tomahawk

Thanks groongthep. However I am talking about the kind of coffee they make with the bag that looks like a sock. Sometimes it is a sock, I think. I have watched guy make it but still don't really know how. I asked him but he just laughed at me, as I guess he didn't believe a farang would really want to make this stuff.

I am probably the only farang who likes this stuff but I really like Thai coffee, especially the kafae boran this old guy makes at vegetable market at meechok plaza. I also like Coffee Home shop in sansai, near Maejo University.

It is also called kafae thung.

I just finished reading novel called Freedom Highway, by Nigel Krauth, which is the best novels about corruption in Thailand I have ever read. It is set in the fifties and although it did sort of aggravate me as the bad guys are mostly American, which seems to be the usual these days, but even so I believe it is a very well written and suspenseful novel, in my opinion. However my favorite fictional books set in SE Asia are the Colin Cotterill novels about the coroner in Laos. They are some of the funniest books I ever read.

Does anyone know the proper way to make caffe boran?

Why does anything which even mentions US make people go on an anti-US rant? The whole point of this article was about some CM political situation which happened to include mention of US embassy. Is this difficult to understand? For the record there are political demonstrations there every day with no violence by anyone including the police. Citizens of the USA have more freedom than anyone else in the world. I do not feel some sick need to get on internet complaining about everything wrong with England, or Thailand, or even France or Australia. I would not insult your home country and do not understand why people wish to insult mine.

Actually I have several red shirts. I bought some of them with me from America when I first came to Thailand. One was a gift from my daughter and another is fairly expensive, so I continue to wear them despite all this political crap and have never encountered any problem. Actually no one seems to pay any attention to the shirts, probably because I definitely do not look Thai and do not attend any political rallies. I would not, however, intentionally wear red, or yellow for that matter, to anyplace where there was expected to be a mob demonstration as that is asking for trouble. I have been in riots during my career in US and know that in that situation the mob would just randomly attack anyone wearing the wrong color. However, the fact is I like red shirts and am not planning to throw them away over this nonsense. I will just stay away from mob gatherings.

Thanks for all of the intelligent responses and also for the other one. Apparently this is not really a good idea but I appreciate everyone letting me know this before I wasted time and money.

Yes I agree it is probably not the most ideal location for such a club. I also think Chiang Mai is sort of a big mens club, at least for farangs. My personal situation is that I have little in common with the majority of farangs here. I recently moved to an area where there are almost no farangs and due to the inconvenience of travel I rarely see farang friends from my old neighborhood. I no longer drink alcohol, though I drank a whole lot for most of my life, so I do not frequent bars. I do not like soccer, and although I am busy with certain charity volunteer things I have free time, am not anti-social and would like to talk to people . I am with you in that I do not care much for mobile phones or ironically even the internet, though I am writing this here so obviously I see it has its uses.

Thanks for the input. Drew I think you have interesting idea, but there are certain points I am not sure about, such as how to let people know about the different topics and days and such. I suppose it could be done on internet. Also, I understand and agree with your point about people who abuse other people on internet whereas they wouldn't do it in real life, but considering some of the discussions I have read on this forum I am not sure whether the same thing would not occur in the club.

I am writing here to see if anyone would be interested in this idea. I recently rented 3 story building. First 2 floors are for beauty salon and massage business for wife. Third floor is empty, but is very spacious with western bathroom and shower and nice veranda. I did not know what to do with this but since I am paying for this also I feel I should put it to some use. My idea was originally to get some second hand furniture, tv and coffee maker and make sort of waiting lounge for guys who bring wife or gf to salon, or who visit salon themselves. However, in my old neighborhood in NY the Italians had a social club for men which was a very nice place where local men came and had coffee, played cards or watched TV. Perhaps there could be some interest for something like this in Chiang Mai, but before I went ahead with this I wish to get ideas from guys in Chiang Mai.

The area is in Sansai, on main road near Maejo University. It is mainly Thai area, but has easy access to public transportation from Chaing Mai. Farang and Thai men would all be welcome, though I do not believe many Thais would be interested in something like this, as I would not serve alcohol. (I worked as bouncer in my younger years, and have missing teeth as well as missing money from lawsuits, and am too old to deal with the problems which inevitably occur wherever there is booze.) It would be non-profit society, and no charge to join, but any donations to help pay for coffee,

electricity, etc. would be appreciated as I am not a wealthy person. Eventually, if it is successful, I would like for society to provide some sort of community service, like Lions Club or K of C, but that is a long term goal.

