forcebwithu

The condensed view of activity that was working fine yesterday is no longer working this morning. Edited to add: Seems PA has the same issue, but 247 doesn't. @frostfire did anything change on the forum software overnight? If not, the problem might be on my end, unless someone else reports the same issue.

Made it out to Huai Chak Nok Reservoir today. Water level is looking pretty dire there too. Here's the view from the dam end on the NW side. Close up of the outflow structure to use as a benchmark for the water level. A lot of what was once under water on the south end of the dam is now dry. Here's a screenshot of the satellite view of the reservoir with a maker of where the above pic was taken. Image is from Nov, 2018 and gives an idea of how far the water has receded. They have pumps going to move trapped water on the south end into what remains of the reservoir. It's going to be quite a while before this overflow outlet will be needed again. A bit of hike from this side of the reservoir to get to the water's edge. The cows are enjoying their new pasture land. The view from the north end looking south towards the dam in the far distance. And on the other side of the road, looking north. Easy pickings for the fishermen. Side note: I've edited the topic title to reflect that posts here cover all the shrinking water sources for Pattaya.

It's been two weeks and two days since the last update, so hopped on my bike and had a very enjoyable ride this morning around what remains of Mabprachan Reservoir. Starting again on the southwest side. More spots that were previously underwater are now exposed. Wish they would mount a water level gage to this structure. I'm estimating the water is down another 1/2 meter or so since the last update. I wonder how much longer it will be before this guy can walk to his fishing camp. They're now having to pump water from the low spots. Another couple of weeks and there will be no need for a bridge over this channel. A babbling brook in the middle of what was once a lake. The island is now a peninsula. On the north end looking south. Fishing is a lot easier when they fish are trapped in what remains of the water on the north end. Mabprachan is fast becoming a lush meadow. Can't really call it "lush" as the dominant flora are thorn bushes. A bit of a technical ride to get out to the far end of this exposed rock outcropping. Had to ride over a lot of broken shells and gnarly rocks to get to the far end, but this was the view looking back. And the view towards the dam at the west end of the reservoir. Now back at the southwest side. I see they've closed off the channel into the pond within a lake and are now having to pump water into the pond. At the rate the water level is dropping it doesn't bode well for the Pattaya area in the coming months. As the next rainy season is a long way off, I expect we'll see severe water rationing measures to conserve what little remains of the water supply.

I quoted your post so he can see it.

Not looking good today.

A large Christmas tree going up at Bali Hai Pier for the Countdown Festival. The repairs on the walkway didn't last long. No surprise either as when I rode over the replacement boards with my mtn bike they rumbled and clattered like they were never nailed down. Looks like the garbage barge got a fresh coat of paint. The stairs to the pier are back. A few more floating restaurants out in the bay.

When faced with the prospect of having to buy an overpriced, poor coverage insurance policy, using an agent becomes a no brainer, IMHO. Just read a report on another forum about a BM's recent experience getting an extension to stay. For the most part it was painless and easy as he had all the required documents, copies and photos. The part that was different is the office is swamped, so they're limiting extensions to stay to 50 in the morning and 50 in the afternoon. To avoid a long wait, you'll need to go early to get a number, then guesstimate based on the number you're given when to come back. I'm not a big fan of making an extra trip from central Pattaya to Jomtien for the sole reason to get a number, then having to guess when I should come back, and then wait again for my number to be called. Another reason it was worth it to use an agent this year for the first time in ten years living here.

That's my understanding as well. With the restricted account do you have to go to the bank in person to withdraw or transfer funds to your other account?

Along 3240 on the north side of the reservoir they're laying and connecting new water pipes. There's also a notice a lot of the darkside will be without water today. Although I saw a post on another forum that said the water outages have been happening for a few days now.

Nice day for a bike ride, so took my mtn bike out to Mabprachan reservoir to see if it was now low enough to ride across. Entered the bike path around the reservoir on the SW end. Compared to the pic from last month, the water level at the overflow outlet looks to be down another meter. Pic from today. And from 10 Nov Imagine the volume of water lost from the reservoir. The high water mark is the dark patch of concrete about 6m up from the water. The new and quite a bit larger beach on the NW end. Unfortunately my hope of being able to ride across the lake bottom was dashed when I encountered numerous channels that blocked me from my goal. And no, I wasn't about to cheat by using this "bridge". Still an island, but not for much longer. Same view from 10 Nov With another 5+ months to go before the next rainy season, there's a good chance this island will look like it did on 7 Sept 2015. The birds don't see to be bothered by the low water level. But this guy can no longer cast a line from his front porch. Same view from 10 Nov I'm now on the north end looking south when I noticed more and more of the birds taking flight. I use to fly sailplanes for fun and I'm pretty sure what happened is my riding the mtn bike across the dry ground on the north end kicked loose a thermal. Use to see that quite a bit when I flew in Wisconsin. When I was getting low I'd look for a farmer plowing his field and it was almost a sure bet if I loitered around the area for a few minutes I would be rewarded with a thermal to gain back altitude in. Anyhoo, the birds probably saw a few of their friends having fun in the thermal and soon the whole extended family joined them. They might have to soon rename the reservoir to Mabprachan Desert. These guys standing around in the middle of the reservoir demonstrate it isn't that deep in parts. This is another marker of how low the water level is. Soon the outlet channel will be higher than the water and this part will turn into a stagnant pond.

