Bananaman

Definately

This is undoubtedly the most annoying written mistake as far as I'm concerned. Non-native speakers I can forgive but when I see educated folk misspelling 'definitely' it irks me something silly.

All these written faux pas, however, pale into insignificance when compared with the spoken evil that spews forth from the mouths of some of the UK's less polished council estate dwellers. "Borrow us a tenner, will yoh?", translating as "be kind enough to lend me ten pounds will you please kind sir?". Urgghh!

Get out of there as soon as you can. Don't go kidding yourself that air like this isn't going to have some serious impact on your health from long term exposure. After 6 years of breathing the filth that constituted air during the dry season in Chiang Mai, I developed marked respiratory symptoms and decided enough was enough. It took me another year to organise the move but within a few weeks of having escaped the city, my symptoms had gone. Hopefully I've avoided irreversible damage but had I remained there till I was old and grey then I think it would have been a different matter. If surfaces in your house are covered in black dust then it's in your lungs as well. Ask yourself seriously can that be doing you any good?

Japanese TV talent show Mascarade. Masses of it on youtube and really funny...

That's the one Dana. Cheers mate. Dunno if it's still showing on UBC 'cause I'm not in LOS right now.

Found the official website in case anyone wants to check out more of it. It is genuinely hilarious, often amazing and invariably entirely surreal.

http://www.ntv.co.jp/kasoh/past_movie/index.html

Trying to remember the name of a totally bizarre Japanese show that I caught a couple of times on UBC last year (possibly on the eXcite channel). It was on in the evening and had kids and adults giving some of the most surreal performances I've ever seen.

Anyone else watched it and know the name or have a copy of the True schedule to hand to check it out for me?

Cheers

Takeshi's Castle?

No, it's not Takeshi's Castle. It's a show that has weird acts such as people appearing to lose limbs or objects appear to move unassisted or fly but are actually being moved by people in tight suits that are the same colour as the background they are set against. I've found clips of it on youtube but still have no clue to what it's called.

Check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21v4PWz8o_E

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tt8F7umsqK8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7R_jyRr4lLA

Trying to remember the name of a totally bizarre Japanese show that I caught a couple of times on UBC last year (possibly on the eXcite channel). It was on in the evening and had kids and adults giving some of the most surreal performances I've ever seen.

Anyone else watched it and know the name or have a copy of the True schedule to hand to check it out for me?

Cheers

It's horses for courses I guess but I gotta say Khun Mae in Tops serves possibly the worst jay food I've eaten anywhere in CM. On other threads I've always given the thumbs up to Tien Sieng, the Taiwanese-Thai veggie place at Prappoklao near CM Gate and I stand by that recommendation if you're looking for somewhere clean and cheap to eat khao raad during the day. Of an evening (or anytime for that matter) the Blue Diamond off Moon Muang soi 7 is always a good bet. Though its Thai veggie food is definitely tailored to western palates, it's always tasty, never overcooked (veggies are crispy and crunchy) and is served remarkably quickly irrespective of how busy the place is. What I also like about the Blue Diamond is that they are generally very accommodating of specific dietary requirements and while they don't always get it spot on you can usually order your dish with "none of this" and "more of that" if you desire.

According to the PCD website, the PM10 count was 370 yesterday. What's going on? Is that an error or what?

I need to purchase something that I can't get here

fake dreadlocks? im intrigued... what could be at Khao San that you cant get here?

ah ha! fake degree in Applied Physics!? ASTV press pass?

It is something made locally but purporting to be made elsewhere and by an international organisation but I'm sure forum rules forbid me from discussing items of this nature, hence my need to be somewhat less than specific.

If you get less specific than that you will become bloody VAGUE !

I am talking about documentation that's less than authentic but appearing to be otherwise, so SomNamNah was pretty spot on.

I need to purchase something that I can't get here

fake dreadlocks? im intrigued... what could be at Khao San that you cant get here?

ah ha! fake degree in Applied Physics!? ASTV press pass?

It is something made locally but purporting to be made elsewhere and by an international organisation but I'm sure forum rules forbid me from discussing items of this nature, hence my need to be somewhat less than specific.

Blinky Bill really does have a good heart.

double post

Blinky Bill really does have a good heart.

I'm sure you're right. Now I wonder is there any way we can arrange for it to be removed and transplanted into a needy recipient?

