Oscar2

It may be a haven for Chinese trying to diversify cash assets but the Chinese may well find themselves in financial difficulties also and then CM could really suffer.

The 800 pound gorilla in that room for sure...

from what i've been told by a Thai friend who is a real estate agent, there actually have not been that many condominium purchases by the Chinese. they are avid tourists but full-time residents? unless they are working for one of the Chinese companies who have set-up shop here (and most live in apartments built either on or adjacent to the grounds of the company headquarters), i can't see many being full or even part-time residents. of course some of the rich Chinese may have bought some units to stay in when they visit but i don't think those numbers are very high at all. and as has been said, things could come unglued in the Chinese economy any time now...

 

As for the computer and online fax services, Commonwealth Bank specifically told me not to use them because they are able to detect when a fax is sent electronically like that and they will reject it. I must use an actual circa-1990 fax machine because then they can be certain the image was not manipulated. When I asked how I am supposed to stick my passport into the fax machine she said I can make a photocopy first.

 

The utter stupidity of the security protocol at Commonwealth Bank is both astonishing and frightening.

 

wow, even Swiss banks whom i thought were the last to hold out, gave up on demanding "fax only" about 4 years ago.
 

One thing the price of land will never go down,thats 100% certain,

uhhhh...no.....that is not correct. nothing is ever 100% certain. real estate is cyclical. goes up and then goes down.

My friend recently sold a CM studio condo for almost double the price he paid in 2008. He tried to get triple the price and it sat on the market for months. Once he found the right price point, it sold within 24 hours.

your friend is one of the lucky ones.

go to Khao Son road 300 baht international license. when asked say pay at station they take license you pickup at station. But if you go and pickup your an idiot. so 300 baht.

presenting a counterfeit document to a police officer? what kind of idiot would do that?
 

 

I'm really just wondering how much the tea money is?

 

I've read on here people paying 500 baht, 300 baht, 200 baht... I have a feeling the actual fine is 200baht, does anyone actually know how much the real fine is?

 

 

 

The fine is what they say it is, unless you want to go downtown and discuss it. I've paid 200 and I've paid 300.

 

Of course, it is all paltry compared to what would happen to you if caught driving without a license in a Western country. Smile and pay up.

 

Real problem, as mentioned, is if you get in an accident. Any insurance you might have won't cover anything and any liability of the other party will be nulled. If you cause someone injury, it can be very very expensive and they're likely to hold you in jail to ensure you don't flee.

 

If you must drive without a Thai or international office, be really careful.

 

 

 

bail is 200,000 Baht (provided you didn't kill someone).
 

Re knocking shops doesn't Phayao have the distinction of being number one for HIV infections in Thailand.

yes and it's a rather long story, the entire situation was researched and exists in a document published by either the WHO or UN, I forget. but the ladies they wrote about have to be grannies by now - if they survived.

I am very curious why anyone would go stand in line in a crowded Immigration office for 90 day reporting when the mail in service is simple and much more convenient.

There is no way that my passport is going into the postal service or to a visa agent either. This week Immigration has been very busy because next Monday and Tuesday are public holidays. And still the staff were very effective and polite when I went in Tuesday.

AFAIK you don't have to post your passport, just copies:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/557382-90-day-report-procedures/

no passport. only photocopies. been doing it for years. i don't understand why everyone doesn't do it this way and free up the queue for other things in which one has to go there. everyone would be doing each other a favor.

Wat Si Khom Kham in Phayao. depiction of hell. very interesting place.

take a stroll at night by yourself just up from the bus station. many knocking shops everywhere with some lovely ladies.

You do understand that prostate surgery will most likely leave you impotent.

Thinking about this too.

I take Thyroid,and Statins ,do not want to take any more,that is why I am looking for a permanent fix.

No point in being in Thailand excepting bashing the bishop on a frequency that at my advancing years surprises even me. I am here all on my lonesome,got great pensions,do not play golf or smoke so my only vice is ...vice.

Have to give it some thought though,but I like getting checked out medically wise in India,it is a great place for any procedures

I take "Lisinopril" for high blood pressure, a statin (cholesterol) and an enteric aspirin and the Saw Palmetto all once in the morning. They all work together just fine doing their own separate jobs. Naturally you would need to see a doctor for any combination you were taking or would consider taking.

the statin should be taken at bedtime, not in the morning.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Royal-Project-Shop-Faculty-Of-Agriculture-Chiang-Mai-University/271772292874984

 

here's one.......

that's the best one. the one on Huay Kaew up by the zoo never has much of anything in stock. i don't see how they stay open. going there is a waste of time.

tip: go early in the day. they seem to sell out most of the popular items by early afternoon and not do any re-stocking until the following day for some reason. if you go late in the day, only odds and ends are left.
 

