Fore Man

You apparently didn't Google enough...this site readily appears:

http://www.hawaii.edu/thai/thaifonts/

Usually I have no trouble with display of Thai fonts. However, I just tried the Royal Institute dictionary site and it displays

like this: ¾¨¹Ò¹Ø¡ÃÁ Do you know which fonts I am missing ?

I also cannot read the RI dictionary site in Thai. It is a script error in IE and I am not sure how to remedy it. I tried fiddling with language and font settings in IE/Tools/Options but to no avail. Maybe somebody else with the right expertise can sort this out.

Hmmm...never had this problem...we've sent money back on occasion from BKK Bank. Did they explain why you needed a L/C?

You apparently didn't Google enough...this site readily appears:

http://www.hawaii.edu/thai/thaifonts/

Sorry, but can you define the term 'kamnan'? Is this the political head of the tambon?

Good point on paint spatters...the paint teams will not be careful and will certainly not clean up after themselves...our newly tiled and teak floors were a mess after ceiling painting and it took a special cleaning team a week to get it all removed. The builder paid for it as it was in our contract.

One other point...and this may come as hard to believe: we had 20 or so light bulbs stolen by painters right out of our fixtures. Again, we made the builder replace them, but it would be best to install all bulbs after all painting is completed. Anything not tied down is a candidate for theft. Tools left by craftsmen (such as an expensive electric sabre saw bolted to a saw table) will be stolen unless placed in a room under lock and key when not used.

A bit off topic, I realize, but I thought you'd like to be aware.

I wonder about the statistics that were quoted...mentioning that the majority of road deaths were on straight highway sections. Has anyone ever driven on mountain highways in the north of the Kingdom...especially on holiday periods...when manic drivers hel_l-bent to beat the next guy will overtake vehicles on blind curves? There could be a bus coming around that curve or there could be nothing, but most male Thai drivers will think nothing of taking the chance...as if it is their destiny to arrive back in their lane without incident. Defensive driving concepts are totally alien to them....it is all karma and testosterone. I shudder every time I see this act of total stupidity and hope like hel_ that my family is not a victim in the making, as we would have no time to react and nowhere to go but off the road or in a nasty accident caused by a moronic Thai driver. We make sure that there is plenty of space available between us and the next car and drive slower than others...letting the mad devils go around us.

A Thai university student attending studies in Oz was home on vacation and explained to me that 90 percent of Thai male drivers have a 'me first' mentality out on the roads; add booze and their inbred fatalism and you then have a highly lethal combination. Moreover, he mentioned that unlike western countries, driving in Thailand and elsewhere in Southeast Asia is based on merging, rather than right-of-way rules as we know them. He or she who has 1-cm of lead therefor has the 'right of way' and the car perceived to be in trail must give way or suffer the consequences. A final observation: some of the worse driving I've seen in Thailand was committed by farang drivers--men and women alike--perhaps deciding that their ego has taken enough of a bashing by Thai drivers who who now can afford a vehicle but will never have the brains to safely operate it.

Please be careful out there folks and don't add to the ugly statistics--however accurate or inaccurate they might be.

We negotiated 8K at Platinum...you should still be able to get that rate. Gyms are well aware that a significant percentage of members initially make it a point to exercise on a scheduled basis--several times a week. But after 3-4 months, their enthusiasm or dedication wanes and in many cases they stop going altogether...but the gym has pocketed your money for a year in advance. Unless you are a really dedicated gym rat, you might actually do better with a monthly fee membership.

Best you come up and stay awhile to get the lay of the land and compare various moobaans...one thing to be mindful of is the price they are asking for the raw land that your home will be built on (unless you buy a resale home). Some land prices can be exorbitant...THB 15,000 per square wah and more. THB 10,000 or so would be about right, but the location is obviously a factor here. Also:

1. How old is the village and what is the state of repair of the water mains? You can find out by talking to the residents. Some older moobaans continually have outages while the city comes in to make the excavation and apply a PVC patch to the older concrete mains. If your water tank supply is miniscule, you may run out of water on a frequent basis. Make sure you have enough tankage...2,000 litres is minimum and 5,000 would be a lot better. You can run cross feeds between multiple tanks and a pump to run the water into the house. If you prefer the builder can install an underground cistern and reduce the clutter around your home.

