Plastic Brontosaurus

Just looking for flights for the girlfriend to fly from BKK (Bangkok) to BHX (Birmingham, UK) Monday 18th March, returning Friday 23rd August, booked via the UK. Cheapest is Emirates at 597GBP for 15hr coming, 34hr return. If I want 16hr return it increases to 653GBP. If I change the return date to Thursday 22nd March I can get 536GBP and 628GBP respectively for long/short return flight. At 47.3THB exchange rate that means the cheapest flight I can get is 25,368.88THB.

Strangely the first time I did the latter search prices were coming back considerably higher, as much as 1200GBP. I just hope in 3 weeks time if/when her visa is approved that prices haven't changed significantly. Very pleased with these prices considering that it cost me 672GBP to go to Thailand in October and 1036GBP in December.

Just looked for 3 weeks in the UK in September, or seven weeks June/Aug, flying BKK-London-BKK on Emirates own website, and was being quoted B46k-B48k, so wonder where you're finding approx B26k ? Does that include taxes/extras ?

Emirates' website can change prices incredibly fast in my experience. A year ago or so looked for a fare (SYD-DXB-GRU if I remember well) and it was very low but had to wait for the missus to come home to discuss details, and a few hours later when I went back in it was like 35% higher. But not just for the chosen date (which would happen if only a set number of seats were priced low), but across two months or so. So there's an overall system that pushes fares up or down, probably depending on how many are sold within a given time frame from a certain location, or similar - or some other unknown criteria. I assume similar, presumably fully automated, systems are controlling other airline's ticket prices.

Bottom line: if you see a cheap fare - as in lower than anything else you've seen for that route that day, you may have just gotten lucky, so buy it there and then...

Tops is good. I go there about once a week and usually spend well over 400 baht so get the points. After 3 months of using the card I got a 200 baht voucher. Also they show the "Spots" you earn each time on your till receipt. They basically just give you back a bit of the money you spend, in return for data about your shopping habits. They ask for your "member card" at checkout which is convenient as you don't have to remember.

Thompson submachine gun - thought they were collectors items these days...

As mentioned in the article, regulatory burdens for businesses need to be addressed. One key element would be leveling the playing field so that foreigners can own businesses in Thailand outright and have the same rights as Thai business owners. This also requires significant improvements in the legal framework.

I will be starting two (multinational) businesses in the next couple of years, but whilst I would prefer them to be Thai companies, I will instead incorporate them in either Hong Kong or Singapore, as the risk and trouble of making them Thai companies is too great. The bottom line is that because of this decision, labor will still come to Thailand as a result of these businesses being started, but much of the profit will stay overseas. I'm just a small player; I'm sure many other non-Thai business people as well as overseas companies have similar concerns and thus Thailand misses out on opportunities.

Not to mention the destruction of the topography. Do other countries allow commercial concerns to destroy mountains? That is certainly what has been happening in Saraburi for ages.

Yes - mountains are destroyed in many countries. A few that come to mind: Australia, Brazil, New Caledonia... and not forgetting the good old US of A. But I'm pretty sure it happens in most countries with mountains. Sometimes for quarries and sometimes for mining minerals (in Aus there's one mountain which is largely made of iron ore; the whole mountain is in the process of being, well, processed...). There was one country where they blew up an entire mountain in one hit, can't remember for sure where it was - something like North Korea perhaps? Others may know more.

It sure looks like Pepsi is abandoning the Thai market. A few weeks ago I could still get Pepsi Max in the big bottles, now all that is available is normal Pepsi in the big bottles. Smaller bottles and cans have not been available for ages. Their shelf space has been taken over by Coca Cola products mostly.

Anyone who ever worked in retail/the supermarket space knows that shelf space is your primary asset. People I knew once flew pallets of canned tomatoes from Italy as they wanted to keep their shelf space and a hiccup prevented them from supplying local product. It cost them thousands (loss on the product) but at least they kept their shelf space. Pepsi has abandoned this and thus appears to be saying goodbye to the Thai market.

Whether they have a bottling plant or not is completely irrelevant. They could have shipped in product from neighboring countries months ago as an interim measure (by ship or road, not all that expensive) - they did not, so it appears to me they have written off this market (or they have seriously inexperienced management, is the only other way to look at it). It will cost them tens or hundreds of millions baht to get back into the market if they ever wanted to, not even taking into account their lack of an in-country plant.

