Mousehound

I have seen something of St Stephens and bumped into one of their classes that were on an outing . They seemed a great lot of kids to me. They follow the English GCE syllabus. I am an experienced high school teacher and I would tell you that what I have seen has impressed me. You really need to check the school out for yourself though.

Go out to the Butterfly and Insect Farm (It is near the more commercial Butterfly and Orchid place and the dreaded Monkey show. You can see the whole thing happening there. Buy the owners book. Butterflies of Thailandbu Pisuth Ek-Amnuay. He will give advice on how to go about things. It is a great book and explains with pictures all about butterfly rearing. He will have other simpler books there. The thing is you can see local Butterflies that do well in CM and also see their life stages and food. The hot, wet weather is best for butterflies but I spent a few days photographing around CM in January and had some success.

You can see a number of common species I got pictures of. I have identified most of them.

http://stevekeeling.smugmug.com/Category

Thailand has to be one of the best place sfro butterflies. Good luck.

willem1946

You ask another user what country he is from, I did not see his answer.

But I do need to inform that there is indeed a country that is TOTALLY pollution free and maybe you should go to see for your self.

The country???

NEW ZEALAND

the cleanest country in the world.

Rgds

Gimbo2

Quite right. A great country - all it's people have left and are now polluting Australia! A smart move if you ask me.

All my Apples seem to have a worm in them!

Just cooling the hem aroids!

I have been into cameras all my life.

http://stevekeeling.smugmug.com/

The above shots were taken with all sorts of gear - Olympus miu, Canon S110, S5, G12, EOS 20D, 40D, 60D, 7D and 5D3. For what you want any of the modern cameras are very capable of a good shot. The Canon 120 is cheap and excellent for close up and low light work and very portable. Then The Canon G series. Or the Olympus 4/3 if you want interchangeable lenses. I am a full SLR tragic but always carry a small point and shoot - at the moment an old S110 with a 1.2 lens). All the previous posters have merit.

My advice is keep it simple and go for a fast lens if possible. Don't worry about megapixels - they are a sales tool to some degree. I took award winning portraits with an old 4.2 MP Olympus some years ago and they were great pics because of the fantastic Olympus chunk of glass on the old E10. Panasonic, Canon, Pentax, Olympus and Nikon are all great (I am not so keen on the Nikon sub DSLR for some reason). Just had a go with a friends new Canon G16 - nice!

Sometimes the person behind the camera is more important than the camera itself. So whatever you get - read the manual.

Hired a sorngtau from Th Sri Poom (NE corner) to the airport for 120 bht . That was a month ago and 10 in the morning, Don't know if I paid too much but that is what I told the driver I would pay. Helped us with our luggage as well and ran off and got a trolley when we got to the airport. I think it helps if you have a smile on your face, are polite and make the effort speak reasonable Thai.

Took at the New Braserie has been playing much more edgy stuff lately. Shredding and very heavy, and loud - full on.

A person who stops to treat another person after a medical emergency or accident can be held liable unless they possess "first responder" certification, it's for that reason that lots of people stand around watching as people die following accidents. Perhaps the issues are related, fear of reprisal, fear of liability?

Are you sure of this? Also, in most countries if you stand back and witness a crime and do nothing you can be charged. You can claim that you would place yourself in physical danger by helping however.

Have a look at Chiang-Mai Mail.com

Might give you a few ideas.

Firstly I assume you are 55 as you have 10 years to retirement. If you are in Oman you should be able to save quite a lot in ten years. Secondly I would talk to a good financial planner in UK. You may be better off retiring to somewhere with health and pension agreements with UK. Also, if you have a Thai wife you could look at buying a house rather than a condo. Better value - size wise at least. How much you need to live in Thailand is open to debate. At this moment we would need a minimum of 60k a month with house and car paid for. Some can do it on less, some need more. With the UK fixing pensions and the very real possibility of inflation in Thailand your UK pension could be worth little very quickly. But, I restate, you need some good professional advice that takes into account your full circumstances and future plans.

I saw some nicely made and big hammocks at the Woolai night markets. Most likely available at the Sunday Walking street markets as well. Looked like heavy fabric netting and a style I have seen from Mexico.

With the dogs, you must win the encounter. Wait until they back down, retreat and avert their gaze. Use a weapon if necessary. They will not bother you again.

'Wait until they back down'??

How does that work when they are chasing you jogging/cycling?

They back down after they bite you, and you go off for your rabies jabs

What 'weapon' are you suggesting?-portable obviously

I find a 9 iron is about right.

The karaoke bars are about 50 yards away (my guess). The dogs are a menace. They are aggressive - bark and will try to bite.

