Ajarn

The day before you arrived we had a light shower I did think it was going to rain last night after all that wind though. You'll probably see a shower in the next week, but don't hold your breath

Yep, unstable winds are forcast for the next few days, which might bring some rain.

Friend of mine mentioned tonight his girlfriend told him it costs him 7 baht a minute for him to call my mobile from his landline.

Anyone know if that's correct?

She's nuts if you live in Thailand.

My apologies. The 'landline' part didn't sink in....

I have no idea how much it costs from a landline...

Anyone know where I can get phone book Chiang Mai, white and yellow pages in english

Call 1188 for talking yellow pages in English

1188.....is that a free call or pay. been here 7 yrs and never heard of it. wife does most of my looking/translating in thai phone book, but even so, thais have a totally different way of organizing their reference books. takes her 10 minutes to find the simplest thing.

thanks for the tip!!

It is 7 baht a min ( I think) they tell you the cost when the operator comes on. Press 1 for Thai 2 for English, and the operatores speak English a lot better than the ones you get on talking pages back home in England. And they're very polite.

What operator are you talking about? I've called lots of mobile numbers from my landline, and no operator has ever appeared

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Why not take the free(?) shuttle bus to your hotel?

With 3000 meters needed for take-off, I wonder how they did it

dear CM folks,

I was just wondering whether CM is getting more expensive? Is it the oil prices, rental increases or just my imagination?

3 years ago, i could have a decent meal at JJ Cafe(Thapae Rd) for 40-60 b, last month, it's 65-120 b for a meal/sandwich. 3 years ago, most hotel buffets were below 200b, now usually above.

I hope my experiences are isolated ones because an increasingly expensive city is not so 'charming' after all.

Cheers!

P.s. even the recent increase in sugar price has caused street vendors' desserts to be less sweet albeit at the same price.

Of course it's getting more expensive. Any place in the world getting cheaper??

Hopefully, your income level has been keeping up

A very valid point but the increases are not that great. IMO CM still has a basic problem inasmuuch as people visiting expect to pay half what they freely pay in Bangkok without a second thought. I'm not advocating closer to Bankok prices but realistic prices might help CM business grow and prosper by putting more back in the local economy - maybe?

Unrealistic prices? I don't buy it. I think the prices in CM are just fine, thanks

Friend of mine mentioned tonight his girlfriend told him it costs him 7 baht a minute for him to call my mobile from his landline.

Anyone know if that's correct?

She's nuts if you live in Thailand.

My main interest is in making sure that Chiang Mai has great, well-stocked bookstores for walk in customers

Don't forget your drive-in customers.

Anyone know where I can get phone book Chiang Mai, white and yellow pages in english

Call 1188 for talking yellow pages in English

1188.....is that a free call or pay. been here 7 yrs and never heard of it. wife does most of my looking/translating in thai phone book, but even so, thais have a totally different way of organizing their reference books. takes her 10 minutes to find the simplest thing.

thanks for the tip!!

Their system is alphabetical, just like ours. But with 46 consonants, and 27 vowel combinations (I think), most Thais don't remember/don't know how it goes...

5555 I didn't even catch my own pun

If time is not a factor, consider seamail to the US. Time varies from 2-4 weeks. If it's all printed material, that's even cheaper...

I've never had any problems with using Thai Postal System, but I've always had problems with international carrier's 'extra' charges, and the fact that everything coming in on an international carrier goes through customs, but with the Thai postal system, there is less chance of customs charges, in my experience.

No, the owners name is George. A former Ajarn at CMU, and a good guy, in my book.

dear CM folks,

I was just wondering whether CM is getting more expensive? Is it the oil prices, rental increases or just my imagination?

3 years ago, i could have a decent meal at JJ Cafe(Thapae Rd) for 40-60 b, last month, it's 65-120 b for a meal/sandwich. 3 years ago, most hotel buffets were below 200b, now usually above.

I hope my experiences are isolated ones because an increasingly expensive city is not so 'charming' after all.

Cheers!

P.s. even the recent increase in sugar price has caused street vendors' desserts to be less sweet albeit at the same price.

Hopefully, your income level has been keeping up

Chanchao, maybe you should publish a 'Creative Parking in Chiang Mai' booklet for us neophytes

The Rydges doesn't really bother me. They have their own Karma to work out...

PS. Nice to see Gecko Books as a forum sponsor. Good luck, George!

I sure agree about driving in-town. Before I go, I have to plan for the best route at that time of day. The best time, in terms of traffic, seems to be between 1-2 pm. In addition, parking is normally out of the question. A few weeks ago I stopped in at Mikes to grab a shake and fries to go, with the idea of parking somewhere to enjoy the passing life, and my food. Unfortunately, no where to park, so my fries got cold and my shake got warm.

Thanks for that post!! I live the Chinese place next to CHiang Mai land as well.

DInd't know about the new Andaman seafood place, will definitely give it a try soon!

