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Priceless
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Sorry for not having more recent material on this, but I'm sure
you will find it by yourself. Just Google around a little bit.
On the Chiang Mai page of Wikipedia you will find for instance an
interesting chapter on air pollution in Chiang Mai town and province:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiang_Mai
[...]
I don't know whether what is said about air pollution in Chiang Mai has ever been true, or whether it has always been a myth. However, you can see from my previous post that Chiang Mai has for the last three years had among the lowest pollution levels in the upper North. The Chiang Mai levels have also been on a strongly downward trend for the last 7½ years:
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In fact the main source of the really bad pollution is not local, but mostly large scale fires in Burma and Laos. Anyway, here's a more up to date issue of the graph that 'Limbo' posted:
As you can see Chiang Rai has been the second most polluted place 2009-2011, after Mae Hong Son. The reason is of course what I mentioned above, that most of it comes from across the border.
To answer the OP's question, the most polluted time is obviously March.
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Send a PM to 'eek'. She may have the time (she's Scottish but speaks reasonable English)
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If you go to the rather unlikely destination of "Chiang Mai News & Events" and then on to "Resources & Information" and then to "All Other Professional Help" you'll find the following:
Moving Company
• Khun Preecha - 0845 024 267 or 053 433 622.
He has a large covered lorry and six workers. They pack and carry your belongings with great care. Khun Preecha supervises the work himself.
It's been three years since I used him, but they were really very good and professional.
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[...]
NorthernThailand is in the path of the jetstream from India and as such it suffers aconstant airflow of the enormous amount of pollution released from there.
SouthernThailand avoids this jetstream and actually has very good quality air.
[...]
That is an interesting theory that I have never heard before. Furthermore, I have never heard of any significant quantities of Particulate Matter (PM) appearing at jet stream altitudes (subtropical jets appear at 33,000-52,000 ft).
It seems much more realistic to assume that the PM encountered in Northern Thailand comes from burning of different kinds (agricultural, forest fires etc) in the closer region, largely in Burma and Laos.
You are right though that Southern Thailand (provided you mean the West coast, the eastern seaboard is quite polluted) suffers less from PM pollution. However, the most polluted part of Thailand is, as one might expect, the Central region with its concentrations of industry.
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Particulate Matter most certainly appears at jet stream altitude. Note: Volcanic eruptions effecting global climate, Chernobyl radioactive material being found all over the globe. As per these examples - and the prevailing movement of global winds moving from west to east - it is blatantly obvious that polluting material from the 1 billion plus population of India moves via Northern Thailand.
To understand the impact this has on the human lung is, quite simply, mind blowing. A lung exposed to clean air is a completely different colour compared to a lung exposed to polluted air. A healthy lung being a pink colour whereas a lung from an area exposed to pollution being a sickening gray colour.
As for Southern Thailand, the air quality does not differ from the east coast compared to the west coast. This is due to, as stated, the global weather migrating from a westerly to easterly direction, and Southern Thailand being south of the prevailing air movement originating in India.
No doubt about it, if you want healthy lungs then stay in Hua Hin. If you want sickly dark gray lungs, then Chiang Mai is for you.
Please note that I said "significant quantities of Particulate Matter". I still doubt that jet streams play a major role in this. As for volcanoes, such creatures tend to spew their stuff high into the air, e.g. the Eyjafjallajökull eruption in 2010. This is rather different from the smoke from millions of wood-fired stoves in India. As for Chernobyl, radioactive substances unfortunately cause harmful effects in much lower concentrations than does Particulate Matter.
If you say that "the air quality does not differ from the east coast compared to the west coast" I am willing to believe you. I don't have much data on the west coast in my database, but I do regularly follow Chon Buri on the east coast. If you had read my first post, you would have seen that air pollution in Chon Buri is not much different from that in Chiang Mai. Since 1 January 2000 the average PM10 level in Chiang Mai has been 45.1 µg/m3, while it has been 50.8 in Chon Buri. The average yearly number of "bad days" (i.e. with PM10 in excess of 120 µg/m3) per year has been 15.8 in Chiang Mai and 14.5 in Chon Buri. The worst yearly average to date in Chiang Mai was 2004 with 60.1 µg/m3 while it was 2007 in Chon Buri with 81.2 µg/m3. During the latest twelve months, i.e. to 30 September 2011, the Chiang Mai average has been 32.4 µg/m3 while it has been 31.3 in Chon Buri. (All the raw data from the PCD website http://www.pcd.go.th/AirQuality/Regional/QueryAir.cfm?task=default) All in all fairly similar results between the two locations, with both long-term and worst-year averages higher for Chon Buri.
