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CM is the best place in Thailand to find large groups of friends (both Thai and farang) to share outdoor activities like bicycling and hiking, while still living in a small city with excellent restaurants.

That CM is cooler and has a very reasonable cost of living is just a bonus. The international travel options from CM, while not as good as from BKK, are still better than anywhere else in Thailand.

Ehm.. International travel options are also far better from Pattaya, (and Sri Racha, etc.) as you can be at BKK Airport in around 1 hour.

The flight time from CNX to BKK is 55 minutes. Chiang Mai is an international airport with its own Immigration Department thus you can pass through Immigration in Chiang Mai and transit Bangkok without any further hassle. Try that from Pattaya.

Sure, but you know the drill right.. Be at the airport 30 minutes before at least (often 45 at least with Air Asia), then actual time in the air may be 55 minutes but you spend easily 20 minutes on the taxiways before takeoff and before you're actually out of the plane, then transiting international is at least an hour especially if you have to visit the transit desk and don't want to leave it too close. So overall you're looking at 3 hours minimum, but as flights typically don't match perfectly down to the minute you can easily lose 4 hours; i.e. half a working day. Plus some international flights depart too early for a Chiang Mai connection to be feasible, so sometimes you end up spending a night in BKK. None of that applies if you live in Pattaya or other places on the Eastern Seaboard; you just make sure you're in a taxi 2 hours before take-off time. (Granted, immigration takes a bit longer in Suvarnabhumi compared to the almost unnoticeable event that it is in CNX. )

I agree! The nicest thing about Pattaya is that it is so easy to get away from

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I am really looking for someone who can do the whole job... not only printing, but binding too

I am fairly sure that Santipab Print can do it all for you, they're a biggish and very professional outfit:

Santipab Pack-Print Co. Ltd

214-216 Kaewnawarat Rd.

T. Watgate

A. Muang Chiang Mai 50000

053-241 519

053-248 657-8

santipabprint(at)gmail.com

www.santipab.co.th

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I have personally brought cats with me in the cabin on THAI on two different occasions. Also once on Finnair, though that may be of less interest to the OP.

was it from europe and were they allowed to fly cabin back to europe?

ps trying to attach pdf, but it's only for the UK and in english. Your vet must have the country form to fill up

The trips were from Europe to Thailand. Since I live here there has not been occasion to fly in the other direction. I have no reason to believe that the airline's policy would be any different flying westward than eastward...

There are however great differences in import regulations into various European countries, compared to Thailand. Importing a cat into e.g. UK from Thailand can be a MAJOR headache! The EU is in the process of changing its animal import regulations, so some diligent research would be in order.

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I think that Thaksin just wants to uphold one of the most time-honoured Thai traditions: No "influential person" should EVER have to take responsibility for his/her actions.

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your vet should have one, because he suppose to fill it up.

otherwise see an attachment (specimen) for the uk.

what country are you flying from?

As I know, thai don't take into cabin in europe, but do on the other continents.

I have personally brought cats with me in the cabin on THAI on two different occasions. Also once on Finnair, though that may be of less interest to the OP.

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All real estate agents are dishonest .

Oh really? Have you met all of them and tested them.

I am a real estate agent, and all I can say is that your comment is seriously misguided - a cheap and sweeping statement!

There is no honest or dishonest real estate agent, they just want to make money.

As do we all

All real estate agents are dishonest .Deal with them on that basis and you may get results .Best though just to deal with the owner if buying .

Any particular reason you dig up a thread that has been lying dormant for a year and a half?

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Thanks for the reply Priceless. Based on your comments and others above, I've now booked Air Asia flights for the last week in May. Maybe still a bit hot but maybe the rains will have started. Either way it was as late as I could push it. Flights were around 1,100 baht per person (inc. 180 baht credit card fee), so not too bad at all. A long way away but something to look forward to.

Welcome to Chiang Mai

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Given the history of pollution here, the closest week to mid-February would be best - cooler as well, as the tropics go.

March particularly, and early April are typically smoky and hot. Thus, the end of your range, getting into rainy season in June, would be a bit rainy perhaps, but less hot, perhaps.

As noted above, this entire year has been relatively low in pollution and considerably less hot than is usual, but for next year, I would go with the averages.

In fact, February is on average the second most polluted month of the year, March being the worst. 2010 was the only year on record this century when pollution in April has been worse than February. Normally February has almost 25% higher pollution levels than April!

In other words, from a pollution point of view, try to avoid February (in particular the second half) and definitely March.

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Thanks very much.......any more trips to Finland planned?

Not in the foreseeable future. My present five cats (including the Finnish one) are all in excellent health. I think five is a good number, if one wants to give them all the attention and care that is their birthright

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I third Dr Nook. A very good vet with excellent English skills. I have been taking my (five) cats there for four years now and have always been very satisfied.

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I know you are a cat specialist and wouldn't trust your cats with just 'anyone'.

Apart from being a good vet with English speaking skills, what in your opinion makes Dr Nook a cut above the others?

