northernjohn

Was in Central Festival today. Fair amount of people. Lot's of kids. Went for movie pay my true bill and the food court which is nice but I didn't see a lot of people in it.

I drift. When I went in the first store I saw had clothes and the signs were tremendous mark downs at the till.

I thought for a t shirt at 300 baht they better have a tremendous mark down. That was a kids size. I was amazed at the listed prices on the big signs as I walked by it. If they are all that high priced I don't think they will do well. The prices they ask for in the night market are lower.

Don't read Thai but the wife told me a lot of the restaurants were Japanese.

it just shows how totally out of touch you are with what goes on in Thailand. some of those shops sell kid's shirts for 1600 Bath each and Thais visiting from BKK and elsewhere, as well as HK Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans are buying them. They are doing well. in Thailand it's all about impressions... those shirts are cheap for other Asians.

the food court is fairly empty because it's the same cheap food available anywhere. Thais and other Asians who frequent there dine at the expensive Japanese restaurants while students are dining at places like Jeffers and BKK Grill.

you need to be able to read Thai to know if a restaurant is Japanese cuisine??? wow you are out of touch! i guess posting all day and night on TV doesn't give you much time to see what's going on outside.

You really should drop in to the Central Festival Mall and check it out.

If The Promenada makes some good decisions and gets the new tenants they will do well. It's the best mall in Chiang Mai. Try it on the hot and smoky days coming up. Rimping, Toy's Are Us, Uniglo, all the banks and a few nice restaurants including Wine Connection, Rimping, Mixx, Fuji, The Duke's and a few others. Word is that a new Italian deli/trattoria, thank you, will open soon and a Mexican grill. Central Festival? No one is buying there to sustain the rents. Lots of people walking around and the sweet shops and the ice cream and coffee places do Ok with some of the restaurants but watch the expensive retail shops cave to the big rents. Who is paying 200 USD for a pair of trousers? Central will be the first to struggle because they are greedy. Maya and The Promenada will do OK. Dave

Was in Central Festival today. Fair amount of people. Lot's of kids. Went for movie pay my true bill and the food court which is nice but I didn't see a lot of people in it.

I drift. When I went in the first store I saw had clothes and the signs were tremendous mark downs at the till.

I thought for a t shirt at 300 baht they better have a tremendous mark down. That was a kids size. I was amazed at the listed prices on the big signs as I walked by it. If they are all that high priced I don't think they will do well. The prices they ask for in the night market are lower.

I have window shopped a bit at the electronic stores and found them to be close to prices elsewhere. Bought a camera that seemed like a reasonable priced one. Not that much up on the price of cameras.

Don't read Thai but the wife told me a lot of the restaurants were Japanese. Got to admit the tops food store there is the best western one in Chiang Mai. My opinion only of course.

Went to see the 1:30 showing of Non Stop turned out they wanted 600 baht a seat for that theater. It is theater 1. Went to the 2:30 one for 140 baht.

New gym opening in the Maya shopping mall in a couple of weeks.

I knew a couple of fellows talking about it. I think they are not interested now as one of them has found another new Enterprise. to badf I know them both well and know it would not be a half ass job.

Would be nice to find one with a knowledgably trainer.

"Here we go again" --> Indeed. Another topic without a title that describes what the topic is about.

Standard operating practice here on TV.

Go to the National where they put up big headlines from the Nation and then forget to mention it in the article.

On the bright side there is no shortage of Pepsi Max. Coke Zero makes a decent substitute. Maybe twice I had to go to Coke light. Tasted like it was good pop watered down.

Well it is not exactly meat and vegies but kind of. I was in the food store at the Central Festival and they had a whole line of different type of Organic soups.

i haven't seen it available, but would suggest rendering it down yourself its easy enough. I am a chef, can you tell me what the recipe is for. Because other fats usually work just as well.

Lard is the preferred ingredient in making tamales and that's going to be my next project. I think that the bacon rendered method would impart a great flavor to my tamales.............

What you say is true. How ever it has been my experience (the experience of a bacon lover) that there is a wide range in the taste of bacon.

I recently had some at a restaurant that I am familiar with and has good tasting bacon. It was rather bland and I asked the owner if he had changed his supplier he said yes he was trying this one out.