Nothing wrong with that if that is what you want but there is also nothing wrong with wanting to have a social life independently of a husband or wife as well as one together.

Do you not ever go out without your wife?

Sometimes yes, but that would typically be connected to work (having a few drinks with colleagues after work etc.), or very occasionally when an old friend visits and the wife doesn't want to come along for example. However we both aim to "integrate" our friends into our relationship so to speak, not maintain "disconnected" friendships. It also depends on frequency etc. Once in a while is OK, but I would have a problem in a situation where both partners essentially maintain a fully separate social network, where they don't even bother to introduce friends to each other. I've seen this happen in relationships/marriages around me in the past, which in that case to me are more like "friends with benefits" relationships rather than a true marriage in the traditional sense...

In my experience it all depends on competition out of and into locations. For example try looking for a return ticket Paris - Hong Kong - Auckland on Cathay - on their French website. Then do the same Auckland - Hong Kong - Paris, on the Cathay NZ website (use two different browsers to avoid cookie locks). Last time I did that the difference was around 600 NZD. It's just because there's a ton of ways to get out of Paris, but only a few direct flights to Asia and beyond out of Auckland (most go via Sydney) so they add what they think they can get away with.

Karma for Todays Traveler

Phra Bhasakorn Bhavilai with David Freyer

Publisher: Phra Borommathat - Doi Suthep Foundation, Chiangmai

ISBN 974-656-846-9

This small book (92 pages) provides a modern take on Buddhism.

Another male view (I guess this might get nuked because the OP asked for female view, but I try anyway ). I grew up in a very traditional family (father was the breadwinner, mother housewife) and somehow I guess it stays with you.

I've lived in different countries, and in some (particularly Australia and NZ, but probably most Anglo-Saxon and Nordic countries) many/most women are highly independent nowadays compared to say a few decades ago. When you have a relationship with a "modern" woman like that, it can be almost like you're just "friends with benefits" (in my experience anyway). They go out on girls nights out once a week, have single male friends they hang out with alone, go on holidays with their female friends, etc. (OK this may not apply to every woman but is common). As you also both work usually, there's relatively little time left together. Thus such a modern relationship is very unlike traditional relationship models, where as a couple you essentially spend all your time together apart from when you are at work.

I guess because of my traditional upbringing I'm more inclined to seek out a partner who enjoys being looked after (as in being provided for), and in turn enjoys looking after me (as in being the devoted wife in a more or less traditional sense). This also means I expect her not to go out with others without me apart from very occasionally (not like every week, and going on holidays without me, etc.). I see a benefit of marriage here as particularly the woman is more protected (legally) in that case: she may not have an independent income, particularly after kids are born and she looks after them, and thus marriage acts as a safeguard. And also, because the relationship is traditional, getting married would be the traditional thing to do. It feels good within the context so to speak.

However if I ever had another relationship with a "modern" Western woman (particularly whilst living in LOS not very likely, but one never knows), it would probably be more of a "friends with benefits" type, rather than trying to get married or similar. It's basically two independent people sharing their life, and marriage adds nothing to such a relationship. Not that I can see anyway. If there's kids, you make a contract about the care for them (both personally and financially) and that's all that's required (plus perhaps a contract with the partner to define what will happen with assets and financially when you split up in future; modern relationships also seem to have a lower life expectancy than traditional ones).

Quick update: did a round of cheese shopping. Found the following:

Makro:

A decent albeit not very large selection of cheeses, at good prices (lower than anywhere else on average, as was already promised by contributors to this thread). They have a good range of hard cheeses and a few soft ones, including a very nice 60% French brie.

No real feta, although they have a 500 grams block of cheese in a combibloc/tetrabric style pack which they sell as feta. However the name feta does not feature on the pack and the packaging type means this will need to be eaten upon opening, or transferred to another container and then eaten quickly. So did not buy. Will go back there for non-feta cheeses.

A side note about Makro: in many countries you need to have a business to buy at Makro but here you don't. Just apply for a Makro card at Customer Service (at the entrance). You need to show your passport or Thai drivers license. The form is in Thai but just fill it in and the staff will fix any errors. They give you a temporary card and you can pick up the actual card two days later.

Rimping:

Good selection, better than Tops or anywhere else I have been so far for that matter (Tops is kinda halfway between Makro and Rimping in terms of number of different cheeses). However pricing significantly higher as was already mentioned by some on this thread: real French brie for example probably double Makro's price.

