SONGKRAN 'ARMAGEDDON'!

Two Thai soothsayers predicted massive death tolls involving travellers at Songkran, April 16th in particular likely to have "catastrophe level" casualties "as serious as the Biblical Armageddon Day".

Deaths over the 8 day period were indeed up at 564 and injuries rose to 37, 473 compared with last year's toll. Chiangmai topped the injury toll for the provinces at 3,059 but yet again there were no comparative figures for non-holiday periods.

Drunken driving and motorcycle riders with no helmets were the 2 factors blamed by government spokesmen.

Statistics on road accident victims in Thailand over the past 2 years, based only on Public Health Ministry hospitals and thus likely to be a huge under-estimate, are as follows:

Financial gains

Average Chiangmai hotel occupancy during the Songkran period was 90%, reported the acting governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand. Only 2,000 of our 20,000 hotel rooms were empty. Local guest house occupancy rates were also high, though restaurant and bar owners reported quieter lunch times during the heaviest water-throwing, followed by markedly better business in the evenings.

Fewer Thai spent the holiday abroad, a drop of 4.22% in those leaving the Kingdom compared with the same period last year. It was estimated that 11 billion baht had been pumped into the nation's tourism economy over the peak 5 day period.

RECORD TEMPERATURES - HIGH FIRE RISK

On April 11th a solitary spark rose into the air over Wiengping, southern Chiangmai city. Within 10 minutes, the wooden shanty home was a bed of cinders and the owners homeless (writes an eye witness).

The Fire Brigade were on the scene within minutes, fire trucks were deployed but the crowds which gathered hindered the progress of other emergency vehicles arriving. In fact, crowds were still arriving long after the wooden house concerned was a layer of charcoal on the ground. Leaving the scene by motorbike, I found every soi, for hundreds of metres, blocked by spectators and their vehicles. Luckily the ambulances didn't need to speed anyone to hospital!

This fire came only a few days after two more modern concrete houses were gutted only a few hundred metres away. Everyone would be well advised to be careful around flammable materials in this hot season, which is predicted to last an unusually long time - at least until the end of July. If you don't, it could be your property that has the big red trucks outside! It takes very little to start a fire - how hot are your electrical devices and plugs?

300m baht blaze

In record temperatures of 43deg C, damage estimated at 300 million baht was caused in Ayutthaya when fire swept through Thailand's biggest paper mill on April 15th.

The fire raged for over 5 hours before firemen with 30 trucks brought it under control. A security guard reported a possible short circuit in a power control board, followed by flames.

Slash-and-burn agriculture in the hills and global warming generally is blamed on the earlier and hotter start to this year's summer.

Chilli-flavoured ice cream

A group of English firemen had a party at which only red hot food was served - and their favourite dish was chilli-flavoured ice cream! Specially made by a small family company in Devon, the product is taking off so fast at 168b per 500ml that it goes on sale in UK Tesco supermarkets this month. Watch the shelves at Tesco Lotus!

POOR FARMERS MOVE OUT

An estimated 5,000 poor farmers and hilltribe people who had been camping in front of the Provincial Hall, Mae Rim, have returned to their homes - or moved to a similar camp outside Government House in Bangkok.

The 6 week long peaceful protest (which attracted a visit by the Prime Minister as we reported last month) concerned wholesale price maintenance of vegetables, indebtedness, management of forestry and farming land and Thai nationality for hilltribe people. The protesters made themselves as comfortable as possible and the Hall grounds took on an authentic village atmosphere, complete with clothes laid out to dry on the shrubbery. Long and noisy speeches contrasted with periods of silence and prayer, punctuated by entertainment. Each day Hall staff locked all entrances except the security-controlled rear door to avoid a repeat of last year's protest when hundreds occupied the lawn in the central quadrangle.

MAXIMUM LOSS OF FACE

Jerry Stromyer, 24, of West Virgina, USA, suffered a huge loss of face when he popped a blasting cap into his mouth and bit on it.

"It blew all his teeth out and his lips and tongue off" said police officer M.D. Payne. The hospital in Kincaid confirmed that Stromyer had "extensive" facial injuries. "I just can't imagine anyone doing something like that" added Payne. Stromyer was listed in the annual internet Darwin Awards for people who kill or damage themselves in the most imaginative ways. He finished only 2nd runner up!

DAMAGE LIMITATION

Five minutes with a cheap and friendly photo copying machine could save you lots of money and endless heartache, writes an American lawyer.

Take out the contents of your wallet and put them on a photo-copier. Do both sides of every item: credit cards, licence, etc and keep the copies in a safe place (ie home, office or hotel safe).

My wallet was stolen last week and the thieves immediately ordered an expensive cell phone package, applied for a Visa credit card, had credit approved to buy a computer - and so on.

