fiddlehead

I have a feeling Wine Connection is gonna be crowded tomorrow morning.

I asked my bank once (Kasikorn) what happens to my money if I die?

They said that once they got confirmation from the US Embassy and death certificate, they would then release the money to my estate through the embassy.

I always assumed they were being honest here and it's a question I now realize that I should ask our embassy people.

I have a will in the states but none here in Thailand.

I would appreciate that website someone mentioned to do it yourself online here in Thailand.

My lawyer in the states told me anyone can make their own will providing it has an executor and signed by credible witnesses.

I doubt the law is the same here but would hope it's similar.

I can safely say my kids will have a better education than I had. They will have far more knowledge of the world and be far better travelled than I ever was, and they will have had a far more interesting diverse enjoyable childhood than I ever did, and my childhood was nice and normal.

Boy, that paragraph sure points out a lot to me.

I too had a pretty normal upbringing although I had 7 brothers and sisters. So, no money for education after high school, no traveling outside of our state, not too many frills in my young life.

Somehow I made it through those teenage years although looking back, I shudder to think my kid is going to do the same: drinking, partying, sex, drugs, and rock and roll.

Luckily I did get the travel bug and discovered Asia and other great places.

Anyway, what I wanted to say was that although my boy is only 6, I am already training him to run my 2 businesses. Math, computer, marketing skills, English language skills (written, speaking and vocabulary, all very important).

He also already speaks 3 languages fluently (OK one of them is Lao and probably won't mean much in the long run) Plus we are having him tutored in Chinese and he is friends with some Russians, French and Germans.

Don't know how much of that he's picking up but, I know this: It's a lot more than I was picking up when I was his age.

Plenty of opportunity here, especially in the tourist industry, real estate industry, construction industry, and quite the plethora of computer experts and jobs around too.

Musicians? OK, I'm not from LA or New Orleans or Nashville but, I find a much higher level of musicians here than where I come from.

In the past week, I've talked to or heard muso's from: Brazil, Switzerland, England, Germany, Thailand, as well as the states.

.

Yes, I could go back, but, after weighing the differences, I'll take my chances here.

This reminds me of the story of the old man sitting on a bench on the edge of his village.

Another man came up and said 'I've just moved into the village. What's it like here?' The first man replied 'What was it like where you came from?' and the second man said 'Oh, it was lovely, everyone was really friendly.' The first man said 'I think you'll find it pretty much like that here.'

Next day man 1 was on the bench again. Another man came up and said 'I've just moved into the village. What's it like here?' The first man replied 'What was it like where you came from?' and the second man said 'Oh, it was a miserable place, really unfriendly.' The first man said 'I think you'll find it pretty much like that here.'

I think there's lots to do here. And good weather to do it in.

OK, there's no snow skiing, and you have to leave the island do to white water rafting and not a lot of team sports.

If you can't find anything for your kids to do (or they can't) why stay?

If your kid has nothing to do, suggest some of the following: surfing, kiteboarding, paddle surfing, beach volleyball, water skiing (cable ski place near Kathu waterfall is full of teenagers most days), they have this highline thing in the tall trees, and if you live near Sapan Hin, there are about 6 buildings there complete with:badminton courts, swimming pools, tennis courts (just been resurfaced and are free), weight room, also, there's Muay Thai schools all over the place with lots of teenagers in them, we go to Phi Phi or Railay rock climbing at least once a year, camping (we've camped at more than 6 National Parks in this country already), mountain biking (up near the Kata Viewpoint), 4 wheeling, sailing (Chalong yacht club gives lessons to teenagers), scuba diving, skateboarding, of course football pickup games, fishing, (watched while a 3rd generation fisherman showed my son half a dozen ways to catch different species of fish while we camped on the beach on the north part of the island last year), basketball courts, ping pong, kite flying (Sapan Hin on weekends is full of people doing this), RC plane flying or gliders up at the Windmill hill Nai Harn, horseback riding, (on the beach), snorkeling, gymnastics (courses being given at Palazzo), and I'm sure I missed a few.

