Salsa at the Mukdahan Fun Fair 2012

A friend of mine John has a Salsa Group in Mukdahan they are dedicated to learning and dancing Salsa and other Latin dances. This is a video of a recent performance they put on at the annual Fun Fair. It used to be the Mukdahan Sweet Tamarind Festival but now its the Red Cross Festival for more information on the group you can go their Facebook page www.facebook.com/mekongmambo

Sober in Thailand

AA Medallion Given to Me by My Daughter on my Tenth AA Birthday

For those of you that didn't know I am a sober alcoholic. I got sober in the what we call the Fellowship. To the outside world it is known as Alcoholics Anonymous or AA. Today I celebrated my 19th year of sobriety. In AA we call that our AA birthday as opposed to our "bellybutton birthday". I am not a big one on celebrations and such but today I gave a call to one of my friends in the Fellowship who lives in Mukdahan and said I wanted to brag, that it was my 19th birthday today. After getting the normal "congratulations" 1 was asked the question "How did you do it?". Now normally when you are in a AA meeting and you celebrate a length of sobriety. Someone will always ask "Why did you do it?" and "How did you do it?". This is an invitation to share and tell your story. Specifically, how I stayed sober in Thailand for 8 years with very few meetings. Here it is.

When I moved to Thailand almost 8 years ago I had been sober for 11 years. I was your typical garden variety drunk. I love drinking and getting fucked up. Specially the second part. I had been drinking since my early teens and from the first time I got loaded I knew this was for me! It made me feel great. Drinking gave me that warm good feeling that I could not get in any other way. So I wanted to repeat that feeling again and again as often as possible. At the time most of my friends were experimenting with alcohol and found many ways to get it. We had people buy it for us, stole it sneaked it from our parents' stash. There was always a way. By the time  I turned 16 or so we found underage places that would serve us and places that would sell us booze without an I.D. or with some laughable fake. It was great. We used to ride around drinking having a great time.

Growing Orchids in Thailand

Orchids from my garden.

Its orchid season here in Mukdahan and most of the rest of Thailand. Unlike in the west most orchids here are grown out of doors. Most orchids here are very cheap. A plant that you might find in America for 20 dollars would typically go for about a dollar here. There are several shops here in Mukdahan that specialize in orchids and they are surprisingly easy to grow, in fact they are so hardy you can hardly kill them. A friend of mine told me a story about how he had a few that never produced flowers and he just chucked them in a corner somewhere and basically ignored them. A few months later they were full of blooms.

I looked at a lot of the websites on how to make your orchids bloom and they give all these crazy directions about how to make them bloom and rebloom. Some of them had you cutting off old stalks and sterilizing the cutting tool with some kind of special stuff which I am sure they sold. I have found that the most important thing is to get the sunlight right. They need some direct light but not too much, especially when it gets really hot. I have mine hanging or sitting under a lamyai tree. During the rainy season I didn't do a thing and just cleaned out leaves that may have fallen into them. Nearing the end of rainy season the stalks started to shoot up and I had a problem with some insects that were leaving their larvae to eat the bloom pods after a month or so I went down to the plant store and bout some insecticide that I mixed with 5 gallons of water and gave em a spray once every week and boom no more larvae. The stalks started growing like mad even though it was a late rainy season. When I finally got blooms I got some red liquid that you mix about 2 tablespoons with a liter of water and give the roots a spritz about once a week after they have been watered and I got hundreds of blooms.

Like I said the most important thing is sunlight. If you get too much sun it will make the leaves have black spots. I find a place with perfect light and start rotating the plants into that area to start them blooming after that they seem to take off on their own no matter where they are. As for watering when it stops raining I give them a spray early in the morning with the garden hose about every other day. Just the root areas, and maybe a very light mist over the whole plant. Before I was doing it with a spray bottle and it didn't seem like they got enough. I think if they can drain out good it doesn't matter if you over water a little. They don't mind if the roots get dry a little either so don't freak out if you miss a day. Some are advocates of giving them a light mist at night but I don't bother and they seem to thrive. When all else fails and your orchids don't bloom there is one tried and true way of getting some fresh blooms in your garden. Go down to the local orchid shop and open your wallet. Cheers. Enjoy the pictures of my orchid garden. - Khun Rut

Click on any thumbnail for a larger image.

