Gonzo the Face

I've just received an email via the ICCM mailing list with the following content:

"It seems the Mayor is scheduled for the Ex-Pat meeting this Saturday, 10:30-12am at the Orchid Hotel. You probably should arrive earlier. Good time to talk with her about pollution in Chiang Mai."

I haven't seen this mentioned around here and I suspect that it may be of interest to more than a few board members.

JxP

Are they meeting in the middle of the night ? Which 12 o'clock is AM? I guess its harder to see the pollution in the night sky

By way of update to a post I made yesterday

"Cooking Oil 2005 339 Baht

Cooking Oil 2008 745 Baht"

as of this morning make the same Cooking Oil 785 Baht

[taste now like North Sea Crude]

Another Goodie

Same Store, Same Brand, Same Size Rice

Feb 20th 08 5 K Bag = 105 Baht

This Morning 5 K Bag = 130 Baht

That seems to be about a 24% increase in 2 weeks

It seems to me that many expats here are moaning due to the rising price of consumables.

Sad that no-one has mentioned the situation of the average Thai citizen who has to wear a 25% and more increase on their staples in less than a year. Wages for the average Thai citizen certainly haven't risen anywhere near this figure.

I agree absolutely BB, we're fortunate to live in a more prosperous part of Thailand but the guys that I was paying 200B a day when I built my house four years ago tell me that's what they are still getting and some of them have to travel 30 or 40 kms a day for work.

Not disagreeing with any of that , but also look at the other side. The tuk tuk drivers now demand 60 baht for the ride that was 40 baht less than 2 years ago. Or maybe you would like to post the numbers for the handymen workers who have to work for the 200 baht per day. Why I might even be willing to pay some of the even as much as 300 baht per day. A 50% increase.

Gonzo

By way of update to a post I made yesterday

"Cooking Oil 2005 339 Baht

Cooking Oil 2008 745 Baht"

as of this morning make the same Cooking Oil 785 Baht

[taste now like North Sea Crude]

Another Goodie

Same Store, Same Brand, Same Size Rice

Feb 20th 08 5 K Bag = 105 Baht

This Morning 5 K Bag = 130 Baht

That seems to be about a 24% increase in 2 weeks

Gonzo

Just as an afterthought, all the most severe price increases just became noticeable from around the 20th of December 07.

What could that mean ?????

The chicken and egg prices might be from bird flu scares, but yeah it has gone up in price.

To some extent I agree with you re the bird flu. But I seem to remember that during the bird flu scare, they were at Thaepae Gate passing out free eggs and the chicken prices fell thru the bottom of the floor.

Now the egg prices are going up once or twice a week. [on the eggs]

gonzo

Just reviewing some of the prices we paid for meat, eggs etc over the past 3 to 4 years, compared to today, in Chiang Mai. I still remember 12 baht/liter diesel, today 31 baht/liter. beef 2005, 105 baht/ kilo today 125bt/kilo. Chicken 2005, 50bt/kilo today 110bt/kilo. Pork 2005, 65bt/kilo today 100 bt/kilo. Eggs 2005, 140bt/100 today 260bt/100. The government has recently been throwing inflation numbers of 2 to 3% around and as always I am kind of hard pressed to believe them. What kind of input can other viewers give to make us all feel better.

I'm with you Slaps

Here are a few more for the list. Same source, same product, same size.

Cheese 2005 289 Baht

Cheese 2008 359 Baht

Margarine 2005 140 Baht

Margarine 2008 242 Baht

Cooking Oil 2005 339 Baht

Cooking Oil 2008 745 Baht

I agree, Something is changing and recently most drastically, and not for the better

gonzo

Anybody know what happened to the Bamboo Sax Shop or owner.

Got a friend who is trying to get one and now I find that the shop is not at Thapae any longer.

Really must get out more.

Anybody know where they are sold these days?

Gonzo

There are/were two bamboo sax makers in Chiang Mai, both German: Deiter and Reinhard. Reinhard is still making them here in CM and if you PM me I can provide his phone number.

Here's Reinhard playing one of his creations.

Thanks for the info guys

Did just ride up and down the street only to find that they closed and moved about a couple months ago.

Sent a couple PM's and if you guys can get back to me, maybe we can move a sax for Reinhard .

Thanks

Gonzo

The shop says, "Bamboo Sax". It looked like business as usual. Maybe PM anonymouse to check on it as he frequents the area?

Thanks UG

I'll have the guy check it out.

The last time I saw him, he was a little past (coming from Moon Muang Road) the "By the Book" restaurant and book store which is a little past The UN Irish Pub and CM Saloon 2.

Thanks UG

Would you know if he still has any, or make any of the Bamboo Saxs for sale??

and maybe where I could send someone to get one ?

gonzo

Anybody know what happened to the Bamboo Sax Shop or owner.

