jerrylee

Curried Spaghetti Japanese Style,

Fried Beef with Blackbean Sauce on Spaghetti Hongkong Style.

I think they should introduce an additional check to see if manufacturers/producers are

using the cheaper amino-sweeteners "Aspartame" instead of real sugar,

MSG Giant Ajinimoto produces aspartame.

If the good doctor can read chinese then searching for 冬虫夏草 would have produced 2,450,000 search results.

Traditionally regarded as precious however common in chinese medicine, they're collected in areas including Sichuan, Yunnan, Qxinghai and wild/natural highland species of Tibet being the most sought after, since there are variety of hundreds the price can be from tens to thousands.

.. hard-ons for millions of bahts?

Reduce the insect population and the geckos will move outside,

must be a hole or somewhere bugs are getting in,

exterior illumination also helps to attract bugs for the geckos outside of the house.

There are NO casinos in Hongkong and gambling was never considered as any form of commerce.

Jewellery Industries in Thailand = YES.

A lifetime diet based on rice is a lot greener than diets based on animal meats.

Then comes a question of physical sizes, an obese European can easily be

described as double or triple the size of a small Thai person ?

PBS Nova recent released documentary "Rat Attack"

Every 48 years, the inhabitants of the remote Indian state of Mizoram suffer a horrendous ordeal known locally as mautam. An indigenous species of bamboo, blanketing 30 percent of Mizoram's 8,100 square miles, blooms once every half-century, spurring an explosion in the rat population that feeds off the bamboo's fruit. The rats run amok, destroying crops and precipitating a crippling famine throughout Mizoram. NOVA follows this gripping tale of nature's capacity to engender human suffering and investigates the botanical mystery of why the bamboo flowers with clockwork precision every half-century.

Hi Guys ... wanted to pose the question , my wife and i have discussed where in the future would we move to when the hustle and bustle of Phuket is no longer attractive... we like the idea of country Thailand , somewhere possibly close to water , mountains etc... but not over populated by westerners. We have not travelled extensively through Thailand yet but will do in time , any ideas on where we may find a piece of un spoilt paradise?? if we get a good bit of feedback we will plan our next trip to check the places out ... thanks in advance.

Check out Lampang, not the Lampang to Chiangmai Road, but Lampang to Phayao (The Asian Super Highway) ...

this is only one hour away from city of Chiangmai so easy reach of western food/culture communities.

un-spoilt = unknown (not common knowledge) ?!

The wife just told me that her father in Issan is involved in a new gov program for raising pigs. The concept sounds good to me.

You simply dig a hole a meter deep and throw in some klab [rice hulls] and then throw in a pig, then throw in some food and pig gets fat and you end up with some rich fertilizer. The best part is that the gov digs the hole, provides the pig, feed and buys the pig back after 4 months. Sounds too good to be true.....

anyone else heard about this plan???

If its been raining a lot you'll have pork soup?!

Gov looks after rice as well, how come the american Jazz-mon yields 4 times more than thailand's?

I thought your examples were based on Corolla and Hilux or did I miss something you were thinking but didn't say yet?

Ah, misread the post and now see the point you are trying to make - let me take a look and come back, which I will do.

Almost a real time discussion, apologies, I should remember to read the full post before posting!

You've quoted a price differential on two vehicles in Thai Baht, Corolla and Hilux - you've also accounted for that differential by suggesting that excise tax is the reason. But excise tax is only due on exports and since both vehicles are manufactured/assembled here, surely excise tax cannot be the answer.

Not picking a fight here, but are you sure?

I am pretty sure all cars are subject to Excise tax.

Tommy

Its a different rate for rural/farming vehicles with open backs i.e. pickups, and the tax goes up even if you add a "carryboy".

Corolla is not one of these.

Dear all

my older sister (46) is coming out to visit me end of March to 19th April 2010, I have experienced songkran only once before in pattaya, and it is extremely dangerous to be in the city for more than 2 days, where can I take my Big Sis without her getting soaked every 5 min's .

