el jefe

BANGKOK POST and AFP

Thai and foreign tourists are suspending or cancelling trips along the popular Mae Sai-Tachilek-Keng Tung-Mong La route out of concerns for their safety, Naowarat Chantawal, of the Mekong Delta Agency Co, said.

That's an amusing twist on the truth. There are very few tourists that ever take that route. I did it with 3 friends last February. We spent a week traveling from Kyiang Tong to Mong La and back to Mai Sai. we never saw another western tourist.

Of the many, many expats I know or have met in my travels, I only know of 3 that have ever been to Kyiang Tong.

What really prevents most tourists from going to Kyiang Tong or Mong La is that the Myanmar govt prevents you from visiting anywhere else outside those two cities. There are 6 checkpoints along the way where your driver (mandatory) has to sign in. The time is recorded and you're expected to make it to the next checkpoint in an appropriate amount of time. Allowing some, even if very limited, independent travel where your every move isn't recorded and scrutinized, might increase tourism slightly. That's when and if the current situation ever improves.

Kunming is an absolutley wonderful place.

It has been descibed as the nearest thing to "Shangri-la".

The temperature is constantly around 75 f , there are no bugs, its cheap, the chicks are hot, the golf is amazing.....heaven on earth

imho, I found Kunming to be uninteresting, just another big Chinese city with a population of ~4 million. It's got the same pollution, traffic and uncontrolled over-building as every other city there.

Maybe TP is confusing it with Zhongdian, which is the place most often associated with Shangri-la.

As for the weather, yes it's 75°F from April thru Sept but it's also very rainy then. And in Dec/Jan you can expect nights below 40° with days rarely exceeding 60°. The rest of the year will be something in between. http://www.wunderground.com/NORMS/DisplayI...&Units=both

Not my idea of paradise.

ymmv.

Across from the Honda dealer, past Nimmenhaimen on Huay Kaew heading towards Chiang Mai University.

I've no idea what Honda dealer you are talking about. After the traffic lights at the Amari intersection how many metres up is it, and is it located on the right or left hand side.

Thanks.

From Hillside 4, cross the "Amari" intersection, go another 300+/- metres and it's on the right side. It's worth a try at the price. And while I agree that the food is not the greatest, I totally disagree that the drinks are overpriced. Fruit shakes and ice coffee are 25-35 baht.

Also for ProThaiEx who said that this was the cheapest buffet, there are many, many more at lower prices. There's one on the ring road, 1 km east of city Hall, where it's 39 Baht.

I've been a couple of times. It's just OK. At dinner there's a small selection of ordinary sushi. They haven't invented a knife sharp enough to cut those "steaks". But they do put out a varied selection of Thai food and a few attempts at Thai-influenced western food. Take a very small portion of everything to see what's worth returning for. imho some things are excellent and some are awful. And if you're not a big eater, you can do better elsewhere.

Un an unrelared note: Where did the Chang Phuak fountain go? It went awol AGAIN?!

I heard from a source that may not be all that reliable that the fountain area will be paved over to make for motorbike parking for the nearby morning and night market. I hope that's not true.

I kept reading here about how Grace does great work for most procedures but overcharges for cleanings. With that in mind, I've had my teeth cleaned by 6 different dentists in CM. They charged between 400 and 600 Baht. None of them spent more than 12 minutes cleaning my teeth.

Wow - you did this purely in the name of research ? You must have a super-sparkling smile by now !

Yes, and yes I do now that Grace does my cleanings. That "research" was done over a 3 year period. How often do you get your teeth cleaned, Whywhy?

I kept reading here about how Grace does great work for most procedures but overcharges for cleanings. With that in mind, I've had my teeth cleaned by 6 different dentists in CM. They charged between 400 and 600 Baht. None of them spent more than 12 minutes cleaning my teeth. Two of them told me I had cavities that needed filling (different teeth). I went back to Grace and my dentist in the US. Both told me that I had no cavities. finally, I decided to get my teeth cleaned at Grace. They did a very thorough job, spending about 40 minutes. The cost was either 800 or 1,000 baht. Well worth the extra cost.

