AndersSN

I could tell you the truth of it, but I would probably not be believed, so I'm not even going to try.

Try La Fontana italien restaurant for great pizza too.

Link to Google Maps

More pics her: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.269843569726947.70425.113759285335377&type=1

Hi Guys

I have been looking at getting a dream box and went to investigate where to get them. One dealer I went to, offered me a Supernet 2075 HD satterlite reciever and from what I can gather as My thai is not great, he would install the dish and set up for 8500 thb with no mothly fee and can recieve HD as well and get the same package as true platinum. Does this sound correct or have i misinterpreted ???

Sounds about right.

I have that box as well and good quality HD, but not the new chanels yet.

You have to make sure he'll supply you with updates to the box as the basic firmware causes it to crash several times an hour, I have had mine updated and it works a charm now, well except at the moment when there is no connection to the server.

I pay 200B a month, one year in advance.

PM for contact details.

Useful links:

Attachment for flood plain map (approx 1MB)

Current water levels at Ban Mae Tae and Nawarat Bridge. We generally peak here in town about 6 hours after the peak in Mae Tae, and Mae Tae is still rising, albeit only 3cm in the last hour. In the last 6 hours, 90cm there, and from experience (at lower levels of course), a very rough guess would put us at 4.60m-4.70m by 6 this evening.

Thanks for the map, but i cant get the other link to work.

All i get is some error message about access. EDIT: Just saw the other post about the link

P.S. Just called Little Stars near Niman and they recomend anyone on the other side of the river to pick up their kids now.

Thanks

Moneygram is the way to go. Its only $10 to send $1000. Pick it up at Tesco

I also have good experiences with MoneyGram. Never used it from the US though only from Europe. Oh and it's a trusted favorite with the bar girls.....

Just out of curiosity what is the problem with the 90 day and retirement renewal at immigration.

If you are retired it should ber no problem. Last renewal I made went in at 1:00 out in two hours last 90 day got there about 7:45 out at 9:15

What are retired people doing that they can not spend the time taking care of their visas. Kind of ridicules to ask a government to streamline their system for a miniscule number of people who are retired and should have no problem with the time involved.

Maybe your time has no value.. Mine does..

And if not retired ?? Time off work for the workers.. Married men (I say men as women get a very easy route to citizenship).. Etc.

And this time out accomplishes what exactly.. Hello again.. Still at the same address again... Nothing at all gained or learnt (again).. See you in 90 days then !!

Just a monumental waste of everyones time, and yet cant see any point in it..

If you are working and your company employs foreigners they will usually have direct contact to someone i immigration to help expedite the paperwork.

I know mine does, 90 days reporting in less than 10 minutes and it doesn't matter what time you turn up.

Should we chalk this up as "money under the table" ?

I don't know about that.

But last time I came back from Denmark there was some problem with my entry stamp and my re-entry permit. The lady at immigration sorted it out without any of the regular fees, so next day I went back and gave her a box of chocolates I had brought from back home.

Ever since everybody from my company has been received and taken care of by this person without having to que.

What comes around goes around I guess.

Just out of curiosity what is the problem with the 90 day and retirement renewal at immigration.

If you are retired it should ber no problem. Last renewal I made went in at 1:00 out in two hours last 90 day got there about 7:45 out at 9:15

What are retired people doing that they can not spend the time taking care of their visas. Kind of ridicules to ask a government to streamline their system for a miniscule number of people who are retired and should have no problem with the time involved.

Maybe your time has no value.. Mine does..

And if not retired ?? Time off work for the workers.. Married men (I say men as women get a very easy route to citizenship).. Etc.

And this time out accomplishes what exactly.. Hello again.. Still at the same address again... Nothing at all gained or learnt (again).. See you in 90 days then !!

Just a monumental waste of everyones time, and yet cant see any point in it..

If you are working and your company employs foreigners they will usually have direct contact to someone i immigration to help expedite the paperwork.

I know mine does, 90 days reporting in less than 10 minutes and it doesn't matter what time you turn up.

If you are working what are you doing with a retirement visa you obviously have the means to survive with out working. Kind of like double dipping and you begrudge the three to five hours a year to do it. Me thinks you are a little bit ungrateful. Where you come from would you be allowed to draw a good sized pension and continue working at a job that 3 to 5 hours a year is to much time.

WOW, you learned to write without reading, I'm impressed.

The post I replied to is about people working not having the time of retired people. I make absolutely no reference to being retired, I'm 36 for c...st sake, how can I be retired?

With a work permit you still need to do 90 day reporting, which I do.

Just out of curiosity what is the problem with the 90 day and retirement renewal at immigration.

If you are retired it should ber no problem. Last renewal I made went in at 1:00 out in two hours last 90 day got there about 7:45 out at 9:15

What are retired people doing that they can not spend the time taking care of their visas. Kind of ridicules to ask a government to streamline their system for a miniscule number of people who are retired and should have no problem with the time involved.

Maybe your time has no value.. Mine does..

And if not retired ?? Time off work for the workers.. Married men (I say men as women get a very easy route to citizenship).. Etc.

