TaiKai

It is always handing out money to make the Rich Even More Richer.

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em

Instead of speculating about the view and what may be blocked, why not go down there and see for your self?? The new building is not blocking any mountain view for the first building, mountain front. And so what if they used an edited photo of marketing....I fail to see the relevance of this.

I apologize if my observation and thoughts caused you irritation but really I didn't say it is blocking the mountain view, I said "MountainVIEW will possibly obstruct the views of MountainFRONT, at least for the ones in the Northern wing." [of the MountainFront building] What's wrong about it? What caused your irritation?

Regarding the relevance: If I was to pay 7 Million Baht for a condo in a lush green environment as shown in their brochures and where a year later 2/3 of the view turns out to be right onto a building called "Mountainview", it would be relevant to me. Also, if on a picture you see a building in a completely green environment and later on turns out to be standing next to other building sites, I'd call this "relevant".

Regarding going there and looking for myself: well, I did. And gladly share the views with you. Actually, I am impressed on fast they go on and the building quality of MountainFront seems to be quite good.

Anyone living in that area is going to endure a lot of new construction noise and dirt.

[img']http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5166/5213496267_e61845b605_m.jpg[/img]

Nevertheless, I would be disappointed if I would have bought a condo hoping to have views into the lush green and then seeing that the same builder puts another building right next to it which obstructs the views of some of the condos. Even if I would have bought on the southern side, I'd ask myself: what are they going to build there next?

Bigger pix on link to FLICKR

More generally, here's a recent newspaper article on rudeness in America. I think it applies more broadly geographically: http://www.nytimes.c...ur-money&src=me .

Otherwise, I believe in GOMS (Grouchy Old Man Syndrome) and its more passive cousin, WDIPMTS (Where Did I Put My Teeth Syndrome) which seems to affect those "helpful" posters who "sort of" remember when posting advice, locations, et cetera!

The article is related to US-citizens' behaviour only, not to the rudeness in America although they put things wrong all the time. I know you know the difference, but you prefer to forget. It would be more polite not to include the rest of Americans in US-citizens' issues.

I liked GOMS and WDIPTMTS. I thought that after GOMS peaks, you'd loose your teeth in bar fights and eventually get to the milder stage of WDIPTMTS.

BREAK-BREAK-BREAK. Correction:

my old picture wasn't good enough. It seems I didn't realize MountainFRONT and MountainVIEW were 2 (two) different buildings at the same or neighboring sites. In fact on their website they don't show at all that MountainVIEW will possibly obstruct the views of MountainFRONT, at least for the ones in the Northern wing. Maybe that's why they don't like to give too much information on the whereabouts of each building.

Another fact is that the picture beneath of MountainFRONT is outdated or maybe altered.

Mountain Front Condominium 18 49.280N 98 57.669E

There was a thread on http://www.thaivisa....t-on-canal-road already, even the coordinates given. I will publish the "historic" screenshot again, how it was 2 years ago. And here a link to Google maps http://goo.gl/maps/64Ns.

It's amazing how many people quote the gold price in USD, but what's a dollar going to be good for in the future?

and again early this morning to Bangkok. Why does it take 296 ms to ping Bangkok if 12 hrs before it took only 66 ms?

and Cologne, Germany for a change:

Have had massive connection problems for 2 years since moving in. After many visits TOT decided to change the router - even worse - so after another 3 months they changed it for a new 'Billion' one. Great connection ever since. I'm in the sticks too.

It won't work for everyone but do beware that TOT will palm off previously used routers from a pile in their office on you. I assume that some other poor sod is now struggling with my old ones.

I am not sure what kind of router you had and what the actual problem was but the performance of one router to another changes very little from what I have learned from different routers tested. Maybe your old router was broken.

15:41 local time, speedtest from Chiangmai to Bangkok with my 6 MB line:

15:44 local time, speedtest from Chiangmai to New York *yawn*:

O.K., so is there anyone to offer triple-glazing then? In case there is, I 'd be glad to receive an answer here or per pm, too. Thanks!

As for architects you could try Mac who advertises in the classified section of this web site. I used him two times and he was dead straight, friendly and did a very good job for me at a fair price.

Are "Mac" and "Kensington" associated/linked to each other?

Hi

I was wondering if there is any opportunity for a farang for work in web design in chiang mai? I have about 5 years experience and can make shopping carts and web sites for hotels and so no and so forth. I am here on holiday at the moment but am thinking of becoming an "expat"! How much could i earn around $2000 per month?

