jobin

Well if to avoid Swampy at all costs, you could fly direct from CNX to Seoul Korea, on Korean Air, then hop a KE flight to various European cities, including London.

IMO, KE is a superior airline, at least when going from CNX to ATL.

https://www.koreanair.com/global/en/traveling/classes-of-service/in-flight-service-plan/service-plan-europe/

Frankly, i like melted butter.  And palm oil is the ugliest in town.

I think the chinese car parades have been much reduced by the Thai authorities who now require advance notice from chinese drivers, and maybe more stuff.

Read more here:

Subway remains at MeeChok plaza, naturally just across from MCD.  Noted this morn, chicken subway only 79 bt. So Nance, hop in a tuk-tuk, enjoy both the ride and the sammy.

Car a 1998 Opel Astra, 1.6, 5 speed, red colour sedan.  Mileage=lots but not excessive.  Not using oil and runs damn well, all things considered.  Hope this helps. 

I rent a  house in san sai, near the fire station, back behind a rice field.  not a gated community  but house walled in and has a garden, 3 big rooms plus big kitchen and 2 bathrooms. no furnishings  but 2 air cons and only electric and water provided = 6000 baht per month.  quiet mostly, hardly any dogs, few loud motorbikes at night, frogs and gekkos. 

In my old car i prefer to use only benzine and 40W motor oil. Yesterday i went for an oil change and the shop could only offer 10W-30, 15W-40, etc but not one jar of single weight oil.

What is the merit of such oils in the tropics which in fact are made for cold climates?

Do folks care about the weight of the oil or most only go with the easiest to find?  All ideas welcome.

You'll find various degrees of veganism from personal dietary considerations leading to better health on to those who crusade against the use of honey, wool, leather and other animal products. Any 'crusader' is likely to be deranged, according to the mainstream. 

Today the radical islamists are in essence crusaders and we can see their grip on the world.  I personally doubt the crusading vegans will ever achieve the world-wide ends they seek.

My personal belief is that too much emphasis is placed on meat in our western diet. But it's also the case that when really poor folks gain a bit more money, they are off to the butcher shop. Education of the middle class towards personal life betterment is, IMO, the only way to achieve the goals of less meat and fish in the diet.

Someday i may open a small restaurant..."No animal died to feed your face".

As far as i know the Thai government requires a minimum of 65000 Thai baht each month for retirees.  Of course the govt does not care if the retiree is single/married/healthy/sickly/has kids...etc.

Works out OK at 65000 for me, except when golf is more than 3x per week.  

'flying our private vehicles'?   And where would that be...in heaven.  Nice thought.

Are not all Monarchies 'centralized'?  That is simply the order of such governments.  All funds proceed to the top, and from there doled out to the underlings.

Rain off at KSK.  Was on.

Had nothing to do with the price or quality of the fry pan.  But everything to do with the sacrosanct Thai word 'KING'.   He chap with the fry pan is damn lucky he is not in the slammer for 'lese majeste'. 

Back home one of my favorite restaurant meals was fried catfish and onion rings.  Many of those fish were farm raised, maybe all of them. So, IMO, the need for ocean fish on the plate is misguided and incorrect.

But, yes, not all fresh water fish are as good as catfish.  Tilapia is popular, must be easy to raise but tasty fried...i don't know.

Suggest anyone looking for suppliers ask at Gekko Garden as he has the 'near perfect' plate of fish and chips, in CM.  

Not long ago these very pages, ThaiVisa, offered a fine service accumulating all the ads relating to CM.  Rental, bikes for sale, garage sales...you name it and it was listed in the CM Classifieds.  I found it exceedingly handy.

But that function is gone due to new ownership/management of Thai Visa.  A loss to the community. 

Now plz look on facecrap.

Two Kasem shops in CM, i think.  Both offer a good range of western/local groceries and fresh/tasty baked goods.  Plenty of good coffee, ground on the spot for you. Often cheaper than supermarkets.  Don't think any alcohol and not open Sunday. 

Near the Chinese gate corner of Chiang Moi Rd, and on the Wing 41 road off Suthep Hiway.  Way more personal than the big shops.

I should have booked AA ,CNX to Kuala Lumpur then SIN.  Not CNX, DMK then SIN.  Y? Immigration at CNX will be much easier than at DMK.  At KL i will only transit thru airport.  Next time i'll probably know more. 

Silk Air one flight/day, arrives night time in SIN, not good for me.  This too, maybe next time.

Right.  going from Chiang Mai to Singapore with international transfer at DMK.  All on AirAsia.  Think one hour enough time between arrival and departure?  No checked bags.

North Hill is not far and is a fair course.  Have no news on costs. 

Yup. Acceptable substitutes for nearly every item available in T'land, except honest government and democracy.   You may know of other elements of human society lacking in T'land but i don't have time to name them all.  

In my mind T'land rates at least #6 in global retirement venues.  But, full disclosure, i've never lived in any of the other places, and i'm not rich.  Decide for yourself and go to Slovenia if you like.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/10-great-places-in-the-world-to-retire-if-youre-not-rich-2016-08-10

Wow! Considering the incredible number of defamatory comments lister on this thread, i find it very odd that the mods (the incredible mods!) have not closed it down.

And the best coffee by far is Nescafe instant drunk at home with lots of sugar and full cream cow milk. 

I'm out of town, out of T'land this long week.  Leave the stoopids behind me. 

Darn, i missed the local tragedy.  I was on the golf course from 8 am to noon.  Never noticed a thing wrong. The Joys of Golf.

Let's be reasonable folks.  This culture is based on a system of traditional power hierarchy.  The higher on the ladder you sit. the less possible any legal remedy against you.  Tradition coupled with the age-old fact that money = power.

Just consider who sits on top of the power wagon in Thailand and whether any possible legal action against that person could be brought. 

Boy Red Bull and his family probably supply vast material goodies to the chaps who operate and enforce the law in T'land.

And the family took money from Red Bull so, case closed.  Once the time limitations run out on any enforcement, Boy will return to T'land.  But not before so as to avoid causing the police to lose face.

All any of us can do is to not drink the kool-aid.