phuketsub

Cyclists are fast moving up my list. I almost cleaned one up this morning going to get the milk. You cant see them and they are too slow. I hate it when they cycle 2 abreast and take up the whole road. The fact that they dont pay road tax infuriates me too.

I agree. Actually I would like to cycle in Phuket, but when I think of how many times I've been annoyed by the not moving/not stopped pace of bicyclists it amazes me that more aren't run over and killed here...and some of the previous posts/debates about speeding reinforce that thought.

Went last night. Tried to park the truck but some random guy was flashing his high power torch in my eyes and blowing a whistle in my ear. Migraine from here onwards...

OTOP, loads of dirty looking people scrounging through markets full of cheap crap. Bit like gypsies at a car boot fair back home. Walked around dodging the food rubbish on the floor whilst guarding my pockets from pickpockets. Lasted about 15 minutes. OTOP or OTT, up to you...

If true, your assertion that pickpockets are present there is unsettling. I've never had a problem with that in Phuket and have been living here over a decade. Personally, I think we occupy different ends of the hi-so/loso divide. To each his own.

I think they only did that because of the prospect of rain. It has always been open air whenever I went before.

What's the point of eating in a tent?

dunno...I just hope this is a one-off and future events will be open air.

When does this finish?

March 2

Try Mr Lee at Boss Collection in Phoon Pon Plaza in Phuket Town. Not exactly Saville row, but he's a nice guy and reliable.

but I like the way they put schoolkids to work here cleaning up garbage; too bad the lesson doesn't seem to stick later in life.

I guess because the schoolkids from now know that when they grow up and make a mess the schoolkids will do the cleaning.

Well put.

I went to the OTOP Fair yesterday at Saphan Hin yesterday and have to say that the huge covered awnings (no better word to describe them)they have in place there have TOTALLY ruined the atmosphere -- quite literally. Even the food area, where people are cooking with charcoal and gas, has been deprived of air flow. It is a serious public health issue, as if the people of Saphan Hin don't have enough already. It is as if the organizers have tried to make a Supercheap-by-the-sea. Congratulations.

Notes: Beer sponsor is Chang. 'Nuff said.

Selection of OTOP products is disappointing, as usual.

Bouquet: The Phuket Bike Rider Association is now renting out "push bikes" (love that term) at 30 baht an hour near the police box at the central stage area. It is a hit with local schoolgirls... .

1:30pm is far too early for me and too hot, although today is a bit cloudy so maybe not too bad.

The OrbBorJor has spent about 9 million baht resurfacing the concrete road with tarmac and providing viewpoints, some of which are in the wrong position as there is nothing to see - unless they have plans to cut down a lot of trees. But it is much improved over what it was. There are even toilets at one place about half way up.

However, improvements attract more people, more tourists vans and more mess. The monkeys make enough mess as it is without all the tourists adding to it. The walkers, i.e such as me, keep the place clean and tidy as best we can.

Can't blame the macaques for this. The self-entitled "Mr Monkey" who is their principal source of food doesn't bother to take the packaging off the fruit he collects at the market downtown -- thus a big new deposit of foam and plastic and the two feeding areas each day. Anyway. I tried to get up there at about 2:30PM yesterday and the single-lane road was jammed with cars and schoolkids and the OrBorJor truck was on the way out. I guess I missed the blitz, but I like the way they put schoolkids to work here cleaning up garbage; too bad the lesson doesn't seem to stick later in life.

I am totally down with you on keeping up the cleaning vigil there day in and out.

I love Khao Toh Seh and I think the OrBorJor's efforts to make it more accessible were well-intended, but I also fear the place might get overrun.

Sorry for the late notice, but there will be a 'Big Cleaning Day' on Khao Toh Seh in Phuket Town this afternoon starting at 1:30pm. Meeting point is Point Five. the OrBorJor will provide equipment, I have been told.

It would be nice if other TV members who use the hill for exercise could show upand pitch in.

For those unfamiliar with it, the road up the hill is off Damrong Road, right across from Provincial Hall and the tennis courts.

That place closed down quietly a few years ago after it was raided by wildlife officials.

See previous thread:

The land is up for auction now,

Why do you want your picture taken with a baby croc?

The numbers continue to grow. Next to the new wet market on Ranong is a rather upscale convenience store called City Mart, that has a huge array of products from Burma. I went to buy a beer there, a can of Leo, and it said 'imported' and didn't have a word of Thai on the can. Turns out is was only 29 baht per can, five baht cheaper than the 'domestic' version. Gotta give the Burmese credit in this regard: at least they aren't raising the bar price-wise for the rest of us migrant residents.

He said that he was outside Mr Longfellow's accommodation because he was looking for his dog, which had gone missing. He heard somebody talking and then someone grabbed him from behind. He was shocked, and in reaction, jabbed behind himself with "the knife", twice.

Really, went looking for his dog at Mr. Lonfellow's apartment with a knife in his hand... Brilliant story. I hope he is found guilty and spends much longer than he would have pleading guilty, which his lawyer advised him to do... Odd his lawyer wasn't there...

The lawyer is out looking for lee's dog

Is Mr. Aldhouse now blaming the dog for the murder?

It's interesting that the most implausible excuses always seem to involve our canine friends: "My dog ate my homework"; "I fell of my bike because I swerved to avoid a dog"...

Thanks for the info. I'll suffer with the one I have for now, and pick one up in the states in May.

Best keyboard ever made.

