landtrout

Perhaps the large sum reward money will yield in some positive results, and certainly making crackpot assumptions and pointing the finger at people solely on your unfounded views regarding the Thai police force and an article made by some proletarian so-called journalist will not help the progression of this murder case or do the family any favours.

"Proletarian so-called journalist"?

What a decidedly odd thing to say.

I honestly don't know what to make of that!

I've got some "views" regarding the Thai police force as well, although I suppose that they are probably equally "unfounded", seeing as how I'm not related by blood to any uniformed members of that esteemed organization.

If I WERE close to any uniformed officers in Chiang Mai, and if I DID want to know who was responsible for Kirsty's death.......I suppose that I'd simply pony up and ask them!

How much could it cost?

That Khaomao Khaofang place looks intriguing, but after following both of the provided links, I still don't know where it's located.

Can anybody point me in the right direction?

About 2 kms past BigC on Hang Dong road south of the Airport. Turn right at the 3 way red light intersection going to Ratchpeuk Flower Garden then need to U-turn back toward Hang Dong road.

Google Maps

Street View

Thanks for the (perfectly clear) directions, and especially for the maps!

After seeing the entrance to the place in "street view", I realized that I'd been there before, trying to find the entrance to the moo baan behind the restaurant.

Despite the largely unfavorable reviews in this thread, I think that my shallow woman and her shallow husband will be heading there soon, if only to see what a place "where all fun and happiness has been banned" might feel like.

Fortunately, we're not much for conversation, so I'll consider the deafening waterfall (in a room otherwise "all quiet other than the soft music") a bonus!

I would enthusiastically second thaiscot's recommendation of Comedara, on the east bank of the river, just south of the Nakorn Ping Bridge. They've had some understated live music every time I've been there, the setting is lovely, and the food (particularly the Northern specialties) is exceptional!

http://comedara.com/English/index.html

A bit further upstream (and on the opposite bank) is another of our favorites: Paak Dang. This place is right on the west bank of the Ping, it's probably more "romantic" than the others mentioned so far, and also has tastefully subdued live music most nights. Very good Thai standard cuisine, with a slight lean towards Isaan. It's on Wang Sing Kham, north of the Rama lX bridge, very near Ten Karaoke, and they've got parking across the street. Map on their website:

http://www.caferimnam.com/

That Khaomao Khaofang place looks intriguing, but after following both of the provided links, I still don't know where it's located.

Can anybody point me in the right direction?

Thanks!

Sawasdee Khrup,

While the vividness of any given color of mask may wax or wane in terms of real power (political, economic, social), and nominal power, and the degree and intensity of mass-media publicity fluctuate like flags at demonstrations ...

Great structural imbalances ... the tectonic plates ... of social inequalities ... concentration of wealth ... barriers to upward economic mobility ... demographics and environmental degradation ... a flawed and corrupt educational system that is not preparing future generations to compete in the Asian economic sphere ...

Will move inexorably towards ... ?

And, as that great transformer of prophets into fools, butcherers into national heroes, and victims into martyrdom, history, reminds us, always lurking is the potential for what Dr. Nassim Taleb called a "Black Swan" event, a "perfect storm." About which, in regards to Thailand, it is very unwise to speculate.

imho, a key qualitative difference in today's Thailand ... Asia ... World ... is that virtually no one's life is not permeated by mass-media, and everyone's visual environment is filled with powerful images of "the good things of life," and the excesses, and luxuries, flaunted publicly by the rich, and communication is ever more decentralized, and instantaneous, via cell-phone, internet, etc.

Sinead O'Connor sang: "I do not want what I have not got." That could have been a "hymn" in many centuries of western culture, or a sign of virtue (metta) in Buddhism long ago: now it's an anthem that suggests individual social protest at the secularized consumer society ... powered by the kind of "dark energy" of which social revolutions are spawned ?

Mr. Natural said: "Twas' Ever Thus," and he did have the smile of a happy human being, but, he was living (in Crumb's mind) before the age of dataveillance, drones, Twitgrub, and FaceFood, when the number of people with college degrees in China is greater than the population of the United States.