    

    

    

   

   

   

Mukdahan Boat Races 2011

The Annual Autumn Boat Races 2011

The 2011 edition of the Mukdahan Boat Races (Kaeng Rua) began this year a couple days early. Normally they start with on Awk Pansaa which is the last day of Buddhist Lent. That fell this year on October 12th. However the festivities began on the 10th. (A friend of mine from Nong Khai showed up on the 12th amazed that things were all ready in their 3rd day and wanted some information from the TAT office in Mukdahan. A woman there told him that Awk Pansaa was on the 10th - that was a lie. Another employee there corrected her but they still failed or refused to give him any information.). Anyhow I dropped by down at the Indochina market on the 11th when these pictures were taken and found it to be rather uncrowded, more like a typical weekend day, not the madness that is usually accompanying the festival. And the boat races are as exciting as, well, a boat race.If you were drunk out of your mind it might liven things up. I wandered around with my dog and a friend played a game of Thai Chess and had a nice sunny day. Enjoy the picture gallery below for a taste the end of Buddhist Lent Mukdahan style.

Click Thumbnails to Larger Images

   

     

Thai Holiday Calendar 2011

I know it is late in the year.Source www.northernthailand.com

Thailand 2011 Holiday Calendar

Please note the Thai holiday dates below  are estimates only. We do not and can not guarantee its accuracy.

New Year’s Day
The beginning of the western New Year is a national holiday in Thailand, one of three “new year” holidays celebrated every year.
Saturday, 1 January 2011
Monday, 3 January 2011 (Substitution)

Chinese Lunar New Year
The beginning of the Chinese lunar year is celebrated in the Chinatowns of every city throughout Thailand. Many Chinese owned businesses close for a couple of days, but it is not a national holiday.
Thursday, 3 February 2011

Makha Bucha
Makha Bucha celebrates the Buddha’s first sermon in to his disciples.
Friday, 18 February 2011

Chakri Day
Chakri Day commemorates the founding of the current dynasty by its first king, Rama I.
Wednesday, 6 April 2011

Songkran
Songkran is the traditional Thai New Year, a very popular 3-days (Plus)holiday, generally celebrated as a water festival. Be prepared to get wet!
Wednesday, 13 April 2011
Thursday, 14 April 2011
Friday, 15 April 2011

Thailand Labor Day
International Labor Day is also celebrated as a national holiday, even though there isn’t much ado about it. Some businesses may be closed.
Sunday, 1 May 2011
Monday, 2 May 2011 (substitution)

Coronation Day
Celebrates the day when the current king Rama IX was crowned in 1949.
Thursday, 5 May 2011

Visakha Bucha / Vesak Day
The holiest Buddhist holiday celebrates the birth, enlightenment and entry into nirvana of the Buddha.
Thailand Visakha Bucha 2011
Tuesday, 17 May 2011

Royal Ploughing Ceremony
An ancient royal rite held in Thailand to mark the traditional beginning of the rice-growing season
Tuesday, 10 May 2011

Asahna Puja Day
Commemorates the Buddha’s first sermon in the Deer Park in Benares and the founding of the Buddhist sangha.
Sunday, 15 July 2011

Buddhist Lent Day (Wan Khao Phansa)
This day marks the beginning of the Buddhist ‘lent’ period, a time when monks are supposed to retreat to their temples while new life springs forth.
Monday, 16 July 2011

H.M. The Queen’s Birthday
Her Majesty the Queen’s birthday is a national holiday, also celebrated as Thailand’s Mothers’ Day as well.
Friday, 12 August 2011

Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival
Mooncake promotions herald this Chinese festival, during which Chinatown fills with stalls.
Monday, 12 September 2011

End of Buddhist Lent Day (Wan Awk Phansa)
This day marks the end of the Buddhist ‘lent’ period or the Rains Retreat.
Wednesday, 12 October 2011

Thod Kathin
Presentation of Monk’s Robes after Rains Retreat.
Thursday, 13 October 2011

Chulalongkorn Memorial Day
Celebration of the death anniversary of Thailand’s one of the most revered kings, Rama V.
Sunday, 23 October 2011
Monday, 24 October 2011 (Substitute)

Loy Kratong
While it is not marked a national holiday, it is a major celebration in the evening when Thais pay respect to the goddess of the waters by floating candlelit offerings on any and all waterways around the kingdom.
Thursday, 10 November 2011

