phuketsub

Best of luck Bill & Flower...As for the inevitable debate over Patong/Pattaya, it sounds like a lateral move to me.

Many of the locals buy food from street vendors from near Banzaan (when it is not under water). In my opinion Patong is the worst part of the island for dining out on a budget, however.

The general idea is that the west coast is overpriced, less authentic.

In general the best food values are in Phuket Town and Rassada. One that might be of interest to some readers is the khao soi (30 baht) shop run outside the Burmese minimart, called CityMart, next to the wet market on Ranong Rd. They also have 'export' Leo on sale there: apparently made in Thailand, exported to Burma and then smuggled back in. Cheaper than at 7-Eleven and tastes the same. Go figure...

The weekend night market in Wichit has several stalls that sell all kinds of remotes.

This is indeed your best bet. The market, known locally as 'Phuket Variety, is at the top end of Wirat Hongyok Road, not far from the intersection with Chao Fah West

A better question might be "What doesn't annoy you on Phuket radio?"

For me its oblivious farangs mangling Thai language, or Thais doing the same to English.

If they want to do English language radio here they really need truly bilingual announcers.

The worst in this regard has always been Radio Thailand.

Sometimes it sounds like they kidnapped some random Rajabhat student, put a gun to his/her head and said: READ THIS.

It is truly painful to listen to.

Steven Layne has a spot 8am-9am Mondays and Fridays on 90.5FM.

He's bilingual (Thai mother), grew up in Colorado, has good taste in music and is a big Phuket FC fan.

Worth a listen IMHO.

On the Thai side I think 94 City Radio is the best for local news, though reception is not that good outside Phuket Town.

Personally, I prefer long-form podcasts to radio. My absolute favorite is the Adam Carolla Show. There is nothing on the web or in any other media that I could recommend more highly.

I got an insurance "package" for my daughter from AIA shortly after she was born (she is almost 8 now) and I consider it a really sound investment as she has been hospitalized quite a few times for various things, mostly just fevers. I think it works out to about 10,000 baht/year, which includes extra accident insurance. Not a year has passed when we claimed less than 10,000 baht

It only covers in-patient treatment, which means there have been borderline times when I chose to admit her when I otherwise would not have, knowing that really all she needed was to stay home from school and rest up.

However, this also seems to work well for wage slaves like myself because it is easier to tell a boss you have to miss a day of work because your daughter is in the hospital, rather than 'she doesn't feel well'.

I always have her treated at Mission, where she was born. I am generally happy with their services, though I think they tend to over-prescribe medicine (obviously a key revenue stream at all hospitals) and I am not too fond of the bland food there.

Other good parts of the AIA "package" we use:

1. When she reaches 20 she will get back around 200,000 baht

2. If I pass away, she will still get all of the benefits without anyone having to continue the annual premiums, so it is sort of like a form of life insurance as well.

The agent we used is a really nice former neighbor who is also like an aunt to my daughter, so we never have any problems with filing all the paperwork. Send me a PM if you want her contact details.

I asked this general question, but received no replies.

If you are insured, your wife/girlfriend is insured, and you have insured your daughter, wouldn't a family plan be cheaper and less paperwork?

We are all insured under different plans with different agencies, mine through the government Social Security scheme which gives good healthcare for jut 365 baht/month, even though I have been technically unemployed for almost a year.

My concern is: where is this all going to end?

When they put the retarded sign up they were just asking for trouble, and it didn't take long to come.

Bangkok is just a sprawl of crumbling concrete and rebar; the so-called "street art" seems to fit there, just as it does in its (nominal) sister city Los Angeles (both are named 'City of Angels').

It seems that every trend that starts in BKK ends up here...

Anyway, I am just going to lower the periscope until I can get out of here, which hopefully won't take too long.

here's a link to the promo video to the Bangkok Street Art video in February:

I got an insurance "package" for my daughter from AIA shortly after she was born (she is almost 8 now) and I consider it a really sound investment as she has been hospitalized quite a few times for various things, mostly just fevers. I think it works out to about 10,000 baht/year, which includes extra accident insurance. Not a year has passed when we claimed less than 10,000 baht

It only covers in-patient treatment, which means there have been borderline times when I chose to admit her when I otherwise would not have, knowing that really all she needed was to stay home from school and rest up.

However, this also seems to work well for wage slaves like myself because it is easier to tell a boss you have to miss a day of work because your daughter is in the hospital, rather than 'she doesn't feel well'.

I always have her treated at Mission, where she was born. I am generally happy with their services, though I think they tend to over-prescribe medicine (obviously a key revenue stream at all hospitals) and I am not too fond of the bland food there.

Other good parts of the AIA "package" we use:

1. When she reaches 20 she will get back around 200,000 baht

2. If I pass away, she will still get all of the benefits without anyone having to continue the annual premiums, so it is sort of like a form of life insurance as well.

The agent we used is a really nice former neighbor who is also like an aunt to my daughter, so we never have any problems with filing all the paperwork. Send me a PM if you want her contact details.

Quite the same graffiti. What's the meaning of this meme?

This was on the Central Festival overpass where they are digging the hole.

2012-12-27_16-02-46.jpg

Looks a little like Mickey Mouse with a bad hangover

I think they are trying to combine the scariest of images (skull) with the cutest (Mickey Mouse)...Who knows what the point is really. Anyway, they are all over the place now...If they put one up on Khao Toh Seh or on a building on Thalang Road ( etc.) I'll be baying for blood. With all the video cameras up everywhere the cops could probably put a stop to it...if they were so inclined.

Completely retarded. The OrBorJor put this ridiculous sign up at Point 7 on Khao Toh Seh, now it is covered in graffiti.

