dhream

Yeah I have to agree, it's changed so much, for the worse.

The Thais will develop it until it's lost any semblance of the charm of the old city.

The Chinese invasion has had a huge impact too.

Maybe one has to be a foreigner to appreciate somewhere that the locals don't?

Anyway, the smaller towns of the North are far nicer places to live.

I can't see how the Chinese tourists are any worse than others. Having been to China, I know that the people that can afford to tour here are beacons of refinement compared to the true peasant masses. Most Chinese tourists I've seen here are better dressed and behaved than the westerners, the Thais claim the Chinese tip more than any other race too. we can sit and moan, or we can accept a new world order, and capitalise on it, like the Thais do.

Sorry dhream, the bit about tipping is absolute baloney.

The Thais I speak to all say the Chines are the cheapest of the lot.

They walk rather than catch a taxi, haggle over 5 baht, the group tours ferry them from place to place where everything is prepaid.

They spend very little.

Don't know where you get your info from.

It's not dead it's just resting, it's pining for the fee-paying-hordes.

Apologies to monty python.

I have had news from Australia that a former resident of Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, a Mr. Phil Stevenson passed away in Chiang Mai on 21 November 2015.

Can anyone confirm or elaborate? My informant knew Phil and asked if I knew him as we are all formerly from colonial Africa, thanks.

Perhaps this person? - BSAP Facebook memoriam

and the BSAP website

Yes, correct. That's where the original heads up originated, we were hoping for a local angle, more detail an eulogy, etc from his local friends. Thanks for the response Tywais, PM me if you were in the regiment, and feel so inclined.

I have been listening to people say that Thailand isnt what it use to be for 40 years. For me it just keeps getting better.

One thing. Iced towels. Used to get them in every bar, and small business even in Bkk. Where did that charming gesture Go?

There wasn't any air-conditioning back then.

Yeah I have to agree, it's changed so much, for the worse.

The Thais will develop it until it's lost any semblance of the charm of the old city.

The Chinese invasion has had a huge impact too.

Maybe one has to be a foreigner to appreciate somewhere that the locals don't?

Anyway, the smaller towns of the North are far nicer places to live.

I have been listening to people say that Thailand isnt what it use to be for 40 years. For me it just keeps getting better.

A lot of the negativity comes from the trashpacker crowd, who have basically run out of wild cards to flout immigration laws. Good riddance.....a little soap might open a few more doors than your hideous prison tattoos. Is the quality of a restaurant really based on how long they will let you use the wi-fi without spending any money?

Take Papa Rock out Hangdong way. Went there worth visitors last night, expecting Papa Rock of old.

It's changed. It's farang, the food is farang, and not bad. The band is farang.

But it was nonetheless not what I remember.

We movedvon because we specifically went for 5he 9ld Thai band.

Now im not saying the new iteration I'd not good, just that it's changed.

The Thai Bar/club on the Hangdong Road at the same intersection has also changed, it's now Thai millennial, not Thai gen xers. We of course are baby boomers.

So things change, for better, for worse.

I've lived in the so called best city in the world 8n several expat polls, Sydney. for 28 years. imho CNX beats syd. By almost any measure. Cost, crime, nightlife, Sydney would have better restaurants and a live theatre ir two, and public transport, which is still not great for a supposed world class city. but apart from that, here is way better.

The best thing about Chiang Mai is the burgers.

is the water still free?

Big C and Dukes it is.

At Big C Superhighway, one has the choice of gourmet KFC Zinger burgers or McDonald's Fillet of Fish cuisine. Walk past Dairy Queen on the way out and pick up a 10 baht ice-cream cone . All come with free water. Personally, my fav is the beer garden - 1 litre of Chang for a smidgen over 100 baht plus lots of free up-skirt and down-tops perving. No free water, but the ice cubes dropped into your beer by a smiling beer girl is gratis.

its early NYE. The Thai missus and I have tried to get Taxi using all available means, including grabtaxi.

Sure they can take us out, but not bring us home, Not even for 1000 Baht!

So apart from one of us having to stay sober, we have to take our vehicle out onto the roads where others will be even more idiotic than usual, or simply stay home.

And yet, they ban uber, how ironic given entrepreneurs of any size here are otherwise allowed to operate.

It's retrograde protectionist policies like this that protect their woeful taxi 'service', and contribute to Road carnage, happy new-year everyone.

Note you obviously need a shipping company, they'll weigh and facilitate clearance, assign a flight etc. THIS IS NOT THE SAME AS AN agent who would handle the entire door to door process and airwaybill, which any shipping company will email you on request. Sorry all the info is peicemeal, Im remebering details as the evening wears on...

HM customs also give a few days grace to collect before charging storage fees. But if you're organised you can grab it the day after it arrives

Don't assume airfreight is expensive,bits not if you are prepared to find a plastic, not wood, pallet, industrial wrapping, and straps x2. You can fill out the airwaybill yourself, there is no need for an agent.