2. Check for water filtration systems...many moobaan homes ignore it or owners add them after the sale. Chiang Mai water is pretty good and tested regularly, but I like knowing my water is really clean.

3. Water heaters: do you wish to have hot water at the taps or not? The majority of Thai homes simply run cold water but you could add a hot water line at selected taps by using modular heaters and running new copper or stainless pipes. If you want to operate an automatic clothes washer, you'll probably need to add a hot water source and an arrangement to drain water from the machine. Thai homes aren't set up for this convenience that we take for granted in the West.

4. Drainage...check the lot during the rainy season if possible...ask around to see where flooding occurs, if at all. During long rainy spells, city sewers can overflow and water can rise over the street curbs. Check this out carefully.

5. Electrical plugs and electrical system: is the latter 2 or 3-phase? are there double prong or triple prong outlets? The cheaper two-prong outlets are crap and you will have trouble with cords not staying firmly plugged in. When there are power outages, how long does it take to get service restored? This is a function of your moobaan's management and reflects their interest and influence with municipal utilities. If you plan to operate a clothes dryer and/or many large appliances, 3-phase is mandatory.

6. Inspect all air conditioners...some may be ready to replace depending on their age.

7. What services does the moobaan provide (trash collection, maintenance of common areas, clubhouse/pool, gym etc. Physically eyeball these and ask your would-be neighbors for their thoughts.

8. Distance and time to hospitals, food stores, gas stations and such.

9. Is high-speed ADSL service available through your telephone line or not? TTT is arguably the better and more reliable provider. Some locations are limited in bandwidth speed due to not being modernized yet. Check this out carefully and be sure before you buy.

10. Many local moobaans have tiny, barely-equipped kitchens. Many have a simple propane stove and no range or oven. If you want to add these conveniences later, make sure there is room and adequate electrical supply to the home.

11. Consider finding a home or building a new home that has a Thai kitchen and a covered maid's work area.

12. Check to see that your automobile will be completely overed when parked under the carport. Many cheaper homes have not built much of a covered garage, and in many cases, the rear third of your car will jut out and get rained on. There are companies here that specialize in building awnings that can extend a carport, or provide shade and rain run-off for the windows.

13. Check the fit and serviceability of all windows, window frames and screens (don't be surprised if many homes have no screens at all). Older wooden frames will show sun-rot and warping. The hardware that holds wooden windows open is generally of poor quality and you'll find many of these broken and useless. Consider upgrading to PVC window frames. They are worth the price.

14. Check the gap between the overhanging roof tiles and the eave...bats love to slip under the tiles--the space they need to do so is incredibly small--and they not only can make a racket but the smell from their feces can be overwhelming. In many homes, these bat feces eventually fall through cracks in gypsum ceilings and become a health concern. If you stand in the yard at dusk, you can generally detect bats flying around and roosting in your roof. To correct these gaps, a contractor can add folded chicken wire and stuff it in the crack to prevent bats from entering.

This is an elementary list, but you can probably think of dozens of items to add to it. Above all, don't take anything for granted. Murphy's Law applies here...if something can go wrong it will and guess who gets to pay for it!

Good luck!

We say "Yindee raap chai" up here in Chiang Mai. Very commonly used but normally in more formal situations; it's use shows your class and respect.

Here's an interesting twist on "I found a snake" routine...

My wife was lying on our sofa in our northern Chiang Mai home watching the television one evening. I was upstairs using the PC, when I heard a female scream. I ran downstairs and there was my wife, stretched out on the sofa, rigid with fear, and she said "look up at the air conditioner!" Sure enough, there was a small snake perched on the outside of the A/C louvers, acting as if it was trying to build up the courage to drop down onto the sofa. I grabbed a broom and with its handle tried to pin the snake against the A/C unit while instructing my wife to get a big plastic trash bag so I could attempt to drop him into it. It didn't work and the snake crawled back inside the guts of the A/C.

