chang35baht

I've done the Tha Ton trip several times. My advice would be to take the bus/songtaow up and then come back downstream to CR on the public boat which I think leaves about 12;30....going downstream just seems to make more sense and I think going roundtrip on the boat might be a little bit of overkill....if you like you can charter your own boat to bring you from Tha Ton to CR as you please. They will all stop at the elephant camp....when you come back to CR you can get out at CR beach or they will take you to the dock near the bridge over near Rim Kok.

There are a lot of nice little bunaglows in Tha Ton right on the river that are very pleasant for an overnight...one is Garden House but there are several along the river in the 400 baht or so price range.

Not much to do in Tha Ton other than climb the mountain to the temple which has a very nice view....and sit around at a guest house or riverfront restaurant and watch the water flow....very pretty place. Good Luck

I spell Taton like it sounds, without the silly h's and r's that transliterators add (to nearly all Thai words) in order to make the Thai language more difficult for farang. Spell it like it sounds, and drop the h's and r's and other unnecessary duff. Maybe if we, the little people, spell Thai words like they sound, then scholars, up on their pedestals, will follow. Nah, won't happen. Scholars are determined to keep the confusing transliteration methods going. After, what's a scholar (?), .....but someone who complicates a simple concept.

I've also been several times, and agree with the above post. There's also a way via bus up to Mae Chan, then take a p.u truck taxi west over the hills to Taton. I did that once, carrying an inflatable kayak. I pumped it up by the riverside in Taton, and floated down to Chiang Rai. Took 6.5 hours - though I stopped at 'My Dream' guest house which sits on the north bank down from the elephant camp. There's only about 1/2 Km of white water on the whole stretch. Would be interesting to see about going upstream in to Burma. Anyone done that?

Yeah wel ,if we al took your advys on how to speek/spel thi Ty langwage Brahms, oops, lets get rid of that silly H, Brams, we may as wel giv up.

Taton, ritten as you like to rite it wood get you lost as soon as you asked the first nativ Ty speaker for directions. Baton.

There are reasons why words that sound the same have different spellings. Especially in Tyland Even in the US where you`re from I think.

Good luk with the Ty custumurs at your noo Boomurang park.

Regards,

C35B.

Probably add 20% for labour and materials.

Five or six years ago I built a smallish, fairly basic two story house, 144m2 down stairs, the same up with half of it open balcony for about 800,000B to move in.

The entire job was sub-contracted using local labour.

What!?!?!? Are you going to make me post the pic again of what your place looks like five years on?

PLLEEEEEZZZ!!!!

Thanks also Toybits.

Attacheds is a photo I took yesterday. Shows the two zip lines. The rock face at the background is where they intend to have the rock climging activity.

Are the "zip lines" attached to trees (looks like) or purpose made posts/towers?

Correction. Just checked again on GE and it has been updated to include my rubber farm and my sala.

Thank you Google.

C35B

The new photo is mostly over central Chiang Rai. To the north it stops just south of the New Airport and to the south just south of Huay Sak. My house is on the new photo and Kandahar, I can even see both my ponds in my ornamental garden!

And for golfers, you can see the 9 new holes at Army Course.

Ch35B, your house is in the new photo, maybe not your placemark!

Hi Sven, yes I know my house is pictured on Google earth, but my 6 year old rubber trees are not. Neither is my 7 year old Sala beside my house.

Take care mate.

C35B

Someone recently PM'd me regarding wanting to buy a rubber farm and indicated that they would like to buy a farm that was almost ready to start tapping. I just thought that others may like to read and consider my answer to that person. So here goes.

Hi ???. My trees are still 1 year away from tapping. But during the last 6 years From buying, preparing the land. Buying the young rubber trees and planting them,Putting the right types of fertiliser at the right time of year is another very important aspect of rubber farming. I have been fortunate enough to be able to fertilise properly. Something that many Thais cannot afford to do. Hence my trees are larger and healthier than similar aged trees around

I have gained a vast amount of experince in rubber farming over these years. Something that you will miss out on if you just want to buy a farm that is ready to start tapping.

