schmangle

MrBrad - excellent detective skills, thanks for the map

marcusmarsh - brilliant news, i can finally lose the 10 kgs I've been dragging around

I live in Don Kaew area and use 3BB premier. The Indy was terrible (but I use internet for work so need fast speeds). There are occasional "server down" days, but not that many... Customer service is okay - service center people speak english, the technicians who phone you back don't.

As per MrBrad, I've also never located the "Mae Rim" 3bb office, I think it may be an urban legend.

PS. I thought Platinum Fitness Centre was closed?

Agree with Nienke.

The superhighway is the superhighway.

3029 is วงแหวนรอบที่ 1 or usually just วงแหวน 1 (1st Ring Road). I live just off this ring road, and 99% of Thai people who I've given directions to have known which one that is. Runs from just in front of the Sala Glang Chiang Mai, runs past Rimping and Payap Uni, and eventually joins up with Hang Dong Road just after the Tesco

The 121 is วงแหวน 2 (2nd Ring Road). Not quite sure where that one ends up.

Nancy Chandler agrees with us too

In Chiang Mai, they have a computer outside the testing room that you can practice on before taking the test. It contains, I think, 50 questions, so run through the test a few times and you will have answered all the possible questions, and should be able to memorize most of the answers (especially the wrong (right) ones!).

My bf just realized that his first entry on his double-entry tourist visa expires today (2 months).

1. Is it possible to wait 3 more days (6,7,8th) until Immigration opens again in Chiang Mai, pay the overstay and get a 30 day extension?

2. If not, will he have any problems paying for 1 day overstay at Mae Sai and coming back in again on his next 2 month entry?

Trust me Bina, I thought looooong and hard as I sat inside cozily while little bird sat outside in the rain for 5 hours... I just couldn't do it.

Regarding being caged, the last bird this guy had was allowed to fly around, cage door was open at all times. It stuck around for years, then one day disappeared. I wouldn't just give this bird to somebody I did not think would take very good care of it (ie. stick it in a tiny cage all day long).

Letting nature take its course is a tough one - I had an HIV cat who died recently (well, it feels like recently) and that topic was all I thought about all day long for many days. After a week of slow starvation when he just couldn't eat anything, I had him put down and I'm happy with the choice I made.

PS. Back to the baby birds, an easy alternative to a cardboard box, for those who can't find/make a cage instantly, is to use one of those plastic washing basket type things they sell at every single market. They have a flat bottom and holes in all the sides (come in various sizes). You can poke sticks of different sizes through the holes to make a perch at different levels, and change the newspaper at the bottom easily. Special food for myna birds is sold at all the pet shops - B25 for a medium packet.

We live in Chiang Mai and buy all our baking supplies from a shop called Peuen Krua (Kitchen Friend). If you're in BK, I would think you could find yeast at the supermarkets, especially those in more "farangey" areas. Good luck with the baking

We managed to make baquettes and rolls - never tried an entire loaf. It took several tries as the temperature control and heat distribution is way off. We have to turn the tray around halfway through cooking or one side gets burnt. Its worth experimenting - the successes we did have were very edible

Hi Bina

Thanks for the info. One of those little mini-miracles happened today. My landlord had to come in to fix something in the house, and on the desperate off-chance I asked him if he'd like a bird. Turns out he had one for years and is more than happy to adopt this one - knows all about what to feed it, has a cage already, hooooraaaaayy. Thanks universe.

PS. Being a good citizen is my absolute downfall, this is how I came to own all my cats (thankfully, have never run across any stray puppies or would have added those to the horde).

Loud cheeping heard, feeding time...

thanks again

Advice needed.

About 1 week ago, my cats brought a baby myna bird into the house. I had no idea where the nest was, where the parents were, so no option to put it back where it came from. There are zillions of myna birds where I live, no idea which "group" it belongs to. Tried leaving it out in a fairly "open" bush then disappearing. After 5 hours, it had fallen out of the bush and was trying to hide under some leaves. No birds had tried to visit it (was spying out of the window about 30 meters away). I live in the countryside about 20 kms from Chiang Mai, but currently moving much nearer to the city.