Found a Thai feta which I like in salads (which is what I use feta for, several times a week). Brand is Caroline and it comes in a 200 grams flat square white plastic container, with a aluminium foil top and label on the top. For a Thai product I find it expensive at 155 baht (import Danish Apetina feta costs 199 baht for 200 grams at Tops; would have expected the Thai one to be about half, not three quarters of that price). However it is good its there, and from now on will buy this rather than the Apetina.

There's also the Australian Lemnos brand (available at Tops and at Rimping) however that's got a really flat and industrial taste, and is in my experience one of the worst feta's in Oz taste-wise so I hope one day they bring in some other brand from there or from NZ (although the Thai Caroline brand will do fine for now).

Could not find the Hapico, perhaps they were out as I looked all around the store.

Did not find any other feta's other than the various Apetina styles (marinated with herbs, etc.) which are very expensive. So clearly there's not a lot of feta consumption going on here it appears...

Did not find Yok (initial armchair search - tried to find them using Google Streetview) but will try again. Any tips on exact location or how to identify the building would be great (I know it's supposed to be opposite Big C Extra but could not find it on Streetview; I tend to look it up first as its a nuisance to go somewhere and then having to drive around the area, crossing the superhighway a few times etc. so prefer to know up front the precise location).

Once again thank you to all contributors for the info - fridge is really full now

Fact remains that everyone's talking ASEAN and the government snuggles up to neighbouring governments and its all love and peace, but Myanmar should be put on notice to stop exporting their internal problems. Perhaps block their entry to ASEAN until they fix this issue.

If they need help solving this problem, they should call in the NGOs etc. and get them to help find solutions for these people.

But they seem happy to continue suppressing these folk so that they bugger off somewhere else. And not to Bangladesh where they should be going (that being a Muslim country and their original source country), but South where the economies are better. Which is all logical, but since they're poorly educated Muslims they don't integrate in non-Muslim societies and its time that is also recognised; so that Muslim countries can be called upon to provide homes for these people until enough pressure can be brought to bear onto Myanmar to deal with the issue properly.

Housing them in Thailand or other non-Muslim countries will only create issues down the track. However ultimately it remains a problem of the Myanmar government, and they won't do anything to resolve it unless sufficient pressure is applied.

I am about to move my family up to CM area.... I have 3 kids, so this is really making me rethink the move... my wife and i we were looking forward to the climate after being in Phuket for so many years.. my daughters are 4 and 7 and my son 12 and I would hate them to get sick from this....

we are supposed to be leaving in the next couple of weeks..... Is this a real major concern to you guys up there? Time to rethink?

My guess is that to most people it's mainly horizon pollution. Unless you/the kids are particularly sensitive and/or have respiratory issues, I don't think it's a major cause for concern. When I open my door in the morning it smells a bit smokey or something along those lines (not strongly), other than that I don't think there's much of an issue. From my place Doi Suthep is about 6 - 7 kms away. When the smog hits bad, visibility of Doi Suthep goes down to about 20% or so. However its still visible, through 6 - 7 kms of smog. So the smog is not like smoke or anything. It's essentially pretty thin even though it may not meet health standards etc.

If it worries you why don't you come over for a week or so to see what its like. That way you can judge from personal experience.

It does not worry me, although I prefer clear air.

Yeah...and guess whose bought all the land in that area????

This smells like the Koh Samui 2nd airport proposal. that is currently being pushed. Pre the last coup friends of a certain family bought vast amounts of farm land and then magically a air port was proposed there, now it is up again....

Although in the case of Samui it would make more sense, as the current airport is (far as I know still) owned by Bangkok Airways - which charges very high usage rights to others. And which in turn causes tickets to and from Samui to be very expensive, compared to other domestic flights of similar duration and keeps players like Air Asia away. So if a new airport would be owned by others, this might bring down ticket prices which would be a good thing...

However going somewhat off topic here...

Condos and committees always an issue IMHO. Not just in Thailand - both in NZ and AU all sorts of issues with the "Body Corporate" managing the building (over there it's commercial - an outside business running the building management). They charge for their services (as one would expect), but then only have the maintenance etc. done by their mates who charge excessive prices, then on top of that take 10% kickback off anyone who does any work in/on the building, push through work that is not required so they can reap more profits, etc.

