Chantal

Have been so wrapped up in my little world lately. It occurred to me that some of you might want some snorkelling equipment. If so I am offerring you guys some free equipment. If you need some I suggest that you send your feet sizes to Livinginkata and he can collect the equipment from our dive club in Kata the day before.

Still dont know if I can make it as the new dog is very sick.

Unfortunately we have never had luck with the Indian restaurants on Phuket, not even the new one in Karon. Perhaps we should try and make the food ourselves. Thaigerd helllppp puleeez?

Guys unfortunately I cannot confirm yet. Am babysitting very very sick soi dog. Will only know later today/tomorrow when he returns from the vet.

Vellee sollee at this stage.

Best wishes for your dog Chantal!!!!!

Gerd

Thanks Gerd - it is breaking my heart. Just managed to get him to get on with all the cats.... so much so that when we used to go for walkies (now he has no energy) up the mountain they would join!

Otherwise I am hoping for the best and if we are lucky and he recovers then I really do need a day out. "Oh I must go down to the sea again...."

Just returned from Dr Suchon who also says that he has a mild case of CDV although he also has pneumonia. According to the doc this is the reason why he is not eating. Gave him 2 injections and a tablet for tonight and we are already seeing some life in the poor dog.

When he was a soi dog he used to lie outside in the rain....sopping wet!!!

Once again Guys and Nienke thanks so much. Am monitoring the siutation and have to take Rascal back to the vet tomorrow. Hopefully all will go well. Really hate to see animals suffering.

Thanks so much Guys

Am on my way to another vet now!

We have just adopted a new soi dog only to discover that he has canine dysentery virus. According to the vet it is very mild and is not contagious for our other dogs. The poor thing is not eating, has the runs and vomits a lot although he is taking his medication. It is breaking my heart to see him being so dispirited.

I tried a google and it sounds like this could be parvovirosis and according to the article it is contagious. Does anybody know about this? Bambina??? Please help!

Guys unfortunately I cannot confirm yet. Am babysitting very very sick soi dog. Will only know later today/tomorrow when he returns from the vet.

Vellee sollee at this stage.

Hi DrBill

Sorry Tops at Central Festival on Phuket. Just means you will have to visit!

Thanks Guys and Gerd for the phone call. Was very confused about all the different pakchees.

Anyway got the pakchee now and will test the recipe today. A bottle of good red is also required and am a bit concerned that if it does not taste good I have wasted a decent bottle. If it works out well I will post the recipe on this forum.

Perfect day to do a 6 hour pot roast - lots of rain and overcast.

Anyone know the Thai name for fresh Coriander leaves? Bambina? Help! Am trying out a new lamb stew recipe and dont know Coriander (oops sorry chefs - pure ignorance)

Bought 4 more pacs of Waitrose Smoked Scottish Kipper fillets this morning at Tops in Cental Festival. They are really delish! Discovered them earlier this month.

One of my co-workers here is planning a trip to LOS and wants to do some diving.

He got a quote from some agency in Bkk, offering accommodations at 1,500 baht per night and 800 baht per dive. I take it that this is a packaged deal.

Not sure exactly where this is supposed to be though (i.e. Phuket/Pattaya/Samui). I know I could find cheaper accommodations (in Pattaya), but I don't know what the cost of the diving would be. I've never taken a course or done any diving, so I have no idea of the costs.

Would 800 baht per dive be inclusive of the boat rental, equipment rental and what ever else would be required ? Is that an average price ?

Thanks for the assistance eh !

Hi Kerryd

Tell your co worker to not book through an agency. Rather to book directly with a DC. These agencies rely on commission and most of the guys sellng the dive trips or courses have never ever dived before so they have no idea of what they are offering. Nor do they really care.

Depending on what area he is keen on diving I recommend that he do a google and send in email enquiries to check out the replies. Then to follow up in person upon arrival to see if the email matches with what is really being offered. Some websites are not quite honest. Once he actually meets the operators he will see who he really would prefer to dive with.

Also the accommodation quote at 1500 baht per day sounds rather expensive to me (unless it is peak high season) even by Phuket standards. Since the quote of 800 baht does not indicate what exactly is included I honestly cannot comment. For example however, our shore dives off Kata Beach cost 900 baht inc equipment, a longtail boat dive to sites 5 minutes away from the beach is 1400 baht inc equipment. 200 baht less for those who have their own equipment. In the high season the daytrip costs start from around 2800 baht for a 2 tank dive, transfers, lunch and refreshments included. Equipment rental is an extra 600 baht per day.

Hope this helps?

Chantal

Inspectorgadget with your language skills you should easily be able to find work as an Instructor. There is a shortage of really skilled and pro Instructors on Phuket and if you want to find employment it would be best to personally pop in to the DC's with your CV before the high season.

