slinky1876

fish sauce shouldn't be cooked anyway you just add it before serving or put it on the table just like prik nam pla and let people ruin their food themselves, it will be added in somtam of course.

since it is bad for the blood pressure i stopped using it without missing anything.

Sound, next time you you order some thai food tell them "mai sai nam pla" and they will look at you and say "alrai wa". Unless you know more than me. Which is quite possible actually. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Which I normally am, judging by all the know it alls on TV ( Not all Thai is food is made with fish sauce). (Oh and MSG) and (GM products)

I was just having a chin wag with a good friend and I am not sure if vegies can eat things with fish sause in it. Can they or can't they. Then I was told more information and thought, how do vegies eat in Thailand. I cook alot of Thai Food (not always with meat in it) and have done for years and nearly everything I do as some kind of animal extract in it. How strict are Vegies, in regards to what is in their Thai Food. I am interested to know how vegies cope and what they do to ensure a good Vegetarian Thai Dish.

Thr Red Shirts are a spent force, even the offer of 2000 bahts and travel expenses could not bring the crowds that they wanted, all my Soi motor bike taxi drivers were in their usual spot on my Soi playing draughts and waiting for fares, I asked them if they were going to the rally and they all said they were bored with it... only Issan farmers and crowds from the North came this time for the pay and a trip to Bangkok paid for by Mr Thaksin again.... pathetic politics . If you think this is anything like a 50,000 football crowd I would like to ask which team you support that has 50,000 in attendance... I am a Glasgow Celtic supporter and we know what a 90,000 crowd is like at every home game, This Red Shirt gathering was pathetic, the same as the Million man march.. are these the same thugs that set fire to Bangkok on their last "peaceful" protest. The lights are on but no-one is home.....Duhhh.... Rock on Abhisit, you will romp the next election if this is your opposition....Amazing Thailand.

Great mate, I am going to take your post to heart and really think about the points that you have emphasised. But how can I take you seriously when you don't even know the true facts about your football team. Last time I checked, Celtic Park only holds 60,000. So can you please explain where the 90,000 comes from. Do the Celtic fans watch the game Thai style, 2 to a seat or something.

I have heard a few things about this diet and I feel that at this time of year there is always a few extra pounds to shift, so any extra help would be useful . Does any one know any thing about this diet and can the tablets be brought in Chiang Mai.

^^

Not true on at least one count...

Great post, Always nice to hear an informative post.

...As for you not having a say because you don't have a Thai passport, I suggest that you DO have a say, as long as it is well-informed. The only thing you don't have is a vote.

The last two Farangs that had a say were kicked out of the country, so I would say that we don't have a say. Ok I'm ready for the comeback but really, you and I both know that if you sat down with a Thai man who is passionate about Thai politics, you would only ask questions about the political situations here. Never would you debate it. If you say different, can you please film it, because I think all of TV would like to see it. "farang mai lui luang"

Must of left all of the south out of your travel plans?

I agree, that south is pretty much in the middle about the problems, yeah there is a little red and yellow here and there, but compare the population of the south to the rest of the country.

I stated before that it is not for me to say, but as an NGO here I have seen that the majority of the working class people feel that there lives were better under Thaksin and The Reds. It is not about protests and being paid and being shot and more and more of propaganda that is thrown at them every day. So if they are getting less now then they did under Thaksin, wouldn't you stand up and shout about it.

Farangs that live in Bangkok are the same as Thais that are from Bangkok. Ignorant about the rest of Thailand. I have been all over Thailand and I can a sure you that I have only met handful of people outside of Bangkok that don't like the Red side of the political problem here in Thailand.The Red side is the bigger side, whether they are the better side is not for me to say, because like most farangs that love to post their opinions and feelings on here about this topic, I don't hold a Thai Passport, therefore I don't have a say. The only thing I can say is. If they were to hold free and fair elections the red side would win and anyone who says different obviously hasn't been far outside of Bangkok.

I love Isaan food, but everything I eat tends to come with meat. Geng Nor Mai (bamboo shoot soup)Soup Nor Mai (different style of bamboo soup) and Geng Het (mushroom soup) Soup het kem tong( different style of mushroom soup). There are lots of other dishes that contain fish. I use a small isarn restaurant on the corner of Moonmuang Soi 9 and Ratpakinai Rd(sorry I don't know the name), a place called Kaen Chai which is directly opposite the old Siam TV building and if you don't mind taking your food home there is a great little stall that sets up on Moonmuang Rd Soi 2, she normally sets up after midday.

