Aussiepeter

Lacessit hit the nail on the head. As I've said before, after I got throat cancer we left Chiang Mai (and LOS) for good in 2013. We built our house from scratch in Saraphi in 2008 & it had all the 'bells & whistles' and then some - multiple aircons, two fully-equipped kitchens (both Thai & farang), 3M satellite dish with umpteen channels etc but no pool, as I didn't want to be a slave to one (they need contact maintenance). Big 2 rai block with huge attached lumyai (longan) orchard bringing in good $ each year too. Far and away the flashest house I'm ever likely to own. We started asking for 4 mill (yes, it was not a giant kings' palace like the poster has here) but eventually settled for less than half that amount, in order to GTFO. People who are prepared to spend 22 million baht want a new house of their own design. Mine was like new, but it literally took over a year to even get a serious bite and, they beat us down. Sort of "as soon as they know a farang is selling, they sense a 'fire sale' - but good luck anyway - the Chinese are so cashed up, they have bought 2/3 of Australia by now ....

When we moved back to Oz I wished I had a couple of these mozzie zappers, but assumed they would be illegal here so didn't put any in our cargo. Imagine my shock (no pun intended) when I was waiting for the wife to finish her free English class at the local TAFE and I walked in to one of those cheapo shops with stuff from China, that was opposite the TAFE. First thing I saw near the door was a box those tennis-racquet-like devices, just as we had in Chiang Mai. I bought three, at $3 AUD (75 baht) each. They must not have passed customs - which doesn't surprise me. I got issue one of those 'warning notices' for "a military helmet with kevlar liner" found in our shipment. It was a 1965 Vietnam War era US helmet I bought in Udon. The liner is fibreglass - kevlar wasn't even invented back then. The idiots in Customs stole it from me, fullstop. They haven't got a clue. Many of my friends have had totally innocuous items confiscated. They can only search about one in thirty containers coming in and, Oz is awash with unsafe illegal cheap Chinese stuff, like the cap-guns I bought in the same shop. I use them to keep the crows off the veggie garden. Anyone wanting to buy a mozzie zapper in OZ, just ask your nearest big Asian food store. I've since seen them there too, but at $5 each. They had boxes of 'em. Whether they are legal though is another question....

I predict they will rue this decision - New Zealand surely did. They allowed Thais to enter NZ visa-free for three months back in the 1990's, with the end result being many thousands of Thai illegal over-stayers, who no doubt fell in love with the clean air in NZ and the easy ability to get a cash job. Kiwi's got a reciprocal deal from Thailand at the time - enter with no visa. New Zealand woke up & went back to making Thais apply for a visa and of course, Thailand responded to that decision by doing the same thing to NZ passport holders.

From his name & appearance, I doubt that this supposed 'Aussie' was born in Australia. Most likely, he's one of our more recent 'quality' imports, maybe from the Pacific islands area, who has picked up our lingo. Been a few neanderthals like this bloke in the evening news here lately, mostly for violence, with alcohol usually a factor.

As I've reported many times on here, I moved my Thai family to Australia in 2013 after I was diagnosed with laryngeal cancer from 20+ years of breathing Chiang Mai's foul air - I am a non-smoker. The ENT specialist who treated me back then told me that I was the fifth or sixth non-smoking patient he had seen with similar T1 (treatable) throat cancer and ALL had spent a long time in CM. On my final ten year check-up last year, he told me that the number of patients he had seen with similar cancers had now risen to about twenty & all had lived for a long time in LOS. The good news is I don't have to see the specialist again, as ten years after radiation therapy I am cancer free. Any ideas I had of being an opera singer are gone too as I now cough like an old Welsh coal-miner, a side-effect of having my tonsils barbequed. I pity all those Thai children having to suffer, growing up breathing CM air-pollution. The future is bleak, as it only gets worse every year.

For the uninformed, I assume you are referring to the old 21 Division Vice Squad in Sydney, historically some of the most corrupt & violent cops ever to wear a uniform - most local police in LOS are complete nuns by comparison.