Bottom line: checking out the building management setup is one of the key issues/influencers of the buying decision in condo buildings; it can make or break the experience living there, the increase or decline in value of the condo, etc. My experience in AU/NZ was almost enough to for ever say "no more condo", however given the convenience of them, I may just be tempted again, after thoroughly checking the management situation (and this being Thailand, also checking who the other owners are - particularly the spread of nationalities). Also remember to check the building for "cost factors": extensive services provision (swimming pools, gyms, large elaborate gardens) as well as the structure itself (many impractical large surfaces that require maintenance such as regular painting, cleaning, repairs etc.): these will significantly add to overall costs, either every month or down the track when major maintenance or repairs are due.

The thing with grocery prices in Oz is that the situation there is a duopoly (with Aldi a distant third player), same as in NZ. Grocery prices in both Oz and NZ are among the highest in the world, as are the supermarket margins due to lack of true competition (some claim it is because of cost of shipping, but that's bs, as shipping does not usually affect overall cost of items much due to number of such items per container etc.).

For this reason I would expect certain products to be cheaper here, as long as they are bought of the manufacturers in Oz/NZ direct (or from wholesalers that are not affiliated with the big supermarket players) - that way, the high margins of the supermarkets there can be avoided.

However on the other hand these are perishables and given the distance, tropical climate, etc. one would also expect local players here to add a fairly high margin to cover for losses etc.

Either way I don't think it's necessary that products here cost at least the same as in Oz - they can definitely be cheaper but it would depend on the product and the source. Cheese has gotten very expensive in recent years anyway, at least tripled in price in the past three to four years in Oz and NZ I'd say for most types (only exception is the no-name 1 kilo blocks at the big supermarkets in my experience). Probably also because of a few players dividing up the market between them and cranking up the margins...

I have no (financial) interest in ALDIs apart from being a regular shopper there for the years before moving to CM.

They are very much in front of the Big Two. I stock up with frozen NZ lamb and cheese and have it back in CM overnight.

check their prices compared to the other two.

http://www.bigpondmo...shopping-basket

Thanks - yes I know from personal experience too that Aldi has the better prices, albeit a more limited selection and very few brands. But an issue remains that there's not many Aldis compared to the other two in Australia, and none in NZ. In areas where there's an Aldi close to Coles or Woolworths the latter two drop their prices, but only for the supermarkets close to the Aldi.

My point is that because there's not as many Aldis as Coles/Woolworths, they are not a thorough enough competitor to break the high pricing cycle. In countries where there's more competition (such as continental Europe and Brazil where I lived before) supermarkets tend to be cheaper, and groceries a smaller part of the household cost (compared with rent, car, etc.). However in Oz/NZ the grocery costs are a bigger percentage of cost of living due to the lack of competition in the supermarket space, at least that's my view and also that of consumer organisations if I recall publications in the past few years. Lets hope Aldi keeps expanding, and perhaps if a fourth player showed up that would improve competition but entry costs are high and population low so may be a long wait...

Anyway I'm getting way off topic here..

The thing with grocery prices in Oz is that the situation there is a duopoly (with Aldi a distant third player), same as in NZ. Grocery prices in both Oz and NZ are among the highest in the world, as are the supermarket margins due to lack of true competition (some claim it is because of cost of shipping, but that's bs, as shipping does not usually affect overall cost of items much due to number of such items per container etc.).

For this reason I would expect certain products to be cheaper here, as long as they are bought of the manufacturers in Oz/NZ direct (or from wholesalers that are not affiliated with the big supermarket players) - that way, the high margins of the supermarkets there can be avoided.

However on the other hand these are perishables and given the distance, tropical climate, etc. one would also expect local players here to add a fairly high margin to cover for losses etc.

Either way I don't think it's necessary that products here cost at least the same as in Oz - they can definitely be cheaper but it would depend on the product and the source. Cheese has gotten very expensive in recent years anyway, at least tripled in price in the past three to four years in Oz and NZ I'd say for most types (only exception is the no-name 1 kilo blocks at the big supermarkets in my experience). Probably also because of a few players dividing up the market between them and cranking up the margins...

Thank you all for great replies - very helpful and useful. Will check out all mentioned stores in the next few days, and no doubt end up with at least half the fridge full of cheese

There's a few posts on the forums over the years about where to get cheese in Chiang Mai, but most of those are somewhat dated, so figured perhaps there's some new info out there that can be shared...

Whilst Tops has a very decent selection of Western cheeses including some pretty obscure ones, prices are the same or higher than Sydney for most of them.

Then there's Dacheeso where I went a few days ago and bought one of each of their products, but their range is limited to a few specific styles of cheese (as one would expect, anyway; they can't do everything).