 

Dr. Supachi - Big Smile Clinic - the best around.

 

http://www.bigsmile-chiangmai.com/

I am always intrigued by "the best around" does that mean you have tried every dentist in CM ? Must be at least 50 + of them.

 

No problem finding someone you are comfortable with, as many of us have. 

 

i would say closer to 100 of them; if not more. and some of them are quite bad to be honest. but yes, not difficult to find one that is good and that you are comfortable with.

THE CLASS ACT is Grace Dental, Nimmanhemin Soi 11 (http://www.gracedentalclinic.com/contactus-eng.html).

they charge more than others for a fancy clinic and they cater to "dental tourism". plenty of other excellent dentists around for less money.
 

I think Chiang Mai should have motorbike taxis, well regulated, of course.

they have had them for years. well-regulated? probably not.

.... the whole transport system in CM needs reform with passenger need trumping mafia greed.

coincidentally while parked in the city yesterday afternoon and while waiting on a friend to conduct some business at a couple of places, out of boredom i actually started to count how many empty red songtaews i saw near where i was parked, during a 40 minute period of time. i stopped counting after 63 (a couple may have had one passenger). now that is absolutely ridiculous. there has to be a better system that will stop this traffic congestion and pollution of the air. i have no idea how much it costs to fill up a songtaew with LPG/CNG but certainly it must be a waste of money for the drivers to operate this way. the whole thing just makes no sense.

on the campus. near where all the banks are.

I recently returned to Chiang Mai and was so disappointed with the Rimping Store at Meechoke.   The selection of fresh meat is poor and what there is on display has sometimes been there for days - and yes I do shop nearly everyday - and many shelf items are just not available.   Not sure whether it has anything to do with the move of the very efficient lady manager to the Rimping Store near the Iron Bridge in Chiang Mai.    Plus there does not appear to be one member of staff who can speak English or answer queries with any knowledge of products.   Come on Rimping Management Pill your finger out!

if you want "fresh meat" which i assume you mean beef, then shop at Rimping at Promenada where they sell aged beef. i was there about 2 days ago and they had a nice case full of beef aging. some Thais got a kick out of it and were taking photos. the best steaks and other beef has been aged for a few days. they also have a great selection of frozen Japanese beef.

as for the staff not speaking English, you are in Thailand. learn to speak some Thai!

Its a pity that there is not any medical Cover for over 65 retired people.

Pity that the latest medical scheme was abandoned for foreigners

you can thank one C.M. foreigner in particular for that. he paid 2200 Bath and then turned right around and filed over 100,000 Bath worth of claims, leaving the folks at Nakornping Hospital in utter disbelief. did he ever come back to make some payments on his bill as requested? no he did not. he together with another farang who also filed a large claim were collectively the straw that broke the camel's back of the plan.

OP be careful of the BBQ squid. they soak it in formaldehyde. we stopped buying that when it was all over the news. the only squid which is safe is the giant squid which Thailand imports from South America and it is not sold by street vendors.

also if you want to order noodle soup w/o the noodles (as I do since i hate noodles) you need to ask for "gow lao".

The largest pharmacy I know is in Suteph rd it is the CMU pharmacy.  It has or can get everything that is legal.

they actually have very little in stock and need to order almost everything. also their prices are considerably higher than most pharmacies.
 

What floor is Tops on in the New Central Festival ? Central have their own food shop at basement level ,is it near that ?Went there yesterday and could not find Tops ?

basement level. although the Tops brand is not visible it is the "Central" supermarket and is actually Tops.
 

Is this increased inventory only with the Tops at that location or with the others as well?  Anything in particular to mention?  I'm always interested in finding things I may not even know I'm looking for.

 

Thanks!

 

only at Tops at that location - probably due to the large amount of floor space available. cheeses, deli meats like salami, ham, etc. - a very large inventory and lots of variety and somewhat fair pricing.
 

 

Yes the market in the Festival Mall is excellent, a joint venture between Tops and UK supermarket Waitrose it has a huge selection of European goods. I shopped at Rimping for years but the Festival Market has a better selection and it is also significantly cheaper, especially for cheese, and they even have Kellogs Crunchy Nut Cornflakes.

All the Tops markets I have been to carry a lot of Waitrose products. I don't think this one is any different in that regard.  As for cheeses, my impression is that the prices in Tops are higher than the prices in Rim Ping.

 

the cheeses are cheaper at Festival Tops only. that is because they buy in such large quantity and have weekly promotions. in all other Tops, yes cheese is more expensive than Rimping.