TheSiemReaper

I rode by a little while ago, looked like a tourist bus must have stopped there. Never seen it so crowded.

Rob 13 is exactly right. I seems to be on a Chinese tour bus itinerary filled with tourists seeking "the American route 66 experience" I couldn't get near the place, there had to be 40 Chinese tourists waiting in line. I'm glad that they have found their niche.

I'll give it a few months to calm down and will certainly try them again

Except they were all white people from the ones I could see. Doubt the Chinese are big burger eaters. Going to Thailand for a Route 66 experience would be kinda like going to Niagara Falls to experience the Sahara. You're on a roll.

It's funny but when I first lived in China the only "burger" of any description was to be found in McD's and those McD's were generally permanently empty. Then Burger King opened... and the queues for a BK were often all the way down the street. Burger King really took off in Shenzhen and I think it's fair to say the Chinese will eat burgers if they like them. I doubt, however, that they're lining the streets for an obscure burger joint in Chiang Mai - part of the "cachet" of Western food in China is the "aspirational branding" of it. That's why Starbucks thrives there even though it is more expensive than anywhere in the rest of the region (including Hong Kong) and why KFC (after a massive entry into China) is now struggling because KFC is now perceived as "ordinary" and thus not worth the extra pennies any more.

I've been to CM Saloon 3 times, I think, every time it was perfectly acceptable but I think it's telling that it never comes up when we're thinking about "places to eat" either. It's very much OK and consistently so. I like the huge selection of condiments, friendly staff and a willingness to put things right when mistakes are made but it's not "must go" either.

The one I think that's been missed is the French owned "Le Bistrot" which, while a touch inconsistent, does do incredible steaks and cold meats. The owner has a ton of pride in his food but is struggling with (non-contagious) illness and if he's not about... things aren't quite as good as they can be.

Congratulations on a failure to understand whom this legislation is aimed at. It's not aimed at barang tourists chuffing away in bars. It's aimed at Khmer who are the largest group of smokers in Cambodia; $5 for a Khmer is a large sum of money. It's equivalent to a $100-$200 fine in a Western nation and more than enough to make Khmer think twice about sparking up in a hospital or a school.

Yes. I have moved both from Cambodia to Thailand and from Thailand to Cambodia and have done so by taking my kit across the border myself.

1. It depends on how much stuff you have - are you talking a whole house full of stuff or a few bags? If just a few bags - when you arrive at the border in Aranyapathet/Poipet, pay a nice Khmer man with a trolley to take all your bags to the other side and wait for you. This will cost you a couple of bucks. Make sure you keep a single bag on you with all your high value items in it. Walk across border and pay no taxes and meet nice man with your stuff at the other side; then pay for a taxi (or two) to take you to Siem Reap or Phnom Penh.

2. If you're talking a whole house full of stuff - sell 99% of your crap before going to Cambodia; furniture and white goods are cheap in Cambodia and you will have to pay an expensive removal company and yes, pay import taxes on your kit. This will immediately make taking most of this stuff with you more expensive than just flogging it and re-purchasing it on the other side.

The Red Lion is consistently good. It has a music policy which, whilst not at all bold, actually pleases pretty much every farang of every age group. It's got a wide range of beer and food. However, of course its location is a factor in its success. The more passing trade a pub can position itself for - the more trade it will have. Its rivals are not "expensive restaurants" most of the places down that road are relatively cheap Thai places with the Australian "Down Under" being its most direct competitor. Dukes doesn't even factor into it. Expensive American non-smoking restaurant vs. cheap and cheerful English pub - they aim to win over different audiences and by the general looks of things - they both succeed.

The Irish Pub in the market is a great example of how you can kill a business even when you have the position. The staff is consistently rude and unmotivated and the food is also regularly unacceptable in quality. It's paying for it though; the Thai European (with its excellent live music) is packed to the seams most nights - the Irish place is more and more empty; TripAdvisor to the rescue as it were.

When people start comparing 7-11 prices to pub prices; you know things are taking a wrong turn. It is reasonable to expect a farang owned and managed place to be charging for the seating, lighting, music, kitchen facilities, etc. that 7-11 aren't supplying and to be covering a "farang standard of living" too.

I don't get the love for Dukes which I find over-priced for what you get but it's hardly a bank breaking experience either.

Papa Rock surely has to be worth a mention for its pizzas, burgers and live music.

The Red Lion is excellent for both "reasonably priced" (let's not get into an argument - if the only place you buy beer is 7-11 nothing else will be "reasonably priced") imported beer and its Western menu. (Best chips in town).

El Patio over in Nimman does the best tapas I've found in South East Asia and it's very reasonably priced; though that is offset by the expensive booze prices which might scare some of this board into an early grave.

Channel 4 will usually be upfront about the type of thing they're looking to do. However... Channel 4 don't produce much of their own stuff nowadays and sub-contract to production companies; they may not be so honest. Having said that - I'd be OK with talking to Channel 4- they're hardly famous for stitch up jobs.

why not include thai owned as well, stacks around ?????

Farang in the title of the op's post would give a clue to what he was asking for responses on?

Tony at Yummy for me.

