L&J

The good news /bad news depending on how you read it. Hard Rock Cafe generally promotes the

planned openings of HRC around the world on their website. There is no mention of any planned for

Chiang Mai so would be very surprised if one is happening.  The possibility of a fake HRC opening is

slim as Thailand has gotten so much crap about copyright infringement that the blatant advertising of a

fake one wouldn't go down well with the generals, unless one of them is the chief investor.

Must give note to  HRC  for one thing- no matter where you eat in one anywhere in the world you are going to

pay the same inflated price for your food/drink-no discounting for their costs or the slave wages they are paying the staff.

Was curious to know if anybody was aware of an American reality series called "Better Late Than Never" filming in Chiang Mai

in the last year?  It "stars" William Shatner, Henry Winkler, George Foreman and Terry Bradshaw as four old guys backpacking through Asia, as

they can't find anything else to do it would seem. The series is being promoted on NBC to start on August 23rd.

Can  imagine that those four characters would have a hard time being low profile while in CM.

Wow it is amazing (actually totally expected) that a new person would attempt to make friends and get

torn asunder over everything in his note but his name. Suppose someone will find something about that

to slander shortly. Really miss the denizens of TV -NOT!

Maybe this has been mentioned previously but if there is a Mail-in 90 Day Report-never used it myself- WHY can't people just show-up at Immigration

and fill-out the Mail-in 90 Day Report and put it in a BOX located right there? What makes it different about putting it in the MAIL? Sure if the mail-in

location is somewhere else than that office then Immigration can just send the days deposits to that place?

Might note that many people are intimidated (rightfully so) by the Immigration "system" and would be reluctant to trust the Thai mail to actually get

their mail-in form to where it should go. Thus creating a great deal of anxiety about what their legal status with Immigration might be. Hence they are

going to wait in line for hours rather than "trust" the mail.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

The American Consulate here in Chiang Mai gives you a letter for the visa transfer along with your new passport.

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.

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"?

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.

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.

There is a very fine exhibition of Thai puppets at the Shangri-la Hotel lobby area until Sunday June 30th.

The Resurrection of The Viceregal Puppets at Shangri-La Hotel Chiang Mai
“Hun Wang Na” the 137th year exhibition by Jona Puppet from 23 - 30 June 2013 at Lobby Lounge.

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.

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?

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.

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

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.

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.