TaiKai

What about Saint-Germain-des-Prés (in Rajvithi Rd, next to the SCB near the moat)? I've only eaten there once and unfortunately the beef I got had come out of a rubber tree, but the rest was really good and reasonably priced to boot. (I think the meat must have been an accident, otherwise they would presumably already be out of business.) The paté appetizer was very nice, as was everything that came with the beef

/ Priceless

I am sorry to say it this clearly: the restaurant Saint-Germain-des-Pres has nothing to do with french cuisine. It is an awkward place with microwave-heated up food sold at a ridiculous price. And make sure to try the wine which is more of a vinegar-type. Also, there is no choice as they only offer one wine.... so you will always pick the best...

Le Coq d Or is a fine place though and definitely recommendable. I would not call their food "french cuisine" but rather a mediterranean cuisine. They make the best out of the limits regarding availability of the needed ingredients. You will find a selected choice of french wines, also.

Maybe we should start another thread and have a vote on the best beer in Thailand.

I personally prefer Leo.....um, beer with Singha as a close second

Sorry guys, I neglected to include San Miguel and San Miguel Light in the discussion.

Note: The beer can be seen in the background.

It seems that the main discussion is about drinking cheap beer and lower class thai ladies promoting booze by exposing their secondary female sexual characteristics. Did I really travel that far to see this? Nope.

Here is something that has been mentioned and I will say it again.

If it has a sleeping thai guard that does not check Id's it will fail. If it is in anyway in and area that might flood count me out. Hope this helps

Yep, I agree.... security in a place where Farangs are known to store their stuff will be a big issue.

I know they plan to offer motorbike storage and understand that security will be the utmost priority including CCTV and photographic logging of customers, much as Thai immigration now does when you enter via the airport.

What does it help you in Thailand if you know that the thief got photographically logged and their ID is known? And if Greenside's close friends are Thais.... who knows what will happen with the stored goods once their business doesn't work out? I have heard of a couple of those businesses were brought up, then suddenly they couldn't pay the rent anymore for any reason nobody understands and everybody got out of the storage whatever they could (employees, landlords, business-partners, etc).

I have found a private place, btw, where to store my bike & stuff for 1000 Baht for 6 months. If Greenside's close friends can beat that and if there are no Thai guards, wives or other stuff behind, I will be glad to change next year.

Anyway, to me the whole story starting off with that "some close friends of mine want to know" sounds a bit awkward. It reminds me a bit of the desperate teenager trying to find out for their friend if she could have gotten pregnant after getting fis*ed. But never mind, good luck to Greenside's friends and I hope it turns out all O.K. and we will now read nothing but real success stories from the close friends behind.

Thanks for the answers and PMs sent!

We are happy and content with Boonmark who is doing a great job teaching us basic Thai 3 times a week for 2 hours.

The admins may now close this thread. Thanks again,

Kai

Due to the recommendations in this thread we went to St. Germain de Prés the other night. Unfortunately, it did not turn out to be such a great place for us as we hoped it would be.

• I have ordered a dry Martini. The Martini served was sweet. I blamed it to a communication problem.
  
• The starters were satisfactory regarding its quality and presentation.
  
• The main platters consisted of mainly previously prepared sauces and low-quality meat. The meat (beef and duck) was served cold (fridge-temperature), problably it was just taken out of the fridge and not sufficiently heated in a microwave. After asking the waitress to heat up the meal, she returned the plate two minutes later completely de-arranged with the sauce widely spread over the plate and without the vegetables and decoration.
  
• There are only three wines offered: white, rose and red wine; all of the them are of the same brand which did not reveal neither its winery, grape or any detail regarding its origins or year. Our choice, the rose wine, tasted after stalled vinegar
  

I don't know if the price of 1425 Baht was high or low. I just know I will not return.

Before going with NW, try CJ Car Rental right in Tha Pae Rd, 100 mts away from Tha Pae Gate. I had a car with NW for a couple of days and actually wanted to renew my rental contract for a month, but CJ Car Rental made an offer 4000 Bahts cheaper for a better and newer car.

NW seems to prefer renting out very used and worn down cars.

