RikDao

Perhaps Winnie and some of the others can comment on "the good old days" when THB was fixed at 25 to 1. Was it better then?

What was better? I think it was a mixed bag when it comes to pricing and exchange rates. Yes it was about 25 Baht to the USD, but pricing was also a lot lower. You'd go for dinner at The Riverside (mostly because that was by far the best place in town) and most dishes were in the 40-60 Baht range. Beverages in bars.. 15-30-40 Baht. My guesthouse room: 50 Baht. (which was cheap also then, Daret was pretty much 80 Baht/night.) Dutch Mill yogurt was 7 Baht at 7-11. A liter of Diesel: single digits.

However, other things were crazy expensive; pretty much everything imported was even crazier than now. Like buying audio equipment.. or a car.. Cars did go up in price of course, but relatively a lot less compared to basic everyday items.

Anyway, ask Gonzo, he can probably just grab the "1994" binder with prices out of his filing cabinet.

For me personally I would LOVE to go back to 25 Baht to the USD..! Not bloody likely though.

Speaking of audio equipment, I just got some real nice Sony Bluetooth headphones at Cha Chang (big electronics store) in Promenada for $124.00. They go for $150 and up in the States. Big stores here might not be raising their baht prices quickly enough to compensate for the stronger dollar. I'm thinkin bureaucratic inertia, but then there weren't three customers in that giant place on the day I went, and two of them were getting the "buy one, get one free" coffee deal at the coffee shop in the middle of the store. Maybe it's too much trouble to raise prices, just not worth it.

But the USD, yeah, on a roll. Maybe the price will spike higher soon, and as we all know, a big drop follows a spike! Timing is everything, yo? And the drop is always faster. Right now, the dollar is in an orderly, incremental rise against most currencies... Odd that, since the US is multi-trillions in debt, more than just about the whole rest of the world combined but I might be wrong about that. Just shows what clever marketing (of the America brand, LOL) can achieve.

(Interesting to note, very few farangs were wandering around Promenada. I thought maybe Immigration moving there would be good for Promenada business, but not so far. I also noticed that farangs were packing into a songthaew to come back into town, when right next to them was the free green truck that goes back and forth from a few hotels (Le Meridien, for example) in CM. Maybe they think you need to be staying at the hotels to get the free ride. You don't).

Since the locals got internet and social media - a hell of a lot more of them know exactly what old Western men marrying younger women are all about . . . thank God

LOL. The implication being they didn't know about old farang geezers and young Thai women before Facebook.

That's not what I was implying. The clue to that fact was in the use of the word "more"

Nope, cannot accept. Maybe you weren't saying it outright, but with or without the use of the word "more," you were definitely implying it.

It seems, due to their education system, perhaps, that Thais don't have the same sort of inquisitive nature as we Westerners do, but they aren't dummies.

You're welcome to your opinion

. . . however idiotic

Oh, thank you for reassuring me that I'm welcome to my opinion, I was worried for a minute.

However, in this case, I'm not expressing my opinion, I'm stating facts.

Since the locals got internet and social media - a hell of a lot more of them know exactly what old Western men marrying younger women are all about . . . thank God

LOL. The implication being they didn't know about old farang geezers and young Thai women before Facebook.

That's not what I was implying. The clue to that fact was in the use of the word "more"

Nope, cannot accept. Maybe you weren't saying it outright, but with or without the use of the word "more," you were definitely implying it.

It seems, due to their education system, perhaps, that Thais don't have the same sort of inquisitive nature as we Westerners do, but they aren't dummies.

I wince at how Westerners fail to anticipate the likelihood of situations like this developing when they decide to buy into a local family in return for shagging one of the younger female members.

The OP's not a buffalo; more of a cash cow

Sorry, but being a farang doesn't guarantee respect anymore and it never should have in the first place

Since the locals got internet and social media - a hell of a lot more of them know exactly what old Western men marrying younger women are all about . . . thank God

LOL. The implication being they didn't know about old farang geezers and young Thai women before Facebook. More likely they've heard of forums like TV where disrespectful ferners put them down constantly.

As far as the OP, sounds pretty sensitive and self-conscious. Most, but not all Thais I've come in contact with have been nice enough to me. All I need to do is be polite to them and respect their culture; simple enough.