But, come, dear friends, let us go back to living in the illusion of the genteel Lanna, recreated from old-cloth, and whole-cloth, in the 1960's, by a truly wonderful group of Chiang Mai intellectuals, musicians, ethnographers, architects ... and then made into a Disneyland by TAT ... no less "valid" than any other cultural revivification, and no less deeply drawing its sustenance and flow from authentic deep artesian wells of ancient customs, and ritual-cycles of weather, and agriculture, fed by the underground aquifer nourished by Shan, Tai Yai, Lao, Sipsongpannese, Akka, Mong Meow, Lahu, Lua, Lisu, Chinese Haw, Karen, Ngaio, Mon, Raman, Avan, among many, sources.

Let's get back to which buffet's better butter.

~o:37;

Flaky Foont: "Where will it all end?"

Mr. Natural: " In the grave, my boy, In the grave!"

Hmmmmm....

If anybody out there knows this guy.....maybe a phone call is in order?

I'm just sayin'.

 

WHAT A MISTAKE - moving from Kad Suen Kauw to that building site out of town with no parking !!!!!!!!!! Just for the money I guess. I bet attendances will be WAY DOWN. Such a shame; I have attended most evenings of the past 5 or 6 festivals. I will NOT be going there.

 

There is plenty of parking at Promenada and they are new and nice theaters. They also have discounted trucking service from town.

You will not only not be missed but they might have some sort of ceremony celebrating the fact that the incredibly stupid and misinformed should be honored. Wake the fuc_k up. You can not be that stupid and we, as real thinking and cognizant people should not have to listen to the misinformed and the idiots that pretend to talk about what they know and then we find out that they are either liars or just plain dumb. I'm sorry but I am tired of all the bullshit.

Sure, I'll apologize later. For now I've made my point.

Wow!

It looks like Mr. theDukes has some strong feelings when it comes to parking (or a lack thereof)!

Unless there's another "point" he believes that he's made, in which case...... what might that possibly be?

Maybe you could try banging a gong and/or getting it on?

Genius!

Clearly, you've got the teeth of the Hydra upon you (not to mention.... a hubcap diamond star halo!).

Meanwhile..........I'm still thinkin'.

Just curious......what is this "Bo-Lan" music that the neighbor is so fond of?

I've never heard that term, and Google is not helpful (unless it's T. Rex that the guy is blasting all day long!).

Maybe you could try banging a gong and/or getting it on?

I don't think you're going to find that in Thailand, but if you do..... I'd love to know where.

I've been scouring the city's grocers for the past few weeks, looking for a reasonable substitute for another Huy Fong classic (see photo), and if the Huy Fong sriracha was available, I'd certainly have seen it. Same goes for their sambal oelek chili paste.

Looks like I'm going to have to get someone to "mule" me a few bottles of chili garlic sauce from the States, or...... learn how to make the stuff myself!

Tune in the Sean Hannity show to see mister weasel answer the question. Read my sig one more time.

I've been subjected to Mr. Hannity's "show" for hundreds upon hundreds of hours.

My wife has been exposed to his "unique" vocal stylings (she says that he sounds like a "rice field rat", or a "fish dead, only he don't know"...), and has been given permission to end my misery with a "mercy shot" to the temple (I'm American.... we have guns...) if she ever hears that I've summoned that particular demon again by free will.

That will never happen. By dead certainty.

I read your "sig" one more time, but...... I can't make heads or tails of it, honestly.

Could you repost it in English?

Does anyone here understand a 501©(4) and believe it should be applicable to political organizations? Does anyone know how many were applied for, approved, processing time and reason for some denials? . . . Or are we all just on a war path to trash the other guy we don't like even though we are not real sure of all of the underlying issues.

I would think lots of bells and whistles should go off if Tea party like group seeking 501©(4) status. Complicated tax provision that is rife for abuse.

