Boksida

One of the best things about the Duke's is all the nightly specials.

I find in most restaurants that I get bored of the menu very quickly and don't want to go very often anymore. At the Duke's there are many excellent specials and he tries new ones fairly often, so I never know what I am going to eat until I get there.

If I am not interested in the 3 or 4 specials, then I order my favorites from the menu and never get bored.

I understand that when the new Duke's opens in the night bazaar next month, the real Duke will actually be there to meet customers. He is the same guy that bankrolled me when I first started in business. A man of wealth and taste!

There used to be a good place in Patpong 30+ years ago called Duke's. Is it the same guy?

Have you questioned your family members or neighbours on what they had for dinner last night?

A word of warning to you guys - be very careful about pissing Ta22 off at the go-kart track or the pot luck.

If it is a competition to come last, it would be folly to ignore Blinky Bill's natural ability. Assuming he turns up.

you need to intstall a vent unless your fixtures are installed with vents through the roof] for proper drainage. the vent needs to go thru and above the roof, these gasses are flamable.

The house plan called for the vent to be 2 meters up the wall. I have seen the ones in the U.S. go through the roof.

As the roof construction is already finished....will I have a problem with the vent stopping below the roof, but 2 and a half meters high?

You can extend it later if you have any problem. It will probably only be PVC pipe so easily done.

my gf has just had a terrific idea.

she recommends cloth bags filled with uncooked rice and then stored in the freezer until use. take them out and use under your head just as you go to bed. nice and cool. about 1 kg of rice per 8 inch by 8 inch bag. a small pillow.

i know from other experience they are very soothing. and if placed in the microwave they will give warmth to sore aches and pains around neck and shoulders.

now i'm looking forward to tonight so i can use them.

(if you don't have, or don't want to make them yourself, she says she will be glad to make them. pm me and i'll take the order. figure 80 baht each. you can have them next day)

Is there a longer delivery time on more erotic shapes? Adds a whole new meaning to a bun in the oven.

Just received some photo's of the new house being built in Isaan.

This house is being constructed under the supervision of my father in law, as we cannot be there unfortunately due to a medical problem.

I am very happy with the work so far

While looking over the pics, I noticed that the "vent pipe" shown in the plan was not installed.

My wife just got off the phone with the contractor and he offered this explanation.

He said that he felt that the vent pipe would be ugly on the outside of the house (I agree, but.....) and he felt that any odors would be vented away by means of the sewerage pipe to the street from the septic.

He said it is a popular way of doing this.

He offered to put in the vent pipe if I prefer, but thought it would not look very nice.

The pipe will run up the wall just to the right of the wheelbarrow (under which lies the septic) in this pic, and stop just below the roof....about 2 and a half meters.

It will be painted the same color as the house.

What do you think? Should I believe that I will not have odor problems? Should I install the pipe?

There is a cover over the tank (not pictured) that looks like it has some ventilation holes on it.....my wife says that he told her that these can be shut.

Any input would be great.

Thanks,

Eric

I'd suggest putting in the vent pipe. Although it is not common here, I've lived in several houses that had the odour problem and venting has fixed it. If you are not sure what to do, just have the contractor put the vent to above ground level with a Tee on the top for protection as this will be minimal cost and provide some venting. If it is a problem later, you have a place to connect to run the vent higher if needed.

Last night was hotter than it has been for months.

Nice, eh?

Out of curiosity that one hopes does not cross the border into prying, what fan setting did you use?

On the first warm night I tried 4 fans line astern in series. This worked so well I went out and got another two cheapies from Tesco. With the six fans at maximum setting, mosquitos can be de-winged in normal flight and their torsos splattered on the nearest flat surface. There are serious drawbacks however as the skin can be flayed from elderly bodies and the turbine howl makes it difficult to sleep.

Sounds like the original back packer. Back then Europeans only washed once a year. Did he carry a change of clothes ? The whiff must have been pretty bad

Some would say that little has changed over the years. Ralph was often spotted around town sitting at food shops drinking the same glass of water all day and annotating a parchment copy of a book called "Ye Olde Lonely Planet". Totally unaware of the other patrons scrambling to get upwind.

