bbw

can you please shut these threads to comments (and sorry to have to post one myself to ask)? lots of people come here for information and not speculation/opinion/argument from random people.

i have an excellent coach i can recommend. but, he is much more a coach than a knocker, so you have to be ready to break bad habits, listen to him, etc. he is the best tennis coach i have ever come across. some of his other students have been competitive as teenagers or youngsters and depending on your level he'll ask them to play with you sometimes. let me know if you want his info. he teaches at Soi 26 and the tobacco monopoly.

also, not sure if anyone mentioned Nai Lert Park. they have 2 courts. a bit pricey but it's a nice club. i would recommend 2 of their coaches.

Pity they did not secure the airport when the Yellows were on the rampage.

Ah, yes, one rule for the uneducated masses and another for the elite

wasn't Thaksin's puppet PM in charge of the uneducated masses then ?

yeah but, umm... not quite in charge of the military.

i've done rebonding here a few times here, always using shiseido brand chemicals.

not sure what you mean about the japanese one seeming extreme. it will straighten your hair and make it flat and shiny but that's what the process is supposed to do. shiseido also has chemicals for the milder version that doesn't make your hair stick straight, although a hairstylist here told me that soft straightening is more about the time the chemicals are left in for than different chemicals. not sure i believe that tho.

colored hair should be fine but the process really strips the color out so you have to re-color a week or so after (you can't do it immediately after). if you have bleached hair most places will not do rebonding.

let us know where you end up and how it works out!

my husband is a size 13 US, he can't even find shoes here in bangkok that fit. we've ordered from the US before but be aware that when they are delivered you have to pay duties on them (almost 100% last time, but typically we don't pay duties for books delivered from amazon, just other stuff). if you get someone from home to send them without the sales slip, etc. you might be able to avoid this. otherwise stock up when you visit home or have a friend bring them.

just for posterity, the museum of siam near the grand palace is pretty cool for kids. it's sort of an interactive thai culture museum (most information is in thai but even non-thai speakers will find it pretty interesting).

I am leaning towards a style of homeschooling that is called unschooling.

I would make that choice not because I am in Thailand, but in other countries as well, as I don't believe the school system is the best option for children whose parents can afford to and are enjoying to spend their days with their children.

For working parents who can not look after their kids while working, school is still a reasonable option. However I believe that the regular school system as we have it is not suited well for the information age we live in and alternative schooling styles (Sudbury or similar) might be better choices.

I have thought about this a lot and read many books about these topics until I came to this conclusion. When I started thinking about my childs education, a top of the range international school seemed to be the best choice, but I changed my mind completely now.

Don't disagree with a lot you have written. I wouldn't trust my child's physical health with a 3rd party - why would I trust his mental health. (not only here by the way).

Not saying that memorizing history books is a bad thing, but too much education these days is based around read and remember over problem solving / experiencing.

From a professional point of view - the types of grads I have seen come and go from top universities over the years here really worry me.

i think that's why some parents consider homeschooling.

critical thinking and problem-solving skills are great but at the end of the day you also have to know something about something. without a knowledge base you have no context from which to draw conclusions and make insights.

i'd guess many parents want a good balance of both for their kids. having talked to some parents about it here in bangkok, it does seem like homeschooling is an incredibly difficult thing to pull off unless you have tons of time on your hands and either lots of money to hire tutors for specific topics or happen to be an expert in biology, chemistry, physics, calculus, etc.

There have been several threads on this topic. Here's one:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Home-Schooli...hool+homeschool

The search feature may help you find more.

thanks for that!

hi there, full disclosure, i am working on a book about Thailand and wondering if there are any parents out there who have chosen to skip the Thai school system and international schools in favor of homeschooling? If you've done so or are considering it, please let me know!

O- folks, please donate blood often wherever you are! you are universal donors, so anyone of any blood type can take your blood if their blood type is not available.

O+? could they mean O-?

O+ is the most common blood type in thailand and just about everywhere else in the world.

you can post their headlines and link to their site for the full story. that's much fairer anyway since why shouldn't you direct traffic to them if posters are taking their stories? then people can comment on them, too, within the forum.

having had my own stories reposted here without permission (or attribution, or a link to my company's website) i think thaivisa could have done something earlier about this instead of making it into the typical false conflict.

and What about all the other unfortunate deaths in Thailand every day

people die every day, but each one is still sad, especially when it's a 14 year old. :-(

right now we have no idea how this person died, but scores of people (mostly thai but at least a few foreigners) drown every year in thailand. it is sad but inevitable considering how many people go to the islands and beaches. folks routinely ignore red flags and do not swim signs or don't realize how dangerous the currents can be. many times i've been on krabi or phuket and witnessed some drunken dude going for a late night swim (again, not saying that's how this guy died).

at least in the past couple of years i've noticed people here being much more conscious of this, national parks guys are very sensitive to water safety, i've been yelled at for being on a kayak without a life jacket and even had the rangers throw me one of their own, but with probably millions of people in the water i guess it's hard to avoid.

Go ASTV! What they don't have themself they take from the other channels...But I am not on the TV at the moment so I am not sure for now

ASTV is obviously the least objective source of news...

hey there, someone mentioned a beauty supply store near the big C on ratchadamri, wondering if anyone's been there (the post was a couple of years old)? am trying to find semi-permanent hair color (the kind we call level 2 or "no lift" in the US, that lasts a couple of months but only adds color, doesn't have any peroxide).

not sure if these were mentioned:

Ari Tennis, Soi 26. newest courts, they just redid them a few months ago. court is 250 baht/hour and knockers are 300 - 400 baht/hour. nice people and coaches, tho if you don't speak some thai it may be difficult.

