neilrob

Went there last night---thought the food and friendly atmosphere were very good and the prices remarkable. Neil

In the case of David Crisp's murder, my understanding is that the people who did it have been arrested. There is plenty of evidence against them and they have confessed. I have not heard that they have been tried yet---has anyone else heard about a trial? In view of the evidence and confessions I would expect the trial to be brief. Neil

I've had both and much prefer the salt water pool. In respect of chemicals, it just looks after itself (any need to add more salt is very infrequent). Neil

Another vote for Rimping. Although some items are higher than elsewhere, I have found many which are better priced. I don't think anyone has mentioned that their wine selection and prices are surprisingly good. I have never had the problem mentioned by the original poster (although I am sure that was the fault of the supplier rather than Rimping).

Can anyone tell me where I can find a litter box for a cat, and some litter to put in it? I've seen plenty of cat food around, but no litter supplies, and our kitty needs an indoor bathroom.

Also Carrefour, on the Superhighway, has both.

I have eaten at La Favola, the Italian restaurant in Le Meridien, several times. It was the best Italian food I've had in CM, but not cheap. I have not yet eaten at their buffet, but I'm sure they must be better than the Holiday Inn, since the Holiday Inn food is not even in the same league as La Favola.

Strange---you'd have to PAY me more than 800B to attend this sort of event, sure to be full of boring speeches (I've been to things like this before). I've certainly seen it widely promoted and I know that many farangs have bought tickets. It may even be sold out so there must be many who like such---the world is indeed a strange place.

interesting!

barclays recently sent me a new connect card to thailand no problem (from the offshore IOM section). what is the difference?

Maybe Barclays finally realised how much they were alienating good customers with their unreasonable attitude. I would not take my business back to them if they paid me---HSBC is so much better.

Hi Mac,

Glad to hear that construction is in progress. Whereabouts is the school in CM?

Neil

I was a 20 year very good customer of Barclays (six figure account balance), but became extremely frustrated by their quite unreasonable attitude towards doing business with me once I moved to Thailand---they would not allow me online access to my accounts, for example. In the end though, they did me a favour by forcing me to transfer my business to HSBC. HSBC take a very different attitude and have gone out of their way to be helpful in all sorts of ways. The contrast in customer service is just night and day. My advice is to avoid anything at all to do with Barclays/Barclaycard---why have any dealings with a company with such a poor attitude to customer service?

Just out of interest, I saw some of the intersections are called "Saman Samakkee".. Could that be the official Thai name for that road? For example the intersection with the Canal Road is called "Yaek Mae Hia Saman Samakee", quite a mouth full.

My understanding is that "saman samakee" means something like "make united". Mae Hia is the name of the stream. So, the name of the junction with the Canal Road is Mae Hia Junction. I am told that "saman samakee" is added to make the name sound nice. Similarly, the name of the junction with the Doi Saket Rd (118) means "Mae Khaw Junction Clean and Clear". The clean and clear has been added to prettify the name. Unfortunately, the Mae Khaw river is neither particularly clean or clear.

Neil

That particular ring road is also called Highway 108.

Highway 108 is a N-S road to Hang Dong. The ring road where Global House is located (which is really the inner ring road of two, but many people think of the Superhighway as the first ring road inside it, as Peace Blondie's comment refers, even though the Superhighway actually crosses outside both ring roads eventually) must be the best road in CM, in terms of width and speed, with underpasses at all junctions and three lanes each way. In spite of being such a good road, its official designation is Chiang Mai Rural Road (!) 3029. However, the actual number hardly matters, since road signs never show it for some reason. The only signs which show the number are on the median, and are too small to read easily at the prevailing speed.

Thanks Mapguy for your always useful maps (here and elsewhere on ThaiVisa). You are a real public service! Neil

Does anybody know if there is a bridge club in CHiangmai ?

We have regular weekly duplicate sessions and we welcome all players. We also offer coaching for those who are beginners or who are rusty from not having played for a while. Contact Chris Hedges for more information (contact information in above replies). I look forward to seeing you at the bridge table. Neil

This is Thai democracy. They do it their way. You have to accept the reality of living in Thailand and not pontificate that Thailand MUST follow the letter of the law as if it were the States. Thais don't want American opinions telling them how to run their country.

You think democracy Thai-style works well?? What country and/or reality are you living in?

Reading the postings on this forum, some of the posters seem to believe that the mayor is a helpless woman falling prey to 'them'. The truth is that the mayor comes from a rich and politically very powerful family (particularly her father, formerly deputy minister in one of Thailand's more corrupt governments, holder of powerful posts in CM province etc.). Her family is part of 'the old money brigade' which one poster oddly blames for her downfall. CMSally makes a very good point when she questions why the mayor was allowed to run for office at all in spite of this contravening the election law. The answer is most probably found in the aforementioned rich and powerful family. Thailand badly needs the rule of law to apply to all, rich and powerful included.

Well, I'm a card carrying Red Shirt and no fan of the "Democrat" party, but this is BS. Again courts meddling with election results because of utter trivialities.. The woman won more votes than anyone else so unless she committed a horrific crime she should be mayor. Votes should decide, not courts.

My understanding is that the law requires a mayoral candidate to be a resident of the city he or she is standing in. The mayor in fact lived elsewhere before the election. Her evidence that she lived in CM was inadequate, as determined both by the election commission and by the courts. This is not about a piece of paper, but is about following a reasonable law that requires a candidate to be a resident before running for office. I am pleased to see the courts enforcing the laws---it is all too common in Thailand for elite families (such as she belongs to) to be above the law. How is failing to follow a reasonable law an "utter triviality"?