I'd never heard of Ralph Fitch but courtesy of google;

At this time links between the Burmese capital, Pegu, and the Lan Na capital, Chiang Mai, were strong. Fitch may not have known it, but Nandabayin's palace, built by his father, Bayinnaung, was the great Kambawzathadi (now under reconstruction by the Burmese authorities) where King Mae Ku (1551-1564), the last independent ruler of Lan Na's Mangrai Dynasty, lived out his days as a prisoner in a gilded cage, a royal residence with a double-tiered roof provided as a courtesy by his conqueror, King Bayinnaung. Many of the locals called this domicile, 'The Spotlight'. Furthemore, the mamasan, rich bitch , who started the Fitch Itch, and is reported still pumping iron at a famed Night Market location to this day. Nor was Fitch likely to have known that a section of the New City wall, as well as one of the New City's twenty gates (the easternmost gate of the southern wall) had been built with funds subscribed by the City of Chiang Mai, and that as a consequence it was called Chiang Mai Gate.

Fitch did know, however, of Chiang Mai's existence, though he styles the city 'Jamahey'. At the time of his visit to Pegu, Chiang Mai was ruled by King Nawrahtaminsaw (1578-1607), son of the deceased King Bayinnaung and younger brother of King Nandabayin. The intrepid representative of London's Levant Company set out for Chiang Mai in late 1586. His report, albeit relatively short, is the earliest description we have in English of the Lan Na capital. As such, it bears recounting in full and comparison with what we know both of Chiang Mai in the time of Nawrahtaminsaw and the city as it is today

Ralph Fitch and Chiang Mai

Was the Spotlight around in those days...... any real old timer out there????

The Spotlight hadn't opened then but some of the girls working there now were already on the game. There were quite a few topless bars around town though.

I vaguely remember Ralph Fitch. He didn't make much of an impact on the social scene as the locals were appalled at his attitude to personal hygiene.

What kinda engine is that ? 1100cc and give you 145HP .

i have a few engine installed in my cars . one at

2000cc V6 give me about 145hp . ( 1G toyota )

2000cc SR20DE 150+HP ( N/A)

i got a Datsun L16 with Dual carburator webber ) give me about 110HP

WOuld be happy to get a 1100cc engine to install in my other celica which run a 2T 1600cc which only give 89 HP .

1100cc with 145hp sound like best of both world for me .

tell me you are serious

It's a Kawasaki engine of 1,052 cc (64.2 cu in) Maximum Horsepower 108 kW (147 PS) @ 10,500 rpm DOHC, 16-valve, 4-cylinder, 4-stroke, liquid-cooled DOHC. The bike goes like stink, top end 290 kph, doesn't handle all that well or stop that well either. But I'm still alive after riding it for the past 10 yrs or so. A few new paint jobs here and there to cover the odd bit of road rash.

Take it for a squirt if you're game next sunday. (But give me THB120,00 deposit first)

Lots of power. Pity about the weight.

Getting Inspector Blinky to turn up will be just as hard as finding a kart to fit him. I can't see it happening.

What about Adrian Gundelach - one of the founders of the Cricket Sixes

Adrian was Bangkok based.

Wasn't Max mentioned earlier? If not, my apologies.

Blinkster, you are quite right about Adrian Gundelach being based in Bangkok. Thought I would mention him as his son, Mark, lived in Chiang Mai for a while before going down the Tobacco Road (to Malawi, I think).

There was Scotsman, Terry McKinney, who lived in Chiangmai until Max Brown hired him. He topped himself in Lampang last year.

Where and what kind of restaurant is Arcobaleno?

The Arcoba Leno is the successor to the old Babylon which used to be near CMU. Same cook, same waiter, same great Italian food and run by the late Renato Magni's daughter. Set up in the house where the Warm Up used to be several years ago.

What about Adrian Gundelach - one of the founders of the Cricket Sixes

I haven't seen any mention of the gentleman who owned the Coq D'Or..? I never met him, but it seems he was quite a character. He left some of his books to Premcenter School library.

I think his surname was Telfer - can't remember his first name.

Snowflake.

Wally Buddy.

I see only 2 ladies, Cricket and Snowflake mentioned.

These 2 Thai ladies were both real characters married to expats.

Surely there have been some western women pass away here over the years.

Shame on Blinky Bill forgetting Max Brown

Riverside Guesthouse is good. About 300 baht for fan room in "high' season. Air available. Nearby Riverside Restaurant a bit of a local farang hangout.