The Tea Party aspect of this investigation is just the tip of the iceberg. Cases have come out where the IRS went after college professors, donors to GOP candidates, religious organizations, etc... Don't focus on the Tea Party aspect as that is what they want you to do.

Here is another bombshell unleashed today.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/congressman-justice-dept-wiretapped-house-representatives-cloak-room_724606.html

Congressman: Justice Dept. Wiretapped the House of Representative's Cloak Room

California congressman Devin Nunes made the claim yesterday that the Justice Department wiretapped telephones in the House of Representative's Cloak Room, an exclusive part of the Capitol where members are able to privately interact with one another. Nunes made the claim on Hugh Hewitt's radio show.

This allegation will bring down the house, literally. The DOJ is now accused of wire tapping telephones setup in common areas around the House Chamber in the Capital. They were bugging Congressmen. Bugging reporters is one thing, but bugging the House of Representatives? The <deleted> has just begun to hit the fan.

Does anyone here understand a 501©(4) and believe it should be applicable to political organizations? Does anyone know how many were applied for, approved, processing time and reason for some denials? . . . Or are we all just on a war path to trash the other guy we don't like even though we are not real sure of all of the underlying issues.

I would think lots of bells and whistles should go off if Tea party like group seeking 501©(4) status. Complicated tax provision that is rife for abuse.

The Tea Party aspect of this investigation is just the tip of the iceberg. Cases have come out where the IRS went after college professors, donors to GOP candidates, religious organizations, etc... Don't focus on the Tea Party aspect as that is what they want you to do.

Here is another bombshell unleashed today.

Congressman: Justice Dept. Wiretapped the House of Representative's Cloak Room

California congressman Devin Nunes made the claim yesterday that the Justice Department wiretapped telephones in the House of Representative's Cloak Room, an exclusive part of the Capitol where members are able to privately interact with one another. Nunes made the claim on Hugh Hewitt's radio show.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/congressman-justice-dept-wiretapped-house-representatives-cloak-room_724606.html

This allegation will bring down the house, literally. The DOJ is now accused of wire tapping telephones setup in common areas around the House Chamber in the Capital. They were bugging Congressmen. Bugging reporters is one thing, but bugging the House of Representatives? The <deleted> has just begun to hit the fan.

Okay.

When you say that "this allegation will bring down the house, literally", I'm guessing that by "literally" you mean "not literally".

Right?

Or do you really mean to affirm that an "allegation" by a bat"<deleted>" crazy junior congressman from a backwater district in Central California will cause blocks of "literal" marble to fall in the "literal" street, thousands of miles distant?

The same way that, when Devin Nunes says "wiretapped", he really means "not wiretapped".

Right?

This is from your "bombshell" source:

"

UPDATE: Jack Langer, Rep. Nunes's communications director, emails this clarification:

Hmmmm......

Apparently, there was "a little confusion between him and the host".

Devin Nunes has been my congressional representative for 11 of the past 13 years.

Devin Nunes is a painfully dim bulb, and a tool of the highest order.

There are only two higher orders of tool than Mr. Nunes: Hugh Hewitt (and his disreputable ilk), and... anyone who would take those "arse" clowns seriously.

Again..... "<deleted>" is a word I've never heard uttered by an American citizen.

Where are you from, and.....what on earth are you doing in these threads?

Surely, there are uppity brown heads-of-state closer to wherever you're from?

Tally-ho, mate!

The responses from the left on this topic are laughable. There is no defense for what this administration has done. We know where the bucks stops and it is just a matter of time before the truth comes out. The electronic trail on these directives will be ferreted out and those responsible will have to atone for their actions. Hopefully through long prison sentences.

I asked this earlier, how can anyone, left or right, condone the actions by this administration which has come to light in the last week? Are those of you on the left so enamored with the thought of Mr Obama as POTUS that you ignore the actions taken which stomp all over our constitutional rights? If so, then please put the koolaid down and step out into the light of day to get a grasp on reality.

More revelations coming out daily. There is no place to hide from this one. Here is the next tidbit.