How is it possible for a Farong to legally own a business in Thailand?

I was under the impression they could only own up to 49%.

If indeed the bars are really owned by a Farong I would vote for Gecko's. How ever it doers seem to me he goes through a lot of staff. Not into sports but the UN Irish pup does do a decent job. Mad Dog well if you aren't particular. Last time in there I had a pizza and it reminded me of the frozen ones in Safeway back home. Breakfast is passable but would do the UN Irish pup first.

American citizens may own 100% of a business in Thailand thanks to some obscure treaty that the rest of the world is not party to. All others are limited to 49% though in truth much of that is smoke and mirrors - there are many Thais making a quiet and discrete living enabling 100% ownership of businesses here.

But wouldn't a sexpat on a tighter budget be in Cambodia? And aren't hookers and beer cheaper in Pattaya, with plenty of rentals in the sub 5000 range. Otherwise a fair assessment, but the "churn" is much faster/higher for the "Nomads" as well as the teachers. They come and go in my condo building like the wind. I'm on a retirement extension, and the true long termers seem to be quite a bit older than me. You start looking at just high season and you see a lot of snowbirds (winter visitors) that are more 50-65, but stay a few months out of every year.

Cambodia is a harder place to be on a budget than Thailand. Yes, beer, smokes and possibly even ladies of the night are cheaper there but... accommodation and electricity (the two biggest expenses in daily lives) are definitely not. A $100 place in Cambodia is likely to be an abject dump barely fit for human habitation. In Chiang Mai, I have friends who live in sub-5,000 Baht accommodation which isn't too bad (actually in one case if it weren't for a shower mounted above the toilet - I'd consider living there myself and my rent is much, much higher than that). My April electricity bill here was a measly 5,000 Baht for 2 A/C's running 24 hours a day, last year in Cambodia it was more than 15,000 Baht and I was running only a single A/C unit - all other electrical equipment being much of a muchness between the two). Thailand also offers a better range of "budget meal" options than Cambodia; though I admit I know a few folks who are happy to eat "pork and rice" 3 times a day to keep expenditure low in Cambodia. And so on...

The demographics are broad because a.) Chiang Mai is a reasonably big city and b.) it appeals to many different demographics for different reasons. There are many retirees, many English teachers (all ages but generally 20s - 50s). Digital Nomads (it's the digital nomad "hub" of the world) who range between 20 and 30 in the main, when it comes to the vocal and fairly useless grouping, but in fact are well represented in older age groups who won't use the term "digital nomad". Then there are the die hard sexpats who can't afford Thailand's better sex tourist destinations (generally 40+) and so on...

So cmtg, seven posts, since you gave up on your last incarnation, and six of them are Classic burger bashing.

Got a chip?

For your info Heston recommends several cuts of beef for his burgers, including Chuck.

The How To Cook Like Heston book recommends using Sirloin

In Search of Perfection uses 50% Shortrib, 25% Chuck and 25% Brisket. So 50% is Shortrib

As you are so well informed you will of course know that Shortrib ( American cuts ) is called the Sirloin ( British cuts ) and that the Sirloin/Shortrib sections of a beef carcas are where the Rib Eye comes from.

I don't even like beefburgers but you are being particularly vindictive to someone who is obviously trying their best to improve their product and seems to be listening to what their customers are saying.

Umm... categorically sirloin is not rib-eye. It's prime rib. There's a big difference between the two.

http://www.shortlist.com/food-drink/the-ultimate-steak-manual

Where you will find rib-eye and prime rib - with sirloin being the latter not the former.

The trick is simple; be attractive to look at. Badoo is essentially Thailand's tinder. If you're hot, you'll get a million matches an hour, if you're not - you'll get none. If you're bald or have long hair or facial hair, for example, you're going to be barrel scraping. If you look the way Thai women like... you'll be hitting the jackpot in no time.

Kampot has become a horror of backpacker and expat insanity. It was once a lovely place; now it's somewhere that the Khmer are gently being forced out of to be replaced by identikit Western tourists ("peace, love, and complete BS man").

Battambang is quite lovely but I can't imagine wanting to live there - it's light on facilities and things to do. A week there is fantastic, a year would lead most people to wish they'd never been born. I think Battambang will eventually get some love; certainly you could do worse things than move there and open a bar (as to date it doesn't have any bars - just restaurants which are packed with people trying to get drunk and pretend they're bars). If Battambang wins its UNESCO status - the tourists will go from a trickle to a flood - and rents are cheap there and you can negotiate the kind of ultra-long lease that made Siem Reap insanely profitable for the first people to settle on Pub Street. There are some lovely Chinese shop houses on the river which you could live in the upstairs and run a business out of the downstairs. If you're not planning on starting a business - you'll expire of boredom in Battambang.

From a "most people" perspective the options are and always have been - Siem Reap (if you want a real community and a decent standard of life but don't absolutely need girly bars and tons of nightlife), Phnom Penh (if you need a "capital" vibe with tons of low rent girly bars and nightclubs plus a casino - be prepared to feel less safe than in Siem Reap as a trade off) or Sihanoukville (if you want a beach, low rent girly bars and a dreadful drug habit).