The club or society is for men only, much like many American clubs, as it would cause problems for people if women were admitted. By people I mean me. Perhaps at some point there could be certain events where members could bring their wives or gfs, like the Elks Lodge does.

According to internet there already is a mens association at YMCA, so this is not really a new idea. My main purpose is to provide an alternative for guys who desire normal social interactions with other men but do not desire to go to bars.

If I decide to do this it will probably take a couple of months to obtain the furniture and stuff. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Two weeks is not much time to change your life. if you are serious about this, my advice is find the absolute cheapest place to stay, eat as cheaply as possible, and spend all your remaining time and money helping everyone you see. Most people won't go this far but in my own humble opinion one of the best ways to change your life is sacrifice for the sake of others. There is nothing wrong with visiting hilltribes or going to temples, and they are both good things to do but don't know if these things will change your life.

I am still fairly new to internet forum and am still not sure what a troll is, and especially why some postings are suspected of being trolls. From what I gather a troll is someone who makes up a story and puts it on internet to get people upset. I do not understand why someone would do this. I also do not know what makes make people suspect that someone is a troll. Recently someone wrote in about a problem which involved domestic violence and some people said he was a troll and perhaps he was but I do not know what caused people to suspect this. I also do not understand about a flame, except I gather it is something insulting. If that is the case I do not understand why some postings are banned for this and others are not as I often see many insulting things on this forum as well as others. My opinion on this trolling thing is that if someone does this it is very harmful as it is not only stupid and wastes people's time, but also makes it difficult for people who have real problems as they will be accused of being a troll. I myself was thinking of writing in to ask for advice about something but, although it is a true problem, it is quite bizarre so I did not do it in order to avoid being suspected of being troll.

I had a similar situation in Pattaya, though not nearly as serious as one you describe. Thai guy was beating his wife. I went to his house and rang bell. He came to door and I told him to stop. I do not speak Thai but he understood what I was talking about. Through gestures and such I told him that if he did not stop I would do the same to him. Apparently he believed me as the beatings appeared to cease . I do not live there anymore so I suppose things have gone back to the way they were. I hope not but probably they have. I know things could have gone wrong and the guy could have shot me or something, but it is not in my nature to do nothing, partly because I am retired from law enforcement so have dealt with much violence. I do not know your situation, such as your age, physical condition, etc. I am a big guy so I am sure this is why I got away with this. I only say what I did. My advice would be at the least call the police. it is unfortunately the Thai way not to get involved. In situation I described my girlfriend was actually mad at me for getting involved, but I told her that is the way I am so get used to it or find somebody else. Actually the neighbors were happy I did this. However, the problem is, not only in Thailand either, no matter what you or even police do, the woman will stay with the guy in the end anyway. I never understood this, but that is the way it is.

I am signed up to assist at the habitat for humanity project and was excited to learn Trisha Yearwood and Jet Li are going to be there. I also see alleged President Carter will be there, but as it is for a good cause I will go anyway.

Thank you steveromangino. That was very informative and interesting as I was not aware of most of that information.

Thank you again camerata.

No I was not necessarily referring to sexpats. I really do not think Thaksin affected sexpats one way or another. Not being one, I don't know. I was talking more about financial matters. As far as "facts" that can be substantiated, people can lie about them just as easily. I read in a reputable international magazime that the information that was used to convict Thaksin was fabricated by the opposition party and this can be proven. Actually I just made that up. See how easy that is. It is just as easy to make up these facts as it is taxi driver stories. I mean, who has time to check out all this stuff. Maybe you do, but I don't.

I am against most of the things the anti-Thaksins or yellowshirts or whatever you wish to call them stand for. The military assuming control of the government. Denying the common people a say in their government. Holding the economy and the infrastructure as a hostage to get their way. Removing the elected government without a trial. The elites as they are called, in my opinion, have practically destroyed my home country and now will do it to Thailand if they have a chance. By the elites I mean lawyers and academics. This whole discussion is full of statements as usual which contain lots of information but little common sense. I know personally Thai people who are not fans of Thaksin personally but still support red movement because they want to have some say in their own government. Many of the founding fathers of America were farmers and non-lawyers. Did that make them stupid? I believe it is true what one of the previous respondents here said. I believe at least some of the farangs here are so obsessed with Thaksin because his administration was not favorable to their own personal agenda.