Speaking of seafood, did anyone try the place on the Canal Road just South of the Suthep Road intersection (Ping Payom market). It's on the canal road, on the left when driving on the canal road towards the SUthep road intersection.

Cheers,

Chanchao

What's the difference between Ping Payom and Ton Payom market?

The entire qote was..

For all those saying Chiang Mai has 'lost its charm', let me suggest that it is you who are losing your charm. Chiang Mai is simply a growing city with all the inherrent associated problems. People still move here, and they still move away... And life goes on for the rest of us.

What's the big deal?

I'm afraid you are reading way too much into my comments. Likely because you were reading them out of context, it seems to me. In the following sentences, I was trying to show that cities don't gain or lose charm, they smply grow and evolve. That the charm is from within each of us, and if your feelings change, then your feelings change. Charm is relative.

As for all the other crap, don't do wimpy things like piggy-backing on someone else's issue. Your own issues, in a relatively straight-up mannner, please.

And be careful of your reading skills. Not everything is as you 'feel' it.

Governors are in some cases appointed positions, and are like civil service type position. For BKK the Governor is actually like a Mayor and is elected. Pattaya and Phuket are the same; the rest are a civil service position and they rotate around.

Well, they don't actually rotate around, they go through the system.... For example, first you are the assistant governor in Satun, where your term will be typically 2 years. From there, assuming political winds are stable, you might be moved to governnor of some equally poor province. Then, on the average of every two years, you move up the 'social ladder' of provinces. After being governnor, there isn't really any path to follow, so something like 'Head Judge' of a province might be a preferable move, career-wise.

For all those saying Chiang Mai has 'lost its charm', let me suggest that it is you who are losing your charm.

Chiang Mai is simply a growing city with all the inherrent associated problems. People still move here, and they still move away... And life goes on for the rest of us.

What's the big deal?

Simple mind, simple thoughts...

Exactly!

KKK33 for some of the members you might want to consider drawing a diagram or using pictures otherwise they just won't get it.

Your feelings still hurt from when I suggested you change your name to 'mrbummer'?

What a wimp

Chiang Mai has changed dramatically over the past few decades. For those of us who were enamoured by the city at some point in the past, well of course the "charm" of that era has changed just as we have changed and aged. But even way back when, the traffic along the major arterials like Thapae, Moon Muang & CHotana, and in front of Worarot was awful. Now it is awful in most places although the institution of the one-way roads along the moat did improve things a bit.

For many, the existence of the new roads provides and enables the modern charm. Many ex-pats now live a bit outside the city and would never accept the old death defying two-lane highways out to the main satellite towns of Mae Rim, Sankhampeng, and Hang Dong. Life outside the city use to be far too ethnic for most of todays ex-pats and traditional villages are not really an option, even for other Thais, unless you marry into one.

For those who like a vibrant modern city, I would imagine that Chiang Mai has more charm today than in past decades. It certainly has the modern conveniences and ease of shopping that it lacked back when Tantrphan was the major, and really only, department store in town. But for me, the old charm that first attracted me to the city evaporated once they brought in the tuk-tuks and closed the old Henessy Club off of Huay Khao. But the wife and kids sure like to visit and go see a first run movie in English at one of the newer shopping malls. It is just that I am not a mall kind of guy. I would rather hang with my neigbors in the village or visit the local cantinas decorated with colored lights and a single reflective disco ball and listen to country girls in high boots and fishnet stocking crooning Thai country songs while drinking Mae Khong. But even these traditional cantinas are disappearing as the soulless neo middle class mubaanjatsaans (new housing estates) take over the landscape in the outlying areas too.

Sounds like you're in a better place now, living in America and visiting here once every few years. Congratulations.

I'm looking forward to one day of play, the rest at home, by the pool.

I think these 'hooligans' are overrated. Every year for the last few years, I've spent hours and hours driving around the moat,loi kroh, suriwong... I rarely see anything over the top, in fact, among Thais, they immediately freeze-out anyone making problems, in most cases, which takes the wind out of their sales, it seems to me...

The worst offenders are always, it seems, farangs. Last year, I ran across this guy, running up to people and shooting them point-blank with a pump gun. Unusual enough for me to take a photo

Thanks, Chanchao, for the thoughtful, balanced, and accurate post...

For all those saying Chiang Mai has 'lost its charm', let me suggest that it is you who are losing your charm.

Chiang Mai is simply a growing city with all the inherrent associated problems. People still move here, and they still move away... And life goes on for the rest of us.

What's the big deal?

Simple mind, simple thoughts...

Exactly!

Either you like it here and intend to stay in or around the lovely city of Chiang Mai with all of its charm and, yes, pollution some of the year or you decide to move on and live somewhere else. I think that it is really quite simple and does not need further comment other than “up to you”.

Exactly. No sour grapes required.

For all those saying Chiang Mai has 'lost its charm', let me suggest that it is you who are losing your charm. Chiang Mai is simply a growing city with all the inherrent associated problems. People still move here, and they still move away... And life goes on for the rest of us.

What's the big deal?