The first stage of road widening happened in November 2006 out of Mae Chan towards Chiang Saen, about 2km were done (as far as Ban Don) before they petered out – typically the widened area had started to fall apart within a month (similar to the road widening in Mae Sai toward the Golden Triangle this year). However, on a trip to Chiang Rai this week we noted that they had started cutting roadside trees for the first kilometre or so outside Chiang Saen – we guess this is the beginning of another road widening.

My Manager (calling in Thai from a Thai number) was quoted 2,000,000 baht a rai for some swamp land just outside the Chiang Saen bypass yesterday – this price included filling to prevent flooding. Someone obviously thinks the proposed industrial area might be in Chiang Sean town – though this site is in the view of Wat Pa Sak and the antiquities department seem to be a powerful voice against development.

I haven’t been to the proposed Sob Kok site (BKK Post June 2nd http://www.bangkokpost.com/020608_News/02Jun2008_news13.php) since late May but there was no sign of anything at that point except receding grassland and informal maize plantation.

The manager of the private port quoted in the same BKK Post piece has a point but then his port is upstream of Chiang Saen and would require no blasting – environmentally better and perhaps more sense but it is a private port.

There has been some blasting in the area over the past few days but I believe this is tied in with the Nam Pheung Casino and not in the river, but I’ve been working so haven’t had time to check this.

I am not sure but it is my feeling that river traffic has actually lessened over the past couple of months (in previous years it has opened up again after the rains raise the river level) but this could be due to any number of reasons – not least that I have been working late and not spent much time on the riverside.

If anyone has specific questions please feel free to ask.