natalie8

Those church signs are a riot!

Good one! That Leviticus sounds nasty overall.

Hi Para. I just saw your thread now via the weekly Thai Visa e-mail. When you mentioned your location, I was happy because I can recommend Wat Lad Prao. It's on Chok Chai 4 and it's huge. It hs a huge Quan Yin as well as a Buddha and it also has a resident astrologer who does readings.

He's Chinese Thai with very good English. They also have other people ther who speak good English. It's easy to get to. If you get to Chok Chai 4, you can get one of the small tuk tuks directly to the temple.

When you go, bring your camera. It's gorgeous and they've done rennovations on it in the past few years. If you do see the astrologer, Patti, tell him that Natalie recommended that you go there.

IJWT,that sounds funny / weird, but I can't picture it. Any pics of said hairstyle?

I'm glad this thread was bumped. I've e-mailed it to some family and friends who know Bangkok. Now I'm going to put it on my Facebook page. Thanks!!!

Only one reply? I took the course at the school mentioned above with a friend. I highly reccomend it. It was very professional and thorough. The day that we went, the focus was on ingredients. I found this to be very useful and I can still remember the points and tips about each ingredient. Alot of the courses offer a trip to a local market, but unless you live in Thailand, this really isn't much use to you, and you lose time in the cooking area. The only down side I can say is that I burned my pad thai. That was my fault, though.

I have a couple of questions regarding both health and life insurance. Maybe some of our members can answer too.

I am Canadian and my husband is Thai. He has a life and health insurance policy with AIA in Thailand which he has had for a few years now.

I do not have any life or health insurance coverage with them or anyone in Thailand. We both live in Dubai right now, he's been here almost three years and me almost two.

He also has coverage through his employer with me as a spouse but I don't have any coverage for myself. We're both wondering if I should get a policy from Thailand, since the possibility of us moving there in the future is very real, or would I be better off getting a policy here.

I hope to get some advice on here.

Thanks

I have a Pilates DVD and I know a few people who have done it, but I never have. I know it's good for core strength and controlling your breathing and movements but I have a couple of questions. How often should you do it in a week and how quickly can you see or feel results? Should you combine it with cardio or just do it alone as your workout for that day?

Right now I go to the gym 3-4 times per week and I do cardio and weights. I'd like to start Pilates and Yoga, and I would like recommendations of how often to do each. Thanks.

April Fool's?

I love this type of thread. I'm no longer in Thailand but I spent four mostly happy years there. I'm from a frozen country and I'm the type who needs to live somewhere warm or hot. I was in a sales job, working long hours and I was in a huge rut. I saw an ad in the newspaper for a TESOL course and I figured this would be my best bet to live and work somewhere warm. I looked at Mexico, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. By a very fortunate sequence of events, I ended up in Bangkok.

I got there in Feb 2004 and started teaching in April. In January of 2005, I started teaching a corporate class two nights per week and my now husband was one of my students. He's from Phuket and I moved there for my last year in Thailand. He got a job here in Dubai and he has been here just over two years, me, just over one year.

As for the questions about Phuket, I think it has a good mix of people and you have alot of choice in services, restaurants, etc. Of course, you can't knock the beaches.

It's this kind of victimisation and trumped up charges that stopped me from ever going to the countries like Dubai.

Dubai isn't a country. It sounds like you consider it normal and acceptable to argue with immigration officials. I'm glad you won't be coming to Dubai.

mgs, I would recommend Boat Fitness at The Boat Lagoon. They have good facilities and reasonable rates, around 1,500 or 1,600 baht per month. They also offer specials on 3 month memberships at certain times. They're not pushy at all and there are alot of amenities nearby.

I thought of Royal Brunei Airlines and when I Googled it, I found this site. I only checked Singapore to Denpasar, Bali.

http://www.farecompare.com/flights/Singapo...DPS/market.html

Phuket is a good spot, there are quite a few flights to Singpore.

April Fools?

The best way to find a place to live in Phuket, and anywhere else in Thailand, for that matter, is to take a drive, explore and go into the sois. You'll often see houses for rent that aren't advertised. Take alook around, check out the neigbourhood, etc. You can also do this in eebans that appeal to you. I will warn you to be extremely cautious in Phuket and to take alot of time looking and talking to neighbours.

the whole Laguna Complex is perfectly suited for families and you won't find a trace of Patong in it.

The service is great the resorts are beautiful and you have 5 to choose from that will fit your budget.

It's a really nice well managed beach holiday that you won't need to think or worry about.

http://lagunaphuket.com/

I was going to recommend Laguna. The prices are higher, but their whole complex is very peaceful and well kept. It would be good if you rent a car so you have the freedom to come and go as you please. Kamala is also very nice for families and the beach is nice there. Someone mentioned Surin Beach. It used to be nice, but the traffic in that are has become really bad and the prices are artificially high.

You can replace chlorine bleach with it for washing whites. Works far quicker. You can also dilute and use it as a general kitchen/toilet cleanser.

There is more info on earthclinic.com

I never knew that about HP. I'll try it.

OP, if you're still looking for it, it comes in clear glass bottles in Thailand. You can get different sizes. Make sure to check the expiry date.

I've had a Quan Im for several years now that was given to me as a gift by my mother. The Quan Im was "opened up" in a Chinese temple in Brunei. Apparently, you need to do this before you can pray to her.

I have picked up a Quan Im for someone in Canada, but the guy at the temple didn't say anything about having her blessed or opened up. He also spoke no English, and I don't know how to ask about opening up a Quan Im in Thai. My question is this - I only have two days before aI leave for Dubai and I'm leaving the Quan Im with people here who are returining to Canada in March.

Is there a way for me to prepare her to go to this person in Canada? I'm not near a Chinese temple. Is there some type of ritual I can perform, or is she just as effective without being blessed or opened up?

Chantal wrote:

And if you dont have any luck at PAWS or Soi Dog I know of a cute soi dog in desperate need of a good home. He is a medium to large breed, less than 1 year old, pitch black with white socks and excellent temperament.

Sorry, I can't find the quote function in a reply. I'm moving on the weekend of Aug 5-6, and I would like to adopt a dog. This dog sounds nice. If he doesn't have a home by then, I'll take him.

Thanks for the quick replies. I'll check tehm both out in the next week.

I have quite a few books I'd like to sell and of course I'd like to buy some new (second hand) ones. I do alot of reading, so the second hand prices are nice and I've always found a good selection in the used bookstores in BKK.

I saw a bottle (one) of flaxseed on sale at the GNC counter at Tesco Lotus. It's a huge bottle, I think it was around 400 baht.

That shot of the monk could go into a gallery! Amazing effects with the light and shadows. I'll post some of mine in the next week or so.

Double thanks, LivinLOS. (I can't insert emoticons)

Ahhh, so that explains what happened in BKK. ;-)