Hi everyone,

my Spanish girl-friend would like to improve her very basic English-skills. We have started looking around at the many schools which offer classes, but they are obviously mostly designed for Thais and their specific needs and budgets. I went trough most of the links which have been posted before in this forum, I believe.

My girlfriend speaks a very basic English with quite a limitted grammar.

The ideal solution would be a school where they teach at least 4 hrs a day in the morning. The cost of the course is of less importance. Also private classes from a professional teacher, preferably with a University-degree, are an option.

Any ideas, hints and links are welcome!

Thank you!

Hi everyone,

I need an educated and professional native Thai teacher to give me and my girlfriend beginner's classes in Thai on an intensive everyday basis. I am quite flexible regarding the schedule

All the schools where I have called are very pleased to send me a teacher but at rates of around 400 Bahts and they have no employed teachers but would have to search for a freelance teacher first.....

I believe I can do that myself and posted this here. Maybe anyone of you knows a person who is interested?

Thank you!

Sorry to say

I just got a call from a friend who works in the hospital that Chris or his student had a prang.

My friend said the other person died. I suspected this was unreliable so I then checked with another friend who knows his wife well. She seems to think everyone's OK. Let's hope so.

I am sad to authenticate some parts of your news.

On Friday (14th) I was at the Tango Squadron air museum and one of the reliable but more junior Thai enthusiasts there said that a Cessna had lost power on take off from Lamphun 2 days before and gone down off the end of the runway. They said that the instructor (English) was in hospital injured and that others were hurt, but no report of any fatality.

Nothing in the media that I've seen yet.

Do hope all this is over-stated.

Are there any news on this? I actually wanted to start taking pilot's classes here at my new winter residence in CM but the sudden end of this interesting thread made me think about general safety issues here. Yes, I know it could have happened anywhere and I don't want to generalize, but safety seems to be a term which is of less concern here in Thailand.

Has anyone actually learned flying here and could give some more information? Will I be able to convalidate or somehow use my PPL in Europe or the US?

OK, Paco finally got back to me with the dog-friendly guesthouse info.

The name is: Photo Gallery Homestay, 48/1 Nataram Rd., Chiang Mai.

phone: 053-274128, 084-0470505, 081-8835735.

I have a web address, but forum rules preclude posting it here. PM me and I'll pass it along.

Hope this helps!

McG

Hi Mr. McG and the rest of you helpful people out there!

After 12 hours of flight and 9 hours Taxi-ride from BKK to Chiang Mai, we just arrived at Photo Gallery Homestay. We have been received well and our dog seems very glad to be in a dog-friendly surrounding. The guesthouse is quite basic, but we are more than happy to have found a place where we could stay with our "Fluffball". And even the internet is not too bad at all!!!

I deserve a shower now and a Penang curry.

Thanks again to all!

Kai

Might make a difference if you would say or post a photo of the dog....

Sometimes if its just a little dog, exceptions could be made.......so I guess if we don't see a pic, we would assume it wasn't a little "FLUFF BALL" ???

OK, let me see if I have a picture of my FLUFFBALL "FELPUDO".

FELPUDO G.

@McG

I will be pleased to find out which guesthouse would accomodate us. If you have any news, just post them here. Thanks!

Flora House ( http://www.florahouse.4t.com/ ) is a very nice and reasonably priced place that DOES accept pets. We stayed there for two months at the end of last year, with our four cats, while searching for a house and waiting for our stuff (furniture etc.) to arrive.

/ Priceless

@Priceless:

Thanks for this great link! I believe that is what I was looking for!

[..10 Minutes later..]

Now I just called and they said it is not possible to bring a dog With cats it might not be a problem, but with a dog, definitely!

@Nienke:

Thanks, Nienke, for the addresses sent. I rang up the phone-nrs. of choice #2, the first did not work for me and the second was only answered in Thai, which I don´t understand . I will have to wait until I get an interpreter assigned :-)

I will also call a couple of real-estate agents now. I don't mind paying a foolish price for a month if it gets my problem sorted, hehe....

Hi!

My girlfriend and my dog will move to Chiang Mai for 6 months at the end of October and we are looking for an accomodation where we could stay with our dog when we arrive until we have found a definitive place.

The best option would be a house, lodge or so. Has anyone any ideas?

Thank you!