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  1. #76
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    Glad that's ok MTD

    Bustak, thanks very much.

  2. #77
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    Another photograph from a different section of the lake. I was told that the lake contained enough fish to constantly supply the village.





    Below a residential property combined tea tasting and retailing outlet. Accomodation was also available at this residence Home-stay nature.



    The whole village kind of 'shone with cleanliness' It was a pleasure to see.
    All the women take their blouses off
    And the men all dance on the polka dots
    It's closing time !

  3. #78
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    The small shop as shown below afforded us a pleasant hour or so tasting various teas, Flobo purchased some unusual types and we are presently enjoying a nice cup of Oolong tea as I make these entries. The Ginseng brand is also really nice.

    It was a beautiful visit to the town, kind of makes one wish we were back there, with the cold, wet and totally attrocious weather we are experiencing here at present.

    The kettle in the back ground, was boiling away quite merrily on a small gas ring.








    The building was, as far as I could make out simply made from mud and straw, it had a dirt floor and as you can see the typical leaf roof covering.


  4. #79
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    Flobo soaking up a bit of sunshine.







    It's one of those villages, that you might see in a comparable fashion in the UK Lancashire Life magazine, village of the year award winner for instance.

    A credit to the occupants.


  5. #80
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    Driving out of the village and taking the road to the left, which we were told not to go down 'It is very dangerous'

    Well what do you expect me to do if somebody says that?

    We came to this unmanned border crossing complete with sand bag protection but no guards.







    You can't really tell me that a bloke is going to look at a situation like this and think to himself, lets do it. Get the camera ready Flobo, I'm going over. She went on a wobbler, don't be daft, there'll be mines and all sorts over there. When are you going to grow up?

    What a silly tantrum that was.

    So over I went.

  6. #81
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    I thought at the time though, this was a very well protected point for the duty soldiers, I had a good look around and inside before I did the crossing.





    So I go inside and start rummaging through the paperwork nothing in English though, there were a couple of porn mags under the main bulk of papers and seeing those made me laugh. I mean to say, how could he jump up and shout 'Halt Who Go's There' with a stiffy, they would laugh at him.





    By this time Flobo is going really ape shit with me, get out of there and stop messing with those papers will you, they'll shoot you if they come.






    Hey look at this lads, a new visa run courtesy of Mathos!

    Roll up to Mathos sector twenty nine only a Thousand Baht for ten days overdue!

  7. #82
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    So I took a look around went up the little well worn path, there wouldn't be landmines on that section would there.








    I carried on walking a bit, the pathway opened more and it was obvious that vehicles must have used it from time to time.


  8. #83
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    I'll do some more on this tomorrow with a bit of luck.

    Tell you about the angry soldiers too.

    I'm just leaving one photograph on below though. It's really baffling me, has anybody an inkling as to what the ghostly looking little bear like thing is on this photograph?



  9. #84
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    ^cleverly disgiused sattelite dish???

  10. #85
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mathos View Post
    An aside, I just noticed my avatar location as Kanchanaburi, That is another place I always enjoy visiting, it's kind of special. I was once in conversation with an elderly guy who had been a POW on the railroad during the war. In fact I knew him quite well and as a youngster I listened to some of the tales he related, {especially when he had been drinking, and that was quite often} which in all honesty gave me an insight into a world I could barely believe had existed.

    I'll relate some of the tales sometime, they are in the very least interesting.

    I've enjoyed a few days at different places and if any-one is interested Duenne Shine Resort is quite a nice little place to stay. The rafts are grand, even if the walls to the adjoining are rather thin, so I recommend an end unit.

    The rooms in the two tier hotel type section are really nice and the small toy town type bungalows in the garden areas, are cute {as my wife says}

    You can usually get any of the above for Bt1000 a night including breakfast and that is quite a decent price for two. Nice swimming pool and they do some weekend breaks for business's or private parties which always involves a really good BBQ and entertainment.

    In town by the way there is a cracking little restaurant 'No Name Bar'

    Decent Thai meal for about Bt 40 or 50 and European quickies, Bangers and mash etc about Bt100?