I am however not saying that your jet stream theory is wrong, only that I have never heard of it before and that I personally find it unlikely.
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[...]
NorthernThailand is in the path of the jetstream from India and as such it suffers aconstant airflow of the enormous amount of pollution released from there.
SouthernThailand avoids this jetstream and actually has very good quality air.
[...]
That is an interesting theory that I have never heard before. Furthermore, I have never heard of any significant quantities of Particulate Matter (PM) appearing at jet stream altitudes (subtropical jets appear at 33,000-52,000 ft).
It seems much more realistic to assume that the PM encountered in Northern Thailand comes from burning of different kinds (agricultural, forest fires etc) in the closer region, largely in Burma and Laos.
You are right though that Southern Thailand (provided you mean the West coast, the eastern seaboard is quite polluted) suffers less from PM pollution. However, the most polluted part of Thailand is, as one might expect, the Central region with its concentrations of industry.
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Well at a couple of K GBP I dont think them extreme.. I was thinking of replacing my 5 marble drums (nice 9.0's from norh) with the Bowers and Wilkins 802's (that do have 'diamond' tweeters actually
) http://www.bowers-wilkins.com/Speakers/Home_Audio/800_Series_Diamond/802-Diamond.html .. For a couple of k GBP.. I would.. But 700k baht its just not happening. Bloody heavy and fragile to ship also.. The cherry ones are simply superb but I will suffer on .. what did Buddha say about desire ?? Maybe once the house is built and I have put the projector setup back in a real theater room I can see if I can import some. Thai prices simply makes it not a value proposition.
Now I understand, lots of people dont shop this stuff, hence have no idea just how mind blowingly more expensive Thailand is, for these sort of items. It easily erases the gains in the cheap stuff with one big ticket item you get. If you like the luxury stuff, US and European supplies for it is simply much cheaper, plus theres a whole second hand and hobbyist market for these things which just doesnt exist here.
But of course then I have to pay taxes
I bought a new audio set-up myself about 1½ years ago (though nowhere near as expensive as what you are looking at) and looked around for the price difference between Thailand and the West. I found that Thailand was more expensive, but not by that much. For that reason I checked up on what you are saying. Your 700,000 THB for the B&W 802s may well be correct, but your "couple of k GBP" does not seem to be. Prices I've found are ~11,500 GBP, which turns out as something like 560,000 THB. More expensive I agree, but not that ridiculous considering that they are clearly luxury items in a very small market.
Maybe you should revisit your market research?
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Every yr I have gotten my visa extension I was provided with a date to come back in and get it. That date was provided to me at my interview process when filing for the extension. Each time I merely walked up to the middle counter, inform them why I was there, they then take my passport and tell me to take a sit.... I usually have to wait approx 30 mins and then they would call me back up to the counter where they would hand over my passport with the new stamp.
I think because this is a Chiang Mai forum that he is interested in the process here. Go in early in the morning sign in and they will call your name at about 8:30 and give you a number. I presume it is a retirement visa you are getting.
I think you need to re-read his post.....He's asking how to pick up his stamp, not begin the process...... at least that's how I interpreted it...
You could be rite. They can confuse me very easy. With a retirement it is done all in one sitting. No coming back for 90 days.
Assuming that you do a 90-day report at the same time. Note that an extension of stay does NOT count as a 90-day report, the latter is a completely separate process.
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"I'm sure all of you Chiang Mai folks are sick of hearing people ask about the air quality, but here it goes....is it really that bad?"
Short answer: No, it is not.
Long answer:
To put things into perspective, their are two "limits" in the Pollution Control Department's standard for Particulate Matter pollution. The first is for yearly average level at 50 µg/m3. The other is for 24-hour average at 120 µg/m3. As far as I understand, but I have no medical background, the reasons for having two limits is that the 24-hour level is what triggers acute problems for people with pre-existing problems such as asthma. The yearly level is what may over time cause chronic problems, such as respiratory or cardio-vascular illnesses.