Even the suppliers change their taste. I often eat breakfast at a small café two employee one. The fried potatoes are the best in Thailand. Also there is an extra some thing in the omelet. But the bacon is not consistent. I have asked her over the last few years if she had changed where she got it and she said no same place.

Agreed on the Royal Project stores, but they do not claim to be organic (at least they did not in the past). I do trust them to be pesticide controlled though. I have my doubts about many other places that claim to be organic. TIT (This is Thailand)

Not sure I understand "pesticide controlled"

Does that mean they know how much pesticide they use?

Don't most fruit and vegetables know how much they use.?

I have photos of a younger me taken in April 1984 posing by The Pub on Huay Kaew (a popular hangout way back then) & Doi Suthep was clearly visible. Draw whatever conclusions you wish from these memories of this old expat

Yes, because the seasonal haze ends early April.

^^^^^^^^^^^^beg to differ ,according to your data that u have given,the monthly average april readings for the past 6 yrs is approx 120 (bang on danger levels),they vary from 94 to 177,,all in all, both march/april months are very bad,to all concerned

Look, I'm not going to hold everyone's hand googling and wading through PDFs, so just this once, the monthly average for the past 6 years for April:

April 2013 : 2013.JPG

April 2012 : 2012.JPG

April 2011 : 2011.JPG

April 2010 : 2010.JPG

April 2009 : 2009.JPG

April 2008 : 2008.JPG

From the attached images you can also check the values for March for each year (third row) and of course they're much higher. Some years early April still has a spike that breaks 120, but the main problem occurs in March. For travel planning purposes it's indeed a safer bet to arrive just before Songkran (second week of April.)

And given that it started exceptionally late this year, it wouldn't surprise me if the haze continues into the first or second week of April. Although weather conditions will impact that a lot so it's not really predictable.

Ah the good old days of 2011

Smog has probably been a problem in this area for hundreds of years. The more rice fields the more smog. With the coming of the automobile it increased slightly in the city. But that was offset in the long run by the lack of all garbage being burned. Walk around the city and you do not find the barrels of garbage being burned it is more in the country now. Many villages I am told have a garbage collection now.

It is indeed sad that we do not have records going back to far. Memory particularly as we get older seems to change.

This could be a good comment without the disclaimer in the end. Islam is the thing that makes them inhuman. Have you ever heard of shinta or dao terrorists? Or about a gang of Mahayana buddhists mutilating the entire village, including children, cattle and pets, for the sole reason that people who live there follow Therawada? Do you know any other religion that indulges pedophilia, and clearly imposes the imperative of violence to non-believers? How about cutting people's arms off for petty thefts? Stoning victims of rape for adultery? Torturing animals (search for "halal" on youtube)?

Take Islam away, and those people will go back to their palm oil or whatever...

Yes, my friend. look back to history. Shintoists, Daoists, Christians, Hinduists, ancient Romans, and many other religious fanatics did the same. Not because of their religion but being brainwashed into animals.

Including Communists and Nazis.

Welcome to the Earth.

I see some people here advising to level mosques. To irradicate Islam. They are all wrong.

Look back to history. Muslims lived in peace with Jews for centuries. Moors were more tolerant to other religions including Christianity than Christians to other denominations of the same Christianity.

Any brainwashed fanatic of any religious group is capable of atrocities. Because a brainwashed fanatic stops being a human being by becoming a desensitized humanoid. It has nothing to do with Islam.

There are millions of decent Muslims. Do not proclaim a Holy war on them. Do not touch their mosques. Better use inhuman rules against the brainwashed humanoids.

You cannot stop a terrorist who has been brainwashed and is ready to die. But you can turn his mother and father and sister and brother against him.

Not easy to stomach in this world of political correctness? Than do nothing until the events touch you personally.

BTW cutting off fingers and palms of a thief was practiced not only by Muslims. Scandinavians used this practice too, before they even heard of Islam. And Mongols used to rape women and than disembowel them not being Muslims.

what you say has a lot of truth in it

.

"Look back to history. Muslims lived in peace with Jews for centuries. Moors were more tolerant to other religions including Christianity than Christians to other denominations of the same Christianity."

Unfortunately there was always the minority who followed the Koran where it says kill the infidels. Thus we had the Muslims invading and seizing other countries and forcing their religion on them. Which in turn brought about the Crusades which in my mind were not justifiable either.

