TimFrance

I hope it survives for one reason in particular: I am tired of the cloned Central/Robinson malls. Aren't you? I actually do want a different kind of option: a place to go and relax, maybe have a meal, where the kids can have fun doing something they cannot do anywhere else, where we can sit and enjoy an event.... I am not surprised it is having teething troubles when there is such a lack of initiative to make the most of or value the space by Chiang Mai itself. Most people seem content with the Festival/Robinson/Maya clone experience, and they are not ready yet for something different. Promenada is not a mall, it's a resort. That sounds like public relations BS I know, but actually it is growing on me as an idea and an experience. I think they were spot on with the initial slogan of 'More than shopping' but unfortunately it is less than shopping if that is all you use as a yardstick. The big mistake they made was to hire a Bangkok-based PR firm that clearly knew nothing about CM and whether the city was ready for this. Someone must have sanctioned the wall-to-wall coffee shops (how was that ever going to work?), and is still putting up with the Dead Sea products-down-your-throat crowd (for God's sake, really!).

A special mention must also go to UniQlo: the deliberate sabotage someone else mentioned above. My take is that UniQlo was a strategic plant by the Central/Robinson mafia. Get a potentially high-profile store to position itself as the exclusive Promenada draw/anchor, use that leverage to create enormous pressure to open on schedule, but before the development is ready. Then right after Promenada opens, reveal that there is also a UniQlo store in Promenada's main competitor, the new Central mall in town. Bangna, Hatyai... UniQlo is clearly 'in bed' with Central. Either someone played a double game on the UniQlo side, to make sure Promenada flopped, or someone in the Promenada management did a really crap job of researching that account. Either way, that cost them a lot of momentum, and does not make me rush in to buy their cheap socks!

And the second attempt at a grand opening was just pathetic folks.

But it will survive, but not before it costs the developers a load of money, and possibly their shirt. Some of the ideas suggested here have great promise in the CM context too: a branch of IKEA for a start (they will probably buy the whole thing if it fails), a decent gym (not another California rip-off one, please!) More restaurant and entertainment options - not clones from Festival - a deli is a great idea. They will come, and when they do they won't be controlled by the mall mafia, but by creative, disruptive thinkers who manage to carve out a deal with the Promenada owners because of the initial flop. When this starts to spiral upwards, it will be a fantastic opportunity for local business people with the right ideas. I hope Rimping do get cold feet, because it would be great to see them open up that space for another quality food outlet.

It will also survive because, despite all of its novelty, Central Festival clones suck in so many ways: Asia Books, Hot Pot Buffet, SlimUp, Body Shop, Watsons, Sony, Burger King, Giordana, Portland, Sizzler, Accessorize, Starbucks, Top Man, Coffee World, Puma, Jaspal, AIIZ, Chaps, Guess, Body Glove, North Face, S&P, Playboy, McDonalds, HAAS, Samsonite, ESPRIT, Levis, Mister Donut, Oishi Ramen, Yayai - and fifteen other bloody Japanese restaurants with similar fake-sounding names that are probably all owned by Central or MK anyway - are so tired and worn out brands already. When the CM crowd gets tired of strutting their stuff and discovers the only place to actually relax is on a giant plastic strawberry, they'll flock to Promenada. If they don't, the list above is all you're going to have as choice in CM and every other city in Thailand.

Interesting to note that when Paris got to a PM10 of 150 during the past week, an automatic car ban (every other day for each vehicle) came into force so the PM10 will be reduced.

What a contrast: When it gets to a PM10 of 300 in CM, they put up another downtown poster of Shinluck saying "Stop the burning" (in English). Worse than useless local government.

Quality of life anywhere is a balance between the pros and the cons, right?

For me, the pendulum swings way to the pros side living in Thailand. Some of the most important ones are: 1. The attitude of Thai people towards life: generally easy going and appreciative of family, friends, simplicity and compassion for others. That makes Thai people great to be around and, for me at least, makes their priorities 'right'; 2. It is possible to live with reasonable outgoings in Thailand, so you can live the way you want to live and are not constantly worried about how the bills are going to get paid or struggling to find the cash for an unexpected outlay; 3. And despite all the farang claims to the contrary, the Thai 'system' makes it fairly easy to get things done (including in relation to running a business) both in terms of cost and the relatively few restrictive rules compared to other places. Sure, you have to do things 'by the book' sometimes, but if you think that is unique to Thailand, dream on, especially if you live in one of our many nanny states. On balance, Thailand is more like the wild west than the 'developed countries' we might call home, so if you need certainty and order in your life, Thailand is probably not the place for you.

But the reasons I love Thailand are the same ones you could hate it. Major pros for me are cons for some of my farang friends. Before settling in Thailand, I lived in France, Switzerland, the UK and South Africa, and I am convinced that our overall quality of life, anywhere, is more to do with our response to our surroundings than the environment itself. If you see the petty government official making up the rules as frustrating, it will be. If you see it as an opportunity to bend the rules a bit to suit you too, then it won't seem so bad. So the question should not be 'Why Thailand' but 'What can I make of Thailand' or even 'What can I make of where I am right now'. If you think any place will make your life for you, you will always be disappointed.

Once or twice a week I go to a local pool to swim during my lunch break. After 15 years I still always feel the luxury of the the warmth of the sun and the short time I have to relax: things I only associated with vacations and travel when I was growing up in London. I still feel like I have won the lottery and live in paradise. If you are the kind of person who can go with the flow, Thailand is like a dream. If not, stay put.

Can anyone point me towards the instructions for preparing an existing pond to breed/keep tilapia?

I have a fairly large pond (about 40 sq metres I guess) on a plot of land I have just bought, and wonder where/how to begin with preparing it for stocking with fish. There is a working drainage ditch running alongside the pond in case I need to drain it to treat the bottom.

Many thanks in advance for any suggested sources of information or guidance.

You asked for honesty.... Are you so self-deprecating about other things in your life? If so, you probably DO need help. Seriously.

Forget the issue of what other people think. This is not a question of getting over that. This is a classic case of self-stigma: You are not running from other people's judgments, but from your own. Stop wasting yours and everyone else's time by pretending this is about what the 'others' think and admit that YOU carry some kind of stigma or doubt about this. Which, incidentally, is unnecessary and judgmental of you. Face up to your own attitudes and get over THOSE. Then mysteriously the judgment of others will evaporate.