The figures for Chiang Mai since 1 January 2000 are a yearly average of 45 µg/m3 and 16 "bad days" (i.e. >120 µg/m3) per year. This you can compare to e.g. Din Daeng (BKK) with 67 µg/m3 and 30 days, Chon Buri with 51 µg/m3 and 15 days and the really horrible one, Sara Buri with 96 µg/m3 and 99 days.
The thing about Chiang Mai is that the seasonal variations are very significant, with a peak from about mid-February to the end of March. If you like graphs, you can see it in greater detail here:
Another thing to consider is that the above is about averages since 2000. There is, however, a rather strong positive trend that is important if you are considering relocating here. Here's another graph that demonstrates this:
As you can see, the trend has fallen from a yearly average of ~56 µg/m3 in mid-2004 to ~35 µg/m3 by the end of this year. Odds are that if/when we get another "bad year", it will be significantly less bad than earlier ones such as 2004 and 2007. However, I do NOT give any guarantees, explicit or implicit
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re ..
It will severely hurt Mike's Burger & the Mexican place (can't remember the name) opposite,
burritos !
dave2
El Diablo
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Okay. Ratchamanka Road. with your back to the Klong Thapae Gate side. Montri Hotel will be on your right
Travel up until the first Soi on your right. Turn right. About 25 metres or so there is a small tailors/clothes makers on your right. He has made trousers for me in the past. Not sure if he speaks a lot of English as I always had a girl from my office with me but I am sure that you can sort that. The point is he makes quality clothers and works very economical.
Good Luckll
You don't by any chance mean Ratchadamnoen Rd, do you?
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Change you arriving flight and come in earlier. Where not talking rocket science here or take the bus if you donot want to spend the night. Complaining changes nothing look for solutions.
You obviously don't realize it, but you are making the unwarranted assumption that there is more than one flight per day from wherever the OP is coming from to BKK. Unless you want to make one or several stops on the way, this may not be true.
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I maybe an optimist, but I seriously doubt that a company could grow from humble beginnings in the south of Sweden to:
- 313 stores
- in 37 countries
- with 135,000 employees
- and annual turnover of ~1 trillion baht
by selling "crap".
Incidentally, their biggest markets are Germany (16%), USA (11%), France (10%), UK (7%) and Italy (7%).
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5-10K per wah in a mooban.
Depends VERY much on which moo baan. In the one where I rent a house it is closer to 25K per talang wah.
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In Chiangmai?
Of course; Think Ban Nai Fun, or the new Koolpunt development that's on the superhighway, so very close to town. And it depends on the amenities they put in; they're not all alike. Official developer's price where I live is 15K. And for some far away derelict developments the price may even be a little less than 5K.
I am sorry that I did not see your post until I had already replied to Thighlander's question. In fact I live in Baan Nai Fun 2, so you were spot on
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5-10K per wah in a mooban.
Depends VERY much on which moo baan. In the one where I rent a house it is closer to 25K per talang wah.
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In Chiangmai?
Yes
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5-10K per wah in a mooban.
Depends VERY much on which moo baan. In the one where I rent a house it is closer to 25K per talang wah.
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Not sure you can really derive trends from that.
It's a pretty obvious trend to me, it's been consistently going up since midnight with no reversals for flood relief efforts. I plotted it out with a basic polynomial fit and the trend is it is slowing down.
Obviously other factors such as recently reported announcements just above this post of expected new water coming in could change this quickly.Thank you, Tywais, quite enlightening
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Not trying to be argumentative but the church/temple is where I expect people/students to learn religious ways not the school system. They can learn teamwork via group projects in a classroom, sports, etc. For those wanting religious teaching/training coupled with education for their children, there are plenty of schools who will oblige, Grace being one.
The religious background is fine for those who want it, but I want a graduate engineer to design the plane, train, automobile, etc, that I travel in/on.
Never heard the phrase "on a wing and a prayer"?
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Is it a real danger, direct debit messing up an SCB account?
I arranged my bills to be paid this way just last week because I am sick of water and electricity bills landing in my postbox just a day or two before the due date, making it impossible to pay them at 7-11 if I am away for a day, and requiring inconvenient trips to the companies involved, of course strictly in working hours. Is it possible to put a limit on the amount the utility companies can take from my account at any one time? I need to check with the bank again I have been using Direct Debit with my SCB account for five years now, covering electricity, water, telephone/ADSL, UBC etc. Never a glitch (touch wood...).