I saw a Thai TV programme on TV last and due to my basic Thai language skills I want to know more. It seems there is an ongoing problem in Bangkok between two sets of schools. I am led to belief that Techo and Techniqueschools or something like that, do not get along. The programme showed groups of youths aged between 18-21 cashing each other with braveheart style weapons. The police stopped one youth with an 18 inch blade down his pants, who had just been caught on camera weilding and chasing the opposite school students down the road. The youth was issued with a 100 baht on the spot fine. The show also shows groups of youths attacking buses with guns and missles which must have been ferrying the opposite schools students away. It seems it become a big problem in Bangkok. I live in CM and would like to know if anyone could shed any more light on this subject. I was told by the missus that students are killed due to these pitched battles.

Thought I'd share what I know about this topic. It's based on 4 different occasions when I have incurred these scammers and on each occasion they left with nothing.

These guys hold the rights to some very small Thai karaoke songs which were mainly set up for the scam that we are talking about. That is why they come into bars with official looking paper work. They never let you read it fully and only show you the intimidating parts. That is why the police have their hands tied, because the law states that they have every right to look for their licensed products that have been download or copied illegally. They will never find any of these products because they were set up for the purpose of the scam. They always come in about a group of six, and start shouting the odds. They always state that you have to go to the police station, normally the female head of the business(Thai), because this adds added pressure on the farang. They normally have a friend at the station that they can contact, who then in turns out be on your side and helps you settle the issue, i.e. you pay the scammers something. You can have every license under the sun, but due to the intimidation of six guys, who tend to be displaying big chunks of gold, you get scared and play right into their hands. It's a scam and I have to take my hats off to them. Most Thai scammers spend all of two minutes creating a scam to rip off farangs, but this one is clever and it works. Best of all, they are covered by the law. Perfect.

Call your lawyer and the police to your bar or restaurant straight away. Never give them money and never go to the police station.

Once they know you know the scam, they never come back again.

I have to thank a good friend of mine for filling me in, because if it weren't for him, I would have paid them out of fear. He came to my bar at the time, and as soon as they saw him, the knew that the game was up and they left without a word.

There are scam artists all over the world, good ones and bad ones. Be careful and keep your wits about you.

^{Agree with everything written in response to Chiangmai Foxy. 'Better late than never' would be my attitude to the recent converts. And Mr Foxy's 'I was here first, I've been going for the past two seasons' attitude won't get him very far. Chiang Mai United were formed in 1999 when the old Provincial League was launched. They used to play in pink and have an elephant on their crest instead of a tiger, but it is essentially still the same club. We can only assume ChiangMai Foxy was a "closet plastic fan" from 1999 to 2008.}

I do realise that,and im sorry if i was a bit out of order,but it wasnt a drunken rant for no apparant reason(12am!!!!!!)is not late(it is if you are a teacher) as some people do actually live here and do not have to work at all under 35 years of age...I also used to see cm united in pink at the municipal stadium at chiang phuek municipal so im no newbie at all.I was a leeds united fan home and away until i moved here 5 years ago,and luckiy i dont need to work again so i try to go to as many england games as i can away from home,and leeds when i go on holiday.Cmfc is for the people and its undivided passion,i will be there behind the goal to left as you walk in with 50 farang,so come for a beer.Merry xmas

Respect to Korat vinnie,you know more about cmfc than 99% of our fans.

ps on the grapevine mr brett may play a part tommorow,but faces a late fitness test

Must admit its good many 'Farang' are now going.Even my mates who have just started going this season are getting in 'Farang Talk'

Fair play to you chiangmaifoxy. There is nothing better to see, when someone puts their hands up when they are wrong. Have a merry christmas.

I read that there were 23,000 supporters at CM's last game at home

Is this true?

