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ChiangMaiMike
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Posts posted by ChiangMaiMike
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Wild mushrooms pose a threat in Northeast
Almost 1,000 in every 100,000 people per year who consume poisonous species sought treatment.... --Bangkok Post 2005-07-04
What? The other 99% just died? One wonders how the authorities know they ate poisonous mushrooms if they didn't seek treatment.
It's also common to lump consumption of pscho-active fungi into the 'poisonous' group in many parts of the world.
Don't know much about mushrooms here... but there are many different toxins in different species and some are really nasty. Be interesting to know what species they are having problems with... Any mycologists around?
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When I went to Vientiane to get my Non-O visa a couple of years ago, I got to the Thai Embassy early to get a good place in line. Heh heh. I couldn't even figure out where the line was...
A tout approached me, had all the forms set up on his table, knew what he was talking about, and told me I could have my Visa the next day, instead of the 2 or 3 day wait I had expected.
I gave him my bankbook and passport and despite his insistance on prepayment, I told him I'd pay him when I picked up my Visa from him the next day at 3.
He asked me what would he do if I didn't come back and pay him...lol... He returned my huge grin when I suggested he could possibly sell my passport...
I walked about a block before I imagined myself in a Laos police station describing a 5'6" male with a slim build and black hair and dark brown eyes who had ripped me off for 800,000 baht and my passport... I returned and took a photo of him and slept well that night.
He was fifteen minutes late so I just paid him the agreed 1,800 baht and not the tip he thought he should get for fronting the bribe money (this was before the price increase).
I don't like paying bribes or commissions, but it was certainly money well spent.
And your friend getting ripped off for 3,000 baht sounds like a cheap price to pay for being at best naive when you know you are doing something illegal.
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Daveyo,
Mabye it's because it's extremely rare for a Thai policeman to kill people in front of potential witnesses without justification...
But more likely it has to do with people wanting to understand senseless acts...
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Getting 'facts' here is very difficult. Perhaps because of that rumors abound.
I've wagged my finger at <deleted> who think it's ok to turn left in front of me when the light turns green and been told by Thai passengers not to do that. They told me "person follow you home and shoot you."
Doubt anyone will find a lesson to learn about the Fang incident.
"Policeman goes Postal when pushed over edge by Idiot".
I'm sure there's lots more to this tragic story than we will ever know.
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Perhaps all aren't familiar with the violence in America.
A couple of terms that were coined in America are "Road Rage" and "Going Postal"...
The first started I think in California with irrate motorists pulling out guns and taking shots at <deleted> who cut them off at exits, etc. I believe it actually had an impact and people became much more considerate in their driving habits.
The later stems from the number of Postal workers who have flipped out and taken guns to work and presumably 'gotten even' with those who had fired/offended them.
From school shootings to random sniper attacks, Americans must hold the record for number of people killed by nut cases. (Hitler, Stalin, etc not included)...
I think the easy access to firearms contributes to this, but it's a complicated subject... I think most Americans are aware that if you have a gun in your house it is most likely to be used on a family member or friend rather than an intruder, yet I think most homeowners have guns.
It is more likely the rarity of the event here that makes it such a 'big deal'.
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Me thinks many people have guns here...
And after reading an account of the incident in this mornings "The Nation" I am not at all surprised the idiot got shot, assuming that this report is accurate, but that's a big assumption.
I think the reason Thais are so polite (superficially) is that 'face' is a really important thing and confrontations rapidly escalate to the point of death.
Quite different from the West, and something that every farang who lives here should understand, even though farangs have no 'face' so are often cut a lot of slack.
In case you haven't figured it out... It's called a "Land of a Thousand Smiles" not because lot's of people smile, but because they have a smile for every occassion... including a smile that says "Don't you realize I'm on the verge of killing you?"
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I stand corrected on the check out point... been a couple of years since I was there, but the golf course isn't far... about the same as the Chedi all the 'taxi' guys want to take you to... and I've played the course three times and no one seemed surprised that I was crossing the border with a golf bag or that I showed up at the golf course.
But I have no idea of where the 'line in the sand' is drawn that you mustn't step over without the official visa...
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No real mafia in Thailand?
hah.
They just happen to be so big and powerful that reporters know what would happen if they mentioned their names.... and they somehow get overlooked in the crackdowns on the Big Money in the drug trade.
And although it's nice to read more about corruption these days in the newspapers how many people are actually going to jail?
Many Thais get killed by other Thais for business reasons... sometimes it's just the easiest way to eliminate the competition.
And Thais jealosy and resentment of others success is hardly unique to Asia... and is probably exacerbated if its due to them kissing up to... I mean, befriending, a farang.
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Been stopped several times and U.S. drivers license never a problem...
Insurance that actually covers something is way too expensive... better to self insure IMHO.
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Doesn't take long to get the visa...
Be sure to watch for the Thai Immingration Office on your left as you enter Mae Sai... You need to check in there first before going to the border about a mile further.
You can also take your clubs with you into Burma and play the 9 hole course there... it's not too bad.
I think the Burmese still charge U.S. $5.00 for the one day (8am to 5 pm) visa and now Thais have some minimum amount of baht they want to see to let you back in...
From parking and just doing the quickie turnaround, I think 20 minutes would be average amount of time to get back to your car.
Hit 'em straight.
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Most Thai's rightly think they are better off now than a few years ago... but they fail to realize how much better it could be. Up North here it is very difficult to find someone who will say anything more critical about Thaksin than... "Maybe he not really good man, but good man for Thailand now"...
To quote Dylan..."But the times... they are a'changing."
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If he was either above the fog or in it, how could he "see the forests"... ???
