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I believe the topland buffet is open everyday; I've been there on different days of the week. Only problem is the bad traffic getting downtown Phitsanulok which takes a long time, especially if the police are funneling the traffic to one lane and checking everyone like they often do.

I always wondered how topland could afford to have such a lavish spread and all those servers and not so many customers. Tour buses coming later, that would explain it. I guess I've always been in and out before them. Another nice thing about the buffet is free desserts. Mainly Thai style like tapioca plus some bakery tidbits.

Anyone who has never been to the Topland buffet should go at least once. Absolutely incredible what you can find there with cuisine from all corners of Thailand. Especially bring your Thai family members as they will probably love and appreciate the spread even more. And not even 200 baht a head.

After some picture comparisons, it appears Big Wood is made by a company in China called hanvy.cn.

Good info, just one other question. I see planers and all sorts of other high quality looking wood working tools sold under the name Big Wood. Does anyone know anything about them? Below is a link to the picture of the Big Wood MB-103 and spec sheet for all Big Wood planers. It has 4 blades rather than 2. It is floor standing weighing over 300 pounds despite being one of the smallest models they sell. On paper it looks like much more machine for the money than the Makita for just a few thousand baht more.

http://www.spi-intertrade.com/14514896/bigwood-%E0%B9%81%E0%B8%97%E0%B9%88%E0%B8%99%E0%B9%84%E0%B8%AA%E0%B9%84%E0%B8%A1%E0%B9%89-%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B8%E0%B9%88%E0%B8%99-mb-103

Any recommendation on a heavy duty thickness planer? The first job I have is to send 4 kilometers of rough sawn 3 meter, 1x6" teak through. Despite the Makita 2012NB getting very good reviews in the US, I know 2 people in Thailand who have this model and they both found it to be lacking durability, both broke down, and say it is not suitable for big jobs. No real budget in mind, just want to understand what options might be out there.

Good leads, much appreciated. A big appeal of the 9404 is it has auto tracking--no more tuning belt alignment is a huge feature. But it looks like it is not sold here. The 9403 is also a very good product for other reasons mentioned and may go with that. Locally what I see is Pigeon and Maktec offered.

Are there any decent options or is this an area yet to develop in Thailand? Would love to find a Makita 9404 belt sander or something comparable.

Suitable for a couple of toilet flushes, but not half a day of water consumption during a power blackout.

Not true. Pressure tanks can be sized to suit ones needs.

Why not get a pressure tank? Cheap. Nothing unsightly. Problem solved.

Can't go wrong with lego

But have you seen the prices in Thailand? They seem to want their blocks to be reserved for the super rich. Shame.

I don't understand why you felt it was necessary to cut the amount in half knowing you would get it back. The extra on display may mean nothing to you, but would make them happy on their big day and cost you nothing. You could have explored why 1M was an important show number to them so you could understand where they are coming from. Then talking it out you could have a chance of a mutually consensual agreement on the final amount. Maybe the end result would be the same, but only after developing a deeper understanding of each other more beneficial to the relationship over time.

By the way having gold and money simply for show at a wedding is nothing new even out in the remote villages. If it is the case, it is heavily gossiped like everything else, but does not seem perceived as a negative by anyone.

Right, a cesspit is a completely different beast from a septic tank and anyone who thinks they are the same or even similar should learn the difference. A full septic tank is good. A full cesspit is bad. In Thailand cesspits are typically used which are just a waste storage container that pollutes ground water with untreated sewage and need pumped out frequently. They are a terrible, archaic system outlawed in developed countries. A properly designed septic system on the other hand treats the waste and usually outlets to an underground drain field that biologically treats the waste some more and the system never backs up or gurgles.

I have come to the conclusion that the septic tank is basically too low and inline with the adjoining paddy field behind the house and there is also not enough decline in all the inlet and outlet pipes to the tank which drains into the local drainage system.

Note the pipe pitch needs to be dead on. Too shallow is not good. Too steep is not good. So don't think going a little steeper will help anything as it can make it worse. Proper pipe pitch, venting, and drain field should allow water leave quickly in all seasons.

Great idea. I hadn't thought about online ordering. After comparing a few options I decided on thai central garden as their selection was incredible. The service and delivery to the post office was a good experience and the plant quality was fine and everything arrived in good shape as they left the top of the box open so delivery people could see what was inside and not tilt it or stack anything on it. I would definitely order online again if needing anything hard to find.

I guess the smoke pollution doesn't bother those recommending places in the far north? Certainly crossed it of my list of habitable places of an otherwise charming area. I remember after an aborted house hunting trip I couldn't wait to get back to Bangkok from Chiang Rai for breathable air--seriously. In case one has never been there over the course of a year, the smoke pollution season lasts for months and the bad air is plainly visible and causes widespread health problems. I recall one year it sent about a half million people to the hospital. In the worst times of year you are told to avoid exercise and stay indoors with all doors and windows tightly shut. Not for me, but I guess some people learn to tolerate it, certainly the locals do.

Are there any nurseries around Phitsanulok with a really wide selection of fruit trees? I am not real familiar with Phitsanulok so kindly provide reasonable directions to follow if so.

I wonder why Office 365 was chosen over google docs which is free.

No budget it mind; just considering all options. Longevity is important however.

You may have missed the post of my bougainvillea fence experiment which did not fully spread out after several years. And by the way your suggestion of planting at the beginning of the dry season is generally not recommended. Most feel it is best to plant early in the wet season. Regardless I do not wish to rely solely on bougainvillea. I could add it later to beautify a fence though.