It is a requirement on Phuket (other areas in Thailand have different "rules" ) that you have a work permit (which you could set up as a small business as a freelance Instructor), but for the right person there are DC's who offer work permits for a full time Instructor.

BTW the daytrip diving is great at the moment. Usually we tend to see more marine life during the low season than during the high season due to the less amount of divers and boat surface traffic.

For more info please feel welcome to PM me. I can only but try and help.

Whatever you decide wishing you good luck with your new venture!

For a small bar try Happy Days near the circle en route to the pier. And in case you don't know it located close by is The Greenman English style pub/restaurant - also near the circle en route to Kata.

Cheers

Yes Seer and you owe me a bottle of wine or at least a beer!

Like Steven I have a Dive Center in Kata and a small branch directly on Karon beach. Any spare time I spend with my animals. Been here for 13 years young in comparison to some ex pats living here.

the deal is: "buy a watch and learn how to figure out what time it is".

as simple as that! what's your problem?

The problem is that this law does not and cannot accomplish what it supposed to do, i.e. reduce alcohol consumption. As some other posts noted correctly, is just a nuisance.

It is even more a nuisance when it is applied to some restaurant services just as the Food Loft in Central Chidlom. I was unaware of this law about a year ago and wanted to eat something with a friend visiting from Europe. We had all the lovely food and were looking for a glass of wine with that. NO WAY, cannot sell wine after 2PM! ("Baa chang!")

Such a law should be abolished, because the negative effect on the long run is that people just don't take the Law or the Government for serious anymore. Erosion of respect for the Law.

Same thing happened at Sizzlers at Central Festival on Phuket. We ordered lunch and my friend - a tourist - wanted a beer at 2:05 pm. Answer: Cannot!

Funny thing is anywhere along the beach areas beers are readily available all day/night long.

Any explanations on this one?

For obvious reasons I like Phuket. Reason being that from October/November onwards there is more variety for dive tour options. Ranging from local shore and longtail boat dives to sites 5 minutes off Kata, Karon and Kata Noi beaches, daytrips to sites 1 and 1/2 hours off Phuket, Overnight cruises to Phi Phi and around as well as Liveaboard cruises (4 days - 10 days) to the world famous Similan/Surin/Burma and southern islands (Hin Daeng/Hin Muang).

If you can you must do at least a 4 day/4 night cruise to the Similan and Surin Islands. The Liveabord boats range from backpacker style to medium and sheer luxury class. My advice would be to spend a little extra to get the cruise of a lifetime. But first get certified (Open Water and Advanced) and do some fun dives. Build up a little experience.

Plenty of Brits. Would'nt live anywhere else. Love it here aside from Patong.

Sounds like you have a nice fan club there Gerd? Was this a PM?

I have avoided it for years but due to Singapore Consulate time changes my grand plan to do a 2 day visa run to Singapore has disolved.

What is the most comfortable mini van to Ranong? Which company has a nice one? with big seats and a safe driver. A few years ago a guy lost half his leg doing a visa run in one of those darn mini vans. IT crashed with a truck.

Actually the guy who lost his leg was on the Club Andaman bus and not a minivan. Otherwise do as Smartie says - hire a car and take a leisurely drive. Would be cheaper if you could get a few people to join you. We normally go to the Andaman Pier to catch the ferry over (departs every hour until around 4 or 5:00pm), stay overnight at the club (nice facilities) and drive back the next day stopping at Khao Lak for lunch. More expensive than the usual visa run options - but well worth it as it is treated more like a holiday.

Hey David - how was your cruise? Hope it was good.

Am comming to Thailand, have been a few times before, want someone to recommend where to go to learn as much as possible and progress as far as I can on a PADI basis.

Have 65,000bht to spend and a month+ available.

Any recommendations appreciated and also how far can someone get in that time/moneyspan?

Depends when you are coming and what part of Thailand you are planning on staying? There are many good DC's offering Padi courses located all over Thailand.

One bit of advice - take each step at a time and do not rush into those zero to hero programmes.

Whatever you decide - enjoy!

Whate date Gerd? Could do with some of your cooking.

This SILLY law has been around for awhile. I had the same problem at the Tesco Lotus, just for shit and grins I ask the manager WHY, it's the law he said and add something about a prime time for children plus some othe BS.

Anyway not a problem, for most just down the road around the curve your local mom and pop will take your money anytime, come to think of it maybe it's a way the government is helping the local mom and pop stores. HMMMMM!! I wonder

Yup - it has happened to me even on a Sunday and believe me my schooldays are so obviously years ago. At Tesco, Big C and Central Festival you can forget about buying alcohol (unless in bulk). Nevertheless it is readily available for purchase at anytime everyday at all the supermarkets and mini marts closer to home in Kata. Just p***s me off that when I do my monthly shops for groceries - I am welcome to spend a fortune there but am not allowed to buy a few bottles of decent wine between these hours.

What is wrong with this picture?