I've had lots of other procedures done at Grace too -- extractions, root canal, oral surgery. My dentist in the US has seen the work and has said it looks perfect. They've never recommended any work that wasn't absolutely necessary.

I can probably find cheaper dentists in CM, but this is the only set of teeth I'm going to have so I don't mind paying a little extra to have the best dentists work on them.

CTM -- So you don't think that the cycling of steroids can affect mood and personality? Or am I ignorant?

And Chinthee -- You don't think golfers take PED's? Well of course not. They've never been tested! I'm sure you heard of Gary Player's accusation and Tiger Wood's request for random testing on all golfers. Here's one of many, many links to the story:

http://www.scoregolf.com/cpgolfnews/golf/J...o-used-steroids

No asterisk needed for Bonds' record. Babe Ruth didn't get one. He never had to hit against a black pitcher. Nor did any black player of the era get a chance to hit a single home run. Did Hank Aaron use Performance Enhancing Drugs? No one knows. He was never tested.

Many professional athletes use PEDs. Football, hockey, basketball, there's little doubt. Now PGA members have been accused of using PEDs.

Lance Armstrong may have never tested positive, but was on the team with the longest history and biggest connections to doping.

Oh, and Chipper Jones never said that ARod used steroids. He only said that he'll be questioned about it, just like every other player.

Why is "Senior Citizen" pricing OK? That's dual pricing that discriminates against young people.

Almost every country in the world (maybe with the exception of some western European countries) practices some form of dual pricing. It's the only fair way for most countries to allow their own tax paying citizens to enjoy their own country's attactions. If they aren't paying taxes that they should be, then that's a differnet problem.

How many of you that are complaining about dual pricing in Thailand are paying taxes here?

Yes, you are subsidizing the National Parks, the Zoo, etc here. The Thais are subsidizing everything else for you.

The Peloton Train has 'eaten' the escapees.

It will be a MASS SPRINT...

LaoPo

100 baht says none of the Top 3 on GC will be involved in the sprint.

You are right, you can't compare 1989 to today. Bike technology has come a long way since then - vast improvements in frames and frame material, 10 speed cassette hubs today as opposed to 6 speed freewheels, STI/Ergo as opposed to downtube friction levers and today they have radio contact with the team cars.

Both the Predictor-Lotto and the Discovery team are fielding 8 members and both are capable of launching their riders and putting a block on any break - half the stage is over now, rain forecast for Paris so anything can happen!

In 1989 I had a carbon framed bike and a titanium one too. I had an 8 speed cassette (not a freewheel) and STI/Ergo was already around I think.

The TdF ended with an ITT that year. Every year since the ITT has been scheduled for the penultimate day. Since 1989 there has never been a change to the top 3 riders on the final stage. This year will be no different. The first sprint went to non-contenders and no one in the 10 man break is a GC contender.

Cadel Evans rode a great race but if Levi hadn't received a 10 second penalty on Stage 8 for an illegal push (while getting a bottle from the team car), second and third on the podium would be reversed.

Congrats to any of the finishers who raced clean.

Sorry guys, barring a catastrophe (or another doping scandal) based on team tactics and the setup of the race, it's impossible to make up more than 20 seconds on the final stage. The best Evans can do is close the gap to 3 seconds in the final stage. Still an outstanding result in what is now a meaningless race.

www.jajah.com is another alternative. It works very similar to Skype but you need to have both a computer and a phone. You make the call from your computer via Jajah, then your phone rings and you continue the call on your regular phone. I've found that the connections are sometimes better on Jajah than Skype and the rates are siimilar depending on the destination of your call.

Thanks boss, playing on the street was a pain sometimes having to move for cars. We sometimes played in Basketball courts where we used the fence for boards, and once we were such bad-asses that we cut down the nets in a tennis court.

I played In-line in california..I think they called it sport court...maybe that was the same as dek surface

I had a brilliant idea when we played street hockey -- we used to jam an unused stick into a manhole cover in the center of the street. That forced the cars to wait for us, instead of us having to stop the game while they passed by. Seems that not too many drivers were interested in watching even a few seconds of our game and the constant honking upset the neighborhood. The police put an quick end to my scheme.

