Paagai

Seems to be a bit of a TV storm in a tea cup to me

It's a catholic school right? Perhaps they were just celebrating the Pope's visit to Germany and dressing the kids up in the uniform he used to wear in Germany's Hitler Youth to honour that?

Anyway, things could be worse, at least a Nazi uniform is smart and masculine, and the Thai's do love a man in uniform. I can think of at least one school here in CM where the biggest problem is trying to stop the boys dressing up as girls

O.K., I agree it wasn't that smart a move, but then with a school which teaches it's pupil's to believe in imaginary friend's I'm with Jacr and UG on STUPIDITY theory

Nimmanhaemin, the world has it's root in Hindi or something Indian language not Thai.

The correct transliteration of Nimmanhaemin, which I believe is ถนนนิมมานเหมินท์ in Thai, has always been a mystery to me. I've seen:

Nimmanhaemin

Nimmanhemin

Nimmanahaeminda

and even Nimmana Haeminda

(Not to mention Tonto21's Nimanheimin )

.....with even more variations on the subsequent pronunciation!

I don't know the words real origins, but Nimmanahaeminda was a rich and famous Chiang Mai family who, as I understood it, donated the land on which the road was built and it was named after them to honour that.

Kamtieng, where the flower market is now, is similarly named after another branch of the family. The original "Kamthieng House was moved and preserved by the Siam Society www.siam-society.org.

Anyway, back on topic, my only advice to the OP would be if their budget is that small they should consider the other costs of living around there too. E.g. going out to eat, drink or even have a coffee is not so cheap in that part of town, though there are a few cheaper places still around.

It wasnt the waiting, hell, I m retired, and as some have said, whats 2 or 3 hours out of the rest of your life.....

I for one am not retired; and have way better things to do with 2-3 hours. Using the right lawyer seems to solve any issues with having to queue at immigration, you don't even have to go there for 90 day reporting

The Burmese worker thing is also a problem, those guys seem to make no attempt to get a ticket, they just go straight to the desk AND get done!!!

Well, as stated by others, major problem is the lack of staff. Thai government insisted the Burmese all got passports, but I doubt spent more than five minutes thinking through what that really meant........

My understanding under the old system, where they just had work permits as ID was that immigration didn't get involved.

Report from Thai Rath (in Thai)Naked American found dead in Chiang Mai Hotel

I'm assuming no one who's posted here actually knew this guy. Sometimes the hypocrisy of posters is amazing, if some well know local farang is sick or dies, there is pages of respectful grief and sympathy posts citing how marvelous the person was, but when some unknown person dies in sad circumstances the usual bickering and smart arsed comments continue unabated.

Surely the deceased deserves some respect?

RIP and sympathy to his family and friends.

HIV denial myths are indeed against forum policy (more so in the health forum, but the issue is so serious I am more than happy to enforce the rules set up by our resident expert here as well).

Even more drastically against the rules is bullshit posted to attack gays, even gay tourists (for whom I have little fondness personally myself).

A number of posts (and related replies) have been deleted and a warning with a fairly severe penalty applied.

Whatever we could argue about statistics and infection rates the Red Cross Adam's Love initiative is clearly something beneficial and praiseworthy.

I'm not sure why, maybe it was the previous exchange, but I've received four recommendations for lawyers to certify documents via PM's - it's slightly surreal and kinda defeats the purpose of information sharing on a social networking site but thanks nevertheless, I have what I need.

Can you share the recommendations or are they confidential. I could use a few names and addresses for notary/certification services. Thanks.

Sharing the information had been one of the objectives at the outset but poster Paagai seems to have driven posters under cover for some reason, very odd behavior - perhaps rather than share the information I've received via PM's I can leave it to the people who PM'd me to PM you with the same information also? If it helps any I'm most likely to use Sunbelt since they are a known entity and I know where they are located.

You may find the reason people are less than enthusastic to help you is there was already another thread running on the front page of the forum asking a similar question Does Anyone Know Of Any Good Lawyers In Chiang Mai? It would have provided you a ready answer to your question and there have been many similar threads in recent months as a quick search would tell you.

