iSabai

The greatest conspiracy theory would be that there's no conspiracy going on.

It would mean that the human race is a unruly, polluting, selfish species incapable of organization.

In contrast to this (suggested animal-like behavior) is the rapid urbanization of the earth's population and resources arranged in a systematic and very well organized order.

The conspiracy is so great it cannot be seen and what do most people care anyway ? --we're too busy on facebook, instagram, or the www to let our brains relax for even a moment!

Yes we are in distraction mode. Big business with the help of the government has developed all this mind rot called social media to distract us from the real problems in the world. Its only when the wolf comes knocking at our door do we realize that we are in mental straight jacket. So many of our human brothers are floundering while the few fat cats rack up more profits. WB just sealed another 40 billion dollar deal thanks to the fact that he can borrow our life savings at almost zero percent interest. They are accessing billions for almost nothing. What do we get in return a measly 1.7% pension increase. Incredible. There may be a light at the end of the tunnel I see in the news today that the executives of a large corporation refused their bonuses but only after a hue and cry by the general public. Maybe we are starting to wake up and seeing this big con game foisted on us by big business and their government allies.

Good start is to check the manufacturer's website for authorized dealers and/or repair shops in Thailand. A dealer would likely know where to get it repaired if they can't do it themselves, or even ship it to the manufacturer for you. Good luck.

Here you go, try this:

http://www.eatingthaifood.com/2014/11/thai-khua-kling-recipe/

Members steelpulse, DrDave and iSabai have all put forward good reasons why there hasn't been any US navy ships here for a while. It's probably a combination of all of them.

iSabai - do you know if that is US policy?

I believe so, but I don't know how concrete or extensive it is. Going strictly from memory as I said. After Thaksin's removal, the US refused to send the ships here as a bit of a diplomatic slap on the wrist, and/or diplomatic nudge to encourage them to move towards free elections. Probably both.

There's a cruise schedule for Phuket here:

(It doesn't seem to cover US navel ships in Cambodia unfortunately.)

http://www.cleancruising.com.au/port.asp?port=THHKT

I note the QE2 will be back on 10 Jan 15.

It seems most park on the eastern side of the Island these days.

I must go on another cruise, I see at least one ship has bumper cars now!

QN_03.jpg

"It doesn't seem to cover US navel ships in Cambodia unfortunately." - I can't remember the last time I have seen US Navy personel ejoying the nightlife here, not that I go out everynight, but just haven't seen them here for a while.

If I remember correctly, in the past the US did not allow their ships to r&r in Phuket due to a 'non-elected government'. That was after the last coup. Not sure if that's the case now, but may be a reason.

Security guards wai me....and the weather.

I've never seen a security guard wai the weather…

Sorry mate, couldn't resist.

Okay experts, then what is "gentleman jack" or "old jack" or any other name they came up with last years? I never drank that, is it worth the extra money?

And i was thinking but i think i never drank the Thai jack D. Is it not the same??

Here i sometimes drink Johnny Walker red or black label with ice and water....Jack D. i drink with only ice.

Gentleman, Old and the ridiculously priced Sinatra Select iterations of JD are fancy packaging and marketing. That's all.

If you want a real bourbon that barely needs a single cube of ice, you want Blanton's.

4 for the road.jpg

One day you'll thank me for this.

(but in the meantime please don't drink ANYTHING named Johnny Walker, no matter what color the label is)

Interesting, never tried Blanton's but looks like the real deal. I'll be keeping an eye out for it next trip to the US.

I can't find any sort of decent bourbon here in Thailand. Used to buy Wild Turkey, 101º and 8 year old, and much cheaper than JD at Carrefour a few years back! Now mai mee. Villa Mkt has (or at least used to have) Makers Mark, which I don't really care for.

If anyone knows where a good bourbon is available in Thailand (Bkk area?) please post that info here! (I like my whiskey 100º or better, and 6 y/o or better. Straight up too, no diluting it with anything!)

They've been dumbing down Jack Daniels for years now. Used to be 94º or 96º years ago, now (I think) only 80º. Sells more on its brand name recognition than for being a quality whiskey (it isn't). And off the top of my head (too lazy to look it up), only whiskeys made in Kentucky can use the name bourbon, and must meet certain distilling specs, if I'm not mistaken. JD is a sour mash, same like bourbons, but made in Tennessee so not technically bourbon. And (also IIRC) it's the county JD is distilled in that is a dry county, not the entire state.