I was thinking of advertising in the bangkok post.

Thanks

As other posters said, you will have to compete with colleagues who are earning about 20-30 KBaht, when and if employed. You would like to earn 2000 $ per month? Simply stick to your old clients if they don't mind your physical absence.

Edit: Strong English skills might be helpful, but only when when it comes to directly treating with the english speaking customer, which is normally not the main job of a web designer in a localized and translated net-world. My tip: offer webdesign to your old clients and promote the business using cheaper colleagues here in Thailand.

I have MS office Visio on my computer, It's very easy to learn by yourself, They don't come much dumber than me when it comes to computers, so If I can learn how to draw with it then any body can use it.....I also have Autocad but I gave up trying to learn that, I think you need classroom tuition for Autocad.

I also got Google sketch up, but still found Visio much easier.

Please excuse that I am hijacking this thread,

but I am looking for some professional in Architectural

Drawing and Autocad to enter the floor plan, horizontal

and vertical projection of an existing condo in CM.

Any hints, tips, advice?

So is the airport completely closed then? The mods seem like the army today they warn people to stay on topic but don't enforce anything. Please give vacations to people that don't honor requests to stay on topic. Are there any flights going into or out of CM? I realize none to BKK but what about to Phuket, Singapore and other locations?

I personally recommend NOK Airfield and a Cessna 172, if you like flying. Otherwise run, run, run

Any news regarding the issue? Since I haven't heard of anything, it seems that interest has slept or that they might have fogotten about it? Please send an update, if anybody knows if they want to go ahead with the plan. Thank you!

Pack animals:

Dogs are social animals, just like us humans, meaning that most dogs feel more comfortable and enjoy it much more (they often will play with each other) when they are with one or more doggy mates. This is both for their mental as well as their physical health much better.

Yes, true if they are socialized. Nevertheless, many times they are not and have been kept all their life as a companion of their owners. Also, the time to get acquainted to each other, the new environment, etc. causes stress to dogs. The noisy environment of dogs barking and fighting causes stress. And that causes diseases.

It all depends on the individual dog. Nevertheless, the more dogs are being mixed and kept in the same pool, the more likely it is that they will catch an illness they haven't had before. Their immune system cannot develop enough defenses against the great amount of pathogenic agents.

For pups it is an absolute MUST for a proper socialization that they stay with other dogs, and are not kept alone.

Yes, for Pups it is better. Not a MUST. But that wasn't in question.

Regarding the packs you said: Based on this at LuckyDogs we normally look for a suitable doggy companion for each dog.

I think that this is great. And you will always find a couple of them to make groups big enough so there are enough kennels for all of them.

And here comes your little exception to the rule: Only those who cannot go with other dogs due to aggression issues, those of which the owners prefer them to stay separate, and unfortunately dogs of the fighting breeds (except pups) will be kept alone in one kennel. These dogs receive more human attention.

My only question now is: for how many hours do you walk each dog per day?

Also you said: - Don't forget that at home many dogs may be the only dog, but they are NOT alone, they are with their human pack members.

-And that is why human attention is more important for most of the dogs. How many hours of attention can YOU give each dog?

Regarding injuries you said:

"Sure enough playing dogs can get scratches and bruises (just like playing children), especially those with short coats. But IMO and IME this is far less bad than dogs being under continuous stress when they are kept alone. Continuous stress can cause disease. "

Yes. But for the short time some dogs are in the kennel, they will underlie constant stress from the new environment, smells and sounds. Dogs are much more affected by the changes than humans and therefore they would need more human attention. You can setup a group of people to spend a weekend together, but with a group of dogs it is much more difficult.

The better and safer way would be for the dog to be together with humans who know about the special situation.

Cages

Furthermore, the dogs are kept in several large enclosures, which you also can call runs or kennels. Although, I'm fully aware that some people don't like the idea of cages, we still have them and keep them.

When you speak of "we", does that mean you and others have taken the decision?

When a dog is anxious or frightened it prefers to stay in a small partly-enclosed area.

Great. Why don't you avoid the reasons for the dogs getting anxious instead of treating the symptoms with small cages?

This is what the cages offer, and I can see all too often that a first-timer will initially stay in the cage by own choice while the door is wide open till it feels safe enough to come out to have a look and sniff around.

If I was offered a safe cell in a loud and wild jail, I know I would opt for the same.

Last night with all the fireworks (almost sounded like war broke out) was one of those moments when I'm really happy with these cages. When still loose in their enclosures there's a lot of barking going on with each bang, showing a lot of stress in these dogs. Once in their cages it was quiet.