And this time out accomplishes what exactly.. Hello again.. Still at the same address again... Nothing at all gained or learnt (again).. See you in 90 days then !!

Just a monumental waste of everyones time, and yet cant see any point in it..

If you are working and your company employs foreigners they will usually have direct contact to someone i immigration to help expedite the paperwork.

I know mine does, 90 days reporting in less than 10 minutes and it doesn't matter what time you turn up.

1) Giving presents is quite different than giving cash.

2) Maintaining reciprocal relationship with a neighbor over a period of time is quite different from paying cash a stranger for their help in an emergency.

3) I'd be careful about assuming you can make such broad judgments about Thai people (irrespective of social standing, specific circumstance or other nuance) based on the actions of this one Thai woman in this one instance.

Cash offers are nasty.....you pay hookers, you dont give them chocolate cake.

You should come by my bar when one of the girls has her birthday party, plenty of chocolate to go around Chocolate in the bar (you shouldn't judge Thais by your own culture)

Back on topic.

I asked my Thai colleagues at work about this (no not the bar girls), and here is what they agreed on:

If a thai person offers you help because they can see that you are in a thigh spot, they will do so because they are hen jai or good hearted. They will neither expect a reward nor be offended if one is offered, even if it's money.

This is only my colleagues, regular working people with an average income, opinion and doesn't cover every Thai in Thailand.

I have a purpose built ceramic oven pizza plate, but no oven.

It's yours if you want it.

You know where to find me as well. Btw party in da bar tomorrow, check out Facebook.

If just occurred to me that you could also make your own tallow. It's very easy to do. Just get some beef fat. Norther Farms sells it for about 10 baht per kilo. Render it and drain off the melted fat.If you want to get rid of any meaty bits, put the rendered beef in water and boil for a few minutes. Stir occasionally. Not sure if all the fat would come from grass fed beef, though. The same caution applies to my previous post.

and be sure to skim the scum to remove the impurities

Sounds like a night out on Loi Kroh ;-)

LJW, I'd say you're right in that there are plenty of Farang who don't get how much they have to adapt and be cautious here. True.

After 27 years of practice (sorry about saying 20), LJW has taken the whole concept of devils advocate into new realms.

"In common parlance, a devil's advocate is someone who, given a certain argument takes a position he or she does not necessarily agree with, just for the sake of argument"

Please pay attention to what I am saying because I am not playing a devils advocate game... I never say things that I do not believe. It has never been my style. But clearly there are many who disagree, but at the same time I have had a few pm's from people who agree with me but do not post here because they can not take the criticisms. For myself I post here because I think my opinion is as important as anyone else, and the disagreements, even the idiotic ones, rarely get me mad

He he

I've had more pm's about how right I am compared to you, so there.

What you don't believe me on the pm's? And you claim I haven't even posted in this thread before? Humbug!

What I say is true because I say it is true, and that goes for every post wether you (plural) like it or not.

Anyway there's a party in the bar tomorrow with great discounts so I guess I'll have another glass of wine to warm up to my bike ride this night, should get me in the mood for some road rage.

Enjoy

A lady fitness fanatic once told me that in order to lose weight all you have to do was break out into a sweat. Sweating in a humid climate, she said, will shed those excess pounds just as much as the sweat running off your brow as the result of a vigorous workout. She went on to say that some dieters lose weight without exercising at all, and manage to fight the flab just by frequenting a sauna and letting it all drip out!

Utter poppycock say I! The only weight we lose by sweating is water weight, not fat, which is quickly gained back by hydrating the body.

I mean, there wouldn't be a fat person in any of these tropical countries if sweating was the key to a slender being. Go to Bangkok and you'll surely see folks sweating buckets daily just by waiting for a bus! Also, overweight people tend to sweat more than thinner folks, yet they don't get any slimmer because of it! So weight loss is not down to whether someone is sweating under a hot sun, or not, which kind of knocks the climate theory on the head.

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE LIFESTYLE

I think you've pretty much touched on you weight gain by stating that you're really enjoying food here, and when we enjoy something we tend to indulge even more given the opportunity. But here's something that a lot of people don't get; dieting without exercise won't get you to your target weight just as exercise alone won't cut it either. Healthy diet contributes to between 55-60% of overall weight loss, give or take, and so in order to get slimmer and stay that way, it's not just about going on a diet but about embracing a total lifestyle change.

Chiang Mai is a pretty laid back place and there's not as much hare-tearing around here as there is in other parts of the country where hustle and bustle is a part of every day life.

If we go ON a diet, we have fixed in our mind that we will come OFF it once the target weight is achieved, and we all know what happens when we come off of diets right? Whereas a lifestyle change is a lifetime commitment to a new and healthier way of living.

Most people want to be thin, fit, and healthy, but usually not as much as they want to continue to consume their favourite foods and alcoholic tipples, hence the weight problem in humans. And exercise? Well, for many this is not something most folks want to do, especially as they get older which only adds to the waistline.