Bird is now living in a cardboard box, eating mushed up adult myna bird food, bananas, worms from my herb plants, and growing, pooping and cheeping like crazy. Going by other photos on the internet, I judge it to be about 2 weeks old - can sort of crawl around, has to be hand fed, stomach and back feathers just growing in, wing feathers and tail feathers developing fast.

I have absolutely no desire to keep it as I'm very opposed to caged birds (and the 2 cats would probably cause a problem ) so my questions are:

1. What can I do as it gets older to help it learn to fend for itself? Should I change its diet, and if so, when? And would a cage be better than the yucky cardboard box its in now (plus towel)?

2. How do I "repatriate" this bird? At what age/growth stage could I leave it to fend for itself? Would it be best to return it to the original location or could I just release it anywhere (obviously not on a major highway)?

Any and all advice very welcome.

PS. I know its an invasive species etc etc so please, I really don't need any replies along the lines of "you should have wrung its neck"

Why not ry a meditation camp for 10 days over this time frame and see if that works.

Oh yes, brilliant advice. We all have the time to do this, none of us having real jobs or responsibilities such as taking care of kids or idiotic husbands... (insert rolling eyeballs smilie x 100)

If it does not help you, think buddhism and how much it would be helping your husband.

WFT? No buddhism text I ever read even vaguely related to this - is this kinda like "close your eyes and think of england"???

Well, its all about mind over matter.....

Ermm, yes, but we're not all so highly evolved on the spiritual chain of gurudom - next time you go to the dentist, do it without any pain injections. All mind over matter right?

***flame removed****sbk

Back to the Vitamin B from Lioness:

I suffered hugely from PMS, and from debilitating cramping, bloating, severe depression, confusion during my period. After trying some truly bizzare cures (one of which included drinking sheep's blood), some wonderful doctor eventually suggested combination high-dosage Vitamin B tablets to me years back. You need to take them every day without fail, and got me they totally eliminated all PMS symptoms, as well as the bloating and cramps. In my home country, only available via prescription.

In Thailand, they are over the counter medication called PrinciB Forte. Do not work for everyone, but for me, were total life savers. Added bonus, all the vitamin B makes you feel super, spring-out-of-bed-in-the-morning perky. I would advise checking with your doctor first, as they contain very high doses of B6, which can be dangerous for some people. And totally agree with Kat, diet is a huge part as well. And an understanding partner who knows when to just wander off without taking offense is an absolute godsend.

As a former crack addict and crystal methamphetamine addict, I think i can appreciate at least a little bit where she is coming from. I moved to Thailand and thanks to total lack of connections, had no access to these drugs for years and am now 100% clean.

My personal thoughts:

1. Do NOT send her cash

2. Do spend money trying to move her out of what sounds like a terrible environment. Could you set her up with an apartment in a different city? It sounds like where she is right now is just compounding the problem.

3. She won't listen to people who have no idea of exactly how powerful addiction is. (sorry to have to say this, but that includes you)

5. When I was an addict, the last people I could have talked to about it were my parents

4. The website www.bluelight.ru has a large number of people struggling with all sorts of addictions and with valuable and real support to offer.

6. For yourself, definitely join a support group - I can't imagine how heart-rending it is for a parent to feel so helpless in this situation. From my personal experience, there is NOTHING my parents could have done to help me, and I have the most amazing wonderful beautiful parents.

If you would like to talk about more personal issues, please PM me.

Vichaiyut phone no: 02 - 618 6200

There is a female gyne at Vichayut hospital on Rama 6 Road. Not as expensive as Bumrungrad etc, and she is friendly and lovely - down to earth, funny, non-judgmental. Her staff are just as nice. You need to phone to make an appointment as she's very busy, and works odd hours. I can't recommend her enough.

Maybe you can find some info online for your girlfriend beforehand, so she has some idea what to expect. I was petrified the first time i went to a gynae as well - afterwards couldn't believe how easy, non-painful and non-embarrassing the whole thing was. I actually didn't have a PAP the first few times I went, but its a really essential test for sexually active women.

It would also be a good idea if you read the instructions for her pill - its possible she's not taking it correctly, its the wrong pill for her, she's been taking antibiotics. Make sure she asks the gynae all about this, and fully understands all the information. Also, Thai pharmacies sell some really crappy cheap birth control pills, make sure she takes a good, well-known one.

