TheSiemReaper

For the unwary it is worth noting:

Chiropractic medicine = pseudo-scientific fraud

Acupuncture = pseudo-scientific fraud

Massage (from an untrained masseur) = pleasant enough but known to cure very little

Yoga = dangerous nonsense that can damage your back far worse than almost any other form of exercise

Physiotherapy - at last some actual medicine as opposed to mumbo-jumbo

5 hours ago, cmth said:

Again you run your mouth about something you have no idea about. Thinking you are better than someone else with no clue about the person you are berating. You have not accepted my invitation for a personal meeting. I can only assume that you are too good to bother with us peasants or you are a coward. Which one is it? Maybe you should change your screen name to TheSiemSleeper, I think it would fit you much better.

Definitely too good for you. Glad that you've figured that out peasant. 

5 hours ago, cmth said:

 

If your'e worried about the police or outside interference, I know the owners of a couple of training centers that would be happy to let us meet there. It's time to see if your ass can cash the checks your mouth writes.

I'm not worried about anything. Little boys with no money don't interest me very much. If this is how you get your homoerotic thrills; good for you. I can understand how that lack of 300 baht would lead to masturbating on the internet and making threats - actually I can't - I always have 300 baht as disposable income. So, have fun as a global vagabond, I don't think you can afford the entry to a private training center any more than you can afford the entry to Doi Inthanon. When I see you begging outside Tops; I'll be sure to flick you a coin. 

1 hour ago, cmth said:

I don't think any of that would be necessary. If he had to balls to show up (which I highly doubt), I'm sure we could come to a resolution rather quickly.

Yes, I always find that people who make threats on the internet and haven't got a pot to urinate in are the ones to be terrified of. You wouldn't be able to afford your hospital bills any better than the national parks you're too cheap to visit. So save the empty threats for someone who cares. Though in fairness that's probably no-one. 

8 minutes ago, cmth said:

Don't worry about where I am and whether or not I have a job.  I wouldn't be here if I didn't have money. You know nothing about me. What I choose to spend and what I think is a fair amount is my decision to make, not yours."Cheapskate", save your childish name calling for someone else. You people that sit safely behind your keyboard while talking to someone in a manner that you would never do in person make me sick. Since when has it become easy and cheap to stay in Thailand if your're not over 55 or married? I must have missed something. Over the past couple of years it has become much harder and much more expensive to stay in Thailand than any other county in SE Asia. Other countries Visa policies have nothing to do with my comment. If I applied for a Visa to any country and it was denied, I wouldn't expect a refund. It's right there on the Visa application that you sign.

When the cap fits - wear it. I'm under 55, unmarried and staying here is as cheap as chips. 

If you want to moan about unfairness; you have to moan about it in both directions. If not, you're simply a hypocrite. Which let's be fair about your post here it is abundantly clear that you are. 

I'd happily meet you in a pub to tell you the same thing too. Cheapskates are the people who complain about a minor charge for a public attraction in a country that is not their own. Exercise your right not to visit such attractions and the fee will never concern your empty wallet again.

The irony of cheapskates coming to live in Thailand and then finding that not everything is as cheap as they demand it be is amusing.

I don't see the same people lobbying their own governments over tourist visas, for example, for Thais. Visas which cost 10-20 times as much as a Thai tourist visa and which are quite often refused (with no refund). 

The AVERAGE Thai is simply much poorer than the AVERAGE farang. Yes, there are exceptions but no sane administrative system can account for exceptions without costing an insane amount of money. So, Thais get in cheap at Thai tourist attractions and foreigners don't - never mind, get over it already. When they can get in to your country easily and stay for as long as they like easily for a reasonable sum of money you can start moaning; until then you can knock it off and count your lucky stars that Thailand is far more reasonable towards foreigners than you give it credit for.

You are not obliged to visit a single tourist attraction here. If 300 baht is a lot of money for you - you might consider going home and getting a job and saving money until it's not. 