Huh? They threatened to throw short sellers in jail! Nothing obfuscatory about that! But hey, the original question in this thread was, umm, it was about whether it's a good time to, uhh...

Yeah, the Chinese know how to handle the market: threaten to throw the shorts in jail! Hahahahah! That'll do the trick! We need a little more of that on Wall St.

Seriously though, when the Fed says OK, we will absolutely NEVER raise interest rates again, that means they're gonna do it.

They've been talking about raising interest rates for years, literally years. In my book, they won't raise them until they shut up about it.

Another important question is how much you're talking about exchanging, that is, how many baht. If it's not much, then it probably won't matter too much when you exchange it, near-term at least.

Interesting, all these opinions and all this advice. The advice will be either good or bad, depending entirely on the baht vs dollar exchange rate, and what that will be going forward is anyone's guess. But the thing to keep in mind is that just because you think the dollar will keep getting stronger, that doesn't mean it will.

Could be said that one most important bit needed could be for the police to have better crowd control....... rubbernecking is one thing , but when it becomes a hindrance to the firefighters doing their job,,... well that's another thing.

It was rush hour. Thai emergency personnel got there as quickly as they could. Probably took 20 minutes for the first vehicles to get in there, due to, as I said, rush hour, not so much rubber-necking.

Below is what I posted in another thread an hour so ago, not realizing that this thread had already started. It was locked by the the moderator:

Heading: "Major Fire at Wararot Market"

Text: "Been going an hour at least. Maybe ten+ fire trucks, lots of ambulances. It's in the big Wararot building, first one as you head east on Chiang Moi, second big building from the river, that is. Due to the time of day, I bet arson. Probably took the first fire truck 20 minutes to get there. It's in that fabric shop area where a lot of Sikhs own businesses. Black smoke still billowing out after an hour, though now somewhat less than before. Cops did a pretty good job (it seems to me) of securing the area and clearing out traffic so the emergency vehicles could come in."

Seems to be over now. I'd be amazed if it was only "five units." Too much smoke.

Sorry, didn't know someone had already started a thread on this. But black smoke still coming out after about an hour and a half.

Been going an hour at least. Maybe ten+ fire trucks, lots of ambulances. It's in the big Wararot building, first one as you head east on Chiang Moi, second big building from the river, that is. Due to the time of day, I bet arson. Probably took the first fire truck 20 minutes to get there. It's in that fabric shop area where a lot of Sikhs own businesses. Black smoke still billowing out after an hour, though now somewhat less than before. Cops did a pretty good job (it seems to me) of securing the area and clearing out traffic so the emergency vehicles could come in.

The gentleman I spoke to at the restaurant told me that Iraqi food is highly influenced by Indian and Persian cuisine. And yes, being a large fellow, I like the quantity aspect of the buffet concept as long as it's backed up by quality. For me, the Babylonian scores an easy 8 out of 10 overall. As far as the 299 baht issue, I don't plan to eat there every day. What's more, I tend to support a new place if it's struggling, as long as it's good. Somebody in this thread mentioned Duke's; I don't support them because they need the business; I go there because their food is dee-licious!

Buffets all over the world are similar, in that the food sits around waiting to be eaten. I get around this by going early-ish, but I understand that not everyone wants to do that.

In my experience there yesterday, everything I tasted was good. I was also the only person eating there. My Thai wife didn't want to try it. Why? Because she'd never tried it before. She went over to one of the Japanese places to eat; in my view those places are expensive because the portions are so miniscule.

The gentleman I spoke to at the restaurant asked me if 299 baht was too expensive. I said maybe for some people, but those people are not likely to be hanging around Maya anyway. (Please don't misunderstand, I'm not implying that I'm wealthy but I like to go to movies and Maya is a very pleasant mall in general).

Oh, by the way, check out San Andreas, the movie, if you have an ironic sense of humor. It's one of the dumbest movies I've ever seen. It's so stupid it'll have you howling, and you'll stay just to see if it gets any more dumb, and yes, it does.

For sure one of the better restaurants. Nice decor, also.

Anybody on here been there? The original one is in the Night Market area, but I finally tried this one, which has been open just under five months.