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Just for the record:
Bangkok Airways do not have a monopoly to Koh Samui. Thai Airways have two daily flights either way. I have no idea about their prices, but they're probably not cheap. The reason is that Bangkok Airways own the Samui airport and want a (good) return on their investment.
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Be that as it may, until a year or so ago they did have a monopoly. They paid for the airport, and they exclusively used it until recently. I recall the price bkk to samui being much the same as all flights, about 4000 baht return. Suddenly they made it 7500, almost doubled out of nowhere. Done because it was their airport and only they flew there.
I wonder how much the thai flight is? I bet it's nearly the same as bkk airways.
I think the reason is that people in the right places afforded bkk airways a monopoly for so many years. Right or wrong doesn't come into it, samui became a cash cow. Only now perhaps is it beginning to overmilk itself...
I think the best combination of time and money is to fly to bkk, then get the train and the boat.
I also think my mate flew from cmai to bkk to surat on air asia for a very cheap price, then onto the boat.
Quote from http://www.samuiairportonline.com/
"Samui Airport is privately owned and operated by Bangkok Airways. Most flights from the island are operated by Bangkok Airways. Thai Airways international began flights to Samui in February 2008."
That makes it over 3½ years according to my math.
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Just for the record:
Bangkok Airways do not have a monopoly to Koh Samui. Thai Airways have two daily flights either way. I have no idea about their prices, but they're probably not cheap. The reason is that Bangkok Airways own the Samui airport and want a (good) return on their investment.
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Two very good points. Just try ignoring the "trivial" 90 day report and watch what happens.
And just try missing your visa extension deadline and see what happens. A significantly bigger issue than late on a 90 day report. A couple of members have reported long waits, but seems the majority do not. I've never waited more than 30 minutes in the last couple of years for 90 day handling. Yes, it's all in planning the timing.
It is indeed all in planning the timing. I personally will plan the time via the online appointment system and show up on time for visa extension, 90 day reporting, and any other reason I may have to be there. I don't believe there is anything anyone on Thaivisa can do about it, except whine.
Actually I think that you're right. Why should we bow to their authority and e.g. mail in our 90-day reports. It's much more fun to abuse the new on-line system by using it for what it is obviously not intended for. With a bit of luck we may even get them to tire of the whole idea and close the system down. Then we can get back to the venerable old tradition of waiting for a half or a whole day in queue for an extension of stay.
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Well, to each their own, but making an online appointment and just going out there seems a lot easier
Except that is not the purpose of the online appointment system. It is for extensions as shown on the online queue form. Using it for 90 day reporting prevents someone who needs the appointment, for the time consuming extensions, from getting a slot.
It is for anything you need to do at immigration. That is what they told me.
Quote from the on-line queue form: "Reason for extension visa". You should NOT use it for quick and trivial things like a 90-day report.
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) 
I arranged my bills to be paid this way just last week because I am sick of water and electricity bills landing in my postbox just a day or two before the due date, making it impossible to pay them at 7-11 if I am away for a day, and requiring inconvenient trips to the companies involved, of course strictly in working hours. Is it possible to put a limit on the amount the utility companies can take from my account at any one time? I need to check with the bank again 
What Month Has The Most Smoke In The Air?
in Chiang Rai
Posted
I think that you are possibly confusing the lines for Nan and Phrae (correct me if I am wrong). This could very easily happen since the graph is rather 'crowded', for which I apologize.
The oddity about Phrae goes back to 2010, when their values for March and April were extremely low (note that Phrae only has data for two years). My suspicion is that their measuring station/equipment had teething problems and that Phrae will fall into line with the rest in the coming years. Since you use the word 'correlation', I computed the correlation coefficient between Nan and Chiang Mai and it turned out to be 0.99, i.e. an extremely strong correlation. The correlation between Phrae and Chiang Mai on the other hand is 0.84, i.e. significantly lower.
I fully agree with you about the high level overview, but that's unfortunately all the Pollution Control Department supplies data for. You can generally assume that their measurements are done in Amphur Muang of each province, though outside of city/town centres.
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