Anywhere will do

The Songkran dates are expected to be 12th April -20th April?

Bangkok's deserted during songkran, and best time to go shopping in the modern malls,

all the hotels etc. still opens.

Hi All,

Just curious if all of you guys could advice me on things that are fun to do in bangkok as a couple.

I am pretty interesting in shrimp catching. Any ponds available in BKK area? What about theme parks?

Please advice =D

Go visit Ancient City, this is outside of Bangkok though.

Last time I got one from consulate in Vancouver was 10 yrs ago, non-immigrant O - valid for 6 months.

yes, long time ago, it was also the trade commission and it was a tiny office and you just submit application to the receptionist,

there was no cue for thai visas in Canada then.

I want to go to Thailand to train Muay Thai for 2 years. The camp owners have told me that I would not be able to get a education visa because the gyms are not registered as schools. However, I have dual passports from Canada and Hong Kong, and I'm thinking that I may be able to work around this. As I understand it, one is allowed to stay in Thailand for 90 days in a 180-day period.

If I

1) Get a 60 days tourist visa on my Canadian passport and enter Thailand with it

2) When the 60 days are up, extend it for 30 days (Question: Is this done relatively easily by visiting a Thai immigration office and paying the fee?)

3) When the 30 days are up, leave Thailand and fly to Hong Kong.

4) Stay for a couple days in HK and apply for a 60-days Tourist visa on my Hong Kong passport (Question: How many days does it take roughly?)

5) Extend it for 30 days when the original 60 days are up.

6) When the 30 days are up, fly to Hong Kong again and this time, apply for 60 days tourist visa on my Canadian passport

7) Repeat

Would I be able to circumvent the rule and stay 2 years by doing this?

With supporting letter from the school, you can get a 6 month visa from Thai Consulate in Vancouver, after that you go for a double tourist visa ( 2 x 2 months) at Vientiane, Laos. You may even want to spend some time there to soaked up the Muay Lao !?

I believe there's different requirements using Hongkong Bauhina passport. I also believe that Ministry of Sports or the Muay Thai Association may be able to help with subsequent visas. The tourist visa can be done back to back for few times.

Good luck.

P.S. also Muay Khmer

The Thais have theirs as do the Dutch, Germans, French, Scots, Welsh, Irish, in fact most nations have one.

But what is ours?

I have been thinking about this and I can't for the life of me think what it is?

Do we have one???

The Bowler Hat, the Harris Tweed Jacket, walking sticks and brollies ...

.. Hari Khrisna Robes?

Some unrelated thoughts:

I have always thought it was exceedingly clever -- and wrong -- that foreigners (Chinese) "become Thai" then work their way to the top echelons of power and make laws banning foreigners from ownership in Thailand.

As far as I can tell, the Chinese consider the Thai to be a subsidiary Chinese ethnic minority group (which in many ways they are).

Thailand is about the size of a good-sized province of China.

I was waiting for you to chime in here after reading your other topic on comparing living in CHN and TH. I found it quite informative and this topic, too. I recently read about the origin of Taiwan and the Wiki page stated that many mainland Chinese who fled to Taiwan were Hakka. There was also mention of Hakka Chinese migrating south in to present day Thailand.

The original people in Thailand were called Tai. Tai wan. Interesting. There must be quite some genealogical links between the two countries.

.. Just because that Thailand and Taiwan is spelt with a "T" ?

Where in Bangkok can I get YinChiao tablets, which is Chinese Herbal Medecine ? And where can I consult a good (Chinese) doctor which practices Traditional Chinese Medecine ?