Realizing we now had a captive snake inside our home, I sealed off the A/C so the snake could not re-emerge again. The next day, we got the local A/C vendor to come out and disassemble the unit. They found the critter coiled around some pipe deep inside the A/C, and extracted it with an unbent coat hanger. The Thai chaps bustled it off in a wad of toweling and dumped him into the vacant lot across the street.

How did it get into our A/C unit so high on a wall? It crawled in through the PVC water drain pipe that runs along the exterior wall directly behind the A/C and down to the driveway level. The far end of the drain pipe was just low enough that the snake could climb into it...and as everyone knows, snakes favor holes as hiding places and possible sources of prey. He then climbed all the way up and into the A/C unit. Obviously, we covered that drain with a bit of wire screen and when we built our new home, placed all A/C drains high enough that a snake could not enter them...and capped them with a perforated cap to allow water to run off.

The snake appeared to have a triangular head and was brownish with a soft mottled coloration...about 45-cm long. The Thai repairman called it a 'Ngieu Pao' and said it was poisonous. We have seen several of these species since then in our yard and out on the nearby streets at dusk and early evening. Wary of this threat, we asked our longtime Thai gardener for advice and he planted several small shrubs around our yard that he claims will repulse the reptiles and we'll be free of them. Hard to believe that...but I haven't seen any more snakes in awhile.

Done is many times...I seem to recall it is a long range 340 done to TG specifications. I heard rumors that TG was dropping this direct flight. Best you run it down with TG directly or visit their website.

You need to take a look at one of several shops in the Baan Tawai area of Chiang Mai. They can make anything you want. The price for such an elaborate piece will certainly not be $1,000...but more like double that, especially if high-quality wood is used. You can get cheap plywood construction overlaid with veneer, but in the long run you'll be sorry. We have had alot of custom-made furniture ordered from craftsmen in Baan Tawai...and my Thai wife negotiated some excellent prices. The overall quality is far better than elsewhere and much, much less expensive than in Bangkok furniture outlets.

Yes, agree with above posts. I have been a SA member for years now and always have been able to check my bags through on alliance members flights. Theoretically, the same should be true if transferring to a non-alliance carrier. Your bag would be delivered to the other carrier at intermediate airports as well..but in practice this can increase the likelihood of lost or delayed baggage...because non-alliance carriers are generally located at a different terminal in the same hub airport. I fly TG out of BKK on my global travel and where they do not service my destination, I transfer to a SA carrier and (knock wood) it has always been painless.

Hey

arriving in Cm sat afternoon for a 5 day visit.

id like to play some golf but going alone kinda sucks so does anyone know any golfers hangouts etc.. where i can meet some people to go play a round/

thanks

I don't know of any bonafide 'hangouts' for area golfers, but you can't go wrong by simply showing up in the morning (or early afternoon) at any area course and asking the greens fee office...or starter if there are any single players or small groups that you could join...most players don't mind an addition to their group.

A low-cost course that attracts lots of area golfers that are not otherwise affiliated with clubs is Hang Dong. It is a 9-hole course located south of the city and low-cost to boot. The course is a short one (5,000+ yards for 2 laps-18 holes) but can be a challenge due to water hazards. No. 8 is a fun par 3--a 125+-yard island green with an elevated tee location. If you want high-end golfing, then I recommend Chiang Mai Highlands, Mae Jo, Royal Chiang Mai and Summit Green Valley in roughly that order. Each of these courses is different in character but visually stunning...you won't be sorry. I know of a small group of ex-pat Brits that play on Tuesdays at CM Highlands...teeing off at 7 AM. They would be pleased to let you join them. Look for a friendly and elderly chap named Bob, but don't let his age fool you...he is a seasoned and expert player!