    I just thought it might not be prudent to start naming places on these threads, no doubt the mods will blank it if I'm out of order.
    Very interested in old boys story of being railroad pow,please post if u can

  11. #86
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    [b]
    Quote Originally Posted by sunderlandstephen;599560[/B

    Very interested in old boys story of being railroad pow,please post if u can

    I have quite a bit of information on POW and The Railroad etc Steve.

    In fact coupled with the personal experiences in the area it will be quite hefty reading and there are some great photographs, there are some old hard copies I took somewhere about 1990/91, they need sorting out, scanning and entering up etc.

    I'll get round to it over the weeks and make sure you enjoy the read in general.

    I trust that is ok for you .

  12. #87
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    Quote Originally Posted by jizzybloke View Post
    ^cleverly disgiused sattelite dish???

    Nice one Jizzy.

  13. #88
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    Anyhow I'm walking merrily along in Burma, minding my own business and looking for what might be around the next corner, Flobo shouts; "You'd better come back, there's a soldier coming and he he's got a gun."

    I turned and started to walk back kind of nonchalantly, I actually thought I should start whistling or singing or something, but then he was there, stood at the side of Flobo, AK47 in his hand supported by a flashy leather shoulder strap.

    I thought this will make a cracking photograph, but he didn't like me raising the camera and stuck his hand up in the air, bellowed something at me in Thai, which I thought might be prudent to interpret as;

    "No photographs please, I'm camera shy."

    So I put down the camera and he by now has raised the gun slightly, I acted smartish in getting back across the border into Thailand, offered him my hand, big smile, and asked him if this was the way to Bangkok.

    Well he wasn't being taken in at all, obviously he didn't understand a word of English but at times like this there is universal knowledge when you simply walk up the hill ahead of him and know only too well he is taking you in.

    I'm thinking this could be an ideal time to offer him a bribe, but when I turned around he wasn't very happy looking at all. I thought it best to keep my mouth shut for the time being.


    He took me through a funny wooden gate and two more soldiers both carrying guns came out of a hut on the other side.

    They were both extremely young looking and he spoke a few words to them and carried on his way, towards another bigger hut on the right.

    I thought 'Christ they might torture me or something.'

    The other soldiers were very young indeed and I was more than concerned at the size of the guns they were toting than anything else.

    So I smiled at one of them in particular and said "Hey, you are Ronaldo."

    He in turn gave a big smile back and said, "Ronaldo, Man United"

    "Yes, Man United, you are Ronaldo"

    This was great, I was making out to be kicking and heading an invisible ball about, and passing it to Ronaldo, they were laughing, I think they were actually getting ready to call for a yellow van for me.

    I was happier by the minute.

    We shook hands and they went to a table, both sat down, Ronaldo took off his floppy hat and commenced to thumb through the pages of a book. He didn't write anything in it or do anything, I carried on bulling them both up, took my camera out of my pocket and took their photograph.

    Then I shook hands with them both, said 'Goodbye' and started to walk back towards the gate.

    Caught something they shouted up the hill towards the hut where the first soldier had headed, about Farang.

    I took the time to close the gate when I walked through it, Flobo was on the other side with her camera and I said, 'Get a shot of this quick.'

    This was the approach to the first hut and gate.







    Ronaldo and his mate.

    With guns.


  14. #89
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    This was a better photograph of the main gate to this no mans land type of place.

    You can see by the guage of the traffic tracks there has been some heavy large vehicles using this route too.



  15. #90
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    Flobo had driven the car part way up the hill behind us, she had seen me go through the gate with the soldier, She left the vehicle and followed up on foot, to see what was what. She thought to herself, what will they charge him with.

    We had both been arrested in Burma back in 1991 for doing a similar thing, that is another story and somebody got shot in that escapade. We were held in a bamboo pen over-night too.


    I think it was too much trouble to them to get involved in what could be a lot of paperwork for them, who knows.


  16. #91
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    So we headed back towards the town and a few more cups of the fancy tea.

    All in all it was a great day.








    Get the kettle on love.


  17. #92
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    I kept thinking, they will follow us any minute now and in order to keep abreast of the situation mentally, I stopped a few times on the roads back to the town to take a photograph or two and to look back in order to feel sure we were not going to be arrested.







    Town never looked so good as it did the second time around either.





