Oscar2

But we foreigners are not Thai. The Japanese, Australians, and Chinese do not tip much if at all. Why should, say, an American tip?

When I first moved here I tipped 20%, the same as I had tipped in the US. Word got out amongst the staff that they had a live one, and soon I was asked to buy shoes, cell phones, etc.

Maybe things have changed in the last ten years, but as I wrote in my post above, just watch the Chinese and do what they do.

The Japanese do not tip as is there custom in japan

.The Japanese will also have read up everything about Thailand before they moved here either as a tourist or as an expat living here and they would see that Thailand is also a no tipping country in general,but yes there is a window to tip if the service is good,

As you cannot get anywhere near Japanese service in any country again in general a no tipping policy ensues

again....generalizing. we just had 2 Japanese guests here. we took them everywhere during the week they were here. after massages (the same place i always go where I have never seen another white face but mine there in about 6 years), they always tipped about 60 Bath each, and always after meals with he exception of small noodle shops (which we don't tip either).

I live in MaeJo, all Thai, not a white face in sight.

They would be extremely surprised to be tipped for anything.

Thais in tourist areas might do it, but that would be a feature of living in foreigner enclaves.

It isn't normal in Thai areas.

Mae Jo is a college area, mostly students. Students can't afford to tip and don't usually.

ever spent any time in Bangkok? my Thai friends in Bangkok always tip. it's expected nowadays. things have changed.

tipping is now a Thai custom. Thais do it all the time. i often see Thais give a 100 Bath tip at my favorite massage place. they usually give something to the guy at the parking lot too - at restaurants, etc. i didn't use to but now i do. i've even seen Thais tip at the gas station when they put air in the tires, add oil, etc. i don't but the wife always does. the cost of living has skyrocketed here. some of these people are barely getting by and have children they are putting through school. i'll be honest and say that if the person providing the service is Burmese then the Thais may not tip.

big difference between a notary requirement for USA documents and a Thai notary. Thai notary = cheaper but unacceptable for USA legal documents. U.S Consulate is where to go.

5 bedroom with private pool = 50K+ per month. 20K as one member quoted...not in your wildest dreams.

Observe the Chinese, talk to local business owners, and you will find they are as cheap as they come, putting these "kineow" farangs to shame. The Chinese will demand discounts for Thai massages,180 instead of 200 THB, whereas the cheap farang will pay the full 200 and no tip or maybe 20THB.

I used to tease and give a little crap to cheap farangs who wouldn't tip. Now I say more power to them, and I myself have cut the amount of my tips by quite a bit. Some day I'll join the enlightened few.

The Chinese were known to be cheap long ago. About 15 years ago, I was in Pokhara in central Nepal. I had been hanging out for the day with a group of about 5 or 6 young Chinese that were traveling in Nepal. We were in a small shop and I watched the group do some hard bargaining with the shop owner. After about 20 minutes of bargaining, we left and they had bought nothing despite the hard bargaining. I was staying in Pokhara for a few days and went by the shop again a couple of days later. I spoke to the owner about what I had seen and he said he always hated to have Chinese come to his shop because they always wanted to bargain to get to the last rupee and then seldom bought anything. From what I have seen of the Chinese tourists in Chiang Mai, they haven't changed much in the past decade plus.

David

i disagree. i know quite a few business people here in C.M. they are quite pleased with the Chinese tourism at the moment. yes the Chinese do drive a hard bargain but they do end up purchasing in the end. they buy a great deal of souvenirs to take back to China to give friends and family. they buy literally everything there is to buy. i was in the Post Office the other day and they were buying postage stamps depicting the King as souvenirs. the guy at the Post Office said he figured he had sold close to 20K Bath worth of stamps so far that morning to Chinese tourists. they buy large amounts of everything.

