlarge the flower stand picture and wonder about the little plastic bags on the right.. They are eggs. The larger white ones may be duck eggs. I think I see 25b on one of the bags. That is about 75 cents. Pretty expensive when you figure there are about 7 eggs in there.

Motorbikes fill the streets

I went walking today specifically to find pictures of motorbikes. I have seen near the colleges where these things are lined up by the thousands. They tell me they get stolen too! I watched these people find a space that is way not big enough between 2 bikes so they just push the others over to get their space. As you may know motorbikes cost much less and they also use way less gas but they are way more dirty than a car. So the air in Thailand is very smoggy.

Singer sewing machines? No washer, stove

I walked in downtown Udon Thani today to get some shots of the motorbikes but while I was walking I noticed a few appliance shops selling Singer brand washers, gas ranges and stoves. Really I do not see ovens much. This one was kind of a first for me.

Rice fields at sunrise

I walked this morning down a dirt road between rice fields. I took some sunrise pictures. The pictures of grasses closeup are not rice. The fields in the mist are rice. The rice is almost ready to harvest now.

Nan's Laundr% Servlce

There are a few businesses that Thai's can start up with almost no resources whatsoever and they can do well. Laundry is one such business. There are many laundries here and they all seem to thrive. Many people do not have washing machines or perhaps not even someplace to hang their clothes so they use the laundry. Here are pictures of 2 signs. I am not sure what the price breakdowns represent. I do know that these places will usually take all your clothes for one month for about $15. As I have said before, all clothes are hung to dry. They do not use driers.

hotel room key

Generally you are expected to leave your key at the hotel desk when you leave your room but also when you get to your room all things electrical depend on you putting your room key into a slot by the door. The room key in the slot completes the electrical circuit to turn everything on. That includes the air conditioner, lights, TV, fridge, etc. It is the ultimate green technology. No leaving the lights or A/C on when you leave. Also you have to beware of things you leave in the refrigerator.