Today we have the Muslims still practicing the methods of war to take over other countries. Sadly some of them are there own religious beliefs only a different sect Like a Methodist and a Baptist both Christianity but disagreeing on certain parts of it. fortunately the Christian world has learned to get along with each other. Unfortunately the Muslim world has not and in their insane drive for world domination lay principals of love kindness and generosity aside in favor of terrorism. They are a small minority yet they represent Islam to the rest of the world even in their own countries if they do not rule they will indiscriminately murder innocent people.

Not surprising given the coverage the Nation gives them.

Read the Bangkok post. The southern terrorists make the red shirt murders look like babe's in the woods.

...Learn to read Thai.

Are they reporting more murders by the red shirts than by the terrorists?

The death of this teacher is sadly overshadowed by the vitriolic comments of some posters. Very sad that her death is a springboard by some camps to spread additonal hate.

RIP Dear Lady.

what it is supposed to be done in cases like this?

to understand them, forgive them perhaps, or maybe put the other cheek?

All this relativism is the root of the problem, it´s what make them more powerful.

There are no more chances left with those radicals, eye for and eye should it be the only response

Just how do you choose who the eye will be. The terrorists are killing their own people.

I do not agree with the idea that all Muslims are in favor of imposing Sharia law. Many would welcome it but are not in favor of getting it through terrorism. I would say that most of the Muslims in the deep south are not in favor of it. they have lived to long with a kinder law to accept the authoritarian rule that a few would grab to hold over them. If they had been grown up with it yes it would be the way for them to go.

As I have said quite often disenfranchising the people is not the way to go. Make them feel a part of and they will cheerfully give the terrorists up.

There is several on this thread who support them. I wonder if they live in the deep south?

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About the only thing Thaksin did right, was to go after these pigs back in the day. The governments since him have done absolutely NOTHING.

You do realise that you will now be slaughtered by all the bleeding-heart liberals, the Thaksin-haters and the Dem-lovers, don't you? Of course, what you said was quite right, appeasing these scum only encourages them to further gruesome savage acts.

Just dripping with the milk of human kindness aren't you.

Did it ever occur to you that it was not that big as problem until Thaksin went on his murder spree.

He took a small camp fire and made it into a raging forest fire.

When I think about a murder spree, I can only recall Abhisit. During his government misery people were shot in BKK, Rohinja's being pushed back on the sea, Lao h'Mong forcefully deported back to Laos where the GOL was waiting for them. Thaksin is a leader, Abhisit is an airbubble with a necktie.

You may want to see a doctor about it. Not sure if they can help you with long term memory.

The killings in Bangkok were in defense of the citizens of Bangkok from terrorists who were lobbing bombs at transportation centers and invading hospitals. All the time urging the burning down of Bangkok

It was not the Rohinja's who were pushed out to sea it was Burmese people. A situation I deplore and one of the reasons I don't like Abhist even though I admit he is the best man for the job. He swept it under the carpet by appointing the army to investigate it.

Repatriating is happening all the time. We have no knowledge of what happens to them when they go back. Most of the Lao were illegal immigrants looking for work. Better than the current government using the Rohinja's for human trafficking.

You are correct Thaksin is a leader. So was Hitler.

You have very poor role models.

PTP have a right to rules given to them by the Grand Master

Anything that goes against their right to rule is illegal, even if it is legal

We not want any person out see the government to see the books so they can see how great we have been for Thailand

Pheu Thai party will not accept any responsibility for what is does or has done as we have the peoples mandate to rules like the Grand Master has said

It appears to be a simple plea to respect the constitution.

Any roadmap, in order to be acceptable to Pheu Thai, must sit within the bounds of the current constitution.

What's wrong with that?

Because they have broken just about every democratic principle from the election to the present day.

They lie, they steal and they scream 'democracy'.... they have also broken the constitution many times, and constantly refuse to take responsibility, yet the scream everything must be 'constitutional'.

Basically they are clearly taking the piss out of EVERYONE.... that is what is wrong with it.

They have NO right to shout 'democracy' or 'constitution'....... Not them...... no way.

You been on the moon for the past 12 months or what?

No they didn't, you just watched too much BlueSky.

Interesting observation.

I take it you are fluent in Thai and watch a lot of Blue Sky so you are familiar with what they say. If you don't speak fluent Thai and watch a lot of Blue Sky you are talking through your hat.

