fiddlehead

Maybe I'm alone in being thankful for the upcoming events being listed.
Lots of negativity here.
Not sure why.

Although the Thanyapura tennis night is a little late as it was 2 days ago I believe.

Other than that, thanks.

It all starts with education and from the Cambodian people that I have talked to, most have none.
Put some money into schools, good teachers, a good program and make it accessible to all, and the problems will start to equate

But it takes time.

I suspect a troll, but will answer anyway.
1/ Jack Nicholson was raised by all women. He then said: "Women are smarter than men" I often times must agree.

2/ That is a cultural thing and not true in the US and western world. Is true in Thailand however and goes to prove Jack Nicholson was right.

3/ I offer my seat up for pregnant women, or quite older than me, whether they are men or women. So: up to you.

4/ I, for one, am happy that the do not. If you do, stay away please. Especially when you are drinking.

5/ Live can also be great. Depends how you look at it.

Have a good day!

If you were going to be stranded, and broke anywhere in the world, Thailand is not a bad place for it to happen.
Jungles are full of fruit growing wild, seas are full of fish, clams can be picked at low tide, and veggies grow like weeds.

If you eat durian, mangosteen, coconuts, small fish, and tiny clams, you will survive.
Just need some protection from rain and bugs.
Not so hard to do if you have some sense.

I use chorine drops when in the backcountry here. (jungle)

Depending on how contaminated I think the water is, my general rule is: one drop per litre if i suspect the source,

2 drops per litre if there are houses above the source.

Wait 20 minutes. (15 is probably fine as the water is warm here. The colder the water, the longer you should wait)

Have never gotten sick from drinking water in the wild since '89 in Nepal. (where they told me the water was filtered and treated but, I don't believe it, as I got giardia. Started using the chorox drops after that)

Of course, some use iodine. Personally, I can't stand the taste.

The still cheapest way is to transfer money from any account in a foreign country to your Thai Baht account is done by Transferwise, and then deduct the money from your account here. They use the 15 minutes delayed Reuters rate, which is similar to the XE rate. The charge is 1.5% of the amount changed, plus THB 100 up to 6.500 THB. No foreign or local bank fees. Does anybody know a cheaper way? Probably not. Try https://transferwise.com/u/59199

I withdrew 20,000 baht yesterday with my Charles Schwab card.

They (ATM) deduct the 180 baht but, I know from experience, I will get reinbursed for that in a few days.

So, If I add the fee, I got 35.82 baht per dollar.

Almost the highest rate of the day yesterday. (of course, I won't know for sure until I get the reinbursement)

But, I don't know how you could beat that..

1/ Sukothai

2/ Phanom Rung Temple (Buriram province I believe)

3/ Chaing Rai area (golden triangle?)

4/ Bridge over river Kwai (Kanchanaburi)

5/ Phuk-a-Ding NP (she could try to climb the mountain although it is a bit strenuous) (sp?) (Loui province)_

6/ Mae Hong Son (or Pai) northwest of Chiang Mai

7/ Dui Internon (Highest point in Thailand, beautiful flower garden on the way up..... called Royal something?)

Just a few.

All of them in northern Thailand.

So much more in the south, including:

Railay beach,

Phangnga bay

Tarutao National Park (ecological island with lots of history)

Treettops Adventure Park Krabi (a bit strenous for a 65 year old, but I did it 2 weeks ago: GOOD FUN!)

So many more, but these, I would consider safe for a single, female traveler.

Took this picture in northern Thailand a few years ago.
Saw the same monks in Phuket about 2 months later.

I ended up buying a new cartridge from Julaporn stationary shop in Chalong.
But, I did check out the shop across from the PTT station on Choafa West road and it looks similar to the old shop near the circle. (but not the same proprietor)

As for using laser, I don't use my printer enough to justify the cost although my business in the states uses them and they are quite fast and cheaper to run. (once you pay for them)

(Plus I like the added features of scanner and copier all in a unit that cost less than 3,000 baht)

Taiwan for Thailand

Iowa for Idaho,

Austria for Australia.

I expect it anymore.
Just showing their ignorance.

My sister in law once asked me how do I get here in Thailand from New York? Drive?

But you are correct and most Thai's do not know much geography either.

Another good reason to travel. Then you learn.

My wife has now been to 20 US states, and 61 Thai provinces.
She has taught herself to read a map.
How many Thais can do that?

"The Thai baht has weakened about 10 per cent since early this year and now it is quite stable and at an appropriate rate," she said.

Quite stable?
Yeah, and she's the new cabinet commerce minister.
You'd think she'd seen the charts of the past couple of days/weeks/months.
It's anything but stable.

Getting it at all, uncrushed or picked over, is a plus but if you want it , for sure, undamaged and fast the pay a bundle to Fed ex or Dhl. etc.

Many times, my sister uses regular US postal service to send me packages, which come by EMS.

About 8-10 days is normal as someone else said.

But FedEx can be a heartbreaker (for me anyway)

I've had 3 packages come via Fed Ex.:

NEVER have they gotten here.

