masuk

3 minutes ago, NextStationBangkok said:

Big bikes are exiting  to ride. But most of them chase other cars and riding very close to them watching from sides, and miss the speed of the car in the front.

 

Big bikes mostly out of control when they applied breaks.

 

You take risks, until you die. Speed kills!

The way the bikes are driven down most straight roads in Chiang Mai, I can't help thinking these guys are also looking for a quick 'exit'.     A few traffic police would earn their salary 10x over.

Traffic Police?   hah hah hah

6 hours ago, smedly said:

again - after the fact

About time Thai journalists learned how to report accidents.

ELECTROCUTED means dead from electric shock.

ELECTRIC SHOCK is a jolt, but not fatal.  All too common in Thailand where life-threatening wiring, non-earthed appliances is the norm.

With plastic plumbing all over the place, it's becoming difficult to find where to earth anything, as power outlets, power boards, are all two-wire.

It's not only the highways which are a threat to life!

5 hours ago, Thechook said:

Prostitution is ilegal 

16 hours ago, midas said:

Isn't that area  more like basement rather than ground floor?

Yes, but the strange numbering system used in parts of the city have the GROUND floor listed as FIRST.    

9 hours ago, Just1Voice said:

People who do this should be kicked out of the country, regardless of what country it is, and then permanently banned from ever returning to it. 

Yes indeed, but preferably after they've cleaned up the mess they made.

On 12/01/2018 at 4:14 PM, worgeordie said:

You are not going to find any cheap Condos around  Nimmanhaemin Road,its one of the most

popular places in Chiang Mai for tourists,and Real estate agents do not solve all your problems,

they are not professional like they maybe in the West,you need to be active in all aspects of 

maintaining,renting,your property, you keep saying Cheap, what kind of price are you expecting

to pay for a unit.?     then you have to find a property where all the foreign allocation is not already

sold.

regards worgeordie

I dealt with an agent in Nimman, and was surprised how little they knew about the property. When I complained that water came in thru the ceiling whenever it rained, the agent didn't want to know about it.

Anyway, who'd want to rent directly underneath a busy flight path?

I certainly felt it at around 01:28.  Watching a late movie and wondered why my chair was moving around.  A long way from the epicentre to Chiang Mai!

23 hours ago, NanLaew said:

Assuming that you have already officially reported the cards lost and/or stolen, follow the issuing bank procedures. The six day gap before the theft was discovered should not be an issue. However, they may decline a refund if their policy determines that you did not exercise caution by placing them in checked baggage.

 

If the bank or card company needs a police report, get one. Otherwise don't waste your time and instead, read up the terms and condition of your missing cards, especially your liabilities and see what the bank says.

 

FWIW, The chip-and-pin 'security' isn't applied 100% in Thailand and a whole lot of other countries as well. I have seen requests for customer PIN that came up on a POS machine being bypassed by the sales clerk. Similarly, in the many outlets that do want your PIN to complete a sale, they also ask you to sign the receipt that clearly says NO SIGNATURE REQUIRED.

Before Bangkok Bank changed cards from VISA to Union, TOPS supermarket asked me to sign for each transaction.  Not once - ever - did they compare my signature against the one on my card.  I feel a bit happier now that a 6-figure PIN is required, but 50% of the time I'm told that the Union connection is broken, so I have to head out to an ATM.

When travelling, I keep my passport, tickets and cards in a travel wallet, and that's with me the whole time.

13 minutes ago, toughlove said:

Never seen MBK almost empty even in low season..

Probably because it's much cheaper in Hong Kong.   I didn't go there for the shopping, but ended up buying a couple of items at 1/3 the cost I've paid in Chiang Mai.

On 11/01/2018 at 2:08 PM, SkyNets said:

Note to self, don't go Chiang Mai next month.

....shopping malls.   I don't know what it is the Chinese tourists buy, but they fill their trolleys and travel in packs.    Good for business I guess.

6 hours ago, alant said:

City planning???

If it exists it is rather well hidden, certainly in the day to day life in and around...

24 minutes ago, Khun Paul said:

They have a plan and more importantly they actually have a planning dept, I ASSUME , most of the time they are out for lunch then

As I've said before, some enterprising mapmaker in Europe produced a map of Chiang Mai showing the MTR stops!   What a joke.  Even the bus stops are unused.

Most cyclists wearing helmets are farangs.

Motor cyclists almost never use a helmet after dark.

The street gutters are so filled with sand, turning to mud after each rain, that it's a real disgrace.  I have never seen a mechanical road sweeper in my years here.

Footpaths are breaking up more and more every week.The back streets are used as rubbish dumps and rats galore.

It might be the 2nd city, but more like a forgotten city.

6 hours ago, hansnl said:

Canada?

Santa lives there?

Who is that bloke in Finland then?

Possibly Father Christmas.      He seems to have been shoved to the side by the other fat guy.

10 hours ago, wotsdermatter said:

Every time I read about divers getting killed after being struck by a propeller I wonder about the competence of the person in control of the vessel.  This time, everything appears slightly different because it was the operator of the dive boat that has been seen to have been at fault.  In other countries, it is usual for the dive boat to display an international flag showing that divers are down.  Here I do not now as I have not dived in Thailand.  Also, in other countries, those in control of a boat usually have to obtain a permit or licence to operate any kind of motorised boat which includes knowing about the restrictions concerning being near dive boats

Sadly we assume, rightly or wrongly, that Thailand (never colonised) has adopted the safety rules and Standards of more experienced countries.

This would/should cover everything from electricity standards to that of sport and commercial diving.

Are there such publications as "Thai Standards"?  e.g.  U.S. Occupational Health and Safety Standards, Australia and NZ Standards, UK "Kite" mark for standards.