Tobacco Monopoly (near Rama IV entrance). old courts showing their age, but only 90 baht/hour. good for lessons and practice. no idea how you reserve these, they are often open in the morning and midday, showers there, too.

Nai Lert Park Hotel. two courts. pricey for non-members (500 baht per person, per day, assuming courts are free) but relatively inexpensive annual membership, which includes their gym and swimming pool.

Conrad Hotel. two courts. a little more expensive than Nai Lert Park.

if anyone wants to play, i'm probably a 3.5, play a few times a week (mostly in the morning), would love some new hitting partners!

was just passing Sanam Lum and noticed that they are taking the roof off of the beer garden and otherwise seem to be dismantling the night market.

does anyone know anything about it? nothing in the news and we tried to call but no one answers... last i heard there was an appeal and it was going to be open for another year or two.

I'll be flying to BKK from west coast of USA up to 4 times a year for the forseeable future, what's the best airline to get a frequent-flyer discount for that? What kind of discount can I expect?

you probably won't get a discount, although if you're buying full fare tickets you may end up getting upgrades. even that may be unlikely. the threshold for high-level status is very high (like over 100,000 miles per year) and four RT trips to LAX per year won't be enough.

to qualify for a free ticket using frequent flier miles from US to SEA you need between 60k and 70k miles. so every fourth or fifth trip you can use miles for as long as you are flying the same company/group (Star Alliance or One World). obviously make sure you are signed up for each of them and know how to get miles credited, and check the fare rules, some discount fares won't get you full miles.

Not all of the traits listed are "universal". Lip size, teeth, and preference for features can vary according to cultural definitions of beauty. Some cultures put a very low value on traits listed and a higher value on others that are not listed.

not really true based on the numerous studies done about this. no group prefers crooked teeth to straight teeth, pockmarked skin to clear skin, thin lips to fuller lips (note this is relative if you are getting at lip size as a proxy for race or something).

yes, preference for features/coloring varies but not the "basics" of beauty.

there are "universal" traits demonstrated in numerous studies across the globe as attractive:

bright eyes

clear skin

symmetrical features

full lips

straight teeth

low waist/hip ratio (regardless of size)

none of them have anything to do with race.

predisposition to a particular set of features or skin color is a reflection of social norms and conditioning, not attractiveness in the biological sense.

an interesting exception is that studies have also shown that both caucasians and asians consistently rate eurasians as more beautiful than either asians or caucasians. that's not about asians wanting to be white or whites wanting to be asian (especially since across all races, people rate those of their own race as more beautiful than people of other races), rather about a biological preference for mates with genetic diversity. so there is a reason for people finding luk krung more attractive and it's not about self hate or shallowness or whatever.

Reimar your directions are they fror Bangkok or for the place where you live? Atsadang Road doesnt ring any bells for me.... at all... cou.dyou let me know what are the price range for those 2nd hand machines?

I live in bangkok and I was hoping to get a good machine that would take jeans material without a problem I don't need the embroidery type...I have seen once JAnome booth with machines for sale here ( some special promo action with really good prices ) but had no time to stop and ask the sales girl about where is their main showroom and next time they were gone already ...and I tried to call Janome to ask of whereabouts of their showroom they have told me they do for export only....

right in chinatown, on Rama IV (after you go over the klong bridge, passed Hua Lumpong, on the left side of the street, if you hit the Mo Mee intersection you've gone too far) there are a few shops selling sewing machines. these are basic, industrial machines and inexpensive, too.

i'm sure you know this there are some decent tailors can whip up anything cheaply and do a lot of women's clothing. ours makes jeans, too (everything but the cute embrodery on the pockets but such is life). having spent a lot of time sewing before i moved here, stuff like that is very tedious and complicated unless you're already quite skilled.

two totally unrelated questions...

can anyone recommend a bookshelf maker or a good place to buy nice wood bookshelves? i am hoping to match the "late 90s expat style" of the rest of our furniture and all i can find are either really inexpensive shelves from Index or super fancy stuff, neither of which matches anyway.

spas... i have a high-maintenance friend visiting soon and i want to bring her to a nice spa in bangkok, does anyone have any good ones to recommend? preferably not crazy expensive like the Oriental spa!

thanks in advance.

hey there, it does seem to be an annual event. i used to cover potential bird flu outbreaks from bangkok and there would always be scares when flu season started and kids were hospitalized. virtually all the scares were just normal flu cases but i was always surprised to see just how bad the flu can be here. btw, these outbreaks were primarily in the area around Phichit but they also occurred east of that.

so, it does seem to be normal but can still be a very serious, especially for little kids (and elderly folks). you're not being overly concerned. you could consider having her transferred to bangkok but honestly the protocol for flu treatment is pretty simple and probably any decent hospital can deal with it.

i hope she feels better soon!

does anybody knows if it's possible to rebond only the fringe? I like my hair waivy but I'd love my fringe to be straight and always in it'splace... I guess rebonding can help but only is it possible to do only fringe?

they will do it but it's not worth the cost and the time, since the hair is so much shorter and even after a month the new growth will make it noticeably less neat looking.