Can't say the same thing about Chiang Mai re curtain hotels. In the 1990's - early 2000's there were dozens of curtained love hotels in the north. I especially liked the old Red Rose Hotel ? in Chiang Rai with its' themed rooms, right next to the abandoned Vietnam War era airport runway - I believe it has since been demolished. Went looking for some of my old haunts when in CM last August - the biggest & best of the old 'love hotels' in Santitam CM apparently went broke during covid, so now the owner rents the rooms there by the month, not the hour. Place was full of tuk-tuk drivers, Burmese workers & girlfriends etc. Must be different in your neck of the woods, because the north was literally a ghost town last year. As you say though, most tourists would not have a clue about the existence of such places, as they are mostly intended for use by 'locals'.

I recall that in the 1990's Thais did not need a visa to go to NZ & got three months on arrival, so the Thai govt did the same deal for kiwi's. Kiwi mate in Chiang Mai used to boast about it. The problem was, literally thousands of Thais decided that they loved NZ so much, they didn't leave when they should have but rather, became illegal immigrants/overstayers in NZ. Perhaps it was because unlike LOS, you can breath the air almost every day of the year in NZ without getting lung cancer or gasping for oxygen. In response, the NZ govt then forced Thais to get a visa for NZ & the Thai govt promptly responded by making Kiwi's subject to the same rules to enter LOS as the rest of us.

I lived in LOS from 1992 until 2013. The air pollution only started getting seriously toxic around 2000, when farmers all over Thailand changed crops to include more sugar & corn (for ethanol) rather than rice. Before that, the air in C Mai was only bad for a couple of months a year, three at maximum - after 2001 it was often twice that. The authorities are aware of the problem but despite making new rules each year, huge profits & zero enforcement means that sadly it will continue unabated. Chiang Mai now has the dubious honour of having some of the highest percentages of lung and throat cancer in non-smokers of any place on the planet. Despite what some have said, they have always burnt the stubble in the northern areas where I lived (mostly Chiang Dao, Hang Dong & Saraphi) but until 2000 it was seasonal & thus tolerable. The mushroom excuse is just that. Yes the locals in the hills do set fire to the forest areas to promote the growth of mushrooms, but it is the least of the problem & it is seasonal. After 2000 the smoke just got worse & worse and moving out to Saraphi in 2008 made little difference. I am aware the early widespread rains cleared a lot of it this year, as I was in C Mai for dental work in August, but it was a rare respite from the smoke. By 2013 we'd had enough of the ever-increasing air pollution & I moved my family to the valley I grew up in here in Oz, where the air is mostly clean & clear. Many of my friends have left LOS since then for the same reason - good health is worth more than anything else. I am aware that some folks have no choice but to stay put in LOS - I feel for them.

Funny story about nam-pla. My first ever experience of both LOS & fish sauce was on an overseas posting to Europe in 1987, with a stopover in Bangkok. I stayed in Embassy accommodation with a mate & we got a bit sloshed the first night on beers initially, then Mekong whiskey. The Oz embassy back then had two condo's at Jomtien for free, so we got a lift down there in the Embassy car (a Benz). The driver spoke little English but as we drove to Pattaya, my mate saw a stall selling what looked to us exactly like the whiskey we drank the night before. He got the driver to stop & we bought two bottles of 'Mekong', or so we thought. Dirt cheap too, we were amazed - only about 50 baht a bottle - same exact bottle, same label. As we drove on my mate, a big Geordie, decided that a 'crack of the whip' would do wonders for his hangover. He opened a bottle & took a huge swig. The embassy Merc almost got a spray. "(expletive) - it tastes like bl**dy fish !" You guessed it - we had just found out that they make nam-pla down in Rayong & sell it on the side of the road. Better him than me - many laughs later on as we worked it out. Like a few on here - if it is in the food then OK, but even after 23 years of marriage, the smell still bothers me ....