PTP have a right to rules given to them by the Grand Master

Anything that goes against their right to rule is illegal, even if it is legal

We not want any person out see the government to see the books so they can see how great we have been for Thailand

Pheu Thai party will not accept any responsibility for what is does or has done as we have the peoples mandate to rules like the Grand Master has said

It appears to be a simple plea to respect the constitution.

Any roadmap, in order to be acceptable to Pheu Thai, must sit within the bounds of the current constitution.

What's wrong with that?

Nothing as far as I can see so why are they fighting it even before it is released?

Prompong needs to look at Article 7 before he states categorically what the constitution allows. And he ought to be mindful that these independent agencies are empowered by the constitution. The reference to the NACC and the 49 pages is something Prompong knows full well about, as well. Yingluck forfeited the full documentation because she was uncomfortable about showing up at the NACC last month. She was told she would forfeit the evidence if she failed to show up. Her lawyers were told she would forfeit the evidence if she failed to show up. Yingluck failed to show up. Period. The NACC, later however, went out of their way to give her 49 pages of documentation anyway. Remember, Prompong, those are the pages Yingluck needs an extra 45 days to study ? And yet Prompong still complains. He should make his complaints to her lousy lawyers.

Are they Thaksin picked lawyers?

Democracy is not a spectator sport, it's a participation sport.

It won't work if most people don't take part.

Actually it doesn't work if most people don't know what they are getting when they vote for some one. A good example is the rice scam it was supposed to be a democratic thing but is it Democracy to drive poor people into debt. Make them sell their equipment and in some cases their property and drive them into high interest loans. Is that Democracy I think not.

[Won't mention the cases where they could only see death as an answer]

They didn't know what they were getting when they voted. In a real Democracy you would be told the truth before you voted not after you are driven into poverty.

I would bet that the PTP would except an appointed PM if it was one as wimpy and easy to push around for Thaksin as Yingluck is.

I suppose the Yingluck worshippers who don't realize it is Thaksin they are paying homage to are going to try to drop the topic and talk about other countries. That is because they have no defense for Thailand. Just attack other countries and other people.

They got to be kidding, do they even know what Homeopathy is?

Jakkriss said "homeopathy" was safe and low-cost and had been used in various countries including the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, the United States, Australia, India and Malaysia.

Of course it is low cost, it is pure water.

It is a substance that has diluted in water or other medium so many times not even a molecule of the original substance remains in the solution.

I take it you are in favor of it if they do not dilute it.

"whilst playing noticed a huge condo(partly completed)my playing partners did not have any reliable info apart from its been there for 20 odd yrs"

Why would you be interested in a building that has been in the process of building for 20 years and still is not done?

I know none of my business but awful curious. If there have been people living in it you might want to ask them about the building noise and the up keep. I guess the upkeep would be visible.

You could buy a kg of bacon and enjoy a real brekky.

What is left in the pan, when cold is pure.....(strain it first)....white lard.

Assuming you cannot buy it.

If you get in a pinch let me know. I like the bacon crisp and could freeze it for my own consumption.

IMO, Chiang Mai is the wrong place to live if one is obsessed with organic food and the latest health fads from the West.

Amen to that brother. If the food doesn't get them the smog will.

Best buffet in town is at the Empress Hotel. There are dozens of delicious entrees; Western, Thai, and Chinese, many more sides, (even some of eyecatcher's finger foods if you're a snob,) roasts being carved to order by a chef and steaks being cooked to order. Plenty of things requiring a knife and fork, many more requiring chop sticks, even fresh sashimi and sushi. The dessert table has more varieties of tasties (cakes, tarts, fresh fruits, etc,) than I was able to quick count. About 300 baht per person, unless you have a Member's Card. It's a good idea to make a reservation as the Empress is now catering to large tour groups. If no res, best to get there around 11:30-11:45 and you will probably get a table in the outer seating area, which many prefer as it's less hectic.

We try to eat there at least once a month. It really is worth the money, in taste, quality, and variety!

You are right on song, "FolkGuitar."

The Empress Hotel is without a doubt, the best. We've been going there for years, even our Teenage daughter still loves it.

We used to go to the Chiang Mai Grand once in a while but the Empress runs rings around it.

Empress is pretty good. But Grandview is about 1/2 the price. We went to Grandview for many years and never a single complaint. Then we went there last Christmas Eve and had the worst meal imaginable. Apparently there was a change in the head chef right around the end of December. Haven't been back since.