God's knows why you would want to visit that hideous tourist trap but if you have a plan to and are of charitable character then you might be in a position to do me a huge favour (it doesn't involve collecting teddy bears stuffed with narcotics from any dodgy characters in bars). I need to purchase something that I can't get here as far as I know and I don't have time to go there myself. Any kind persons out there in a position to help? PM me if you can.

Cheers

I'm leaving Thailand for a while before the middle of next week and have several hundred microlet lancets (they fit most blood letting devices) that I don't have space for. For any type 1 or type 2 diabetics who tests their blood sugar regularly, these could be useful. PM me if you want them.

I don't eat meat or fish and primarily for moral reasons so I am often genuinely appalled at the brutal treatment of animals intended for food in this country. What I really can't understand is why most fish sellers at the market keep the live ones in an inch of water so the poor things are just slowly suffocating. Why can't they just add a foot of water so that the fish are at least covered and relatively comfortable before having to endure whatever other atrocities the seller has in store for them?

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated" –Mohandas Gandhi.

i think the responses here clearly demonstrate what a smug and superior group of people the TV memebership can be.

get over yourselves.

you have grown up 1 or 2 brainwashed generations earlier than most of thailand. you have spent your lives in societies that have felt the need to write warnings explaining the dangers of the burning end of the mosquito coil and the risk in a hot cup of coffee. you have had the education drilled into you for years and now you believe it is common sense.

your mothers drank whiskey and smoked cigarretes while pregnant, were they stupid and uncaring too?

So, you're telling me that it's not common sense for an adult to know that several tons of steel hurtling towards a child is a potential hazard or that anything excessively hot, burning or smouldering should be kept well out of reach of young hands? Common sense is exactly what it is and therein lies the problem, as this would seem to a quality decidedly absent from the heads of some members of the population.

I'm with the OP on this one 100%. Not to tar an entire nation with the same brush but there are plenty of folk in this country that don't put their brain in gear at all where the safety of their kids is concerned.

The gym I go to has a sign on the door that says quite clearly in English and Thai "No one under the age of 16 allowed in" and yet there are fools who insist on bringing their kids with them and just letting them run amok while they get on with their workout; irrespective of the plethora of potential hazards that are afoot. There's one guy who comes in regularly and always brings his son, who is perhaps only about five or six years old. Anyway not so long ago his son was sat on a flat bench, the kind with a barbell rack attached and I, admittedly through sheer clumsiness, caught the tip of one side of the bar as I walked past and it fell from the rack and landed on the seat (there weren't any weight plates on it luckily). It missed the kid by inches, narrowly avoiding a serious accident. Now I grant you that it was entirely my fault but had the bar landed on an adult the damage would've been considerably less than if it had landed on the kid. The father, who was sitting close by just didn't seem that concerned by the event and has continued to bring the boy with him as usual ever since. I guess the guy will wait until the kid breaks a limb or loses an eye or something equally nasty before he questions the sanity of bringing him to the gym.

Come on kids, this cheeky little feline is still looking for a good home. He's well and truly recovered from his previous ailments and is in full kitten mode right now and would bring a smile to anyone whose life might be lacking in them. Surely somebody out there must be in a position to take him in.

Would be very interested to know if there's a way to actually view the whole online form without actually completing it online.

My wife will be applying soon and I'd just like to know the layout/questions in preparation.

Any ideas?

There isn't any way to view the whole online form, not that I managed to find anyway, which is a major oversight in its design to my mind. I've been all the way through the form and it's painfully slow, even on a 2MB connection and if you get all the way to the end and decide you want to change something from an earlier section, you have to backtrack page by page, which can take an age. It's really badly designed full stop in fact. For the section where it asks what you intend to do in the UK it wouldn't allow us to type more than seven words and for the 'extra information' section at the end, we didn't get even half way into saying what we wanted before we'd used up all the available characters. There are some sections where you might not know an answer and there's no option to say so or skip the question. I gave up in the end and went with the good old fashioned paper affair. Here's the link to that if you can't find it, as it's not terribly easy to find now:

http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/resources/en/docs/1903073/vaf1

Hey Bananaman,

Its heartwarming to read something like that. Thank you for your care and consideration for 'Scruffles' (who looks very cute!).

If you cannot find a home for him, i know of a temple which only has cats on the premises, as a last resort for you. The cats are well fed and looked after, and has many visitors (including westerners) who go to see them.