Simply painting steel I question the longevity. Things rust out here really quickly and will be outside fully bearing the elements every day and will experience bending and racking that could take paint off. I'd hate to go to the trouble of an entire kilometer of fencing only to watch it rust out quickly. Repainting would be a lot of trouble having to knock down all the weeds and dirt splashed an entire kilometer long. I notice in other countries people often use hot dipped galvanized for fencing. I haven't found a supplier of anything like that here.

Just wanted to give this one last bump in case anyone has any other ideas. I could always make a landscape bar to cut tree roots and sink regular concrete posts. I am still stumped on what would be the most appropriate fencing material and where to find it.

Basically pour a slab, and have the rebar in the slab extend vertical from the slab about a meter. Place straw bales on rebar, around outside wall. Frame door and window openings with lumber. Cover with chicken wire, then plaster inside and outside.

That is all wrong! Straw should never be in contact with the slab or it will get wet and be ruined. Not only that there needs to be a high stem wall below the first course. The rebar you speak of can also be a vapor source that causes condensation and rot. Chicken wire is not to be used on this wall system. You can slap it in if you want, but professional bale builders don't do this for good reasons. You seem very new to this method and I would suggest more research before you go this route.

There are several things to be especially concerned with when using strawbale in Thailand. First, you must take extra precautions against rot in the wet season and termites that will munch all the straw. Also keep in mind in order to have a durable outside plaster wall lime is needed. In Thailand, the correct type of lime for this application is not available anywhere which means each time a strong rain occurs your plaster protection will be eroded exposing the straw to rot.

Now the good side. Rice straw is considered a good quality straw to use. And strawbales are sold most places in rural Thailand; something like 30 baht a bale. In places like mine the locals just burn their rice straw in a heap because the terrain is too steep for baling machinery. So I made a hand baler to make my own bales for free.

Yep, noticed the same ladder of complements as my Thai progressed. The next step in the evolution is no complements at all; they just converse with you naturally. Though one young village girl living nearby asked me if I could speak English.

There are now at least 4 threads going in the news forum regarding this disappearance. Seems a shame for people who want to follow the story.

Right, if the parks are going beyond the law they are in the wrong and should get due punishment. The first article implied to me they were just following the rule of law but that last article raises serious suspicions to the contrary and I hope they get to the bottom of it. I was also unaware these Karen have no land at all and would think that is a reasonable request, but what may complicate matters is it could be a lot of these people were born in other countries and came here illegally so granting illegal aliens land for free and giving nothing to local Thai people could be a difficult sell. So I would say the court case is probably the best way forward and let both sides be heard and make the best decision one way or the other. I sure hope they are able to find a solution to save the forests and preserve these peoples way of life.

Would be interesting to hear from you where else these unwanted people could live in peace.

I am glad you asked. I have lived in the mountains among hill tribe people for years and am next to a national forest so I think I can give a glimpse of the realities. In my area hill tribes were given an enormous amount of pristine land and they have villages here and there of which the government continually adds infrastructure for them like paved roads. However it's impossible not to notice they poison and burn all of their land which also pollutes the sky--no exceptions horizon to horizon. And they keep doing this perpetually every single year. Where once were forests are now totally ruined lands of weeds. Only a lone, charred tree here or there is left suffering. The ground is dead and not even worms live there. A hill tribe gentleman doing some gardening work for me just the other day commented that I should be poisoning the ground rather paying hill tribe people to pull weeds by hand and that I should burn my land completely which to the contrary I am making into a wildlife sanctuary of which I have seen pythons, deer, civets, small leopards, and all sorts of cool things of which I wouldn't dare show them photos or mention to them. And he probably doesn't know after they leave I carefully pick up every cigarette butt and plastic trash item they throw on my land.

I don't think badly of them, just accept this is who they are and this is their way. They don't have a concept of loving or nurturing a forest. So they go right into clearly marked national forests because they ruined all the lands given to them. Thailand desperately needs areas that are protected from this otherwise they will hunt everything down including all the endangered species, chop down the trees, and take everything of value down to the last orchid. I see it everyday. And it is ironic that even this so-called "prominent activist" seemed solely set on exploiting national forests for his and his buddies personal benefit rather than wanting to protect the forest. National forests belong to all the Thai people and should not be exploited by a few who will just repeat a cycle of destruction. You've just got to draw the line somewhere or it will be all gone.

As far as the honey, yes I too see all the time what is sold is just brown sugar water labeled as honey. Now in his case it says he was caught in possession of "unlawful wild bee honeycomb". That's bad form to go into a national forest with an intent to break the law, but totally consistent with what I see these people doing on a daily basis.

Arrested for collecting wild honey ? It's now a crime ?

And why not? Taking anything from a national forest is surely a crime. These checkpoints are there to help protect the forests and in this instance appear to be doing their job and I applaud them for it. Why he is labeled as an activist is a mystery. He has just been caught red handed plundering the forest rather than respecting it. His lawsuit sounds ludicrous and more of the same--he and others illegally built houses inside the national forest boundary and are upset because it was not tolerated.

Why is there just moan and groan when the government comes up with a good idea to help tackle an important problem? I can think of a lot of tourists who would opt for those with guaranteed certificates and have peace of mind of getting reimbursed as claims are backed by government funds, not people who disappear. I see a lot of good things here and fully expect to get flamed for saying as much.