tom yum goong

if they do think you are drink driving, you would be lucky to get away with a ticket - you could be spending a night in the slammer.

not clever.

Mitchum as somebody mentioned earlier is great, keeps your armpits odour free for absolutely ages. I'm pretty sure you can get it in Thailand, try Watsons.

If you can't get Mitchum, try Oriental Pricess roll-on. I often use the gf's and although it smells a bit girly, it really does work. I think the apple scent is probably the most neutral for a guy.

HDRIDER, whats the sound quality like? I heard that FM transmitters weren't so good.

there's the Aquamarine Resort in Kamala on the hill. Looks very nice.

http://www.aquamarineresort.com/

ABS is only available on the autos starting from on the V AT (AS) model upwards - which is 667,000 baht.

honda thailand's website is a disgrace in terms of usability. i don't blame you for not bothering to look.

yes ... you left out the list-makers

blessed are the list-makers

last time i went i negotiated it down to 300 baht for the day, that was during low season and there was only a couple of other people there. it was also on the weekend.

maybe they can get away with charging clueless tourists that much during the high season, but if you can speak Thai they know they can't rip you off (that much).

While I am there I plan on employing several local Thai people in various capacities, mainly in the hospitality trade on a short time basis, though some may go long time - if they understand the importance of giving me a good servicing.

Will I require a work permit to employ my local Thai staff?

Am i reading this right?

You are asking if you need a work permit to take bargirls for short or long time sessions?

I didn't think you needed a work permit for that

carrying on from Simon's post about different fees for foreigners and UK residents:

you must also take into consideration the fact that if you child is not classed as a Uk resident (lived in the UK for over 3 years - not sure if being in full-time education counts), not only will they have to pay international student fees, they will also not be eligible for student grants and loans.

Maybe you could get a family member in the UK to legally adopt your kid so when its time for them to go to uni they can pay local fees and get a student loan.

This is something i wished my parents had done. Supporting yourself through uni is not much fun when your mates are out spending their student loans down the pub.

Tom.

What gives you the idea that low carb diet is unhealthy?

We as humans have eaten meat from the time we came down from the trees.

Take a look at the Eskimos, Australian aboriginals, Icelanders and any other natives that lived on meat and fat without eating Carbohydrates as a staple.

All without exception now have high rates of obesity and diabetes.

Les

Thanks for the replies guys.

Mr Jones, I wasn't trying to say that a low carb diet is necessarily unhealthy, just that i don't think i can sustain it while living in Thailand, while eating mostly Thai food. For sure i will try to eat less carbs, but mainly i want to eat carbs with a low glycemic index as possible - and avoid eating white jasmine rice, which is very difficult if you eat out a lot - hence my question about Thai noodles.

last time i went i totally winded myself and had bruised ribs for a few weeks. still, great fun nevertheless

falling over a lot? - check

looking stupid? - double check

count me in smartecosse.

p.s. I've PM'ed you my contact details

Hi, I'm looking for any info on where i can learn tai chi in Phuket. Has anyone taken classes here before?

I know that hotels have courses but those are for hotel guests (=expensive) and probably not as in depth as I am looking for.

The best i could find is: this from the Phuket Gazette issues and answers

which doesn't really help much, although i might try giving the Thai-Chinese Association a call.

Any info much appreciated

EDIT/

just found this website: http://www.taichiphuket.com/ - looks promising.

it has to be good for allowing immigration policy to change tho and make it easier for a foreigner to work here.

Though I think the foreigners will somehow be unskilled Burmese labourers and not farang.

Japs would be happy to sell their own small cars here. It's the governement's screw up. Years ago they announced "little car" project and Japs jumped on it. But the government wanted them to design completely new cars, to make it a niche thing, only Thailand would have it. Japs of course have a million models they could relocate production for here, but the government set the specs that nothing would fit.

No tax incentives were offered at all, specs kept changin, and the project was finally abandoned.

Suzuki is one of the car makers who got totally confused. They stalled their investment completely - no one knows what the policy next year would be. Ford made ethanol 20 Focus and got nothing for it. What if Suzuki invested in developing e-20 engine and it was useless. They were hoping to break into the market with somethin special - like a small car.

It's not entirely fair to blame Japs for the lack of small cars - it's the government that sets up the policy, and people who don't want to buy Yaris with 1.3l engine.

Talking about Suzuki, its such a shame they don't sell the new Swift in Thailand. Really nice looking car and i fancy it could give the Jazz and Yaris a run for their money.

...

Can be prevented by:

The addition of octane-increasing "lead," isooctane, or other fuel additives.

...

is this the best option for people with cars which need 95 octane and can't run on gasohol 95?

Maybe I'm not understanding you correctly but I personally find women from Phuket and elsewhere in Southern Thailand to be the most attractive of all.

You're not wrong there colonel. Hat Yai girls are my favourite.

BKKDUDE - Whats a worn out leechy woman anyway - an old woman covered in leeches?

Anyway, old worn out woman need loving too. Which reminds me of a line from one of the Carry On films.

Matron: "Young chickens may be soft and tender but the older birds have more on them."

Sid James: "Yes. And take a lot more stuffing."

ohhh, matron!!

... I believe the Phuket indiginous people are generally more friendly toward farangs than Samui indiginous people.