I have not formed a business. Everthing I have is in my wifes name. We have been together for more than 12 years so trust is not a problem for us. No other family members are invoved so unlike yourself her brothers, brothers in law etc don't have any say or any input whatsoever in what goes on, in and especially OUT of the farm. Nor will they ever.

How long have you been involved with your Thai family? Do you trust them completely as I do my wife?

Even tho my farm is 1 year away from tapping I would not sell my farm(20 rai) as the guaranteed income for the next 25-30 years is more important to me.

In answer to 1 other of your questions, my farm is in Chiang Rai.

How big a farm are you expecting to buy? How much would you be willing to pay? Who has the experience in your family to look at a potential farm that you may want to buy and say that the trees have been raised properly. I think that you cannot buy the knowledge that I have gained over the last 6 years and this is something that may come back to haunt you in the future.

Another thing that you have to be wary of is why would someone want to sell a rubber farm that is almost ready to start tapping. The price of rubber at the moment is very high.

If someone told you their trees are 6 years old how would you know. I know mine are 6 years old because I helped put them in the ground.

To sum up ???. I personally would be very wary of someone who is selling a rubber farm for whatever reason, however I wish you the very best of luck in you search for such a farm.

Please don't hesitate to contact me again if you have anymore questions and I will try to answer them to the best of my knowledge

Regards,

Chang35baht.

Personally I enjoyed the meal and found it good value at 3 courses for 200B.

The service was very slow but with one waitress for that number of people Mr Don must have decided to save money on staffing.

Not sure what the pie was but I enjoyed it.

I had no real problem with the quality of the food or it's value. It was just that it was a painful wait and I was reluctant to ask for refills as it seems they were running out of food and the wait to get it would have been too long.I will probably go back Christmas but I will make sure Don is going to be there.

How are you going to ensure that Don will be there Scorpio???

Very often....every 30 minutes or so, at least during daytime.

Again asked the wife-she said every 15 min,during daytime.

I used to call it the refugee express...always some interesting looking characters on the bus...once when i was on it the cops boarded the front door only to check papers and the guy sitting next to me jumped up and ran out the back of the bus and out through the woods with a couple of cops in hot pursuit....Thailand, Endlessly Entertaining.....

They never caught me. Took me 3 bloody days to get home thru the jungle.

No more overstay for me.

i just found out nowhere is better then Chiang rai..

amazing! seems you have lived all over Thailand to make that jugdment.

Illogical Naam.

Your sarcasm is noted, though I also fail to see the connection.

Regarding the 200 baht, it is expensive to pay that, just to sit down for an hour or two.

It would personally cost me 800 baht for this priviledge. Instead of the sarcasm why not come up with an alternative idea..............waiting..........

Well I believe you were the one who suggested that venue, which is actually a BUSINESS, so I am a surprised that you didn't realise that they would want to charge you a fee. Albeit it a small fee.

That part of my post wasn't sarcasm, it was disbelief.

Anyway, that aside, you asked me for alternatives, well these are the options as I see it.

1. You choose a probably unsuitable but FREE venue (maybe in a field somewhere near a waterfall as already suggested). Obviously more vague or more remote the location the less likely people would want to attend.

2. You do it properly and rent a premises or area suitable for such get togethers like your MFL idea (NOTE: They will probably charge you a fee) but that fee is negotiable and I am pretty sure you could just get a fixed fee or have kids for free or some other added value if you asked for it.

3. You try and do it somewhere in conjunction with a local business who might WANT to "sponsor" it like for example these new thai visa advertisers "sausageking" who could use it as a sales opportunity for their product into Chiang Rai or Don.... or both

4. Scorpio as the idea originator hosts it at his house If he doesn't want to then dingdong holds it at his, or somebody else holds it at theirs.

5. or you could give up of course.

Hope this helps. I think number 4 is your best bet personally. Nobody has to pay, and therefore nobody has to feel bad if on the day they find out their wife has made other plans, their kids are sick or they just can't be bothered.

POST OF THE MONTH PRIZE GOES TO PAUL888.

sounds good. I'm open to it. thanks.

That's very gracious of you Brahmburgers.

Where and when?

Suggest Mods. move this topic to a more relevant forum where they are more likely to get the best responses.

C35B.

