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Pattaya Flood


johng

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If you look out your window to the east of Pattaya right now, looks like we are in for a repeat performance of yesterday afternoon!!!!! :)

Don't worry towards the end of the weak the worst will be over. But it does not look very promising right now, I agree.

Cheers

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North bound Sukhumvit somewhere between south & center roads yesterday. Almost an hour to travel a couple of kilometers. :)

yes i was there too ... the waves almost 1 meter high from the songtaew idiots ...

my car's engine suck water ... so yesterday did cost me about 100k and going by bus back to bkk.

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be careful in the water!!!

On a serious note for a moment, heed ericthai's words. You really want to avoid driving/riding through any flood water unless you are absolutely sure you know what's under the surface, especially if the water is flowing. It's not uncommon for very large holes in roads to appear under flood conditions, and Thai roads aren't always great at the best of times... many are built on a relatively uncompacted (by western standards) sand base!

Always drive through water slowly to reduce the possibility of a "bow wave" forming and effectively increasing the height of the water level, and in a low gear to keep the engine revs high, as this will increase the pressure in the exhaust and help prevent water getting in to it.

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Your pics are great, but in some parts of 2nd road, in the Mikes Shopping Mall area stretching up to Pattaya Klang, the flooding was much worse. I was driving along there and have no idea how my slow slung car kept going as all around me vehicles and bikes were breaking down, and I was alarmed to see even the Baht Bus exhausts were completely submerged, and the water was washing the feet of the passengers.

I was terrified my car would conk out so I decided to turn left into Siam Bayview Hotel to find some parking. Big mistake, the hotel driveway was even deeper than the road, and I have no idea how I managed to drive through the deep water and up the slope at the front of the hotel.

When I waded back to the road, the water was well above my knees, and I am 6 foot tall. My exhaust must have been several inches under water. Maybe it's because it is a diesel engine, like the baht buses. Does anyone know about this? Can diesel engines run with their exhausts submereged?

Almost any care can run with the exhaust under water, just do not turn it off since running the engine keeps the water out of the engine. The main thing is to keep the intake free of water and when water enters the engine (either thought the air intake or the exhaust if you turn off you car), you are done. Some off road truck here in Washington State have breather snorkles where the intake of air is above the cab so they can drive through rivers without stopping.

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Worst so far this year ?

Brilliant Pictures, 'johng' - because the light would have been fairly suspect at that time. Please let us know what kind of camera you used: I shall rush-out and purchase one right away ! (seriously !)

The camera is a Canon Powershot A590 IS I set it to auto but forced the flash off.

Some of the pics where blurred ( didn't upload those ones ) because the auto focus had a hard time.

The flood subsided after about 3 hours,this morning its raining again :)

Thank you for sharing the pics. The color contrast and lighting are really remarkable.

Somewhat surprised not to see a jet ski.. :D

Edited by rakman
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Worst so far this year ?

Brilliant Pictures, 'johng' - because the light would have been fairly suspect at that time. Please let us know what kind of camera you used: I shall rush-out and purchase one right away ! (seriously !)

The camera is a Canon Powershot A590 IS I set it to auto but forced the flash off.

Some of the pics where blurred ( didn't upload those ones ) because the auto focus had a hard time.

The flood subsided after about 3 hours,this morning its raining again :)

I purchased my Canon Powershot A590 IS from a shop on the second floor of Carrefour in Pattaya

(about 5,000 to 6,000 Baht)

to replace a earlier model Canon Powershot which was stolen in Cambodia.

I also use auto with the flash forced off.

Picture quality does vary and yes this is a particularly good camera.

Do check before you buy because they are not all the same. Picture quality does vary.

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:D

Nice shots thanx......immediately I was remembered why I left some years ago and now living up more to north-east, in time of using rubber boats there is a lot more space to avoid a collision, we have seen here some nice rain at Nakhon Ratchasima as well....with thunder and lightning. :):D:D

Edited by Redhawk
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When I moved to Pattaya recently I rented a place on Pattaya Tai for a month while I located something permanent. Many nights after a good night out I stood on the balcony in the wee hours overlooking the road and watched the vendors of a nightime coffee stall wash down in front of their shop. Everything - and I mean everything - was washed/swept into the grated drain on the road, paper, plastic, you name it. What was too large to wash down on it's own was forced into the drain with a stick. And this is only one shop....

