Octaviousbp

Just got out of the hospital a couple of days ago with "the bad kind" of dengue. My platelet count dropped to a shocking 11,000. A "normal" person should have between 150,000 and 400,000. It was 7 days in the Ram. Luckily insured, as the bill was costly. In addition to the dengue, I now have an infection in my hand where the IV was taken out. A bummer all around. We hypothesize that this was likely my second go of dengue, explaining the severity.

mobs brings up a good point. What does happen to the tigers after they are 6 months and not the attraction they once were? Having 5 full-grown tigers around would seem pretty expensive to feed (properly), especially if they aren't pulling in the business.

On a work visit, I did see a tiger at an animal rescue in the south that was clearly suffering from mental damage. It had been de-clawed and had trouble walking, amongst other things. The staff at the rescue said its brain had begun to atrophy from lack of protein, as it wasn't being fed enough meat during its previous captivity. Pretty sad sight to see...

But on a separate note, I just don't really see the attraction in looking at any animal in a cage... period. Is there a rush? Does it satisfy some curiousity? Why would I want a tiger's head on my lap anyway? But I guess that's a different question for a different time. Needless to say, I won't be stopping by anytime soon. Plenty of places more convenient with free wifi and cold beers.

Lanna is a good camp. I guess the equipment isn't to notch but decent enough. The trainers are good, and that is what is important to me. The camp flow seems a lot better now than it has in years past as well. Regular round timing and lots of trainers holding pads.

Pedro is also a great teacher with more of a "class" set-up.

Can anyone suggest a good place? Someone that really knows their Muay Thai. The kid is Thai and 7 years old. Preferably in the Muang Mai district. Appreciate it! Thanks.

Medics have concluded that Muay Thai can do irreperable damage to small bodies. Spectators have told me how they felt when they saw a tiny SIX year old orphan hilltribe boy knocked unconscious in the ring by a kid twice his size. In Chiang Mai province a few years ago. Before the law was changed!!

Need I say more?

Hi Flatouthruthefog, you wouldn't happen to have a link for this report by medics would you?

Many thanks!

Muay Thai isn't really taught in a "class" environment here. You should check out a session before and speak with the owner just to make sure it is what you are keen on for your son. I know Chay Yai was teaching Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu, which would likely be in a class format, although maybe no kids?

Well, tough call. Learning at a village camp would be one of the better options. Can you ask around where you are to see if anyone knows of a local camp? Learning at a village is less technical, but a lot of repitition and hard work. I am not sure if Pedro at the MT Sangha teaches children, but he might. He is extremely knowledgeable and pays close attention to detail. www.ancientmuaythai.com is his website i believe.

The bigger camps will also offer more "instruction", but it could be easy for a boy to fall through the cracks. If you do take him to Lanna or Chai Yai, I would recommend speaking to the owners and explaining exactly what you would like to accomplish, and that you are willing to pay. Since he is not a fighter, tuition would likely be expected.

Hope this helps.

What kind of instruction are you looking for? Why is the boy taking MT (ie: to fight/compete, fitness, etc?)

Good pizza at Paradise in my opinion. I also enjoy the company!

If it's Lanna Camp then the absolute cheapest in that area would be Isra Guesthouse. Google it. It's seriously cheap, nice and doesn't have things like aircon.. honestly... Then again it's mostly likely a case of your idea of 'cheap' being pretty mid range in Thailand.. But when you say cheap then I give you cheap.

For some reason, I think it is Pedro Villalobos place, which is off of Suandok Rd, near Suthep.

8-10 hours a day?!? Where is this? Do you box already?

Just got back from Kham Tian with a fistfull of seeds. Looking forward to seeing what grows. Will start germinating tomorrow.

Thanks for all the help!

That's great information, and exactly why I wanted to post here regarding the soil quality. I have found that the soil is indeed very clay intensive, and have been working some leave compost into the soil.

I plan on planting now anyways, since I figure there are a couple of months before the regular heavy rains, and I seem to remember some things only taking forty days to grow from seed to harvest. So why not? I guess the next logical question would be, since I am going to grow now, what would I have the best luck with. I am particularly keen on growing spinach, broccoli, carrots, onions, sweet potato, beets, and artichokes (if at all possible). Waste of time, or give it the ol' college try?

And, since I am obviously fond of getting ahead of myself, any recommendations for where to purchase seeds?

I'll keep an eye out for the agriculture five oh, thanks for the warning . Hopefully there won't be a "war on vegetables" this summer.

I have recently become quite interested in gardening, but am quite new to the field (pun intended). There are lots of resources online to help out a gardening neophyte, however most of the information is for European or North American climates.

I was wondering if anyone knew of any resources for gardening in Chiang Mai (or Northern Thailand) specifically. ie: what vegetables will actually grow in the soil found in and around Chiang Mai, what time of year to plant it, etc.

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

A little north of Mae Rim... hail. And not one or two pellets, but a fair amount, and pea to ping-pong ball size as well. Our garden took a rough hit. The rain was coming almost sideways at one point, and many branches and leaves came down. Power was out for the better part of the afternoon.

edited: started post before Jai Dee's. Have a great day everybody!

San Diemas High School football rules!

That's some solid advice. Many thanks Dustoff!

Thanks for the replies. I'll resume the hunt this weekend. Starting to think that ordering one online might be the best way to go.

Does anyone know where I can head to get my laptop tuned up a little? The power cable isn't fitting as snug as I would like, which is currently extremely problematic, as my battery is kaput. Which leads to my next logical question...

...anyone know where I can get an IBM battery?

I went to Icon Square and was met with blank stares, and I was thinking of heading over to Panthip, but won't bother if it's a waste of time.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Lanna and Chai Yai would be two good first stops for someone cutting their teeth on Muay Thai. Lanna is on Soi Chiang Kian off of Huay Kaew/Canal Road. Chai Yai is south of the city, but has an office near Thapae Gate (A few doors down from Black Canyon). Hope this helps.

The bowling alley inside the moat on the north west corner has a pool room... relatively close to Huay Kaew and a quiter vibe too.

Lots of good information on this thread.

This is a link with a recent update that is related to the debate on the morality of tourism in Burma.

http://www.voicesforburma.org/

I would recommend checking out the quote of the week, and the section on "tourism". Quite insightful IMO.

I have never been involved in any MORG. Just no desire (or time) for that. I have been in a paper and pencil game since I was 12 though, off and on.

If you are ever up for some gaming when you get back BA, let me know!

Sorry, should have specified. In person gaming. I am also a digital gamer (Neverwinter Nights right now in anticipation of the sequel... if I can get it here), but I am jonesing for some face-to-face geekage.

Boardgames: Risk, Axis and Allies, Shogun, etc.

RPG: D20 anything

Card games: I have a couple shadowfist decks and a new game (for me) called "Settlers of Catan" which is highly addictive imo.

Hit me up with a pm if too ashamed to fly your geek colours!

Are there any gaming geeks in Chiang Mai, be it board, rpg, ccg or otherwise? I get the itch from time to time, and am open to pretty much anything.

Geeks unite!

I have some empathy for OP, in that it sucks to get the chain-boot period... regardless of country or era. I got the boot not more than two weeks ago. It was one of those wacky "even-odd days" roads (which I would love to know the rationale behind, just for curiousity's sake), which I would argue can be confusing for more than just tourists, not being too handy with dates and all.

Went to the station and paid the 200B fine... wondering if I was just lucky?