The smelly cages for these three days of the year are fine.

They went to sleep. Or the little poodle that just came in this afternoon. He is very anxious and does not want to come out of the cage whatsoever. He needs time.

He needs love and care. He does not need time. He has a lot of it, you too little. Maybe have a few drinks less in the bar of the other advertisers.

Sand

Next to a normal floor we have sand in the enclosures. Some people get a fit when they see that. Also this is consciously chosen.

It is generally known that when a dog, especially the heavy breeds and puppies, walk, run and play only on hard surfaces it can cause (severe and life-times) injuries to their joints.

If it would be generally known, why do you still have concrete floors? Let me give the answer: because it is easier, therefore cheaper to water the shit down the drain.

How much of the lifetime do the dogs usually spend in your installations that you put more focus on orthotics than on hygiene?

Playing on the sand will make the muscles in feet and paws stronger, just as it is for us good to walk/jog on the beach. Besides this, dogs in general love to dig holes in which they will lie down to rest.

Ticks and fleas do not thrive in sand.

But urine does.

Generally saying: Small kennels help the inmates to overcome their fear. Keeping them in a pack is natural, although they were dropped off by a human, not a dog. Sand helps the guests to strengthen their tendons.

Also in all of your advertisments it is interesting that you don't have the same strong focus on the beautiful cages and other hundreds of guests enjoying their stay in these carefully designed installations socializing and taking care of each others needs.

No, seriously: you know that the owners want a lot more human attention than you are giving. You show fotos of yourself petting, caring and touching the doggies. There are never more than 2 dogs in a picture. In reality you keep the dogs packed in cages and let the dogs out to play in the sand just hoping they will shit earlier and produce less work cleaning the cages.

No long walks, no personal attention. A lot of inmates on too little space. Noisy, ancious and aggressive kennel-life. I respect that you have to earn a living with this, that most of your clients would not pay more for a better service and so on and eating meat myself, I am no-one to criticize how you are earning your living. But I don't eat meat telling everybody else, I am doing it because that was the best thing for the cow to happen.

In case you are afraid of the inflation which might arise, the wisest thing to do would be to buy tangible goods and finance with low priced mortgages, e.g. buy land and get a 5,0 % mortgage on 80 % of the mortgage price.

Nevertheless, the recession will put counter-pressure on all prices as we can see right now with the oil-prices.

What is the conclusion? Well, there is none and times of widespread disorientation are on the rise. This will definitely cure unnecessary speculation.

There is no such thing as a good war. maybe time for you too head back home and get your head out of the darkness

I am quite glad to read this from a person who should know better than the rest of us. Also thank you for helping to break up encrusted thoughts and prejudices in my own head regarding US-American military staff.

Thanks for your repy. I did look around prior to posting and came accross a few old topics (such as the one you linked to) but none that really discussed the relative merits of each area.

Perhaps I worded it badly in my original post but what I was really after was the pluses and minuses of Doi Saket/Mae Rim/Sankampaeng etc.

Thanks anyway.

...all a bit far away for my taste. But why don't you rent something for a year or so and take your time find out for yourself what suits you best?

Interesting to see Prom Paradise gets a mention here. Having seen the very heavy advertising around town for "Mountain Front View" I was wondering what the catch was (there usually is one with such a hard sell ).

They have been offered a bank guarantee of the full purchase price, so they rest assured that they get paid if they finish. They would not accept it. So they need liquidity and will need to sell more in order finish the construction, I would assume.

Last time a condo complex was advertised and hyped so hard in CM it was Prom Paradise; AFAIK work halted several months ago with no sign of it restarting (as of a couple of weeks back).

I would share concerns about whether "Mountain Front View" will complete!

It seems quite a risky game and I am still not sure if the risk is opposed by a reasonable chance.

Karnkanok seems to provide good properties (I know several people who've purchased from them). However, they seem very willing to give substantial under the table commission to Thai wives, Thai facilitators etc who get Farangs to purchase, I know one Thai who's done very nicely out of this arrangement. But this is Thailand so I'm sure the practice isn't limited to one developer

Do you know how much this "under-the-table-commission" is?

In Spain, it was at one time 15 %, and the worse the project, the higher the commission. In some cases, they have paid up to 25 %. Luckily, Spain's real estate market has dropped so badly, that there is no gap anymore for such commissions.

I'm going to be coming up to CM next month to have a look around at land and Condos but would welcome any advice on where might be likely places to look.