Agreed

Well, after an extensive search of Pantip Plaza I am afraid to say that neither this keyboard, nor its successor the Microsoft 7000, are available in Thailand. After visiting about 40 shops there I eventually did find a display model at IT City on the top floor, but the service girl said it was 'not real'. I assume she meant it was a display model. I challenged her to plug it in, and after she refused I told her to get the manager. I pleaded and pleaded, showing the scars on my wrists from my surgeries and how much I needed the keyboard for work. I tried to explain that if it is a demonstration unit for a model you no longer carry, why not just sell it off? They said "It doesn't belong to us, it belongs to Microsoft so we can't sell it". Probably the most frustrating shopping expedition I have ever experienced.

Anyway, I got my parents in the US to buy one (US$31) though Amazon.com and ship it out here, since Amazon doesn't ship to Thailand. Hopefully I won't get screwed by Customs.

Just fyi for anyone else who may need an ergonometric keyboard.

This all reminds me that the Phuket forum should have, as a 'pinned thread', a 'ride board' for people who are either commuting daily in Phuket and want to carpool or who are travelling to other parts of the country for whatever reason, eg. Visa Trips.

These used to be quite common at universities in the US back in the 80s, though I don't know if they still exist.

I would also like to see a resurgence in hitchhiking as a way to stick it to the Phuket transport mafia.

I will pick up anyone who sits roadside with thumb extended, provided they aren't dressed in a long dark brown robe and are carrying a sickle.

Anyway, seriously, moderators please consider this.

I am using one of these keyboards at the moment, and understand your situtaion Phuket Sub. After my first one crapped out from years of use, I bought another one and got one of those rubberized covers to keep it working and clean. I never saw the 4,000 for sale in Thailand, and ended up bringing one over from America.

dam_n, I should have thought of the rubber cover before...It recently struck me that having huge hands puts me in the same position as having huge feet here in Thailand. They seem to have a once-size-fits-all mentality that works for Thais, like with those slippers outside the disgusting public restrooms. Once you pass the size threshold, however, it becomes a nightmare getting what you need.

Thanks to all...I'll take the VIP bus, bring a bottle and listen to Adam Carolla the whole way.

My turn for a trip to Bangkok, so I have resurrected this interesting old thread. I need to get various things done there, and am wondering if it would just be easier to take a bus up and use public transport -- or drive it. I will stay four nights in the Muang Thong Thani area.

Back when I lived there (for a decade ending in 1997) the BTS was under construction and I went everywhere by bus, so I find the idea of driving there challenging and daunting at the same time. I wonder what others who have been through this would recommend.

The info in the above thread will indeed be helpful if I drive, but the highway map I have is very old and quite useless....Can anyone recommend a good one? It can be in Thai or English.

Sadly, my co-pilot is map illiterate, which has been the source of numerous 'blowouts' in the past...

Also, have there been any improvements to the roads mentioned in the above threads?

Money is a factor here as well. I need to do all of this as cheaply as possible.

As always, any and all advice much appreciated.

I would not drive in Bangkok myself, public transport there is excellent and can be cheap and/or fast.

With bustickets for a comfortable bus about 1,000 Baht one way and the drive up there probably more expensive in petrol/diesel alone I would consider the bus.

Yes, I am leaning that way. The problem is that I have been on Mafia Isle for so long I forget that good public transport exists in the rest of the country...it will also save me a good deal of stress

My turn for a trip to Bangkok, so I have resurrected this interesting old thread. I need to get various things done there, and am wondering if it would just be easier to take a bus up and use public transport -- or drive it. I will stay four nights in the Muang Thong Thani area.

Back when I lived there (for a decade ending in 1997) the BTS was under construction and I went everywhere by bus, so I find the idea of driving there challenging and daunting at the same time. I wonder what others who have been through this would recommend.

The info in the above thread will indeed be helpful if I drive, but the highway map I have is very old and quite useless....Can anyone recommend a good one? It can be in Thai or English.

Sadly, my co-pilot is map illiterate, which has been the source of numerous 'blowouts' in the past...

Also, have there been any improvements to the roads mentioned in the above threads?

Money is a factor here as well. I need to do all of this as cheaply as possible.

As always, any and all advice much appreciated.

many thanks...there is definitely a learning curve on these, but once you get used to it you can never go back...(I have size 15 feet and commensurately sized hands, so I can't fit into a regular keyboard..)

Other recommendations much appreciated

Give Mr Com a try. He has everything.

They have a big store in town near slaughterhouse intersection.

Will do, tx.

The local method is to cover it with a wet burlap bag. These can be bought at Supercheap. I often fear this is gonna lead to a methane explosion in Patong, in addition to worsening the flooding problem there.

I am desperate to find a Microsoft 4000 Ergonomic Keyboard and they seem out of supply all over Phuket, where I live. As I will be coming to Bangkok next week I wonder if anyone on the tech side knows where they might be available in the city...or if they are even still making them. see attached pix. any help appreciated.

That's quite a collection and some seem to have some ergonomic features, but I really need the one specified...I am starting to fear it is no longer available in Thailand

Below is a pic of the same model reassembled...this was the top Ergo Keyboard for a long time...where did they go?

I have the same keyboard. I ordered it in Phuket Town a few years ago from a freind of a freind of a freind, who is not around anymore. I am also in need of a new one, I have worn mine out. Let me know what you find..please. I will do some checking on my end too.

It's a deal...if necessary maybe I can get one for each of us in Bangkok...if my hands don't fall off at the wrists by then

http://www.invadeit....gory/keyboards/

any of these do the job?

have a talk with them...they have online chat ...they can probably order one in for you.

will try, tx

That's quite a collection and some seem to have some ergonomic features, but I really need the one specified...I am starting to fear it is no longer available in Thailand

Below is a pic of the same model reassembled...this was the top Ergo Keyboard for a long time...where did they go?