Predicted Two Thousand Years Ago - Matthew 24

Strong winds and waves hit Thai coast Residents and tourists are stranded, while cold front in north damages crops

Dec 23, 2006
The Straits Times

BANGKOK - THAILAND has declared several coastal districts and a northern province as disaster zones following the onset of extreme weather conditions.

Pounding waves and gale-force winds struck coastal districts in the southern provinces of Surat Thani, Chumphon, Songkla and Nakhon Si Thammarat, while the cold spell from China affected the northern province of Nan.

The Bangkok Post reported that fishermen were told to stay ashore until today as waves measuring 3m to 4m were forecast in the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand.

Surat Thani Governor Niwat Sawatkaew stopped all passenger services to Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao resort islands, while the Chumphon provincial office ordered all boats anchored until tomorrow.

About 3,000 tourists and 4,000 residents were stranded in Koh Tao because stormy weather and waves forced the closure of ferry services.

Fuel is running low, with just enough to produce electricity for the resort island until today.

The Second Navy Region has been asked to help ship fuel or the island's tap water supply would stop without electricity.

The province's Don Sak and Tha Chana districts were affected by a powerful tide, and 4m-high waves inundated coastal properties.

Mr Rohim Saiyib, the 48-year-old village headman at Tha Chana district, said he had never seen anything like it.

'Huge waves came in so fast that we had no time to salvage our belongings. We just sprinted for our lives,' he said.

Rough seas flattened 20 houses and left 1m-high sand banks on the road.

In Don Sak district, a village was inundated by seawater.Residents tried to clear sand from their seafront homes before 31 families decided to evacuate.

In Chumphon, Lang Suan district, surging waves washed away 22 houses and threatened shoreline breakwaters.

Powerful waves also hit the shorelines of Ranod and Chana districts, damaging 15 seafront homes and a road.

In Nakhon Si Thammarat, Deputy Governor Aruni Kulnarong said the authorities had prepared evacuation plans for the 54km shoreline from Hua Sai district along Laem Talumphuk to Pak Phanang district.

The authorities will keep a close watch until Monday. The authorities warned 200 families in Laem Talumphuk to consider evacuating their homes as a powerful storm could break over them.

In Nan, a cold front maintained its grip on 14 districts as the temperature dropped to 13 deg C downtown and 5 deg C in the Doi Phu Ka National Park in Pua district.

Nearly 150,000 people were in need of blankets and warm clothes, double last year's figure.

Meanwhile, several days of chilly, windy weather have hampered growing in orchards and farmland at Trat's Khao Saming district.

The weather is likely to cause pineapple produce to become stunted and lose its sweetness.

The lowest temperature was recorded at 3 deg C at the top of Doi Inthanon in Chiang Mai, with frost found in some mountainous areas.

WEATHER MAYHEM

'Huge waves came in so fast that we had no time to salvage our belongings. We just sprinted for our lives.' said MR ROHIM SAIYIB, the 48-year-old village headman at Tha Chana district.

EXIF and Embossed Signature

Canines have moods?

Oh yes, the vet is treating Happy's eyes. Hope the treatment works.

Inside Siam Paragon

Face Art

Opening day of Siam Paragon at the old Siam Square site.

Chandee Town

After 2 weeks in Krabi, we went to visit Ethan's granny in Chandee. The journey in our trusty 22-yr old Honda Civic took about 3 hours.

Chandee is one of the southern train stations along the North-South railway. As is a common occurance, commerce took root in the vicinity around the train station, and a small town and market place developed. Rubber is the main commodity of the area and most of the townsfolk are shop owners or earn a living as food vendors or rubber tappers.



The town has its charm with quaint little streets of cement, and no road dividers. Parking is free, there is no building control, so you will see 6-storey buildings next to single-storey shophouses. Anybody could simply set up shop in his own abode. Or push a cart to sell cooked food on the street without worrying about getting a licence. Tax? ...eh, what's that? Reminds me of Singapore 40 years ago!