Your question has been asked many times before. This might explain the lack of interest in your post. Pls, look here.

An alternative would be buying a condo in the city. This would presumably be better from a security perspective (as we won't be there all the time) but I have 3 kids and there don't seem to be many options for condos that would accommodate a family of that size. Does anyone know of any planned condo developments in CM that may be suitable?

Chiang Mai is quite safe, if your main interest isn't riding wasted on your bike after midnight from one brothel to another. My very personal opinion: if you have 3 kids, a house is always a better choice, also they are cheaper.

Look here for Condo Projects on Canal Road and make a Google search for the terms +chiangmai +condo

Thanks.

You are welcome.

Anyone know exactly where Mountainfront View is going to be? I know the soi, but I can't tell from the map how far towards the mountain the site is.

yes, 18°49'14.74"N 98°57'40.86"E

.....or look at this approximate overview. Especially on Touch Hill I am not quite sure if the buildings will be placed the way I marked it. Please correct me, if anyone has any better information.

I have a fiend who has owned several condos in CM and he enquired about a new KKK project which sounds like this one. He asked how close the adjoining property would be and was told by the sales agent "3 meters". He asked "do you mean 30 meters?" and the agent replied "No, 3 meters." He's not buying there.

Hola Jefe, as a matter of fact, the next plot is 3 mts in front of KK5's western side and to the northern side the same. The North facing units have an advantage, as the neighbouring buildings are smaller, individual houses and can be easily overlooked. The nicest view for right now have the West facing units, but if Touch Hill builds in front, they might be a bit obstructed. And still there are sale signs for smaller plots between Touch Hill and KK5.... nothing granted on what would happen on these plots.

What are the prices / m your getting?

MountainFrontView: 35-43 K Baht/sqm. They promise to apply better qualities which they currently use in their first building, Convention Condos. The quality is definitely superior and workmanship excellent, even compared with German standards.

Would be interested to know if they've reverted to drilling the piles on that one (at nearly double the cost).

No, they are driving the piles into the ground with brute force.... I felt the vibration even on the other side of the ground. The noise is definitely annoying for the neighbourhood.

One of them only seems to have access though a very narrow soi, which is packed with cars at the nearby restaurants at night...

Well, MountainFrontView's access is quite alright, only the last 10-20 meters might be a bottleneck, but it is still not foreseeable if they would widen the access, as there is plenty of space to do so. Regarding the restaurants, I am not worried, I went there one night and you hear less from the restaurants and nearby Canal Road than you would hear in any city location or lifely MooBaan. It is actually quite calm.

What makes you question why MtV wont complete? The crash? Or have you heard something?

I don't think they will not complete. But I would like to be sure that they complete. And being quite a young company with only one building halfway completed and not even in time, I would rather trust KK5, which is maybe 3-4 months away from completion. Just with KK5, I am worried about the neighbouring buildings.

Where is K5?

There's one of the low level ones already well on its way up not far from MtV.

One project in the area got stopped because the piling was causing nearby damage, but i think since restarted.

Lawyers have the right to look at permits. Hit and miss for average Jo.

Thanks for your reply, SoloFlyer. Karnkanok 5 is on Canal Rd. towards 700 Year Stadium, 2 kms away from Phucome intersection on the left hand side. Huge signs on the left, too. At the very same bridge to cross the canal you would cross to get to Touch Hill and to Mountainfrontview.

I just had to lookup the word "piling" and found out it must be the concrete piling they are driving into the earth. And yes, it seems to cause cracks on other buildings.

Nevertheless, I will try to get a copy of the building permission and check with a lawyer tomorrow. By law, the building permission should be attached to the contract.

c'mon... anybody?

Well, I just received an E-Mail from the promotor of Karnkanok 5 saying that Touch Hill could not start as they could not have a proper building license for a 7-storey building. That would make buying there risky. Does anybody know if it is possible to get first hand information from the town hall regarding this issue?

Nobody outthere with ideas, comments or a kind hint where I should start?

Hello,

does anybody know if in front of the Karnkanok 5 Building there is further construction planned? For right now it seems that Touch Hill will place its 7storey building in front of the northern section of Karnkanok 5.

Mountainfrontview Condos seems to be quite a nice project, but are they going to complete? They have had only one project before here in Chiang Mai which already looks quite alright.

Anybody willing to exchange ideas?

Thanks!

Regarding St-Germain-de-Pres and why to avoid it, check other post:

St-Germain-de-Pres