BonnieandClyde

Are there any maps available for the trails on Doi Suthep/Doi Pui?

That, and any other information about hiking the area would be appreciated.

Happy New Year!

Just had an odd random thought but it is true…. I have never seen a Siamese cat in Thailand. On to Google..

What are Wichien Maas? Aren't they Siamese?

Here's an update on this topic for those who may be interested.

Our question as to whether or not it was advisable to have male cats as old as 3+ years neutered, was kindly answered by many TV members in the affirmative.

So we had our two male Persians - Snowball and Louie Latte - operated on by Dr. Kwanchai at his veterinary clinic in Nong Hoi. We usually go to Dr. Nook in Chang Klan and never had any complaints, but the Nong Hoi vet was closer to where we live, and our neighbours go there.

Everything went well. The procedure took a little over one hour for both cats and cost 600 baht each, antibotics included.

Dr. Kwanchai and his staff are thoroughly professional, courteous, and efficient. There doesn't seem to be any double-pricing for farangs. We paid what several of our neighbours had paid.

Highly recommended.

Chiang Mai-Lamphun Saht-ta-wa-paht [veterinarian].

537/7 CM-Lamphun Rd., Nong Hoi. Heading south past the market, on the lefthand side.

Tel. 053-329787. Open everyday 9:30 AM - 8 PM.

Thanks for all the helpful replies.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Being animal lovers, we've been following this thread with interest. At the present time we don't have birds, but we can sympathize with you on losing yours.

We have two pure-bred Persian cats, and our neighbours are always warning us to be careful of kamoys. The lady who raises Persians, and who lives down the soi from us, has had two disappear - possibly stolen.

Does your grey parrot have a name that he answers to? If so, calling him by it might help if someone does see him, either in the wild or in captivity. Just a thought.

Good luck in finding your parrot.

ot but i have a persian cat as well, alittle over a year old. any clinics to recommend for neutering? how much should i expected to pay for? and any decent clean grooming shops that handle cats well

There are many good vets in Chiang Mai. The one that we go to, and seems to get most of the recommendations is Dr Nook Animal Hospital. 164/68-69, Chang Klan Rd., A. Muang, Chiang Mai. Tel. 053 818905.

But there are others as well.

I have a persian cat, he did desex him ONLY because he was too lazy to go look for girls and just sat home screaming.

After desexing, we realized he was gay and was only interested in boys

On a serious note, i think if you not going to breed them, its best to desex them for health, personality and hygiene reasons

Interesting what you and schondie say about your Persians being gay.

Our two males often engage in what looks like sex-play. Although we've never seen them go "all the way".

Are Persians prone to that? Any facetious remarks about the propensities of the male cats being similar to those of the people would likely incur censorship; so we won't go there.

And no, we are not going to breed them, and agree with your reasons for neutering.

Thanks for responding.

A long celibate life. No thanks.

We're talking about neutering cats here - not people.

Although in some cases it might not be such a bad idea.

Yes, it will help although it will take a few months for the hormones to come out of their system. Also, if they're used to roaming and fighting with other male cats, that pattern may continue because it's become a habit. That was a problem with a childhood pet that wasn't neutered until he was about age 3 or 4. Eventually he died from wounds sustained in a cat fight, even though he'd been neutered for several years. Now that I'm an adult and pet owner, I've never let my cats outdoors and they've always lived passed age 20 -- unlike the ones my parents had.

Thanks so much to you and Impkenai for your informative replies. You both sound very knowledgeable - almost like vets.

We come from families who had many [sometimes too many!] pets as we were growing up. The received wisdom was that cats should be neutered rather young. In the case of females, after they had their first litter of kittens.

But if you say that neutering a 3-4 year-old cat is OK, then we will take your word for it and thank you again for the input.

Judging by some avatar photos and the occasional post, there seem to be some cat-lovers on the forum. Perhaps they could answer a question.

We have two male Persians, half-brothers very close in age, that we have raised since they were kittens. They are now about three years old.

This is the question: Would neutering them at this age have any likely positive or negative effects?

They are kept within our garden compound on a small soi near the Gymkhana Club; so they don't interact with the neighbourhood cats. Ours are generally well-behaved, with the exception of often howling at night, even when a female cat in heat is not around.

We were thinking about having them neutered in the hope that it might calm them down.

Much obliged for any advice.

If you drop in at Gymkhana they know very little in the office but the restaurant/bar staff will give you a leaflet with all the times on. With balloons off at 7am (!), various other stuff through the day and concert at 8pm. Bizarrely you cant buy tickets there so they send you to Rimping. But TiT!i

Thanks for the information about where to buy the tickets...you saved us a trip to the Gymkhana Club today...had to go to Rimping anyway.

We would also like to know more about the performers. The website doesn't give much background info. We've heard of Palmy, but not Garth Taylor or the others.

Looking forward to going nevertheless.

All the performers listed have youtube videos.

Thanks... we'll take a look.

If you drop in at Gymkhana they know very little in the office but the restaurant/bar staff will give you a leaflet with all the times on. With balloons off at 7am (!), various other stuff through the day and concert at 8pm. Bizarrely you cant buy tickets there so they send you to Rimping. But TiT!i

Thanks for the information about where to buy the tickets...you saved us a trip to the Gymkhana Club today...had to go to Rimping anyway.