In short and in layman's terms, you are re-infecting yourself. Flu runs in cycles and is passed from one person to another. It does not matter how many times you wash your hands as it is airborne. Wearing a surgical mask would help but not always practicable. Taking Vitamin C is a good idea (at least 1000 to 1500mgs... depending upon body weight) daily. There are over the counter anti-flu drugs out there and there is the flu shot as well. Each has its place in combating things. The time it takes you to get passed being ill depends on too many factors to address herein. However, remember that there are different strains of the bug and so that time will vary. Just be aware of the health of the others you are living with and remember that when you are over things, they might have caught your bug and pass it back to you. In the end the bug will run its course and be shut down by having no one else to infect. But what you have described is nothing strange, especially with people living within families or other groups. So get rest and drink lots of fluids. You could take a regiment of antibiotics (over the counter here from any good pharmacy), Alka Seltzer Cold is great also (or similar product such as Night Nurse) they will allow you to get a good night sleep which in and of itself is a powerful factor. If it persists, then seek medical attention as if could be an indicator of something worse that than the common flu. Watch for a high fever especially.

Please do not use antibiotics if you have a virus. Also, if you have a secondary infection that does require an antibiotic it is important you get the correct one. Best is to talk to a good doctor.

yes he can cut trees

they are his trees, and unless specifically mentioned in the rental contract, they are not a substantial part of the agreement.

then about the visits, I wonder why you insist on not letting the owner in?

if my landlord came to my rental, I would invite him in for a drink.

I think what you have been dong is quite impolite - no wonder he thinks you might be up for no good.

I rented out a house to a tenant before, and my contract clearly stated I can inspect the house anytime after agreeing on a time with the tenant, and if no reasonable time can be found, I could go in when the tenant is absent.

you might want to check that, if you go in while the tenant is absent and without their permission it is trespass, the tenant can have you charged especially if they say that there are objects that have been stolen. The landlord is not allowed to go into the house without the tenant(or his agent) being there and they are not supposed to have a set of keys to access it anyway, once a contract is signed the tenant is the rightful occupant and the landlord has no rights without the tenants agreement.

Sounds like you have no idea what so ever about the rights of a tenant or a landlord, a court would sort you out very quickly, owning the house does not mean you can do as you please, a contract negates all that and so does the law.

it's contract law - anything can be agreed upon.

I would be surprised if this were true.

IMHO I think you will find that some actions, or lack of, by either party can render a contract void or voidable. Also, a contract that is illegal in that in its performance requires one or more party to break a law is not a contract. ie A contract can not be illegal. For instance, if you signed a contract with a "landlord" that had no rights to a building, then that contract would fail.

_{Good grief! You mean to tell me there is a tonic shortage in Chiang Mai. I was prepared to put up with the smog, traffic woes, riots, corruption, lethal roads and whingeing TV posters but not a dearth of tonic. A chap can't be without a good G&T. I shall have to retire elsewhere.}

YKK zipper shop is near Wororot Mkt Chinese entrance thingy on Chang Moi road. I have posted GPS co-ords before but to be more precise, it is located on that wrong way road just south of CM road. They stock every fastener ever made.

Good to know - thanks for the info.

Try to eat Vitamin C 1000 mg per day. It helped me for something other.

็Haha, no, it did not "help" you with anything, other than giving you yellow/orange expensive piss.

No scientific study has ever shown that Vitamin C "cures" anything, least of which the common cold or flu. It's a farang folk belief, no different than Thais making offering to those hindu god statues in parking lots.

My best mate is a doctor - he assures me that vitamin C is a waste of time. But I note that when he gets a cold he dives for zinc tablets.

If I travel from Oz to BKK (or CM) I usually buy a couple of pairs of pants and get them altered in Thailand. Oz cost $30 a pair and you still have to come back a couple of days later. Cost in CM 50Bht per pair. The only really good zips are YKK. Don't let them give you anything else. But YKK zips are not cheap.

Thanks for your kind comments people. I had the pleasure of a few drinks with some of you on TV and it was a good time in my life. I shall be back... soon I hope.

Get involved with some of the charity groups for, say, children. A lot of decent women are involved with these and some will be single. Even if you don't find someone it may open your mind and you may do some good as well.

Sounds delightful, marieb. I wish they'd stock that at shops accessible to those of us who don't have a car and live in the central city. After all, cats are great condo pets. All we can find are those two brands of round little round clay balls. Those little balls get caught between cat toes and then bounce and roll a great distance on ceramic tile floors.

Oh, it's nothing special about cats coming inside to use the litter box. When we adopted our kitten from the soi, we lived in a townhouse and let him in-and-out, but really didn't want him out on the soi where the tomcats roamed. Once we saw that he was coming in to use the litter box for all his business, we decided it was time to have him neutered and turn him into a inside-only cat. Much longer life span that way.

Slightly off topic - but we are looking at condo's and need one that is indoor only cat friendly. Any thoughts? The info on cat litter is very good - thanks posters.