mrireland

Guess this is a silly question by the lack of relies, just have family over and well probably only hit town for 1 proper night so want to make sure we get the night they have the fireworks and release all the lanterns

Being googling but cannot really figure out when is new years eve and new years day for songkran, i know its officially running from 13th-15th but the celebrations started yesterday and will probably continue until the 16th or 17th i imagine but when is actually the 1st of the new year and what day will they have the main countdown with fireworks????

Where can i get info on next game or is the season over? Do they still play in the 700th Stadium?

The season has just started, and yes home games are still at 700 year stadium.

http://chiangmaifootballclub.com/

Great thanks, do you need to get tickets in advance or just show up? If not im guessing i should head to the stadium for around 5:30 to get through the traffic and get a seat in time for the game. Looks like the next game is tomorrow:

09 Mar Home Phrae Utd 18:00

Where can i get info on next game or is the season over? Do they still play in the 700th Stadium?

Mackro had some a few months ago for around B3,500 .I have not seen them lately though .

Thanks ill give them a try, maybe if they dont have them they can order them in, sounds like it will be more difficult to find than i thought, i guess a blowup mattress might suffice either if anyone knows where you could get one of those, would be easier to transport too.

Looking for a decent foldout bed, a friend is coming to stay for a few days and going to need an extra bed. Any idea what the price range would be, i'm guessing $50-80 for a decent one? I would prefer somewhere that delivers as i dont fancy carrying one on my scooter.

Is @CNX BADMINTON CENTER the same place as the badmington court right beside lanna driving range?

Anyone have any ideas what time they open or is it still even open? Cant seem to find it on google maps, where they said it was i used street view and i couldnt see anything other than houses?

Is it farang friendly?

Ive played in 700th Stadium but its almost always packed from 5pm to finish and only opens at 4pm. Ive also played in the court in the municpal stadium, from 2:30-3:30pm it seems quiet and after that for most of the day its quite busy so hit and miss if you go later. Also today i tried and there not open until 5pm.

I also tried the court in lanna golf club, it doesnt seem to open until 5:30 and when i went in there kids were using the court and the guys said it was booked up until 8pm, i presume thats close to closing.

I also sometimes play in the outdoor court outside the 700th stadium courts, there crappy but do the job, i know i can play anywhere but i like playing on courts where you have lines and aint blinded by the sun although at this stage i would consider a decent outdoor court. Problem is with 700th Stadium for the last 7+ days there is a big festival on there and you cant play outdoors.

Is there any other place with badmington courts that isnt always packed. I guess around 4-5pm is ideal but earlier is fine too, it seems none of the courts open early though. I dont mind paying and i realize the quieter places are likely not to be the same standard but if anyone has any recommendations and directions along with rough opening hours would be grateful

Thanks guys, i was hoping for a couple of recommendations but i got way more and some great in depth answers. I tried Le Crystal, i don't really have anything to compare it against and ive never done fine dining before but the service was amazing, went with a set menu cant remember the price but i think it was in the 1800-2400 range per person, one was with a glass of champagne and 2 glasses of wine.

Some of the stuff i wasnt crazy about but that was more because i was trying something i didnt even know what it was, like the black truffle soup, came in a tiny tea cup, just not my thing but everything else was beautiful. Fois Gras was one of the things on the set menu and i believe that can be expensive, not sure if i love the texture but it was tasty, hadnt a clue what i was eating until i googled it after. hell i had trouble figuring out if i should drink the soup like a drink or use a tiny spoon as they were served in a martini glass and a tiny tea cup, well out of my depth lol but nice experience.

Its probably pretty standard in these types of places but it felt like everytime i wanted something they were there immediately, everytime i finished a course the time waiting for the next course was only minutes, which was great because all the portions were small so i was never too full until i got to the final dessert, the sorbet the amouche bouche or whatever you call it are a nice touch to break up the courses and after the dessert they done like an assortment of mini cakes. Spoiled i tell ya.

What do you guys normally tip at these places, i possibly well overtipped at 10%, im not sure if there was a service charge but they actually charged less than what the set menu was advertised and everything was so nice. I normally just tip 20-40 baht at a standard cafe/restaurant but had no idea what to tip in this scenario.

Hi,

Is there anywhere in chiang mai with fancy european/US type food? Im not really a foodie so i havent been to expensive restaurants but i wouldnt mind spoiling myself, maybe its from watching too much hells kitchen/masterhef etc but i have never really ventured into trying anything and im a bit curious as the dishes look sexy, any recommendations, i tried googling but i dont even know the correct term, fine dining, michelin dining etc didnt turn up anything great so if anyone knows somewhere for a special treat let me know and ill give it a try.

well im on a tourist visa now for the last 6 months its expired soon and i had planned on doing the standard extension for another 90 days like i did after the previous 90 days at the local immigration, last time when i was extending it my school they gave me about 20 pages of paperwork, signed by them, containing pics of my passport and all that kind of stuff. Im just on a standard 1 year student visa with a thai language school not university.