Agreed rent is only cheap in Cambodia when the accommodation is substantially worse than its Thai equivalent. Electric is roughly 3 times the cost of Thailand.

The general guidance from top chefs is that using rib-eye in burgers is an utter waste of money. Grinding beef to make a burger makes even the toughest of cuts tender and thus it's nearly universally recognized that soft (and expensive) cuts like rib-eye aren't worth it. It's better to choose tougher cuts which have a strong "beefy" taste - such as chuck, brisket or short ribs. So, if Classic Burger is using rib-eye - they probably ought to rethink their strategy as it's a poor economic choice and a poor culinary choice too.

I can assure you the ingredients in all fast food are low quality crap. Anyone trying to claim "quality" for Subway (and note the refusal to reveal so much as a jot of detail there) is just deluding themselves and Luke who constantly turns up on posts to demonstrate that gullible has indeed been taken out of the dictionary.

There are several Thai restaurants in town - the most popular is the Purple Elephant and the most authentic (in that it is run by Thais) is on the opposite corner by the traffic lights closest to Lucky Mall (can't remember the name of the place for the life of me) and sadly, it also has the nastiest toilets in history with a spider infestation beyond anything a reasonable person would tolerate - I know Buddhists shouldn't kill but I'm pretty certain they are allowed to gently brush the bastards outside. My Thai girlfriend lived happily in Siem Reap for a year before I sent her back to Thailand for being a bit of a lunatic; she managed without taking her own chili or indeed any form of food from Thailand.

IMO, the only reason why some people dislike Subways id because it is an American chain store .

If there was an individual Thai guy selling exactly the same product on Ko Phan Gan , the same people who dislke Subways would be marveling about how good they were .

I don't dislike Subway because it's American; I dislike it because it's not very nice. I eat KFC, McD's, BK, and pretty much every form of fast food that's ever come out of the United States (though not very often - I prefer to cook myself most of the time). I don't eat Subway because of its overly sweet bread, grotty processed meat, flavorless cheese and sickly sugary sauces.

I love sandwiches and I am happy to spend a small fortune on them if they're good. At home the average sandwich I make costs more than a Subway (imported cheese is expensive here, so is imported butter, English Mustard, pickled beetroot, Branston Pickle, Marmite, good quality meat, etc.) Subway is simply not good. When I was in Dubai there was another, I think American, sub-brand Quizno's and that was pretty good and was a regular option while working.

ANZ bank ATMs in ANZ branches allow withdrawals of 10 million Dong. Everywhere else offers much less.

I'd also say take a closer look at the city center. The traffic really isn't as bad as you may have talked yourself into believing. It can be a little more challenging to find a nice house but it's not impossible either. I walk just about everywhere and it's jolly easy (I'm not far from the night bazaar).

As for the whole pollution debate - I thought there were a few (but only a few) genuinely unpleasant days during the burning season but that, on the whole, it really wasn't worth getting worked up about.

A promotional photo of baguette, etc. And what's the cost and where to buy? How long to wait till it arrives?

I always liked to sneak a Subway onto AirAsia and sit in the rear munching away as we flew to exotic venues. And i always asked to overstuff the thing with vegies, every kind. That made for good health and no extra cost.

Any street corner in Vietnam - usually about 20,000 Dong give or take - that's about 35 Baht.

People are clinging onto "69 Baht" when in fact that's a promotional price for a sandwich from a list of "cheap to make" sandwiches. The last Subway I ate in Thailand was over 200 Baht for a 6 inch sandwich. I will freely admit that this was at an airport on an island so probably slightly more than the usual price but a Subway is no more 69 Baht than a pint of Guinness would be 50 Baht because of a St. Patrick's day promotion.

I'd guess that it's the fact that Subway's sandwiches aren't very nice but are very expensive for what they are. In a country where sandwiches sell for pennies in 7-11 - you need to add a fair amount of value when you charge an extra 200 Baht for a sandwich. Subway doesn't come close to providing that value.

Cheap factory made sandwiches with one small piece of cheese sell for 13 baht , more expensive ones with a little bit more in sell for 26 baht , or you can get a freshly made six inch cheese and toasted Subway with nine different fresh salad options and a variety of different sauces for 69 Baht .

The Subway is much better value

It absolutely isn't. There's nothing "fresh" about defrosted vegetables, tasteless processed cheese and sugar filled sauces.

And a salad sandwich isn't a "sandwich". The 7-11 does a toasted ham, cheese, egg and tomato sauce for 27 Baht. That's a much better deal. Though neither of them beat buying your own bread, butter, cheese, meat, etc. and making your own.

I'd guess that it's the fact that Subway's sandwiches aren't very nice but are very expensive for what they are. In a country where sandwiches sell for pennies in 7-11 - you need to add a fair amount of value when you charge an extra 200 Baht for a sandwich. Subway doesn't come close to providing that value.

You can rebuild the library using a hard reset. - hold the power button for about 10-20 secs and it will cycle a reset (try to make sure you have a full battery before you do this as I suspect it might get ugly if it runs out of power during the rebuild - which is quick but not instantaneous).