Burn season has begun so no surprise the AQI is creeping up into unhealthy levels. https://www.airvisual.com/thailand/chon-buri/pattaya

I'm glad now I screwed up my non-OA visa nine years ago. At the time I made the noob mistake of not understanding the expiration date of the visa was different from the re-entry permit. Result was I re-entered Thailand after my re-entry permit had expired and thus invalidated my visa. Got that sorted in country with a new non-O, so can now avoid the hassles those on an OA are enduring.

Almost got taken out after taking the pic of the construction site on 3rd Rd. And pretty sure it wasn't you, unless you were wearing long hair and lipstick. I was on my pushbike next to a car that was going in the same direction as me. The stupid cunt then made a sudden swerve into my lane to avoid a steel plate covering a hole in the street. It was perfectly safe for a car to drive over, even had tarmac around the edges to hold the steel in place. And it's not like it was the first one she would have encountered traveling on 3rd Rd during the construction. There was no reason she had to make that sudden move. Fortunately I had enough space and a reaction time fast enough to avoid the sideswipe.

Pics of a couple of construction sites around Pattaya. Retaining walls going in at the Buakhao/Soi 15 construction site. WIP at Fat Coco Site on 3rd Rd near Klang is now up to six floors. Google Translate couldn't make much sense of the Thai sign at the construction site, but according to my TGF's translation the building is for some sort of business.

Xmas tree is up at T21 The race course is set for the Hello Kitty run later today.

They're getting the land cleared and prepped for something new next to Nirun.

Correct. You need a long stay visa or extension to get the 5 year license.

Recent news reports are painting a dire picture for the area water supply over the coming months. I had a nice bike ride around Mabprachan this morning to check the situation out and take a few pics that can serve as a baseline of how bad the lake level gets as we head into the dry season. Currently nowhere near as bad as the pics in post #1 from September, 2015, but we may get there. Lake level looks ok in the view to the north But the overflow outlet on this end of the lake shows just how low the lake level has gotten. The bottom of the darker portion of the concrete marks the normal high water mark. In Sept, 2015 this side of the lake, the northwest end, was a mud hole (first pic in post #1). Maybe in a couple of months this guy can walk to his fishing camp. View from the north end looking south. Nong Prue Park is getting ready for Loy Krathong celebrations this evening. In this pic you can see the land strip, normally underwater, that was used to hold back the water from the south end while they dug out the north end to increase capacity. I was on my skinny tired road bike today. On another day I'll take my mtn bike and see just how far out on the land strip I can ride. The bike path around the lake is now complete. They really did an excellent job on this path as it's completely separate from SCC Rd. So you can ride the 9 km loop without worrying about getting sideswiped by passing traffic. One negative though is a short section across from the Wat on the northeast side has a barrier of barb wire along the path. Not good if you're admiring the lake view and stray off the path even just a little bit. IMHO, a length of rope would have sufficed instead of barbwire. Some shots of rock outcroppings that are normally underwater.

Thought Medicare only covers you in the US, in which case you would need a policy that covers you in Thailand.

Chances are good the insurance company wouldn't sign it as they already provide a confirmation of coverage document. I see the Thai form as nothing more than a ploy to force you into buying expensive insurance from a Thai company.

I wouldn't expect any rise in fees as a proof of insurance letter shouldn't be hard to obtain, if you get my drift.

I'm surprised they didn't already extend the insurance requirement to those on extension to stay. From a govt perspective it makes sense to require aliens in their country to provide proof of insurance so as not to be financial burden on their health care system. But in Thailand's case it's pretty clear they want to feed that business to their own insurance companies, but the Thai insurance companies are offering overpriced policies with limits that are, IMHO, inadequate. As sailingbill just posted, you can opt to use a non-Thai insurance company, but documentation required is over the top. IIRC, you need to provide the original insurance policy and have the insurance company sign off on a Thai provided form. One more reason to use an agent, as the one I used said they can handle the proof of insurance requirement.

Can you not get another re-entry permit that would be good up to the expiration date of visa? As for the more onerous requirements for extension to stay, after nine years of doing it myself I used an agent for the first time last week. If immigration's goal is to push more people to using agents, it worked in my case.

learned from the accidents about metal fatigue due to pressurization and depressurization cycles. It's tragic that sometimes the learning curve results in deaths.

I'm quite happy with True. Just had them switch me over to fibre for the same monthly cost. Service is 100 DL, 100 UL at 640.93/month incld taxes. Can't offer a recommendation for TV as I survive just fine w/o it.