wjmark

What a load of tosh.

All these threads from people glorying in living on $10 a day because that's the Thai way, conveniently ignore one fact. All those Thai's existing on 12000 a month would give their eye teeth to get out of Thailand and go somewhere for a chance to earn real money.

What MUST they think of these heroes who give up the luxury of the west to come and live here like them.

12000 baht a month, my arse. The fact wjmark had to write such a long reply suggests that it's bloody tough scrimping around trying to save 20 baht there and 30 bath there.

That's not living. It's barely an existence.

I never said it would be so easy, and I am not glorifying poverty - but it can be done, and it can be done easily. It could also be rewarding. Extravagance does not equal happy. Cut out the foreign beer, the western food, and the bar girls, and then it would be quite easy.

Now if you need all the western comforts and the "I love you darling's", then no, cannot do it.

If other things are important, and money is a concern, it would not be that hard.

I did not write such a long reply because it is hard to do. I wrote a long reply to show that it is easy to do (should you want to).

There is plenty of fine food everywhere in Thailand for 20-40 baht. There are many 2-3,000 baht apartments. There you go - food and accommodation without trying for 6-8,000 month.

And following your point, I guess that most Thai people aren't living - just barely existing?

And for all of you with the nasty personal cracks about the OP - shame on you.

Hey Oroboros,

Don't listen to the crap that some people post - they don't know and don't care. Rasseru has it right (and was polite about it) - a lot of people on Thai Visa have plenty of money, and "cannot relate" to someone who has a lower income. Cannot relate, and don't want to.

In fact a lot of people here think low income people shouldn't even be here - a lot of stuck-up sticky-beaks with just a little too much money retire here! So if someone says NO WAY, $1500 is just pocket money, then you know that they have never had to live on the cheap, and certainly look down on people who try. AND THEIR ANSWER IS WRONG! If you know how to live 'local' (without imported beer, pizza, steaks, a 5 million baht house, and different bar-girls every night), then it can be done.

Some Westerners here actually like experiencing Thai society, and do not come here just because it is a cheap place to spend their medium retirement incomes on the standard Farang excesses.

Live in a small room, eat fantastic Thai food. Drive a piece of shit scooter. Get drunk occasionally on a few cheap beer. A far more real (and rewarding - in my view) type of experience.

Sure you can spend $1500 a month - easy. 45,000 bt per month? 1500bt/day? Beers, pizza, steaks, fancy restaurants, gifts for girls, money for a second "hideaway" apartment for the second girlfrind. Computers and high speed internet. A car and a decent motorcycle... and a community of like-minded Thai-bashers

BUT

12,000 per month? 400/day?

Cheap room with fan = 2,000bt / month (plus electric~300) (EASY TO FIND!) or

Cheap air con room w/ TV and fridge = 4500 (plus electric~800)

So, accommodation = 2500-5000bt/mo

All you can eat lunch vegetarian buffet - Khun Churn = 80bt, including beverage.

Thai buffets with meat run 120 bt and up

Kao Man Gai (Chicken and rice steamed together) = 20-40 baht

An assortment of dishes off the street (great eating) 20-30baht each - full meal 60 baht easily.

Beer = 40-50 baht for large bottle (maybe less - I forget). Bottle of Thai rum/whiskey etc = 180baht

Water? 20-30baht /20liter bottle - good for a week = 3 baht /day

I haven't checked out the markets in a while (I have been away), but many fruit and vegies for less than 30-50br/kilo.

One can buy a small used scooters for 5,000 - 7,000 (not in your monthly budget), but will run less than 1baht per kilometer.

A second hand bike (or cheap new one) will be 2,000 - daily expense? NOTHING

So assume 3,000 rent, an that leaves 9,000 baht per month, or 300 day

Buffet vegie lunch = 80: Supper - chicken curry, rice, fried vegies w/pork = 50: Breakfast - rice, one dish, and a fried egg = 20-30.

Snacks = 25 bt/day.A bag of salted dried fish with peanuts - 5 baht. Lots of chips and sweets available for 5-10 baht.

Petrol for scooter = 20bt (that is lots of riding 20-30 km).

One beer 40 baht.

Phone card for mobile = 1-2 baht per minute. And no money means not so many girlfriends! Therefore your phone bill will be low! (A little bit true and a little bit a joke!).

So what do we have - under 250bt/day with the rent already paid. Not a lot left, but definitely a decent time in Chiang Mai. Add $200, and the horizons open up dramatically!