It's delicious Middle Eastern food, lots of chicken-type dishes, curries, fresh salads, hummus, etc. Tasty but not spicy. The staff is very friendly and helpful and they have a buffet for 299 baht. I'll definitely be going back, because I love this kind of food. It's a nice break from Thai food, which I also love.

I've been here nine years this October and have already purchased my ticket for Mexico. I could be perfectly happy for the rest of my life in Thailand if it weren't for the present government. My little inner voice is saying "get the heck outta Dodge," this man is not playing with a full deck of cards and that will eventually trickle down to all facets of life. It's already bad enough - as a musician it is illegal for me to play UNPAID in public, but the harassment from the BIB in Bangkok described by an earlier post can get worse as they grow bolder when the PM gets cemented into his position. And there are other circumstances we can't even mention on this forum that are going to cause a great upheaval. I don't want to be around for ANY of that. I arrived when Thaksin was ousted, and not a THING was noticed by me or my friends. THIS PM is making serious waves felt by all!

Not trying to be a wise guy, and for sure I haven't been here long enough (year and a half) to compare nowadays with the good ol' days, but what (generally or specifically) are you alluding to in your final sentence above? I understand about the music in public issue, but...

I don't read much about Thai politics or Thai-farang relations, it's true. I am aware that there are tons (literally, LOL) of Chinese here in Chiang Mai, but they seem to add color to the place, especially the beautiful females, and there can be no doubt that they're helping the economy. I have a fair amount of farang friends, and I don't notice them complaining much about the current political situation.

So please, relieve me of my ignorance. I'm naive, yes, I admit it, but I'm open to new ideas and facts.

(I realize this thread has probably peaked, and I probably won't get an answer. So be it).

Tescos stock horseradish sauce own brand from UK. There is a parsnip shaped white root stocked in the markets that I believe is some sort of horse radish, give that a go, used it in making a pickle.

I think you mean Daikon (Japanese radish)... not very spicy and good for soups and salads.

I've never seen Fresh European horseradish in Chiang Mai. If you do find any, please let me know.

It's not as if you can grow it from seeds, you grow it from root cuttings.

If you do find some and you can get it growing, you could corner the market!

Yep, daikon pictured, and like you said, not same-same. Maybe galangal will have to do.

Perhaps could corner the market for horseradish, but the question arises: What market?

Thanks to all for replies.

Hey thanks!

I did it last week in person, which is kind of fun for me and my wife cause we go over to Centron Airport afterward, and that's always fun.

In at ten, out at 11:15.

Sometimes I run into friends there, sometimes make a new friend.

This looks like heaven for those 40 baht a day boys!!!

Why the "boys"? Because you can afford more, that makes you a man? A little dysfunctional man, perhaps? Not everyone was born into wealth like some people or got lucky to either have great parents or great teachers! Maybe you should read Outliers from Malcom Gladwell and learn about humility!

Hahahahahah! Quite hilarious response! Thanks for that.

Let's see, right now the rate is 33.33 to a dollar, so 40 baht would be, umm, well, not much! Dollar fifteen or something, after fees? Dollar twelve?

So you got insulted by the "boys" part? I'd be more inclined to chafe at the "40 baht" bit. Personally, I can handle 60 baht a day, easy. Maybe more.

In our alphabet it's phuch chnid hnung in Thai, I believe.

Thanks in advance.

Fire ants of South America and Southern North America are not red... they are black, somewhat small to medium in size and their formic acid bite is AWFUL... raising a pustule in a half hour ... They build large sandy/ earthen mounds and will swarm attack anything / anyone that steps into the mound... they have been known to kill animals and even humans when attacking in a swarm...

I am a very experienced veteran of fire ant infestations ... Just hope hope that they never reach Thailand... I have never encountered an ant in Thailand that is even remotely as bad...

Yep, they can be really vicious, and some people are allergic to the venom, like with bees. They're tiny and they swarm, so if you get some on your ankles while you're outside, they'll start stinging before you even realize they're there. Not likely they can kill you unless you're allergic.

But that thing in the pic? Like several have already said, it's not an ant.

Welljust to REALLY clarify: There are three types of people in the world: those who go to jail, those who don't, and those who make deep philosophical replies to Thai Visa threads.