At the beginning of last week, a polystyrene factory about 3 miles from my home suffered a catastrophic explosion of one of the chemical storage tanks. It was large enough that it caused property damage around a 1 mile radius from the blast with windows blown out of cars and homes and roofs damaged. This was at around 2-3am. We woke up to a column of smoke on the horizon, initial reports were to evacuate everyone in a 3 mile radius.

We were just outside of that range so we decided to stick it out. Hotels wouldn’t allow dogs for the most part so we would have to find a kennel to board our pup. We also have two children, ages 7 and 4 who would make the trip harder.

With things reasonably stable for the most part, I has gone up into town to meet some friends for BJJ drilling and my wife had plans to drink coffee with a friend.

By that afternoon when everyone had returned home there were talks of extending the mandatory evacuation range to 6 miles, which would include our home, with the stated reason being the remaining tanks were expected to blow due to the local fire and rescue guys being unable to extinguish the flames…

So our “hold out at home” turned into a get out ASAP.

First order of business was to find a place to stay. My sister lives in the city so that was luckily taken care of. Next was to find arrangements for the dog, kennel we found closed within about 45 minutes, and it was in the city, though rush hour traffic so we had to leave immediately.

We threw the kennel in the back of the Hilux and got everyone loaded up and headed to town. Due to the size of the kennel, the back of our Hilux wagon would only fit either the kennel or bedding/luggage for a night’s stay, and we hadn’t had the time to get everything packed. We would be making two trips. One to drop off the dog and kids. And another to grab luggage for the night’s stay.

We barely made it to the kennel right as they were closing and night was falling. After another hour of driving in rush hour traffic, in one of the largest cities in SE Asia, we made it to my sister’s house with the girls, phone batteries almost dead, everyone very tired and agitated.

Back to the house we headed to grab the clothes and bedding for a night’s stay. We stuff the truck down with a roll mattress and suitcase with clothes and everything needed for a few nights away. Got back to sister’s at 10pm very tired and ready for bed.

So here are the things we did right and things we did wrong;

Done correctly:
Keep at least 3/4 tank of diesel in the Hilux at all times.
Kept bags in the truck containing some cash, chargers for the phones, and emergency supplies.
Left immediately upon getting the order and got kids out of the situation

Things to fix:
Should have left for a hotel as soon as the first evacuation order was given.
Should have kept a list of hotels that accept dogs and booked a room as soon as possible.
Should keep a bag of clothes packed for 2-3 nights away from the house in a quick grab bag.
Should install USB fast charge ports in the older Hilux to keep phones (and GPS/Nav) at full charge for extended usage, like the 2-3 hours that it takes to just get across town.
Should keep more cash on hand for hotel booking without having to stop at an ATM.
Should also drive evacuation routes in advance so I have a better sense of direction in the dark and heavy traffic.
Should have had one trip away from the house only instead of having to take multiple trips.

It’s not crazy exciting, we got to a hotel the following night, everything turned out ok for us. But this is a real life example of how having stay-at-home plans can turn into get-away-asap quickly and highlights the need for plans to address both possibilities.

I'm glad you didn't inhale that shit.


great aar and corrective measure/mitigation assessment.

The fumes were a huge issue. Thankfully it’s monsoon/rainy season and after two nights of rain the air cleared and the fires went out. There is still a concern with the open air water canals that feed the city’s water supply, but the water isn’t potable so most inhabitants drink from bottled water.

Will probably look at mapping out where major industrial areas are in relation to us for future evacuation routes as well. Might be worth having several hotels in each direction of travel from the city as well, depending on which plant has failure.

I had flat overlooked industrial disaster in my planning. Regular flooding? Got a 4x4 equipped for water crossings. Riots/martial law? Outside of the city enough that the epicenter is a good bit away from us. Earthquakes? No large buildings near our home to collapse onto it. But this one kinda took me by surprise.

my time in Thailand and Philippines was on Uncle Sam's nickel.. but after the Bhopal tragedy in India, I think I'd take a lesson from the bar girls.... most carried their wealth on their wrists in the form of gold gram weight baht bracelet charms, and had immediate di di mao plans to quickly leave the area....while you did have a supply of cash, I'd suggest that you not worry about comfort the next time, and just grab the family and dog and gtfo at the first sign of an industrial accident....

down town when martial law was enacted in the PI, and rode the baht bus with a couple of CTs up at Ban Non Sung (Ramsun Station)... I always tried to wear local shirts and non logo ball cap and not act like a jerk when out with locals... regards

No doubt getting out quickly would be a good call. The thing that, I guess, lulled us into a sense of normalcy was just how “just another day” the reporting and neighbors were about the whole thing. There was a constant thought of, “Are we overreacting? Do we really need to leave?” About the whole thing, compounded by the Thai to English translation of local news adding an additional source of delay in the whole thing.

