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northernjohn
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Posts posted by northernjohn
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This sound like an ad to me.
If you're unfamiliar with Neramit then please take a refresher course on 'Chiang Mai' first.
Thank you.
Are you offering courses and how often do you update them. Seems like so many places going out of business and a new one replacing them you would almost have to do it daily.
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advantage of eReader over iPad mini.... Your kids won't want to be on it every time you put it down!
... LOL! And that's the truth! 555!
E-readers ARE lighter weight, though, and for some of you old folks, that's important. And they make special carrying pouches that attach to the sides of walkers now in several designs.
I prefer my Kindle because I can just throw it in my grabpow and take it any where with no problem.
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Ridiculous visa runs and checks every 90 days
I haven't done a visa run since 2008, perhaps if you were eligible for a proper long stay visa you'd have been alright.
Maniacal drivers with death wishes
If you drive defensively, I find the roads very safe.
Chinese tourists for a bunch of reasons
They get a bad press, but every Chinese person I've met in person has been polite and friendly. And their skirts are to die for......
Black smoke billowing out of MANY vehicles
Very few cars have this problem in recent years.
Songtaews and tuk tuks for a hundred reasons
Occasionally I pay 18B for a Songtaew that takes me 25km. I find this service very helpful. Otherwise I don't interact with them, but I can't see why there would be a problem.
Paying " farang" prices
Speak Thai, it doesn't happen.
Did I mention the garlic wreaking money hungry Thai women ( and the hookers are worse )
Maybe its because I stink of garlic, but I have to say I haven't noticed the women smelling particularly bad. In fact, they smell lovely. And money hungry? Maybe its because you had nothing else to offer?
Having to whisper when discussing the ROYAL FAMILY
I don't talk about the Royal Family. They have no impact on my life, so why should I? Just like England.
Censors and the junta shit
Censors - Zenmate. Junta? No impact on my life since coming to power.
The ransom prices of western food
??? I can eat western food here for far less than I can back in England.
The slowness of the Internet
??? I get 13MB download in country, and sufficient to stream HD internationally. This isn't slow as far as I am aware.
A country with at least 5 genders
The open minded people are one of the many things that make this country great.
The wonderment of the burning season
You've missed it this year, AQI has barely crept above 100.
Paying overvalued amounts for ALL vehicles both new and used
My truck in the UK, around 1,000,000B. Here I bought new at 618,000B. Maintenance, fuel and insurance all substantially cheaper here.
Ordering 5 things in a restaurant and arriving 5 different times
And your problem? People order and eat together. The soup arrives, we eat soup, some veg arrive, we eat veg, the curry arrives, we eat curry, but there's still some soup and veg, so we eat that, the yam arrives, we're ordering more beer. Dining here is a fantastic social experience - you wanting Thailand to be like home is your problem.
One should never live in a country where you can't drink the tap water
That rules out nearly the entire world.
The lack of English spoken and the lack of desire to learn
Why should they? This is Thailand. Do you learn the language of the foreigners who visit (that's what you were doing with your visa that required border runs) your country?
xenophobic, status conscience, selfish population
Pot, meet kettle.
Loudspeaker trucks
You got me.
Hot than hell MOST of the time
Benefit.
Shopping malls where most Thai people can't afford to buy anything
Where most Thais don't visit, because most Thais don't live within 50km of one.
Having to support a family that EXPECTS me to do it
Again, this is probably because you had nothing else to offer.
Corrupt police ( all of them )
This comes with benefits.
And my personal favorite.......SAVING FACE
And why are you back here again?
xenophobic, status conscience, selfish population
Yes that was my reaction . He takes it to the max in his personal life. I wonder what the list of reasons he had for leaving his home land were originally.
Do you really get songthaew rides for 18 baht? Especially for 25 kilometers. I bet that would take a lot of dickering.
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This is going back a bit but it was their stated intention at the time...
The current hotel site will be integrated into a larger redevelopment project which will house a lifestyle community mall featuring landscaped plaza, retail areas, cinemas and restaurants.<snip>
The Amari hotel isn’t going away though, a new smaller hotel is going to be built on the spot with only 85 rooms and will feature a more modern look (the old one looked more Thai in nature) and be surrounded by retail shops and that whole modern lifestyle that guests love. An all-day dining restaurant, meeting room and gymnasium. It has yet to be revealed if a nightclub will also be added which would be a great addition to the area making Nimmanheiman the place to go not only for Thai’s but for Tourists as well.
Sounds like an expansion for farongvile.
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Do they check, if you have done the TM28/30, when you go for Visa extension?
