Good wine very cheap in Hong Kong.  Hardly any tax on alcohol there. 3 wine shops on every corner and 2 in every grocery store.

Yes, tifino.   'posting a  photo of rear device' would be very welcome.  I'll check my bumpers, underframe  at the rear, look at your photo and consider that idea.  Thanks.

You say 'opposite the CMU front gates'.  That would be on Huay Kaew Road, right?  

Have also thought of pop-rivets thru the roof, but fat bored holes with bolts may be stronger.

Thnx guys.  Got an OPEL Astra, 4 door, 5 speed=great little car for me.  No engine probs, etc.  But need to transport my big bicycle, with ease and speed so no taking bike apart. Had visions of 4 small elevated welded pieces on the roof with holes.  This part would stay on car.  But also with cross members and maybe a triangular piece forming a sort of tilted frame.  When not in use remove all but the 4 welded parts. When used, bolt together frame, lift bike, in one go, onto tilted frame tie down with bungee.  Lift bike off, remove frame, toss angle irons into boot...done.

Really can't spend much money on this.  Will consider boring holes into roof and might be OK since not much rain here. The headliner is a massive nuisance regardless of what i do. Once took one off and had to glue Astroturf back in it's place.  Not too attractive.

Keep the ideas coming.  will post photos if/when complete.

Went to Mamia recently.  How nice it is, sitting near the river, enjoying the quiet peaceful surroundings, not seeing or smelling any annoying cigarette smoke, sipping on an iced espersso (no sugar) and reading my book.

+3

I'll be back there when on that side of town.

Thought i would weld a roof rack device onto my car roof.  No rain gutters here or I'd use those to secure some clamp-ons.  Now i have considered the felt lining inside the car may catch a spark and burn the car up!  Don't want that.

Anyone done this kind of thing, or any notions on home welding on car roofs?  Don't worry about the resale value of car, it's 20 yrs old now.

I have had very limited success fixing  the felt lining inside the car.  Very difficult to work with so i'm being pretty cautious.

I went to HOM coffee on the moat road just north of ThaPae gate. 

PRO: coffee good, hot, well served by lovely folks in a clean and tidy place and at a very acceptable price (25 baht).

CON: massive auto pollution only meters away from outdoor table (the moat road), cigarette smokers at next table (one meter away), noise pollution from road, very loud german guy overtalking the tuk-tuks and song thiews (as bad as any chinese).

Result: might be a nice coffee spot if all traffic stopped for the day but otherwise not for me. 

That Guardian news report is 100% not relevant to this issue.  Try again.

Some rich dudes not wanting MCD in the neighborhood is NOT the same as a govt ban.

Sure, MCD is not operating in a few countries but in nearly all cases the folks who live there have so little money a BigMac costs 3 months wages so the daily 'burger-buy" count too low.  That is only economics.

Yes, MCD banned in North Korea coz the queues of hungry people lined up to buy the burgers would block the street. 

Tell us where else MCD is banned, by the govt?

It's totally dead.  No one is selling or buying anything on this site.  Life goes on, deal with it. 

Clustering of fast food restaurants?  Look here for more info:

https://www.quora.com/Why-do-fast-food-restaurants-cluster

It's a well known historical observation that the best location for anyone who wants to open a burger joint is next to MCD.  

And when i looked at the NimmanHaeman MCD spot a week ago i thought the place would be 2 floors, no drive thru.  Just like most MCDs in China. 

Burger you say?  I thought Pun-Pun was vegetarian.  You talking the small place just across the river?

Suggest you check with MONG bike shop on Chiang Moi road, very near the big red chinese gate.  They are bike specialists and might direct you to the needed machine shop.

I"d try Ramida but very seldom drink coffee after 12 noon, so my visit might not be soon.

Bought some swell sourdough bread last week in Santitham.  At Nana Bakery/Coffee shop.  This week maybe will buy Rosemary or Black Olive bread.  None of these are sweet, but also probably not 100% whole grain coz that kind of bread is difficult to make correctly.

Come on Dave.  Obviously the OP is upsetting many folks with comments about 'Old Chiang Mai' because simply, many folks were not here during CM's Golden Days.  Now all we have is the 'Current Daze'.  Whether OP is a 'troll' is unclear.

Fact is, IMO, hardly anyplace in this wide world has gained an improvement over the past 25 years.  Population growth, globalization, internet dependency, uncontrolled vehicle proliferation, various wars and migrant refugees, massive environmental contamination, mindless religion beliefs ...all contribute to the current world wide, depressing and ugly, situation.  But here is the sad part: not one of us is going back.

Rent a house at Koolpunt 9, seems the best way coz it's only a few minutes walk to the Kad.  On off-hours trot down to the North Hill golf club, also only minutes away, and improve yourself.

I went to the Kampieng plant market and bought a Cassia javanica tree, about 1m tall with a nice root ball. This is an auspicious pink blooming Thai tree and should be in every yard.  It's a real beauty. 

I only paid 150 baht for this life long enjoyment.  Now after 2 months in the ground it is showing good signs of stem growth so its future seems assured.

More here:  http://toptropicals.com/html/toptropicals/articles/trees/cassia_pink.htm

This is the time of year that many restaurants serve up the famous 'winged bean salad'.  I've eaten many types of salads in many lands and the winged bean salad comes very near the top of every list.  It's just great so search it out.

Y anyone would use Uber rather than a tuk-tuk is beyond me.  Go local, that's my motto.  But if you live far from the city, can't speak Thai, have no personal wheels, perhaps Uber is of some value.  

Well, i'm a Luddite regardless.  Have no smartphone so I'm 'out of the loop'.

Just read this report on animals in Thailand, both wild and domestic animals.  The conditions of the elephant and tiger parks, the cock fighting, the dog eating, the total lack of laws, the inept government response, the corruption, the fake mahouts...all get scrutinized.  

If you are interested in animals, in any way, i can recommend looking at this non-govt report, complied by a private person with obvious knowledge;

http://www.fodors.com/community/asia/20-things-to-think-about-when-interacting-with-animals-in-thailand.cfm

GG now offers F&C for 115 baht. And the key lime pie (45 baht) is without comparison, in this country.