Rice60640

Thank you, everyone, for your input.

Hi -- sorry if this has been posted and it probably has -- but there are so many posts to weed through so I apologize. Since we don't live at our house in Chiangmai all the time but would like to have internet when we are there, I was wondering if there are these mobile hot spots that you can buy for the house and that uses a prepaid plan -- kinda like the cell phone sim card that lets you call and use data but this is just for data. You buy a certain amount of minutes or GB and when you run out, you can recharge. Can anyone make any recommendations? Thanks!

Actually you only need a cast iron grill pan and a brick wrapped in aluminum foil to make panini on the stove top.

Would like to take a class in December too.

Got one on Amazon shipped.

I. Am. Lost. For. Words b

i still feel safer than i did back in the ''hood'' in chigago...

And for good reason. Chicago is a war zone.

2013 year to date

----------------------------------------------

people shot and killed = 259

people shot and wounded = 1338

total homicides = 310

http://www.heyjackass.com/

Did you live in Uptown or on the South side?

Oh dear, we've done this topic many times before. One of the great things about Chiang Mai is that you can have a nice lifestyle and fun with a monthly budget as low as 10,000 baht/month and up. The general consensus was that a single guy with somewhat of a social life would need 30,000-40,000 baht. Someone out in the bars every day, entertaining the ladies, eating western food for every meal is going to need much more. Up to you!

It's really a matter of budget, attitude and lifestyle choices.

I'd caution anyone trying to live in Thailand on a limited budget to be sure to have ready access to at least 50,000-100,000 baht for a medical emergency and to get health insurance (or a savings account of 500,000) if you plan to live here longer term.

CM is a wonderful city to live in as compare to bangkok.

what kind of 'health' issue do you foresee ?

I think he was referring to the annual crop burning.

WOW, very hard to believe that anbody realy lives in CM,

Ciang Mai has the best night life in Thaland!

of course not so many Red light bars like the south but for sure most places with great life music,

beautiful women, great customers,

for tourists: Hot shot, Spicy, (after 1 or 2 a.m. before Loy Kroh road this is what you have everywhere in Thailand

but there are other places what make Chiang Mai outstanding:

restaurants: Tiger Kindom (normal prices) BBQ next to Furama hotel 199 baht all you can eat includes alco free drinks, only for the seafood you pay elsewhere 1000 baht and more, Chiang Mai Saloon (middle od Loy Kroh road) great Mexican/american/thai food in good atmosphere (small Chang 45 bath)

if you want to have a great night and you want to see where the Chaing mai people go:

Riverside, Good View, Tara Bar, White House, all with life music and great food, and all packed every night from 9 pm up,

monkey house, Warm Up ( great place for younger people up to 40)

for sure there are much more places, but i giess for 1 week enough

I would agree -- spent four days here two years ago -- best week in Thailand so far but I guess it depends on what your definition of "nightlife" is. I can wander the night market for hours. Sit at a coffee place for a bit and then walk around some more. There is the Kantoke show -- which is dinner and a dance show but I don't know if that counts as nightlife? We got back to the hotel at about 10PM and then I went back to the night market. There's wasn't a night I was in bed before midnight (that's late for me).

We judge ourselves more harshly than straight people do -- who's fat, who's hot and NOT! There are some things to stereotypes -- it only become a stereotype when it has been observed enough times in the general population. People with self image issues are the ones that need to tear other people down -- this happens in the gay and straight population.

I heard rumors that it would be difficult to find a job teaching ESL if you are a person of Asian (Chinese) decent. Would this also be true if the person speaks and writes at a native level? Also, would it be better to be TEFL certified in Thailand or in the USA? Thanks!

Love is best. Both is good. Just money? Not so much.

Call me a cynic but my natural thought would always be "does he love me or my money"

I sometimes soak e rice for about half an hour before boiling. Or, add a pinch of sugar to the rice. It will break down faster. About half an hour to cook.

I have been obese all my life and continues my battle with my weight. I know we all have our experiences with weight loss and gain but everyone is different. My suggestion would be to seek professional help -- a therapist for the depression (understand yourself and your wants and needs, be happy again!) and a nutritionist about your food intake, metabolism, caloric count, etc. etc. The key to losing weight is to burn more calories than you take in -- basic truth. As for exercise, find what you like to do and do it. I hate gyms but don't mind biking and walking outdoors for an hour a day or more. Find some new friends that will also be your cheerleaders -- being recognized for the hard work you put into loosing weight is a booster. Once you start moving and get used to it, you'll want to move more and more and that will cause the weight to come off.

There is a way to check put the egg in a bowl of cold water,if the egg sinks to the bottom on its side it is fresh, if it stands on its end it is reasonably fresh if it floats discard as it is quite old.

There is a small air pocket in an egg small when fresh and gets bigger the older the egg gets hence it will float.

I hope this helps you guys out

I think this test has to do with the air pocket in the egg. Notice how hard boiled eggs often have a dimple on one side and is not the same roundness as the shell? The dimple is the air pocket. Fresh eggs has a nice big air pocket between the membrane and the shell -- this air pocket dissipate over time and so the egg becomes old and not as fresh. So, the side that floats to the top in the bowl of water is where the air pocket it.