There's been some discussion in the past about a Thai Danish outlet somewhere near the Zoo but that was mentioned as having disappeared at one point - are there any updates on this?

Essentially what I'm looking for is a good quality Danish style feta (creamy, mild and salty, but of relatively firm consistency, not crumbly and/or sour). Plus good cheddar and perhaps Gouda style cheese. Dacheeso does a feta but it's not the taste I'm after. At Tops a small container of cubed Apetina Danish feta is 200 baht which is kind of prohibitive.

So my question is: apart from Tops and Dacheeso, does anyone know of outlets where good (feta/gouda/cheddar) cheese can be had for a reasonable price in CM?

Many thanks

Been back in CM since October and view Doi Suthep and the mountains from my window. In October - November all was clear but in December the haze started, and the past week or so it has been much worse. I flew to Udon and back (on Nok) last week and you can see the layer of photochemical smog that covers the North clearly as a dark grey "blanket" covering the land - at high altitude you fly above it, and then you descend into it when going to land but it reaches pretty high up (there's no flight data info screens on those Saab 340's so can't say at what altitude the smog tops out but it goes up a few km's, probably hits some really cold air where it can't penetrate or whatever).

Can't figure out how to upload photos onto here (it wants a web link for some reason) but otherwise would have uploaded the two photos - over the smog and into the smog taken from the plane and you'd know what I mean.

So to answer the OP: yes the haze has hit, and it will get worse before it gets better...

It's logical that political and/or economic refugees try to escape to the best country for them - in economic terms. However Muslims of lower education levels generally don't integrate well (if at all) in non-Muslims societies (I've lived in Europe, and you see the examples every day everywhere). Yet they always try to come to the countries with the better economies - can't really blame them but they don't fit in.

Still not sure why Muslims don't integrate whereas other peoples generally do to a large degree, but with this knowledge, I think Muslim countries should take the Muslim refugees. Malaysia takes them already - why not make a deal to deport them there. And at the same time start leaning on the Myanmar government (together with Malaysia and others) to force them to come out of the stone age. Just because they have one high-profile democracy activist should not allow them to dump their problems over their borders. If they wanted to, they could simply position a few naval vessels near the border and stop all boats leaving. However for them it is convenient to get rid of these poor uneducated folk they don't want in their country.

If they make all children born in Thailand citizens, that will cause an influx of parents wanting to have their babies here just to give them citizenship. The same issue happened in other countries and can cause all kinds of social problems. However deportation is the other end of the scale.

Why not simply give them a right to education, medical care etc. but not citizenship. The fact that kids born to Burmese parents in Thailand don't have right to Burmese citizenship should not be the problem of Thailand - Thailand should lean on Burma to change their insane laws. Burma/Myanmar is all the rage now, but we should remember it is still a totalitarian pariah state living 50 years in the past. One democratic activist with a high profile does not suddenly make it a good country. America's reasons to bear-hug Burma have nothing to do with the country itself, but rather with its worry that China will have the cake and eat it all. Myanmar is a dump, and if they want to develop, they better shape up - starting with giving rights to their children, wherever they are born.

Bit of a worry this story lets hope it will all work out OK in the end for this chap.

However whilst some people state their worry about the number of incidents happening to tourists/falangs in Thailand, we should also realize that the number of tourists visiting Thailand per year is roughly the same as the entire population of Australia. Given that fact, I think the numbers overall are not too bad at all, and more or less "as expected" for such a large number of people, I'd say.

About expiration: I have a TrueMove SIM that I got for free at an airport three years ago or so, and so far, every time I top it up with 1000 baht it extends its expiry with about six months. However the maximum validity is 12 months (any further 1000 baht top-ups will not push the expiry date further into the future beyond the 12 months from today).

When i do a balance enquiry (#123#) it says the balance and then "you can make calls until 14/12/2013".

There's a lot of different SIM "packages" so not sure whether this one is still available to new subscribers or even whether its behavior will change if the expiry date requirement gets implemented in the (near?) future. Just thought I'd mention the above as some people can't seem to get expiry dates beyond a month or so - at least with TrueMove and the particular SIM card I have, expiry depends on the top-up amount.

Got my SIM three years ago for free at some airport, had them top it up with 1000 baht and activate for me on the spot, been happily using it ever since. Never had to show or register anything. Judging by the other replies the situation varies depending on where you get the SIM from and when...