H.M. The King’s Birthday
His Majesty the King’s birthday is a national holiday celebrated throughout the country and is also the country’s Fathers Day
Monday, 5 December 2011

Thai Constitution Day
Celebrates the date in 1932 when the country was granted its first constitution.
Saturday, 10 December 2011
Monday, 12 December 2011

New Years’ Eve
The day before the Western New Year day is always marked a national holiday.
Saturday, 31 December 2011
Monday, 2 January 2012 (Substitution)

New Years’ Day 2012
Sunday, 1 January 2012
Tuesday, 3 January 2012 (Substitution)

Now, please note the Thai holiday dates above are estimates only. We do not and can not guarantee its accuracy. Submitted by http://sgholiday.com

Five Great Thai Commercials

A friend of mine sent me an email with the link to a website that shares funny emails, stories and videos to share. The link he sent me was for these five Thai TV Commercials they are very funny. Thanks Kevin. - Khun Rut

 The first is of a dog that is betrayed and wants to end it all.

This video is for the Smart Wallet - its about cheating vendors.


This one is about the guy with the sexy jeans.


This video is about a young man that goes out for a "tambon" or so he told his father.


Saving the best for last a father looks at home video of his young daughter.

Mukdahan Community College

Image Courtesy of Mukdahan Community College

For the past several years I have had a very fulfilling relationship with the Mukdahan Community College. MukCC is one of 20 Community Colleges in Thailand. MukCC also has 7 branch campuses in Don Tan, Kamcha-I, Dong Luang, Sanwaa - Nagokgoong, Nikom Kham Soi, Nong Sung and Wan Yai. They serve a valuable service to the local community by presenting courses directed to the needs of the community. For example MukCC had a course for its Sky Lab (Tuk Tuk) drivers to help them improve their ability to conduct business with their tourist customers and how to act more professionally. There are courses in IT and traditional cloth-making among many, many others.

Thai Food Pics

I got this pics from a thread on Pantip.com that my friend Jah sent to me. Just hilarious. Some of the others you have to read Thai to get the funny!!! The menu translations are pretty funny. I remember a friend of mine was looking at a menu and we saw "prawns fried in whore dust" or goong pad pong garee. Goong = prawns, pad = fried, pong = dust or powder, garee = prostitute. The problem with google translate is the pong garee also means yellow curry powder. Hence the hilarious menus. - Khun Rut

Nice holder for the food!

Mares vs. Agbeko

Being a fight fan I love a good boxing match and there was a good one yesterday. It was for the IBF Bantamweight belt and the winner of the Showtime Bantamweight tournament. Abner Mares was challenging champion Joseph Agbeko at the Hard Rock Cafe Hotel in Vegas. During the fight Mares continually hit Agbeko with low blows (Al Bernstein estimated about 30)  culminating with a devastating left to the balls in the 11th round (that Agbeko was winning) referee Russell Mora counted it as a knockdown. This gave a 4 point swing to Mares that one him a majority decision. Check the podcast for a rant and look at the You Tube videos below for the last 3 rounds of the fight and Jim Gray's epic post fight interview with the ref.
My Rant on the Abner Mares vs Joseph Agbeko Fight

Mukdahan Mayoral Election Preview

Posters for the Mayoral Election October 28

For those in and around Mukdahan who have seen the big signs like above all around, we all know that it is election time again. Voting will take place on October 28th for the local Mayor and his City Hall (Tesaban) team. The current mayor, Samrit Jo Poksawat of Glum Pattana Mukdahan has reached retirement age and is getting ready to step down. The 4 major candidates to replace him will be quickly detailed below.

#1 Peenit Charoensuk - Khun Charoensuk has previously served as a provincial elected official with the title Nayoksupa Obachaw. He is a member of the Glum Pattana Mukdahan (the same as the incumbent). This group includes a former mayor (I know him as Pee Kio) and include many local business leaders. Khun Charoensuk, himself, is a business owner of a rock and sand building products business.

#2 Triyaret  Kultangwattana - Khun Kultangwattana is a prominent local businessman who owns a business ferrying trucks and merchandise across the Mekong River to Laos. The family also owns other transportation related businesses and are prominent in local affairs. I know him personally as Tooey. He has studied abroad at the University of Washington in the USA. Previously he has held the post of Deputy Mayor at the Mukdahan Tesaban. He lists no party affiliation.