Spy the lady sitting in the corner of the picture above? The forlorn look said it all: who will buy my veg? The veggie seller was indifferent when I snapped her picture. Seemed like selling vegetables for a living is not easy, especially when a competing stall is next to hers.




Or is it because thai people generally don't eat veggies in their daily diet? Yes, it is true! Maybe she is better off selling fish, like the lady below. The fish seller had a much happier time -- counting her takings for the day! Ahhh.. nothing feels so good as grimy, wrinkled baht notes!







The pretty gal in the picture willingly obliged when I asked if she would like her picture taken. She was in a flower shop with her mom, cleaning and bundling flowers for sale. Chandee people are indeed warm and friendly.

Natural Hot Stream

A popular attraction in Krabi for locals and tourists is the Hot Stream, located about 2 hrs' drive from Krabi Town. The hot stream got its name from the natural hot water that flows to the surface from deep underground. The air was noticeably "hotter" as we walked along the path to the source.












Thumbs Up for the hot stream!

Aonang Beach

While Phuket has its Patong Beach, Krabi has beautiful beaches at Aonang and Railay. Aonang is located about 1 hrs' drive north of Krabi Town, while Railay is to the south.

Krabi Town Center

Maharaj Road -- pictured above -- is the road in Krabi Town. The only department store, Vogue, is located along this road. So is the wet market further ahead.

Strangely enough, almost everywhere you can see hair-dressing saloons or pharmacy stores. I wondered if Krabi people often fell sick, resulting in a proliferation of medical halls. Could there be another reason?

As roadside food vendors are very common, there is only a single air-conditioned food outlet. And that is Kentucky Fried Chicken located in Vogue department store. There is also a Swensen ice-cream parlour, located opposite KFC in Vogue.

Maybe because of the air-conditioning and the brand image, KFC seemed to be doing a roaring business, even though the menu prices are on the high side for the average thai, ranging from 50 baht for a smallish 2-pc chicken meal to 200 baht for a set meal comprising 7-8 pcs, coke, french fry, and 3-pc drumlets.

To give you an idea of living costs in Krabi: average rental for a room is 2,000-2,500 baht per month, and 4,000-5,000 baht for an unfurnished townhouse. Average wage for a local grad appeared to be around 7,000-8,000 baht per month (~S$340). However, a local grad we met told us she earned only 5,000 baht as a sales staff in Telewiz.

Given the low average wages in Krabi, we were quite surprised to see that KFC was doing well despite the high menu prices.



Can you spy the structure atop the peak in the distant mountain? That is a Buddhist shrine and temple, reached by climbing up a 1,200-step stone stair cut into the mountain side. It is said that the climb is hazardous, for the stair has no railing and is slippery. No wonder I didn't see the shrine listed as a tourist attraction in any of the tour brochures I collected in Krabi Town. A pity we didn't have time to visit the shrine, for the scenery of the surrounding landscapes would have been breathtaking !

People in Krabi

These photos were shot using three different Nikon lenses. See if you can tell which lens took which picture?

The lenses used were the D70 18-70mm f/4.5 Kit Lens, the Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 - a perennial favorite for portraiture, and the venerable Nikon 180mm f/2.8, an old favorite that still holds its own against the newer and auto-focusing Nikon 70-210mm f/2.8 VR.

A

B


C


D


E


F


G

After Nikon launched its auto-focusing lenses, manual lenses have been relegated to the history books. Like zoom lenses, fixed focus lenses also will not be around much longer, though many will disagree.

Today's zoom lenses equal or even improved on old lenses' designs, to the extent that fixed-focus lenses are usually left behind in the dry cabinet over their newer cousins.

Zooms are an indispensable feature in photo-composition. Especially when one comes across a scene that is unlikely to repeat itself.


Answer: Pictures A, B: 18-70mm f/4.5 lens, Pictures E - 85mm f/2.8 lens, Pictures C, D, F, G : 180mm f/2.8 lens

Flowers @ Thara Park