neilrob

Northern John, thanks for the information much appreciated.

Neilrob, what is the purpose of you unhelpful comments?

My post is not "unhelpful". On the contrary, my post is helpful if you would only follow it. You will find a great deal of very useful information in the threads, without having it all repeated here. Please search and read the posts and you will find out what I mean.

Did you actually read the "few posts" on Thaivisa which you mention? They contain, among other information, the telephone numbers and location of the hospital. Maybe better to read the information which is already on Thaivisa before posting to ask for the same information...

David’s Kitchen has recently moved to new premises closer to the centre of town. The restaurant exudes class and style without being stuffy. Staff address diners by their first names and

Ugh.. I seriously hate that.

If I go to a place 30 times and at some point the staff or the owner gets to know me on a first name basis then that's fine, but on a first visit having to introduce myself to a waiter? #$#ck that.

EDIT: I suppose I could tell them my name is 'Sir'... But really, I don't want to have to think about these things when going to a restaurant. I order, waiter delivers food. That's it. No jokes, not nothing. (This by the way is also why I dislike the restaurant experience in North America, with waiters who introduce themselves.. No.. just NO. I don't want to know, just bring me food!)

You will be pleased to know that this is not at all like a US dining experience. There is nothing of that ridiculous over familiarity. The waiters do not introduce themselves and you do not introduce yourself to them. The restaurant ask your name (and the name of your guests) when you make the reservation. Then they put a reserved sign with your names on the table. I suppose you could tell them your names are "sir" and "madam", but personally I see nothing wrong in being addressed, in a completely respectful, not a familiar, fashion, by my name. It is similar to the experience when you stay in a top end hotel---any staff who speak to you will know to address you as Mr. Kwai as soon as you've checked in. They will not tell you their names.

Some posters have complained that they cannot get things done at the bank. I have never had such a problem. This may in part be a problem from going to small branches---you cannot expect all branches to have the full range of expertise. If you need someone with authority in the bank who will get things done if they can be done, and who also speaks English, then go to the largest branch in CM, Sanpakoi on Charoenmuang Rd. The manager there, Khun Supaluck, is also the Area Vice President for CM.

Amazing progress with the online 90 day report system. I tried it for previous 90 day reports and was rejected by the system. Yesterday, the email that my application was approved came back in just one minute after submitting it. The total time from beginning the application to printing out the slip for my passport took just half an hour. Great!

You don't even have to subscribe to Netflix. Plenty of burning log videos on YouTube. But, they wouldn't have done much to warm up the place during those three or four nasty cold days in January:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fYL_qiDYf0

Hi Nancy,

No, I don't live in a condo---I own condos at NKP. but do not live there. I agree with you that a video would not have done much to warm up the place. At my house, which is surrounded by trees and therefore quite cool (which is a good thing at this time of year), there were a few weeks last winter when a fireplace would have been useful.

However, much more important, no one could possibly be nostalgic for a video---who would want to watch a bad fake! I am nostalgic for the real thing.

Cheers, Neil

Doesn't look like fire brick inside

It is granite---better than firebrick

Right now, a fireplace seems like the last thing I would want. However, a couple of months ago it would have come in very handy! So I decided to have one installed to be ready for next winter.

In truth, although I expect it to be useful, it is mainly an exercise in nostalgia, since the houses I grew up in always had fireplaces. If anyone else wants one, for function or nostalgia, PM me and I'll put you in touch with the contractor.

I'm a big red wine drinker and never seen a real red under 650 and standard is 700+ all of the others are 'fruit wines' with fruit mixed in to lower taxes. For everyday drinking i do drink the fruit wine Mar Sol which most wine bars, restaurants sell as the 'glass wine' and it's the best of a bad lot with Mont Clair the worst being found, allegedly, in Loi Khro etc.

Real red wines under 650B are quite easy to find. For example, I recently bought a bottle of Los Tilos Cabernet Sauvignon at Rimping for 459B. This is not a fruit wine. It comes from Chile and is sold in many countries. It is not great, but is quite a drinkable Cabernet, and is good value (for Thailand) at that price.

There is also a Merlot, but personally, I do not like that so much. If you shop around, you can find decent wines without spending a fortune, particularly if you avoid some of the overpriced big names, such as Yellow Tail. In my experience, Chilean wines offer the best values here.

"Yellow Tail Australian, is about 700 Baht here in Chiang Mai or about $20.00 USD!!! In America, on sale about $5.00 at Total Wine. I'd have to say Yellow Tail is probably the #1 selling Australian wine in the U.S. We're not talking about an oddball wine. $20.00 versus $5.00?!?!? I don't give a damn if it's tax, mark-up, broker fees, etc.......OUTRAGEOUS!!!!"

You are certainly right, uhhh ohhh, that is a ludicrous price for an indifferent wine. When I bought a bottle, a couple of years ago, it was 399B. I wonder who would buy it at this price, since better wines are available much cheaper. Maybe they are trying to trade on the familiar name.