#3 Suwanee Tangpanitanon - Khun Tangpanitanon is currently an elected member of the local political staff at the Mukdahan Tesaban. She is a member of the Glum Rao Rak Mukdahan team and is affiliated with the Puea Thai Party (PTP). He husband is the current newly elected MP for the province of Mukdahan (PTP).

#4 Chalad Tusiri - Khun Tunsiri is an ex-vice mayor of Mukdahan. He lists no party affiliation though, I am sure that he does have a team around him to support his candidacy. I know the least about this candidate and will update this post as I find more information. As an aside his first name means "clever".

I talked to my political analyst (the boss) about who she thinks has the best chance to win. She thinks it comes down to a horserace between #1 and #3. But who knows? What you DO KNOW is who to blame when the truck with the speaker rolls by your house at 7 am imploring you to vote for their numbered candidate (at volume 10 always.) and what day you have to stock up on alcohol for. - Khun Rut

Update!!!! Mukdahan Flooding Report

The rain has stopped but some residents still face real problems.

Update!!!!

Wednesday August 10- 

After quite a bit of rain last night, it seemed that things would be really bad this morning. For the most part it was to the contrary. The bridges over the creek were in much better shape from yesterday the water had receded a great deal. The water in and around Wat Pa was much lower and not going out onto the roadway. The wat is still flooded but not as bad as the past 2 days. The locals were out fishing with nets next to the wat in hopes catching a fish of some sort. The worst part was the Indochina Market. The Mekong continued to rise and now the vendors are starting to remove their display racks and everything out of there. Its a mess. The rain eased off today with just a few sprinkles but its still cloudy and who knows what tonight will bring. Today I just added a few images of the aftermath... for now.

Tuesday August 9 - There was a lot of rain last night and I went out today to check out the damages. The water is rising steadily on the bridges over the creek, both behind Mukdahan School and on the Don Tan Rd.
The new drainage system is keeping the downtown area pretty clear of standing water, but the canal behind the Ploy and running behind the Krung Thai Bank is near full. If it over flows then things could change rapidly.
The lower level of the Indochina Market is closed and the vendors have removed their goods because of flooding. The local Fire Department is filling sandbags for those who need them and would welcome volunteers. Stay tuned for further updates. - Khun Rut


Monday August 8- Yesterday the rain broke for a while in the midday an I had some business to take care of. When I drove into town I noticed the creek the road crosses was quite high. I went to check where the flooding normally starts in Mukdahan, by Wat Pa. Sure enough the creek had jumped its bank there and run into the wat and then jumped the road. I looked down some of the side sois close to the Porn Phed Market and they were getting full of water.  I had been told that the level of the Mekong was almost into the lower level of the Indochina market. I went to take a look and sure enough the water was at floor level and being held back by sandbags. This was yesterday afternoon. Well as I was writing this story last night at around 9pm it started raining hard and by 930 the power was out so no story til to day. Anyway its still raining I am going to post the pictures from yesterday and get a quick map up of the flooded areas and then go out and see what happened over night. Check back for updates.

As always click the thumbnails for a large image.

Images from Monday August 8

Tuesday August 9
  
  


Images from August 10

  

Check back for map updates of flooded areas.

View Mukdahan Flooding Aug 2011 in a larger map

Cool Find at the Morning Market

Found this cool candle holder at the Morning Market

Slide the Glass Up to Put in Candle

 The Mukdahan Morning Market is quite a place. This large open air market opens daily at around 2 am and services the local and provincial restaurants, groceries and citizens with a wide variety of produce, eggs, fish, meats and many other products. There are plenty of small shops inside and around the market that sell all sorts of goods.
My wife and I went to the morning market early today to get fruit, veggies and some meat for the dog. I stopped and had my normal cup of coffee, cafe bolan, which is a thick strong Isaan style coffee with condensed sweet milk at the bottom of the glass. The missus continued shopping and I was assigned my typical duty of lugging out the booty which I really don't mind.  When we were walking out I saw a stall that was selling a few of these lamps like the one in the pictures. The are made of cut up tin cans bent and folded, a piece of wire for the handle and some cut up strips of glass. To put in a candle you just slide the glass part up and put the candle on the base. Total cost 50 baht. This is really coool we will give it a try on our patio tonight!
- Khun Rut

View Mukdahan Morning Market in a larger map