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Try desiam-antiques.com. The website only has a small selection of what they have on offer.

We have furnished most of our house with their things. Beautiful antique Burmese (British colonial), solid, strong......

They have two shops and a huge warehouse in Hang Dong Chiang Mai.

My wife and I have gone up a couple of times for a few days break just to shop there. I love Hang Dong. Fantastic selection, styles.... and prices - some scary, though, you do need to roam about and compare.

Prices have gone up but I haven't seen anything in Phuket to compare.

They will organise shipping, too.

There are lots of other great shops up there for furniture, too. Take your measurements and they will build just about anything for you. I think most of what you see in Phuket is actually built either there or in Bangkok.

The furniture section of Chatuchak market in Bangkok is also very good, there is an antique chinese furniture shop there, they have a couple of big shops elsewhere in Bangkok, too. Lovely stuff, if you prefer that style. That is bso-antiques.com

Taekwando school on Chana Charoen Road (along from the Thavorn Hotel & Kasikorn Bank heading to the Nimit Circle) behind Robinson shopping centre in town.

Lessons in the afternoon after school I think, all different ages. Classes are taken by a Korean bloke.

The Blues Machine from Bangkok?

Nice to see that they're on the poster .

I missed last year and will miss again this year, both from being offshore. Bugger.

I agree that it is a shame that The Soi Dogs won't be going - they are a great live act.

Oh, and 3000Baht for a 3 day pass with free piss - expensive????? you have got to be joking. A bargain!

LP

Can't say I liked the Lighthouse version. But then I have been spoiled with proper Cumberland Sausage most of my earlier life. What a pity they can't replicate it here.

Oh! for a Cranston's sausage toad in the hole with mash.

LP

Any (proper) builders out there?

I recently had some extensions to my house.

A small overhang roof from the upstairs balcony for the patio - this leaks from the uppermost part where it meets the balcony. The builder did add a concrete bar over the top of the roof tiles, abutted to the balcony, but water still seems to get in. Any suggestions?

A longer extension, which is similar to the first, all along one side of the house. This one seems fine, the upper part of the extension sits under a slight overhang at the base of the top floor.

The car port was extended with a flat concrete roof extending from another balcony. This one leaks, too. The builder came back around and re-sealed the tiles on the balcony which seems to have stopped the leaks but I think this is a sticking plaster type of a fix. Would I be right in thinking that the tiles need removing and the concrete re-sealing?

Any (sensible) advice gratefully accepted.

Cheers.

LP

I'm with Big Don on this,

SirBirr is just being his usual obstrep.... obstroper.....obstroppe.... err, obnoxious self again.

Roll one up and get a smile on your face!

I know it has come up in the past, but things change - so what are your experiences lately, what is good and what is bad?

I'm looking at getting one or the other in soon but am unsure which will be best.

I don't particularly want UBC as I had it before and it just seemed to get more expensive and have more crap on it.

I checked the cable shop in Phuket town near the Honda showroom and the bloke there said that they will be increasing the number of channels very soon, possibly doubling the number, and also offering internet on the same line.

I don't want 1000's of channels of rubbish - who does? But the basics would be nice:

BBC or CNN

History

National Geo

Football:Premier League, Champions League

Rugby: 6 Nations, Tri nations etc

Motor racing: F1, A1, bikes

What are the options out there? Cable, UBC, Astra, Aussie

LP

I went to the last two and they were great so I'm realy pissed off I'm missing this one because I'm working offshore. I went to Bangkok last weekend and popped into Tokyo Joe's to catch the Soi Dogs and the Japanese guys as a consolation - excellent.

Hope I'm around next year.

By the way, last year Channel 11 seemed to be recording the entire event, does anyone know if there is a DVD of it available for sale?

El Pee

Try the Centara Hotel very close to the night Bazaar.

Book online direct with the hotel, about 1500 Baht per night.

Good breakfast included.

Has a big gym and a nice pool, too.

El Pee

Tried the Chickpeas with a couple of parathas yesterday. Not bad, a little watery again but ok. The sour chilli sauce is pretty good, nice tangy bite to it.

I wish he would / could do a tray type meal, portion of curry meat and several selections of veggie curry or dall as smaller portions plus rice or paratha. I'll have a word.

El Pee

I haven't seen any posts about this yet so here we go:

After being offshore for a while I had a trip to Central Festival to pick up the Bangkok Post and popped up to the food hall for an iced tea to have a sit and read and generally watch the world go by ( ok, view the talent). I saw that they now have a Halal Indian food outlet and had a peek. Unfortunately, I wasn't hungry at the time so didn't check it out. Today, though I made a bee-line for it and had a good look at what was on offer.

Roti or Paratha, Rice, several main curry dishes, namely a chicken curry, a chicken masala and a fish curry and quite a few vegetable offerings - dall, eggplant, potato, chickpea etc.

As I was by myself I thought I'd try not to make a pig of myself and tried the masala and the paratha, tempting though it was to go for a few other dishes. Each one comes in a standard sized bowl as opposed to the curry house style of veggies as a smaller side dish.

Prices, if I remember correctly, were 45 for the curry and 25 for the paratha. The veggies are 35.