The only thing the Grandview has going for it is the price. A very limited selection. In the last three years I have eaten there about four times and they defiantly have no consistency to it.

The Empress is more expensive but it has a wider selection. Every time I have eaten there it has been consistently well prepaired. My friend prefers the Holiday Inn at a much greater price. It does have a large selection but most of it does not really appeal to me. The last time I was there they were carving the ham. It was so thin you could almost see through it. I had to show him a decent thickness. In my opinion 3/8 of an inch to 1/2 an inch not 1/8 of an inch.

There may be better Buffets in Chiang Mai but I don't think you can find one with as good a value for your baht as the Empress.

So everything is open as normal? Was thinking of heading out to catch the Liverpool Manu game...

NO. Closed on Loi khro

You might want to mention that to them. I could hear them from the river Market.

St. Patricks day is an important *AMERICAN* holiday.

If only because America is terminally short on holidays as it is. Especially ones where a good adult party is on the cards.

So let's celebrate with the Irish, and with the Americans of any ancestry!

And the Vinegar Brigade..

You're as cuddly as a cactus, you're as charming as an eel, You're a bad banana with a greasy black peel!

Your brain is full of spiders, you have garlic in your soul, I wouldn't touch you with a thirty-nine-and-a-half foot pole!

You're a nasty wasty skunk, Your heart is full of unwashed socks, your soul is full of gunk,

The three words that best describe you are as follows, and I quote, "Stink, stank, stunk"!

Also being raised in a Catholic school it was a day off. We of course stayed one more day before summer vacation but we didn't care.

I can only speak for the Catholic school I attended although I suspect there was others.

Does any one know if McDonalds will have green shakes we had some in Canada at the various outlets.

That was not a call for the food purists to belittle or praise any kind of food. Also I don't care how harmful the green food coloring was.

So from one American of German ancestry Happy St. Patrick's day to one and all.

I would think that the poorly maintained vehicles cause a small fraction to the haze and 50 to 100 years ago, there was probably more wood burning for cooking.

Good point.

With the exception of a few who are sensitive to air pollutants the rest of the year is OK.

If the rest of the year is not good they might want to consider a beach in the south.

Come to think of it I like the idea except the wife's family is here and it is probably to hot there for year round.

where I came from we had a season that was not good for people with allergies. I don't hear of that as being a problem here in Chiang Mai.

Edit

Forgot to add they probably burned a lot more garbage then.

Nothing like a ride through the country to the smell of fresh burned garbage.

Why don't they just go in there and clean out these animals!.....all the army and security people seem to do is pick up spent cartridge cases and take pictures....

I just find it hard to believe, and understand, that many of the perpetrators of these crimes in the south, are not known....

They are known by the public. but the Government has shown no interest in stopping them.

"As for peace talks with the Barisan Revolusi Nasional, Sakon said they were dependent on the government. The change in the National Security Council chief would not affect the peace dialogue, he believed."

Peace talk with rebel groups who are no longer operating.

The Government needs to do it's job and make the people feel like they care for them. But the government concentrates all it's energy on area's where they are sure the people will vote for them. I believe Chalerm was the man in charge and Yingluck replaced him with herself. Where is she?

The matter is being handled by the army. It is not the Army's mandate to show that the government cares for them. It is there job to protect them in any way they can. Sneak terrorist attacks are not that easy defended. Let them know who the offenders are and things will change but to ignore them is only to make the matter worse.

My condolences to the family of the women killed and burned. This just go's to show how low of life scum the Government is ignoring.

Take care about them?You don't learn your lessons in Europe.They have millions around,because the governments were taking care.Now it's to late to change that.They causing trouble evrywhere in the world and they call you a worthless pig.Maybe they are right.

big difference in Europe with the exception of Spain they are immigrants and the Government should not have allowed them in.

Here in Thailand they are natives born and raised in Thailand and for the most part in relative peace. Yes they had some problems but they were not a daily event until Thaksin shifted his murder crusade against drug dealers to the Muslims.

Ask your self If you are born in a country and a citizen from day one raised in it educated in it would you not like to have your government make you feel welcome?

All though I was born a citizen raised and educated a citizen in the States and now live here in Thailand I still feel welcome in the states.