Sojourner

Surgery was done at Rajavej Hospital, doctor was Charnakarn. He's been highly recommened here on TV and my wife both agree, he's very pleasant to consult with in addition to his professional skills. He has his own clinic just over the river from Rajavej hospital.

Would you happen to know if Dr. Charnakarn does spine surgery as well? Thanks

Good question. On the pined list of medical practitioners he is listed as a ORTHOPAEDIC (Bones/Joints) not sure if that would cover the spine I would imagine some of it might need a nerve specialist and some just a bone doctor.

Also interested in knee replacement all though I had heard they use a laser for measurements in Bangkok as it can lead to problems if the measurements are not perfect.

Just repeating what I heard.

Quite true, if the angles are just a little bit off there may be problems. Mine was done using computer assisted surgery at Vejthani Hospital in BKK. It's fours years now and nary a problem. I'll get by Charnakarn's office soon. If nothing else he can check the condition of my TKR as it needs to be checked every year. Thanks.

Surgery was done at Rajavej Hospital, doctor was Charnakarn. He's been highly recommened here on TV and my wife both agree, he's very pleasant to consult with in addition to his professional skills. He has his own clinic just over the river from Rajavej hospital.

Would you happen to know if Dr. Charnakarn does spine surgery as well? Thanks

I can only vouch for the burger place still being there across from Li Lu hotel. We ate lunch there three days ago. Can't help you with the rest as we were on our way back to CNX. I understand the burger place is under new management.

There's a paint supply store on Charoen Muang Rd. just past the Nawarat Bridge that sells Leyland auto spray touch up paint in spray cans. They have paint charts of all the Japanese auto manufacturer's colors. Don't know how many years this goes back but it's worth a shot. Spray a test sample on a sheet of paper and see how close it comes to your car's aged color.

When I bought my scooter I could have paid more for my own combination of numbers but didn't choose to do so.

Are we talking about the same thing? Government issued tags can be whatever isn't already issued but I believe the OP was talking about an independent shop manufacturing one. Sorry if I misunderstood.

To the best of my knowledge there are no rules. Both cars and bikes must display the government plates. A few years ago owners of European cars wanted their plates to look like those issued by the Eurozone countries and shops in BKK would make them up. The police cracked down on them. There are vanity plates sold for cars at very high prices by the LTD but I've never seen any for bikes.

The title says it. Anybody know what's really happening?

A dodgy book in Chiang Mai will get you nowhere. They have a list of all imported bikes with model numbers and descriptions and the serial number sequences that go with it year by year. They will also take two or three photos of the bike before sending the paperwork off to where the bike is registered, and that's if there's no question about the book. I know this because I've been there. If the girl says she can do it for 6500 baht, I wouldn't question it, just do it. No doubt you already paid for the bike so you're stuck with it one way or the other.

What kind of visa are you on? That's important. Just remember the ability to bring a bike or car into Thailand is there for tourists that are only passing through. Doing a border run for a number of months will only draw attention to you and your bike. You may find that you can come back into Kingdom but your bike cannot.

"Does anyone know what you have to pay in import tax of a motorcycle that will be brought in to Thailand in parts from another Asian country?" To be perfectly honest with you, and this is from experience, the cost to bring it in will be whatever Customs thinks it's worth, how much they think they can gouge out of you and if anyone in the Customs Department wants your bike you'll never see it again. Importation of a used bike and used parts is not legal. Ah you say, you have a way around all of this. Maybe so but it won't be cheap.

They sell them in Thailand, just keep looking around at various tool shops. I bought one at the tool/bolt shop on Chareon Muang Rd. here in Chiang Mai. All different sizes available.

Chiang Mai Immigration address

Chiang Mai Immigration

71 Moo 3, Airport Road, T. Suthep, A. Muang, Chiang Mai 50200

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Real Biker Magazine will be hosting a Custom Bike Show on Sunday, 9 December 2012 in Chiang Mai. More details to follow.

Coke Lite is a good start but I'm still waiting for Schweppes tonic water to return.

First, do you have a retirement visa that was obtained in your home country or did you come in on a Non-O visa and get a one year extension here in Thailand? If you're here on a one year extension based on retirement then you need only return to renew your extension for another year. The earliest you can do this is one month before your anniversary date. Further, if you're here on a one year extension then you must buy a re-entry permit before you leave or your extension is void when you return.

As long as the songtow and tuktuk drivers have anything to say about it, it will never happen.

"this is a European-style pizza", quote from CMX. This is very true and if you're an American style pizza lover, be forewarned.

Since Coke in cans and bottles are still on the shelves, I would say that it's the package, not the product that's not available at the moment. Drink makers don't make their own containers.

Buying a condo unit is more than just liking what you see when you walk in the door. You must keep in mind that the owner of the building has to have an interest in maintaining his investment. Find out before you buy if the building has been well maintained and how much the monthly co-owner fees are. If the units were sold with the addition of a "sinking fund" and there's no monthly fees, I would be cautious. Does the condo have a Juristic Manager on duty? Is there a committee of co-owners that meet with the Juristic Manager periodically? What does the building interior and exterior look like? It's all very important.

I always try to fill up my bikes and car with Caltex 91 benzine. There are still a few stations around Chiang Mai that sell it. Mae Jo Road Caltex and Doi Saket Road in San Sai. Caltex advertise they add Techron (Techrolene) to the mix which is also an after market product that counters the effects of alcohol sitting in tanks and carburetors for extended periods as well as cleaning the crap that forms on the valve stems. I worked at Chevron in El Segundo, CA for years and know the product works as advertised. How much they add to the mix here is anybody's guess.

The problem driving from SF to LAX, if you take Hwy 1, is it may take you three or four weeks to get there LOL.

I decided to give the new place a try last night. Went about 8:30 PM. The staff, albeit a bit shy, greeted me and took my order. I ordered a burger and small fries to go. That;s when I noticed the fryer was either turned off, or down, to where the oil was too cool to cook the fries without absorbing a lot of oil in the process. None the less the fries went into the basket and the girl turned up the dial to reheat the oil. The burger sat in the box getting cold while the fries sucked up a liter of cooking oil. Fifteen minutes later the fries were placed in a brown paper bag and off I went. Needless to say the bag was completely soaked with oil when I got home (5 minutes) and the burger was cold. As a previous poster commented, the burger was, by my standards, a good burger, the bun had a good texture and flavor. The fries were thrown out. Usually David reads TV and I hope he has a chance to talk with the owner of the new restaurant. It may cost a little more money to keep the oil hot enough to cook the fries correctly (190 C.) but it;s worth it when the customer is satisfied.

No idea why but a bunch of young folk, guys and girls and maybe gays, who knows, were cutting hair for free today outside Tesco Lotus on Hang Dong road--didn't ask why free but seemed like a good deal.

Probably a group of students from Khun Jo or another beauty acadamy. That's part of their on-the-job training.

Something to keep in mind is whether the chrome is "decorative chrome" which isn't very durable and second if the item to be chromed is pot metal (zinc) the acid dip will eat into the base metal and the chrome won't fill in the pock marks.

Odds are against you. Besides taxes not paid on the import, without a letter from the Ministry of Commerce allowing the bike to enter the country you may never get past first base. Second, unless the bike is actually a commercially available bike, i.e. petrol engine in your case, they wouldn't know what to do with it. A good example of their naivity is that trikes are not able to register in Thailand because they have three wheels and don't fit the definition of a motorcycle. Good luck to you.