English is not widely spoken in Chiang Mai. maybe in the tourist areas it is.

absolutely terrible connection in Sansai. can't access some websites at all; mostly international sites. Thailand websites seem fine. WETV cuts in and out on most stations as well.

i think Homepro is one of the better names in Thailand. It seems their buyers pick good quality merchandise. I can't say I've ever ended up with junk when I've been shopping there. even the Chinese stuff seems to be well picked, tested, etc. they have a liberal, no hassle return policy. i don't care too much for Index. I'd like to because i like the concept - sort of copied from IKEA - but the merchandise is pretty much all Chinese junk. i've never been happy with a purchase there and stopped going. everything falls apart in no time.

I hope you will take this in the spirit intended,My wife had never opened a can until she met me.

She makes delicious fresh healthy Lanna and Chinese style dishes and apart from Toamto paste for Pizza and Pasta dishes.

My only cans now have animal pictures,lions,tigers and elephants in emergency.

If your in C mai Robinsons or possibly Tops at Airport Plaza will no doubt have one for silly money.The regular steel butterfly type non electric type are in street markets for under a dollar,ours cost 10 baht

A thai wife is the only ring pull a man needs,oddly enough those seeking a steady ringer are probably easier to find in C Mai than your gadget!

Thanks for the education.

yes thanks for enlightening us with your knowledge. "...A thai wife is the only ring pull a man needs..." hmmm...that's pretty deep. i'll have to think about that one. "...The regular steel butterfly type non electric type are in street markets for under a dollar,ours cost 10 baht" well those are junk and cost 10 Bath for a reason.

Visited there for the first time last month and everything I'd heard about the place was true - bad parking, empty shops, etc. We decided to have dinner at one of the new Japanese restaurants. Once settled in I realized the other customers in the place were in fact all off-duty staff and their friends hanging out - my wife and I were the only real customers. Food was ok, but I had to rush home with a very upset stomach. Yeah, I guess I actually prefer the noise and crowds at Central Festival, and perhaps a lesser chance of eating expired food too.

Someone who works at a shop there told me that the group which built Promenada are now soliciting investors for a similar mall in Myanmar. Anyone else heard this?

bad parking? at first this was the case. but now, there are more vacant parking spots than anywhere else. piece of cake to pull in and get a spot near the door which is handy if you are shopping at Rimping.

Wow some budget big spender.

Are you joking? I have a nice 76 square meter one bedroom on Nimmanhamin for less than half that.

Houses on with more than a postage stamp size yard on Nimmanhamin are hard to find at any price, but as the above post indicates you have more possibilities a short distance away, mostly north of Huay Kaew or south of Suthap.

ignore him. he's trying desperately to rent his over-priced apartments for more than double the rate of what a Thai landlord charges for the same exact thing.

Sorry to hear about your negative experience ericpasansal. Try the milkshakes on the second floor in the milk shop...very tasty.

I love Chiang Mai and while I think Promenada had a terrible grand opening, now I think it is a great mall to hang out in. It's not too crowded, lots of choices to eat, and it looks very nice. Everything I eat there taste great!

Me and the misses like it as well. We like the fact that its not crowded, and we like the landscape design. Noticed that even when the mall seems empty, there are quite a few people eating in the restaurants. I think once H & M move in it will bring more people. Give it some time, it will grow.

we all like a quiet place to ourselves but that does not provide the income to make a large place like Promenada a going concern. as for the restaurants, here is my observation: - i was there last week for about 9 hours over a 3 day period of time. we had business meetings and chose the Promenada as it was a good 1/2 way point for us and our associates. we patronized a couple of coffee shops for the meetings and afterwards we walked all over and each day we also shopped in Rimping which is very nice. during the entire time we were there, we never saw a single customer in any of the restaurants with the exception of the Dukes. the Japanese restaurants upstairs did not have a single customer. there were about 10 employees in each but not one customer. the few people walking around there were practically mobbed by restaurant employees attempting to lure people in. we went to the food court and only about 1/2 the vendors were open. there were no more than 4 people eating at the time. we didn't like the feeling and left. there are many, many vendors throughout the mall who have already packed it in as evidenced by their deserted stalls. the large bar downstairs has closed.

it seems like a poorly thought out and executed plan. sure i like it because it is quiet but how long can it go on?

