Thread: Post a photo you took yourself

^It was a good game, had it not been for a fvckin’ shootout

Her first chocolate and caramel Christmas apple

Planting time back at our old place in Mae Taeng. These hard-working farmers are the same folks that built our house.

Originally Posted by malmomike77

PM Nev for details

Last weekend I went to Si Songkhram for the annual Fish Festival. The last two years were cancelled because of Covid so this year the locals were out in force, lots of music, dancing and stalls selling dodgy brands. And fish:

Si Songkhram is my friend's home town. She has spent the last two years developing a marijuana business. It is early days, she now has all the licences she needs to import seeds from Colorado and to grow, to produce CBD oil and to export that oil to the US. The seeds are 99.9% female - apparently you can sex a seed if you know how.
The seeds are started in a greenhouse, these are about two weeks old and will stay indoors a couple more weeks before being moved outside.



She now has some CBD oil for sale locally and plans to sell a CBD soda drink. The bottles here are empty for display. I sampled two flavours and I thought them pretty good. I have long thought that if I could invent a drink that is zero alcohol and doesn't taste only of gas and sugar then there is a fortune to be made. She is hoping to supply some farang tourist centres before the end of this high season.

Mars was sparkling like a pink diamond in between the power pole and the kookaburra over tonight's garden-clear-up bonfire

The last few days here have been chilly in the mornings. Some low mist mixed with some smoke, most of the locals have little fires going to warm their toes and to cook their breakfasts.

Phu Chee Fah on a motorcycle trip years ago. We took a sketchy mountain road down to the Mekong from here.

The cat's pyjamas
We've left Tiger in charge of security while we're away for New Year

One day these images of rural Isan life will not be around. Maybe one more generation?
This is an insect trap. Protein for one of my neighbours.

Originally Posted by Shutree

One day these images of rural Isan life will not be around. Maybe one more generation?

I guess its inevitable but its a bit sad ( I think).

This and so much other local knowledge stuff - the LCD'ing of culture?
(this is more ingenious and interesting than about 99% of the internet)

A rural new year's day, somewhere in Sa Kaeo
We were at a morning NY day wedding when this late guest arrived

Originally Posted by prawnograph

A rural new year's day, somewhere in Sa Kaeo
We were at a morning NY day wedding when this late guest arrived

I met an elephant recently up in Si Songkhram. You don't see many in this part of Isan. I wonder what will happen to them, after a couple of years of no tourists and an increasing number of 'ethical tourists' who don't want animal shows. Maybe the less ethically inclined Chinese tourists will throw them a lifeline. It must be very difficult for the mahouts to afford to feed them.

Originally Posted by Shutree

I met an elephant recently up in Si Songkhram. You don't see many in this part of Isan. I wonder what will happen to them, after a couple of years of no tourists and an increasing number of 'ethical tourists' who don't want animal shows. Maybe the less ethically inclined Chinese tourists will throw them a lifeline. It must be very difficult for the mahouts to afford to feed them.

We lived in Sa Kaeo 12mths 2010-11, in that time saw three with mahouts, two at a traveling circus setup, and two wild ones who wandered through past the house, helped themselves to sugarcane and then went on their way.

Over ten years in Chanthaburi, only get to read about them - most often impaling and shredding some poor rubber tapper.

August 2010

Good item on this very topic on bbc today

Elephants: Covid and ethics reshape Thailand'''s tourism industry - BBC News

^^ Great elephant pics..
^Interesting, david.

Originally Posted by prawnograph

The cat's pyjamas
We've left Tiger in charge of security while we're away for New Year

Sweet pics and pj's. Adorable cat!

Originally Posted by david44

Good item on this very topic on bbc today

Elephants: Covid and ethics reshape Thailand'''s tourism industry - BBC News

Without much in the way of answers or solutions.

Another image of rural Isan life. Most of my neighbours make their own charcoal and this season, when it is dry and there is no rice to tend, is when a lot of charcoal is made.

Someone did a picture thread of the process over 3-4 days around 10 years ago. Very interesting, as much as a thread about wood being burned could be, anyway.

Originally Posted by Edmond

Someone did a picture thread of the process over 3-4 days around 10 years ago. Very interesting, as much as a thread about wood being burned could be, anyway.

The process and techniques are quite fascinating.
One will find that the local product [home/village use] differs greatly in quality than the large commercial managing....which is often lower grade.
All about the particular woods selected.


Of recent times, the everyday use of charcoal is somewhat making a comeback en masse - as the cost of gas has increased over incremented months.

Originally Posted by Looper

Mars was sparkling like a pink diamond in between the power pole and the kookaburra over tonight's garden-clear-up bonfire

Wife loves it, every morning she gets up, starts a fire outside and makes sticky rice outside, then she makes little patties that she roles in beatten egg and bbqs them .

Originally Posted by Buckaroo Banzai

Wife loves it, every morning she gets up, starts a fire outside and makes sticky rice outside, then she makes little patties that she roles in beatten egg and bbqs them .

It's really good, we used to mix some corn through the rice, press them onto wooden skewers, dip in egg then bbq until crispy.

Fantastic.

Down the beach for lunch today, saw all these dogs that reminded me of a war trench.

Keep the noise down


Laem Sadet beach, Chanthaburi
10 Jan 2023