(I'm asking respectfully)

A difficult question to answer since there are many things. To name but one, she seems to frequently be willing to question her own first opinion and go the extra distance to make sure that she was right. An example:

In 2008 my (then) youngest cat died suddenly in the middle of the night. For a number of reasons I had Dr Nook perform an autopsy. Her finding was that the cat had died of "wet FIP" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feline_infectious_peritonitis). This may have had repercussions for my other cats. However, she was not contented with just her own opinion, so she sent several samples and other documentation to a pathology expert at Chulalongkorn University. He came back with results that showed the cat had in fact died from HCM (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypertrophic_cardiomyopathy). This is a genetically induced heart disease, and since this cat was not related to my other cats this meant that I could relax. However, since it is a genetic problem, it became of great concern to the breeder, who had reason to sterilize both my cat's parents. In other words, Dr Nook's carefulness saved me unnecessary worries and may have helped decrease further spread of the HCM disease among cats of this breed.

Being willing to question one's own opinions and judgement is not that common among Thais...

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Dr Nook Animal Hospital

164/68-69, Chang Klan Road, Chang Klan, Mueang Chiang Mai, Chiang Mai, 50100

Tel: 053 818 905

http://www.farangfriendly.com/Company/Dr-Nook-Animal-Hospital-Chiang-Mai-20174.aspx

I third Dr Nook. A very good vet with excellent English skills. I have been taking my (five) cats there for four years now and have always been very satisfied.

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I've also got glasses from vision centre and have been very impressed with their service. These were my first glasses, therefore I don't have much to compare them to. Has anyone here had any experience with the chain opticians like Beautiful Optical etc? They seem to be quite a bit cheaper and nearly always have promotions.

MP

I've had two experiences with Beautiful Optical (in Airport Plaza), both VERY negative, won't go near them again!

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Wonderful shop on canal road nearing the queens garden heading south from town, next to 7-11 on canal road past maehia market.

owner speaks good English, clean shop

That's a good shop but no birds.

As usual, I think you should check your facts before posting. She keeps the birds in the back of the shop, they're expensive merchandise. Last time I talked to her about them, she pointed to one and said it cost 25,000 baht!

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No, she did not.

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Not really an answere to your particular question about good quality, but for others who may be interested in 'regular' wooden furniture, you should definitely look into that area in Lamphun province where there are tons of factories and warehouses selling the stuff.

It's off the Chiang Mai - Lampang Superhighway, just after you pass the last traffic lights (Lamphun proper) where the road bends left towards the hills. Then it's a road/soi on the left.

Real cheap. Some crap around, but also some 'honest' basic heavy wooden furniture that's quite nice.

Cheers,

Chanchao

Hi Chanchao ,

I know you from LP ( i am irishrover ).I bought a lot of furniture from Lampoon (Bang Ma ).I set up a shop in San Sai to sell on the stuff .A lot of the furniture i bought there developed cracks ,and ended up unsaleable.I would only go there again for cheap quality furniture at a cheap price .

Hopefully you are aware that the post you are replying to is more than seven years old, and that the poster was last seen on ThaiVisa in May of 2009?

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Why not get a Siamese, they're native and much cheaper

Lovely cat .Had one in Oz. Loved climbing curtains.!!! We had 5 ton Isuzu truck. We sold gift ware out of it ,direct to gift shops . The cat loved to travel with us(all over Victoria), sleeping on top of the dashboard, under the windscreen. Never known a cat that that liked to travel. . At night we used to stay in caravans, ,where she had the run of the park. Amazing cat.

Some cats really like to travel. New vistas and all that, I guess... Here's my eldest (though only three years old at the time of the photo), certainly not a Siamese but still an enthusiastic traveller:

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Assuming that they really are purebred and with pedigrees, that's about half of what you would have to pay in Europe. Other breeds can be a LOT more expensive!

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Yes I know,but this is Thailand. and would'nt think that the pureness of a Thai Persian was nessesarly top dollar.

'Im not meaning to insult genuine breeders here.but you know what I mean.

My last blue persian in UK... 12 years ago cost me 450GBP.

Please read what I highlighted in your quote of my previous post.

If the kittens are not pure bred, the price you quoted is probably about ten times what you should pay. A mongrel, be it a cat or a dog, has very little commercial value (though it may be a wonderful pet).

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Assuming that they really are purebred and with pedigrees, that's about half of what you would have to pay in Europe. Other breeds can be a LOT more expensive!

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T_Dog may have been a member the longest.

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Kamthieng flower market (behind Lotus on the super highway) has literally hundreds of them.

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Yes you can, unless there is something wrong with the pot. 230V / 50 Hz is common to Thailand and Italy (and a lot of other countries).

The people, the weather, the food, nature, quality of life, value for money, history, beauty.

I was going to post something profound, but you beat me to it. I couldn't agree more with the above statement.

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Nice, and well done.

Agree!

All airlines that I have travelled with / talked to / heard about have a limit of either one or two cats in the cabin. The reason is the risk of allergic reactions by some passenger, in which case the airline would probably be liable (peanuts, anybody?).

I feel fairly confident that if you were willing to charter an aircraft for yourself and your cats and pay for decontamination afterwards, there would be an airline willing to let you have your animals in the cabin

As I said in my above post, my cats were perfectly happy to travel in their own cage in the air conditioned and pressurized cargo hold. This may of course vary between individuals.

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Flora House allows pets and is a nice place to move into for the first month

Many landlords allow pets - just ask them, or tell the agency that you need a pet friendly rental

EVA airlines is very good with pets

I second the comment about Flora House. I stayed there for two months with my (then) four cats, that came with me on the plane from Europe (in the cargo hold, that is). They were perfectly fine after the trip but I doubt they would have been if they had travelled in separate cages. They were and are very strongly bonded to each other.

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