OldChinaHam

Yes, there are accomplished pianists here too that have played on the world stage. And you are right, if someone does not build it, then they will have nowhere to come.

Significant western cultural pursuits for everyone might even take the extra burden off the local psychiatric hospital that I pass on the way to the airport.

I do to.

Where do I get my head examined?

If this were Sydney, then we would be having aboriginal poetry readings in town. Or if it were Vienna, then we might dine on sausage. In Manhattan it would be Woody, and in San Francisco or LA we could be levitating with TM. In Beijing it would be munching on duck and counting Ferrari driven by Princelings. And in Finland it would be searching for and bowing down to photos of Linus Torvalds.

But here in our fair city, one can only do the same thing, and get stuck in the same rut, for so long without becoming so sick of it. So I'm just wondering what in Chiang Mai might break the monotony?

Please keep in mind that we already know about going to bars, getting massaged, and drunk on our asses. There is nothing new nor not boring about these activities. I'm talking about really getting out there, taking a risk, maybe seeing a play like they do in Tokyo when they are bored. Yeah, Kabuki Theater, that's what I'm talking about.

Now everyone knows that this TV forum is brimming with absurdist humor and expressions of nonsense which I find always enjoyable. No one expects this type of behavior to stop anytime soon. But still, I am wondering if anyone here can pull themselves together long enough to make a few useful contributions between their snide remarks and off-color observations?

Thank you.

Please can we list below other more practical options if we absolutely must rule out Kabuki Theater in Chiang Mai? Any contribution will be up for consideration. The masks are on me.

Anywhere the weather is drier and the humor is drier still.

Anywhere that is less touristier, which is probably not a word.

Thompson? Was that not in Malaysia?

We will never have decent sidewalks.

95% FULL and mostly Chinese passengers? And still just the tip of the iceberg.

Boeing and Airbus have understandably apparently done almost anything to stay in the Chinese market, including transfer of sensitive technology.

It seems obvious that if the Chinese economy holds up we will experience a true boom in Chinese travel like nothing that has ever been seen so far.

We will have Chinese coming out of the woodwork, no doubt.

But I knew this was coming, way back when I was a young man decades ago at university trying to decide on the best language to study - we were compelled to choose one.

I chose Chinese simply because I love Asia and also because Chinese is spoken almost everywhere, and by not a few people.

I still say that I probably made a wise choice about which language to study. No matter where I go, I can always find someone who speaks either Chinese or English.

Thai though? Not too many speak Thai. But what the heck? Might as well live a little.

Off Topic

Sorry, but the KaiTak image got me going

Does anyone recall the flooring, floor-covering in the original Kai-Tak airport, around 1975 to 1985 or so?

I refer to the sort of dimpled surface of the floor which made it seem as if you were Walking on the surface of a giant flat Golf Ball.

I have not since seen a floor like that.

What was that about?

Was it a one of a kind flooring designed specifically for that particular airport?

Let's put it this way,

I usually forget I'm not Chinese until I get shocked when I randomly look in a storefront window and discover that I apparently am not.

Good question though.

Cathay and Dragon Air also great carriers (IMHO).

That IS a beautiful shot!

I hadn't seen that one!

Thank you.

What a great place, I am sorry they closed KaiTak.

Also, LIKE CM, it was great because you could get off your plane and be in your Kowloon home or hotel in, truly, about 1/2 hour!!!

CM airport has almost this kind of speedy convenience, too.

Hello Hellodolly,

It is easy to read the best estimates and projections of India's population just by going to the relevant websites such as WHO and India's government studies.

Please take a look at the demography studies. There are many scenarios but the most accurate and accepted prognostications suggest there will be very close to 1.8 billion living in India by 2050.

You say there is not enough room but that is not true given high rates of urbanization.

The real limiting factors are water, water, and water.

The aquifers in India are being used up at an alarming rate as you probably know. There are Indian farmers there now who are having really difficult times with their crops going into debt and drinking insecticide to end it all.

BUT, 1.8 Billion is a very solid figure.

If you want to read more, please go to the WHO figures or the UN figures, or you can go to this PDF download which outlines the India's demographics into 2050.

Happy reading.

Or, I should say, sobering reading.

http://www.prb.org/pdf07/FuturePopulationofIndia.pdf

I know I'm clean, my computer hasn't been dripping for days since I switched to Windows Defender.

The ASUS laptop I have came with a Mcafee promotion offer installed.

I just removed it, even though this was difficult since ASUS gets paid by Mcafee to use this virus software.

After removal of McAfee, which I consider malware, then just install the windows defender option that comes with your Win8 OS, or is available for your Win7 OS.

The best option of course is to throw out Windows altogether and just use linux with KDE desktop.

After 10 years without the drips, I think Linux is a good choice.