Each time I had to go pick them up. (only once out of the 3 did they even contact me that they have a package for me) (the other times, luckily I knew they were coming)

They can't seem to find my house although UPS, DHL and EMS has no trouble.

When I go there, they seem to act like it's my fault. (OK, I live in Rawai which is about as far away from their HQ near the big SuperCheap as you can get, but laziness shouldn't be the reason with the most expensive carrier)

And of course they are the most expensive.

Go figure!

what annoys me is the lack of parking in Patong, I mean I challenge the mayor of Patong to grab a spot outside Jung Ceylon to go in to grab some McDonalds in an unmarked car

I was so mad last night.

Wanted a Kebab from the guy near the Taipan, tried to park between about 10 vans on the Jung Ceylon road (of course tuk tuks and taxis lined the WHOLE rat t tat road)

A guy came up and told me 500 baht fine for parking there.

I said "what about them?" pointing to the vans, he just said "500 baht fine"!

Didn't get my kebab, just left madder than hell.

Forget that town.

They REALLY have a problem with these guys and their mafia!

I always do some Christmas shopping up near Lam Prom Thep.
Those little shops have something that is very hard to find here: Size 6XL! (yeah, I'm American and need some of those for gifts)
And great prices.

So, yeah, go to the malls, and find the higher priced stuff, but if you want cheap, Chang beer shirts, or I love Phuket shirts, fisherman's pants, or souvenirs of Thailand, check out the bargains up there.
And do a little hiking while your at it and head down the path to the southern most point of Phuket.
Much more fun than going to Starbucks at the mall.

Durian are plentiful but they are seasonal (in season now)

Mangosteens and oranges can be found wild in the jungle as well as bananas and tamarind of course.
But not everywhere, you have to either know where they are (the Mangosteens and orange trees anyway)

Caves are abundant in Thailand.
Was in one just today in Krabi province.

Travelled with a monk who's mentor lived in a cave for 9 months and caught water dripping into a cup (takes lots of patience)I'd take a mosquito net though.

I'd take a mosquito net though.

You can live without food if you are good at the meditation thing.
You can google "breathairian" to find out more.

Have fun out there.

I've spent some time in the jungles of Thailand.
Mostly in Phuket, but some in northern Thailand.
But, only a few overnights.
I would try to do it near a river.
Fish traps or fishing may help you eat.
But fruits will most likely be your source of food.
Not as many snakes out there as most people think.
I've been charged by boars, attacked by a gibbon, bitten by Tors (4 times) and one scorpion (Tor was much worse)

Good luck.

Yeah, the first sentence and the last sentence pretty much contradict each other.

I remember a few years ago, we were visiting my wife's aunt in Khon Khen province, out in the middle of nowhere.
Small town (does it have a name? ) with perhaps 60 houses.
The lot next to her was for sale.
Perhaps it was 1/3 of a rai.
Price was 150,000 baht.

But a bit backward up there.
Her aunt is perhaps 55 years old.

Has never had mail delivered to her house.
Has never had an electric bill. (if you keep it under 300 baht, no bill) She's never even been close as she only has one small light and uses it sparingly.
Town has a few mom and pop stores but, they don't sell much besides bottled sauces, cheap candy and soap.

So, yeah, there's cheap land.
But would you really want to live there?

Is it April 1st already?

I remember a child like this in my son's kindergarten.
It took a few years but the teacher really worked hard with him and spent a lot more time on him than the others.
Now, he is 11 years old an totally normal.
I'd say it took 5 years minimum.

I would venture to guess it is going to take a special teacher who really cares.

As well as you and her Mom at home.

Gonna take lots of love.

I also think school would be important because she would see how others act, and eat, and go to the bathroom, etc.

Good luck.

Well, it's sure moving this morning.
Baht to dollar: 35.10 at 7 AM,

now: 9:54 AM : 35.35

The sign seen from Choafa West says Kings Power for some time now.
On the nearby road (rear entrance to King Power?) to the new Head Start school, there is a fairly new gem shop that went from 35 buses parked there 3 or 4 weeks ago to 50+ buses yesterday.
So, yes, the Chinese or Koreans are in there doing something. Spending money? or just looking?
I imagine if their tour guide says: "Buy something" ! They will.

I wonder who owns THAT place.

Whats there to do on a rainy day?
Shop!

I carry Tiger Balm when hiking and traveling.
I very rarely use it for aches and pains (which seems to be what most all of you are using it for)

I use it for bug bites.

Got up at 5 this morning to discover the kitchen was flooded.
Rain gutter overflowed into the house.
Street outside was like a river.
Was touch and go for a while as we bailed and carried buckets for over an hour.
Now, back to normal, raining much less. (but still raining at 11 AM)

This has happened 2 or 3 times in my 7 years in this house.
But this was the worst. (coming in much faster than we could bail it out)

Anyway, kitchen is quite clean now.

I would imagine if you asked the same poll in a Chinese forum, or Russian forum, your answers would be quite different.
Quite biased to be asking an English newspaper who they prefer to work with.