CONCLUSION

The climate is not to blame for weight gain but our chosen lifestyles. Anyone able bodied and really wanting to get into shape will. We all know what we need to do to achieve the body we so desire, and most can do it at any age if they want it bad enough, unless of course, a medical condition prevents it

Aitch

Yes yes yes. All well and good in theory.

but maybe you should have read the post instead of going on a rant, because you obviously have insight into the mechanics of dieting and weight loss.

The op clearly states that the cooler climate makes him enjoy food more and it's a well know fact that many people's appetite is affected by outside influences. In the case of the op the "weather".

Also purely physiological the body has a greater need for energy in cooler climates and the change for the op might "fool" his body into thinking it needs to stock up reserves, although this cooler climate doesn't pose a threat.

That is something I personally can relate to, last year I spent 2 months back home and gained an amazing 10 kg. Obviously there were family get togethers and parties with friends, but not enough to account for that much gain. I found myself with a much larger appetite than usual and eating four meals a day instead of the two or three I eat here. And as my mother likes to say: it's not what you eat between Christmas and new years that makes you fat, it's what you eat between new years and Christmas :-)

Every night I pick up these poor creatures I find in bars on Loy Kroh Road. I release them later but find them back in the same bar the following night. What should I do?

They're obviously following some primal instinct.

But we help it along by feeding them drugs, reinforces the instinct you see. ;-)

You are pretty limited to tracks up here, the only places I know (for all motorsports) are:-

1. SuperX track on superhighway to Lampang, full track with jumps etc used for Thai Championships that are held there maybe twice a year BUT not sure whether the actual circuit is levelled after events.

2. Kart circuit, Hang Dong road, Kawasaki holds events there every 6 months or so, racing KSRs, 250Rs and others, a sponsored event. remember it is a Kart business normally, so you would have to have a word with them to use it for a bike. All tarmac.

3. 100 year stadium, regularly holds drag races for cars and bikes (normally 2nd Sunday of the month, unless Chiang Mai FC are playing at home, in which case it's held on the Saturday)

4. 100 year stadium, saloon racing (part of the Thai 'Touring Car' championships), full large Honda sponsored using a complete circuit around the stadium, held maybe twice a year)

5. I have heard there is a MX circuit in near Mai Rim but not been there. Anyone been?

6. Occasionally, racing events are held behind Airport Central for bikes and the last event was Car Drifting, adhoc events.

7. Get off-road and into the hills for a bit of off-road riding, plenty of trails to choose from, almost unlimited opportunities.

That's about it regarding Motorsports, unless anyone else has something to add?

There is some kind of track on the super highway. If you drive from the airport on Mahidol the turn left on the super highway, just after the turn there is a dirt track I think and some old banged up cars.

I have never been in there and I can't reed the sign (in thai) but maybe you can go drive there.

a mix of bread crumbs and anti-freeze................

Where do you buy antifreeze in CM?

We chose this company after strong recommendations from this forum. Good experience.

http://www.northwheels.com/

How much did you pay and for what kind of car?

I contacted North Wheels a couple of weeks ago and their quote was not very competitive.

I am quite happy with my True subscription.

It's 599 a month with 300 hours talk, 300 SMS and 50 mms included. Also all Internet usage is free weather on 3G or a wifi hot spot so you can use and Download apps freely without worrying about cost.

Are you sure that's 300 HOURS? If so that's quite a deal. Do you need to have a True sim card or will my sim card from AIS work?

Ups. You are right of course, 300 minutes or 5 hours in other words.

I'd like to know also - Does one have to purchase a True sim card or will a sim card from another carrier be usable?

I honestly don't know. I recommend that you visit the True shop in airport plaza and inquire there. Several of the staff speak excellent English so it shouldn't be a problem finding out.

I am quite happy with my True subscription.

It's 599 a month with 300 hours talk, 300 SMS and 50 mms included. Also all Internet usage is free weather on 3G or a wifi hot spot so you can use and Download apps freely without worrying about cost.

Are you sure that's 300 HOURS? If so that's quite a deal. Do you need to have a True sim card or will my sim card from AIS work?

Ups. You are right of course, 300 minutes or 5 hours in other words.

I can confirm consistent rainfall on the west side of the moat.

Your'e kidding?

No Iam not. It is still raining. In fact, it may have got slightly heavier.

You're right!

I thought it had cooled down and got darker.

Nong Hoi just lost satellite reception because of the rain.

Lower level of KSK - it's one of the first or second booths on the right (across for3BB booth) just past the bank of ATMs

I got one 2 weeks ago for a friend at the place furthest from the bank of ATMs (same side)

I am quite happy with my True subscription.

It's 599 a month with 300 hours talk, 300 SMS and 50 mms included. Also all Internet usage is free weather on 3G or a wifi hot spot so you can use and Download apps freely without worrying about cost.

Unfortunatly there are only consulates in Phuket and Pattaya, so Bangkok is the closet option unless the Sweedish consulate here in CM can be of assistance.

"We don't need no stinkin' clusters," he said, walking away and whistiling over Walrus lyrics, I am the eggman, I am the walrus....

Nah singing: We don´t need no clusters let the mother f..ker burn....