T_Dog

First time there I'd stay in the White Sand Beach area. Lots of very nice beach front bungalows in your price range. A few days of exploring the Island you might want something quieter if that is what you like, or you just might stay there. It is a busier area and it has coffee shops, 711's and the like. We've stayed other places but some are just too dead. Make sure you take the 4 island snorkeling tour if that is still running. It's a steal for 500 baht with all the food they feed you with. Hit the evening beach meals.... I'm missing the Pomfret Butter Fish already!

A lot of it is indeed fake. We bought one bottle up in Mae Hong Son that was definitely the real deal, but the bottle we have in the fridge at the moment doesn't look like it would ever crystallize like real honey does. It tastes like honey though so it must have at least a little in it.

MROasis... That is impressive!

I know this isn't Thailand-related, but it could be!

Agree, Dexter and Breaking Bad the best

Add Nip Tuck to that mix as well. I didn't think it would be my cup of tea, but it has some surprising twists.

Was motorcycling around the traffic on Nimmenhemin a few days ago and got in a line of waves going against traffic down the center-line, a move that would be get you arrested in the west. At any rate, just as I thought I was clear and could pull back in I see the nose of a car poking into my airspace. I just hammered the front brake and stopped about ten inches from his fender. He had his window down and was a high ranking air force officer from what I could see. He looked up at me, smiled, and said Thank You, thinking I was letting him through. Heck! I was just trying to keep from hitting him!

Get the Vulcan. They sound better.

There is a very nice Moo Bann east of the 121 ring road on the 1317 highway that has a very nice pool and cafe. Can't remember the name of the Moo Bann but maybe somebody more familiar with that area can chime in.

that would be pretty close and an easy drive. any memories hints at all how i could find it?

thanks everyone else for replies! i think ill check out the tung hotel too, google says 40baht per day

It is past the road to Lanna Airport and more towards the Mae On district. It is on the left side of the road heading East so that rules out the other Moo Banns on the right side! Went there several times for lunch four years ago but haven't been there since.

Is this your yellow bike? If so what color are you going to paint it. I thought the yellow looked hot!

Nope.. Different project there sendbaht! Can you sing "Desparado?"

Thought I was going to sand the paint off of some aluminum bike frame parts, but the original paint is way too hard. Wondering if there are any commercial firms in Chiang Mai that do dip tank paint stripping.

There is a very nice Moo Bann east of the 121 ring road on the 1317 highway that has a very nice pool and cafe. Can't remember the name of the Moo Bann but maybe somebody more familiar with that area can chime in.

When my wife was stung by a Tiger Hornet, we went to Maharaj (Suan Doc) hospital right to the 13th floor. As soon as the desk knew what it was and looked at her, they rushed here into a room and gave her benedryl-like and adrenalin injections. They knew right away what to do. Not sure if they have all the anti-venom's for snakes though. I wonder if you should bring in the snake for a positive ID as long as you are sure it's dead and in a sealed container? (Bet that would go over well in a crowded waiting room!)

Nice pics. Loved living in CM and hope to again when I'm closer to retirement.

btw Ape Honda have released a rear touring frame if anyone's interested.

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1,499b and a btl of nam plaa at your nearest Honda dealer.

Nice... I've seen several CBR-150 market side cars in Koh Chang and the other month when we cruised through Chong Thong on the Mekong, we saw several CBR-150 powered Tuk Tuks. Didn't get a photo of a one but here is the concept with a Yamaha. Sad but true!

I used Google Sketchup for a few weeks, but felt the learning curve was pretty steep and it is not really customized for home design. Plus... after a month or so away from it, the re-learning doesn't seem intuitive. Maybe just me but Home Design Studio has about a 5 minute learning curve. Sketchup seems better for detailed mechanical drawings.

Nice clip! Thanks for posting. Another set of Second Hand Lions.

Thanks all. Found them this morning on HWY 121 not far from the Samoung intersection. Those concrete caissons sure are cheap.... 150 baht for medium sized unit. Stacking three on top of each other on rock and still under 500 baht.

I think it was this place, but the map does not make any sense.

http://www.ppsconcrete.com/

For anyone interested here is the Samoeng loop route elevation (clockwise). Definitely looks easier in a clockwise direction for cyclists.

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Hey, you should do a plot of the road past Mae Kampong as it is really steep. Take HWY 1317 East out of Chiang Mai, then turn toward Flight of the Gibbon. Go through Mae Kampong and keep going up. Very steep. Once over the pass you can end up at a secluded hot spring where you can rent a hot pool room or tent camp. A great area and your next step after Sameong. Several stream crossings and good road all the way.

Wow, this is a thread from 2009 I started. Got connected up with several good RC shops in BKK since then and all of them have delivered to Chiang Mai with great reliability.

If anyone knows of an RC shop that is selling RC Airplane KITSs, or one that is selling 1/16 inch plywood, let me know. Those items sure are a rarity in Thailand.