You'll need a truck at both ends, and a lift at this end, at the home end, you breakdown the pallet off the truck. Easy. Hire-drive yourself in the UK, they will lift the pallet onto your truck at clearance. I have done this from Singapore to Glasgow 2 years ago.

I'm still waiting for a CM meter taxi to turn the meter on.

It is apprently compulsory to have a meter fitted otherwise no licence to operate.

It is however not compulsory to actually turn it on...makes complete sense.

I use taxis in CM regularly. But I have never had the same difficultly negotiating a reasonable fare as I have experienced in BKK where they do have meters but almost always refuse to use them. I simply refuse to take a cab on BKK if they can't be arsed using the meter. I have a couple of drivers in CM on speed dial, and pass their numbers on to overseas visitors too. I have not heard any complaints from them. However I can't say that I've had any luck calling the cab company direct. It's definitely worth keeping a good drivers number if you are going to be a regular customer in CM!

Airline Food?

Not the sort of post I would make on an open forum,

letting others know what cash you have is not a good

idea,anywhere.

regards Worgeordie

Marc Faber the famed and very rich finance pundit and CNX resident, don't see him looking too worried wandering about town.

Now their lives(the scum)lay in ruin,just like the countless lives they've ruined by peddling their s**t.

I have no sympathy whatsoever.

Its the addicts lives to ruin. Drugs are Capitalism. When you wake up and start listening, your problem will be nmanageable, the lives being ruined are also innocents caught up in turf wars. Thanks for 40 odd years of mayhem. Nixon lover.

Come on. There is NO excuse for this.

Defending farang tourists just because they are farangs like us is no excuse.

Picking on Thais and bringing up situations where they have littered is NO excuse for this.

Locals selling drinks etc is NO excuse for this.

Lets be open and honest and say this is behavior that makes us educated farangs ashamed. No excuses. No attitude of "two wrongs making a right". No deflecting the blame on to others. This behavior is unacceptable to me, and I suggests to most self respecting people.

I take ownership and addmit that I am ashamed that people of my own country of origin act like this, but know that they are in the minority. A minority that deserves criticism and needs educating.

Have a look at the rubbish left on all the beaches in Thailand by the Thai's.

Typical of Thai's to always blame the other people.

Not just on the beaches, but almost everywhere. As clean as they are in their personal hygiene, Thais in general do not have any regard for their immediate surroundings anywhere except maybe in downtown Bangkok a bit....

Or their gleaming new unaffordable car. Actually Chiang Mai is way cleaner than BKK so much so that it struck me on arrival.

I also thought it was yet another sleep inducing story about young wimen getting their kitsoff, I just clicked to see boozy boobies bounce in the lunar luminescence.

Much ado about zip. Any concert venue gets trashed, that's what cohorts of cleaners are hired for.

We all know whose beach it is and we know who allows this anyway, not the 'shamed wealthy tourists'.

You can see this is cheap journalism, preying on readers envy, faux self rightousness, and a willingness to read a scandal into a total non story.

I guess breathless tales of drug 'abuse' just don't elicit the same emotioninal kick in the caboose anymore.

I have had news from Australia that a former resident of Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, a Mr. Phil Stevenson passed away in Chiang Mai on 21 November 2015.

Can anyone confirm or elaborate? My informant knew Phil and asked if I knew him as we are all formerly from colonial Africa, thanks.

Depends where you are shipping from I'm sure, but I had a good experience with SevenSeas who handle expat personal effects from anywhere to anywhere as far as I can see. I shipped a 6m³ packing case from Devon in the UK to CM and the cost was around 70,000 baht door to door. The customs will hit you as hard as they can for anything electrical or luxury sounding/looking - a full inventory is essential but consolidate into boxes to avoid what nearly happened to me. The consignment arrived in BKK where customs billed me for 321 baht per listed item - no matter if it was a leather reclining sofa, a box of kitchen gear or a bicycle lock!

The shipping agent argued and although they could come up with no justification it looked like they were going to hold out for 18,000 duty. The agent was super helpful and made such a nuisance of himself over a period of about 6 weeks (no "over a barrel" storage ransom, btw) that they finally saw sense and reduced it to a more reasonable 2600 baht. No bribes asked for or offered.

Seven Seas were astoundingly well organised at the pickup end and I'd definitely use them again.

If you get a box you find undrinkable, here's a tip, it won't work for everybody, but in the ballads, they add coke to horrible plonk, another idea is make Sangria, white or red. Or even Gluhwien Recipes abound online.

I also tried sea shipping from the UK to NZ in the bad old pre internet days (it would have been too time consuming to DIY then, just as we once all needed travel agents) anyhow, it cost in the end, more than the stuff was worth, and seawater had entered, and destroyed some items too. And it took absolutely months, about nine, they must have even lost it somewhere. Also, airfreight, at commercial tarriff now, is nothing close to what you pay for a single extra suitcase, that's a deliberate penalty to keep people from abusing the system, you see the punters don't understand aircraft are weight restricted for many good reasons. If these Steep baggage costs were not in place, check-in and hold cargo loading would be a logistics nightmare.