Four local IRS workers allegedly connected to scandal

FOX19 has exclusively learned that as many as four people may be the first Cincinnati Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employees to face disciplinary action, and possibly even criminal charges, for allegedly targeting Tea Party and Liberty groups applying for non-profit status.

One of FOX19's two sources went on say that these four IRS workers claim "they simply did what their bosses ordered." FOX19 reported on Tuesday that the report by the Office of Inspector General states that senior IRS officials knew agents were targeting Tea Party groups as early as 2011.

http://www.fox19.com/story/22265631/four-cincy-irs-workers-not-two-allegedly-connected-to-scandal

Rogue agents my arse.

Your "arse" notwithstanding..... I will be very surprised if this "electronic trail" leads much further than the swing shift supervisor at the Cincinnati Service Center.

I worked for the IRS in my younger days, and there were "as many as four people" in my office at any given time that would have been liable for "disciplinary action, and possibly even criminal charges" for the way that they conducted their business on a day to day basis......if anybody cared.

One hundred percent of the time.....nobody did.

These were not "rogue agents" by any stretch of the imagination, and they certainly had no political agenda. They were simply typically flawed humans trying to get through their working days/careers as best they could. If you've ever worked in any bureaucratic government office, then you'll know what I'm talking about.

By the way...... I've met many thousands of American citizens in my life, and I've yet to hear a single one of them use the word "arse".

Either you're the first, or you've got your knickers in a twist over the internal political squabbles of a country you were neither born in nor have voting rights in.

That can't be true, can it?

Cheerio!

The comparisons to Watergate are compelling. The President's mouthpiece lies almost every single day. His arrogance tells him he can get away with anything.

Currently impeachment won't work because we don't currently hold the Senate. That could change after 2014. We need to slow walk the investigation.

Holder will be talking about the illegal wiretaps. It was his department that did it.

Any comparisons to Watergate are wistful and forced....by ANY rational analysis.

If you're finding this molehill in any way comparable to the mountainous subversion and corruption of the executive branch perpetrated by R. Nixon and his henchmen in the seventies, I would suggest that Lord Murdoch's 24/7 death-rattle whisper in your ear may have claimed another victim.

Take a walk. Take a nap. But by all means, take a break from the Noise.

Every president's mouthpiece lies "almost every single day".

That's the job description.

"His arrogance tells him he can get away with anything".

Are you sure that it's not the "radical Zionist Jews" telling him that?

Maybe it's the fluoride? His Kenyan Imam overlords?

Impeachment didn't "work" the last time you tried to use it to "correct" the will of the electorate either, despite the fact that you controlled the Senate by a wide margin.

Apparently, you can't even fool most of the people some of the time.

Judging by the results of last November's election, it's becoming difficult for you to fool damned near anybody......ever.

If I were you, I'd be looking to "slow walk" this one for sure.

It may just be the last best time you ever had!

I could give a good rats ass what kind of snake it is. If all the snakes in the world were to die today, I for one would not shed a tear.

Fair enough, I suppose.

And while I would certainly never fault a man for doing anything he felt was necessary in order to protect himself and his family (including his dogs!), it seems to me that our response to threats are most effective when we have as full an understanding as possible as to the actual level of threat that we're facing.

You're not the only guy who's got a "thing" about snakes. I think that, to some extent, we've all got something hardwired in an ancient part of the brain that tells us to grab a big stick or a heavy rock whenever we see one, and..... that's no accident! Primates and reptiles have been doing this do-si-do for eons.

At any rate.... whack 'em selectively, or whack 'em all. It's no skin off my nose.

However, if "all the snakes in the world were to die today", you may not shed a tear, but you and I would both be up to our elbows in rats' asses.

We had a Banded Krait come to visit this week. The wife almost steped on. My big dog had the snake cornered under my truck when I finally found it. Was a small snake about 18 in long and

little bigger than a pencil. Tried to get it out with a rake by it got away. The little bastard I fear is still some where in the yard. Next time I will have the hoe in hand. I HATE snakes of any type.