Hi there,

nice design. What program did you use? Thanks

Don't know about the other posters, but I'm using Home Design Studio running on a Mac, but it is available for Windows as well. If you have a dual monitor set up, you can make changes to the floor plan on one display while instantly seeing changes in a 3 axis view from a helicopter or person walking on the other display.

Went on a nice dayride to Khao Yai today.

The CBR is fantastic in the mountain twisties. Tyres were far better than I expected, and the 150kg 250 feels light as a feather being thrown in and out of the corners.

Short ride report here.

http://www.cbr250.org/forums/showthread.php?212-Khao-Yai-national-park-dayride

Nice! Love the Google Earth shots.....

Bbrad... Looks good! Been thinking of the same thing for a while and the secret really is to keep the sun from heating up the house. We decided to put in a second floor garden just for that purpose. A friend has a very similar house to the concept images below and if there ever was a house that didn't need air conditioning, his would be it. We won't be building for a year or so but this is roughly what it will look like. This is certainly not final so if people have suggestions, fire away.

Couple of notes:

-Bathrooms are on the sunny side of the house to help keep it cool.

-Walk-in closet on sunny side too.

-Large overhangs and a first floor that is not too tall. (Helps with shade and lower A/C volume to cool.)

-Large sliders and windows to let the air move through.

-Outside dining area and no steps to allow ease of living outside and inside.

-Upper story bedroom and bathroom will have a concrete cap that serves as a storage area.

I am not a big fan of enclosed attic spaces as they will always heat up, even with insulation. I've got a temperature probe on my voltmeter and have taken a bit of data on the rental houses we have lived in. The temperatures that can develop in those spaces is pretty amazing.

I need to find some concrete caissons and prefab beams that I have seen around CM but I can't remember where. Pretty sure it was on one of the outer ring roads. Anyone know of a large supplier of this kind of thing? Not just a cement plant but a company that has the largest variety of pre-fab concrete construction and irrigation items. All help appreciated.

Two weeks ago I filled up my CBR-150 at a (self serve) gas station my wife had told me to avoid as it had a reputation for selling bad gas. Sure enough, 20 minutes after I filled up, the bike died. A few days later (after a horror story at a Honda shop I don't want to get into) I drained the gas at a small roadside motorcycle shop. The gas smelled like varnish and it was perfectly clear. The gal helping me said "bad gas" and I filled up at Shell after we had all but a few drops out. It ran better, but it has taken almost 20 liters through the bike to get it back to running perfectly again.

All this makes me wonder how many other vehicles had problems that day... And why does it take so much gas to get it back to normal operation? You would think once the good gas is in, things would be good. Ideas or comments?

Turned 2000km today. 1500km since I got back a week ago. 300km yesterday and 400 more today.

Mirror fell off yesterday. Honda tool kit didn't have the small Allen key needed.

Hit 156 on Superhighway yesterday.

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I've been riding all the mountain places I used to go on my 150.

Suthep and up to the lookout past Doi Pui. (After the turnoff, the whole road is brand new asphalt and barely half width. It's a hoot!)

Ma Sa Valley - (I've been doing it both ways these days)and Samoeng with the 50 km 'narrow road' loop behind (has 1.6 km dirt road). Mae Pa, I think

I like going to Phrao and through to Chiang Dao, and now I've found the more northerly way out of Phrao. That's where I did most of my 400km today (hwy 1346 - great!)

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Can really approach acceleration and cornering in a much different way than the 150. It's allowing me to ride more technically - 'seeing through the arc' and really using the power of the bike to guide it.

Real confidence of how the wheels engage the road too. I'm not watching for every little rut or bump. Can feel the road really well. Great balance.

Way less shifting too. Only a single down-shift before a corner (good engine breaking etc). And it is such a treat to just give it gas and just pull through right through.

I did love my fast CBR150 - it could zip up anywhere and always had power (I had it reasonably built up). If you wanted or needed to accelerate fast, it was always one or two down-shifts and "praaaoooow" - away you go. The bike demanded that it be ridden that way. No choice! Attack hard, or watch the backs of scooters. (I assume the Ninja is like this. If you aren't punching it all the time, you are just limping along).

It's nice to be able to just climb a dang hill without making a scene!

Torque, my friends. Torque...

Even usable torque starting at 3k can pull up pretty quickly. Riding at 7-8k this bike is a monster!

On the highways, I bomb along between cars just like the CBR150. 120km/hr seems to pass more things on this bike than on the old one. Probably a more accurate speedo. Anything over about 135/140 is not so comfortable anyways. A different wind screen may make a big difference.

In the city it feels like my old 150. The mirrors are a little wider - but the bike isn't! Usually make my way up to the lights - even in tight traffic.

30-31km/liter always.

Absolutely love the kick stand. Sure.

Mark... Welcome back! Nice to see a riding report on this thread. Very good! Any observations on vibration?