Rasseru

My wife and I are friends here in Thailand with a couple who just had a baby. The wife is Japanese and the husband Thai. We want to follow the tradition in Japan of giving a gift of money for the occasion, but want to have it be an amount that is appropriate (or at least not inappropriate) in Thailand. If any one has any thoughts or information to share about what would be appropriate or inappropriate, including in terms of lucky and unlucky numbers, I would be grateful.

Where can you get some cheap cast iron stuff here in Chiang Mai? . . . . . So wheres' the cheap cast iron cookware???

Don't know, but if you don't get an answer here, it might be a good idea to start a new thread with your question. I cannot imagine too many are following this one.

Normally I am not such a cheap Charlie but $2-300 seams a little greedy for a small cast iron casserole.

A little seamy, eh? No worries, everyone has, one place or another, a CCCOP ('Cheap Charlie Cut-Off Point').

i saw le creuset pans in the emporium.

Am I right in supposing that you mean the Emporium in Bangkok? I have not been able to find that there is an Emporium in Chiangmai.

I guess the OP is back to square one.

Drat! Can't say I am surprised, though, and many thanks for checking and reporting, NancyL (by the way, is the 'L' short for 'Leo'?).

Another bit of negative news....... Seeing your post (and being a Le Creuset fan myself) , I checked on my favourite www.verasu.com hoping to find it under "cookware". Clicking on that does bring up Le Creuset - but clicking on that now shows nothing available. Still, while a very long shot, it might be worth a call to them to ask. I'd say e-mail but we know where that gets us.........

Thanks for that, Steve2UK, but it is not news to me, in fact. I had done the same thing two days ago (that is, checked their website; I have not yet given them a call, but probably will). My plan for some time has been to search for what I want in Bangkok, and posting my query on this thread was a very long shot, just on the off- off-chance. Another inquiry on a different thread on another ThaiVisa forum has resulted in a couple of leads for Bangkok. If you are curious, a search for 'Le Creuset' should get you there (I don't remember in fact what forum it is).

I guess the OP is back to square one.

Drat! Can't say I am surprised, though, and many thanks for checking and reporting, NancyL (by the way, is the 'L' short for 'Leo'?).

I'm still going to Rim Ping tomorrow since we're out of Leo and will let you know what I find in the cookware section.

And? And? I am on tenterhooks! I am also, however, now on my way out, so will not be around to respond promptly to any news.

That's great . . . and a concert programme too!

Does anyone else feel the same when they are torn away from our home town?

I miss it, but perhaps not as much as you have been, since I don't go to non-tropical places in the winter time.

That said why do you want a specific colour?

So that the new pieces will go with the ones I already have.

Tu es a bit picky, mon ami. Aren't you ?

Since you put it so nicely, yes.

Thank you both.

Top French quality. Just buy it.

It'll break your tiles because it's cast iron

Bien sur, sir, but the question is . . . where?

Haven't your read NancyL's post, mon ami?

Reason for edit: I misspelled a 3 letter French word. My gawd!

By any chance, did you have it as 'mon dieu' the first time?

Yes, I have, and I eagerly await learning whether she finds the cast iron cookware there, because that is what I seek. Also, if they don't have the particular items I desire or don't have them in the colour I need, well, it's back to the drawing board, isn't it?

P.S. Too late to edit again, I think, but you have a four-letter word where a three-letter one is wanted.

Top French quality. Just buy it.

It'll break your tiles because it's cast iron

Bien sur, sir, but the question is . . . where?

Thank you, NancyL, I'll give it a try. Hope you enjoyed your supper!

Apologies, bonzor, but I am not quite sure I understand your post. If you are advising against buying Le Creuset because it will be dropped and break a floor tile, isn't that rather like advising against life because death is the only certain outcome?

Don't suppose anyone knows of a place in Chiangmai that sells it?

Does anyone have any more current information than this on who, if anyone, sells le Creuset cookware in Bangkok (or even better, for that matter, Chiangmai)? Based on its absence from their website today, it seems that Verasu may no longer carry it.

What happens to all the buddhas sold to tourists at the night bazar???

I would imagine that many of them get carried home by the tourists in their bags.

She can borrow mine.

I shiver -- with dread, not excitement -- to think of you in a ladies wetsuit.

Mrs MB and I have rather foolishly agreed to jump in a swimming pool on Saturday night. The problem is that she is extremely susceptible to the cold and her task would be made considerably more comfortable if she could borrow a ladies wetsuit. . . .

I shall try to play the hard man and do without

I imagine that, if all takes place as planned, you will have no difficulty whatsoever playing the . . . hard man.

Thank you for the recommendation. Any consideration I were to do of the organization would be done at a considerable length, between it and me.

Anyone have any idea how easy it would be to cycle through China to Mongolia or Harbin?

. . . . . If i have to leave Thailand after the next non-O visa, i might as well go back to the UK the roundabout way

I was in Mongolia once late in December. It was bloody cold. As in, as I recall, some ten or fifteen degrees below zero. When I commented to some locals on the cold, they laughed, said it was still quite warm and suggested that if I wanted cold I should come back in January or February. I did not take them up on their suggestion.

I advise you to time your bicycle trip to Mongolia well.

. . . It is not better than beef from Argentina, which is the best in the world. . .

I would be interested in trying it. To my taste, Japanese wagyu, such as Kobe beef, is the most delicious beef I have ever had. Is your view that beef from Argentina is the best in the world based on having tried Japanese wagyu?

More on topic, I have had quite good Australian beef in Chiangmai.

My country, through ignorance and massive denial, elected George Bush and Dick Cheney twice. Remembering that helps me keep Thai politics in perspective.

Mine elected a crazy garden gnome. I have no reason to look down on Thai people.

I do not say it would be better, but another conclusion would seem to be that you have reason to look down on both French and Thai people.

Happy trails, Angelai.

It never ceases to amaze me how quickly some members of TV jump to conclusions with such little facts.

It may well be the only exercise they ever get.

I think you'll find GDPJohn is an American and being ironic - I am sure no offence was intended.

I hope you'll find Jamesjimmy was being facetious - and that no offense was actually taken.