2 hours ago, ChiangraiTony said:

Hard Rock food in my opinion is over priced for a basic meal. The Duke's is more affordable and the quality is just about the same. 

Within in the next couple of years many of the Seafood restaurants in the Night Bazzar area will leave there. I heard this from the owner last year.  The owner of the land (Chang Beer) has been increasing the rent and the owners already know about the future plans. Chang Beer Co. Have different plans for that area. 

 

Dukes wishes it was close to the quality of Hard Rock. Hard Rock is expensive but generally, apart from Siem Reap, they deliver a consistent quality of product, service and atmosphere. 

Le Bistrot - excellent imported steaks.

It offers far less coverage than a standard health insurance plan.

Yes, it's only Thais who kill people in jealous rages... oh wait a minute, no it's not. It's just another set of racist anti-Thai posts on ThaiVisa, again. Whenever anything happens in Thailand it must be cultural and the fault of an inferior nation; whereas the gun toting maniacs who shoot people at random in the states? They're just crazy. It's not a homicidal nation just one where individuals kill individuals. Knock it off people. Use your brains. This has nothing to do with it being Thailand and everything to do with the fact that some individuals are fragile and insane everywhere.

The horror of it all is that there is a global culture of child molestation. Recent estimates put the number of paedophiles in the population at about 20% - that's more kiddy fiddlers than gay folks to put it in context.

This isn't a Thai problem; it's a universal issue.

Rape of children is horrendous but there are no easy ways to stop offenders and it is revolting to suggest that this is a uniquely Thai problem.

13 packets of bacon? Who doesn't love bacon? But who can eat 13 packs? I hereby nominate this gentleman for godhood and demand that he is given a porcelain throne in the middle of a pig sty from which he can sate his unholy desires any time he pleases.

This topic makes me feel better about being a smoker; apparently dog owners are even more selfish than we are. Barking, growling, biting, pooping, etc. are apparently all "no big deal" when inflicted on others. But it's a big deal when somebody does something about it...

It appears the time has come to ban dog ownership and to fine owners of dogs to the fullest extent of the law. 5,000 Baht for every time your dog irritates someone, 10,000 Baht for every time it fouls the walkways and 1,000,000 Baht for biting someone should do the trick. I suspect the owners will "take care of" their dogs in that instance and it won't need a good Samaritan to do it for them.

I will agree with all but the museums, I am a museum guy and I find that lacking, The natural and human history here has yet to be adequately interpreted. This is not CM specific, i have yet to visit a world class museum in Thailand. The little museum in Wat Ket is wimsicly interesting.

The best museum in Thailand, for me, is the Oub Kham Museum in Chiang Rai - absolutely superb and a world class experience. I agree Chiang Mai's museums have some ground to cover but they're there and they're trying hard. I though the folk museum was excellent and the coin museum was a lovely place to visit (even if, by its very nature, it's not all that fascinating). The others were a bit disappointing but I'm glad I went - haven't been to the one in Wat Ket but it's now on my list. :-)

"Taste" in museums is, of course, a personal matter one cannot debate.

Without turning this into a "museum thread" I would like to add that imho the most compelling museum experiences to be had in Lanna are:

1. Lamphun: the small National Museum next to the ancient Wat Haripunchai.

2. Chiang Saen: the National Museum.

The Oub Kham "museum" in Chiang Rai, created and run by Khun Julasak (descendant of former Lampang area royalty), is an interesting re-creation of a kind of "vision" of the former glory of the courts of the Shan princes, imho worth seeing as a kind of immersion in fantasia.

For me, it is the synergy between the special "mana" of Wat Haripunchai and the Lamphun Museum that makes it such a truly special place. And, I like the ambiance of the small-scale of the architecture of the museum.