They say they have to send my details to the government and by the time it will be back ill be over my expiry date.

I messed up and didn't get the correct info to my school in time and now they said it will probably be 5 days after my current visa expires before i get the paperwork back. Im here 1 year and im at the 6 month point on my tourist visa.

They explained i would have to pay a fine of 500b a day, which is fine as it was my own fault but i wanted to double check will this be a big hassle with immigration. Ive seen mixed feedback on overstaying so im wondering might they refuse the visa and kick me out of the country because i overstayed. I know most of the reports suggest as long as you pay the overstay fee its fine but i couldnt really find any posts for people who were extending their visas?

If its a case that it might risk me getting deported i would rather just go get a tourist visa, probably sounds paranoid but just wanted to hear from people with similar experiences?

Looking to start cycling a few times a week to get fit, ideally maybe 1-2 hour round trips from leaving apartment to getting back, i live close to the 700th Stadium so ideally i want to spend as little time in traffic and as much time as i can in nice scenery if possibly, anotherwards i dont want to travel through the city to get somewhere nice so id rather something close to 700th stadium. Dont really know the area well, guess i could spend a few hours driving around and checking out where routes go but i figured someone might know a few gems.

It just to get fit so i dont want something really difficult to start with until i build up a bit of fitness. Any suggestions?

How much are bikes to rent out roughly for a standard montain bike per month, im not looking for anything fancy just something solid. What kind of prices for a standard mountain bike, maybe im better of buying, anyway appreciate any advice you can offer.

Im renting out a car and heading Chiang Mai to Udon Thani, will probably stop off somewhere and make a 2day trip out of it.

Problem is i dont have a international license only my national one from Ireland, to rent out a car for 4-5 days do the rental companies insist on an international driving license? What are the chances of license been checked along the way by thai police and if so will national license be ok, lastly what about my insurance, would it be invalid if i didnt have an international license?

I could send my license home and apply for an international one but it would take 1 week to send, 1 week to process, 1 week to send back and i plan on going sooner than that and its a lot of hassle.

Thanks Lopburi, your always a big help

Sounds good so, i guess ill contact the school and arrange for it to be cancelled. Will definitely be going for single or double entry visa in Laos, was just concerned that there is a limit on them, i used up a single entry and used one of my 2 double entries already and then applied for the tourist visa so i guess by the sounds of it there should be no problem.

Hi,

I've been here about 9 months and i'm here for about another 6-8 months. I got the ed visa a few months back and recently renewed it for the first time at immigration giving me another 3 months.

It made sense to do it to get to learn the language as i was interested in that and also to save me doing border runs was a nice added bonus but to be honest I've got to the stage where i don't look forward to having to go each week and just don't enjoy learning it anymore. I still like learning when i'm out by practicing with what i have learned and learning that way but i'm just not into the set schedule and homework right now as i'm also studying learning programming languages and putting a lot of time into that and when im really focused on something i lose interest in other things. I'm not looking to get my $$ back from the company or anything all i'm wondering about is how would i go about switching back to the tourist visa?

1 - Will this cause hassle with immigration that i haven't completed the 1 year?

2 - I've just renewed my last visa about 2 weeks ago, if i stop going to class now do i immediately give up my visa or whats the best way to handle it?

3 - When i'm due to renew my visa the next time do i need to get my ed visa cancelled first?

4 - Because ill be here 1 year in November does that pose any issues with getting a tourist visa, is there a limit of how many they'll give you and does my ed visa complicate this further? I'm renting the current place until March next year so im stuck on a contract but i dont want to leave, i really like it here i would just prefer to cancel the ed visa and do the border runs instead if possible.

Any help is very much appreciated

Thanks, i can check at the 711 store but not at central plaza (san sad kaew or whatever the name is) as i cant even remember what floor i went to an ATM on. If someone is good enough to hack my number then i think they deserve the few bob thats in it as i only use it as a backup and usually leave no more than 100 or so in it, wont be a good ROI for their time that's for sure. So the bank is Kasikorn not Farmers Bank? I guess it would be worth trying that bank and if not there ill get it cancelled, thanks for the help

I had a look and there actually the same price for the bars, im sure some of the other stuff is probably cheaper. This is one of the bars i bought http://www.phukethea...product=1461718

I paid 150 x 10 = 1,500 but got 2 free so i got 12 for 1,500 so more convenient for me to just buy local but nice to have a backup option in case the local guys are out of stock. Incidentally the Phuket store are out of stock for those right now but there is a better bar the Chiang Mai store sells that Phuket store dont seem to have, its the same size, about 80 calories less per bar, 1/2 the calories from fat, has 1/2 the fat and saturated fat, has 4g of fibre compared with 0g,1g of sugar compared with 9g from the other one. The carbs/protein for the bar i like is 30g for each, for the other bar its only 20g of carbs to 30gs of protein. But other than the carbs it has much less of all the bad stuff. This is the bar ive asked them to keep me a box of when it comes in.

