Prubangboy

Your tireless advocacy of their 40 baht lunches has been inspiring. -My wife read a book by Chomsky (About the Sandinista's). Want to meet her?

When last I looked, Cigna was the best deal. Gen with insurance, bigger is better. They cover me here, and I get 90 days a year of international coverage folded into that.

OP down at the mosque: " "Not really feeling the whole wailing, yodeling Call To Prayer-thing. Do you have any AC/DC?". 'Hope he's caught this:

I was thrilled by Beatniks appearing in mid-60's tv shows, about 5 years after they peaked in real life. Maynard G Krebs was my god, Jethro's beatnik episode on the B-Hillibillies was surrealist genius (just re-watched it). To be a bongo-beating madman with a girlfriend with a severe fringe haircut who was very prone to impromptu interpretive dance -the hippies seemed sexless and dull by comparison.

As the young say, "Cool story, Bro". I just had dinner with a guy, 76 (so a mere five years older than me), who looked like he could be my dad. I wasn't smug, I was filled with dread: At any point, I can hit similar skids, fast. My 10 years-younger wife is more down than up ,healthwise, so that's another nagging reminder not waste my time on anger, stupidity, or whole cloth making up of imaginary Bing Crosby disputes.

More annoying is the very unrealistic diversity casting where the best friend has to be black, the cop is implausibly Chinese, and the doctor has to be an Indian. Netflix does this a lot. Gay-interest films seldom tempt me. I respect them as people, but their lives are not that compelling to me. Black people are in a similar category. I might watch a historical drama, but say, a Black-oriented comedy where large women call each other Girlfrien' a lot is a must to avoid.

Once that lower body part checks out, the rest of her is not far behind. If you've gone 3 months without decent sex (or worse, without any sex), that ship has sailed and is never coming back. Maybe google The Ick. It's irreversible.

In retrospect, I agree with your astute observation. My newcomer Thai life attitude is that I find them charming in being a little slack in all ways and have some empathy that they're making such low dollars. But if I'm still here a few years from now, I can def see myself shifting more into your column.

Now I'm leaning 4 Seasons, Like 5K all in with the alcohol add-on and the ++. YOLO, as the kids say.

Nimman area of Chiang Mai is good fun for NYE. There will be bands at the Nimman1 mall, tons of vendors and food, and the streets behind it are low traffic for greater ambience. Also, the tourist mix skews Chinese and Japanese potheads, no prob no drunken fights.

Retire now on 80K a month and let that other 20K keep growing to cover inflation.

Does her "stolen" time even amount to $2? These are mostly older women, probably single moms, doing an unpleasant job of sheer tedium and drudgery. They're lucky if they see even half the massage fee. I expect a sub par experience on the cheap going in, rendered by minimally trained, disinterested ladies, and I am seldom disappointed. What incentive does a 50 year old broke and tired woman have to excel? It's a biz where repeat customers are few, and provides a mere pittance at best when they do very infrequently occur. Relatedly, on my corner there is a happy ending place with various tantric wanks on the menu. My favorite option is the offer to have 3 diff women do you one after another, while you are blindfolded. I'm convinced that it's actually the same women, perhaps wearing heavy shoes for one massage segment to convince you otherwise, and using different, Monty Python-eque voices throughout to sustain the illusion.

I hope to love a woman someday at the level that Gamma loves Chomsky.

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Good roundup: https://changpuakmagazine.com/en-article/Christmas-in-Chiang-Mai/328851/ I'm dining at a my local Italian, Why Not? in Nimman. 1,500 baht get's you a broad Italian-ish buffet (with unlimited St. Clair oysters) and a decent selection of non-meat items. Prob not worth traveling to if you're not in the nabe. Def book early. Last year, everything was sold out on the day.

.....Thinking about a marinade in spicy mint chutney now...... This dinner is a pot luck supper that'll be about 70% western people. So Thai people will def find something to eat if they don't like lamb. Even if they don't love it, they'll be happy to try some on someone else's dime. Indian food is not something they've typically not had either. So it's a 2 for 1. In my limited experience, they like -don't love- Indian food.

Hence, the vindaloo. It's a younger crowd, so they'll eat everything. And corn bread. Everyone wants corn bread. It's a pricey add on at a Texas BBQ place here. Inauthentic sweet corn bread, with jalapeño's. 'Can't believe that you can get very respectable corn meal in a supermarket here.

Thai people generally haven't tried lamb. But they never met a red meat they didn't like.

Want to do a leg of lamb for a Christmas party. What supermarket carries it? Can I get a big joint (as the English possibly still call it)? Lamb Vindaloo taco's with lots of add-ons -I see some east meets west appeal.

Agreed, it's down to: -spice level (I like it medium) -sweetness (minimal) -spice (I like a dash of 5 spice powder in with the cinnamon) There's a place down by the old night market where the gimmick is that they pour the coconut milk into the chicken stock at the table. I think it adds about 10% flavor-wise, but that may be down to placebo effect I suspected the much-hyped Islam Kao Soi was getting good reviews just to bend over backwards to like something muslim. True: subpar crispy noodles, and just too sweet. In the old city, around the corner from Wat Yu (and not far from NOOM N. Thai Cuisine) is an old temple restaurant with an original and beautfifully patina'd old wood interior. Vegan Khao Soi with shredded tofu that almost passes for chicken. 40 baht from the steam table (they're done by 2 PM). Google for Ming Kwan Vegetarian. There is no English language sign.

Mae Sot is a medium-good Mae-a Mayanmar mashup, the uniqueness of which is def overstated. Nice waterfall (zzzzz). A bit of the old teak left standing. Mae Sariang is just a poor village, prob the most under-achieving Mae. If one wanted to study indigenous Islam among tribal people, well, that prob would not be you. The Mae you want is Mae Hong Son. That's a Mae where you can kill 3 days. And see long neck people for free, drinking coffee. And then you could take your long-suffering GF to Pai, like she actually would prefer.

Been 4 times in the last year. Very good. A must for visitors . Try the beef Khao Soi. Get there at 11:30 AM and there is no line. Khao Soi Nimman another good 'un. It's gets dissed on Youtube for having air conditioning and hanging ferns. Ging Grai on Soi 11 off Nimman Road is my fave Thai restaurant in CM; we order in at least once a week. Solid Khao Soi. The absolute best Khao soi I've had to date is the vegan version at Good Souls in The Old City. I was sceptical, but that broth is perfect. 'Don't even miss the chicken (tofu and mushrooms instead).

That somtam isn't going to pound itself.

Georgie, did you ever feel like you were tossing a hot dog into The Holland Tunnel?

Tried Mex City. Pros: very intellectual (lots of bookstores), cheap food, greener than you'd think. Cons: Not a lot of English spoken, a bit rough when you leave your little zone, about 30% more $$$'s than Thailand. -When Thailand opened up post-covid, I went direct to Chiang Mai. It was always my first choice.