$400/month? If you need your beer, ciggies, regular sojourn to one of the British pubs, and have to eat western food all the time, then, NO WAY! If you feel the need to shower every Thai prostitute you meet with gifts, then NO WAY! If you need a 1000meter apartment, $200 shoes, and hate the idea of eating Thai street food, then NO WAY!

If you are a experienced traveler who does not mind a modest existence, then it should be relatively easy. And more fun than living in a $2,000 / month bubble.

Good morning, and good luck

wj

Did I not read somewhere that they planning to stop 95? Nevermind, you can always mix at home in a well ventilated room.

Hey Richard!

Is that clever or just strange?!!!

Should I be mixing 95 gasahol with 91 benziine?

Or should I be adding a little av-gas to the mix? Kerosene? Lighter fluid?

Or do you mean I should be dropping a few moth-balls into the gas tank!

Cheers, Mark

Thanks - I don't see how 95 can cause knocking - I thought it was the other way round..

Anyways, my CBR150 seems to like the 95, and I will keep looking around to find it.

I think ESSO and Petronass still have 95.

And as my CBR gets 40km/liter (Honda km, that is!), I don't mind springing for 95.

Shall we form a '95 spotted at...' club/thread?

Cheers, Mark

Hi,

I have already sold a goodly bunch of what I brought back. People love them. This is pretty classy gourmet cuisine.

So I am going to place a larger order this week...

If anyone is interested in this, PM me for more details. For now the price will be 1000bt for 8 dishes - but in the near future I hope to be able to supply 100 for 10,000bt.

I gotta say, it is nice to have a delicious and healthy Indian restaurant just sitting in the cupboard! I have more than 20 different dishes waiting for me...

Thanks, Mark

---

For breakfast I had a couple of fried eggs with Alu Methi (potatos with fenugreek leaves) and a couple of tortillas. Great mix!

For lunch had Paneer Makhani and Peas & Mushroom Curry.

The Paneer was fantastic - light, creamy, slight onion taste to the gravy - wow.

Peas and Mushrooms were ok. A little too much tomato to the sauce for me.

few more pics - note the good ingredients.

I finally tried some heated up - classy!

Sambar Rice, which was better than I thought it would be - pretty good for precooked rice dish - wet, and with South Indian taste - different - I liked it.

And Dal Mahkni - great! It had a few red kidney beans mixed into the dal. Creamy. Really great dal.

These meals are great at room temp, but I must say, they are even better heated up!

Nice to finally meet some of you!

And thanks for the juicy smokey chicken - yum... Good potatos too!

Mark

Tried the paneer butter masala - a little spicy and really rich and creamy.

I haven't even tried heating one of these pacs up yet - just rip it open and dig in...

The Indian website:

http://www.mtrfoods.com/readytoeat/index.htm

An interesting article:on the company - Old Indian family restaurant - now a really big company. Really modern (iso9002) and it sounds like the Indian army use these foods as military field rations!

http://www.indianembassy.org/US_Media/2002...y%20Expands.htm

Look at what I brought back from Bangkok!

I tried the Palak Paneer - and it was great - even had a nice little bit of oil on top - see photos! The Rajma beans are great, and the Vegie Pulao is pretty nice too. The Shahi Paneer was nicely spicy.

I wanted more Kadhi Pakora, but he was out of stock - my favourite - yoghurt curry with fritters!!! Next shipment...

Mark

I have been using Caltex 95 in my new CBR150 - but they don't have it any more.

What should I use when all the stations stop carrying 95?

Sang Som makes a tasty product called Similan International Rum.

About 160-180 a bottle.

Seems pretty clean - I don't get hangovers from it!

Hard to find - most Thais don't seem to drink it or even know about it. Only some shops carry it

Mark

Count me in as a customer!

Don't forget that we now have Patak's chutneys at Tops (maybe Rimping too by now) and good ole Sharwood's sweet mango chutney too.

If you can get the strong and very strong brinjal flavour 'mixed vegetable pickle' by a company named Priya please do. Can't find it in CM yet. Any lime pickle anywhere, or is that too much to ask?

Hey. We have the makings of a Curry Club here!

I always bring back a few jars of Pataks Curry Paste from Canada - haven't seen them here - they are great.

And I brought you a jar of Priya mixed vegetable pickle.

We'll talk!