I could be wrong about this and probably am but someone told me if the level of carbs to protein was similar it releases slower into your system and keeps you full longer. So i wonder is it better to have 30 protein/30 carbs or 30 protein/20 carbs?

Thinking about it would probably make more sense if there was more protein and less carbs, i imagine carbs give you an instant fullfillment but then you might crash and crave so maybe better to get a bar with low carb and reasonaly high protein. Im using it as a dietary supplement, 1/2 a bar a day as a snack, i know fruit is a better option but i found these bars keep you fuller for longer but with fruit im hugry within 30 mins or less so they really help. Where there very handy is when you have a busy day, or are on the road and dont have time to cook for yourself, instead of grabbing something unhealthy if i have a bar with me i can use it to stop me falling off the wagon. I know there is lots of healthy thai food but they use a lot of sugar and oil in their food so its hard to know what calories your actually eating so i prefer to cook for myself so i know what calories im eating.

p.s they definitely had a better range of bars than i can find on Phuket so im not so sure they're just selling Phukets stuff but one of their suppliers are probably the same. Any help from everyone was very much appreciated.

The Olde Belle on Loi Kroh serves them, think it was around the 180-220 baht mark, didn't try it so cant tell you of the quality

I guess someone could have taken it out either before it was swallowed and hand it in at either San Kad kaew (where would they hand it in?) or 711 so i could ask there too.

My Card is missing, many i time i walked off and nearly forgot it only for the beeping sound, so used to the Irish ones giving you your card first and then money.

Anyway i cant remember where i last used it, but im pretty sure it was the one outside 711 on Canal Road or One of the machines in San Kad Kaew.

I checked my statement and it said THAI FARMERS BANK, would those be returned to a bank here in chiang mai that i could go and collect it or and i better off cancelling it, that's a lot of hassle too and means ill be without the card for probably 2-3 weeks. I have a backup card and there isn't much in the one i lost so not a huge deal but i like to have a backup

Anyone get stuck in the same situation?

There is a shop I nticed recently, It's on Chang moi road, go down past the push bike shop on the right side and just past that on the same side is a health food store, (don't remember the name.)

By the looks of the stock inside I reackon they must be ordering their stuff from the Phuket health shop as it seems the same stuff. (only slightly inflated prices) I am pretty sure they will have them there, it is the best stocked shop of its kind I have seen so far. (without the outrageous GNC prices....

U can't miss it, it has big protein powder banners right outside of the shop.

Alternativley buy direct from the Phuket health store, I have used them a ot now, run by a westrn guy and they deliver the stuff free of charge within a couple of days...

Thanks a million for this. Found it just before that Bike shop on the right. Sandys Health Store i think was the name, they had a couple of different selections, small snack bars and 80-85g bars. The large ones were 150b but if you buy 5 you get one free. They were low on the bar i wanted as i was ordering a bunch but they said they would keep me a box when the next order comes in. Big shop, didnt really look around but it seems to have a ton of stuff. Thanks once again

I asked this one many months ago and there only seemed to be online ones, since then the GNC store in San Sad Kaew Central Plaza had a few but half the time theyre out of them and cant tell you when they will be back in stock.

Does anyone else know any shops in Chiang Mai that sell the bars. Ill probably just end up ordering online from Bangkok but i would rather buy in a store rather than order online if possible.

hi.

never take a bus from a tour company. They are old, badly maintained and the driver's have to drive a lot more.

Stick to VIP government buses. 1k baht for phuket-bangkok. Dont know for phuket-surat

Tour agents will sell you vip buses to bangkok and surat for about the same price but they are not real vips. VIP bus have large seats and are only 1 level. Those 2 level high are scams and uncomfortable. I remember the last time i took one from bangkok they stopped for food at a place where you had to pay 250baht for a khao pat that tasted like shit, then they transferred us to a pickup, then a saladaeng with 5 other people then brought us to the surat thani bus terminal and made us do the rest on a cheap no-ac overbooked bus.

All started with me being lazy and not getting the govt bus at the station far away from town and by getting on a stupid 2 levels bus.

FWIW i done udon thani on a 2 story VIP bus twice and stayed top and bottom and was very comfortable although it might be different down south, anyone know where the other bus station is so i can check out the offers, im very skeptical that at 200b the one from the new bus station will be 2nd-3rd class bus