bubba45

You can't beat Apple products, but the iTunes software has grown out of control.  It used to be a nice music player, now I'm not sure what it is.  Would be nice if they figured this out.

Following these phenomena, Thailand is set to face more rains and isolated heavy rains in certain parts of the country.

Unbelievable. That's the best they can do? WHAT parts of the country???

Oh, and as others have mentioned, I would not think about driving as a way to get around BKK. It's a horror show.

Since you say you've already lived overseas you may do this already, but since the company is shipping things over, go to your local warehouse store (costco or such) and stock up on your favorite paper products, paper towels, toilet tissue, etc. You can buy in bulk much cheaper than the same items in Thailand, and better quality. Same goes for any non-perishable things the kids might enjoy. Many things are available as noted in above posts, but you'll pay to live that western lifestyle. LIving thai is cheap, trying to live a western lifestyle, not so much.

A mother and FIVE newborn kittens were dumped at my place. We took them in, though kept them outside. When the kitties were about 3 mos old or so I took them to the vet, along with the mother, for shots and deworming pills. Then shortly thereafter I took the mother back to be fixed because five cats is enough! The price to have the mother fixed was about B2k. Sorry, I can't recall what it cost for the kitties' shots and such. But for one cat it can't be more than B1k, I would think. Next up, all the kitties have to be fixed. Fortunately all but one are male; males are cheaper to fix than females.

When he/she is old enough, have them fixed if you can afford it. Otherwise, you're in for a rough ride.

There have been quite a few reports of this in different parts of Thailand.

Yes, there have been. Never let your card leave your sight! Only use bank ATM's, not 7-11, bars, etc. Check for skimmers, cameras and shoulder surfers! TIT

This can be a problem world wide, not just a TIT problem....

Actually, you're wrong. It rarely happens in many other countries. It's a Thailand problem.

The only time I had it happen to me was on a visit to England, think I was in Banbury, used an ATM in the back of a convenience store, it "didn't work" but stole my information. After returning to the States I checked my account, they'd drained about $350, twice a day, for several days. Mostly from machines in London. Close to $1,500 total. My bank was clueless, but they gave it all back to me.

Can happen anywhere. Safer to use only bank ATM's.

2008bkk, you don't say what model your iPhone is. But check this link out.

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/ios-7-0-6-fix-battery-drain-warm-iphone-ipad-issue-after-update-1438622

Also, I saw some other links from the fall that say there was a manufacturing error on a small number of phones that affects battery life and if you have one of these phones apple will replace it.

If you've not already, might be worth going to an apple authorized center, assuming you're near one.

Treating rainwater and sewage before dumping it into open canals would be a better investment. This place is laughable.

Showbags don't be too macho now, we would miss your posts if you went to another place. Maybe get a nurse to check for infection, because pythons in particular can cause problems.

Its not macho.

I hate needles with a passion.

But I just counted 24 needle like puncture wounds.

Doesn't sound like it snuck up on you - what were you trying to do to it when it attacked?

I had hold of its tail.

That'll do it!

Showbags don't be too macho now, we would miss your posts if you went to another place. Maybe get a nurse to check for infection, because pythons in particular can cause problems.

Its not macho.

I hate needles with a passion.

But I just counted 24 needle like puncture wounds.

Doesn't sound like it snuck up on you - what were you trying to do to it when it attacked?

Can I ask for specifics on the equipment you used to shoot this? It was very well done. I was particularly impressed with the scene of the monks going into the building. Nice work.

Hard to beat the Dynasty Inn for location and price, I think it might be a little "fresher" than the Nana Hotel, Dynasty just renovated the back rooms. Same company has the Dawin, a short walk down Soi 4 from the Dynasty Inn, a little newer, nicer, and quieter part of the street. But the rooms in the rear of the Dynasty are quiet. You'd never know Nana Plaza is right next door.

Same system as described above for Nana, they hold the guest's ID and call before returning it when the guest leaves.

More bars up and down Soi 4 than you can handle in three days. Enjoy.

Try learning on this link: http://www.siam-info.com/english/snakes_poisonous.html

Thanks, I'd seen that site and it has some good info. But I've come to the conclusion it's often quite difficult to identify a snake by its skin. Some are obvious, but many are not. Like the one I photographed. Though I believe there's a good chance it was a keelback, as some have suggested.

I'm still curious why two members said it is not a python.

The pictures I took of keelbacks look similar, but it is hard to tell considering the poor quality photos and without seeing the head.

Thanks for the responses. Yeah, unfortunately I could not get a better picture, of course it was a phone camera and I was not keen on getting too close! (I assume you're clicking on the image to enlarge them - the originals were worse, I used photoshop to better bring out the details of what can be seen.) The only comments I can expand upon are that it certainly didn't want anything to do with me, as it appeared to be solely interested in getting away. I showed the picture to my gardener, and immediately he said it was a "luam" snake. I don't have a thai keyboard, sorry. I don't know what that translates into in english, but my understanding is that snake in a constrictor type. My thai instructor thought that might be a type of viper.

While I never noticed it in the heat of battle, looking at the first image now the snake does appear to be bloated in part, which would explain the lethargy assuming it had recently eaten.

I saw the head only briefly, and the only comment I can make is that it was not unusual in any regard, and it certainly was not unusually large.

Finally, there's a small river behind the house, which has flooded in the past week. So, I've been on the lookout a bit more for snakes, figuring they'd move to higher ground. From what I read of the keelback, this would fit living near a river.

"ngu luam" is a python - its not a python

Thanks for that. But can I ask why you say that? I don't know much about snakes, but considering, I'd like to know more.

And in reading about the keelback, if indeed it's a keelback, it says they're not poisonous. But the articles I saw did not explain how they kill their prey. So, how do they kill their prey? Do they suffocate them, like a boa? Or do they just grab it and swallow alive?

The pictures I took of keelbacks look similar, but it is hard to tell considering the poor quality photos and without seeing the head.

Thanks for the responses. Yeah, unfortunately I could not get a better picture, of course it was a phone camera and I was not keen on getting too close! (I assume you're clicking on the image to enlarge them - the originals were worse, I used photoshop to better bring out the details of what can be seen.) The only comments I can expand upon are that it certainly didn't want anything to do with me, as it appeared to be solely interested in getting away. I showed the picture to my gardener, and immediately he said it was a "luam" snake. I don't have a thai keyboard, sorry. I don't know what that translates into in english, but my understanding is that snake in a constrictor type. My thai instructor thought that might be a type of viper.

While I never noticed it in the heat of battle, looking at the first image now the snake does appear to be bloated in part, which would explain the lethargy assuming it had recently eaten.

I saw the head only briefly, and the only comment I can make is that it was not unusual in any regard, and it certainly was not unusually large.

Finally, there's a small river behind the house, which has flooded in the past week. So, I've been on the lookout a bit more for snakes, figuring they'd move to higher ground. From what I read of the keelback, this would fit living near a river.

This snake was just outside one of my rooms this morning, I live in not far from the Four Seasons, north of Chiang Mai. A heavily wooded area. It was not aggressive, I used a pole to push it off the edge of the walkway. It was rather lethargic in that when I first poked it, it did nothing. When I shoved it harder, it slowly started moving away. I'd say it was around a meter long. Thanks.

Because you are American.

Nearly all, if not all Americans i know of complain about cost in LOSTD,

i dont know of any other nationality that complain,

on the contrary the rest think its cheap.

That's because everything is cheap in America; we have Walmart.

More importantly, America has China. :-D