Many more choices here for my son than I ever had.

So many opportunities, but, I guess you have to open your eyes (and mind) to see.

By the way, took my family to the US last year, hard to find kids outside anymore. That was one of the culture shocks they had. I was quite surprised about that too.

But, I'm sure it's better where you come from.

used this service twice once in pattaya and in phuket. great to have.

in both places what a total lack of security/concern for american citizens gathering in one place for an extended period of time. none at all. the one was even held outside in the court yard at the hilton. you could drive a vehicle right up to it. they announce these outreaches months ahead of time right up to place, time, and room location. i even addressed a letter to the embassy about this. replied we will pass it on.

in bkk its a fortress to get in and probably shot on the spot if you parked your motorbike outside the embassy.

i am not paranoid nut on terrorism/bombs ect. but i do find this totally out of order. particularly when the us embassy is always telling its citizens to be alert.

just my 2 cents.

I didn't see bars providing high levels of security for american citizens attending the superbowl

thats right. you walked right thru the entrance gates with out any security check.

all i am saying is a fortress in bkk. they go anywhere else and make public announcements and provide nothing.

Keep complaining and they'll stop coming.

I for one appreciate the work they do coming here and providing a service that keeps me from having to fly to BKK every few years.

They're usually very helpful with any questions I have and now I have to get my son a new passport.

Saves me at least 8,000 baht to do it here.

I guess it's time to show the senators this video then:

The north end of Phuket is so much different than the center or southern part.

Many weddings are held up at the JW Marriott, Rennaisance, or Sala Phuket.

They can be very romantic resorts (especially the last two) and the beach is often empty up that way.

Patong, Karon, Kata, Nai Harn, are touristy, overcrowded places that are much faster paced IMO.

Just out of curiosity, why do a lot of you drive from Phuket to Bangkok???? You are expats, not tourist. .

Expats and not tourists?

Mmmmmmmmm.

Does that mean we don't want to enjoy our surroundings?

See the real Thailand (I don't consider Phuket the "real Thailand" )

Expose our families to the vast countryside in this country?

The traveler sees what he sees, the tourist sees what he has come to see

That said, we like to stop at a few places but, I don't like driving through Hua Hin as it takes a long time (and is too touristy), but prefer to stay in Chaam where we get a beachfront place for 400-500 baht a night and consider it more Thai.

Out of perhaps 10 different times driving it, have tried 4 or 5 different towns (usually on or near a beach, but not always), and stop for long rests and meas

I don't think my Thai wife liked it at first but, now, I can tell she's proud to have seen more of Thailand than she dreamed of and can relate to news clips by reminding me of things we did there.

Hey to each his own! Travel the way you like. But don't try to belittle someone who is trying to broaden their horizons. (and their family's also)

I drove the length of the island last night, steady, light rain all the way (at 3 AM)

Like someone said, we need it and for it to happen late at night is great.

More tonight will be welcomed also, was starting to turn brown around here.

As for Chiang Mai weather: I was there once about 13 years ago and was shocked at the smog-like conditions with smoke heavily in the air.

I left after 2 days and didn't go back until 3 years ago when it was fine.

Traffic seemed as bad as Phuket but, the zoo was impressive and the mountains surrounding the area were great.

I certainly couldn't live there during that smoky part of the year.

But then, I don't like Phuket during high season. Too many tourists, too much traffic and Nai Harn beach is such a mess anymore, compared to years ago.

The word got out I guess.

Spiders are your friend.

Chemical warfare is not.

By town, I'll assume you mean Phuket town.

The guy I use is legal and speaks good English.

I believe he charges 400 baht from town to airport.

His name is Chai Phone: 081892 4452

Gotta be one of the worst jobs in the world.

They are not hi-so people who do this work.

I've found that giving them a bottle of whiskey once in a while does wonders for the excellent service we enjoy at my small village in Rawai.

Might try being nice instead of bitching about them.