These are very informative and knowledgeable people on this subject, no doubt. I cannot argue with these statistics and do not follow politics as closely as many people here. But last time I was in bangkok the taxi driver told me has a yaa baa addict before Thaksin and when he was in office could not even get any, and for that he felt grateful. I know other people; quite a few in fact, who have done quite well with loan money and were able to pay it back and now are grateful for better life. I am also regualr working man, now retired, but whether here or in US I and most people I know judge the leaders on how they have made our lives better. Personally I believe most politicians everywhere are out for themselves anyway. I believe whether or not Thaksin could have gotten a fair trial, there should have been a trial or impeachment proceeding, or wait for the next election. Anything would have better for Thailand than the coup and the whole circus that has gone on here since. The occupation of government buildings, the seizure of the airport, the ASEAN convention screwup and all the division of the country, loss of tourism and violence that has occurred since then just was not worth it.

Yes that is a good point. What I am talking abuut are things like the thirty baht health care for poor people. Loans for farmers. Cell phones and internet. And while I am not in favor of extra-judicial killing, I do believe the country was safer and drugs were less readily available than today. As I said before, I am not a political expert. I only know these things from talking to Thai people. I think what I really object to has nothing to do with Thaksin, it is the idea of the elite ruling class or whatever you want to call them deciding they are the only ones capable of deciding who runs the country. Namely them. They want to take away the peoples' right to choose their own leaders. And the idea that this group is somehow less corrupt than Thaksin I also think is ridiculous.

Metaphors are analogies are not foreign concept where I am from, but neither is a sense of humor. Anyway, analogies and metaphors should have something to do with the subject. I do not know that Thaksin could necessarily make trial go his way. Perhaps so. Perhaps the government could still make trials go their way. perhaps not. I think the problem with your argument is that when it suits you, you talk as if this were an ideal world and somehow now that Thaksin is gone there is no more corruption. This seems to me more of the thinking of a 9 year old. I never said Thaksin never did anything corrupt. I only know what I read, same as everybody else. What I am saying is that i think the country was better off with Thaksin inpower than since. That is my point. Not that he is innocent or never did anything wrong. Is their any politician who is lily white? Here or anywhere else? I doubt it. As for stealing the hubcaps(here we go again), if you have one guy in charge stealing hubcpas or another guy in charge stealing hubcaps, then keep the hubcap stealer who is doing the best job. Even 9 year oldfs can understand this. Some people are so focused on hating Thaksin, they are blind to everything else. Nothing is more dangerous than the army in a country that is not at war. Also sorry I forgot question mark.

Thank you camerata for explanation. I have found a book called Taoist and Buddhist Practices in Ancient China which mentions Kwan Eim under name Guan Yin but it does not really go into it deeply. Also Guan Yu who from what I gather is also revered in China and I guess is related in some way to Kwan Eim.

Now the plane has landed and there is dancing. Thaksin is dancing with Pygmalion probably. There was no trial for Thaksin because there could be no fair trials when Thaksin was PM, according to Rix, but now he is gone everything is great and so all the trials are fair. What makes anyone think that if when Thaksin was in power he could make the trial go however he wanted, but in the new order here the government cannot do the same. No matter who is in charge, this is still Thailand.

Rix, the reason I keep saying the same thing is that was my only point in the first place. You are somehow involved in a whole different argument. This is a common and transparent strategy. If you cannot win argument, you throw in answers to a whole separate argument than you can. I am sorry if I have the effrontery or whatever to disagree with the apparently large group of farangs here who still don't know where they are at. As someone who was involved, in a very mnor and low-level way, in politics in the states, I will tell you it is common practice in politics to take care first of those people who voted for you. I am not saying it is right. It isn't. But I am living in the real world. I do not know where you live. Is it Thailand or the land of Oz? I never said Thaksin was a candidate for sainthood. I said he did good for the common people. Whatever his motives were, self-serving though they may have been, there were some good results. In your world the humanitarians from the army and the rich elites from Bangkok have come in and will now take care of the south and poor people everywhere out of the goodness of their hearts. I do not live in the south but from what I read in the same papers you probably get your information from, things are no better now that Thaksin is gone. Of course I am not expecting to get a lot of support here. I don't really care. I have read enough of this forum to know the I Hate Thaksin Club here far outnumbers anyone else. I am only writing to let people know that not everyone is in the club.