Learning Thai over the next few months is a priority as well, which would help with a lot of the communication and information gathering aspect as well.

And in terms of dress/blending in, I’m so much whiter and so much bigger than the locals that the nondescript clothing I wear wouldn’t help me blending in. My dark tinted windows do keep the police/military from seeing me as a farang and automatically putting a bullseye on my back.

You can install USB ports in you Hilux easy enough but something like this works fine and you can even take it with you if you need to change vehicles.

I'm not recommending this specific one, just this type of device.
https://www.cyclegear.com/accessories/trackside-12-volt-usb-charger-adapter?sku_id=1127406

I’ve thought of doing something similar as a stop gap. I’m thinking of building an entire auxiliary 12v system into the truck anyway with a second deep cycle battery to run accessories like ARB air compressor and maybe a fridge, so USB ports would be wired on that system. I like the idea of having everything as a separate system that won’t pull off the cranking battery. It’s old enough that the alternator isn’t the new smart kind so wiring is pretty simple.

The easiest thing to do for charging cell phones, gps's, ipads, etc., is to buy an external battery.  Link.  I have one similar to the one linked and I can charge my phone 2 or 3 times, I forget.  But this also gives you the option of walking away from a vehicle/house and still charge your phone.  I use these when I camp and they work extremely well.  Mine will hold a charge for a long long time (e.g., 3-4 months or more), but I usually throw it on the charger monthly just to top it off.  I bought smaller, cheaper, versions for my kids and wife since they all seem to forget to charge their phones at one point or another.

Great AAR.

Glad that your family made it through alright.
Having an evacuation plan is always a good idea no matter where you live.

Good AAR, I might relocate to Thailand next year for work, probably BKK.  I am curious, do you get much hassle being a farang driver by the police/military?  Also I know that Thailand has a problems with driver safety such as truck drivers under the influence of meth/speed and crazy bikers that don't respect road rules.   You had problems with this?

I’m looking at getting one of the larger ones that can jump a car as well. I keep a pretty comprehensive emergency bag in the truck, but that’s one thing I’d like to add.

So police and military like to fuck with farangs (and locals as well) but most of the time they are just looking to shake you down for a bribe. But when they bribe they want is only 300-500thb ($10-15usd) you tend to just pay it and go on with your day. Even when you get a speeding ticket it’s only about 500thb and they are distributed by mail. They just assume farang =rich.

Drivers are crazy but the main fatalities you hear about are from scooters and motorcycles because they do stupid shit like carrying 4 people on a bike complete with an infant (I don’t even bat an eye when I see it anymore) all without any safety gear. But honestly they can’t afford more than that so I can’t judge. Scooters will go in and out of traffic, in all directions, even the wrong way down a major highway.

But, if you are in a proper car, the flow of traffic is slow enough that any collisions will be minor and not life threatening to the occupants of the vehicle. A truck like a Hilux (Sport Rider SUV) or Prado gets you high enough above the normal econoboxes. I haven’t felt unsafe, but some things have felt sketchy.

And it’s ALL bikers that don’t respect rode rules, lol. IE, road suggestions.

good AAR, thanks.
1) jealous you have a Hilux. that's like my dream apocalypse vehicle. Best I can do is a GX460.

my thoughts are layered. I'm at work right now. I have my keys/phone/wallet/light/knife in my pocket. lights click off or I need to go I don't have to stop for anything. out the door get to the truck.

truck is layer 2. has some food/water/first aid. 3/4th tank (always) of gas. cold/wet weather gear in case in changes. Enough tools and cash that I could get right to a hotel or further away. I'd suggest taking some time to see how you can set up your vehicle. a small pack with some supplies can be stuffed under a seat and it's the difference between looking for things at home when you need to run or just leaving. worst case your truck IS a hotel room that happens to accept dogs.

Thanks, I really dig the Hilux. It’s a wagon (Sport Rider- Thai market Hilux Surf with some minor differences- looks like a 3rd Gen 4Runner with a different rear end and a mechanical diesel, 5spd 4x4). It won’t move very fast but it’s got a lot of room and with the Diesel gets phenomenal gas mileage 25+mpg or better.

I’ve got something similar to your suggestion already in place. I have a small sporty backpack with a water bladder and a filter I can install inline the drink tube. In the pack I keep a comprehensive first aid kit/trauma kit(complete with medicine- including melatonin for restless children in a stressful situation), flashlight, multitool, and about $500usd (finding an exchange is pretty easy and it keeps my wife from going into my emergency stash for things that aren’t an emergency). I also keep a nice hardshell rain jacket in that bag as well. Bag goes where I go.

