Flight MH17 lost above Ukraine

MH17

July 2014 Another sad day for the airline industry. A tragedy for the family, loved ones and friends of passengers and flight crew of flight MH17 from Amsterdam to KL. Words fall short .... why?

In retrospect .... why do all airlines fly over a warzone where ground to air missiles are being used?

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On the motorbike from Pua to Chiang Rai and back

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After all kind of excuses for not motorbike riding in the best season of the year I finally was out of excuses and did hit the road again for a small trip in North Thailand. Normally I leave always very early but this time it was around 8:00am in the morning that I left but it was still nice cool weather. It was great to be riding again and I enjoyed it very much. Following is a route description with links to Google Maps and some photos I made during my trip.
From Pua to Chiang RaiTotal of 210 km. My destination was Chiang Rai as I had an appointment there, so from Pua one should take the famous route 1148 to Chiang Kham and from there to Chiang Rai. But when starting in Pua there are 2 ways to get to route 1148. You could go first south to Tha Wang Pha and then hit route 1148. But this is a bit boring route (straight) so I did choose to go a bit north (route 101) to Chiang Klang and then take route 1097 to Song Kwae where you will hit route 1148. Although the first part (route 101)…
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Again the ancient salt pits of Bo Kluea

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In the beautiful area north-west of Nan province lies the small village of Bo Kluea in the mountains bordering the landlocked Laos and along the ancient trail to China. And apart from being farmers the people of Bo Kluea have since ancient times produced salt from the salt pits (Sin Thao) that are the only one there in northern Thailand. Saline water from the mountains is pumped from the ground (and taken from the river) to be boiled in large wok's on wooden fires. For more information about the beautiful Nan province in North Thailand see Destination Travel Guide Nan - Thailand.

The ownership of these salt pits were an important way of living and therefore often fought over by other "kingdoms" of the current northern Thailand. Nowadays of course there are many other (and easier) ways of getting salt and Bo Kluea has more become an tourist attraction. It is located about 80 km north-west of Nan city and a passing point when traveling to the Thai-Lao border. Of course the…
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Traveling in Surat Thani province in South Thailand

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Last year I did make a posting about counting all the provinces I had been in Thailand. And I saw I have been to (stayed in) 48 provinces out of the 76. So in the coming months I will travel via my postings from the most southern province I have been to the most northern province, with some photos and information about each province. Surat Thani province is about in the middle of South Thailand and borders the east-side with the Golf of Thailand. The capital town is of course Surat Thani town. Surat Thani province is for the most people known for taking the ferry to the islands Koh Samui, Koh Tao and Koh Phangan, although there are of course more islands within Surat Thani province. And beautiful beaches on the main land of Surat Thani province. Besides for beaches Surat Thani province is also famous for Khao Sok National Park with mangrove forrest, karsten mountains and the beautiful Ratchapraphap Lake. Surat Thani town can be reached by bus, train and airplane (URT). Koh Samui can …
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Traveling in Prachuap Khiri Khan province in Central Thailand

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Last year I did make a posting about counting all the provinces I had been in Thailand. And I saw I have been to (stayed in) 48 provinces out of the 76. So in the coming months I will travel via my postings from the most southern province I have been to the most northern province, with some photos and information about each province. Now you could wonder if Prachuap Khiri Khan province is South Thailand or Central Thailand. As the most famous place in Prachuap Khiri Khan province is Hua Hin most people consider this to be Central Thailand. But as Prachuap Khiri Khan province is a long stretched province to the south you could also consider it to be South Thailand. Prachuap Khiri Khan province borders on along the Golf of Siam at at the east-side and and with Myanmar on the west-side. Prachuap Khiri Khan province can be reached by bus, train and air (HHQ). The capital town is of course Prachuap Khiri Khan town although the most famous places is the beach resort Hua Hin.

Personally I d…
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Buddha's in Chiang Rai

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While I had some time I did walk around in a area of Chiang Rai downtown that most tourists not see, the area of the morning market. Near there is also the Wat Phra Keauw and on the grounds of this temple is also the Hong Luang Saeng Keaw Museum full with old Buddha images. The museum itself is already beautifully build of teak wood. So I spend some time here admiring the beautiful art of making Buddha images. Following are some photos I took.






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Traveling in Bangkok in Central Thailand

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Last year I did make a posting about counting all the provinces I had been in Thailand. And I saw I have been to (stayed in) 48 provinces out of the 76. So in the coming months I will travel via my postings from the most southern province I have been to the most northern province, with some photos and information about each province. OK Bangkok is not really a province but an administratie zone. Bangkok (in Thai Krungthep) is the capital city of Thailand and the centre of Thailand. With 2 international airports (Don Muang and Suvarnabhumi) and 2 end-train stations. It is the transport hub of Thailand and South East Asia. And I think 99% of the tourists visiting Thailand will stay at least a few days in Bangkok to see the Wat Arun, Wat Pho, make a klong tour, have a diner cruise on the Chao Phraya, sit in a TukTuk, have a drink on a rooftop lounge, eat delicious Thai food or enjoy the famous nightlife of Bangkok. One night in Bangkok and the world is your oyster. As said international…
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Staying at Hop Inn in Chiang Rai

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Hop Inn Chiang Rai is part the Hop Inn hotel chain from the Erawan Group with hotels all over Thailand, build in apartment style buildings. Mostly recently new, with private parking, on a convenient location for traveling by car and it are no frills hotels. But the price is according to that (650 - 1.000 Thai baht). No swimming pool or restaurant. So also no breakfast, but they have a free of charge coffee corner (also serving hot choco). This time I did not plan to stay here but my favourite hotel was full, as wel 4 other hotels I checked. So I did have a look at Hop Inn Chiang Rai. All their hotels are about 95% the same, so you know what you get. Also Hop Inn Chiang Rai is located on a not tourist-like location, a bit on the south side of Chiang Rai town. For more information see Hop Inn Chiang Rai. Highly recommended if you are traveling with your own transport.


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The Rice Field Project Part 33 : The cement crew is 99% finished

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As part of Living in Thailand, the Rice Field Project follows our journey of buying land, preparing it for building our house and finally building our house. This is part 33, to read the other parts click The Rice Field Project. We bought the land in September & November 2017. The construction of the house started 29 October 2018. The past 3 months the cement crew has been working at our to become house. That is now declared finished and they will go to a new project. Although I am sure we will see them back again as there are some things that still have to be done with cement, but that can only be done after all water-pipes are installed. So now it is time for new crews to arrives for installing the water & electric, installing the ceiling, painting the house, installing the floor tiles and many more things. This will all be different working crews, sub-contractors. Following is a small update & photos.

Status report at 5 February 2019 :
Roof is almost 100% finished, still…
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