"Sport court" sounds like the deck we used, but we played with sneakers. This was back in the day before in-line skates, but there were games played on old-style roller skates

In the US it's called "deck hockey" when played w/o roller blades.

What state are you from? I never heard of deck hockey. In Mass we called it street hockey.

New York.

The original poster, Ozz1, said "There is already a perfect place for it with all the boards and goals etc..." I've played "street hockey" too, but that's exactly what it sounds like -- set up 2 nets anywhere in the street, very informal, and certainly no boards. Deck hockey is played on a purpose-specific "deck", complete with boards. I'm sure the deck is used for other things when it's not used for hockey. That's the difference, afaik.

In the US it's called "deck hockey" when played w/o roller blades.

I haven't played in about 25 years and won't be back in CM until October, but I'd be very interested in a weekly game. Please keep me informed.

"They pick up and drop off at airport, train station or bus station for FREE!"

If you have hotel reservations, any hotel, and are having the hotel do an airport pick-up, make sure that the hotel knows whether it's an intl or domestic arrival. And warn your friends that if the hotel van isn't waiting there for them that they should check the other waiting area. My experience has been that the hotels get it wrong more often than they get it right.

~

For several years I brought money over here monthly by withdrawing with my ATM card but grew tired of the fees charged both by my American bank and the credit card company, even when it is actually a debit card withdrawal.

With a little research I found a way to electronically transfer money from my American bank to Bangkok Bank in NY for free, am charged only .25% when it arrives in Bangkok and am given the exact exchange rate posted on CNBC when it arrives in my CM account. The only other fee is the $5 charged by BKK Bank NY to accept an electronic deposit.

ATM and wire transfers are the most expensive routes and they significantly impact our spending power here in Thailand.

As others have said, it all depends on your bank. I have an account at Commerce Bank in the US. The last time I used my ATM card in CM, a couple of weeks ago, I got about 34.80 Baht to the Dollar. Commerce does not charge me any fees to use my ATM card. I beleive I can also make an ACH transfer from my Commerce account to my account at Bangkok Bank with no fee from Commerce Bank but haven't seen any reason to do that. If there's a fee from the receiving bank (Bangkok Bank), it certainly wouldn't make sense. In my case, ATM withdrawals are the cheapest way to get cash here.

el jefe, are you living in Nan right now? I'd like to meet up with some expats there seeing as I now know a total of three people in the whole town (my bosses, and another teacher at my school who I met for an hour)

Sorry, Fish, I'm living in CM now.

The good news for you is that during my visits there I have seen several other farang living in Nan. Good luck.

I found Nan to be a very pleasant town. It's much quieter than CM. It has many wide estreets but little traffic. Lots of green space and open areas. There's a small night market (now further north on T Phakwang) with excellent food, very inexpensive too. Not much else in the way of restaurants other than the Italian restaurant that david mentioned. I never tried it but I've heard from several others that it's excellent.

100cc motorbikes were 100 or 150B/day at "Oversea" on T Sumondhevaraj, corner T Mahawong. I'm sure there's a discount for a longer rental.

The Dhevaraj Hotel have very reasonably priced rooms considering the quality.

Good luck finding an apartment. I didn't see anything that looked better than a standard, small, one room Thai apartment. I doubt you'll find one with a kitchen. If you do, please let me know. Thanks.

But why would anyone new want to come here?

It's too hot, too rainy, too polluted, it's got a bunch of old crotchety farang, there are no good women....

Better to go to Pattaya.

It all depends on the definition of "work" vs "tourism" vs "play". I doubt that anyone who signs up for as a "volunteer" at the elephant camp and pays the required fee is getting a work permit. Same goes for any other organization that charges it's customers a fee for their week or two doing "volunteer" work in Thailand, or any other country that requires a work permit. I haven't looked into the exact wording of the law. I don't read Thai and don't know if there's an English translation of the entire set of laws related to work permits and whether there are any exceptions.

Personally, I don't work at any of the dog shelters. But I have adopted a bunch of dogs. I can't keep them in my condo so they stay at the shelter. I come several days a week for an hour or two each time. I play with the dogs, walk them, groom them, bathe them, etc. It's not work. As I said, it's "play".

Karin's website:

http://www.carefordogs.org/index2.php