ourmanflint

"pat" or "pad" = stir fried

"kapow", "krapow" = basil

"gai" = chicken

For example....."Pat Kapow Gai" = stir fried chicken w/basil

not to be picky... but isn't it "kaprao" not "krapow" as you said which is a suitcase!!! I've had a few odd looks using Krapow

I've done a search but couldn't really find what I'm after so here goes.

1.) How do I use Phaw.. as in "it's not spicy enough!!"

Is it mai phet phaw or phet mai phaw, or are they both correct??

there are lots more to come!! I'm getting into it properly now, but every step forward there are ten more questions!!

I read my first sign at Big C today.... "Hoy Kraeng" that was only because I knew what they were and so I could work out the characters. It's a start.

And yes I do read for an hour a day not texts as such but vocabulary in Thai

cool

so it's just the fonts that people use that are changing, I should be able to DL somehwere so I have them myself... cheers

thanks

just found out today myself.... decided to keep a notebook with me from now on, so when I find something I like I can ask them to write it down, in Thai of course

hi

I've been trying really hard to learn Thai, and to read Thai as I think this helps immeasurably, but ###### it for all my efforts, I cannot read the simplest sign on the BTS or any movie poster, or any ad at all for that matter, they all use some sort of upper case script that I have no clue about. Now I can read most menus and even some magazine articles , although I have no ideas what any of the words mean!!

Can someone point me in the right direction here, I can't find any reference to upper case scripts in any of my books

Cheers

Sounds like there's hope for me yet then.... I just need to make myself more "lovable". What does that mean by the way???

I'd agree with you normally, but this topic has been done to death a million times already, hasnt it?

do you know what really p*sses me off is people like you who having been on the forum a while or have lived in Thailand a while, have absolutely no sensitivity or empathy to people who don't know quite as much as you, this is a forum for everyone, stop being an arrogant *ss!!!!

rant over... you may resume normal service!!!

Ahh, another what would you wish for in a better Muang Thai!

Don't be so Xenophobic and sort out your outlook on genuine immigrants or your countrymen thriving in other parts of the world with every option open to them will find themselves up sh1t creak without a paddle!!

Did I deviate from the topic somewhat?

You didn't so much deviate off topic as hijack it with some sort of nonsensical rant..... what kind of xenophobe moves to a different country to be happy??? It'd be like a veggie going on holiday at Old MacDonalds Farm... nonsense my boy!!

Believe it or not I was attemting to be serious, as I think the army with a different structure to the police could actually change some things where the police have so obviously failed..

made it to Phuket town today to buy my bus ticket and thought I'd let you know how much they are.

Government bus (999) are 970 bt, and private co. 1045 bt, both 24 seat VIP.

I'll definitely be back soon, Phuket has grown on me.

Cheers

It seems that the miltary coup a few weeks back has been warmly greeted by the good people of Thailand and a good thing too. But it has got me thinking that this would be a great opportunity for the centrally controlled armed forces to do a bit of house keeping and clean out some of the more solubrious elements from Thai society... for me this would definitely be the various transport mafias found on Samui and Phuket etc.

Who else would stand a chance , certainly not the police it would seem! I'm sure there must be other things which when all said and done could be changed, and are a blight on an otherwise great country. If you had a chance to ask the new miltary government to change something, what would it be???

Congradulations!!!

Definitely go to Pulau Perhentian Besar, not Kecil ( no electricity during the day) you should be able to just catch the last few weeks of the season, before they shut up shop for the monsoon. The rooms are about 120 MYR with AC, about 1200 baht, but you may be able to haggle a bit. I was there 10 days ago and it was beautiful, perfect for a romantic honeymoon. The water is better than anywhere in Thailand and so is the snorkelling. Alternatively you could try upmarket Pulau Redang which should still be in your budget.

To get there you can catch a minibus from the border to Kuala Besut or Tok Bali, about 40 MYR each, to catch the boats which leave at 8.00 am. 10.30. am and every 2-3 hours until 3 pm I think.

I hope you have a good time

I'm still here, can't seem to make the break and leave!!!! I'm in no rush now, missed my appointment at Bumrungrad, so maybe I'll explore more.

I did take a bus today to Central, 20 baht great, but then I didn't know they stopped at 5 o'clock and had to pay 300 baht back again, yes I did try to offer 200 for 10 minutes but no go!!!

Thanks for the tip, I shall take a trip to KSR this week.....

It might not be old news, but it is endemic to Patong, as i have seen myself these past few days. Not that I have anything against Ladyboys when they are being "straight" ie telling these poor saps what they are letting themselves in for, but to decieve with the intention of extorting money is criminally wrong. Or do they really believe that when the truth is out the guys will just say... "oh what the hel_l"

You condone it if you say nothing!!!!

that's just it I do like it. But I know I could never live here if I had to deal with the transport mafia everytime I wanted to go somewhere. Otherwise I can see Phuket being the best of all worlds. I can't believe that the local authorities are happy with the situation as it stands. But this being Thailand, I don't think much will change which is a shame as I think everyone, tourists and residents alike would have a much better experience if it were more like Bangkok.

