gejohesch

I have just gone there today. I saw a few paintings indeed, but that rather looked like stuff printed in series, and not really what I'm looking for. I understand everything has got its right price, and that equally applies to paintings. Even an unknown average artist will not sell anything for a few 100 bahts, but rather a few 1000's. Fine! I'm willing to put the price. Which brings me to Chatuchak (someone mentioned). I will keep looking around in Khon Kaen, on the occasion I pass there, but I am sure Chatuchak will have a lot more choice than anywhere else. Maybe one day passing through Bangkok, I will stop over for 1 or 2 days and check around Chatuchak. I wonder if I would buy for a sufficient amount, maybe the stuff could be sent (at a fee) to our house near Khin Kaen?

Interesting. You mean Baan&Beyond, obviously, on the main road between the Ton Tan market and Central, coming from the south, next to BigC?

Can be a good idea. Thanks!

Just a shame it's a bit far and I'm not driving to BKK anymore...

Is that in Khon Kaen? It's often difficult to find places with google map, spelling issues etc....

Sounds interesting, thanks!

OK, thanks! I see one DoHome big shop right outside KK, on the road direction Udon Thani. Can have a look one of these days!

As the title says, where can I buy paintings for decoration in Khon Kaen ? I mean the type of paintings one puts up on the wall to make the house look nicer and more interesting. If I google this up, I get quite a few returns, but as I live outside Khon Kaen and do not like so much driving endlessly around the city, I would prefer to go on someone's recommendations. Would anyone know? Thanks!

OK, thanks a lot, sounds like the bottom line advice! Indeed, they are not painted so the colour has to be declared "silver". Little or no corrosion, as you say, fits well with my observation concerning the old leftovers. So, tarpaulin on a frame of some sort + air circulation!

I'm replying to you, but this also is for all the others who have kindly commented on my initial post. First, I will keep the steel tubes, indeed closed sections, for some 10-12 months before using them for the new roof. Not longer. That would be doing the work in January next year. The reason I'm now delaying the work is that I'm leaving Thailand in a few days, and I absolutely do not want to have any work done on the house in my absence, even by a team of guys we have used a few times before and who do good work - certainly compared with a few others who disappointed me. I'm back for a good length of time between August and October. The job could be done them but I thought I would rather wait until January because of the risk of heavy rains. Right now, the tubes are neatly lined up, on cement blocks to keep them off the ground. I could space them up a bit more from each other to facilitate air ventilation. The idea of a tarpaulin cover but, again, with some ventilation space around, is easy to implement. I do not have enough space in the car port for the tubes. But, btw, I have had left over tubes from a previous roofing job (our second house just next door). It's exactly the same sort of steel as our new stock - they are white (or silver?), definitely not black - maybe that's the galvanised type (not sure...). The point is that the car port is not totally closed, it lets a lot of rain come in, and those old steel left overs (2 or 3 years) have not shown any sign of corrosion whatsoever. So I thought that leaving our new stock with no special treatment for 1 year would not be such an issue.

I bought a number of steel beams (6m long, 1.5mm thickness, various specs : 4" by 4", 4" by 2", 3" by 1.5") to make a new roof for my wife's house in Isan. They are now parked in our courtyard. However, I just decided not to go ahead and have the work done now, for personal reasons, but January next year. I'm concerned the steel will corrode, what with so many months left outside with the rain etc... I thought maybe I can buy strong and watertight tarpaulin-like material and wrap around the steel. Would that work?

Having been employed (as an expat advisor) for a few years in a very large Thai organisation, years ago, I can confirm : learning from others is not very much the Thai way. Yes, Thais may listen politely, but often any advise will be let to fly over their heads. And, btw, there cannot be much of a comparison with Singapore - totally different culture.

That's a good point. I did not think of that. Similarly, I remember that I get a travel insurance thrown in when booking with one of my CC's. I will check further.

That's a good question. In view of a few less than perfect experiences with the Schengen visa services in Bangkok (see above, myself and richard-smith-237), I would hesitate banking on that.

That link indeed does not open!

I'm not familiar with VFS, I guess that's the service to use for certain EU countries. Myself + partner, we have used TLS to apply for Schengen a number of times in the past, either for Spain, Portugal, France etc. TLS have their office in Sathorn. I used to be allowed in which was rather helpful as I could answer a number of questions directly. Last time we went there, however, I was nit let in. The guy who dealt with my partner caused a hell of a lot of an issue about the "missing itinerary". He could not understand that I invited my partner to stay with me at my permanent address in the EU, and therefore there was no "further itinerary" than that. Past that dumbwit, the visa was delivered in due course without any further questioning. This is just to say that some of the staff they have in those visa service offices seem to be rather incompetent ... or intellectually lazy (which is another type of incompetence).

Hahaha! Interesting comment! Maybe you have a point!

Hi! I'm planning a trip next year, myself + my Thai partner (been with her for 15 years already, so not just a GF!). Trip duration about 4 months, of which 3 in Schengen area and 1 month outside Schengen (Mexico to be exact). I hesitate between 2 insurance options, 1) with ALLIANZ = "Worldwide Hiphop"; and 2) with AXA =" Worlwide". Allianz would cost 3640 THB; AXA would charge 3061 THB. Both would provide sufficient coverage to qualify for a Schengen visa. I checked a few other options, e.g. Europe Assistance and Mondial Care. They would be significantly more expensive. As we hardly ever, maybe even never, had to put a claim to any travel insurance we've taken, I would not really see the point in paying over the odds for what could be a "more robust" insurance package. Therefore, I'm now looking hard at either ALLIANZ or AXA. Would anyone have any experience with those insurances that could be shared in this discussion? Thanks a lot in advance for your contributions!

That's a good comment. IN plain english, "Not getting involved seems part of the culture here" translates as "people don't give a <deleted> about (nearly) anything".

That's another issue indeed! I've been going regularly to the OTOP shop in town, while my wife does the market for fresh food. Always specified "not much sugar", in Thai (I speak it quite OK). The woman there always gave me one of those sweet iced coffees which I can hardly swallow down 😖. I think the woman must be a bit dumb....

Thanks, that's useful

Thanks, I will try via Lazada then (although I don't like their site much, too "busy" and confusing)

Not a single hill tribe area coffee I have tried suited me, that's why I posted here. I found all that "black and shiny" dark roast type that I don't like very much.

Like so many people, I love my coffee. I could say I'm addicted to coffee 😉. I grind the beans fresh to make coffee with a Minimex espresso machine at least twice a day, first thing when I wake up, and second when I emerge from my midday nap. My issue here is that I notice quite a difference when I use beans bought in Thailand or beans bought in Europe. I do not buy the most commercial beans (e.g. what can be found in Big C), I rather go for what I would call "specialty" beans from northern Thailand origin (I go to Makro for that purpose). The Thai beans are always very dark and shiny, which obviously indicates they are "high roast", and I find the result rather "earthy" and not very aromatic. That's why I bring coffee from Europe - obviously not "coffee grown in Europe" but coffee imported from the Americas or Africa etc - and I buy from coffee shops. A full kg bag would cost around 35-50 EUR. Those beans are always light brown and not shiny, so very different from the Thailand beans. The result is far better : less acidity, "sweeter", aromatic etc. That's the type of coffee I like and I don't mind paying extra for it! But I cannot bring several kgs of coffee in my luggage when I come to Thailand. So, sooner or later, I have to fall back on those dark and shiny thai beans. Help!

Thanks!