If so thats for than some Premier League teams get

What's the capacity of the stadium?

i have been to every home game this and last season and def not 23k lol more like 15 max. buriram was the big game,maybe 19k that game was over stated crowd wise also from t-sports etc.no inside info or anything just got on good auth from the sister of a midfielder who i know well (jing jing lor!!!).

any so called cmfc fan who doesnt go on xmas day is a closet plastic fan who prob supports man u(rinals) and gets in farang talk and has only been going this season.rant over.cmfc tiger army...on and on

Who's got the biggest car, who speaks Thai the best, who's been going to Chiang Mai F.C the longest. Who cares, I don't. I remember my visiting parents telling me that a certain bar owner who is a regular at the games had said to them that my information about the club was wrong. Due to the fact that he has been going to Chiang Mai F.C for years. When my parents questioned that Chiang Mai F.C was only formed this year, they were told that they were wrong. Maybe they were, I don't know for sure, but to my knowledge there were not playing last year, they did not play at the 700 year old stadium, they did not play in blue and they were called Chiang Mai United and there was only a few hundred watching. Most of the time there was only one or two falangs that attended, myself included. I used to drum up a chat with the odd one now and again, but I never saw anybody else that attended regular apart from myself and a couple of friends.

At the end of the day, Chiang Mai F.C has exploded this year, and it's great for the city and great for like minded falangs to go and enjoy a much loved sport at such cheap prices. I hope that the club grows, more people attend and it puts Chiang Mai on the map for football in Thailand. So to Chaing Mai foxy and anybody else that thinks that he or she is more superior than another in regards to C.M.F.C. We don't care.

If anybody really wants tell me how much more of a fan are, they can contact me in my normal spot. I'm the person that used to fly the Port Vale flag. Head to that direction and you'll spot me. I'm well known.

I just hope Thailand does not become another Mexico, AMerica or any other drug riddled country.

It's not Mexico or America yet, but it is drug riddled.

First to answer alfieconn as to why I don't refer to Varee's "International Annexe" as a full blown international school. The reason is the same as why Varee themselves are careful to never actually refer to the annexe as an international school; because it isn't one.

To call it an international school it would need to be accredited by one of the international organisations that accredit international schools - this it has not done. All of the true international schools in Chiang Mai have this accredirdation and can therefore use the name. At least that's how I understand it!

The annexe is accredited by Cambridge International Examinations for Checkpoint, IGCSE and A Level.

And so to slinky1876:

1. I would love to know where you got your information from.

It comes from 2 students in the annexe at Varee

2. Its wrong, very wrong.

Which part is wrong. I made the following three assertions, all of which I believe to be true and accurate (I don't print bull*hit). Please go ahead and check all of these out at Varee:

1. not at the moment staffed by a full compliment of teachers with proper teaching credentials. TRUE
2. there are currently shortages of western teachers in some areas with Thai teachers stepping in and attempting to teach in English to plug the gaps. TRUE
3. even students being given "study periods" where staffing has not been available at all. TRUE

Please check YOUR FACTS before accusing others of lying.

Point 1 is correct. Due to issues beyond the school's control, one member of staff left in September/October. This member of staff is being covered by another western teacher. Another teacher, with full US teaching credentials, will be joining the annexe in January to replace the teacher who left.

Point 2 is incorrect. No Thai teachers are stepping in for western teachers. Thai teachers teach Thai language (at native speaker level as well as beginner and intermediate level) and one and a half hours of Thai culture a week. This complies with the MoE requirements.

Point 3 is incorrect. The students study with a teacher for the full compliment of forty 50 minute periods a week. There are no study periods.

Spot on.

Gossip is gossip.

Truth is fact.

CMgossip this is what happens when you rely on high school kids for your main source of information. How many kids these days really tell the truth when it comes to school. I don't want to sound harsh, because am not intending to be, its just your information was wrong and it's been proven to be wrong, so no hard feelings in that respect.

It's a shame to bash the "International Annexe" as it is a real attempt at providing an in-between option, but it has some fairly significant problems that parents paying prices similar to the lower priced true international schools should be aware of. Unfortunately it is not at the moment staffed by a full compliment of teachers with proper teaching credentials (i.e. proper qualified teachers with credentials from their own countries), there are currently shortages of western teachers in some areas with Thai teachers stepping in and attempting to teach in English to plug the gaps, and even students being given "study periods" where staffing has not been available at all. I'm sure this is acceptable to some parents, but to many others I don't think it will be.