You can pm me for details if it comes to that, but i do hope someone out there can take him. There is no substitute for a loving home.

Hey Eek

I'm aware of Wat Pa Pao and it was my initial thought when I considered what to do with this poor forlorn little guy but then I thought I'd see if anyone here might want him first. I can't keep him myself for any number of reasons but I surely would if I could 'cause he's a real heart warmer!

I found Scruffles on Wednesday evening cowering beneath a car in the midst of the madness of Loi Kratong at one of the city's busiest locations. He's was scared, hungry and not in great shape, so I took him home. He's only a few weeks old and presented with a large abscess on his chin, a bruise to his ribs and some extremely gunky eyes. Anyway after a trip to the vet yesterday to drain the abscess and get his other ailments tended to, I brought him back home. He's had a day of love, attention and antibiotics and is already appearing a whole lot livelier and starting to get that cheeky scamp quality that kittens of his age typically display. He's quite demanding in that he cries to be picked up all the time, so anyone who takes him needs to be prepared to give him plenty of attention and affection. He may or may not require further visits to the vet depending on how he fares in the immediate future.

Anyone interested in giving this slightly sorry looking but exceedingly cute little feller a good home, please send me a PM.

I'm planning to return to the UK for an indefinite period fairly soon and would like my Thai girlfriend to join me for the full six months that a visitor visa permits. She's already visited once for a short holiday 2 years ago and got the visa on the strength of having a good and stable job to return to at the end of the trip. Since I'll be out of work initially and we'll both be staying with my parents for possibly the entire six months and she will have to quit the job in order to be able to stay that long, I have fears for our chances of getting this visa. How questionable is it to apply for the visa on the basis that she's only planning to stay for a short while again and will return to the job afterwards then later "change our plans" after the visa has been granted? Though strictly speaking this is not being entirely truthful, a genuine scenario such as this could well occur. She could for example be laid off from the job while we were in the UK and decide to stay longer than planned. I could put it another way and say: 'Is it ok to change one's travel plans after a visa has been granted?"

She would definitely return at the end of the six months but my concern is that a future application for settlement might be affected if it comes to the embassy's attention that my lady stayed longer than she had suggested she would on her visitor visa application.

Any thoughts?

Yeah, I read this last week and also thought of posting about it. I wonder if it's just sent to everyone or if they do actually note the IP addresses of those playing online and mail the individual if they're playing from an address in a country where gambling is illegal. There are of course always those tools that we're not allowed to discuss on here, that could be used to circumvent this. Seems to me that Camelot could be on some pretty dodgy ground in refusing to pay out a winner under these circumstances but I ain't a lawyer so what do I know!

Common sense is decidedly lacking in this country, not to say that it's an exclusively Thai trait by any stretch, but a percentage of the locals do seem to excel where illogical thinking patterns are concerned. A clothing stall at an indoor market I know has a sign that says "Not try, Not change, Not refund". Common sense would tell any fool that the imposition of a combination of such rules does not add up to a clever business strategy. It's hardly rocket science but somewhere along the line the shop owner just didn't consider how customers might be put off from making purchases at his stall when they're not, at the very least, even allowed to try items on. Go figure.

I've not had time to read through all of the posts on this thread so forgive me if somebody else has already addressed this point. The OP says somewhere down the first page that the ear infection is fungal in which case all you folk suggesting antibiotic ear drops are way off. Using antibiotic drops on a fungal ear infection will only increase the problem, as it will further upset the flora balance in the ear canal, allowing the fungus (possibly candida albicans or sthg similar) that has already gotten the upper hand, to increase its presence.

If the Chinese medicine does not work then the clotrimazole (anti-fungal) eardrops you can get from most pharmacies should do the trick. Alternatively, tea tree oil diluted in extra virgin coconut oil is a good natural solution. The tea tree oil is highly anti-fungal and the coconut oil contains caprylic acid that has a similar fungicidal action.

Interesting that this thread should reappear some seven months after I originally started it and interesting also is that Jerusalem's second branch at the Meechok Plaza is now no more. It shut down at least a month ago, which means it can't have lasted more than about six months in total. Maybe old Mama's colourful behaviour is what keeps the Thapae branch running so successfully or maybe the new one closed down 'cause her hubby, who manned it, just couldn't stand being away from her for the best part of the day!