The irony was that while the lady was doing this each night the garbage truck would go by and collect the bags left on the footpath by other and more responsible shops.

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Whatever criticism you may level at the Thais, their ability to smile, joke and accept extreme misfortune is remarkable.

Last night the entire area of 2nd Road, and many of the adjoining Sois were more than a foot under water, and the interiors of nearly all the bars, restaurants, shops and guest houses were also badly flooded.

Yet I didn't see so much as a frown anywhere. Their businesses were badly disrupted, most places had been forced to close, the staff were sitting atop of tables and chairs waiting for the water to subside.

No one was making any money, but no-one was complaining.

Many were laughing and joking.

We may have many frustrations when dealing with some of the more unsavoury aspects of Thai culture, but their ability to smile in the face of adversity, and accept what life throws at them is an object lesson to most of us from the west.

Great words! That's one of the reasons why I love this country and feel like at home here for more then 7 years!

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I was terrified my car would conk out so I decided to turn left into Siam Bayview Hotel to find some parking. Big mistake, the hotel driveway was even deeper than the road, and I have no idea how I managed to drive through the deep water and up the slope at the front of the hotel.

When I waded back to the road, the water was well above my knees, and I am 6 foot tall. My exhaust must have been several inches under water. Maybe it's because it is a diesel engine, like the baht buses. Does anyone know about this? Can diesel engines run with their exhausts submereged?

There's no doubt about it, the Germans really know how to make cars. :)

...and submarines!

I would vote for Lotus on that score, remember the Bond movie?

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No one was making any money, but no-one was complaining.

Many were laughing and joking.

For building and shop owners, yes, but for those renting, there's much less laughing and joking when rent is due and they only had 22 days of sales instead of 30 because of a rain/flood/etc. holiday.

:)

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Worst so far this year ?

Thanks for the pics...where were they taken?

At least a number of the pictures show South Pattaya Road ("Pattayatai").

I recognize Dental's House and the parking of Friendship Supermarket at the opposite side of the road.

Edited by DickFarang
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Your pics are great, but in some parts of 2nd road, in the Mikes Shopping Mall area stretching up to Pattaya Klang, the flooding was much worse. I was driving along there and have no idea how my slow slung car kept going as all around me vehicles and bikes were breaking down, and I was alarmed to see even the Baht Bus exhausts were completely submerged, and the water was washing the feet of the passengers.

I was terrified my car would conk out so I decided to turn left into Siam Bayview Hotel to find some parking. Big mistake, the hotel driveway was even deeper than the road, and I have no idea how I managed to drive through the deep water and up the slope at the front of the hotel.

When I waded back to the road, the water was well above my knees, and I am 6 foot tall. My exhaust must have been several inches under water. Maybe it's because it is a diesel engine, like the baht buses. Does anyone know about this? Can diesel engines run with their exhausts submereged?

As long as the exhaust pipe blows and does not suck, I guess there is no problem.

BTW for the Thailish verb “smoke” (“Do you smoke ?”) some languages use the equivalent of “blow” (German) and other languages the equivalent of “suck” (French).

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I would be curious to see some pictures of beach road and Walking Street. Any pics of there ? The water should flow and evacuate into the sea...

post-20273-1255393962_thumb.jpg

This was the day after.

It looks wet but there dose not seem to have been any flooding.

Yesterday evening I walked from Soi Post Office to Walking Street along Beach Road and, indeed, everything was back to normal.

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I was in a bar in Soi Buakaow when the heavens opened. Never seen such flooding before. Really felt sorry for the shops etc that are at street level as they really got a lot of water inside their businesses. When it was time to go back to the hotel (Sabi Inn Soi 2) it was roll up the jeans to the knees and wade up to 2nd road. The next night was in a bar near Big C and one of the girls told me only two of their service girls were able to make it in to work.

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We may have many frustrations when dealing with some of the more unsavoury aspects of Thai culture, but their ability to smile in the face of adversity, and accept what life throws at them is an object lesson to most of us from the west.

One of the best, most positive quotes I've seen on TV for a while. Having had less than a perfect year myself, I can only agree - thank you Mobi!

:D:)

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