A great brand of locally grown hilltribe and fair trade coffee is Akha Ama www.akhaama.com

They have a small coffee shop in Santitham area at Hussadisawee Rd Soi 3 (North from Huay Kaew/Moat intersection, second soi on left after traffic lights)

BTW, that old Chiang Mai institution "The Coffee Boy" mentioned way back in this thread by realthaideal is sadly long, long gone. Anyway, never did rate their coffee too much but there were compensatory attractions

Typing Lawyer should do the trick

A little common sense goes a long way, late at night.

Those with any common sense know not to go out late at night Of course, I never heed my own advice

There are so many better places to go late night in CM, I just don't get the attraction of Spicy/Spice to so many farangs.

just a quick question about Khao man gai. why don't restaurants serve it on evening and night times? seems like it's only available as a breakfast and lunch?

Yes, that does seem to be the case at most places, especially the famous ones. But not always, there used to be a road-side place doing excellent khao man kai and it was still serving at dinner time. Nice older couple running it, but it closed a year or two ago.

Good, cheap khao man gai and moo deang is available 24/7 in Thanin Market. In the main food/restaurant building right at the front. Very popular even at 4 a.m. Plenty of other good cheap Thai food op-tions in the same location open day time. Best moo deang and duck IMHO is on Chang Puek Road about 150M North of Mecure hotel, always busy and great value (Going North it's almost on the corner of a small Soi on the left, just past the soi leading to Wat Ku Tao on the right).

They sill have 2 places one is called infinity in Nimmanhaemin

I thought Infinity was owned by the same people as Discovery? Or is that who owns Fine Thanks too? Band I mentioned above also play at Infinity sometimes so kinda makes sense.

Thye have a great band playing there - "Super Running Ska"

The reality is you get what you pay for and so many seem to forget that here.

That's great news!

We can dispense with restaurant reviews. Just decide what kind of food you want and find the most expensive place you can afford, secure in the knowledge that the more you pay, the better the experience will be. Same should hold for selecting condos, services, hotels, tours. We can also rid the language of useless terms like bargain and rip-off. So simple.

Your logic is back to front. Just because something is expensive doesn't mean it's always good - BUT, if you pay peanuts you know already what you're likely gonna get. Many here seem to expect a silk purse when they only paid for the proverbial sow's ear.

what will change the minds of those that believe they have the right to mow down innocent riders/pedestrians etc

In Thailand, almost nothing. The only Thai's I've ever seen who drive somewhat safely are still waiting for the injuries from the last accident to heal.

I have not seen the necessity of the often written "Cheapskate Charlie" and such references in TV but now that someone has given an honest post about a place that is expensive, as noted by the OP, all everyone one is commenting is the price.

I for one wouldn't call it expensive, rather I'd call it not cheap There seems to be an expectation by so many on the many food threads that a place is good only if the food and service is perfect, the bill always adds up exactly with Thai pricing, no service charge or VAT and the whole meal cost less than 100 Bt including tip The reality is you get what you pay for and so many seem to forget that here.

The structure has been there for years and was always a middle of the road restaurant in my opinion.

Not been down that way in a while.... Is this place where Sylom Joy used to be? Another poster mentioned it above, but AFAIK Sylom Joy has been closed for ages - I think moved elsewhere. Had some good times there way back when.

O my! Just saw this, wow, thank you so very much. If you are interested, basically mum had huge goose sized brain tumor, it was cut out sucessfully. Then a month later we did a MRI just to check, and the doctor called (yes, called!) me and basically said, 'mum's dying in two years, nothing to be done, no one can help, it will be a horroble slow death'. Obviously I was shocked, asked him why, and he said, 'It's like Yugoslavia, everything is Ok and then civil war erupts and everyone dies.' Needless to say, my heart was broken. After a week or tears, we checked with many doctors in Bangkok, send MRI, biopsy, etc. Turns out it was a misdiagnosis. It was normal post surgery swelling. Grrrrr. Mum has taken cakes to the doctor every week since because she is worried he may feel bad!!! He has never apologised. So, all is right with the world again. Yea! Thank you so much for your lovely thoughts.

We are so lucky to live in a city where the sun shines even when it's raining!

