L&J
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Posts posted by L&J
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We have a house that has good ventilation and with the aid of ceiling fans and floor fans in
six years we have never used the air conditioners in the house. We are away in April and May,
which I would advise you do if possible, so we avoid the hottest, driest and most polluted time
of the year here.
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I had a policy through them and found the service to be really awful. However your policy is with an
Insurance Company so it will stay in effect no matter what happens to the broker. Of course come renewal
time you might have a problem locating the Insurance Company's office here in town and deal with
them directly. The only problem I see at moment is that if you paid for policy recently there might be
chance that AA didn't pay the Insurance Company and though your might have some paperwork it won't
mean you are actually insured.
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And how many of the money class from Bangkok, Singapore, Hong Kong and China did you research to check your hypothesis?
What on earth makes you think the rich from Singapore, HK and China will consider some rurual Thai non coastal town as a second residence? Are you some kind of property salesmen hoping to cash in?
Baerboxer:
It is amazing how very small some minds are in this town. There have been a number of articles in the press (though i doubt you read much) about the some of the major high end condo building taking place towards
Hang Dong is financed by Singapore money for Singapore residents. You must stay under a rock most of the day if you haven't noticed the influx of the Bangkok hi-so crowd. The real estate market in Hong Kong is absurdly overpriced with the mainland money buying up everything available. The rich Chinese don't want to live in China (too primitive for billionaires) and if only one in a hundred decide on CM for a second residence consider the effect. The rich don't want beaches overrun with tourists, hookers and the Russian mafia but want what they "think" is a nice size city, with full facilities, in a rural (read natural) setting. Please let me never run into you here as I already have met my quota of simple fools.- 1
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It is quite probable that Chiang Mai will in the next decade become a focal point for relocation/second residence for
the money class from Bangkok, Singapore, Hong Kong and China. The development that is taking place (Central Festival
and Promenada) is designed to fill the infrastructure "needs" of those people. Building a second airport and high speed rail
links are also part of what that group wants to have available. When the government finally decides to allow casino operations
it will complete the picture. The investments that are taking place are not designed to pay off big immediately but they will in another
five to ten years.
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I believe that Central will be the most successful but of course Airport Plaza will not suffer much as it will get the bulk of the business from the south of the city.
Promenada will probably do well within its narrow design as a shopping and entertainment complex. Without an anchor department store it was obviously never
designed to compete with Central & Airport.
Maya will survive on the walking/motorbike traffic but it will effectively destroy the Nimman Road business and make Kad Suan Kaew nothing more than a poor
shell of what little it is now.
I do believe that Central Festival will alter the whole orientation of Chiang Mai away from the city itself to the suburbs-East-North and South. The shopping will now
be dispersed around the city and that might prove to be a real positive factor as far as city traffic is concerned, except for the absolute gridlock that will be taking place
around the Maya.
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Thanks for all the helpful advice. Amazingly it is possible to ask a question here and get good answers.
I am to embark on the science experiments:
(There are a few simple tests you can do to test if the honey is real... They always do it at the local places in Florida. Just fill a clear measuring cup or clear glass with water and pour some of the honey in.... If it dissolves or thins out, its fake. If it stays together in clumps, then its real. Also, I think honey is flammable too... The fake stuff wont be)
and see what I find. Somehow when I look at the older lady selling me the "honey" I am reluctant to think she has created some fake product and I am usually very skeptical in these matters.
I did consider the botulism risk but after some reading up on that it appears to be a very low risk-EXCEPT FOR INFANTS!
I think that in the future i will go to the Royal Project Store as that may satisfy my interest in avoiding all the greedy middlemen.
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Are there good reasons not to buy the honey that is sold in the the bottles in all the local markets?
I prefer to think I'm helping out the little guy rather than getting it in the supermarkets or Makro, but
are there legitimate risk in using this kind of honey, other than finding a few ants floating around in it?
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Some Comments on Nancy L 's posting:
1. You do NOT need to make an appointment at the USA Consulate to pick-up your new passport-you go any Tuesday or Thursday and get it..
2. I feel it is really pathetic if there are Americans who feels the need to avoid the USA Consulate on a September 11th. That is the kind of
stupidity that plays directly into the hands of the miscreants that think they can intimidate and frighten people to their ends. Why not just
emigrate to Canada and have a maple leaf tattooed to your forehead?
3. I carry my Passport to the Bank, to Immigration and when driving out of region- the rest of the time there is absolutely no need to have it on your person.