Regret that I will be leaving for a week in a distant province to visit my wife's folks...but would otherwise be interested in playing with you. I hope you enjoy your time up in Chiang Mai.

A bit off topic, but I learned a useful little trick in Bangkok when the taxi driver can't produce change for say, a THB 50 fare when presented with a THB 100 note. I simply tell, him, "OK, I take a nice nap now...wake me up when you get to 100". When he figures out what I mean as I lie back and close my eyes, he invariably finds his change has mysteriously become available [this may not work in these days of rigged meters]. If he doesn't react to this ruse, I tell him, "OK, I get out now and go find change ['laek ngun'] and come back and pay you very soon". Funny how fast they dig out those missing coins!

I agree with Jaidam; I passed through the sirport last evening and had no problems whatsoever.

I agree with NIKSTER. I used to go to a lot of trouble partioning my drive and with the advent of easy -to-use back-up software, I decided to place it all on a single partition and do periodic back-ups. This gets a bit off-topic, but is related to he OP's basic topic.

The best utility I have found bar none is Acronis. It is far easier to use than Ghost; our IT folks swear by it. You make a boot CD using the program and once this is done, you boot into Acronis using that boot CD. From this utility you create the back-up which can be saved to a variety of media. I use a USB HDD. What's nice is that once you have created the full, initial back-up, you can then make incremental back-ups to keep pace with the changes on your PC. The initial back-up takes 1-2 hours depending on how big your partition is; the incrementals take 30-minutes or so. And I have restored a crashed HDD on three occasions without a hiccup. Check it out.

I need a tip on where to buy/acquire a legal copy of Office 2003 for Thai (w/English switch; OS = XP Home) in Bangkok or in Chiang Mai. I just repaired a back-up laptop and it needs Office installed. I have no upgradeable version installed now. And I want to set it up so my Thai wife and daughter can switch to Thai when they use the PC. Any pointers as to who can sell a legit copy of the S/W? Thanks.

There was a huge selection available at Global House but they went up in smoke

If you revisit the places you mentioned and look very closely there are a few without lights but only a very limited range.

If you opt for the remote controlled ones then don't have more than one in the same room or the remote will set them all to the setting you press (maybe you only want one on but they will start). The alternative is to use the coded remotes so that only one remote will work for a specific fan but then which remote to use for which fan??? Never thought it would be so confusing

The remotes have dip switches that can be set differently for fans in the same room if needed.

Yes, as far as I am aware...but here's the rub: you must surrender your passport at the Thai border post and they'll in turn hand you a temporary exit visa allowing you to enter Myanmar....virtually a worthless piece of paper. When you cross over the border, the Burmese guard may hit you up for some tea money or he may accuse you of being a spy...always a game with these meatheads.

Just remember that once you walk or drive into Myanmar, you are now in a very third world country run by a band of military dictators where interpretation of the law locally is almost whimsical--especially as it applies to western foreigners--and your only official proof of citizenship is lying back at a Thai border post. If you choose to cross over in a Thai registered vehicle or tour van, think real hard about the possibility that a profit-hungry thug could sell that vehicle for 3-4 times its value in the gray markets of Myanmar. Think real hard about these ideas.

If the local situation has changed, I'd appreciate somebody with recent, first hand knowledge to make a post and clarify what I've said above. If for some idiotic reason I wanted to return to Myanmar, it would be through the auspices of a reputable tour group and not across a remote border post. The Burmese are very wary of farangs who want to enter their "Union" at such a remote site.

Caveat Emptor.

Not entirely sure what you are looking for, but my wife and I have bought non-light ceiling fans from HomePro--we just bought one about two weeks ago. We also bought the optional remote and it works great. An added option is that you can turn on the fan using the remote and then select a timed operation, so that it will turn itself off in 1, 3 or 6 hours. We leave the wall switch on permanently and just use the remote now.