The masala was a little bit watery but had a decent taste with a bit of a bite to it and the meat was lean. The paratha was also fine.

Definately worth a shot if you are up there. Not UK curry house quality but for the price it was quite acceptable.

I'll be giving the veggies a shot next time (tomorrow??).

Thanks for the input, 'good quality solid' is the thing I'm after so Index particleboard is out - too much mold, it absorbs too much moisture. I have had wardrobes which I've cleaned with good disinfectant spray and have been moldy again within a few days, same with a cabinet with cameras etc in it. Solid wood doesn't seem to have the same problems.

I've found a few references to places - a couple of places on Nimmanheimin Road, somewhere in Tambon Onkan, Tambon Watkate, Talat Kam Tiang and also Baan Tawai in Hang Dong so I have some places to try out.

What I bought earlier in the year was from a place in Hang Dong and it is very nice, also a ###### site cheaper than what is available here in Phuket - even after shipping.

LP

ps any more pictures of fit Indian women??

Hi,

I saw a thread about a furniture expo in March, does anyone know if there is anything similar this month?

Does anyone have recommendations for good quality furniture - beds, wardrobes and tables etc?

Is there a particular area which has a lot of shops or showrooms?

I've bought some nice stuff in Hang Dong before but wold like to have a good look around before buying more.

thanks,

LP

Has anyone any experience of their bank in The UK screwing up money transfers to Thailand? Specifically doing the currency changeover in The UK at 63 to the Pound amd transferring that Baht when they should send Sterling to Thailand and converting it here at 68 to the pound?

I've just had Lloyds Bank do that supposedly because their transfer system wouldn't do the transfer in Sterling. Barclays Bank had no problem with the same transaction.

Thanks

LP

That is probably the one,

Thanks very much

LP

A bloke I worked with some years ago told me about a place in Pattaya which did very cheap, good quality wood carvings and furniture. Apparently they supplied a lot of the other retail outlets frequented by the tourists. It was located a little ways down a soi on the left off either the North or central Pattaya roads heading towards the beach.

Does anyone have any idea as to an exact location or name?

Thanks,

LP

If you go to the little restaurant on the beach between Laem Prom Thep and the wind turbines there is a bloke called Somnuk who used to do paragliding - maybe he still does, but he may be able to help you.

I have seen the powered paraglider in the area behind PromPhan supermarket on Chao Fah Road West, too. There is a waste area in behind there which makes for decent practice and takeoff / landings.

I seem to remember that there was a feature on him in The Phuket Gazette last year. Check the search function on their web site.

ElPee

There is a great little place not far from the new Rolly Tasker workshop off Chao Fah Road West. Turn down the side road at Rolly, it is about 300 metres down on the left. From Rolly go past The Cannacea Spa on the left, past Island Spa on the right and look for four shops on the left set back from the road, there is a tall amateur radio mast behind them. The massage shop has a picture of a man with the nervous system showing on it.

There are about three men and three women working there. All are blind or partially sighted. The men in particular are very good. I think they have all been through a Royally sponsored course to learn what they do. This is a straight massage and theraputic rather than relaxing. If you have some knots that need sorting out then go here. They charge 200B (I think) for 2 hours. It is the only place my wife and I go for a massage.

They will go as easy or as hard as you ask. Tell them what ails you before they start and they will concentrate on that.

El Pee

I've had a look at the Defra site before and am still baffled by the rules.

On one page it seems like if the pet is not in one of the listed countries you can forget it but on another link it seems like there is no problem unless it travels by an unlicensed carrier, then it needs to be quarantined.

I'll have to try phoning them, I suppose - I just hope it is not one of those automated answer services....

I understand the procedure to take a dog out of Thailand is pretty straightforward but does anyone know what happens at the UK end?

Assuming the dog has all of the required vaccinations, a chip implanted, blood test results etc. etc. Would there be a quarentine period and what about costs?

Cheers.

Hi,

does anyone have any info about a festival in Sakon Nakon Town sometime in October?

Thanks,

LP

Do the same rules apply for a British husband and Thai wife, by any chance??

cheers,

L.P.

Hopeless with street names so I'll resort to the the tried and trusted "from the Thai Naan" strategy.

Kama Sutra: In PPhuket town go down Ratsada Rd with the banks on the left, toward the clock circle / fountain and the Talaad Sod. Before the circle turn left. Mikes and the Kama Sutra are on your right about 50mtrs up.

Great Phad Thai:

Restaurant used to be at the entrance to the Anuphas estate. Moved last year to opposite the Katu school, by the pedestrian overpass near the Bungy jump.

Great Pizza:

Pizzaman Pizza. Used to be in the Tango bar near the Aliance Francais in Town but now moved around the corner to opposite the Kajonket school. Great pork red curry and chicken green curry flavoured pizza - I'm not kidding - they are the proverbial dogs b***cks. Their other food is also great and all at Thai prices. The guy used to be a cook at The Meridien.

Mimi's : Pumpkin soup. mmmmmn.

RIP Don's chicken in mango.

Restaurant on the left, half way between Chalong Circle and the pier. Just after The Siam Real Estate and the deep sea fishing building. Part of the Parlai family. Good prices, big portions, tasty (try the fish in pepper sauce). Cheap beer, too.

LP