PS. Kudos to you for caring enough to post, you sound like one of the good guys

hi Jorinda

Re your Dad: I guess if he hasn't been to Asia or travelled that much himself, it would seem scary to him. I think the best you can do is give him lots of solid information = where will you be staying, will you have friends/helpful people around you, will he be able to contact you easily etc.

Show him photos of the nicer parts of Bangkok, the skytrain, places that look like home (shopping centers, malls, McDonalds) so he can see its not just all exotic weirdness. Explain to him that Bangkok is full of people at all hours - you have people selling food, going to work, people out and about 24 hours. You'll very seldom be walking down a deserted road anywhere. All apartment blocks have security guards

You're welcome to contact me as well if you're in Bangkok, or your Dad is welcome to phone me. I've been here 11 years (arrived when I was 25)

With regards to personal safety, i wont take motorbike taxis on the big roads, and I take a wide detour or cross the road if i see an obviously drunk/wasted guy in my path (too many memories of yaba psychotics with knives from a few years back.)

Just to add my 2 cents to the taxi debate:

I've never had a scary time with a taxi, incredibly irritating and frustrating yes, but scary no. Stay alert, watch where you're going. I"ve had a few shady characters who kept watching me in the mirror, asking if I'd been drinking or if i wanted to go for dinner with them, sigh. Respond briefly and in a cold voice, then do the telephone trick - babble away to thin air. If you're catching a taxi late at night on your own, try to get a friend to stand with you, look at the number etc. Normal thinking applies: don't get in a taxi obviously drunk, don't fall asleep in a taxi if you're on your own. If you feel funny, trust your instincts and get out. Having an idea of the route you should be taking and where exactly you are going helps too.

And to the poster who said

Well, if the young woman in question has not travelled alone to foreign countries, Thailand is not the place to start.

I have to totally disagree - in the tourist areas, most people speak english, the public transport is brilliant, there is a LOAD of information about Thailand for backpackers (Lonely Planet, Internet), most people are friendly and helpful, there are ATMs, international phones, police and security guards, good hospitals, lots of fellow travellers - why do you think thailand isn't a good place to start??

First my condolences to her family. For their sake, I hope that this can be quickly resolved, with the correct person/s charged and jailed.

I was happy to see that after the usual hysterical outcry about thailand going down the drain, being so super dangerous blah blah blah, saner voices prevailed.

Thailand is not a safe place for a single female tourist or long-stayer for that matter.

Single females should think hard before coming to the Kingdom of Thailand.

This is just utter rubbish. I'm a single female, lived here 11 years. In that time, one attempted bag snatch.

Admittedly, I come from South Africa which has some of the highest crime rates in the world, so my "danger" sensors are possibly more finely tuned than those of people from supposedly "safer" countries.

I think many people have overly idyllic visions of the countries they visit, and let their guard down a lot more than they would in their home country.

In this particular case, it seems like a case of wrong place at the wrong time. Its possible somebody followed her, its possible somebody was hanging out there. We don't know. Its a tragic death, as are all deaths from random violence. And its huge in the media because it SELLS. I don't think its indicative of Thailand now being a very dangerous place from which we should all run shrieking and screaming. If assaults like this became so commonplace that they didn't make headlines, then i would certainly start running.

Violence against thai women (which does occur in frightening numbers) is not big news so receives little to no media coverage. For those concerned about the situation, how about donating to Women's Centers for victims of abuse?

For anyone wanting to get out of Bangkok over New Year, there is a 3 day party down in Krabi. Liking psytrance would pretty much be a requirement...

All the info can be found here: http://www.hotel-krabi.com/greenspirit//html/info/info.htm

Thinking about heading to Krabi for Christmas and am wondering if there is anything interesting going on for the holiday. Can someone recommend a place for a nice Christmas dinner?

Sorry, no ideas for Xmas, but if you can hang out until the 30th, there is a 3 day outdoor festival - psytrance. http://www.hotel-krabi.com/greenspirit//html/info/info.htm.

I'm coming down from BK, so PM me if you can make it and would like to meet up :-)