The sign itself is ugly and only serves to BLOCK THE VIEW it is trying to promote!

Pathetic.

July 20-21: Toyota Motorsport 2 @ Saphan Hin

Motor racing. Expect a lot of hi-so types down from Bangkok for this one.

July 22-24: 5th annual Kathu Street Culture Festival on Wichit Songram Road.

Opens at 5:30pm on the 22nd with a parade starting at the new market

He just wants to be seen as doing his job.

The law is unenforceable, especially since so many of "accommodation establishments" in Phuket are unregistered to begin with.

Still, like many of the other unenforceable laws on the books, it still holds open the possibility for a big payday if they ever decide to have a 'crackdown'...

There is a guy in a little shop on Koh Sim Bee Road that sells Robusta beans from Chumporn for 165 baht for half a kilo; quite a bit cheaper than at most retail outlets. He also has 'friends' that grow their own up in Chaing Mai and send him samples and he will give you some to try for free.

I understand that Arabica is preferred by most coffee aficionados, but personally I am okay with the Robusta. Plenty of bang for the buck.

Also, at the orchid festival at Saphan Hin (see events thread) there is a girl selling Robusta seedlings in case you want to try your hand at growing your own.

I suspect they will launch the service around the same time the dodgy section of Patong Hill Road finally collapses...

Tesssaban Rawai "6th annual Keep Rawai Traditions going" fair time: 1pm -11pm, July 28

location: Wat Sawanarom, Rawai Village 2

Seems to be a sort of cultural fair with performances and cultural exhibitions by "three generations" of performers.

If anyone has been to one of the previous installments pls let us know; I never go to Rawai.

Source: Tessaban Rawai>CityNews Cable TV>Facebook

Yeah, it's pretty old, but the engine runs well so I don't want it to rust away like my old jalopy (Suzuki Carribean).

it looks like bog falling off so at one stage the car was pranged and repaired with bog(fibreglass) and re sprayed, might pay to get it checked out before all the bog starts to fall out. The rust behind the bog is a dead give away, salt air corrosion starting up which will go behind all the bog in the car........

I suspect you may be right; it is a used car and the doors have a slightly different color than the rest of the car.

I recommend Dr Kanokwan's clinic, just south of Yaowarat Bridge on Yaowarat Road in Samkong, near the entrance to Phuket Villa 1, in Phuket Town.

Thanks so much to all of you for all of your input and directions..I don't blame the factory for the paint problem; the car is 18 years old and has spent too much time exposed to the elements. My bad. Personally I don't care too much about how the car looks, only that it is structurally and mechanically sound. Unfortunately the wife takes the opposite view!

Anyway, will keep you updated.

Oilinki, the photoshop fix freaked me out...

The paint on my '95 Corolla is starting to go. I definitely can't afford a complete new paint job, so I am just wondering if anyone knows of a shop here in Phuket where they will "stop the rot" at a reasonable price.

Any help much appreciated.

I guess I have to call myself lucky for never having been through something like that, or even pulled over for any reason. I guess that perhaps offsets my abysmal luck playing the Government Lottery.

On the issue of producing a passport on the spot, here is an approach that has served me very well over the years:

Take your passport to a color copy shop and copy both the inside page and signature page, reducing them both to the size of a standard business card. Face them back to back and then laminate.

The result is what I call my 'passport ID card'. I have used this in multiple situations over the years to rent motorbikes, hand over to hospital staff, etc. I have never had it denied or questioned; The Thais just think it is the foreign equivalent of a national ID card, something my home country does not issue to its citizens.

I think the whole procedure costs about 50 baht and takes 10 minutes.

Far preferable than carrying your passport everywhere (with the risk of losing it ever-present).

I have been following the lottery for over two decades and never remember a foreigner winning a major prize; I am not saying it is rigged, just that the chances of winning are almost negligible for anyone who plays - Thai or foreign. The underground lottery pays out more that the state one, which is why it remains popular.

In my case I have wasted 10s of thousands on it (Govt Lottery) and never got back one baht.

In response to Hello Dolly (I am over my multi-quote allotment):

I guess we are going to have to agree to disagree.

The only comment I would make is that I wasn't aware that "As for mortality science tells us that we will go on"...You might want to elaborate on that.

Perhaps science has surpassed its original agenda -- explaining (readily observable phenomena) -- to the point that many (if not most) people don't really understand what it is any more.

Misunderstanding (or failure to understand) is probably the single greatest source of fear.

I was raised in a strict religious tradition (Catholicism), but never found any succor in blind faith.

I do like the introspection and meditative elements of real Buddhism, but that's a far cry from what mainstream, "stairway to heaven" Thai Buddhism has become.

There is an "Orchid Display" festival on at the central staging area at Saphan Hin. I was there yesterday late afternoon and it's pretty good; lots of food and entertainment. I didn't actually see any orchids, but I didn't go out of my way looking for them. The only drawback is that the beer sponsor is Chang, so you might consider bringing in your own.

This event runs 4-13 July.

Looking for a person with an education in astronomy in Phuket who can help explain the wonders of the Universe. Should be Phuket based.

It's nice to see someone in Phuket seeking to get their mind blown, as opposed to other parts of the anatomy. There is an almost endless universe of info on the web [pardon the pun] on this topic and it ain't just our universe, but the possible existence of a 'multiverse' ... There are many science communicators; among my favorites is Marin Rees.

A sample is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52dWhVVIRXM

Humans are not actually mammals.

Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment.

I disagree. I think you'll find there's many examples of how mammals have wiped out their environment and themselves.

Of course we are still mammals, but we are the only mammals I am aware of that have managed to take themselves out of the food chain -- which is a good thing when you consider all of the other BS we are struggling to deal with.