Vuze

Coffee drinkers????

For all you people interested in free e-books, this is a good site. Ii has over 30,000+ free books and is, I think Kindle friendly.

www.gutenberg.org

Chang35baht,

Last year we had a motorbike stolen fromm the main market in town. It was brand new, hence it was targeted. When my wife went to the BIB station to report it she was told that 4-5 had been stolen that day.

Their MO was to target the bikes to be stolen by a spotter and then phone up the rest of the gang who turn up en masse and physically lift the bike(s) into the back of a pickup and drive off with them. I presume they sort out the locks later in privacy.

The cops reckoned they were being stolen and sold over the border in Tachilek. Apparently the cops up there stop trucks on a regular basis crossing the bridge with stolen bikes on board.

We were invited to go up to the cop shop in Mae Sai to see if our bike was in the pound up there. We went once but no joy.

So yes there is crime in CR but it`s still nowhere near on the scale of back home in the UK so we can still feel safe in our beds.

But as Limbo says, We still should not provide the opportunist theif with an easy theft.

C35B.

So what does the "guide" include brahmburgers?

Does he come with transport or does his fare and accomodation have to be paid as well?

I wonder if he would be susceptible to a little "go away" money?

pay some tea money bro..that's how they make their $$. just imagine their earning is less than 100 usd officially

I spoke about it with one of the Burmese guides. His name is 'Slim' (and speaks English better than any of the 30 or so Thai nationals I've met, who teach English). He's not an official guide, but he would qualify. his tel# 0873056754.

My understanding is, whomever is designated to the be guide, would have to formally sign in at the tiny tourist office in Tachilek (next to the entry office at the NE corner of the bridge). When I mentioned to Slim my intention to bicycle down a long a hill from Keng Tung, and also of possibly taking a float down a river, he smiled and said he wouldn't be allowed to enable me to do that if he was my designated guide. I wouldn't want to get him, or anyone else in trouble. So now, when I think of doing some fun outdoor things, I think of places outside of Shan State.

The long paranoid arm of the Burmese Junta cares about only one thing: to maintain their death grip on power. The junta actually outlaws the sale of KY jelly (a Burmese pharmacist told me). How micromanaging psycho is that? There must be thousands of petty little things they outlaw. The mind reels at the thought of their far-reaching paranoia and insistence on absolute control.

Don`t worry Brahms, I`m sure you can get your supply of KY Jelly or an alternative brand in Thailand.

Good luck with that.

Cheers,

Your old mate,

C35B.

I think chang35 is an old man now,considering it's nearly 6 years ago he posted this.

So you think he has forgot all about this?

No no, chang35 is a young lad, he is not senile like you and me , he remember and he is happy it only took 6 years for someone to answere his question!

Older for sure, and maybe a little bit wiser I hope.

Glad you have time on your hands to trawl thru 4 1/2 year old posts DD.

Nice try with the pic Scue but not really what the topic was after. Thanks for your efforts.

See you in October Sven.

Still alive and kicking and waiting to unleash my wrath on a decent topic.

Personally, I think the forum has changed/morphed into a chatsite now instaed of a forum. Thats why I`ve taken a back seat of late, Just my honest opinion. And It`s not a slight on the intelligence/contributions by people of late. It`s just not my thing

Regards to all.

C35B.

Just checked on my placemarks in CR. Nothing seems to have changed.

I`m using the free service. Maybe the subscription service has updated images

C35B.

Hi Seannee, I`ll try and answer you question. In good time you`ll meet loads of people in town and you`ll soon bump into any expats that live around your area

Depending upon your interests and hobbies, you may meet people quicker than you think.Just go with the flow. Don`t throw any welcoming parties for yourself and invite everyone along.

If you like the occasional beer then there are plenty of topics telling you the good social spots in town.Same goes if your a coffee man.

Just let it happen mate.

Welcome to a great place.

Good luck and hope to meet you soon.

Chang35baht.

Some sort of church or mission I believe. Hence the Noahs ark theme.

C35B. Amen!

Very sorry to hear this news.

I have nothing but admiration for those people who made the effort to make Carstens Last days more comfortable.

RIP.

C35B.

HAGGIS