Its been around 40 years, pretty standard item in any chinese medicine dispensary in chinatown,

its only hot-news to western media on the subject of flu,

problem its that there are many many brands from various parts of china

so which is the best one - Great Wall Brand ? a special 2009 version?

the traditional chinese medicine shops in chinatown operates a trade for long time ...

but it doesnt mean that they are "correct" in the mixture and portions that they dish out,

a visiting doctor friend was totally shocked at what he saw in chinatown !!

... most Udon people don't even know about their own regional geography

Udon people in this case refers to indigenous people of local area,

even if they know of the names of the places, they've never actually visited.

I've overlooked that there's also farangs here left from Vietnam war,

but they don't teach geography neither, and only hangs out at same old places.

These king-pin farangs are the only ones who knows it all,

and any other alternative views will be deemed as "superior".

Works fine been running 2 HDs, and now 2 SSD's in Macbook Pro's for over 18 months now. No issues.

Enjoy it

Good to learn this.

2 videos from NBT TV about Phuket Abalone Farm last year:

Exotic Proteins

The geoduck (pronounced /ˈɡuː.iːdʌk/ "gooey duck"[1]), Panopea abrupta, is a species of very large saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusk in the family Hiatellidae. Alternate spellings include gweduc, gweduck and goiduck. It is sometimes known as the king clam, or when translated literally from the Chinese characters 象拔蚌, the elephant trunk clam.

The geoduck's high market value has created an $80 million U.S. industry, with harvesting occurring in both Washington state and the province of British Columbia. It is one of the most closely regulated fisheries in both countries; in Washington, Department of Natural Resources staff are on the water continually monitoring harvests in order to assure revenues are received, and the same is true in Canada where the Underwater Harvesters' Association manages the Canadian Fishery in conjunction with Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans. The Washington State Department of Health tests water and flesh in order to assure clams are not filtering and holding pollutants ..

The superdrive does'nt last forever either, depends on your working environment, they're both dead on my imac and ibook ...

its an apple saying: The indian out front - ends up with arrows in the back -

if your computer is important for your work, don't be too daring to try un-tested modifications/customizations

until the results are certain and beneficial.

However, it does take courage to venture into unknown territories.

smashed with a mallet

Apparently it used to be abundant also in Australia, and my friend told me that

as a kid, they didn't eat them but instead "hide" them inside people's hub-caps

so it's difficult to locate the foul smell !!

Served whole is of course a luxury, but it is also diced/chopped into tiny pieces

and mixed with other ingredients used in up-market dim-sum stuffings,

chewy texture is its second most praised quality.

Udon Thani is also an important Buddhist pilgrimage destination, there's several large "Forest Temple". The most famous one being Wat Pha Ban Tard ( this is often visited by "big shots" from Bangkok, and all over the world), there's also a few farang monks living there.

Wat Pha Ban Kor - consists of a large organic farming community and the Chedi holding remains of the Lord Buddha

Wat Thum Kon Peng (The Cave Temples) and many smaller old (700 -800 years old) village temples scattered around.

The other "secret" even to non issan Thai people, is the number of Nong Nam (Swamp/Lakes) in this area, only this year, I've seen developers applying the term "Lakeside", hence we have Nong Prajak, Nong Samlong and other Nongs ...

... most Udon people don't even know about their own regional geography

Thought we'd renew acquaintance with Koh Sireh today, not been there for a couple of years, to see how the new Hotelis progressing and it's enormous, takes up most of a hill .

and sample some Abalone at The Abalone Farm Restaurant.

Well if you are one who likes sea snails , go there .

The view and setting is sensational.

But the Restaurant was almost empty .

We had to try the abalone of course.

Had a portion with garlic and a portion with black pepper, two plates contained nine tiny abalone and a lot of onion and garlic. six hundred bht.

The menu was very comprehensive and I'm sure excellent for other fish but six hundred for nine little molluscs?

Any body else been there?

One of the finest and most expensive ingredients used in Chinese cuisine.

.. theres a Khao-Tom places opposite Chula that sells abolone khao-tom for 500 bht a bowl

and you only get a few thin slices ...