In my home office located on the first floor of our home, I connected my incoming ADSL line (downstream of a DSL splitter) into my ADSL modem. From there, I ran a short Cat-5 jumper over to an ethernet switch--I used an old one laying in a box and it worked perfectly. From the switch I run another short jumper to a (new, not old) Apple Airport Express router which I set up as a base station for wireless connectivity. That networks to three other AE routers I have located around the house so I can access them for Internet conectivity or stream music from iTunes on my office PC. Those other 3 AE are also the new version (802.11n capable) and are set up as range extension routers. From the ethernet switch I also pipe wired connectivity to my daughter's room (we laid the cable during home construction) as well as a second cable sent back to my office desktop and used as a back-up capability (I normally use only the WiFi signal in my office). If you need additional wired drops you simply get a bigger ethernet switch. We use an 8-port version but only populate the first four jacks.

In this manner, I can surf the Web almost anywhere in our large 2-story, concrete-walled home as well as out on the patio. We can also stream iTunes music to four sets of powered speakers or amplifiers simulaneously. The new AE is a powerful router and if your PC is set up with a new 802.11n (or draft n) card, the whole wireless network runs 5-times faster than 802.11b/g and twice as far. By adding another AE router as a range extension device in one remote area of the home, I could probably have 100% coverage...but in our case it's not needed. The new AE router has two valuable features: it allows you to simultaneously stream music to multiple AEs AND it can also use a powered set of speakers connected to the host PC (the older AEs can't do this). We connect a Bose Companion 5 system and it is awesome. In the adjoining library, we have a small bookshelf stereo set that is connected to a remote AE and this allows me to hear the same music in both rooms without having to run wires through walls or over ceilings. When we have parties, I stream the same music from iTunes out to the pool sala as well to another stereo system located in an adjacent first floor wing--the quadraphonic stereo effect from these four sound sources is wonderful; everyone feels surrounded by the omnipresent music.

We had visitors from England a few months ago and the chap was able to use his own laptop and access our network easily. I gave him the network pass key and he was off and running. A pool engineer came over to do some work in our place and could use his laptop easily to communicate with his home office to grab some images he wanted to show us.

I run XP Pro with these AE boxes and everything works great. If you use Mac, it would even easier...just plug 'em in. If you have no experience with AE, it is still easier to get up and running than a conventional wireless router. If you buy these from an Apple retailer, they can also come out to your home and get it all running if you are not experienced in setting up a complicated network. Good luck.

I have never had this requirement foisted on me in four annual renewals one in BKK and 3 in CM) I doubt it is a statutory/regulatory requirement, but a nuance imposed by the local staff who for some reason must have doubted the authenticity of your bank letter...or perhaps have been scammed by some other applicant and have become wary. I'll be interested in what our TV subject matter experts say about this.

....edited...... or he is saying one thing on air but quite something different in private. ....

Well, regarding this issue, "The Man" has build some incredible reputation for exactly this... yes/no/No/Yes/Yes/No/No/Yes

"I am going to retire from politics!"

See what I mean?

Yes, both you and TAWP are right of course. Thaksin's era and its sorry aftermath will haunt Thailand for a long time and new hatreds will be nurtured and new targets will be in the sights of many of the newly disgruntled. My (Thai) friends tell me that Thaksin had many bright ideas but the wrong execution. The man could have gone down in history as a savior but his meglomania and consuming greed did him in. Now his name will live in infamy.

What is interesting is that during his recent televised speech, Thaksin asked his followers to back away from violence and try to peacefully coexist with other facets of the government. My wife was watching it and translated for me as she listened. It seems that perhaps he is attempting to build some goodwill for his eventual return to the Kingdom... or he is saying one thing on air but quite something different in private. But obviously there are zealots among his camp that refuse to back down and want to pick a fight...whether their true motivations are ideological or financial is the big question. I concur it is high time for the security forces to step in and start doing their jobs. Thailand is getting an undeserved bad rap because of all the protesters. My sensing from Thai contacts in several locales is that normal, everyday people want harmony and peace. Many have doubts that the new government can achieve these goals but most want to give them a chance. People are fed up with violence and vitriol.