The key to avoiding much of this is to have your card numbers AND the free-phone numbers to hand to cancel them FAST!

Make a police report immediately in the area of the theft to prove to your credit managers that you are responsible, then (and this is equally VITAL) call the relevant national credit reporting organisations to place a fraud alert on your name and numbers. After I did that, no additional damage was done and the thieves threw away my wallet (and amazingly it was handed in to police promptly).

The relevant reporting organisations in USA are:

USA: Equifax 1-800-525-6285; Experian (formerly TRW) 1-888-397-3742; Trans Union 1-800-680-7289; Social Security Admin fraud line 1-800-269-0271.

'JUMBO EXPRESS' TO THE RESCUE

Yet another young elephant in distress has been saved by the 'Jumbo Express' mobile help unit operated by Khun Sangduan 'Lek' Chailert of Elephant Nature Park.

Karen villages told Lek that a one year old male elephant had just been orphaned and was ill. After a 7 hour drive and 4 hour raft journey, the welfare team reached the remote village and found the animal in a very poor state. Malnourished, with fleas and other parasites, the animal received first aid, had blood samples taken and was eventually brought back to the ENP sanctuary.

The team have named the new arrival 'Hope' - and themselves are hoping to find an adoptive mother for this animal and 'Ging Mai', the orphan rescued some weeks ago after being trapped in thick undergrowth for several days immediately after birth.

WHEELY OBVIOUS

Unofficial Thai exports to Burma continue across the bridge from Mae Sai to Tachilek, where Ian McNess recently snapped 4 nice new alloy wheels with tyres being bounced off the west side of the bridge to grateful (and expert) catchers below.

This is now the favourite route as a new wall has been built round the small car park on Burma's east side of the bridge following our similar photo 2 months ago.

ILLEGAL ORCHIDS

Police have swooped on shops selling 20 types of orchid brought out of local forests near the Chiangmai-Lampang road in Mae Ta, Lamphun province. The rare and beautiful plants will be returned to the forest and the sellers face fines of 10,000b each and up to a year in jail.

LOST AND FOUND

There was praise in the 'Bangkok Post' last month for Chiangmai International Airport passengers and staff after a woman left her expensive "talking dictionary" in the ladies room. Realising her error 15 minutes later she returned and found it had gone.

She reported the loss to Khun Apinya, the lady announcer, who called her in Bangkok the next morning to say that a passenger had handed in the device, which was back in her hands 2 days later.

Sports Editor Roger Crutchley was Bangkok bound on the same plane as the potential "loser", having covering the International Cricket Sixes here, and reported that it would be hard to find people more honest and efficient!

RENTA-PANDA

Thailand will pay China 129m baht per year for 10 years to keep 2 giant pandas at Chiangmai Zoo. Originally described in the national media as a gift to Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, it now transpires that the rare animals will be rented out and the income spent on panda research in China, where 1,000 are said to roam free and 140 are in zoos.

An additional 59 million baht is needed to transport the big vegetarians and build a special air-con 2.5 rai enclosure at our much-praised local zoo. Funds for maintenance will be raised by the sale of special 'Panda Watch' tickets. The pair of 2 year olds is expected to arrive in time for the next Chinese New Year celebrations and some enthusiasts of the scheme are hoping that they will breed.

Unsuited to the tropics?

"The scheme has received international criticism" wrote Chiangmai-based naturalist Ian Cruickshank in a recent letter to the 'Bangkok Post'.

"The World Wild Life Fund is against such rentals, particularly to countries with no particular expertise. There is no disputing that a tropical climate is totally unsuited to the welfare of an animal native to the alpine forests of China, therefore the scheme is zoologically unjustifiable."

STARS FILM AT SECRET SITES

Oscar winning star Angelina Jolie and British actor Clive Owen are in Chiangmai to film part of 'Beyond Borders', a powerful love story set against the backdrop of refugee camps.

Angelina told a pre-filming press conference that she had recently adopted a 6 month old Cambodian boy. Clive Owen said that he hoped the film would help bring attention to people who devoted their lives to work with refugees and never received recognition.

Over 700 Thai extras are employed for the filming at undisclosed rural sites in the province, which in the film will be portrayed as Cambodia. Cambodia has announced that the film, due for release next year, will not be shown there if any scenes lack authenticity.

Several branches of the Thai media began searching for the filming sites - without success at our time of going to press!

NEWS OF THE PAST

In May, 1997, 'Good Morning Chiangmai News' reported:

NEWS OF THE FUTURE

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Letters

SONGKRAN 'ARMAGEDDON'!

Two Thai soothsayers predicted massive death tolls involving travellers at Songkran (..) likely to have "catastrophe level" casualties "as serious as the Biblical Armageddon Day" (...).

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