Well I made it to Phuket finally, and I have mixed feelings, obviously with the rain and all I haven't seen Phuket at its best, but I do like it, well parts of it anyway. I stayed in Patong, and had no idea just how popular the place is, everything is overpriced, but managed to find a great AC room for 400 baht, and a couple of nice places to eat that cook real Thai food and don't charge you 20 bt for plain rice!!!

The one thing that is certain beyond any doubt however, is that I could never, ever deal with Phuket without a car. It's just impossible to get around without being ripped off, and I though Samui was bad, I cannot believe people can put up with it. 300 baht to go to Phuket town 10km away is abhorrent.

I can't even leave the place without feeling ripped off..... so I know, can anyone tell me how much the 24 seat VIP bus to Bangkok should be, on the net it's 750 baht from Official phuket sites, yet I cannot find it for less than 1200 baht anywhere in Patong. I really hate being screwed over by the transport mafia, and I've never been anywhere in the world that was as bad as Patong for ripping people off.

You might tell me that I shouldn't be surprised, but I am. Really surprised!!!

I've just come back from Penang, myself and afew friends were sitting on the beach at Batu Ferringhi, when one of those flying tree snakes flew or maybe fell out of the tree above us, and landed on our towels... it was like a cartoon, it took a few seconds to register then everybody just jumped in opposite directions, like an explosion. It was really funny!!! Eventually I did my Steve Irwin bit... and picked the 1.5m snake up by the tail and put it back in the trees. Turns out it was a Paradise Tree Snake, so not dangerous.

One other thing and I don’t know if this is new or not but taxi fare to the airport now also includes an extra 50 ThB. Can anyone verify this? Seeing as it was about 2:30 am and the place looked vacant I really did not have a problem paying him the extra. So from Thong-lo the fare was 229 ThB plus the extra 50 ThB

I wonder what my return experience will be in a few weeks?

I knew someone would get caught.... surely the 50bt extra is to be paid by someone arriving at the airport, not departing, I didn't pay it to go Saturday... so the taxi drivers figure they can charge everybody now do they??? Both arrivals and departures.... cheeky!!!

I'm in Penang now getting a new tourist visa, I asked Jimmy of Love Lane Inn, and jhe has heard nothing regarding posible closure of the Penang consulate, but you never know..

I've lost my copy of my favourite book, so if anyone knows where I can get it again I'd be grateful

What the Buddha taught by Walpola Rahula

the best book ever written on Buddhism, untainted by modern egos and hysterics, just plain and simple.

Early AM and Late PM domestic flights on TG often do not use a gate - was true at Don Muang also. Economizing by not towing the plane I assume, and avoiding the gate fees charged by AOT.

this is true... flew this morning at 7.25 am and the worse thing was definitely having to wait on the very cramped bus, standing, for 10 minutes whilst they waited for everyone to check in at the gate, a really stupid system if you ask me. The new buses are very badly designed as well.

I took a taxi this morning at 5.30 from BTS Ari and it took 25 minutes, I am pretty impressed, everything went well until passport control and a 20 minute wait in line, so nothing has changed there. Total cost was 189bt so not too bad either.

anyone know how long it takes to get to the airport by taxi from say Victory monument, have an early morning flight tomorrow 07.25 to Penang, so I guess I need to check in at 0600 at the latest.

cheers

After spending 2 months in Khampa, and Amdo, I have little regard for monks anymore, they really do just behave like medieval monks in Europe, living off the hard work of others and getting fat...

It would be so great to be able to diagree with you, but the fact is that Tibet was one of the most corrupt places in the world. I can't stand the mealy-mouthed Western ideals that have taken hold wrt to this so-called Shangri-la. It is positively sickening in the USA, for example.

And yet, I have a little story. My friend William, (who I strangely bumped into on the subway this morning, an alumn of Gaskin's "Farm" and a former editor of "High Times" of all publications!), had an unusual experience. His former wife was dying of cancer. They both attended a medical conference (she was an MD) at which the Dalai Lama was present. She, as a physician asked a question from the floor, and was answered by the Dalai Lama, relating to death. He answered her gladly. But that was not the end of it.

After the session, they were outside and saw the Dalai Lama's car leaving, and she knocked on the window. He not only recalled her question, but after a brief conversation, invited them to be treated by his own doctor!

Which they did after a flight to Dharamsala and after a private audience with HH Dalai Lama. There was nothing anyone could do to save her. She died soon after, but the compassion that radiated from the Dalai Lama can never be forgotten. They were not photo-ops; they were simple human beings in pain. And (pardon me) Avalokiteshvara took them in and gave everything he could.

The Dalai Lama has *earned* the role of Avalokiteshvara, IMO. That simple, unpublicized act has resulted in William now working with Robert Thurman on a biography of the Dalai Lama. His entire life is spent honoring this Bodhisattva.

What more is there to say than this is the embodiment of Avalokitheshvara?

I remain in awe at such a simple, costless act of compassion that has transformed so many, lives, including my own.

I never meant to imply that all those from Tibet especially the Dalai Lama, were no good, and your story is very touching, but like you say there is a vast chasm of misunderstanding between what the west thinks Tibet represents and what it actually is. There are so many "romantic" notions of the nobility of the simple Tibetan, which is so far from the truth in my own small experience. I think I am more realistic now than I once was.