Indy Mogul

Nothing to do with Thailand in particular, but I just found a really interesting web site all about making independent movies. No doubt you are all shuddering at the thought of more videos from me, but look on the bright side. They can only get better. Can’t they?........

I am going to try and make a few short stories over the coming weeks. Need to find some good themes and get it all moving. So if you read this and have any ‘positive’ ideas please let me know. Thanks.

Amazing Pattaya - The Apiarist

Pattaya really is a truly amazing place. Its famous for sun, sea and sex. But it also has so many other attractions. Me,I used to keep Bees when living back in Uk. So imagine my surprise when I stopped to buy some orchids only to find next to me was Bee Farm outlet. I wondered in and had a good half hour chat with the owner. Apparently their main bee farm is up north East of Chang Mai . That's about 800 kilometers north of Bangkok. So here we were in the middle of Pattaya as he explained here is a good outlet for the business. We were surrounded by a few bee hives. Kept there I think more to to amuse the visiting tourists while they are being seduced into buying various honeys and Queen Jelly's. It was a great chance for me to have a look at the hives. The first thing I noticed the bees were very docile. On opening a hive I discover the reason. Next to the wax was a plate of sugar and some water sticks. So finding a food source was easy and made them possibly lazy!!

And another ting. Whenever I opened up one of my hives at home I always used smoke to 'calm' them down. Other wise the bees would go crazy thinking their hive was being attacked and they responded accordingly. This use of smoke is the most common practice in UK to make access easier and safer. However here he used water. Just sprayed it on each wax frame as he lifted them out. The bees seemed to calm right down but as I said earlier they were fairly calm to begin with. I suspect having wet wings means flying is not so easy! And no doubt the hives were opened several times a day which probably accounts for a lot.

As I said Pattaya is full of amazingly different things. What ever next?...

Elephants and Things

Had quite an amazing day on Sunday. We went out mainly to have trip in the country and so aimed for Buddha Mountain as it is called locally. I reckon it actually is an old quarry site which had been converted to be Buddha shrine. The old quarry face has been wonderfully transformed with an outline of Buddha all in gold colour. Offset against the rock it is truly a magnificent sight. If you notice in hte pictures the people sitting at the edge/base of the Buddha. So it must be 80 to 90 meters high. Long way up. Surrounding this are the various covered seated areas and of course the ever present food stalls. After all it would be Thailand otherwise!
We wondered about the place doing the usual tourist things including feeding the elephant and taking pictures of everything. And yes, we did have some food. Just a little rice, sliced pork and salad.

The elephants were just standing around waiting to be fed. I gave them some sugar cane shoots which they seem to live on most of the time. Managed to get a picture of me with them. Actually once you stay around them they are not so big. I had always had this idea they were simple enormous but really not so big bit if you follow me. Also these ones seemed quite docile. You read stories of elephants gong wild in some villages and damaging crops, homes and in some instances people. Well not these ones. If anything I was the one slightly nervous. The elephant handler (กวาน pronounced qwan!) was telling Wanna that they are about Baht 500,000 to 700,000 to buy. Thats a lot of cash for something that keeps eating....
The whole area is set in a garden type environment suitable for meditation. I think during the week it would be great without the usual loads of bussed in local and foreign tourists. Might even be good to go early morning or late at night. We’ll think about that one.
During my wonder around I noticed some really lovely trees and their roots. They are like the baobab trees having hanging roots. The effect is really interesting and made for some pictures which make you realize just how wonderful our ‘Maker’ is, who put us all here on earth in the first place. Maybe it's the place thats affected me to make such a comment. But please, take a few minutes and look at the shots. How could anyone design such beauty and symmetry all in a living plant?

Gofl Driving Range

Yes its ture I've finally sucumbed to a golf driving range after years of denial!!! We had a go a few weeks back. Only now go the courage to post it. (Khalid no need to worry for a good few years behind you on this one!!!). All went fine until the end. As we packed up some little kid came along. The golf pro cahtted with him while his parents proudly told me this was his first time on the range... He normally used a plastic club around the house!!!! Well he settled into the spot ready to have a hit (or rather swing). He had one hit, only the first, and sure enough it went striaght, yes, straight down the middle of the fairway!! I'd just had a bash as a 100 ball session and got nowhere near as good as his single effort!!!
Will I go again after demo and after my own performance?. Maybe I'll make that decision next week.....

Smile

I have been wondering around town and just came across this 'English' sign for a condo. Made me smile and I also realised their English is better that my Thai. Had I spelt it in Thai would you know which is wrong?... Hear เธิย pronounced Fang and Here ทีนื pronounced Tinee. Fare cry from a hear or here.

Noodle Shop

Last Sunday we went out and stopped at a local Noodle Shp. At least that is what Wanna told me it was. The outside did not look like a restaurant to me!!! Entering it there were a few people sitting around eating off tables that looked like they had not been cleared for the last week or so. That said there was a lovely athmosphere and going through to the back we passed an area that can best be described as a motor bike repaitr shop. Complete with a half built of a bike. Nice old 4 cylinder honda, cruiser type!!! Just needed some major tender love and care. Well really like a total rebuild.

Passing on we got to the back. Lovely little sala supported on sdtilts over the edge of the fish pond. not to sure about hte safety of hte floor boards, they tended to move about to much as you walk over them. But round hte pond there were people fishing and kids bathing. Quite a difference from 20 meters behind on the main road!

Posting or rather lack of postings.......

I'ts been a while since I started this Blog and for some reason I am having trouble getting up and running. In Karachi it seemed so much easier and I also had more time to sit and write.
Here in Thailand I'm working a 5 1/2 to 6 day week and so do not get out and about as much. Added to which my super doper Sony camera is fine but the accompanying software has been giving me major headaches. So much so that I get myself sitting at the computer editing a blog entry only to find an hour later the thing does not bloody work. Makes me pretty pissed off I can tell you.
So please bear with me. Last week we had awonder round Pattaya South Market. Sells everything you could possibly want or need. I took a few shots of the place and tried to capture some of the atmosphere. Not done to well and after about 3 hours of editing and loosing files attaached is the end result. I'm not pleased but needed for myslef as much as anything to get something down on paper. Hopefully more interesting stuff to follow. Planning this week to either go to Koh Sammet or Koh Lorn. Spand hte day lazying around and maybe a dive. That's something I am hoping to get back into and do the advanced Padi course. Something to aim for.

Now I've got this far I'm praying the video will upload. What a start to the weekend. Hope you'r's is a hell of a lot better. ChHeers for now.