In six years we have never been asked to show it anywhere except on official business. Carry a good photocopy if you really think you'll need it
Carrying it around is a great way to find out the holy mountain of S*** you'll be in if you lose it.
4. The "jumbo" USA passport (it is hardly jumbo) costs absolutely nothing more than the smaller one. However if the "jumbo" is too heavy to carry and if you
do decide to get extra pages in the next 10 years the extra weight will be balanced off by the $84 that will be coming out out your wallet.
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The American Consulate here in Chiang Mai gives you a letter for the visa transfer along with your new passport.
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I had appointment and dropped it off on June 4th- got notified on June 14th that it could be picked up. However you can only pick them
up on Tuesday or Thursday so I picked it up the next Tuesday June 18th-so effectively two weeks. NOTE: Make sure your passport
photo fits the template on the form exactly and make sure you check the box for the extra page passport.
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Brings to mind a piece I read a while back by a wine expert who was criticizing the "accepted" practice of making Rose wines by mixing red and white wines.
He said "it is totally possible to take alcohol, water, coloring and flavors and replicate the taste of any bottle of wine, so why not do it"?
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Much like Immigration there is never a definitive answer as what the Moderator will do with a topic. Since it mentioned
Visa requirements I would have totally expected it to go to another place. Which it may well have done otherwise.
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There is never a definitive answer to your question. When you get to Immigration they will always find something they need that you don't have.
You need the photo and you need copies of any/all the previous visas you have had. BTW you question is soon to banished to the Visa/Immigration
forum by your "friendly" moderator.
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It is very obvious that the locked doors are "designed" to insure that nobody gets into the show with paying for it.
Reminds of the news story out of Peru a couple months ago where dozens of people died in a night club fire because
when the fire started the bouncers at the door wouldn't let people out until they had first paid their bills. Management
waited until the place was engulfed in flames before they changed their policy.
At KSK theaters the doors have a bar across them that looks exactly like the "panic bars" that are required everywhere
else in the world where safety is a concern. However these aren't panic bars there is a handle behind these fixed bars
that must be turned to open the doors. Forgive me if this has changed any time recent as since KSK went to virtually
dubbing all films in Thai I haven't been back to that firetrap.
I will mention it to CITYLIFE as we do know that every time they expose some gross problem in the community that
immediate and decisive action is undertaken to correct it. "I'm only kidding" I do appreciate their sincerity and it isn't
CITYLIFE's fault no one will pay attention.
On another note that relates to SF Cinema's need to make sure everyone pays for their movie. At several of the "free"
showings at the EU Film Festival we have noticed young Thais with their buckets of popcorn and 2 liter soft drinks get
up after 10 minutes of the "free" film and disappear out the back door. Do you think they mistakenly wander into
Superman-Man of Steel" after visiting the restroom? They never come back to the "free" movie.- 1
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I continue to notice finding this happening at the theaters in town, including last night at the SF Cinema
at Promenada. The crowd is directed down the steps to exit at the front of the theater only to find that the
exit door is latched at the top and won't open. The first person to the door fiddled around with it for a short while
and finally gets it open. Of course fiddling around with it in a real emergency might not be as effective
Is there anywhere else in the world where they "allow" exit doors to be locked from the inside? I won't accept
an explanation that an usher is suppose to unlock the door when the show is over as that totally ignores what
would happen in the case of a real emergency during a show.
Would anyone in "authority" care about this problem, or are movie theaters ignored just like the music clubs
where dozens of people die in fires because of locked exit doors?
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Sorry in earlier post I tried to remember the prices for seats and only got them partially right.
The following is how the actual pricing goes:
There are three types of seats. Deluxe- seats at the front of the theater
Premium- the seats behind them=slightly larger than Deluxe
Sweet Seats- the lounge type seats in the very back-note you must purchase
both seats not just one
Pricing is as Follows: Monday- Tuesday- Deluxe 130- Premium 150- Sweet- 350
Wednesday Deluxe 100 - Premium 120- Sweet 350
Thursday-Sunday- Deluxe 150 - Premium 170- Sweet 450
There is a slightly reduced cost for Students but no reduction for Seniors.
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I believe the regular seats are 130 baht and on Wednesdays it is 100 baht (except for releases being made that day). The 300 baht (actually think it is more than that) is for the
large sofa type seats in the back row of the theatre . IMO those are the worst seats in the house anyway
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I have no idea how theatres here work their rentals but do know from trying to organize charity fundraisers in the USA
that the theatre charges you for every seat at the rate they would be selling tickets for that theatre. Obviously they never
sell every seat in the house but they force you to buy every seat at their rate if you want to use their facilities. Would not
be shocked to hear that is the way it is done here.