Well, it's been pointed out that 300% tax is not correct. The fact remains that Australian wine, entering Thailand at 0% tax under a free trade agreement, costs more than 300% than the retail price in wine outlets in Australia. This is in Chiang Mai. Wine is noticeably cheaper around Pattaya/Jom Tien.

I checked some Penfolds wine today and a good red costs $19.00. As I said earlier, asking 3500baht at CNX Duty Free is ludicrous, piracy and a rip-off.

This is a meaningless comparison---you are comparing apples and oranges! You have to compare like with like, knowing which Penfolds wine it is. Penfolds make wines at a wide range of prices. Typically, the wines sold in Duty Free Shops are higher end wines. For example, if this is a bottle of Penfolds RWT Shiraz 2013, then 3500B is a bargain. This wine retails in Australia for about 160AUD, more than 4000B. At the other of the scale, a bottle of Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet is only about 16AUD in Australia.

If you really compare the exact same wine you will find that wines from, say, Chile or Australia are typically about 50 to 75% higher than in countries like the US or UK. For example, Root 1 Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 from Chile is available in the US for about $12, including tax, which is about 420B. I buy this exact same wine in CM for 645B, just 54% higher than the US price. All this talk of 300% tax is just that, all empty talk.

What sort of tax form is the OP asking about? I assumed it was a Thai tax form when I read the post, since this is Thailand. I received this form from the Thai tax office. Since I have income to report, I have submitted it. jjczap apparently assumes you are talking about a US tax form, but maybe it is a UK form or from wherever.... Better to specify the country if you want informed answers.

You're not getting a decent red at 300 THB. Think 500+. Then you also need to know what you like. I like Cabs. All reds are not the same. Check out Rim Ping. Best of luck.

Keep in mind all wine drinkers are not the same either.

BTW, Foodland in Pattaya sells it for 590 baht. Does that make it OK?

That is about the price I would expect for this wine (properly stored). So it may well be OK if it is indeed in good condition.

Amexpat and Madmac: That's fine if it suits your taste---up to you what you want to drink. However, you surely have to think it's strange that what should be a good wine by a very well known Australian brand is selling at less than 300B, around half the price you would expect. Most significantly, Rimping still have a lot in stock, more than a month after they first started to sell it. I'm sure that I'm not the only one to conclude it is spoiled or the bottles would long since have sold out at that bargain price.

Bushman's Gully 295 at Rimping.

Got one @Rimping Mae Hia. It does NOT mention the word fruit anywhere, hopes are high!

Yes, of course it is a genuine Cabernet Sauvignon. That does not make it worth the money however. As I commented before, there is a reason it is under 300B. Unfortunately, it is spoiled. It can be drunk, but not with pleasure. I suspect it was stored badly.

Bushman's Gully 295 at Rimping.

You are right that this is a real Cabernet Sauvignon at under 300B. But have you tried it? There is a reason it is under 300B. Unfortunately, it is spoiled. It can be drunk, but not with pleasure. I suspect it was stored badly.

There already was such a presentation in Chiang Mai, last year. I found it much less informative than I expected and I learned nothing new. Much of the time was taken up by commercial presentations by a firm of funeral directors offering their services to repatriate your body.

I attended the seminar

If you listened correctly

They offered Cremation In Thailand as well

Being a Australian i understood 100% of what was said

There were some who did not understand everything

I did talk to the Director and Dao about this after the session

They both welcomed the feedback

i believe this will be corrected in this one

I had no problem understanding what was said, it was largely a marketing exercise for an Australian funeral director. I heard (and "listened correctly") that they also offered cremations. However, it is not difficult to arrange a cremation in Thailand---there are close to one million cremations a year here. Why on earth would anyone contact an Australian funeral director to get a cremation in Thailand??

There already was such a presentation in Chiang Mai, last year. I found it much less informative than I expected and I learned nothing new. Much of the time was taken up by commercial presentations by a firm of funeral directors offering their services to repatriate your body.

" I guess in order to post properly one needs to draw pictures using crayons... "

Your post was confusing and confused. My suggestion to the OP is to read the title and the post over again before posting. You will get much better replies that way.

I agree with Chiang Mai's posting. I do not understand how the OP's problem can have arisen. I have walked into my (large) Bangkok Bank branch and taken out two million in cash from my account, with no questions asked. There has never been any question of a limit on accessing my own money. My limit on online transfers is 500,000B per day (which appears to be the highest allowable), but I have transferred 1.5MB, just spread it over three days. My credit card does of course have a limit, but that is a different matter.

I used to be on the premier plan with 3BB, but switched to the 15MB plan. This is both much faster and also cheaper.

As I write I am getting 15.3/1.5 tested to a server in Yangon.

I am getting 15.5 download and 1.5 upload, so it must be a local problem. However, 5.7 certainly does not strike me as "outrageous".

Does not seem to have much to do with Chiang Mai. OP left Thailand years ago, financial advisor left Thailand years ago, investments were in Italian and Sri Lankan companies.

Please PM me for a name and phone number

You are being quite unrealistic (and rude yourself). Just go there and ask!