Cheers, Mark

Cooking the milk down to a solid takes time! Then you make your sweets.

Yes, I love Ras Malai ("cottage cheese dumplings" - I like that description).

And Kajar Halva - Carrot Pudding.

Some sweets are available in tins - have seen Ras Gullas, and Gulab Jamins - I don't know if they are in CM, and i don't know if they are any good...

Not much help, am I!

Howdy!

Coming back to CM at the end of the week.

These dishes are packaged in pouches similar to tetra-boxs. Just like a tin can, the food stays fresh...

I'll post when I get back with my box o' India.

India - without going there!

Mark

Hey all,

I am down south on holidays, and have found a packaged Indian curry product that I think is great.

It is a line of packaged Indian dishes that need no refrigeration or freezing. And they are ready to eat.

They are made by a major Indian company, and have no additives or preservatives. The one I tried (Khadi Pakhora - yoghurt curry with chickpea fritters) was great.

They have about 10 different dishes (I am not sure if all are vegetarian), and I am going to bring back 10 of each to Chiang Mai.

If there is an interest, I may start bringing more to CM, and distributing them.

Any interest?

I'll let people know when I return, and maybe we'll have a tasting party somewhere...

cheers, Mark

p.s. -- I am away from the internet for most of my holiday, but I will check in occassionally.

Yes, the pics are terrible. Yes, the people in the back of the pickup are probably dead. Yes, nothing will be done about it.

BUT, there is another point to the great clouds belching out of lots of vehicles here.

A lot of those clouds are being produced by drivers not knowing how to properly drive diesel engines.

Most pickups (songtows included) have diesel engines, and there is a technique to driving these properly. If in too low a gear or too heavy on the accelerator, incomplete burning leads to huge clouds.

Unlike a gas engine, putting 'pedal to the metal' does not increase power, just wastes fuel and blackens the skies. (See the OP's first photo, and look at the truck on the right - black smoke there too)

So most of these belching songtows could stop the smoke just by learning how to drive the diesel properly. A huge amount of the smoke comes from vehicles that are actually functioning properly...

But, yes, nothing will be done about it.

good morning

A friend of mine is a golf instructor here in CM.

I asked her if I should post her number, and she said sure!

Call Elizabeth at 087-1813858

She is very nice, smart, and reasonably priced...

Last night, I was waiting for a friend in the salsa mall, and popped into Royal.

Just a Sag Paneer, and it came in under 2 minutes (Leads me to think that it had been made in advance...)

Gotta say - it was great. Rich and creamy, yet not heavy of cloying. Not too salty or anything - really great.

It was about 9:30, and it was busy. I guess the kitchen was really 'up and running'

Considering I have been down on them for so-so food, it was a very nice surprise

VIP bus for sure - great ride.

It is kinda strange to spend the night on the 'other side' - there are cheap guest houses right through to expensive hotels.

If you do stay, have a late night Muslim Chicken Roll - just up at the end of the border crossing road. I had two.

Don't forget to bring me back my 200 street-cart samosas - delicious...

I can hardly wait!

If I knew how to make a decent dough (d'oh!), I might pull it off.

The topping on Italian pizza is just fine. It is the crust that is severely lacking, and the crust is what makes American style so much better!

Absolutely, completely, totally, utterly true!

In that case, as a person whose ego insists strongly that than he there is none more memorable, I am forced to conclude that you are remarkably unimpressionable!

But I was waiting for pizza, and thus no detailed imprint remains.

The family at the table could have started throwing french-fries. I wouldn't have noticed.

But I was waiting for pizza, and thus no detailed imprint remains.

I rest my case

Seriously? I enjoyed it, but to me what makes a pizza truely great is that special blending of bread, cheese and sauce - a synergystic effect where the total is greater than the sum of its parts. DIDN"T HAVE IT! The bread was not "bready" enough, and the sauce and cheese didn't really do anything together.

Good 'za - not great.

Please don't forget that we are not in Manhattan.

Can you tell us where to get a better American style pizza in Thailand?

I wish I did, but I don't. I don't, but I am doing my bit in finding out.

If the Italian places would do a thicker 'bread crust' and double their toppings, they could pull it off.

If Paradise cut their dough in half, (or even two thirds), used better ingredients, doubled their toppings, and used enough sauce, they might pull it off.

If I knew how to make a decent dough (d'oh!), I might pull it off.