Just think, in some places your lawyer would have already creamed $$$$ to start the malpractice action. All Kudos to your mum for a few cakes and the mai pen rai attitude. Best wishes to you and her

This thread - Thai Visa at it's absolute best

So what have we learned? Well seems like the owner was trying to do some sneaky free advertising on TV and ended up doing a "Gerald Ratner". Another place to add to the long list of venues in CM tagged "AVOID - egotistical Farang owner",

Anyway, more on topic. Still wanna know where to get a decent pizza in Nimanheminda area.

I think Bangkok is quite a good airport; not as good as HKG or SIN, but reasonable.

I'd say ICN is right up there with HKG and SIN; an excellent airport and not bad for a stopover. BKK is just a wannabe and has a long way to go to be in the same league.

Whilst BKK has many excellent business class lounges with various airlines, I'd hate to have a long stop over there if unfortunate enough to be flying cattle. They may have stuffed the place with duty free shops but they skimped on most other facilities.

If you do have to overnight in BKK the Novotel at the airport is very convenient with a short walk to check-in next day. Whilst it' "international airport" pricing is high by Thai standards, the rooms are actually much better than you'd expect for a typical Novotel.

the food is Thai with a Chinese spin

Err ? Please explain what is "Thai" about Chinese dumplings, hot and sour soup and their Chinese style fried rice? I've spent a lot of time in Taiwan and those dishes seem very authentic to me. Dumplings are standard fare there, with many small shops selling just those.

The noodles are Taiwanese style and even their omelets are nothing like the oil sodden crispy on the outside traditional Thai version. Agree with other posters about the fried rice too, much lighter Chinese style and not sodden with oil. The thick rice noodles with dry pork sauce and cucumber are great too, as is the "Rell Cake" sic (Chinese beef burrito style thingy with ho-sin barbecue style sauce), and the pork tongue. I've never seen a Thai restaurant selling any of these!

If you don't like that style of food, fine, up to you But, you are very wrong trying to trash the food as "Thai with a Chinese spin" just to justify your argument.

Whilst the place probably wouldn't win any gourmet awards, the food is easy and authentic at a fair price and the place clean and convenient for access and parking. It makes a good change a couple of times a month.

I'll start off with 'Crystal Boys' by Pai Hsien-Yung (translated by Howard Goldblatt). It's a novel about gay life in Taipei in the 1970s. The gay world was called the 'glass community' and the people who inhabited it were the Glass (or Crystal) Boys.

A-Qing gets caught with a supervisor at his high school and gets kicked out of house and home and runs away to join Chief Yang's gang of Crystal Boys.

Taiwan PBS made a 20 episode series for TV which I have copies of. Unfortunately the only subs on it are Chinese!

"There are no days in our kingdom, only nights. As soon as the sun comes up , our kingdom goes into hiding, for it is an unlawful nation; we have no government and no constitution, we are neither respected nor recognised by anyone, our citizenry is little more than rabble."

Wow, that sounds interesting. Gay life in Taipei must have been horrible in the 1970s. I lived there around the turn of the millenium and it was in transition. I hear that Taipei has a quite interesting gay scene now.

I'd be interested in reading a novel based on gay life in Taipei in the 1970s.

Another fun Taiwanese film set in Taipei is Formula 17. DVD available with English subtitles.

I also spent considerable time in Taipei back in the last decade and watched the gay scene evolving rapidly over that time. Haven't been back for three years and I'm curious to re-visit soon.

Near Salsa Kitchen?

Yes, it used to be next door to Salsa! Now kinda just behind there. Going down the soi opposite shell station, Nakornping is the large old condo on the right, CM Lodge is new condo on the left, where the road turns right through ninety degrees. Restaurant is right on that corner.

I have eaten there at least a couple of times per month for several years (old and new locations). Home made dumplings are excellent and very Taiwanese, also the hot and sour soup and Taiwanese style fried rice. The new place is certainly much cleaner and brighter (I too saw the old kitchen - very Taiwanese - having spent quite a bit of time in that country I have seen FAR worse in Taipei yet still eaten excellent food).

Shame the old man isn't there anymore, always very friendly. A couple of my friends from North of the border speak Chinese (Jin haw) and were always chatting away with him about the latest news and gossip from that part of the world. Seems like he could tell a few stories.....

Anyone know what this place is called (no english signage)? I presume they have 'special connections' to allow them to operate this late?

Infinity maybe? Or Tawan Daeng?