Prubangboy

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

-

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.

Isn't that really just hooker-speak for: 2 hours of showering and 45 minutes of faffing about?

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.

To quote my idol, George W Bush "Why do you hate freedom?".

You gotta stop thinking of the $$ impact you have on the nice local people adjacent to you and think in terms of the macroeconomic. An expat is much less spendy than an average tourist. Few are springing for the 150 baht durian ice cream cone, but yeah, we're big, big consumers of bottled water. When I think of it, my landlord is a fellow New Yorker, 80% of the dining I do is in non-Thai owned places. My biggest $$ contribution to Thai people is 1) Grab Cabs 2)Weed.

Agreed, it cost money to chase down these tiny amounts. A haircut on remittances is very unlikely to happen.

And yet, you list no vitamins. Maybe double check on that increased mental clarity claim? 99% of the world thinks "taking vitamins" means taking the pill form. As long as I'm here, how did you arrive at this diet/vitamin formulation? This sounds like medium-extreme intermittent fasting. What are your thoughts on that approach?

It is indeed a mean ol' world full of low-morals opportunists. All of the world economies have a lot of problems. Thanks.

I gotta dig up the post from the guy who did the math on expat remittances and found them to be about .01% of the Thai economy. This is like a wino outside of a casino saying he's keeping the doors open there because he bought his pint at the 7/11 out front.

Yeah, the word for that is resident. Specifically, tax resident. Just like where you come from, just like the world over. As to the rest of it, it is self-evident that people who live here 52 weeks a year use more services than 2 week visitors.

Can you give an example of how someone's total tax bill might decrease under this scheme?

'Would love to hear more about your tax research in Columbia, which does not have a tax treaty with the US. But Thailand does. So it's super-likely it will follow along with US rules on taxable income.

You seem to think Thailand cares if you stay or go. So will there ever be a moment where Thai people are rueful and regretful about losing say, 10,000 low end expats? And will we ever be privy to that sweet schadenfreude? Or is this just some feverish revenge fantasy confined to your own head? I gotta go with: No, No, and Yes.

They'd miss the cheap labor Myanmar people a lot more than they'd ever miss us. We are but mere hood ornaments on the engine of the Thai economy.