Did my 1-year retirement extension today, no questions about TM30.
Great, done by 11:20. How early had you arrived? Cheers...
did you happen to noticeArrived 03:30, done 09:20
I see where you were done at 9:20 were you the first in line or the second in line? If you were the first 20 minutes would be 3 an hour and 24 a day. Unless there was more than two officers handling the applicants.
Did you happen to notice if all 30 queue numbers were passed out?
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He said that many farangs expect the same cultural standards here in Thailand as they have within their home countries.
Like a properly functioning police force, fair and impartial Judiciary, and an effective democratically elected government - who aren't in their positions for the sole purpose of amassing grotesque levels of personal wealth? Yep, guilty as charged...
I had to laugh when I read this
He said that many farangs expect the same cultural standards here in Thailand as they have within their home countries.Any one that expected that would have to be brain dead.
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But these are all incidentals do the American people really want to have the whole world laughing at them.
That's an interesting point. You know how Thais don't care what Farang think about anything? Americans care even less what non Americans think about them. I know that is difficult to understand - it was for Piers Morgan. " British presenter admits Americans 'tired of hearing me CNN's audience tired of hearing a Brit debate American issues, he said - His ratings have plummeted from two million to around 270,000. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2566348/CNN-axes-Piers-Morgan-Live-final-air-month.html
Today Raul Castro snubbed Obama at the airport. Trump said he would have turned the plane around and left. A two bit banana republic dictator snubbing the American President who is going to bring billions in new revenue into his country? Somebody got their priorities wrong.
Really not up on the presidential travels. But I don't think all the heads of state meet the President when he travels.
You are trying to transfer Trumps feelings of inferiority on to Obama. Nicer try but no soap.
Actually I am replying to the Americans don't care what others think of them. That is the reason they show no respect for the rest of the world they have none for them selves.
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As an outsider looking in....If Trump should get the nomination when he faces up to a real politician in Clinton certainly in policy she will cut him to ribbons, she don't have the razzamatazz like the golden boy what she has is real experience in government and for us watching this circus we all hope the Trump does not make president.
LOL you are too funny. Watch and learn.
Im not being funny I'm concerned for the future....That showman who thinks this campaign is an extension of one of his reality shows is a dead set tragedy and the clowns that vote for him are telling the rest of the world start building bomb shelters in your back yard....
The very fact that any one would support him shows that there is a serious need for education in the United States.
The man has not come up with one single idea to help Americans. He wants to deport all the people who work in the fields and thereby raise the cost of food.
He wants to build a wall between the United States and Mexico there by inviting the Mexican cartels to import Hamas tunnel diggers for where the fence is.
He thinks Mexico is going to pay for it at the same time charging all the illegal immigrants with being rapists and killers. Now do you really think Mexico would spend a dime to keep those people in their own country.
But these are all incidentals do the American people really want to have the whole world laughing at them. The president of the United States should show a little dignity and speak for ALL the people not just his white legally here people.
He should not put on a clown act to the world that he is practicing on now every time he opens his mouth.
His talk demeanor and actions are similar to a clown from the Barnum and Bailey Circus. He thrives on the old Barnum saying that there is a sucker born every minute.
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I have heard it said that with out bees 1/3 of the worlds fruit and vegetables would disappear.
For my self I would just ignore them.
But what hasn't been mentioned here is they have been known to be fatal with just one sting.
There are a few who are very succeptable to the poison they have.
Also I have been told that a dab of toothpaste will take the sting away.
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To the best of my knowledge sports guards are not designed to be comfortable when you are doing nothing for 8 hours.
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just saying it was in rimping yesterday would have been enough. by adding "when I was shopping" is not an economical use of the English languageIt was in Rimping at Maya yesterday when I was shopping...
For Rimping take your night goggles and go to Promenada they have the largest selection.
Also ask where it is as they do not have signs saying what is in the aisle's.
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I have mostly heard complaints about language schools - - I did meet a young fellow once and his Thai was limited but ok - and he had taken a 6 month course at AUA... I did actually buy their books to fill in some holes in my language and think they are pretty good...
Sorry I have not heard of this course and cannot answer your question directly, but hope this helps. Much depends on the individual teacher as well as the lesson plan.
Learning the language is the single most helpful thing you can do for yourself. Even if you just learn a little, every little bit helps.
Good luck.
when I first got here in 3 days I was enrolled at AUA. It was the beginners class. I was in a room with 10 others all had either lived here for a year or already taken the course and this was their second time through it.
To top it all off it was at first learning the vowels. So far so good. Then it turned into a course In grammar in a language I could not speak. There was a few words taught so you could learn specific grammar but nothing about where to use the words.