I guess there is a reason he is noted for his 'Vision'.
M
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I was stopped trying to get from Pattaya to Chiang Mai on my bike at the first toll booth... Policeman came and took my American drivers license and waved me to the side.
Said 2,000 baht fine for riding motorcycle on tollway...
I told him my bike would do 260kph and was really a car with two wheels, and how could I be on a tollway if I hadn't paid a toll... but he didn't buy it.
He did the 'We go police station' routine and since I didn't have any papers for my bike I didn't want to do that. I finally gave him 1,000 and he gave me good directions on the 'legal' route.
Next incident was my parking on the right hand side of a one way street. Cop was waiting for me and said fine 400 baht, but I could give him 200. I politely refused and said I'd never been in a Police Station before, so off we went. The cop took me in and said he liked me, so to only fine me 200 baht. I was in and out in 5 minutes...
Since then I have refused to pay bribes, and once they know I'm willing to go to the police station, and I tell them how sorry I am, they have just given me a warning and let me off.
Bottom Line: Paying bribes just furthers the problem in my opinion.
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Anyone know the email address so I can complain to AIS directly? It's been terrible here in Chiang Mai since I guess the 5th...
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I feel incredibly safe here in C.M., but being male, 6'2" and fit at 57 y.o. probably helps.
My Thai g.f. was going to work at 5:30 a.m. on her motorcycle about 6 months ago on Faham Road, a couple of kilometers north of The Riverside, on her motorcycle and had a guy pull along side on his bike and rip 1/2 of her 300 baht necklace off before pushing her to the ground. Guy stopped and looked at her to see if her cell phone or purse went flying, but then took off. Main damage was some road rash and the lingering trauma of being attacked.
She went to the Police Station and filled out a report at my insistance. How the cops gonna stop these guys if they don't even know it's happening?
I've never heard a first hand report before of a foreigner being attacked by motorcycle thugs... but as Bob Dylan said "the times they are a changing".
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Nothing scientific, but when I came to Chiang Mai in '97 I did some birding...
Was shocked at the lack of species around here...
I've heard that the King has told the people to stop killing the wild birds and it seems that there are more species and larger numbers around now...
Is there a Chirstmas Bird count here? Our does the Audubon Society do that anymore? Used to be quite fun down in San Blas, Mexico... but we'd get hundreds of species...
Mike
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If you don't like it then don't buy it. Easy really.
Not that simple... Used to like, don't now.
Will vote with my $$ if I have to, but if you don't tell them why, they may assume you died or decided to move.
Mike
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Perhaps 'Dealing with Thai's' is a topic for another forum, and I have not lived here long enough to consider myself an 'expert'...
But I have found that reasonable, polite, sugguestions generally get better results than a vitrupitive, sacastic one.
I'd suggest that pointing out the changes you'd like to see, with perhaps the hint that it is perhaps no longer worth the money to continue subscribing if the changes are not made, might work best.
I also do not consider a 41+% increase in price for the 'Platinum' subscription, to be a reasonable price for the few good channels that are being added and intend to boycott it.
"You catch more flies with honey than vinegar"
I do not what % of their subscribers are Farangs, but I think we may be a significant number, and if we raise our objections we may be heard... but it's a tough slog when you are dealing with a virtual monopoly.
Mike
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I am very unhappy with UBCTV programming this year. Gone are almost all of the series that I enjoyed...The Agency... The District.. to name a couple, and they are rebroadcasting some (Six Feet Under) from last year! I think we need to let them hear from us or they will not change.
If you are dissatisfied and want your voice to be heard, they do have an email address, (which are not supposed to be posted), but if you know their pathetic website at WWW.UBCTV.COM then you can send them email by substituting [customerservice@] for the [www].
Mike
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This is a very important issuse for my family. Somehow my wife got on some program with AIS called "Freedom" and all mins are charged at 2.5 baht. Dont ask me more as I dont know how she did it or anything else but our phone charges are much less now. Its a prepaid card as well. Does anyone else know about this program? Its for every min, all day and night and anywhere in Thailand.
I have that plan also... I think it's called Freedom Plus... It needs to be renewed (new card) every two weeks... although when I read about it the time was supposed to be good for up to 90 days... I've been on it now for about 3 months and have acummulated a credit of over 1,200 baht... Whereas before I'd run out of baht, but the account was good until like July of 2006...
May work well for you if you use your phone a lot... I guess I don't...
Mike
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Any news of Railay Beach? Any photos anywhere?
ChiangMaiMike
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Any word about Railay Beach?
thanks,
m
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Thaksin will never accept help for to do that will mean he would need to show where the relief money went.
He will do his best to make it appear that thailand is safe
SARS
cops killing farangs,
Terrriorists down south
and dead bodies along the road.
3 days of mourning will not help those that need support to make ends meet and food on the table
come enjoy yourself in Thailand
On reading all of your posts today I would say to you, go and get drunk and relieve some stress.
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I think that the Embassies would be your best bet...
A local Consular here in Chiang Mai, complaining about his work load, said that there were 20,000 Americans in Thailand.
I wasn't there when he said it, so don't know if he was referring to 'registered'
'or the Embassies best guess...'
Chiang Mai Mike
Wild Mushrooms Pose A Threat In Northeast
in Thailand News
Posted
Poisonous? Do you work for the DEA? There's no reported deaths from eating any species of psylocybe that I'm aware of... but some have reported having unpleasant experiences.
I would never eat a mushroom I found without being 100% certain of what it was... But I am concerned about the ones my sweetheart brings home from the local market, sometimes dried which makes identification difficult, and wonder which edible species the poisonous ones are being mistaken for. It's my experience that whatever Thais will eat, some will also sell.