Suggested readings that, imho, will greatly increase your enjoyment of visting Lanna Musuems:

1. "The Buddha Images of Northern Thailand" by Carol Stratton and Miriam McNair Scott ISBN 978-1932476095

2. "Siam in Mind" by David Wyatt ISBN 978-9747551723 Silkworm Books

3. "Chiang Mai Chronicle" translated by Richard Cushman, later edited by David Wyatt and Aroonrut Wichienkeeo Silkworm Books

For further details on Carol Stratton's superb book (worth going to a library to find), and some discussion of other texts, see this post from 2004 by this humble flea of an amateur scholar who writes these words ... now:

https://groups.google.com/d/msg/soc.culture.thai/tlUb90mfSUg/GV907U8DK1MJ

cheers, ~o:37;

Thank you. :-) I have all those books already but completely agree with your recommendations. :-)

I always enjoy watching someone go off the deep end because someone else observes something and wishes it were different.

Back to the topic in hand - of course Thailand's changing; it's become a much richer country. Thanks in part to the contributions to the economy by many folks posting on Thaivisa. But human development always lags economic growth and once there was a limited service sector attracting a handful of dedicated "cream of the crop" people and now there's a much bigger service sector with much less freedom to pick and choose the workforce. That's all that's happened really. Better economy = more expense and less service. At least in the short-term. In the long-run it means more expense and slowly improving service as companies begin to move away from price competition and quality of product competition and on to service based competition. No big deal.

the current mob have killed off some of the 'vibe' with the ridiculous closure at 12 policy that applies, hypocritically, only to chiang mai

No, it doesn't. I was in Udon Thani less than a week ago - it applies there too.

What "lack of amenities"? Hundreds of restaurants. Nearly a dozen decent sized supermarkets. Many museums, many temples (and nearly all quite spectacular too), an ancient capital, gyms galore, shopping malls, hospitals, a zoo, a botanical garden, bookstores, an aquarium, cinemas, etc. Chiang Mai wants for nothing in terms of amenities. It may have limited night life but it's not that limited; there are still clubs, bars and indeed, brothels all over town. There's nothing missing here at all. It's a small-ish city in the scheme of things and the overall range here reflects that. But it's certainly not absent anything major.

It's easy to get bored anywhere. I know - I have a lifetime's experience of getting bored and moving. But because you're bored is no reflection on the city; it's a reflection on you.

I will agree with all but the museums, I am a museum guy and I find that lacking, The natural and human history here has yet to be adequately interpreted. This is not CM specific, i have yet to visit a world class museum in Thailand. The little museum in Wat Ket is wimsicly interesting.

The best museum in Thailand, for me, is the Oub Kham Museum in Chiang Rai - absolutely superb and a world class experience. I agree Chiang Mai's museums have some ground to cover but they're there and they're trying hard. I though the folk museum was excellent and the coin museum was a lovely place to visit (even if, by its very nature, it's not all that fascinating). The others were a bit disappointing but I'm glad I went - haven't been to the one in Wat Ket but it's now on my list. :-)

What "lack of amenities"? Hundreds of restaurants. Nearly a dozen decent sized supermarkets. Many museums, many temples (and nearly all quite spectacular too), an ancient capital, gyms galore, shopping malls, hospitals, a zoo, a botanical garden, bookstores, an aquarium, cinemas, etc. Chiang Mai wants for nothing in terms of amenities. It may have limited night life but it's not that limited; there are still clubs, bars and indeed, brothels all over town. There's nothing missing here at all. It's a small-ish city in the scheme of things and the overall range here reflects that. But it's certainly not absent anything major.

It's easy to get bored anywhere. I know - I have a lifetime's experience of getting bored and moving. But because you're bored is no reflection on the city; it's a reflection on you.