I love Chiang Mai and while I think Promenada had a terrible grand opening, now I think it is a great mall to hang out in. It's not too crowded...

ain't that the truth...it's not too crowded. i doubt there are ever more than 100 people there each day. don't see how it will make it.

my wife owns properties as well as the sois that they are located on (separate Chanotes). she had to buy the sois because there was one case in the area of her lots where one homeowner wasn't allowed access to their property unless they paid the owner of the soi. that resulted in a court case that the plaintiff lost. after she bought the sois she had to sign a document within 6 months, giving the government the right to use the sois to put telephone and electric poles, and access them any time they want and for whatever reason, for the life of the property.

you can buy a kilo at Bakery mart in Nong Hoi for about 20 Baht. packed in house; no brand. everybody should be washing their vegetables in this stuff. it will get rid of all the dangerous chemicals that have been sprayed on them.

never been able to find epsom salt here.

must not have had any friends if no one hadn't checked on him in a week's time after not hearing from him? you see so many old men all alone in Thailand. of course they choose this life. sad. RIP

Agreed. we have paid electric & water bills for over a decade by DD. And the bank charge is a modest 5 Baht.

What does DD stand for? Where can I find it?

direct debit.

all the ladies know. don't be concerned.

So if you buy a bunch of whatever on the Burma side, can you just walk it back into Thailand without a problem at Customs? Is there a limit, in terms of perceived value in baht?

pretty much so, within reason. when i was there recently there was a guy i met. he and his mate and an older Thai woman all had backpacks on filled to the brim with stuff he had bought. they were not stopped at all and the guy told me he makes the run twice a month and has never been asked to open the backpacks. he's been doing it for more than 5 years. of course some of the Thai buyers are stocking shops and have a 100 kg. worth of stuff and they just queue up at the queue to declare stuff.

i always stock up on good quality DVD's (on the Burmese side) from one shop in particular. Chinese but impossible to tell! they used to be 50 Baht but may have gone up.

I bought 10 for 300 baht, good value, even if some of the sound tracks listed on the sleeve are not actually available.

During last visit bought about 2000 baht of DVD and drama series like Nikita, Walking Dead etc....drama series are cheaper at about 20 baht a disc..nice oldies like The Ten Commandments/Gone with the wind/Ben Hur etc etc...

i don't know what you get for 20 or 30 Baht but the shop i buy from has been there for years and as another poster concurs - charges 50 Baht per disc. they are of the highest quality. i have bought many and never had a dud. the packaging is identical to the real thing. the lady is very nice and speaks 4 or more languages. if you get to know her she will give you her email address and you can correspond with her and place an order if there is something special you are looking for. she will get it for you but sometimes it takes a month or so. located on the left side about 1/3 the way down? after you walk down the stairs into the market. the largest shop selling DVD's.

On Monday and Friday evenings, Kantary HIlls Hotel has a very nice fresh salad bar with soup and some fruit and jello for dessert for 200 baht a person. There are many prepared salads with meats and chicken, but they have smoked salmon and grilled vegetables as well as fresh breads.

i agree this is very good. funny thing though, i went with some Thai friends one time and they all ate like horses and really enjoyed it. when we left they said they were still hungry and immediately went to eat noodles down the street.

i always stock up on good quality DVD's (on the Burmese side) from one shop in particular. Chinese but impossible to tell! they used to be 50 Baht but may have gone up.

laundromat next to El Diablos on the moat right near Chang Moi and before Thapae gate. parking is terrible but if you pull up in front, they will come out to collect it and wash it for you. you can come back to collect it the same way. they will bring it out to the car for you. nice people and not expensive. we take our bed covers there to be washed as they won't fit in our machine either.

For fans, Burmese drug dealing gang members, and the more adventurous of the Thaivisa crowd Carabao are apparently doing a concert there tonight.

there have been a number of deaths at Carabao concerts. read up if you don't believe me.