Bill97

Right; no value can be ascribed to a good education of the conventional kind, and better if possible.

BUT I can tell you something that may reassure you somewhat -- what children learn at school is overwhelmingly about knowing how to fit in at school, and only very little, relatively, about anything else.

"Social skills" come from home and outside, too. Home tutored kids tend to be brighter and more confident.

I have been saddened by some of the home tutored kids I have met in CM because of their lack of confidence. They just do not seem to function outside their homeschool group and have little knowledge about their surroundings.

Others I have met have been fine (not brighter or more confident) but it seems like about 50-50.

Driving on four wheels less.

Eating at foreign food restaurants less.

Shopping at traditional markets for food more.

Checking the phone bill more.

Considering non essential purchases more carefully.

Traveling less.

Tightening up can be good for the soul and will help us be ready for the time when it really hits the fan.

Too bad you got diverted, the gate was his to deal with 100%. Take a lesson from the police, they always grab the keys first and if you can't do that, let the air out of a tire or two with your buck knife if necessary.

I hope you were not so pissed off that you forgot to keep his new pick up as security until he made good on the gate and anything else you had coming to you. It was on your property, right?

I hope to see Chiang Mai go back to what it was like in 1986, when I first showed up.

Dream on.

The future of tourism here is other Asian. If you only think farang, you're missing a lot. There are thousands of other Asians who come, but because they look a bit like Thais it does not register.

So I personally don't think tourism is going down at all.

Just look at all the new vehicle rental places / hotels / ghouses / restaurants / bars / massage places etc. They all opened because there was business there. In low season many of them struggle & don't we all in low season - tell us something new.

Also some of my mates with travel offices for 10 yrs are having their best years, & their customers are mainly farang.

So again I don't think tourism is going down - the volume is still there, but the market's changing & so the businesses need to change to keep up with the times.

I think you have a very valid and interesting point: Being farang, we tend to overlook the largest groups of foreign visitors to Thailand. According to the TAT (Tourism Authority of Thailand) there were in 2007 the following numbers of visitors from a number of Asian countries (TAT's source is the Immigration Bureau):

Malaysia: 1,551,959

Japan: 1,248,700

South Korea: 1,075,516

China: 1,003,141

Compare those numbers to the top four "farang" countries:

United Kingdom: 746,422

Australia: 638,126

USA: 623,638

Germany: 537,200

I think we have to realise that in comparison we are small fry

/ Priceless

Yes, and I think if you dig further you will find that significant growth in recent years is from the Asian countries except perhaps Malaysia due to the problems in the south.

There is a shop that sells a lot of sheet aluminum. Go east past the train station to the super highway, then north (left) on the super highway frontage road. About 500 meters, just a bit past Amnuay Motor Air turn left in the first soi and you will see it about 60 meters down on the left. The guy next door does a lot of aluminum work and might have some small pieces.

Water pressure to the unit can also be reduced if the screen filter on the unit where the water comes in to it is clogged. "a little stone in the pipe" You have to check and clean that filter periodically.

Home Pro service people are not all employees, some are independent contractors. I had a problem with a Home Pro filter and it took 3 or 4 service visits and about 12 phone calls before it was fixed, the unit replaced.

Have had good luck with service from Saha Panit which has their own employee service staff.

yes

yes

yes

yes

only the ones you take with you

you just may have an adventure trip but for sure you will have a real adventure when you return

It is not true that every credit card issuer in the world refuses to send credit cards to Thailand.

Isuzu at Don Jan has done good body and paint work but might be expensive compared to the independent shops.

Your wife is right.

You are welcome. The shop is on the East side of the road, not west side. Sorry, I should have had my coffee before writing. Hope you get this before you go.

On the west side of Thiphanet Rd, closer to the Y with Wualai Rd than Moat (Chiang Lor Rd). The shop is across the street from a small bank I think and is 4-5 steps above road level. They have a lot of sheet plastic, colors and thicknesses but I do not know about your requirement for flexibility. They supply sign makers.

Siam Commercial FCD wire money in, convert to baht upon withdrawal and there were no 1% fees, only a small fee related to receiving the wire.

Four years ago DL air conditioned a 3 square meter bedroom and is complaining about it now. And he says "the unit will only go up to 25c maximum, so no matter how much I try to make the thing blow colder, it wont work." So he wants to set it higher than 25c to make it colder. Suan Prung might be able to help him.

31 is right. Your question can not be answered until you decide what materials you want to use. If an architect made your plans, they should be able to give you an idea about price and refer you to several contractors who could bid the job.

Thanks for the replies guys. I'm gonna check out Home Pro tmw, and maybe Globin Hout (Global House in Thai!) as well. See what I can dig up there at the last minute. As for the unnamed furniture store out off the Super sidestreet by Carrefour, I think I know the one you mean. All kinds of mixed stuff, good quality, no fancy showroom, run by a bunch of ethnic Indian Thais. Really good guys, good deals and good service from them in the past. But so far never saw anything as lightweight n industrial as what I'm looking for there. But as there are a few in a row there, maybe I'm recalling the wrong shop.

That is the right shop. Tables were upstairs, good ones but I am not sure about lightweight n industrial whatever that means.

Saw some great looking tables with folding steel legs in an independent furniture shop between Carefore and Makro on the same side of the street, can't remember the shop name but the tables were upstairs and the gentleman helpful and pleasant.

The above location is not correct. The correct location is on the outside of the superhighway (north side) between the Ping River and the Mae Joe Road. Their name is Chiang Mai Wangthong Ltp. 053 242 228. 300 Baht/day for the small compactor and you have to leave a deposit of about 1500 baht.

Good advice. Do you (or anyone else) know where a small compactor can be hired? I've tried asking my builder but he has no idea :

Hired one about a year ago. I think one place was on the superhighway between the Mae Joe and Mae Rim roads. I'll try to get you more detail about the location tomorrow.

Where is Nopadon Panit?

On the inside (city side) of the Super Highway between the Mae Joe Road and the Doi Saket road. It is a big construction supply store with a Home Mart sign.

Following BB's advice above about a compacted leveled sand base is essential.

Don't know what kind of area you want to cover but you might consider the honeycomb concrete blocks and plant grass in the holes. Looks like all or mostly grass after a year or so but has the support of the concrete blocks. Often used for driveways. Cooler than all concrete/paving stones. Nopadon Panit sells paving stones in many colors, CPAC I think, not sure about the honeycomb blocks.

SO while you can't buy a 6pack of beer at the local mrket the theives will be able to buy a new laptop online! Complete waste of time.

Online purchases require billing addresses and often shipping addresses that are the same as the billing so it is not that easy.

Well, I will differ in respect of Ma Kasem.

I have found her to be verging on senility.

Kasem's might have been OK before the advent of Rimping and Tops etc., but ma (and her daughters) are well past their use by date.

I spoke just recently to a Thai business man (2nd generation) and he agreed Kasem's is now 3rd generation and has lost the plot.

Ma has on several occasions said I will get this or that but "she is full of hot air"

I know that my best years have gone but the posters who even remotely suggest that Kasems have got what it takes are far removed from reality.

20 years ago it was the only place in Chiangmai (the only deli) but now they are just another hole in the wall.

She's still a great women, and her family is tops, no matter what garbage others have to spout.

I second that one. Many people walk into the shop and she still greets them by name which she was told only once as much as twenty years ago.