Anyhow, just off the top of my head and I stand corrected if not 100% accurate. Cheers whiskey lovers!

Plenty of fat Thais. I blame Swensens.

Most Thais would find Swensens (McD, BK, KFC, etc.) overly expensive. I blame 7-Eleven.

In Macro they sell "Boncofe", espresso whole beans. Fresh grinded every morning it does the job for me....

Fatfather

Boncafe has one variety called 'Espresso Dubai' I buy at Makro which is a decent everyday coffee for me at a reasonable ฿240 for 500 grams. Some of their other varieties I find lacking.

If you've got a Tops Market nearby, they sell a Duang Dee Hilltribe coffee that is a very tasty roast and a deal at ฿109 for 250 grams. Unfortunately they never have the whole bean, and their ground is very fine so can be a problem depending on what coffeemaker you're using. I also find the straight Arabica coffees mostly better than a Robusta or an Arabica/Robusta blend.

Cheers.

Flying would be faster, safer, and far cheaper. Check with Air Asia, book ahead for best prices.

You misunderstood her. She's saying, "Pay the lady".

Im sick of hypocritical losers spouting off there green eyed nonsense, my hard earned tax money contributes to society and yes I choose to be materialistic because its a choice that Is mine.

Embracing one's right to choose a "materialistic" lifestyle, then criticizing others for embracing their right to choose a non-materialistic lifestyle is hypocritical.

Kudos to Mr Canary for enjoying himself, however he may choose to do so.

And if you read any of my previous posts you will see on more than one occasion I say, good luck if you can live this meager existence but its not for me!

I wasn't berating the OP I was expressing to the hypocrites who "do not like this greedy or materialistic world" but then buy or use products off the biggest corporations in the world.

Cheers mate, and no I did not read the entire thread from beginning. I chose not to quote your entire comment because I did not mean to direct my comment towards you specifically. But rather the general idea here that people claim their right to live as they choose, yet criticize others for doing the same thing.

I don't know if this Canary guy is a send up or what, but I enjoy his light-hearted posts. He does convey a sense of sincerity and enjoyment in his daily routine, no matter what others may think of his chosen lifestyle. A bit of an 'anti-christ' of TV posters in that he doesn't whinge and moan about everything, but rather expresses his enjoyment of his life in Thailand.

Im sick of hypocritical losers spouting off there green eyed nonsense, my hard earned tax money contributes to society and yes I choose to be materialistic because its a choice that Is mine.

Embracing one's right to choose a "materialistic" lifestyle, then criticizing others for embracing their right to choose a non-materialistic lifestyle is hypocritical.

Kudos to Mr Canary for enjoying himself, however he may choose to do so.

"Pattaya , 6th November 2014" (??)

"For legal reasons the UK expat cannot be named at this time…"

"… a case filed by John McDonald…"

Apparently some 'facts' need clarification here. Anyhow, good reminder to keep your wits about you in these kinds of matters.

Yaowarat Rd in Chinatown. There's a place called "Canton House" located right next to the Chinatown Hotel. Quite decent dim sum at reasonable cost. Can't say how it compares with others, but I've always been happy with it; freshly made, good service, other foods also available on the menu, and very casual atmosphere.

Please stop reporting this nonsense. It was less than four ounces. About enough for a good student party. The war on drugs is a war on the people, their freedom of thought and a war on the weaker social groups. Just a hangover from that criminal fraud Nixon.

Peddling poison expresses "freedom of thought", and makes for a "good party"?

Right. Time you grew up and tried living in the real world ace.

Sorry but you come to Thailand with hardly enough money to get by and expect to be able to swan around on a fake visa? No wonder Thailand wants to rid themselves of this type of Western loser.

You are no better than an illegal Mexican living in the USA, in fact I would say they are better seeing as they have economic reasons to be there.

You guys can sip your nescafe from your fan cooled room eating paupers Thai food (and the street food here is very poor made of cheap ingredients) while I will be hanging out with my friends eating Aussie steak and sipping my Sav Blanc before going on to a high end nightclub.

Guess you will end up staying in your sweaty little grief-hole having a pot noodle and looking at porn.

