We have just felled most of our eucalyptus and some of our Tagu and replaced it with Palm oil plants instead. These require a lot of water and hence should do well around the Lake where they have been planted. Only time will tell.
The Grass between the Trees has been mowed and the lake has many fish in it so the Plantation is looking good at the moment.
With the onset of the rains everyone is out planting Rice. The countryside is turning green again and the humidity is starting to drop. The only down side is the Red Din roads are starting to churn up.
Went up to Thon Na Lab then took the short cut to Ban Nong Hoi. The road between there and the next village heading toward Sang Khom ( Ban Dong Sra Pang) is currently being upgraded. Leading out of Ban Nong Hoi it has already been concreted.
New Concrete Road
Further along the road is still being leveled with red din and in some places the recent rain had turned it into mud with cars and motorbikes getting stuck.
Leveling old dirt road
Fortunatly at this point a Thai pointed me down a side road which avoided the worst of the mud and took me into the next village. I then carried on to Sank Khom before returning home via garden number two where i stopped for a 5 minute break and a cool down.
Old posts on Forums describe Ban Dug as a Town with nothing going on. That is far from the truth nowadays. Even in the 5 years I have lived here the town has developed considerably. The main road into town has been widened into a dual carriage way nearly 5 km long and there are new businesses sprouting up along it on a virtually day to day basis. Two new Car showrooms are currently under construction in addition to the Large Kubota show room and many motorcycle outlets.
Not only on the main road but in the side new shops are being built along with new modern houses both in town and the outlying villages.
In addition to its two large Markets Ban Dung now also boasts a Tesco Lotus, two 7-Elevens , nine Gold Shops, Eleven Karaoke Bars, four Hotels, and twenty resort Hotels and 4 Farang bars. It also has many other shops ranging from Internet cafes to Agricultural supplies and has literally dozens of restaurants.
New Petrol Station
On the sporting front , there is a large sports ground with Running track, football pitch, tennis and basketball courts along with a swimming pool. There is also a new indoor sports arena currently being built.
Compared to other Amphoers in the Region Ban Dung is booming with more and more Farangs been drawn here by their girlfriends and choosing to stay as the services continue to improve – which in turn draws more people to the town.
As a consequence land prices are staring to rise not only in town but in the villages but compared to the cities and the Coast resorts it is still cheaper to live here and there are regular flights from Udon Thani to Bangkok and Phuket for those wishing to get away for a while.
In addition Nong Khai is only 70m away with its many Hotels, bars and restaurants and easy access to the Laos capital of Vientiane. A trip following the road along to the Mekong to Sri Chiang Mai, Chiang Khan and then the mountainous region of Loei is also not to be missed for a break away from it all.
Songkran finished with a flourish with people still partying till 8.00pm when it came to a sudden halt because a group of people started throwing bottles and the police had to intervene.
Eddies annual Song Kran Wash
Obtained my 5th Extension Visa Today after an aborted attempt last week because of the queue in the immigration deopartment and then a four day Holiday Period.This time we arrived early at 8.20 butt here was still about 10 people waiting outside. I had a short wait of 30 mins before being seen and then I was done and out in 10 minutes. The immigraion officer also lived in Sri Sut Tho ( Ban Dung) so she chatted to Tim. I had no trouble with my proof of income letter from the British consulate although I obtained it almost 1 month ago in Chiang Mai.
Had a ride out to ban Daeng(Phibunrak) today. I passed the signs for motorcross in Ban Dung along the road to the Rubbish tip – but it wasn’t clear where exactly it was held and when.
Motor Cross
The road was being relayed the last 3k into Ban Daeng so I had to detour around in places. A new large statue of Budha is being built along with yet another temple.
Budha
I will return in a couple of months to check on progress & get some better pictures