Roamin47

I, too, like having BBC back, although it has little to offer over al jazeera. the loss of the movie channels is disturbing. is there a reasonable alternative to WETV? I dont mind paying even a lot more of I can get something, anything, to watch.

The burgers and fries are great . . . when you can get them. Stopped by last week and they had no food at all. Today, no burger buns and no fries. Strange.

Another vote for Chez Marco -- always a party, with excellent food and service.

Had a double-header root canal(s) yesterday at Grace. Pricey, yes -- 7000ThB each -- but no pain during or after. Hearty recomnendations. (PS: they have nitrous, but it is an additional 1500 ThB.)

SK2 -- but be careful, not SK1.

Popped in a couple of weeks for a takeaway sandwich, corned beef on white ! the bread was very dry and nearly stale certainly not to my liking, anyway just put it down to a bad bread day yesterday i thought i would give it another go as i was in a rush having to go to the hospital, roast beef on white this time, i happened to notice that the three slices of bread had been put in the oven when enquiring, why was this the girls answer was " our boss told us too" now the only reason that i can think of is that the bread wasn't very fresh therefore putting it in the oven to liven it up which sort of had the reverse effect

roast beef on white is an abomination unto the lord

Lifetime New Yorker here to report that the pastrami is GOOD. Sandwich on rye, potato sald, coke -- 260 baht. Delicious, charming service, pleasant spot. Highly recommended.

Motorbike accident Thursday night. Said to be serious. He is at Ram.

Another endorsement here for the wine and liquor shop across from Thai Airways.

I have had good experience with Andrew Williams, local agent for Heatlethcare International. PM for his email address.

You know, the more public discussion of the new stricter regulations, the more likely it is that immigration will be forced to enforce them. Shhhhhhhh, or God's sake.

"You have no idea what is going on here - the drug trade is thriving - these greedy bastards destroying an entire generation with their poison! The streets are swamped with drugs supplying already children and teenagers destroying the future they might have had! "

Uh, no. Drugs are a problem here as they are in virtually every other country in the world, and drug use among the young is disturbing in Thailand as anywhere. But "an entire generation" destroyed? I see plenty of young people in Chiang Mai who appear studious, well-mannered, serious and respectful. If the future of the young is being compromised, it is more by inadequate schooling -- really, is there any reason on earth why Chinese students should be more fluent in English than Thai kids? -- and limited job opportunities. The hysteria over drugs is a smokescreen.

I am always surprised at the vitriol this subject arouses on both sides. Look, folks, we are all guests in this country. Their politics is their business. If you need to feel outraged about political inequity, I'm sure there is plenty in your own countries to go around.

Nearly two years into my retirement here, I frequently wonder why someone would retire anywhere else. It is possible to live a very rich life here on what is still-- even with the strength of the Baht -- very little money. It helps to adapt to the new culture, rather than trying to duplicate what you have left behind. That doesn't mean squat toilets and dried squid for breakfast, just a sensible adjustment of your economic thinking. Think in Baht, and remember that a college professor here may earn as little as 30,000 a month.

I would think that the thinning of the tourist crowds into Thailand has a lot less to do with politics than with the economy. My American friends aren't traveling ANYWHERE this year, and I suspect the same to be true in much of Western Europe. Would be interestinjg to see stats from those countries on the number of people planning international travel. Down 20 percent seems not too bad in light of the weak dollar/Euro/pound, strong Baht.

Oh come on, Maplecroft and Co. In more than ten years of visits here, and two years as a resident, I have not encountered a single threat to my safety. And it isn't just the luck of the draw -- my friends here say the same thing. Where is this Thailand that is supposed to be as unsafe as Colombia? And whereabouts in Mexico on this list -- now that country is unsafe.

No offense to those stung, but the notion of a police cover-up is a little silly. The nasty creatures are pretty much an annual phenomenon, and tour and guest house operators frequently warn swimmers when the jellyfish are seen about. West Coast of Florida -- now those are nasty jellyfish. And tourism sources don;t breathe a word.

Rooms are small but cozy and nicely equipped. Food is superb. Staff excellent. You cannot go wrong. But a popular place -- best to book.

Whoever runs the PR operation for the red shirts sure knows what he is doing. Burning tires produce the most smoke, so that;s what they burned during their Bangkok occupation last spring. Now, the threat of suicide terror attacks creates a different kind of black cloud -- fear that any sidewalk in Bangkok could be bombed at anh moment. Thais will go about their lives; it is tourists who are most likely to take these threats seriously. Hard to reconcile such tactics with the reds' sworn dedication to the common man. Most everyday Thais that I know, from tuk-tup drivers to ad execs, depend to at least some extent on the tourist trade. If they stop coming, what is to become of the 7 percent of the national economy that tourism represents? Reasonabe political discussion is what is called for, it seems to me -- not more violence and/or threats thereof.

The world-wide economic crisis is causing a great reshuffling everywhere, God knows not just Chiang Mai or Thailand. Frankly, if I have to tighten my belt a little bit because of the strength of the baht/weakness of the dollar, it is still a heck of a lot more pleasant here than West Virginia, or rural Mississippi, or anywhere else I could afford to live in the States on what I have available. Except in extreme cases, I would venture that many of those leaving the country were teetering beforehand anyway -- lots of malcontents on this forum. Why is that?

So, as I understand it, this was a dispute involving a disgruntled employer. We have it different in the US, where it is disgruntled employees with guns you gotta worry about.

I am a newcomer to this forum, and to this particular discussion, but it seems to me that most posters are expressing their own prejudices rather than commenting on racism in Thailand, which was the point of the original post. Thailand has long been a comfortably multi-racial culture. Many of the GIs stationed here during the Vietnam Was years were African-American, and a number of them married Thai wives without incident. I am a little shocked by the equation of blacks with drug dealers. There are black drug dealers in Thailand, sure, but most drug dealers in Thailand are -- duh -- Thai.