Got a friend who is trying to get one and now I find that the shop is not at Thapae any longer.

Really must get out more.

Anybody know where they are sold these days?

Gonzo

Any one have any information of a traffic accident yesterday eve I think somewhere on the Chiang Rai Highway, between the 2nd ring road and Doi Saket? I was told a bus was involved and there were a number of fatalities.

WHAT !! ???? You mean no one recognizes the man ????

On behalf of and with permission of our good friend.

To all those who know this gentleman, he wishes all of you the best of Holiday Greetings.

His is alive, he is well, and sorry to say in better condition than most of us.

Maybe some of you guys can help me.

I think that the alzsheimers is working overtime today.

As you come into Mae Sai and are almost to the bridge, facing the border, on the last street on the right hand side, there is a hotel about 50 or so metres down this street on the left. Can anyone tell me the name of the place and a phone number if you have it?

I do remember getting a card from the place in the past so I would remember it.

But now I can't remember where I put the card.

Trials and tribulations of getting old

Gonzo [ I think ]

Gonzo you may be thinking of the Top North Hotel (053) 731 955 fax (053) 732 331

CB

Top North in Mae Sai? Is this a new take over, as I don't think it was Top North before ?

Thanks CB

Maybe some of you guys can help me.

I think that the alzsheimers is working overtime today.

As you come into Mae Sai and are almost to the bridge, facing the border, on the last street on the right hand side, there is a hotel about 50 or so metres down this street on the left. Can anyone tell me the name of the place and a phone number if you have it?

I do remember getting a card from the place in the past so I would remember it.

But now I can't remember where I put the card.

Trials and tribulations of getting old

Gonzo [ I think ]

Japanese tourist found dead near Thai ruins: police

She had been robbed, and her body was found lying next to the bicycle she had rented to do her sightseeing, police said.

"She was stabbed to death when the attacker tried to rob her. She resisted and ran away, but then he caught her and slashed her throat with a knife," said police Lieutenant Colonel Amornsak Khemasiri.

- AFP

She ran away ??? Did she carry the bicycle , she was found "next too" ???

Very poorly reported. As usual

May she rest in peace, and her family have the strength to get through this horrible ordeal.

Anyone have any information on the passing of Derek from UK, former denizon of True Blue and Mad Dog ?

Heard a rumor today.

Might make a difference if you would say or post a photo of the dog....

Sometimes if its just a little dog, exceptions could be made.......so I guess if we don't see a pic, we would assume it wasn't a little "FLUFF BALL" ???

Knowing that this forum is full of members who do not shy away from offering their opinions, no matter how they come across, I thought I would pose the following.

I direct it towards those members who have a moderate amount of contact with vegetarians. Maybe restaurant owners or those who may come in contact with tourists from all over the globe.

The question.

Do you find that vegetarians have unusual personalities and act or are a little different from non-vegetarians?

This question is posed seriously and not intended to pick on either side of the issue.

My input again

June and July up vs same months last year.

August vs last year down considerably. Overall number of clients/guests/customers noticeably down vs last year.

Have noticed slightly strange, a much, much greater number of French. Have estimatedly had more French Tourists in the past 3 months than in probably the past 10 years combined. In years past French Tourists were a rarity for me.... This year there are times when we are full up with all French. In groups also, I agree. Must be our French Fry recipe.

Seems though that the streets are even more quiet than normal for this time of the year...

Also the annual Flood in behind schedule.

....and per the kids, the tips are not the same, even in percentage. Seems there are a lot of cheap charlies in the midst, spending half their holiday looking for something cheaper, and cheaper, and cheaper.

Gonzo

I have recently read a book that has all of you in it..Literally..

Great read BTW. here's a review.

Fast Eddie's Lucky 7 A-Go-Go by David Young

If you've washed up in Thailand and are wondering where the hel_l your life is going, you'll probably wish that you knew someone like Fast Eddie, proprietor of the Lucky 7 A-Go-Go and affable svengali to a rag-tag band of Chiang Mai English teachers who struggle to be decadent on 30,000 baht a month.

In the wake of a near-fatal heart attack, however, Fast Eddie's priorities change and his fun-loving friends are horrified to discover that he now questions the wisdom of his lurid sex-pat lifestyle. His surprise decision to sell the bar precipitates a complex web of intrigue.

Could this be based on "Fast Eddie" from The Escape? Never heard it described as a Go Go bar.

The names and places have been changed to protect the guilty..err i mean innocent.

Couldn't be !!! He was much faster than that... Unless a heart attack slowed him down

Maybe the Lucky 7 refers to the 7 good folks that each owned a half of the Escape ... gotta admire the mans math..

Anybody out there remember a book done back in 1992 called

"The Book of What"

Just ran across a copy in my files [ I do a clean up of the office every 10 years or so] that looks like I never even opened it.