Generally, I satisfy that deep primeval pizza urge with a flour tortilla convered with that 'cheddar' I mentioned earlier, and some chopped fresh tomato.

I pop it on a hot cast-iron roti pan, and put it in my extremely hot round plexiglass oven. 4 minutes, and the cheese and tomatoes are combining and sizzling. Sprinkle with oregano. It does hit that spot, but it misses that breadiness that I like so much in a pizza.

But as UG notes (and I misquote), "there ain't none in these here parts anyhoos."

I may keep looking, though.

===

pics: This is similar to my pizza oven - gets almost as hot as a tandoor - real hot! Sometimes I put a crab-mayo salad on top...

Inspired, naturally, by this thread, I had a pizza at Duke's today.

WHOA. STOP RIGHT THERE!

Inspired, naturally, by this thread, I picked up a pizza at Duke's today

So I was sitting at Dukes and whiile waiting for my pizza, idly watching some farang come in and take out a pizza.

Talk about crossed threads, or what! "Don't know where, don't know when. We'll meet again. Some sunny day!"

Rasseru: if I had been paying attention, I could now say, "I know what you look like!"

But I was waiting for pizza, and thus no detailed imprint remains.

---

About the pizza. The last time I had one there (more than a year ago) it had a cheddery taste. Not any more. Actually prefered the first one.

I ordered a small (12" - called mediums in other places) ham, ham, pineapple, mushroon, tomato 'za.

Pros: fresh. hot, good toppings, a crispy crust similar to their foccacia, decent sauce, served with parmesan, oregano, and chilli flakes on the side. I asked for some pizza sauce on the side and they didn't charge me... Total 235bt

Cons: Too many post-church-goers (kidding),. Seriously? I enjoyed it, but to me what makes a pizza truely great is that special blending of bread, cheese and sauce - a synergystic effect where the total is greater than the sum of its parts. DIDN"T HAVE IT! The bread was not "bready" enough, and the sauce and cheese didn't really do anything together.

Good 'za - not great. Also, for double ham - it was pretty chincey on the ham!

I have certainly enjoyed some of the italian jobs around here, but I prefer a bit more bread to chew on - not as much as Paradise, but something for the cheese and sauce to really get a hold of.

UG said:

I am huge and I get a small pizza with mushrooms and olives and have a hard time finishing it.

UG. We met just a couple of days ago for the first time - by chance it too was at Dukes (CM too small - must leave soon! Maybe it is just Dukes that is too small...). You are not so big, but I am much smaller!

SO - inspired again by TV.com, after pizza, I immediately went to the Queen Vic, and had a bacon-cheese burger! Very nice - meaty. Bacon should be crispier...

5'6" 143lbs - Pizza and burger for Sunday lunch. I am in heaven.

There's pizza in Chiangmai? Cool!

And it's cheap!

(No - wait a minute. It isn't)

By western standards it is cheap. The Dukes large pizzas are around 300-350 baht or around $10 US (about the same as a bar fine...allegedly ). You will have to see the size of these things to understand what I'm on about.

Sorry - mine was a wisecrack about 'farang food threads' and 'cheap charlies' (you know who you are!).

BUT, on the subject of pizza price, what bugs me is not the price, but the usually skimpy toppings provided (I am talking generally - not about Dukes or any other specific place).

If I am going to spend 200 baht on a 'za, give me 70 baht worth of ingredients, not 40! A standard formula for a normal western style restaurant is 33% food costs. And with low labour costs in Thailand, that should be easy to make on a western-priced place.

AND, in Canada (home of the Pizza Wars), there is so much competition that in many places you can get '2 for 1' pizzas. In Toronto, I used to order the 2-4-1 combo from one place (Lebonese people - great 'za). They would deliver 2 x jumbo 15" pizzas (5-6 toppings each - loaded), 2 lbs (1 kg) of chx wings, various dipping sauces, 2 liters Pepsi ("no Coke, Pepsi"), all for $22.

There are dollar and two-dollar 'slices' all over Canada too - 30-60 baht per slice...

I don't mind paying 'full price' for a good pizza, please don't make it skimpy.

A skinny little bit of crust, a few grams of cheese, and 6 thin slices of salami or ham, and some vegies - 180bt? (I could eat three of them!!!!!!).

btw - had a Dukes 'za once - liked it - tastes a little chedder-ish.

There's pizza in Chiangmai? Cool!

And it's cheap!

(No - wait a minute. It isn't)