    The Chinese lady and her kettle with assortments of tea looked sensational in a funny kind of way.



  18. #93
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    Watching football at present.

    Will try and get on later.

    In the meanwhile these are worth a look if the link works OK.


    A friend


    A bit off subject but interesting.

  19. #94
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    I'm quite happy with the Man U Barcelona result.

    Thought I would place a few photographs on board tonight, with basic descriptions etc.

    Hope you like what I'm entering, there are some nice snaps here and I'll get it together to give a good write up in the next few days.

    Had a hard week so far, very busy and a few things going up the creek. I'm sure you all know how it is at times without me elaborating. Plus I'm helping somebody out of n early morning, which has meant me travelling to Blackburn early on and had to be getting up at 5.45 am all week.

    OK enough of my moaning lets get the thread going.

    Actually when you see photographs of areas like this it really makes me yearn for more time in those beautiful mountains

    This was taken high in the mountain border area near Ban Rak Thai, Just as a matter of interest have any of you been to that particular location?





    I have to say too, I always prefer driving on the dirt roads, they are far more interesting than the smoothies. I don't sport the same opinion in the rainy season though.





  20. #95
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    These sort of experiences are really interesting and the added bonus of not knowing where you will end up or what you will see is like music to the soul.

    We love it.





    What a cracker this lady looked, she was a happy as a pig in muck and looked like she thoroughly enjoyed her life and what she was doing.

    You're probably aware that if you right click on the photographs and save them to your picture management programme, you can view them as full screen size, some of these snaps (in my humble opinion) are really outstanding.


  21. #96
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    This is a spectacular photograph of the hills following 'crop clearance' in certain sections of the mountains, the poppies no doubt looked fantastic in their bloom as well.

    I think I have some hard copies of poppy and marijuana fields, I'll have a quick look and try and sort a couple out to put on board, if not tonight within the next day or two.






    Sometimes you take a photograph or gaze out over the mountains, thinking, 'This is the nicest scene I have ever seen'

    A few miles down the road and it simply gets better.






    How do you top this?



  22. #97
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    I do have some fantastic shots I have taken over the years, and we have seen things and places out in the mountains of Burma especially, that very few occidentals have.

    We've been in tight corners a good few times as well.


    I'm glad to be able to share a few photographs with you and some of the tales.

    I really hope you are enjoying the same.

    The guys below, excuse the duplication of the photograph had been clearing a field of marijuana. Look at the joint in one guys hand.

    I will find some photographs in the next few days of fields of the stuff, it is unbelievable.


  23. #98
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    This next one is a classic, I doubt most of you have actually seen a real poppy cultivated field high in the mountains, it is quite an experience.

    Difficult to take photographs too, they don't like it and those Shan guys can be pretty mean if the mood takes them, or if you upset them.

    Or if they take a dislike to you.

    As it is, I have always got along well with them.

    Reasonably well anyhow.




    The fields are broken up here and there with alternative crops to assist in avoiding detection via satellite, planes etc. If you look closely the fields go on right back and over the horizon on the furthest back mountain.

    Quite a sight it is to see.

  24. #99
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    Just as a final throw for tonight, I came across these whilst searching for the marijuana and poppy field snaps.


    Don;t spread the word about will you lads.

    I have a habit of getting myself in enough trouble as it is, without having it added too.






    The one above is well below ground in Vietnam, many years ago, the room you are viewing is a hospital room.

    The soldier was guarding it very seriously, but allowed me somewhat reluctantly to take a snap.




    This one actually shows an underground operating theatre, talk about back to basics, the parachute was placed there to try and keep the place clean, it had been stolen for this purpose from the Americans.




    The guy below was actually making a pipe of opium up for somebody to try.

    You don't see many photographs like this do you.



    Talk to you in the next day or two.

    Hope you enjoy this little lot.

  25. #100
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    Sorry about some of the past photographs going missing.

    Apparently it's my fault, I thought I was getting too clogged up with the number I had transferred from my collection to my Photobucket Album and deleted a few from the album which I had posted, hoping it would speed the transfer of new installations up. It didn't and those I deleted from the album have automatically been deleted from these pages.

    I'll sort it out when I get a bit more time.





    Modern technology huh!

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