Its a book on a lot of interesting facts about Chiang Mai of the day.

Names a lot of Wats, Guest Houses, Restaurants, that are not around today. Things in there to trigger the old brain cells with the Hey I forgot all about that, kinda statements.

Good time reading if you were around here back then.

Maybe UG has a copy laying around somewhere.

Giving credit where its due, the guy that wrote it and put it together did a lot of work on it and his name "Henry T. Coulter"

Not sure today, wether or not it was him, but I do remember a guy back in those days riding around on a bicycle putting together what was to be a book like this....

Gonzo

If what you want is visa related, you're better off not being anwhere near there, trust me...pay the extra 400 Baht and have an agency take care of you, I've NEVER seen a visa section run the way these guys do it.

Thanks to all for the good infor..... all except the simpleton who need 2 same names to remember who he is.....must be born to an Applachian Mother who knew he would be retarded , so she shortnamed and double named him... Jim Jim Posts like yours serve no positive purpose other than your orgasm at seeing your names in print. On the positive side , think about what everyone else see when you post.... Don't contribute to the negative image that posts like that give to this forum.

For the rest of you thanks again.

As way of update, I was doing this for a friend in a wheelchair, and Florin , you are correct. Paying someone even a couple thousand baht would be better than going through that 3 ring circus..

In addition to trying to telephone, I emailed and faxed.

Not receiving any answer, my friend was willing to pay for 2 Air Tickets on Thai Air, to go there in person. [Thai Airlines, because Air Asia and Nok Air refuse to take people in wheelchairs] In Bkk a car was arranged for transport as needed. We got to the Embassy about 9:30am. With a little help and a lot of muscle we lifted him and the chair over the security iron gate entrance and then again up several steps into the Embassy. We were naturally shunted to 4 different windows, one of which was closed, only to find out that this office was not the correct office. The correct office was around the corner and a bit away. So the muscle process was reversed going down the steps... As faith would have it a call came just as we were in between the 2 liftings. Sure enough it was from an embassy staffer answering the fax . The lifting process of the man and chair went on again as the consular agent said to come back and he would send someone down.

We went back in [lifting and lugging] to be met by a nice lady, who took us to another window to meet the consular agent, who proceeded to say that he had just spoken with his staff and proceeded to verify that we were already told by the staff that we were in the wrong office...

Enough said, out we went through the 2 gates [lifting and lugging] and onto the street. Around the corner we went.

Good news bad news..... the good news is that this office only had one set of steps to navigate.... The bad news is that what my friend needed could only be delt with in Yangon.... So lugging and lifting we got out and went to a bar.

We caught a return plane sometime after dark.

I just want to say, I hope that I, or anyone I know for that matter, never, ever gets to the point that they are wheelchair bound. My friend is calm and collected about the way he is treated. I however am not the same and twice now when I have tried to help out,,,,, I find myself about ready to start a fight over the treatment of wheelchair bound people...

Must be something to the local belief that in a past life you must have done something very bad to be in the circumstance you are today....

Again as to the efficiency of the Myanmar Embassy, if they had responded in a more timely fashion, all of this could have been avoided........ The day was a total waste........... except for the bar stop of course........... but for the same amount of money we could have stayed drunk for a month here in CM

Thanks again for the input guys.

Gonzo

Does anyone know if the Burma [Myanmar] Embassy in Bangkok has closed.??

Over the past two weeks I have tried telephoning about 20 - 30 times at different times of the work day and the telephones are never answered... I sent a fax to the number indicated as fax, it went, but I did not receive an answer. Same with email.

Directory Information list a number for them that is now a furniture store.

The 2 telphone numbers I have for them are

02-233-7250 and 02-233-2237

Fax Number 02 236-6898

Does any know if they are still there ?

Gonzo

Wouldnt it be great if someone made a citizens arrest when he was in the directors box at Manchester City!

:D :D classic!!!

HOW MUCH IS THE REWARD????

.... cant wait to see the wanted poster, and is it Dead or Alive ???...

Somebody call "The Dog"

Taksin right up there with Jesse, Frank, the Younger Bros. and all the rest.

now with the European holiday in full swing, have you business owners noticed any upswing? (tourist related)

the nightmarket seems busier so all is better for now until the holiday ends, hopefully the baht doesnt go up further. Im sure its having an impact on the tourism numbers and spending habits,but unsure on its degree. Perhaps we will know when the high season comes around again. Maybe less visitors from USA and more from Asia?

From my standpoint April and May were down , month for month over the previous year. I did feel , even into the 3rd week of June that June was following suit. Strangely enough, when all the numbers were in, June showed about a 15% increase over last year. This was in revenue. Numerical guest/customer count was also up but not that much.

July seems to be doing pretty good or maybe I should say, above last year. Not ordering the new Mercedes yet though.

Gonzo