In the truck, I have a tuff plastic box with 6x 1.5liter water bottles (out of the sun), mechanics tools, jumper cables, Jack, etc. plus a change of clothes for me (I’m usually the one driving and across town so the priority was for me to get home to family), some socks and nice hiking boots. I also keep gloves, lights, pocket knive, Thai Baht cash, etc up near the drivers seat.

Our trouble this day was an unknown actual threat level and thus a lack of urgency in leaving. We wanted our kids to be relatively comfortable given the situation and hygiene was important. Having the clothes packed and extra baht on hand for hotel stays without having to make an ATM stop will help speed up things in the future. We might include some blankets in the truck box as well in the event we have to camp out of the truck for a longer evacuation.

Yep, that was my experience as well.  I was visiting a factory north of BKK and the farang manager was telling me gory stories of all the bike accidents he has witnessed.  Big trucks and small bikes don't mix well.  I like riding a bike, but I think driving something more substantial like a Hilux or Prado makes more sense.  Curious, does your house have a back-up generator and back-up water supply?   I have heard some expats in Thailand say this is essential because the grid is not reliable and sometimes the water supply has issues as well.  Have you seen this?

I don’t have a backup generator, though I’ve only been in this house for about 3 months currently, I’ve had not troubles with blackouts or outages.

Water supply on the other hand, pressure is naturally crazy low (doing think they’ve figured out water towers in this part of the world yet) so we have what I can only describe as an accumulator/tank that fills and feeds a pump that pressurizes the home plumbing for showers and whatnot. All water from the tap is considered non-potable so we have a water cooler with deliveries weekly. I also keep 20+ liters of bottled water on hand as well.

For all the negatives, private healthcare here is amazing, even with no insurance, the technology and doctors are top notch and cost less than a normal deductible in the states. It’s an Asian medical tourism hot spot so there is a real incentive to keep it very high end.

my GX460 is about the same, it's a 4runner with a prado power train. One of the things that was really helpful was building a small shelf for the rear. Basically a piece of wood that's on a 1"x1" aluminum tube frame. It's about 8" up off the floor in the trunk. Looking in the back windows you can't see anything weird, but that much space allows me to keep all my tools and prep stuff there and still use the back as an SUV for groceries and suitcases, that kind of thing. Might be worth considering.

I’ve considered a deck/drawer system as well. There are some local guys who stock them as the truck is pretty popular here. My plastic truck box kinda kills a chunk of space that could otherwise be used for luggage, cooler, etc.

I may also look at a heavier roof rack to put some items up top as well. I don’t need so much weight carrying capacity, more over a way to carry lighter bulky items, and maybe mount some auxiliary lights.

I agree with you, the positives outweigh the negatives for myself and my family.  I spent 4.5 years living in China pre-Xin Jinping and we were comfortable, but any chance we had to get out of China and go to Thailand, we did.  My wife and I have used the Thai medical system and compared the U.S. it is affordable and high quality.  Have you been to any of the Thai Army run gun ranges?  My understanding is foreigners can't own firearms, but they can be part of gun clubs.

Glad you and your family are okay.  And thanks for posting.  This real world feedback helps me tweak my preps, in the event I'm in the same situation.

One of my friends, a Thai National, is big into IDPA he keeps inviting me out. I need to take him up on it.

Glad you are OK.

Apparently I'm not the first to say to add to your "done right" list:

1.  Diesel HiLux


rob

Thanks. I’m really enjoying the truck (if I could get kids to stop climbing up in the truck and cutting interior lights on killing my battery). It’s a mechanical diesel as well (not common-rail) so if it loses battery/alternator when it’s already running it’ll continue to run until you cut it off just without lights or auxiliary functions (ask me how I know, lol)

It’s geared pretty low as well with what I think is a 4.10 geared differential. You can start off without hitting the gas in first gear on just 2H just by letting out the clutch. It’s definitely getting built into an overland truck for some trips out into surrounding areas once all the COVID restrictions have ended.

Per a previous suggestion, I ordered a portable jump box/auxiliary battery/power bank this morning. Hopefully that’ll get here pretty soon.

I got a Decked drawer system for my F150. One of the best upgrades I've done for it after the bed cap. All my tools- Hi Lift jack, bottle jack, shovels, pick, axe, wrenches, jumper cables, et al- are in one drawer, leaving the other empty for camping or shooting crap. When I go camping, I sleep on top with a mattress pad. Keeping that stuff out of sight and having usable space on top is fantastic.

How deep are your drawers? I’m thinking about 8” would be about perfect. I’d also like a cargo divider behind my passenger seats so I can stack things up higher and not have them spill over into the second row seats.

@Andi-in-BKK

The drawers are 8.5" deep.