# overbooked?...



## tooter (Feb 26, 2010)

Hop on... there's room for one more! :laugh:


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## Xnats (Dec 5, 2010)

I love this photo. Did you see in the news on how they are trying to stop this  :laugh: ? Lets just hang massive concrete balls hanging on oversize chains at an elevation a few inches over the top of the passenger cars :laugh: When the train comes by it will knock everyone off :laugh:


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## raleets (Jan 2, 2011)

choo choo said:


> Hop on... there's room for one more! :laugh:


That photo reminds me of my trip to Phuket, Thailand a few years ago. It was COMMON to see as many as SIX people going like a bat out of hell down the street on a teenie little motor scooter. Those folks sure must hate walking. 
Bob


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## Gansett (Apr 8, 2011)

Bob,
I spent a year in Thailand @ Korat. Not unusual at all to see people hanging off, on, over, under any means of transportation.
Those 3 wheeled motorcycles, TUT-TUTS, where the passenger(s) double as the front bumper!
Met the Queen when she visited URI years ago.


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## raleets (Jan 2, 2011)

Jack,
What really amazed me about those folks on their little scooters was that they would shoot out of a side street at full speed right into heavy traffic.
Thailand law states that if you hit one YOU are at fault, even if they cut right in front of you. I wasn't driving, thank god, 'cause they scared the livin' hell out of me just watching them.
Bob


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

The sad/scary part about trains like this (in Thailand, India, etc.) is that they do crash, on occassion, and when they do, there are hundreds and hundreds of people killed/injured because of the overcrowding.


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## Gansett (Apr 8, 2011)

Bob,
Myself and two other guys took the train from Korat to Chiang Mai in 1966, long before it was a tourist destination. Slept on the floor on a straw mat at the local "Hilton", ate the local "cuisine" at the many nearby Howard Johnsons which was a habachi like grille set in the gutter, found it best not to ask what we were eating , roamed the ancient temples. Came face to face with a King Cobra. 

I remember the train, a old steamer. The cars had wooden seats, probably teak and you shared with chickens, goats, whatever. Train went at breakneck speed, you could almost feel the inside wheels lift off the track going thru turns.

We'd also rent motorcycles and drive down to Bangkok for a day. Yeah, we drove in that traffic. Things you do when you're young.

Thai's are the warmest, most friendly people you'll ever meet.:thumbsup:


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## raleets (Jan 2, 2011)

Jack,
Phuket (pronounced poo-ket) Thailand is a small island on the extreme southern edge of Thailand. It's packed with 10-star resorts that cater to American tourists, and the beaches make Hawaiin beaches look like a dump. No kidding, I've been to both.
The "city" part of Phuket is inland and is poverty stricken as you'll ever see, with all kinds of street vendors, markets, etc.
Some of the stuff they cook and offer for sale looked like something I can't describe on a "family" forum.  I lost 10 pounds during the week I was there because very little of the food was edible for me. Too damned spiced up. Those little black thingies burned your tongue like a blow torch. 
But, you're absolutely correct about the people being warm and friendly. In fact, they're downright TIMID around Americans. At least that was the case where we were.
All that being said, I would go back in a heartbeat!!
Bob


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

During the Vietnam war there was little fighting there, but the Island was used by the Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces as a prison for captured Viet Cong.


I found this,
The hot comes from chillies or chilli powder. Chillies were brought to Thailand by the early European traders from South America . 

If you like your food a little spicy, say "aow pet nid noi", (_nid noi_ means 'a little'). 
On the other hand, if you think you are not being served food that is spicy enough because you are a tourist, say "aow pet pet". 
Not recommended except for the most die-hard chilli fans.

I wonder if the little black things were snails? Most of their food comes from the sea.

The beaches were voted in 2007 by ABC to be the most beautiful in the world.
They said that was because development was kept to a minimum.

That soon may change as they have plans to build more resorts and high rises for tourists on the island.


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## Gansett (Apr 8, 2011)

Only fighting in Thailand I saw was in the bars,,,,,

Got a scar to prove it too.

When were you there Ed? 9/66 to 9/67 for me.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

JackC said:


> Only fighting in Thailand I saw was in the bars,,,,,
> 
> Got a scar to prove it too.
> 
> When were you there Ed? 9/66 to 9/67 for me.





Never :smokin:....when he said spicy food I went to research what they used to make it hot.

The prison came up in my search. 

I do remember watching about the pristine beaches years ago on the TV.

Did you win?


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## Gansett (Apr 8, 2011)

The bar fight? You win some, you lose some. Never kept score.
Boy this thread took a turn didn't it?

I really do miss the food. Can't believe I ate some of that stuff. However at my age now vanilla ice cream gives me heartburn. :laugh:


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## raleets (Jan 2, 2011)

big ed said:


> During the Vietnam war there was little fighting there, but the Island was used by the Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces as a prison for captured Viet Cong.
> 
> 
> I found this,
> ...


We were there almost exactly one year after the big tsumani hit Phuket. Amazingly, you could barely tell anything had happened since those folks had worked their buns off and cleaned up, rebuilt, and went on with life. We dined at a fabulous resort restaurant less than a mile from where the worst of it hit the island. There were still some palm trees bent over sideways, but other than that, there was no evidence of the disaster.
As for the beaches, the white sand is incredibly clean and soft. You can walk way out into the ocean and belly-ride the waves back to shore. You can then sit under a palm tree and enjoy adult beverages while checkin' out all the chicks in their bikinis. :thumbsup: Since I wear VERY dark sunglasses, even my wife didn't know what I was lookin' at.  Yeah, right! 
As for the little "black thingies".......we were warned to be on the lookout and not bite into one. I got carried away eating some cashew chicken and did the deed. My mouth felt like a railroad flare had been lit inside!!! 
While there we also went parasailing over the ocean behind a speedboat and rode elephants thru the jungle. It was a helluva trip! :thumbsup: 
Bob


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## Ed Gerken (Jan 23, 2012)

Hey, I'd like to model that scene on my new layout. It would be a great use for the 1000 lot of HO-scale people from Hong Kong! 

-Ed


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

... plus the poor schlub who couldn't find a spot to climb on ...

1001!

TJ


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