I got a private teacher after that and did much better. No help there with an education visa.
I talked with the people on the fourth floor at Pantip and for 250 baht an hour they had a private teacher. I did not ask about the visa as I have a retirement one. Just wanting to improve what little I know.
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The burning season is not as bad as being around so-called "smokers" who feel it is their god given right to foist cigarette smoke on all and sundry. At least for me. And being very active the typical traffic smoke/exhaust in Bangkok is worse. I once walked from Silom road to Sukhumvit and I have never blown more black crap out my nose. Perhaps walking around all day in in Hong Kong is worse, where eyes and throat literally burn from exhaust fumes.
Do not want to mimimize the health effects of the burning season but it it is impossible to predict what the increased mortality or disease will be for any one person. Unless you stay in sealed room for months you will be taking an abnormal amount of particulate matter into your lungs , It is certainly not healthful.
That being said some people are bothered more than others. I find it to be more like a bad smell, it never goes away even at night, and is accompanied by the blistering heat of the season which makes daytime outdoor activities unpleasant. I still ride bicycles a couple hours a day with no burning throat or eyes, and I have not used masks.
Cigarette smoke is much much worse.
Don't know if the OP is bothered by the burning season or has ever experienced it but if so it would be better to not come to Chiang Mai or anywhere in the North until it is over.
Agreed.
Also they have no idea of the damage they are doing to their lungs and old friend of mine is dying in the hospital bad heart which some
sort of machine helps but only 10% use of his lungs. A 10 foot walk and he has to rest.
As for KL last year I think they were affected by the fire in Indonesia last year
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Another thing to consider is the ones who are more susceptible are probably getting older.
I know for my self that it is affecting my eyes more than it did 5 years ago. It is still not as bad
as in previous years and gullible old me is hoping for a better future now that the government
has called for a solution in 5 different countries in SE Asia
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Well it's not rocket science. Why do you think you can rent a house there for a few thousand baht? Sorry to hurt feelings but the reason is because it's a dump.Bitter much? Which sex tourist haven would you recommend as an alternative to our pretty little city? We've got museums, malls, temples, markets, etc. what were you expecting? Tourist information to greet you with a handjob at immigration?
You can use my analysis for anywhere else on the planet. High rent =higher class of persons, it just the way it is
Yeah, but no all the same. How much are you paying in rent where you are in your paradise of negotiable affection? Mine's 25,000 Baht for a 1 bed apartment. Not really "a few thousand baht" is it? You can rent for nothing (or next to it) anywhere in Asia (except Singapore and most of Hong Kong); it's not all a dump. If you want a better quality of life - pay more for it - on that we're agreed but having budget accommodation is a reflection of economics everywhere in Asia not on any given city.
I own a condo in Bangkok but I don't doubt you however you are the minority of TV members that live in Chang Mai paying that rent. Most people here brag about sub 5k rent. I'm struggling to picture a 25k one beder
Well the OP did not say it was a cheap condo. He just said he got more than it was worth. He might get 30,000 baht when it is only worth 25,000 baht.
Your 30,000 baht a month in Bangkok can probably be got in Chiang Mai for 5,000 baht a month. Easy to sit at a anonymous keyboard and compare apples to oranges.
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It's actually one of the better years so far. By all means keep an eye on things, but it's not too bad. (and I'm someone who goes for a holiday when it does get bad.)
Thanks for the feedback. I heard that it clears up before Songkran so I only have a few weeks to be concerned about. If it continues to be clear then I won't worry to much about a mask.
It is as Winnie said not that bad so far. Yet it is most assuredly here. It is actually a point of view.
I have seen people claiming it starts in December and ends in June.
Not been my experience but then again maybe they are more sensitive to pollution than I am.
The traffic year round here in Chiang Mai creates air pollution but for most of us it is not a concern.
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I have never heard a Thai call the waitress "younger sister", "nong" yes, but that does not mean younger sister ?
"Nong" does mean younger sister, or brother, and Thais use it all the time. Even for complete strangers who are younger...and "Pi" for older. The same terms are used for actual relatives as well. Kind of cool, I think.
Thank you Berkshire - I think this question is revealing much more about the posters than about the question of what is "Thainess" - which I assume is to be answered from a Thai perspective of what the word means.. and yet, people use it to bash... how sad.
Bashing Thais was not my intention but of course there is a certain element in Thai Visa who believe that to have an opinion about Thailand that doesn't agree with theirs is Thai bashing.
