Mousehound

Sounds a bit cheesy to me

Burger King would have to pay me to eat one of their pathetic efforts. A big mac combo in Oz is $12 standard. A coffee and muffin for two at the local airport in Oz set me back 20US! Airport food is an expensive misery pretty well everywhere. Actually I think swampy has the best options of any airport I have used.

@mousehound

Hi mate, how are you finding your Sym 250cc?

What price would I be expected to pay for a brand new one?

All the Sym scooters seem pretty good. A little crude around the edges but very strongly built and I am told a lot easier to work on than most makes. SYM (Bolwell) is one of the biggest makers in Taiwan. The 250 is quite a big scooter. I paid 30k for it used so I guess 80K new would be about right. Mine had 20k on the clock but ran faultlessly for two years.

I have a SYM - Bolwell 50cc Red Devil. It will do 70k flat out but happier at 50-60. Not that stable at very slow speeds when turning oddly - small wheels. Very easy to ride - very reliable, very cheap to buy maintain and very cheap to run. Very strong motor. Lots of room with a top box. Great for places like the inner moat or very local. On the Ring road etc I would not like to try it. Too slow. But I really like mine. For the real stuff we have a Burgman 650 which an expensive brute of a machine. I also have Sym 250 which is quite a big bike and picking up an Aprilia 200 this weekend which is a great step through with a bit of grunt but very expensive. I also have a Honda CT110 which is a very reliable little bike but the semi auto takes a bit of getting used to but I like the big wheels. I actually think the Yamaha versions of this bike are better and more powerful. But the 50cc has a place for those couple of k trips through the back streets. I really like the SYM - there is a dealer up near the rail station. They are Taiwan company with a great reputation. The Yamaha s and Hondas are great bikes also but you do pay for the name. Of all the bikes I have ridden and I am sure there are many TV subscribers with more experience than I have who would disagree, I found the Yamahas and Aprilia to have the grunt and the Sym to be the best value (But Sym are not big in Thailand - this could be a real down side). The Suzuki Burgman is magnificent on the open road as you have power and the size to dominate a lane but it is a nightmare in the city congestion. I am coming round to the 135 - 200 size as the best as modern machines can keep up and even get ahead of traffic and are small enough to be nippy and easy to park etc. Step through is a real boon but avoid cheap, larger motored step through that are not top brands (cheap Chinese for example) as they are not stiff enough in the frame and in my opinion can be downright dangerous.

At the end of the day get a good brand and pay as much as you are able + a bit more and it will be worth it. Get a real helmet and wear it. I always wear gloves, a jacket, long trousers and proper shoes and a reflective safety vest. The latter has saved me more than a few times. I know I look a prat but at least I am a living prat. Drive to stay alive!

All this is just my opinion and I am no expert.

My life is like a grated cheese salad. just as you are about to enjoy it, bits start falling off.

As usual this is going in circles. Either you like park fishing or you don't. Either you pay the price or you don't.

Fair point. However, do you not have discounts for those that are regular users or are on welfare or aged etc. My main gripe is with those that complain about National Park entry fees. I think it not unreasonable for tourists to pay more. And by the way our local rubbish tip charges double if you can't prove you live in the shire. And, this morning I had coffee as usual with the crew that always meet up on a Sunday and we pay half price but others pay full price. But I accept the point that this is a commercial advantage that is not predicated on race. I guess we don't all live in countries as enlightened as the Netherlands!

I have a great time there. Beats paying 4000Bht to bob about in a boat with twenty others and catch next to nothing. I use my own custom made rod, barbless hooks and 32lb line. I got a 107lb Mekong on that and had a hell of a job getting it in. I can also recommend Gillham's. Again a fishing farm but not as easy to catch there as you might think. Would I rather be on a mountain river with a fly rod .. you bet. But if you haven't fished for a year and you have only a day or so to spare then park fishing is fine by me.

As for two priced system ... get over it. The whole world is a two priced system. No one is making you pay it.

Reminds me of my old maths teacher!

Missed the Pelican but still had a great day out:

This is not a new bird for me but it is an unknown bird. Just took a photo of it circling around the Chang Phueak gate area. I have often seen it. Can anybody identify it? I have been looking in my bird book but they all look the same!

I suppose a Shikra.... but I'm not all that confident/ In the past few days, I've seen a couple like this in Buriram.... and it's the default Accipiter..

Shikra +1

birdwing flutterby.jpg

divine creature..

I think this is one of the forms of the Common Mormon : Papilio memnon agenor

Well thats defiantly what it was,as i was less than 2 mtrs away from

it when it landed on my garden fence,seen me and flew off,i have seen

them in other paces in SE Asia,is there any other bird around Chiang Mai

that looks anything like the House Crow, I have lived in my house for nearly

25 year so know what birds are around.but i knew this was special as i had

never seen anything like it,around here before.

regards worgeordie

I know exactly how you feel, worgeordie.... defiant (your word!). I was once sitting in the back of a songthaew when we stopped by the traffic lights outside the Rincome Hotel, and there was a European Starling feeding on the grass verge. Nobody would believe me, though they do occur occasionally.

