Dietmar

ADSL certainly seems to be a big riddle here in Chiang Mai. Before I moved here only a little more than two few weeks ago, I tried to find out via the internet and ther real estate agents, if the offered houses were able to get ADSL installed. At that time I found out that even telephone is not always a certainty.

I then gave up on ADSL being a priority and simply rented a house but mde sure it had a telephone. The line installed was with TT&T. So I had the agent help me in checking for ADSL, and what do you know, the line was available for ADSL (it apparently needs to be a "free" line, watever that means). Are there still shared lines here like in the olden days elsewhere?

It took only 5 days and I already had my username and password. This included the weekend. All I had to do is buy an ADSL modem and do the set-up. The set-up itself was not too difficult once I had sorted out some other settings, which were wrong in the modem and falsely stated in the manual. They were probably for TOT instead of TT&T but nothing like that was specified.

The speed is reasonable, certainly better and more convenient than dial up. It certainly does not reach the cable modem speed I had in Canada but then I found the ADSL speed in Canada also to be slower than the cable modem. I guess for the true speed I have to run a test. The info page of my modem gives the following speeds 2048 kbps down and 896 kbps up. I believe though it is actually slower in real life situations.

Now then, here is what has been happening since I last signed on some two weeks ago.

Arrived in Chiang Mai on September 19, exhausted after being on planes and in airports plus a very short night in Hong Kong because of late planes etc.

We started to look for rental places right away on Monday basically just driving around. We were also at Tanaboon and definitely were looked after very well. Tanaboon though is fairly far away and therefore not always convenient. It would be no problem with a car but a motorbike could be disastrous during the rainy season. Just imagine having to go anywhere for more than 10 or 15 minutes on a bike and then be hit by a rain storm. Definitely not my idea of fun. Tanaboon also seems to be too far away to get high speed internet service. The price for the house we looked at was 12,000 Baht fully furnished. It had two bedrooms, living/dining room, two bathrooms, a western kitchen, A/C in the bedrooms and a fireplace. It was small though at about 90 sqm. This was the only house we saw without an agent.

Late in the afternoon we went to see a traditional Thai house constructed in Teak. Very interesting and even had a pool. This was again a long way though and there was lots to be desired in the house. Even though it was furnished, there seemed to be a lot of repair work needed, so I wondered what I would see only after I move in. This house was an arts studio at one time and therefore had some flair. I think there were two bedrooms and two bathrooms, however the living room was small due to having a large bar. The price was 25,000 and the place was furnished but most of it was old and needed cleaning.

On Tuesday morning we went again and saw a number of different houses. Most of those were close to the University. Some of them very large and in the neighbourhood of 20 to 25,000 baht. One of the houses had a kitchen but no stove or fridge, it did have a bit of an outside kitchen though. Yes I know things are different here in Thailand but those kind of changes I am not prepared to make the first go around. The best deal we saw that morning was a house very close to the University inside a small compound. The house had two bedrooms, one bath a good kitchen, living room/dining room and a small office area near the entrance. Only one A/C unit in one bedroom. If I remember correctly the rpice was 12,000 Baht.

More houses in the afternoon. This time it was mostly in the north of the city. Price ranges from 12,000 at the low end to 25,000 (later discounted to 22,000) at the high end. When we looked at the 12,000 Baht house there were a bunch of young ladies in there smoking, which turned me off righ away. There was also some construction still (I guess repair work or renovation) One of the showers did only have rocks as a floor. The best house was the 22,000 Baht one. It was brand new with very classy furniture. It only had two bedrooms but they were a very good size. Between the two bedrooms there was a walk-in closet. The kitchen was very good with lots of cabinets. Definitely by this time I knew that there are lkarge price difference and you get what you pay for. There are some good deals but to find something really inexpensive will take a lot of time, effort and some luck.

So again we went to see pictures of further houses late on Tuesday afternoon. By this time we had just about enough and therefore choose only one house to look at for Wednesday morning. Well it turned out to be just the right one. Three bedrooms all with A/C. Three bathrooms inside the house plus one from the outside. Fully furnished except the third bedroom, which I am now using for an office, including washer and dryer, Teak Thai style living and dining room suite, well equipped kitchen including even some dishes. The house has two floors. I am not sure of the size but would guess, that it is about 150 sqm. The house is in the north of the city about 10 minutes to the moat by car, Ping river is on the other side of the road. A simple restaurant is less than 5 minutes to walk, where we can eat for less than 200 Baht for two people including ice, water, a coke or a beer. Many other restaurants close by and shopping is very convenient with Carrefour and tesco Lotus both within 10 minutes driving. But the best thing is, that it had a telephone from TT&T and I was able to have ADSL installed within 5 days and that includes the weekend. UBC we had installed even the same day we moved in, which was on Friday 5 days after arriving in Chiang Mai. The rent is 15,000 Baht. May be a lot of you find this overpriced but I find it the best deal we could find given the quality and cleanliness of the place and comparing it to the other houses we have seen.

If anybody wants to know more about our trials and tribulations drop me a line, I may be able to remember a few more of the details. We dealt with three different agents. All had their own style but all were professional. The help we got from the agent we rented the house with was invaluable, she organized both UBC and ADSL for us.

Thanks for all the previous information, it was very helpfull in dealing with the agents and looking at the various places with some extra insight. Maybe in the future I will meet some of you.

The final score was 3 : 2 for Canada.

Dietmar

Have fun Swamper, Canada is a wonderful country.