7 hours ago, champers said:

I have been to Chiang Mai and will next go to Hat Yai. Of course, both are tourist destinations but without tourists the flights would not be economically viable.

Remember that Hat Yai is off-limits to many expats, as their governments have posted warnings.  This means no insurance cover for starters.

5 minutes ago, Bob12345 said:

In defense of the driver of the car: if you drive defensively here in Thailand you can better stay at home because you wont be able to get anywhere.

 

Most people drive like idiots so you cannot leave enough space between cars to safely break, you cannot break early when you see someone approaching as they might stop last moment and by swirving around you can hit someone else going against traffic, you cannot stick to the speed limits as that will make you the one dangerously slowing down everyone else... etc.

 

They probably figured the idiot on the bike would stop last minute, but the person did not.

Too bad for the granny, but its her own mistake.

 

Makes me wonder how she ever got so old with this type of behavior.

Break?   huh?    You will break your car if you don't brake!!

2 hours ago, 55Jay said:

Or the water.  Gulf of Thailand is a toilet, although Hua Hin gets flushed out a bit more than further up the commode. 

It's not only Thailand.   BALI is shooting itself in the foot.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5217029/Bali-declares-garbage-emergency-amid-sea-waste.html

Reminds me of a pleasant surprise on arrival at Hong Kong airport.  As a farang pensioner, I was entitled to their 'Octupus' Card which gives a 30% cut on bus, train, tram and ferry services.

Same applied for a few other places of interest, which in Thailand would have cost me more than treble the locals' price.

30 minutes ago, Eddie Charles said:

I'm deeply concerned about the tree. 

The Darwinian theory yet again.   There are motorcyclists trying similar stunts on a main road in Chiang Mai around midnight.

They'll never be caught  -  it's after sunset.

On 02/01/2018 at 10:50 AM, Elkski said:

I think 3 were Thais.  1 i was 90% sure.  A bum in rubber boots. Im Glad Thailand has realized that smoke free clean beaches are why most people visit a beach.  There were horses but I never saw dropping except 2 times being carried in plastic bags by a well marked concession man.   

Agreed:   Jom Tien beach is ruined by (mostly) farangs, occupying chairs nearest the sea, and their 2nd hand smoke wafting over everyone else.  I  voted with my feet and wallet.  

20 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

Texas.  But I've lived all over the USA and never lived anywhere that adults normally wore their life jackets.  Except in fishing tournaments where they have to put them on any time the big engine is running.

 

Come to think of it, I don't recall many folks in the hundreds of non-tournament fishing and boating videos I've watched actually wearing them, either.  Except the kiddies, which is often required by law (and good sense) and some of the kayak fishermen who are at significant risk of turning over.

 

So dissing on anyone for not wearing their life jacket is dissing on millions of us.

 

I would imagine that the average US and UK adult would be able to swim.  Sadly, the opposite is true of most Thais.

On 30/12/2017 at 3:00 PM, Bill97 said:

Welcome to the CM TV Tour Guide Service. Niemanhamen Rd area is made for you. Look no further.


Sent from my iPod touch using Thaivisa Connect

First flight over Nimman 0600!!!

3 hours ago, NancyL said:

They're throwing up new condo buildings on the west side so fast that Google maps isn't keeping up.  Also, some buildings don't actually have the word "condo" in their name or in English on the outside.  Even the venerable Nakorn Ping Condo has nothing but the name in Thai on the front.  Yes, it says Nakorn Ping Condo, but you have to read Thai to understand that.

 

I would suggest that if the OP is reduced to trying to find condo buildings via google maps that he might be a little "green" to be actually buying a condo here.  There is a wide standard in quality in the condos, both in quality of construction and the building management.  It helps to be here for a while to get a feel for the desirability of the area around a specific building and the quality of the building itself before targeting a building as a candidate for purchase of a unit.  If the OP is looking for a place to live, rent is cheap relative to the cost of a condo and it might be a good idea to rent a unit in a building of interest for six months or a year before deciding to buy a unit in the building.

There is a sign in English - or was -  It said "Nescafe".   It took some finding on my first attempt a few years back!!

BTW  The NPK noticeboard has a few Condos up for sale and also rent.

Judging from the photo of the PM, it seems to be a case of  'We are not amused'.

10 hours ago, impulse said:

With the prevalence of super dark window tinting, I'm surprised it doesn't happen more.  (Edit:  Or maybe it does, and that's one of the reasons for Thailand's dismal traffic safety stats)  Especially with older farts like myself whose night vision doesn't improve with age anyway.  But the degradation is so gradual, most of us don't realize it's happening.

 

I'm seriously considering taking a razor scraper to cut strategic sections of the window tint to see my rearview mirrors, to the left and right, and the road ahead of me.  But I drive so seldom, and almost never after dark.  And I can just hear the ridicule of the guys who see those patches cut out of the film...

 

A few years ago, I bought a new car.  It was delivered with tinting, and wow, it was so dark!   I couldn't drive at night, took it back and demanded that they retint it with recognised international standards.   I showed them a copy of Australian and NZ standards, and had the correct tint fitted. I then felt safe driving at night.    I could hardly see the lights of approaching m/cycles, let alone those who had no lights with the darker (and illegal) tint.

Seems to me no-one gives a durn about safety standards.

1 hour ago, sfokevin said:

Most likely when they finalize the elevated train route that was approved a while ago... 

HA!  I have a German produced map of Chiang Mai, showing the stations around the city.  A quick hop from Maya down to Thae Pae gate.

In the meantime, let's have some buses to utilise the shelters , then move on to elevated train routes!

Traffic is now banked up half of Huay Kaew Rd by 1pm or earlier.