Singapore Airlines Bus Class USED to be fantastic ! Not any more though - the A350 I flew in both ways from Brisbane to Singapore in August had been re-configured - where once there were about 34 seats in J class there were now 82 seats, but still the same number of toilets ! Pity any fatties who need the "hong-nam" - the rear toilets now have only about 30 inches of space in the corridor/bulkhead & the same in the toilet ! The cabin crew served from the front in J class, then went right to the back of the plane & economy class. $5K ? I got the feeling that they had cut the cabin crew numbers too. To be fair to them, the flight back to Oz had fantastic service, BUT still in a huge J class area. It seems to me that all airlines want their pound of flesh now, after losing millions during the Chinese flu epidemic ...

Back when western bread was a rarity in Chiang Mai, I picked up a new Panasonic bread maker while on a visa run to Oz. Most of these machines can make a variety of breads, but they usually only make a small or 'half' loaf. It worked fine, but when I moved to Chiang Dao I found out it was next to useless. Bread-making machines work on a timer, so you MUST have an uninterrupted electricity supply for the entire process, or be prepared to use it only in the daytime & watch it like a hawk. That way, if it stops when the power cuts out (even for a few seconds) you can manually reset/restart it. I liked to set it up at night & wake to the smell of freshly-baked bread. Out in the boonies past Chiang Dao there are regular short time power cuts, especially at night, so I gave up. On my latest trip to LOS last month, I found plenty of wholemeal at Rimping near the airport or as someone else suggested, at Kasem store, just off Chiang Moi Road on the way down to Warawat market. Actually, bread-making machines became a fad in Australia for a while, until most folks here realised that it is easier to just go to a shop, as there is a bit of effort involved to get only a very small loaf. As a result, you can often pick them up cheaply in Op shops here. I bought one during the covid shutdown 'as new' for $10 (200 baht) - I used it once, then remembered how much effort it was for such a small loaf. Shame I can't give it to you, as it won't get used again here. If you buy one, I can say that home-baked bread always seems to taste a bit better than store-bought, if you get it right ! Good luck & I hope your health improves.

I just had three weeks in Chiang Mai getting dental treatment for a problem with the same symptoms. I had the 360 degree dental x-ray (700 baht) & it confirmed that I had gum disease, in my case following / exacerbated by radio-therapy for laryngeal cancer (ironically from breathing the filthy air in CM for too many years). Just looked at the receipts - it says "advanced periodontitis treatment". Another one says "root planing" which is exactly what she (charming 38 y.o. lady) did, under local anaesthetic. She had to expose the roots of my teeth, which involved cutting away at my gums to get to the problem and I had stitches in my mouth for a week. It didn't affect eating, as I took beer painkillers daily. Cost of surgical op was about 4K baht - receipt says "open flap debridement" whatever that means. I am back in Oz now & all is good dental-wise. The lady did say "see you again in three months" which was a little worrying, as I no longer live in LOS & have no intention of returning in three months, if at all. Had a lot of fillings & a crown repair too, but the cost including Bus Class Singapore Air ticket ($5K) was a third of the quote in Australia. Another issue - the service in Bus Class going to Singapore was terrible, but excellent on the way back ! On the other hand, the cheap 3 hour SCOOT flights from Sing - CNX & return (no Bus Class avail) were brilliant - all I had to do was pay $9 SGD a beer, but at least I got beer, unlike on the way over to Singapore from Oz. The dentists were both at Kitcha Clinic near CM Gate. Been a customer there for 20+ years & if seeking dental work in CM, I strongly recommend them.

As Silkair folded during covid, I flew SCOOT from Singapore to C Mai return during August for dental treatment (cheaper). I wanted to check my return flight & went to CM airport assuming there would be an office there for SCOOT/Singapore Airlines - there is NOT ! After checking on the net, I found that the only way to contact them was to call their office in Singapore, which I did. Very disappointed with Singapore Airlines - how can you fly direct into a country but not have an office/presence there ? Their Business Class service from Brisbane was horrible too. At 100k baht, I expect more than 2 lousy half-glasses of warm beer in 7 hours in J Class. At least I could buy beer on the SCOOT flight - $9 SGD a small can and it was cold. I assume all airlines are being cheapskates now after covid, even in Bus Class.

I'm surprised nobody else on here noticed that this lucky chap bought his winning ticket in the Wang Ka market - ???? an unusual but topical name, given the current state of politics in LOS.