Saladin

When they have finished with Bangkok could they please come to Chiang Mai?

I think for most people in Australia it's about 50. After that they are just taking up space waiting to die. I am 78 and have recently entered adulthood from adolescence. That's why I moved to Thailand, as my countrymen were so conservative and boring.

Here are a few simple ideas to increase revenue from tourism -

1. Make 3 month Tourist Visas valid for 3 months (not 2) so that tourists don't drift off to spend their money in a neighboring country after 60 days rather than wasting their time and enduring the hassle of extending it for the final 30 days at Thailand's notoriously inefficient Immigration offices.

2. Extend the duration of  Tourist visas to 4 months or 6 months.

2. Standardise the rules for visas in all Thai consulates in foriegn countries to remove uncertainties instead of leaving it to the local staff to make their own rules.

3. Stop banning alcohol consumption in restaurants every time there is a religious or Royal holiday, the amount of which Thailand must hold the world record.

Can anybody explain the logic in the government banning all alcohol sales and consumption every time there is a holiday for a national or relgious celebration or Royal's birthday, for which Thailand must hold the world record. What has abstinence from booze got to do with any of this? Sure, some sensible restrictions might be justifiable but why a blanket ban that even covers enjoying a glass of wine with a meal in a restaurant? We all celebrate in our own way, provided we are not causing nuisance to others we don't need the thought police telling us how to live.

Have the problems with Windows Mail been fixed? Currently it's lousy as (a) you can't easily create new files or manipulate those that you already have, (b) emails are often linked to previous threads rather than chronologically, (c) exisiting emails don't automatically sync - it seems necessary to manually sync each folder in turn. I am close to dumping it.

It is the restaurants' responsibility to make the rules clear beforehand, not afterwards.

You will hear some in Walking Street, Sunday nights in the Old City

I would be very surprised if she had more in her Thai bank accounts. How much does she have in her Hong Kong accounts?

I got a single entry visa last year in Saigon and had to produce an air ticket out of Thailand. or no-go The cheapest I could find was to Singapore which I bought but never used. It has been suggested to look for a ticket that can be cancelled and refunded. Another example of TAT spending $millions to attract tourists only to have Thai Immigration make it as difficult as possible for them.

Regarding ChiangMai traffic, while it might seem absurd right now, I think we should be looking at an underground commuter rail/through-road by-pass system. The Bangkok overways are a real eyesore. CniangMai streets are flat and straight and the traffic isn't so great as yet that an underground couldn't be built without paralysing the city as will be the case in a few years' time.

Do you think there is any chance that the government might do something about the sidewalks in Chiang Mai, particularly those in Nimmenhaemin Road that are congested with concrete plant boxes devoid of plants, unused telephone boxes, advertising signs, motor bikes, and food stalls. This area is the most (otherwise) up-market area of Chiang Mai and the most favoured by Chinese tourists. The situation can only be the result of local government incompetence, lack of accountability, or corruption. With all the condos and hotels that are springing up like mushrooms in every soi there should be heaps of revenue to redress this eyesore. Every ten metres or less there is a large advertising sign imbedded in the middle of the side walk and the rental revenue from these alone would surely be adequate (assuming of course that it ends up in public coffers.

Somebody needs to get the message through to the appropriate authorities that the Chinese are tourists keen to spend money, and not foreign invaders whose advance needs to be impeded.

I eat out and well several nights a week in ChiangMai. My favourite restaurant now is DASH, corner Sois 1 and 2, Moon Muang in the South East corner of the Old City. Food is excellent and inexpensive. Owner (Dash) was born in Seattle to a Thai mother and American father. It is a purpose built Lanna building with a large outdoor dining area and loads of ambience. Another favourite is Riverside on the Ping River. But go to their Craft Beer Factory venue on the other side of the road from the better known section on the river. One of the owners and manager is Pascal, a Swiss professional. Again the food is top class and not expensive and the outdoor area has a great atmosphere including a waterfall.

What's the big deal? Israel has been run by extremists for decades.