Because the people knew that and wanted her for mayor. Same as with Thaksin; people knew he was a shrewd (bordering dodgy) business man who showed he was willing to circumvent tax laws, and they still voted for him in successive landslides.. Therefore he was legitimate in my view, and he showed he indeed could deliver and get Thailand's economy on the road in a big way and do all the other things that some dismiss as populist. Ultimately I think people's votes should decide. So while I'm no fan of the mayor's political background, I must respect the will of the people more than courts because courts have shown time and again to be corrupt and or under the influence of the powers-that-be.

Note that in other countries this doesn't work this way.. If the USA did things in the Thai way then mr. Obama would still be in courts trying to proof he was born in the USA (Hawaii), just because some nutters and influential people want to cause him grief.. That puts disproportionate power in the hands of the courts.

Hardly---the difference is that Obama WAS born in the US, while the mayor was NOT a resident of CM. If Obama had not been born a US citizen, the American courts would have thrown him out, no matter how many people voted for him, because that's the law. Democracies are not just about voting. A major part of a functioning democracy is adherence to the rule of law. Thailand badly needs this.

Well, I'm a card carrying Red Shirt and no fan of the "Democrat" party, but this is BS. Again courts meddling with election results because of utter trivialities.. The woman won more votes than anyone else so unless she committed a horrific crime she should be mayor. Votes should decide, not courts.

My understanding is that the law requires a mayoral candidate to be a resident of the city he or she is standing in. The mayor in fact lived elsewhere before the election. Her evidence that she lived in CM was inadequate, as determined both by the election commission and by the courts. This is not about a piece of paper, but is about following a reasonable law that requires a candidate to be a resident before running for office. I am pleased to see the courts enforcing the laws---it is all too common in Thailand for elite families (such as she belongs to) to be above the law. How is failing to follow a reasonable law an "utter triviality"?

Major cinema has a web site which purports to give show times. However, I'll not give the address because it is very poor---all in Thai and by the time I've finished puzzling my way through it, the movie has started---even native Thai speakers find it difficult to use and often totally uninformative. The strange thing is that Major in CM used to have a good web site, but it disappeared about a year ago. But, not all is lost. Try http://thomatfilms.blogspot.com/. Thomas not only gives times (not always up to date, but much better than movieseer) , but also has excellent movie reviews, warnings about such items as the lack of English at Vista's showing of Australia etc.

Neil

"another problem is the thai BF cannot travel to another country"

Why cannot Thai BF travel to another country? Thais can travel easily to many countries in this region.

All this talk of "rescuing" sounds very Victorian, as though bar boys were fallen women. My experience is that bar boys are all sorts, gay and straight, responsible and irresponsible, genuinely affectionate or entirely self-involved, remarkably nice or remarkably nasty. Which means that it is difficult to generalize about them. I am not at all surprised by the OP's story---I know from experience that there are genuinely nice, responsible people among them. Best wishes for an enduring relationship between Unfaithful (who doesn't sound that unfaithful to me) and his sammi noi.

An excellent summary of what a gay pride (or whatever pride) parade is all about and why it should have been allowed to happen peacefully. Thank you Thakkar. Neil

There are several buildings in Chiang Mai with the word "Nakorn Ping" in their name. I can provide feedback about the 17 story condo building on Haey Kaew, just across from the Shell station, close to KSK Central.

It's a pleasant place to live, but much there is much variability in the quality of the units and the landlords. We looked at some units in the building that were real dumps and others that were spectacular. The building management doesn't have the ability to show all the units that are available in the building. With many, you have to contact the individual landlord.

The building itself is a bit shabby in the public areas, but the staff does a nice job with security and service. The people who run the ground-level mini market and little restaurant are very friendly, open long hours and have good prices and selection. The pool on the fifth floor is great and kept very clean. The residents of the building are pretty quiet and considerate, mostly retirees and some families that keep their kids under control. Unfortunately, there is much street noise from Haey Kaew and the barking dogs in the neighborhood. Surprisingly the noise is worse at the higher levels. The units closer to street level benefit by having the trees absorb the noise. The units on the SW side have good mountain views, but also are much warmer because of the afternoon sun.

The location is great. We either walk everywhere or can get a song taew in an instant. Overall, I'm very happy with the building -- I just wish the neighborhood outside the condo didn't have so many dogs barking at 4 am! But, I know that's a problem throughout the city.

I think this is a good summary, although I myself don't find it noisy at night. I have a condo on the 14th floor, overlooking the city. If I do not need a/c, then I close both the windows closing off the balcony (most units by now have these fitted) and the inner glass doors. This provides good sound proofing. If I do need a/c then only the glass doors are closed, but the low hum of the a/c deadens any noise. The location is probably the most convenient of any large condo building anywhere in the city---a short walk to Central, the moat etc.

How much are you paying for the 4M package? They advertise 2500b/month

The Indy 4MB package is 1000B a month. The Premier 4MB is 2500B. I have the Indy. It looks like you may get better upload speeds on the Premier, but not worth the extra cost for me.

I see Maxnet offers up to 6Mb on the Premier package.

http://www.maxnet.co.th/promotion_inside.php?promtid=58

When I read the old forum posts on this topic, the speeds seem to be all over the place no matter what you pay for. Does paying for a higher speed with Maxnet actually mean getting a higher speed? What is your recent experience? Thank you!

Good question as to whether higher payments=higher speed. I don't know. I have had Maxnet for a couple of years now, on the Indy 1000B per month package. When I started, this was nominally "up to 2MB". In practice, it was closer to one tenth of that speed and we complained a lot with little apparent result. However, they have become much better over time. Our package (for the same price) is now 4MB and the actual speed I find quite acceptable---according to a recent speed test, we are getting 3MB. We live near Carrefour near the Superhighway. If this sort of speed is OK for you, I'd go with a cheaper package rather than pay a lot more for 6MB.

Neil