There is a wide variety of areas here from very cold all of the year to no snow at all all of the year. It simply depends where you live. Please keep in mind that Canada is very large. If you were to drive from West to East it is close to 10,000 km. From the 49th parallel to the far north is probably a similar distance. About 90% of all Canadians live within about 300 km of the US border though.

In general Canadians are an easy going lot. They like to have fun and typically enjoy the outdoors - I guess because there is sooo much of it. One thing of course you will have to get used to is the importance of ice hockey. An important Canadianism you will also have to learn is the word "eh" but you may know this already.

I myself have lived in the prairies and in BC. The prairies can be very cold and the summer is very short. BC would likely be easier on you in terms of climate, especially at the coast it is a mild ocean climate - very wet and temperature rarely below freezing in the winter, summers can be nice with temperatures up to 28 C. Further inland in the Okanagan, where I live it is a more continental climate - colder in the winter and hotter in the summer - up to 40 C sometimes. Not only is Beautiful British Columbia the overall mildest area; it also has the best skiing.

Here are a few websites for you to visit:

http://www.welcometokelowna.com Click on the weather image and the image of the day to see many pictures.

Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association

http://www.thompsonokanagan.com

Tourism British Columbia - Thompson Okanagan

http://www.hellobc.com/bcescapes/

Silver Star Mountain Resort

http://www.silverstarmtn.com

Sun Peaks Resort

http://www.sunpeaksresort.com

Big White Ski Resort

http://www.bigwhite.com

Predator Ridge Golf Resort

http://www.predatorridge.com

Gallagher’s Canyon Golf and Country Club

http://www.gallaghersgolf.com

Phone: (250) 861-4240

Kelowna Golf and Country Club

http://www.kgcc.bc.ca

Kettle Valley Steam Railway

http://www.kettlevalleyrail.org

Trail Inventory

Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen

http://www.rdos.bc.ca/d_ls_trails.htm

Maybe somebody else can provide some pointers for other areas in Canada.

For me its off to LOS on Friday to live with my fiance and settle in Chiang Mai for a while.

Have fun and enjoy

Dietmar

Hi Claudio,

in fact I have been in contact with Mike. Next Sunday, after we arrive in Chiang Mai, we will have a look.

In the meantime do you have any further general information about Tanaboon? How far ist, how is the immediate neighbourhood? Do you have any longer term experience? What is the good and the bad?

Thanks

Dietmar

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Well, thanks all for the enlightning information. I now have a good idea, where to shop for computer stuff but also know which roads to avoid.

Coming to Chiang Mai in September for an extended period of time I have a requirement for some computer stuff - mostly accessories and peripherals. As an example I will need a good printer.

Can anyone point out the major suppliers in Chiang Mai?

Where are they located?

Which major brands are available?

Any info is much appreciated.

Dietmar

Thanks all,

this information really helps. Especially the idea about sending the Rottweiler - I think I'll do that too.

I am still looking for more suggestions though in regards to specific areas to move to. Are there any areas, which are particularly nice or recommended? Are there any areas, which I should definitely not move to.

Thanks

Dietmar

Kegger,

having a pint in Korat certainly sounds good to me. I'll come by and buy a few, when I visit my fiances relatives in Korat. I myself am off to Chiang Mai on September 17, leaving the beautiful Okanagan.

Have fun eh

Dietmar

Darknight, I have one offer from a fellow Canadian, who wants to rent for 12,000 2 bedrooms 2 baths and truly fully furnished. Nothing extra to buy, even the towels are there. The house is in Tanaboon village. I have seen pictures and it looks good but first of course want to have a look around.

Darknight, thanks for the pricing info, this is important. However there is one point I did forget to mention. Because it may only be for one year, I prefer to rent something fully furnished if possible. Does your price suggestion change considering the furniture?

Thanks ThaiPauly, if something should change just let know.

Please send me an email how to contact you, so we can hook up later, once I have arrived in Chiang Mai.

Have fun

Dietmar

Just came back from Korat, it is home for the family of my Thai fiance. When there we stayed at Korat Resort, which is about 25 minutes out of town. Nice place. To go visit her mom we always went through the military base and on the way there, there were at least two new developments, which had nice houses in them - a bit cooky cutter style though. At least they looked very nice from the outside. We did not really find the time to take a look nor were we interested in moving to Korat. The prices there were starting at 499,000 Baht. But as I mentioned, I have no idea what you really get for it.

If you need more info, I have to ask my fiance in Thailand, I am currently back in Canada.

ThaiPauly,

do you have an email address for the developer or a website, more details on the location?

BTW it may be of interest to note, that I am from Canada, it may provide a bit more background.

ThaiPauly,

thanks, we are certainly am interested in more info. Please feel free to post as much as you can. Especially, is there a high speed internet connection available?

We appreciate all the help we can get and want to prevent having to move again and again within short periods of time.

Hi all you residents or those who are knowledgeable about Chiang Mai.

We will be arriving in Chinag Mai on September 19, 2004 and want to "put down our tents there" for at least a year. Now here is the interesting part, we have never been to Chiang Mai. I have been in a number of places in Thailand and my fiance is Thai, so we are not totally without some background. Further I have some experience doing this - done it elsewhere before.

Here are some criteria which are important to /her/me/us:

a) Want to live in a detached home in a nice area

It should be a mixed area - I do not want to live in a "farang" only area.

c) I am an active jogger, so a park or at least quiet streets nearby are important, other sports facilities would be welcome

d) It should not be too far from the city or at least major shopping, so it can be easily reached by motor bike

e) It should not be farther than about 30 minutes (taxi) from the airport, due to some possible frequent travel requirements.

f) A fast internet connection should be available in the area

Any recommendations?

Looking forward to meeting some of you

Dietmar