The question wasn't about Thais per se but their political leaders who are promoting Thainess for a politcal end. I could go on but I am sure anything more I said would be deemed as Thai bashing.
You say they are promoting it for a political end. The very idea that they are trying to bring Thailand together has nothing to do with it in your opinion. The P M said shortly after he came into power that it would take 20 years to bring unity to Thailand. That to me would be Thainess. How ever I believe (in my opinion) that Thainess is doing it the way they have always done it until the West came in and is trying and succeeding in introducing Western materialism in as a substitute for family values.
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A more relevant question for this forum might be "What is Northern Thainess?" In fact, locals in Chiang Mai wouldn't refer to themselves as Thai at all, but Khon Muang.
Living in Chiang Mai and being married to a Thai who has most of her family here I would have to say B S. They refer to themselves as Thais and maybe some do as Khon Muang just as some in the states refer to them selves as southerners or northerners. But still Americans. Even all the original different native tribes refer to them selves as Americans. They may identify which tribe but they still claim to be Americans.
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Just my opinion but most posters don't realize there is a big difference between people that want a studio and people who want a big house in a village or outlaying area with the upkeep that goes along with it.
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Thailand is not 3rd world. It is a middle income nation or 2nd world nation (though that is a bit of a shoddy way to classify countries anyway). Only people with little comprehension of economics would classify Thailand as 3rd world. If you want to see 3rd world visit the provinces of Cambodia. You won't find free air-con fitting (or any air-con), rapid TV delivery, etc. there.
when over half the appointed . half the elected , and half the popo are on the take , well that is a 3rd or 4th world place .
Source please and Thai Visa doesn't count.
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I do not say his go to another place.
You must be a very rich man.I like my first class lifestyle here.
why you do not like in other countries, where "irst class lifestyle" cheaper?
He say's he likes it here. Why should he go any where else?
I just ask WHY like it here If "first class life" here be more hight cost than in another place, and not full as in another place.
Maybe he doesn't care about the money as much as you do.
If money is your driving factor why don't you go live some place where it cost less
to live in any style you choose even poverty?
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I like my first class lifestyle here.
You must be a very rich man.why you do not like in other countries, where "irst class lifestyle" cheaper?He say's he likes it here. Why should he go any where else?
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You talk about pool parts, curved TVs and vendors finding products for you. Are you aware that this country has not provided water and electricity to every citizen. There are provinces that have begged the Government for assistance for years and still do not have electricity...
Which of Thailands 76 (77 including special admin zone) provinces has no electricity..
Or just exaggerating ??
Exaggerating. there is still areas where it is lacking. Remember when
DingluckYingluck was going to give a tablet to every student in Thailand. There was 2,000 schools with out electricity. I am sure there are still schools with out it.I like these third world hospitals, they are so much better than the ones in the first world, better service and much cheaper
But when you take local average wages into account.. I wonder if they still are ?? Otherwise your back to the Neo Colonial big white Bwana syndrome.
Personally healthcare is free / socialized where I come from so hard to calculate.
It is socialized in many countries. Two that spring to mind are Canada and England. Just get in line and try not to die before they have time for you.
Not sure about the Nordic countries. I think they are more organized. Or faster.
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one of the hall marks of the "3rdwrld" is good service for the upper class... those with big screens pools etc. bwana
I've lived in southern Africa and in Pakistan for a total of more than 25 years. Believe me, Thailand is no third world country compared to those places.
As to the alleged hallmark of third world countries, the truly wealthy minority did get good service compared to everyone else, but "good" was a relative term and that privileged group was extremely small and wouldn't have extended much beyond the uber elite.
No one could seriously compare life in Thailand to places like Zimbabwe, Somalia or Bangladesh, for example. In one country where I lived, the main hospital in the capital, affiliated with the sole university as a teaching hospital, was dubbed by the locals as the Departure Lounge because most anyone admitted there was never seen again. If you needed an operation, your relatives would need to source everything needed from anesthetic to surgical gloves on the black market and donate it to the surgeon before he could start to do anything. When a friend of mine needed surgery for something relatively routine he had to be sent by air ambulance to South Africa.
good points. |the truth of the matter is the ones who call it 3rd world are for the most pasrt people who have never seen a real 3rd world country. Just Thailand and the country they came from. they expect to get the same services here they did there. I know a couple who have lived here for years and never even been to Cambodia or Burma and they figure this is third world.
Was talking to my son the other day in a Vancouver suburb and he says their power was out for a day. What does that make Canada?
Where to buy an Ebook Reader in Chiang mai?
in Chiang Mai
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Why not just go to B2K at the Festival Central and get one there?