I'm not suggesting that your visitor wasn't a Banded Krait, but from your description of it's size (and assuming that the photo you've posted is not of the individual in question...), might it have been a Laotian Wolf Snake instead? The two look pretty similar from above, although the yellow markings on the Wolf Snake are spaced farther apart, and become white towards the under belly. The Wolf Snake is relatively harmless, and apparently fairly common in Northern Thailand.

I only know this because... I inadvertently killed one in my dining room a couple of months ago, and it was just about the size of the one that you described: 20" long and somewhat thicker than a pencil. It took me a good half hour of googling to convince myself that it wasn't an immature krait (with a presumably disgruntled mama krait lurking in the vicinity...).

Here are a couple of photos of the Laotian Wolf Snake:

Hmmmm....

My wife & I just returned from our first visit to The Olde Bell, and we couldn't have been more pleased with both the food and the service.

She had the aubergine parmigiano while I ordered the fish 'n chips, and.... if those were 'special offer' sized portions, I'd be reluctant to tackle the 'regular' sized ones, as it was all we could do to finish them.

I'm not British (and I know how testy you guys can get about these things..), but the fish was well cooked and crispy, and I'd happily order it again. The eggplant seemed a bit under spiced to me (but I'm not Italian either...), although my wife loved it.

Both meals were delivered hot from the kitchen by a friendly and attentive waitress who stopped by several times to ask if we needed anything.

No issues whatsoever with the bill, which amounted to a grand total of..... 360 baht?! (plus a VERY carefully considered tip, of course...)

That's for two full 'western' meals and four cocktails!

We're looking forward to returning in a couple of weeks to sample the pork stew, and..... whatever the heck a "fisherman's pie" might be. Yet another shining example of the British culinary arts, I suspect.

Slightly off-topic, but since this thread seems to have attracted an aficionado or two, I've got a related question.

How necessary is a humidor in Thailand considering the ambient humidity, and... have any of you seen one for sale in Chiang Mai?

When I relocated here last year, I brought along a number of cigars (not Cubans, but some nice Dominican & Hondurans...), and have since kept as many as will fit in a small travel humidor. The rest are boxed and in their original plastic wrappings or plastic tubes. They haven't suffered any casualties so far, but I'd like to find them a proper home, if possible.

Can anybody point me in the right direction?

I've been looking for some eggnog for the past month or so, and the only place I've seen it for sale is at the Rimping at Meechok Plaza. Unfortunately, they want something like 240 bht for a quart of the stuff, so.... I made a couple quarts of my own. Not too difficult to put together a simple cooked creamy version (without separating the eggs and whipping the whites and what-not...). Toss in a splash of cheap French brandy, grate a little nutmeg on top, crank up the Bing, and you're in business!

I bought lots of white sheets from a small shop in the night market.. She supplies hotels and prices vary depending on the quality you choose. Fitted, flat, every size, pillow cases and large fluffy white towels which are rarer than hens teeth in Thailand! Shop is on same side as Burger King set back.

Aha! That is the kind of place I was thinking about. I will go check them out although I've gotten a working set now.

Thanks!

Hey there. I went looking for this place this evening and couldn't find it near the BK (although I DID run into Her Majesty's motorcade, so there was some upside...). Walking back to where I'd parked my motorbike, ....voila!

Just to further clarify the location on this place... it's located on the small soi that runs along the south side of the Kalare center, on your left as you're walking east from Changklan. If you see Le Spice on your right, you've gone too far. It's called "Mr. Towel", and is a great little place, operated by an extremely friendly and helpful woman and her mother. They've got everything you're looking for, and I gather that they do custom stuff as well. I wouldn't exactly call her towels "fluffy", but they're better than most of the junk I've seen for sale here.

They're open 6-11, M-Sat , and they've got a website, although I'm not sure that I'm allowed to post commercial web addresses here?

By the way, Makro carries those "white on white" striped hotel-style 100% cotton sheets, both flat and fitted. Mr. Towel's got those as well, but she's got a few colors besides white.

Hope that helps!