I've noticed at the grocery stores that the eggs aren't refrigerated so I'm kind of chicken when it comes to eating them.

Refrigerating eggs is a western practice. In Asia, most people don't refrigerate their eggs. I guess we also don't buy 12 eggs in a carton at a time when I was younger. We get what we need and use them so there's no need to refrigerate? My family in Malaysia still don't refrigerate their eggs today.

I've had beanbags in Singapore and they were comfortable. However, like everyone has said, don't use the leather/vinyl cover. Get either cotton or silk covers for your bean bag and get those that have an inner bag to hold the beans and a washable outer bag that you can slip off and wash. I don't know how expensive mung beans are in Thailand but my cousin had a pillow made out of them and they were always cool to the touch. The styrofoam "beans" can get hot after prolonged sitting. Good luck.

By the way -- Papa San chairs are also very comfortable.

Also, I don't know the specifics but these are also very comfortable. I think I saw them at Baan Tawai when I was last in CM.

http://alameda-ca.showmethead.com/furniture/500teak-rattan-plantation-chair-ottoman_18691770.html

That's a beautiful chair. We had some rattan backed chairs in the US that needed repair. The cost was ridiculous. But here, it's quite reasonable.

They are so comfortable -- it hugs every curve in your body. Once you get in, you don't ever want to get out.

I've had beanbags in Singapore and they were comfortable. However, like everyone has said, don't use the leather/vinyl cover. Get either cotton or silk covers for your bean bag and get those that have an inner bag to hold the beans and a washable outer bag that you can slip off and wash. I don't know how expensive mung beans are in Thailand but my cousin had a pillow made out of them and they were always cool to the touch. The styrofoam "beans" can get hot after prolonged sitting. Good luck.

By the way -- Papa San chairs are also very comfortable.

Also, I don't know the specifics but these are also very comfortable. I think I saw them at Baan Tawai when I was last in CM.

http://alameda-ca.showmethead.com/furniture/500teak-rattan-plantation-chair-ottoman_18691770.html

Thank you, I love Papa san chairs. I am intrigued by the use of mung beans, I've never heard of them being used for this, and will certainly investigate this further. Wouldn't be expensive if you were to buy a sack full I imagine. They could well be too heavy for a bean bag, but I might try making a pillow as an experiment. If/when I get around to it, I'll report back to the CM forum.

Make sure to do the double covers -- you don't want run away beans all over the house if the bag ever springs a leak.

Monks need to be fed and clothed, the temples need to be repaired, etc.etc. That's where the donations go.

I've had beanbags in Singapore and they were comfortable. However, like everyone has said, don't use the leather/vinyl cover. Get either cotton or silk covers for your bean bag and get those that have an inner bag to hold the beans and a washable outer bag that you can slip off and wash. I don't know how expensive mung beans are in Thailand but my cousin had a pillow made out of them and they were always cool to the touch. The styrofoam "beans" can get hot after prolonged sitting. Good luck.

By the way -- Papa San chairs are also very comfortable.

Also, I don't know the specifics but these are also very comfortable. I think I saw them at Baan Tawai when I was last in CM.

http://alameda-ca.showmethead.com/furniture/500teak-rattan-plantation-chair-ottoman_18691770.html

Whereustay...

In your original post you said you've been saving for years to realize your dream.

That's very commendable, everyone can understand that.

But what nobody understands is why you'd come here and commit a considerable

amount of your hard-earned savings to start building a house on land which you can

never own.

I'm not a negative person, but what you are doing frankly boggles the mind.

All we can do is hope and pray that you quickly learn your huge error and stop all

this before you have lost everything.

I don't understand all these frenzy about the need to own the land and the house. Why do you need to "own" as long as you lease the land (30 year land lease from the government -- is the house included in the land lease or do you actually own the house on which the leased land sits?) to build the house and has the option to "sell" that house and land to another person after you've stayed a few years and got tired of it. What's the issue?

If you like teak furniture go to Ban Tawai before going anywhere else, 15 minutes outside of town.

Anyone know of anywhere similar in Kalasin, Roi Et or Khon Kaen?

Give the Den Chai/Phrae area ago.for contemporary and teak furniture. Big savings over Ban Tawai. On highway 11 about 2.5 hours south of Chiang Mai.

GPS 17.974794, 100.014596 . Great trip and scenery spend the night or two.

Do they deliver or do you have to drive a truck to the place? I remember Baan Tawai prices were not inexpensive.

What are some of the main shopping areas or stores in Chiang Mai to purchase home furnishings? We need sofa, dining table and chairs, lounges, beds, night stands, lighting fixtures, refrigerator, microwave, coffee maker, etc. etc. etc. The taste is more contemporary but we also love some of the traditional teak furniture in Thailand. Thanks in advance!

I work with a Thai lady here - she tells me the "border run" situation has recently changed and it's no longer easy to cross the border and come back with a fresh stamp? Is this true?

Quick tip... Don't take advice from Thai birds at work about border runs. They know nada

So true -- seeing how they've never had to do one themselves!