So you didn't have friends, Aussie steaks, sav blanc, and high end nightclubs in your home country? And without the cheap heart attack pauper food?

Oh I see… couldn't get laid there, eh?

To OP,

if you really going to try this, please blog your experiences and let us know all about the process of:

- Hating how hot it is all the time with no air conditioning

- Hating how grey the long Bangkok days look during summer from your small window

- Hating the overly spicy and smelly Thai food breakfast, lunch and dinner

- Hating to be stuck in traffic all day in a stuffy hot smelly bus in exhaust fumes

- Hating how Thai people basically ignore you and you can't make any friends without spending

progressing towards

- The feeling of depression having to go through this day in, day out

- Hating all things Thai, Thailand and basically everything Asian

- Booking an earlier flight back home

Now compare this to holiday blogs from people on a bit higher budget, and check if you really don't want to come on a 3 month extended holiday instead.

Indeed, as this thread proves, people -do- manage to stay on your budget but there's a couple of differences:

- All of them live outside BKK, where you want to be

- None of them -started- with this budget. They now own their house, have all their furniture, met their wives and are now living on a maintenance budget only.

And yes, I've read these kind of blogs many times over.

Errrm… right.

Barrel of fun you must be mate…

A .38 caliber is .38 hundredths of an inch. not .38 millimeters. It's pretty close to 9.5 mm.

.38 mm is like, say, the diameter of a needle at 0.0149606 inches.

A .38 caliber is .38 of an inch.

Actually a .38 caliber is .357 of an inch. Same bore size as a .357 magnum.

A .38 caliber is .38 hundredths of an inch. not .38 millimeters. It's pretty close to 9.5 mm.

.38 mm is like, say, the diameter of a needle at 0.0149606 inches.

Yes making a .38mm shell would be quite an achievement. .38 is slightly larger than 9mm. You can shoot 9mm in a .38 but not vice versa.

There is a difference. A 9mm is a rimless round where a .38 (special) is a rimmed cartridge. Though it may be possible to fire a 9mm in a .38 gun, it isn't without some sort of adaptor.

What's wrong with flowers and grapes as is the norm in the west?

Flowers and grapes?? Som tam and khao nieow would have been more appropriate.

Odd, there hasn't been any articles in the local press about this supposed crackdown. Nor any protests. In fact no news about anything that the OP has come with. Once again a topic with no foundation other than someone who seems to have a political agenda.

From PG: (Link - http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket-news/Army-palms-off-reports-Phuket-massage-parlor/34878 )

PHUKET: The island’s leading Army officer today debunked reports that soldiers in Phuket were raiding massage parlors in Patong. “We have no intention of cracking down on massage parlors or any other service businesses at the moment,” assured Col Somchai Ponatong of the 41st Military Circle.

“Officers from the Revenue Department were carrying out inspections to ensure that massage parlors were not avoiding paying any taxes.” The soldiers just went along for the ride.

“It was nothing against those people,” explained Col Somchai. “Revenue officers asked to see any certificates staff had in order to confirm they were qualified in their chosen profession as part of the standard inspection procedure.”

No shop owners were arrested during the inspections. “The revenue officers checked and collected information for further investigations of tax payments,” said Col Somchai.

Col Somchai urged people to relax, but obey the law. “Please do not panic when you see soldiers or other military personnel joining local officers on any patrols. Just carry on with your usual activities, but keep in mind to obey the law,” he said.

Hard to keep track of all the crackdowns lately. But I haven't seen anything of this supposed 'crackdown on massage shops and beer bars' in any of the local media rags. Is there any other evidence of this outside of the OP? Anyone seen the same in their areas of Patong or the island in general?

In a related note; TVers and other locals commenting in the local medias scoffed at the beach chair and beach vendors when they lost their work. Some suggested they go look for a 'real job' or go back to Isan and work in the rice fields. I'm wondering if they'll share that sentiment should their favorite massage gals and/or bar fines find themselves in that situation?

"I'm wondering if they'll share that sentiment should their favorite massage gals and/or bar fines find themselves in that situation?" - perhaps a crackdown like this could see a rise in mia noi "employment."

Which would ultimately lead to a crackdown on mia nois. (Or mia noi-ing, or mia noi-ism?) There's just no end to this madness!