Railway unionists continue their strike Sunday

Contrary to an announcement made earlier by governor of the State Railway of Thailand (SRT), train services in the three southernmost provinces failed to resume Sunday.

Not a single train moved in the country’s deep South.

Many passengers showed up at local train stations Sunday only to face disappointment.

The stoppage continued mainly because negotiations between SRT labour union and representatives of the SRT management failed Saturday night.

“Train services have not yet resumed because more than 80 per cent of train drivers feel they are not ready to go back to their work yet,” Wiroon Sakaekhum Sunday said in capacity as the head of Hat Yai branch of SRT labour union.

The Nation

Malaysian killed in border town

A 49-year-old Malaysian believed to be involved in illegal money-lending activities was gunned down hitman-style in Danok, southern Thailand.

A Thai police spokesman said the man from Alor Setar was walking along Soi (Lorong) Karnchanaruji 1 at about 2.45am (3.45am Malaysian time) yesterday when two men on a motorcycle rode up to him from behind.

“According to witnesses, the pillion rider then opened fire thrice before speeding off. He died on the spot after the shots hit him on the back, right hand and right shoulder.

“Robbery has been ruled out as the motive as his gold chain and bag containing RM60 and a handphone were left untouched,” he said when contacted yesterday.

The spokesman said that a book containing the names of debtors was also found in his bag leading them to believe that he could be involved in illegal money-lending activities.

“Our investigations showed that the man had been making frequent trips to Thailand for the past 10 years. He also had prior criminal records for drug-related activities.

“We are now trying to determine the motive of the murder and among the angles being looked into are business rivalry and revenge,” he said, adding that the body had been sent to the Padang Besar Hospital for a post-mortem.

The Star

7 killed when their pickup track hit by speeding train

A pickup truck was hit by a speeding train it his northeastern province after the truck refused to stop at a rail crossing. Seven people inside the truck were all killed, police said.

The accident happened at 4:20 am on the Mittraparp bypass road outside Udon Thani provincial seat. The truck was dragged by the Bangkok-Nong Khai train for about 300 metre.

Police said the automatic system already blocked the road with a barrier but the truck crisscrossed the blockade and was cut into the middle by the speeding train.

The Nation

Ban Chiang (บ้านเชียง)

Ban Chiang is well known for its archaeological wonders. It was nominated as UNESCO World Heritage Site in December 1992. Ban Chiang is located in Nong Han District and is about 55km from Udon. Ton and Kai came to pick us up at about 2pm and we headed to Highway No 22 (Udonthani-Sakon Nakorn Route) before turning into Highway 2225. After about 30 minutes, we arrived at Tambon Ban Chiang where the main museum is located. The ticket to enter the museum is 30Baht per head for Thai. I am not sure about foreigners. In the museum, there are many antiques and old artifacts.

Ban Chiang was the origin of a pre-historic civilization. It is believe to be 5000 years old. We went into the museum and look around. It was amazing to see old artifacts and antiques which is about 5000 years old. The time we went, there were only few local tourists. The museum is open everyday except for Monday and Tuesday from 9am to 4pm. Noon and I were still looking around with few other tourists and a staff appeared from nowhere told us that they are about to close the museum because it is almost 4pm.

He told us to go to Wat Po Si Nai where the ancient pots and other old artifacts were found together with the bodies. They were buried together with the bodies. So we drove to Wat Po Si Nai which is just a walking distance from the museum. Before that, there are several shops which sell souvenirs. Noon went to buy ice tea from a shop there. The price is more expensive than in Udon city.

We spent about 10 minutes in Wat Po Si Nai before all of us agreed to go back. We drove through the small town of Ban Chiang. It is a very quiet town. More like a village. If you wish to have a peaceful life, maybe Ban Chiang should be in the list. We followed the board leading us back to the main highway and passed by a busy market. The time is about 4:30pm. The night market was about to begin. There were a lot of stalls and people. The market is located in front of Wat Saked and its surrounding.

The seller told us that they only set up the night market every Wednesday. I guess we were lucky since it was Wednesday on the day we visited Ban Chiang. Food and items are cheaper compared to the city. I bought my Bangkok Glass FC’s fake kit here for 77Baht. The original price was 79Baht and I only had 7Baht coins at that moment.

Noon bought fishes to be grilled for dinner with 60Baht per kg. The fishes were still alive the time we bought. At around 5:30pm, we left Ban Chiang for Udon and arrive exactly at 6pm.

Why we love our King…

Yellow shirts to protest at Cambodian Embassy next month

Protesters led by People’s Alliance for Democracy on Saturday threatened to protest and surround the Cambodian Embassy next month unless Cambodia withdrew its troops from area adjacent to Preah Vihear Temple.

The threat was made when they organised a brief protest at Puk Tien Beach in Cha-Am district Saturday, demanding the withdrawal of troops from the area immediately.

“We will protest at the Cambodian Embassy next month. Unless its government withdrew troops from the disputed area, we will surround the embassy.”

Some 30 people gathered at the beach, about ten kilometers from meeting venue of Asean Summit, also in responding to harsh remarks by Cambodia that it would not extradite former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to Thailand.

Prime Minister Hun Sen said upon arrival in Hua Hin to attend the summit on Friday that he would make Thaksin his economic adviser.

The statement fuels tension in the relation with the Thai government which wanted Thaksin to returnn to Thailand to serve jail term on abuse of power and corruption charges.

The protesters held banners, reading that Hun Sen was not welcomed by Thai people.

Thailand and Cambodia have been at the loggerhead over the disputed area near the Hindu temple for long time but the issue was heated a year ago as it was listed as a world heritage site.

The Nation