But if you are using Win8, then maybe this will help.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2020260/how-to-activate-windows-defender-in-windows-8.html

Please feel free to sound superior. I don't think I have really used Usenet much since about 1992 or '93 (not 1893). But maybe we are speaking of two different networks.

When I go to download software from a linux website, I don't think I have ever seen one that offers to upload gigabytes via Usenet. Next time I'll ask.

Thank you.

I once lived near KaiTak!

Those birds really came in for a landing.

It was often China Airlines that ended up in the drink or upside down though.

Now that I think of it, maybe the China Airlines pilots back then were on the drink.

I don't think there are any China Airline pilots taking off over my head here since I have been watching.

Everything seems to be straight and level.

To qualify this a bit:

We are very fortunate to have the airport located close to the city which decreases travel time compared to what is the case in many other cities. Still it is interesting to think about what may be the impact of increasing the number of flights significantly or having these flights take off and land later at night. I don't know what the growth projections for this airport may be. But it is worth a thought when thinking about where to invest and build. I guess nobody really wants an airport in their city even though they like the convenience and the business it brings in.

I like planes. But more so when they are not taking off over my head while I am having my massage. Just curious as one who lives near one end of the runway, what activity of yours seems least enhanced by the roar of jet engines overhead?

And do you like it best when the planes land on 360 or on 180?

I like it both ways now that I have my new Bose 15 headgear.

Actually I do not have it quite yet, but it seems as if I already have them on and working now that the jets have just changed direction from 360 to 180.

Do you have any cows that are losing their milk?

Just don't call me when they are on final.

Not the cows.

O.C. Ham

"I am not a big supporter of either but I do know that China has the most English speaking people of any country in the world."

Better talk to India about that one.

And as we all know, India will soon surpass China in human population heading to who knows where.

Probably safe to say India will soon see 1.8 billion, many of them English speakers,

If you can call that English.

"are you a chinese?"

Do I look Chinese?

According to the video Jose posted above:

"Famous last words: Mr. Faber would rather die in a Thai massage parlor than in a Swiss home for old folks."

Yes, but which one?

Does anyone have the GPS for Faber's massage parlor?

Sometimes it is wise to be thankful for being in a better position than the next guy. While searching noise related topics about Chiang Mai, I found what is probably the main cause of the sub woofer noise hitting us very late at night and often into the morning hours. There is a type of Toyota van called a "Commuter", just basically a cheap box on four wheels. If one is really pushing the envelope, then it is possible to have this bus fitted with almost every Hi Fidelity cone you can think of, leaving little room for paying passengers.

The people that outfit these boxes are not bashful when it comes to advertising their company names right on the side of these rolling sound rigs. One I found advertises on Facebook and has their own website, but I won't here provide this company with free advertising on TV.

The guy who may have it worse than people here in CM is a resident of Pattaya. Here is his story and you can read more about his trials on TV if interested.

"Sounds" like this poor devil is being driven almost mad down there in Margaritaville. I do sincerely feel for the guy because before I found the source of the sub-woofer bass madness here, I had thought that most of this racket was being emitted by the local bars, and now that I know otherwise, I might even go into one for a drink.

Here is the post from the man in Pattaya. I certainly wish I could commiserate with him:

"Posted 2013-04-22 19:27:26

POPULAR

Thanks folks, I just broke a 100.

Maybe your coughs come from too many rounds of golf in the fresh air.

Try a 3M respirator.

This may also have dual purpose if the powers that be in ShangHai keep sending down their guys who are also under the weather.

People seem to make too much, or complain too much, about the air pollution.

CM air is actually, I think, quite good. And there is plenty of sun. This is not really a true basin, after all.

If you really wish to enjoy some pea soup, you should go to plenty of places in China,

I can recommend a few if you wish to try out your new respirator.

One other advantage to having a Live Linux CD/DVD on hand is that if your computer OS goes wacko or for some reason you cannot use the XP OS to access your computer files, very often you can pop in the Live CD and easily see all your files still in place and able to be copied out onto another media. This alone makes having an emergency Live CD/DVD kind of worth having.

You can also create a Live USB stick if you don't have a DVD drive.

Very good for emergencies.

As I say, it is the best thing since, well, Sliced Bread.

There is one thing I find annoying about Chinese hotel guests of yesteryear, is the fact that they tend to leave their hotel doors open while they and their friends are inside having a gay old time. Fine, there is nothing wrong with this IF my room is not directly opposite theirs while they are drinking and smoking up a storm, or just gabbing away with the rest of the family. But hotel rooms are not supposed to be used as the village commons area where all congregate to discuss the weather.

Of course, if they invite you in to down 6 large bottles of beer in an hour, then this quickly makes up for any prior noise or inconvenience.

GAN BEI!