We would also like to know more about the performers. The website doesn't give much background info. We've heard of Palmy, but not Garth Taylor or the others.

Looking forward to going nevertheless.

Does anyone have any information about the Balloon Festival and concerts being held at the Gymkhana Club on the CM-Lamphun Rd.?

Time, dates, ticket prices and where to buy them for the concerts, who is performing, etc.

Thanks for any help.

Why not just catch a bus to Mae Sai, step across the border and back in, and get yourself a couple of weeks to plan a better exit?

We went up to Mae Sai on Tuesday.

Greenbus from Arcade Terminal 2 is the way to go.

No hassles.

Nope, there is not a modern name for them. I used to make them back in the states. I would like to buy one here also. The few I have seen were not for sale.

Thank you for your reply.

The ones we saw near Mae Chan were really nice. Sorry they don't seem to be available in Chiang Mai as well.

We do a variety of different kinds of craftwork, and have a fairly complete woodworking shop, so we could make them ourselves if we had some good models to work from.

Kamtieng market and Ban Tawai are possibilities, we'll check them out this weekend.

Thanks again.

Is there a more modern name for them? Those wind-powered gizmos, that by means of a propeller and little metal cam rod activate small wooden figures.

We've seen the propellers for sale here in Chiang Mai, usually they are about 14"- 18" in diameter with a wind rudder.

On the bus coming down from Mae Sai, between Mae Chan and Chiang Rai we saw a roadside shop displaying the propellers as part of whirligigs with little figures chopping wood, rowing boats, etc.

Has anyone seen similar ones in Chiang Mai?

Any information would be appreciated.

Fascinating information about Chiang Mai.

Too bad there has been so little intelligent interest shown.

As artists [OK, craftspeople] ourselves, we can relate to your 1980 remembered story. It must have been a wonderful time to have been here. Sorry we missed it.

But Chiang Mai as it still is seems like a unique place if you can see past the concrete and glass and plastic, to what is left from the past.

So count us in with those who share your love for our city.

re

Has anyone seen loose beads of the types mentioned for sale in or near Chiang Mai?

2 in loi kroh raod .. 1 in night bazzar

big shop 20 yards past soi 2 lk road on the right ( the first man is outside it )

go another 500 yards down lk road and central asia arts shop is on the left corner

go another 300 yards down lk road to burger king and turn left and directly opposite the police box in chiang klan road / the night bazzar are 2 big shops that sell that stuff

dave2

Much obliged will check them all out. The photos will make them easy to find.

The largest bead shop i know of here is at kad luang, they stock a wide variety of beads of many materials sold by the gram, there are also more valuable beads sold by the strand. The selection is constantly changing. Directions, going east on Chang moi, make the first right at the market, the soi on the west side of the first building, pass the cosmetic shop and it on the second soi on the left.

Thanks for that.

Kad Luang is Talad Wororot, isn't it?

On a recent trip to the archaeological site at Ban Chiang and it's museum, we were impressed with - among other things - the jewelry made from beads of polished stone, glass [or possibly obsidian], ceramic, horn, bone, and copper alloy... and just about anything else except plastic.

Inspired by the old designs, we would like to make some ourselves. Has anyone seen loose beads of the types mentioned for sale in or near Chiang Mai?

Thanks for any information.

Chiang Mai Plastic would have most of it.

Thanks for that... but where is Chiang Mai Plastic?

We are giving a party for our neighbor's daughter who has been working and studying in the US for the past two years. Does anyone know of a good place to buy balloons, ribbons, etc., etc., to decorate with? In the few years we've been here we've seen this stuff for sale all over town, so pardon what seems like an inane question. But a single location with a good selection would save us some running around.

Thanks for any help.

A quick search came up with this.

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/11/10/paraguay.pesticide.attack/

Were you informed or alerted before the spraying?

No we were not; either this time, or the five or six times they have done it in the past several years.

Why don't you just ask them and have a look at their stuff?

It is not smoke. Last time I asked they told me it was water with a bit of diesel fuel or kerosene added. To each his own about how dangerous it might me. You probably breath in more diesel fumes at the gas station when you are fueling your scooter.

Agreed, if it's just diesel fuel or kerosene, but it smells like something else.

And as far as asking them is concerned... they'd just tell you what they think you'd want to hear.

Hey that works for me, I let them know that I want to hear the truth and that is what they tell me.

It is really amazing what you can learn talking to Thais with respect. Unfortunately many here do not have enough respect to learn enough Thai to have a conversation.

Quite true on all counts.

We speak the language, and have been here long enough to know how much Thais value courtesy.

Still in all, it's sometimes hard to get information when you need it.

Why don't you just ask them and have a look at their stuff?

It is not smoke. Last time I asked they told me it was water with a bit of diesel fuel or kerosene added. To each his own about how dangerous it might me. You probably breath in more diesel fumes at the gas station when you are fueling your scooter.

Agreed, if it's just diesel fuel or kerosene, but it smells like something else.

And as far as asking them is concerned... they'd just tell you what they think you'd want to hear.

Apparently it's smoke, as it kills mosquitoes. I wouldn't be too worried.

Thanks for the input; but it has a strong chemical smell to it and we are a little worried.