Moved from Koh Samui after six months to Chiang Mai where I have been living happily for over eighteen months. Social life is so much better. Farang expats are well educated and well travelled and very sociable.

Religion of any creed should come under the control of the State in all countries and an ear should be kept on their teachings and preachings. Throughout history institutionalised religion has been the major cause of wars and man-made misery..

Good. Let us hope she wakes up to reality now.

The government is on the right track with this. Give them credit where it is due.

I have been living in Thailand for over two years, the past 16 months of it in ChiangMai, and like thousands of Farangs here, I love it. Just since I have been here I have witnessed incredibly building development. There are condos and hotels going up in every soi in Nimmenhaemin, There are residential estates blossoming all around town, and the standards are high. However, I find it disturbing that the architecture is little different from what is being built in Sydney or California - lots of windows, an absence of natural shade areas, a reliance on air conditioning, a car port that takes pride of place at the front, etc. As in Western countries the front gardens are completely useless for the enjoyment of the inhabitants - they are just something for passing motorists to look at.

Before it is too late there is a need for young creative Thais like you to develop designs that, while meeting all the requirements of modern living, incorporate traditional elements of Thai (and particularly Lanna) architecture. Use more timber, high ceilings and ceiling fans, recessed shady verandahs, open living areas, tropical gardens and fish ponds, walls around the property for privacy. It's not just Thailand that is losing its architectural identity - Australia is the same, and I guess this applies in many Western countries.

Taxi fares in Bangkok are way under-priced. I don't know how the drivers can make a living. But can anybody tell me why taxis are so expensive in Chiang Mai? A fifteen minute drive from Nimmenhaemin to the airport is likely to cost 250THB whereas in Bangkok I could ride for an hour or more for that price.

I think everybody, both Farang and Thais, should refrain from using the word 'hate' when referring to Chinese tourists. I am an Australian living in ChiangMai which at times seems to have more Chinese than does Beijing. Sure, they are different from the Thais - more rowdy, more impatient, more pushy, and so on but I have never heard a Thai express hatred towards them - just a tolerant shrug of the shoulders. Let us not become xenophobic. The behaviour of many Farangs is much worse than that of the Chinese.

About a year ago I got a Thailand Tourist Visa in HCMC but they would only give me a single entry plus I had to show them an airline ticket out of Thailand. That day I bought the cheapest I could get which was Bangkok to Singapore which from memory cost me 2500 THB and was never used. So I wouldn't use HCMC again.

As no other Thai government agencies seem too concerned, it is to be hoped that TAT can see some of the things that are adversely affecting tourism.

Number 1 is the confusing visa situation and the Third World inefficiency of the Immigration department and its 'systems'. A 3 months Tourist Visa is actually only good for 2 months and then it has to be extended at the Immigration office, which usually takes about half a day. Why isn't it good for 3 months? If it's simply a fund raiser then tack it on at the front end and save everybody (including government employees) unnecessary inconvenience. How many tourists with a 3 month visa opt instead to simply continue their journey and spend their money in a neighbouring country rather than going through this ordeal?

Number 2 are the dangerous footpaths/sidewalks. I live in Nimmenhaemin, ChiangMai's most up-market tourist area where expensive condo blocks and hotels are going up at a frantic pace in every Soi. But nothing whatsoever is being done about the footpaths that seem to have been built originally to hold up a Burmese tank advance should they ever invade again. There is something very out of order when it is safer to walk on the road among the cars and motorbikes rather than risk life and limb on the footpaths.

I am an Australian who lived in London in 1960 when it was usual to find ads for Rooms To Let that said 'No Blacks' and many that said 'No Blacks or Australians'.

And the trend is to abolish the Death Penalty worldwide? Surely that would be well deserved in this case. By all means, try to rehabilitate the poor misguided creature with a sad family background who did this but not before he or she had been executed.

The Thai government, like me, might be concerned about the direction in which the US is heading. The thought of Donald Duck, sorry 'Trump' even being considered for President makes the hairs on the back of my neck rise. I believe he would be the world's greatest risk to peace, firing rockets and dropping bombs all over the place in the name of American 'democracy' and the American Way.