If Chiang Mai's "sparkle" could truly be damaged by a couple of older ladies of the night; the city would be truly fragile in every respect. You don't come to Chiang Mai for "high quality whoring" the entirety of the bar district here is populated with the cast offs from the better paid venues of Bangkok and Pattaya; it's where sub standard hookers come to die. Fortunately, for the majority of ordinary expats and visitors alike - Loi Kroh isn't where they spend their time. The vibrant haunts of Nimman, the cheap and cheerful Night Bazaar and Anusarn Market areas, the River Side's peculiar collection of restaurants, and so on... these are the things that give Chiang Mai "sparkle" and not the sad breeding grounds for STDs and loneliness that exist on Loi Kroh.

Hun Sen is one of the great monsters of Asia. The US kisses his butt, by allowing him to refer to his government as a democracy, when it is anything but. Opposition leaders like Sam Rainsy have put up with untold amounts of harassment, and maltreatment from this super creep. He will do anything, say anything, hurt anybody, to maintain his power base. He is a very, very dangerous man.

The only bigger danger to Cambodia than Hun Sen's continued rule is the rule that Cambodia would get under Sam Rainsy. The man may be an international darling of the "free thinking world" but he's a total and abject clown with absolutely no understanding of how to run a country (his economic policies are a straight up recipe for social collapse) and worse proposes his rise to power on racist hatred directed at the Vietnamese community (which numbers several hundred thousand people in Cambodia). It's like swapping Hitler for Stalin.

All this really demonstrates is how lacking in cultural awareness the average Chinese tourist to Thailand is. When the "must see" places in a country are restaurants; you've kind of missed the point of travel. Surely Doi Suthep or even Chiang Mai zoo is a better reason to come here than a buffet restaurant?

It's incredibly sad that those with the benefit of a Western education still seem to delight in prejudice towards others. What business is it of yours how a ladyboy, a gay man, or anyone else choose to live their lives?

Who are you to judge someone for a choice which doesn't, in the slightest bit, impinge on the way you choose to live your life?

Katoeys are not a single person who has wronged the nation. There are good katoeys and bad katoeys and every spectrum in between. They are treated with contempt by society and by so many of the absolute fools who haunt this board and for what? Choosing to act like or be a different gender? No wonder they have a hard time. They risk assault by pathetic people who can't come to terms with their own sexuality on a daily basis. Their families often treat them terribly. Many of them are packed off into sex work by their greedy, lousy families. And yes, many do become hardened for it. Wouldn't you?

Yes, imagine aged and vulnerable people being asked to pay $7 for a breakfast cooked to the way they like it and in one of the city's better establishments (by all accounts)! When will this ceaseless abuse of the elderly finish? Will they take away their doggy bags and expect them to only eat the meal in front of them? Will they ask them to Le Meridien to buy coffee and sandwiches? Will they reprimand them for speaking out on Thaivisa? This is, of course, stirring stuff and I'm sure one of the many armchair detectives here in Chiang Mai will leap into action to discover that Nancy is... well helpful and generous with her time and input both in real life and on this forum. The scandal of it all! Governments have been overthrown for less.

Lol. If you notice the king of Chiang Mai's illegal immigrants (no he doesn't have a work permit) Johnny Jen (often known as Johnny FD, Johnny Wolf and Johnny the PoS PUA) put this piece of crap together. Of course, he put Chiang Mai as number one. He needs a constant supply of fresh victims for his crappy drop shipping courses....

I see the amateur detectives are at it again. Even in a clear cut case of suicide there's always a farang on ThaiVisa that knows better than the police, emergency services, etc.

Aren't you people ashamed of yourselves? Do you have any idea how people Google their loved ones, when they lose them, to come here and find this conspiracy theorist crap? Give it a rest already. Unless you were present at the scene and witnessed something - you have nothing to add; get a life and stop playing with other people's already.

Clearcut? You must be a simple minded person. Let's see, she left a business meeting acting normal, later she is found dead on the ground and her underwear is left at the scene. Pretty dam obvious she was assaulted and thrown over. But you need at least a minimum IQ to understand this.

Inspector Clouseau to the rescue kids. From his armchair; he's solved the case. It's all the fault of those little yellow minkeys...

Give it a rest now. M'kay?