Fully agree with this, people on Samui are now so unfriendly. It used to be my favourite place in Thailand up to about 6 years ago. When the bungalows started getting replaced by the boutique resorts and all the reggae bars turned into Adidas and Nike shops, things really took a turn for the worst. Now the locals in Samui are the most unfriendly bunch i have ever come across in Thailand - and I am Thai, so its not a communication issue.

Phuket for all its development is still a pretty friendly place.

I think the difference between Phuket and Samui is that Phuket is not just about the tourist areas. Phuket Town is a decent sized town/city with a lot of commerce and activities, much of which existed long before tourism and is not dependent on it. Na Thon on Samui, although growing, is much smaller and doesn't have much going for it apart from being the main ferry port for the island.

If you want to compare beaches, Phuket wins every time.

The only thing Samui has got that Phuket doesn't is two high seasons, which i must admit is a big advantage.

I think answers to this question will be very subjective. Depends what you want to do. Will you be working? or retired? are you a beach person? etc etc.

I faced a similar choice when I first moved back to Thailand (from the UK). I grew up in Bangkok and my parents still live there. I love Bangkok for the eating out, the shopping, nightlife etc. But for me, the traffic and pollution make Bangkok unbearable for anything longer than a few days.

I guess it boils down to whether you want to live in a city or by the beach. Employment options are obviously much better in Bangkok. But if you want to be by the beach and you have to work at the same time, Phuket is probably the best place in Thailand to do that.

Hey

According to the www.honda.co.uk website all the Jazz Models from the Basic 1.2 S to the 1.4 Sport have Adjustable Dash Illumination.

Looks like a nice little car, great fuel economy.

Just out of interest, which model Jazz are you looking at and how much will it be 'out the door' in Thailand ?

Regards

Peter

Hi Peter,

Thanks for the input,

I'm still at the brochure stage, so I haven't started the on wheeling and dealing yet. I priced the Yaris at about 630,000 (Basic)....add another 100K or so for the 'G'. I think the Jazz comes in the same price range, but - in my opinion, has the better gearbox and engine and more room in the back.....and now I hear it's even got a dimmer control for the instument panel. Whooopee

Geoff, I don't think the Jazz sold in Thailand has an instrument dimmer switch. I have a pre-facelift VTEC and it doesnt have the dimmer, and AFAIK the facelifted model doesn't either.

Not that its really necessary, the nice orange glow doesn't affect nightvision so much. I don't like the bright white instrument panel on the Vios or Yaris - one look at it and your temporarily blinded

i think the difference between Thailand and say the US or the UK is that in Thailand there is almost no chance of you being mugged. However, what you do have to be careful of is having your stuff stolen - such as from the luggage compartment of a long distance bus, train etc. or from your room or even the safe of a hotel.

If you can keep your stuff with you at all times then you should be fine.

its not surprising you never noticed it. The shop is a warehouse with a tiny office building out front. Both buildings are set a little back from the road behind some trees. There is a sign (its shaped like a white inverted triangle with rounded corner) but its not that easy to see from the road.

I'm sorry i cant find their number - if i find it i will post it here.

there is a respray shop on the bypass road called Phuket Auto Service. I have used them twice now and they were good.

They are located on the opposite side of the road to Nissan (i guess it would be the east side), and right at the other end of the bypass (about 1.5km from where it joins Thepkasatri rd) - its really close to the Hino truck dealer. You can't miss the big Hino billboard.

I also have the N70.

AFAIK there isn't a 3G (CDMA) network available in Phuket, but i think Hutch in Bangkok is 3G. Maybe they will extend network coverage here in the near future but i'm not holding my breath.

prostitution is rife in Thailand. The farang oriented scene is a tiny fraction of what really goes on.

karaoke joints, massage parlours, hairdressers and actual brothels abound in every town and city throughout Thailand.

the farang scene is only limited to major tourist areas and is peanuts by comparison. I would go as far as to say the 90% to 10% quoted above is still too high. In terms of people involved and the number of establishments catering to Thai clientele, I would put a guess in at 99% Thai and 1% farang.

Hi Firefan

I understand where your coming from (it was what i thought as well). However, I have been reading that noodles such as udon and rice vermicelli have a medium or even low glycemic index.

this site has rice vermicelli at 58 and Thai jasmine rice at 109 compared to glucose = 100 !!!

http://www.mendosa.com/gilists.htm

Apparently it has a lot to do with how it is processed and also prepared - e.g. al dente vs soft pasta

http://www.glycemicindex.com/faq.htm

The article above was the one that got me thinking. If udon noodles or rice vermicelli are medium to low GI, what other noodles available in Thailand also have low or medium GI.

The easiest thing to do is to simply ensure that you do not eat any carbs by themselves - but ensure that you have a similar sized (grams) of protein at the same time. The combination dramatically lowers the total glycemic index number for the meal.

Also some interesting stuff on the effects of fat and protein on glucose response here:

http://www.mendosa.com/gi.htm

Quote: "Therefore, it looks like you can simply ignore protein and fat in mixed meal calculations."

He then goes on to talk about how high fat and protein diets can induce insulin resistance.

I'm still finding it a little confusing, e.g. watermelon has a high GI but a low glycemic load, or how pizza may not have a really high GI but induces a much more prolonged glucose response. However the more i read about diets that take GI into consideration, the more convinced i am that its a sound principal.

I don't want to go on a low carb diet because i don't think that its sustainable and could be unhealthy. So if noodles are better (lower GI) than white rice, that would make things much easier. But i can't find any information the GI of Thai noodles - are they pretty similar to udon noodles?