I would love to know where you got your information from. It's very good hearing this and that from a friend, and this and that from some you say hello to sometimes at Rimping. But before you ever post, check your information out. Its wrong, very wrong. CMgossip. Do your homework and don't make yourself look stupid. You may feel good for posting utter bullsh*t but it does more harm than good.

Sorry I couldn't make the party,I had business to attend to in Bangkok. It sounds like it was a good party by all accounts. There seemed to be a lot of people going, but I haven't seen much feed back from the net, so I'm interested to know how many people turned up in the end.

P.s

On my way to the airport on Saturday, I saw a lonely looking farang person dressed in full white leathers with a white full face helmet, standing on the canal road thumbing for lifts. I thought at first he had had problems with his Superbike or something, but I couldn't see a bike anywhere. Strange really the things you see some times.

Any news on the meeting?

That's a good point Guano. When is the next meeting. I really enjoyed the last meet, and again the thanks has to go to Pillion for putting on all the free food and drink. I must say the ribs were top notch but they didn't come close to Indian Balti dishes that your rider knocked out. Where did you find him. I've eaten curries for years back on the curry mile in England and I was still very impressed. There's not a curry in Thailand that even comes close to your man's dishes. Real English/ Indian Baltis. He should open up a restaurant in Town because there would be no competition. For the next meeting tho, can we have draft John Smiths and Stella instead of the Guiness and Heiniken. Thanks again Pillion for the free grub and beer and I can't wait until the next one. I gained so much from listening to you that i feel that my pillion skill level has increased ten fold.

I'll be at the next meeting sure!

But when will it be!

I Pillion mine like this. I find it helps us cut through the traffic quicker. Plus it's always good for a reversing signal.

I saw that the Pillion was attending the Thai Visa party, and I'm quite excited to see his face. But my sources tell me that he's going to turn up dressed like the stig. I was wondering if this was true.

Don't you mean "The Satig"? lol

I am so sorry to inform you that The Stig is correct. He's a famous character from a car show called 'Top Gear'. Next time, check your facts first, before you start pointing fingers at others.

I presume you left the sense of humor at home this morning! A simple pun which clearly flew high above your head.

Try reading again with a light hearted approach and maybe one day you too can laugh again and walk around with a smile!

My bad, been a long day,I instantly thought you we're having a pop, like so many others on TV. Took me a while but I got it, and yes, if I wasn't so thick skulled i would have seen the pun. Good humor. Bad judgement on my part.

Keep it coming tho, as my rider has been on the 'lao' all day, and his brakes aren't what they used to be. Message to the Pillion. Is it gay to give your rider a bear hug for short journeys, because it's either that or death. What's your view Pillion. And what would you do?

And on that thought, How do you cope with your meat and two veg while riding pillion. If I'm lucky I sometimes get a female rider, so it's never a problem. But how do you handle it when it's a bloke, and you feel your jewels pressing against his back. I sometimes think 'Can he feel them' and if he can, what should I do. I obviously try and avoid this scenario, but sometimes I can't. I am not gay, so this may start damaging my pillion passion. Do you have any tips on how to handle this scenario?

I saw that the Pillion was attending the Thai Visa party, and I'm quite excited to see his face. But my sources tell me that he's going to turn up dressed like the stig. I was wondering if this was true.

Don't you mean "The Satig"? lol

I am so sorry to inform you that The Stig is correct. He's a famous character from a car show called 'Top Gear'. Next time, check your facts first, before you start pointing fingers at others.

I saw that the Pillion was attending the Thai Visa party, and I'm quite excited to see his face. But my sources tell me that he's going to turn up dressed like the stig. I was wondering if this was true.

Yep Similan , Know it , Buy it, cheaper than Sang Som, PM me and I'll let you know where you can pick up a bottle.

Heard a few things about the Chiang Mai players that weren't present yesterday and I was wondering if any one could shed any more light on the issue. Were those players banned, due to yellow cards, because I know that we have been picking up quite a lot of cards as of late. The Champs League follow that systems so it would make sense to me.

FoodLand, and its better than Tops and Rimping . There are quite a few spread around bangkok. Sukhomvit Soi 5 has a good one.