Works for me.

Here is the email address for RPIS (Montessori school in Rawai) [email protected]

They have a pre-school class for 2 year olds (half day) and then the kindergarten starts at 3 years old (full day)

They teach in English but all classes have a Thai teacher and Thai language is also taught.

Not sure of others as this is the only one I've sent my son to. He is now 6 and has been in their program for over 3 years and doing well.

Acrobatics (or gymnastics) is taught at Palazzo on Saturdays.

They are very good Russian teachers.

It is 300 baht for an hour.

I guess if the guy was looking for Maine Lobsters he would have posted in General or perhaps Bangkok forum.

As he posted in the Phuket forum I presumed he wanted the type of lobster caught and sold here.

There must be a fish market in CR that would have some occasionally?

Said he was looking for "good lobster"

If you think the lobster here is good, maybe you've need to try one.

There are lobster companies in Portland that will ship anywhere.

Just trying to help.

Best time to buy Maine lobsters is in October.

They are cheap at that time.

Although of course, shipping them express is what will cost the small fortune.

I've already gotten them for as low as $3.49 a pound (if you know where to go and use a AAA credit card) (gets you an additional 10% off)

They are the soft shell's but just as tasty (if not better than the hard shells)

Stopped in the Freebird yesterday and was told that there would be no Superbowl by the Thai staff. I know they did it last year but who has concrete information about this year? A post by the owner would be nice.

This is a year old thread (last year's superbowl) so, beware of what you read above.

Chris (owner of Freebird) is off-shore at the moment.

He will NOT be here for the game. (although I'm sure he would like to be and would be showing it)

I too am hoping for something else in Nai Harn/Rawai area

They need to get 7-11 on board and educate the sales person on to give customers a plastic bag for a 1 bag of nut....

That's exactly what I was thinking.

Plastic bags have a use, sometimes.

But they are way overused.

When I buy a Coke at 7-11 and they try to put in a bag???

When I buy a 5kg bag of rice at Big C and they try to put it in 2 bags?

Charge 1 baht for the bags, the use will go down dramatcally. guananteed.

It's the only way to cut down on them IMO.

This cloth bag thing has been tried before. It doesn't work. People buy on impulse all too often and don't have their cloth bag with them.

I've hear that Duke's in Kata is showing it but, you have to reserve a seat and it's already overbooked.

It's a small place with perhaps 15 seats and probably 40 or 50 people want to watch this game.

I'm hoping for something opening up in the Rawai area.

If not, I'll watch it at home by myself, but prefer to watch it with a gang (and breakfast)

Chris at Freebird is gone so, I doubt it will happen there.

I miss Don's.

I did see a new jet ski on a trailer coming from Rawai towards Chalong. He then pulled into the same petrol station 15 minutes later and indeed it was an expat.

Did it even occur to you it might be a private owned, totally legal, recreational jet ski?

Jet skis are like a mosquito to me.

I don't care who owns them.

I'd tell my brother to get rid of the dam_n thing if it was his.

They are a nuisance and all too often ruin the swimming experience in any area where they are buzzing around.

Not sure, but I think when they say no jet skis at Rawai or Nai Harn or Ya Nui beaches, they meant "none"

Not that they ever enforce anything.

Saw one at Rawai beach this morning. (looked brand new)

Looked like they were getting ready to put it in the water there.

Didn't stick around to make sure.

I hope not.

Bats are good and kill lots of bugs (lots and lots)

The only problem is the guano (shit) and if they are living in your house, that stinks.

Snakes are good because they kill rodents (mice) in the states.

Here, they kill lizards and frogs I guess, which also kill bugs, so, snakes aren't as good as bats.

I'd listen to the guy who says use mesh to keep the bats out of where you don't want them.

Toyota! ( no brainer )

Best resale value for a reason.

Mine now has 249,000 kms on it and still runs quiet and smooth.

I'll be watching it on vipbox dot tv

Good quality feeds.

Will be especially smooth at that hour IMO.