There was a European starling at San khampaeng springs last january

While we are at it, can anybody recommend any good venues in Chiang Mai for good quality jazz, blues, etc? I am now living in CM after 30 years in Sydney and it's the only thing I miss.

Better asked in CM forum.

North Gate jazz bar

Took's (The new "brasserie" on the moat.)

Boy Blue at Night Market

on the earlier Honda city, they had a known fault that caused power lose and required a high power charge - the flux capacitor, not sure if they were located near the aircon unit or not.

on a less serious note 240,000 K is some 'milage' for a small petrol engine, but Honda's are the best

I did 470K in a Toyota Echo and sold it to a Toyota mechanic. He told me that some of the Pizza delivery vehicles were hitting the 1,000,000k mark. In all that time I replaced an alternator and two rear wheel barings and normal book servicing. If a car is serviced properly and like me trips are not short, then these modern engines are a marvel. The electronics and everything else seems to be more of a problem.

This has been covered endlessly on TV. You can rent and drive on a NZ license but you can be in deep trouble if you have an accident and particularly if someone is injured. Get an International license. If it is a genuine and registered car hire company check your automatic insurance cover that you get if you pay by credit card. Never let them keep your passport - if it is a major hire company they won't try to in any case. Make sure you are covered whatever way you hire, and with whomever. Don't rely on anyone telling you are covered, make absolutely sure you really are. It is not worth the risk to save a few dollars going with an unknown entity.

pay by major credit card and check the insurance you automatically are given. Ours is covered automatically by Zurich Ins and I never pay for additional (or travel insurance). The cover for us is actually better than the cover we would pay for normally (especially general travel ins.) Saves us heaps and it is good ins. I have had to call them on the phone and they fixed things no problem. However, you will still get full insurance built in through a good rental Co but you may bnot choose to cover extras and excess if like us your credit card covers it anyway.

Big and little spider season is here again!

These Orb spiders are amazing. The small ones are of course the male.

If you teach people English it opens up the world to them. Then they can understand how the rest of the world functions and subsequently may not be happy with some of the ways in Thailand if they have that information.

Pretty much the mushroom syndrom

Have to disagree on that. It's simply called "education." Sad is the way it's enforced in this country.

Not too many activities in Thai primary schools are in favor of the child.

Students at my school have to clean the whole school. as sort of a morning exercise. " If I were them I'd tell them to -selfdeleted- off.

Some of them are in M 3 and I wouldn't want my son/daughter to do the janitor's job. It's one of the jokes at Thai schools. Kids treated like slaves.

Time for a change. Even the wall between East and West Germany finally fell. Time for "The Wind Of Change."

Rubbish! lol

I had to clean my school and it taught us to not foul the place. Todays kids throw their litter about, graffiti the walls and spit gum on the floor. If they had to clean the place up they might take a bit more care of the school. Do you think it is beneath someone to keep a place clean. or do you think it is up to servants or teachers to do the job?

Taking care of the immediate environment seems to me to be a valuable educational lesson in itself.

I find Rayon an excellent fabric and long fibre cotton (does not wrinkle). mercerised cotton is also really nice. Cotton can also be quite uncomfortable as it varies a lot in feel. I have tried hemp, bamboo and linen but they were all too hot for me. The linen was comfortable but looks shabby quickly. So now stick with Rayon, Rayon/cotton blend and mercerised (Egyptian - made in India eg Lliberty) cotton. The Indian traders really know their fabrics.

linen has a peculiar look but it can be acceptable, I would like some linen shorts and a white shirt in linen, although they kind of look like they need to be ironed all the time, its super comfortable and breathes like nothing else. Seersucker seems to be unavailable here; Rayon I dn't know much about but it sounds good, are there any brands/clothing that sell rayon clothes here? For the others talking about tailors, would t hey be able to fashion something up reasonably well for cheap?

Rayon is a remarkable fabric. Very hard wearing and feels cool and soft like silk. It is extracted from the cellulose of trees and then processed to make yarn. Typically I have seen it mostly worn in Hawaii where it is commonly made into floral shirts for men. It handles tropical heat and humidity well. Washes easily and dries fast. It is virtually crease free if you hang it out straight after washing. However, it is not so easy to get so you need to buy the fabric and get it made up. It is also not particularly cheap but has a very long life. I have had a shirt I wear regularly for over ten years and it has way outlasted some pretty expensive designer cotton shirts.

The asking prices in CM for condos seem very high. I see better value almost every where else in Thailand. I see the same condos on the market for a couple of years - so the sellers are just chancing their arm. But this helps keep prices up. Very low interest rates and oversupply with overpriced and overvalued property point one way - crash. If the Chinese are not scooping up everything they can as it becomes available it is because they don't see the value. They are buying up big time in Australia.

There is no way CM city is 1.65 million. I would say more like half that would be closer to the mark. And I include tourists in that number. My home town was 1.6 million a few years back and fely four times bigger than CM.

Don't panic Almost certainly a simple electrical fault. Most likely the alternator or belt slipping.

I used to get the cane for singing out of tune! Never did me any harm at all. Turned me into the superb psychopath I am today. Still can't sing in tune though.