Might also add at this point that in the eleven days the Film Festival runs only two films were scheduled to finish after
9PM and most ended before 8:45 leaving plenty of time to get the shuttle. The "Invitation Only Reception" film did also
end after 9PM only because it started at 7:30 not 7PM. However all the free wine and snacks should have compensated
for the cost of the taxi.
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Just a few points:
You observed:
- I've run businesses and know when a business isn't living up to the promises it makes to their customers. I also know the consequences for the business.
I lived here six years and if every business that didn't live up to its promises closed this place would be a ghost town. Since you admit to never intending on shopping
at the Prom I am not sure you even qualify as a "customer"?
Surely, the EU film festival isn't aiming for a target audience of people who live in distant gated communities, and limit their shopping to places that accommodate their cars.
I have always feared that the EU Film Festival would figure out that the vast majority of the audience for the film festival is NOT Thai, which I believe is their target audience and
it is just a bunch of us ex-pats who just want to see the films. BTW we do go to the free movies but we also have traveled over Asia, Europe and North America attending film
festivals that are anything but free. With the extreme budget problems with the EU they are probably assessing what kind of projects to cut in the future and a film festival in
Thailand that draws mostly European and North American ex-pats probably would be high on the list to axe. The fact that they cut the film showings in half this year makes
such a possibility quite likely.
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We driven in easily parked the car, in the middle of the afternoon and evening , and went to the films
and shopped without a complaint.
As I have mentioned before maybe the Prom management doesn't see motorbike arrivals
as their "target customers". It wouldn't take a market research expert to explain that decision.
I have always been annoyed by the KSK parking fee but have never had any trouble finding a
place to park there as opposed to the nightmare with "free" parking at Airport Mall.
I might be wrong though as obviously we have an expert on mall management that feel that the Prom is
"just poorly executed and managed". They obviously opened prematurely, but given that fact they have
managed to be relatively successful in our experience. Six months from now maybe our expert on mall management
will feel different if she can get a free ride out to visit again.
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Interesting note but I doubt that will override the EU involvement in the Prom.After attending the EU Film Festival for
the last seven years I don't think it actually produces much in the way of collateral spending in the malls. In the
past many of the attendees sat in the same seat for six to eight hours while hauling in their bag of food and drink.
Not exactly the kind of "shoppers" a mall wants to attract. SF Cinema will also probably want to put it at whichever
of their outlets loses less money for them.
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I must admit that we cheated and actually drove by Promenada (going to start to refer to it as the PROM as that is how they are branding it) early in the week to see where the entrances were so we
had no problem driving into the parking area and exiting the parking area after the film. They do need to put up some signs at the entrance
points. One very positive is that the spaces in the parking area were actually large enough to accommodate even the monster SUVs and trucks.
It is good information that the "free" shuttles aren't available after 9PM so if you choose not to have your own transportation be prepared to
pay something for your "free" movie.
Seriously they built the Prom for people with automobiles and young people with motorbikes, they really aren't concerned with a relative handful of people
who live in the city without transportation. It is only public relations that has them providing the free shuttle service and if nobody uses it they will discontinue it
quickly. You should also consider that the Prom was built by the Dutch and they are managing it so it would be unlikely that the EU Film Festival is going
to move to the green tea Maya Mall which has no EU connection at all. CM is Thailand's second biggest city and with all the problems in Bangkok the investment
is coming here so if you don't like development there are still some villages you can move to that won't have shopping malls and condos for a few more years. In the meantime
good luck in your efforts to put the genie back in the bottle, that always works here in the LOS.
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The film schedule for EU FILM FESTIVAL for
Thursday 13 June 7pm - Germany- ''3''--
Description of film- Hanna & Simon have been a couple for 20 years. They live side by side in combative harmony.
Then without knowing about each others action, fall in love with the same man, Adam.
This film received a 45% rating on the Rottentomato website.
Free tickets are distributed starting a half hour before the film.
Transferring Car Ownership
in Chiang Mai
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We are selling a car to another farang and need to know what the
process is to do this? We own the car and the buyer is paying cash
so no bank involvement. Have bought and sold cars in the past but
only through Thai dealers so they did all the paperwork after I signed
a couple papers. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks