WinnieTheKhwai

I think the general environemtn at Huay Kaew is not very clean usually.. Water should be no different from the places a bit further up like Ban Bua Bang and Monthrathan; it's the same stream anyway.

If you book a bit in advance, it's hard to argue with Air Asia pricing, though if you do a lot of shopping then you will easily go over your luggage allowance and will have to pay extra; it'll still be cheaper than Thai or Cathay though.

I'd stay on Hong Kong island.. once you get a bit further up (North Point, etc) prices are not much more expensive than downtown Bangkok for a comparable hotel. And you're still on the subway line, tram lines, ferry, etc. Agoda.com often have promotions as well. And Accor hotels have promotions all the time, worth checking out as well. (Novotel, Mercure, Ibis etc) Ibis North Point on Hong Kong island is under 2500 baht.. 2172.24 THB. including taxes and breakfast. Not bad for Hong Kong.

Yeah, it looks like one of those one day quickies in the Mae Wang area. I tink I've visited that waterfall once or twice. The songthaews you see are going to Ban Kad, which is Sanpatong/Mae Wang. So if you just drive to Sanpatong and take a right towards Mae Wang then you will pass signs indicating the waterfalls.

1. In recent years, what are the most notable changes in Chiang Mai's infrastructure?

- Ring roads with tunnels at major intersection channel development away from the historical old town and are very convenient to get somewhere fast.

- Internet is just about everywhere either WiFi or now 3G and then of course EDGE if the other two aren't there.

- More varied nightlife

2. What are the property hot spots in Chiang Mai city, and why are these areas so popular?

There's basically 'in town' and then 'out of town'. Out of town in any direction is all pretty similar, it depends on personal preference. In Town the absolute hot spot is the general University area, especially Nimmanhaemin Road. Hot spots == high price.

3. What type of property is in trend in these areas and what kind of buyers are they attracting?

In town you see more up-market yet somewhat smaller scale and nicely built condominiums going up. Out of town space isn't an issue so you're more likely to find houses (either inside a gated development or not), and available land to build your own.

4. What is the price range difference of property / land in the popular areas in Chiang Mai city with more country locations outside the city.

Buy or rent? Condo's in town are more expensive than houses out of town. In town for a nice condo with a couple rooms (anything more than just a studio) will set you back 4-5 million baht or more. Houses out of town start around 2 million (2 floor, 3 bedroom, small garden) and go up from there.

5. How do foreigners and Thais differ in terms of what they want from a property in Chiang Mai?

Thais like to be close to main road, and generally have road access and are willing to pay extra for it. Westerners tend to like it a bit quieter and don't care as much is they're way down a soi. Many Westerners don't want to buy or lease a house when someone else (wife, etc) owns it so they end up going for a condo unit because they get to own it in their own name.

6. What problems are developers facing at the moment?

Economic crisis and not having a lot of money available, also finance harder to get for potential buyers. On the other hand, construction materials have come down in price a bit.

7. What advice do you have for buyers in Chiang Mai?

Live & rent for a long time before deciding what your preference is, both in location and in terms of the most suitable type of house/condo. Typically this changes over time too; a lot of people want to be in town because they don't initially drive a car. Then later they might settle a bit out of town where it's quieter and cheaper.

8. What are the well respected developments in Chiang Mai?

Koolpunt Ville, Land and House, Ban Nai Fun.. But take it as a case by case basis, no guarantees.

9. What is the recent Capital Appreciation of property?

There isn't any. The only appreciation is on the land. The building depreciates just like a car does. (Perhaps a bit slower) If you maintain it well then the only 'appreciation' is due to price of construction materials and labour going up, meaning that building a similar house is relatively more expensive. For Condominiums it's a complete casino: A handful of condominium buildings are maintained well and are in a good location so the value of these goes up, or at least it doesn't go down. For many, MANY others through, they go down the drain badly. At least with "your own" house, you control maintenance yourself.

10. If you are a Chiang Mai resident, how would you describe lifestyle?

Family man.

So, what is the point of the post, George?

Cold as ice.

More to the point, <deleted> is the point of your inane post! Would you have made it if the lad were your son, grandson, brother, nephew, friend?...

ESPECIALLY if the lad were my son, grandson, brother or friend then I would wonder what the point of the post is. I'd probably object even more in that case.

Central has plans to build something fancy and high-end, on the 8 rai or so of land that they own at the intersection of the Outer Ring and the Hang Dong road.

You heard it here first.

I would take them to sample some Chiang Mai food. And you're in luck that Huan Phen is on the same road and walking distance from the Anodard. Just turn left along Ratchamankha Road and keep walking, then you eventually see it on the right hand side. (Past traffic light intersection, on the corner of a T crossing without traffic lights.

Or for Isan food, you could do worse than Kaen Chai, opposite Siam TV. Another good Isan restaurant is at 89 Plaza on the old Lamphun Road, though that's probably too far afield.

Other suggestions: Take them to see some Farang at Daret Guesthouse, which has affordable food.

Not sure technical drawings of one exist.. I would just go find one and then have it measured and copied.

Nice, just what we need, some Farang Yellow-shirt thumper, pushing all of us in that corner.

Katoeys act super-femme, more than females.

The good/confident ones don't.. I guess you now too fell into the trap of making generalizations about a group of people you don't know too much about.

I do know some very femme gays who are consciously trying to tone down their overly female behavior because their (gay) boyfriend doesn't care for overly queenie/lady behavior, but they're basically kathoeys-at-heart. (As in, they WOULD dress and act more female if they had a boyfriend who appreciated the female look (a.k.a someone straight-ish ) This may be a burden on a relationship.

Oh dear here we go again. What makes people think they could possibly have something to add on a case they know NOTHING about?

Oh wait.. Just realized the forum I'm on.

> What would you have done differently?

I would not have assumed that they weren't somehow acquainted, and wouldn't assumed that the woman would be opposed to such attention. It's hard to say because I wasn't there.

But what I would have done would be to just ask the woman if she'd care to change seats with me. The guy would have known people were on to him, without being confrontational.

And then I would ask the woman out for a drink.

^and it isn't just about situational options. There are straight men all over the world who indulge from time to time in sex with other men and don't identify as gay. They're not gay, and neither are the men who like sleeping with ladyboys. Gay is about the conscious identification as a man of one's primary sexual interest as being other MEN (and not pseudo-ladies, either).

..Real men ... and then you move to Asia so you can be with by and large fairly feminine looking boys? When I see Western gays around in Thailand they're usually with a super queenie looking femboy a third their age.. Were they just unlucky to not find a Real Man?

I don't believe you know me or anything about why I moved to Asia, nor will we be discussing that on this thread- and your opinion of their looks says more about you than it does about them or me.

Sorry, it's not about you; 'you' here should be taken as "gay people in general". You could have distilled that from me using the word 'they' later on (emphasis added). I agree though that I could have made that clearer. Indeed I know nothing about you beyond who you are on this forum.

> Perhaps your impression of Western gays only comes from the "obvious" ones- i.e., the

> ones you think you can definitely pick out as gay. That doesn't make them the norm or the majority.

Western gays partnered with a masculine looking Thai gay male stand out just the same; in my experience you see far less of those couples. It does not mean they don't exist.

> And "real" men is your obsession here, not mine, so once again it says much more about you than anything about me.

LOL! Sorry, but look at your own quote, above: "Gay is about the conscious identification as a man of one's primary sexual interest as being other MEN (and not pseudo-ladies, either).

I'm SO sorry for summarizing the phrase "MEN who aren't pseudo ladies" as 'Real Men'. I do apologize, let's revisit my statement updated to revision 1.1:

..Real men MEN who aren't pseudo ladies? ... and then gay Westerners move to Asia so you they can be with by and large fairly feminine looking boys? When I see Western gays around in Thailand they're usually with a super queenie looking femboy a third their age.. Were they just unlucky to not find a Real Man MAN who's not a pseudo-lady?

Not as readable, but one does aim to please.

[ NB: We're discussing the differences between ladyboys (as per the OP) and short-haired ladyboys / kathoey-phom-san who don't dress as women, and if there's overlap or similarities. We're firmly on topic. ]

Trying to locate a map of Chiangmai I discovered a 1980 guide book to Chiangmai.

Interesting was as everyone is complaining about the exchange rates that in 1980 it was 22 baht to the dollar.

A night in the Porn Ping hotel was 488 baht. The Montri hotel was 150 baht. I wonder what the rates are now.

Around 1200 baht and 799 baht respectively.

What was interesting was that inside the book was a flyer for a photograph developing shop. Unfortunately the top has been torn away so no name although the shop was on Thapae road. You gave them your undeveloped film before 1600, they put in on the overnight train to BKK, developed the film in BKK and put it on the train back to Chiang Mai ready for collection at 0900. So a 41 hour service.

Surely around 1980 there must of been photo shops locally!

I think so.. it's not rocket science after all.

^and it isn't just about situational options. There are straight men all over the world who indulge from time to time in sex with other men and don't identify as gay. They're not gay, and neither are the men who like sleeping with ladyboys. Gay is about the conscious identification as a man of one's primary sexual interest as being other MEN (and not pseudo-ladies, either).

..Real men ... and then you move to Asia so you can be with by and large fairly feminine looking boys? When I see Western gays around in Thailand they're usually with a super queenie looking femboy a third their age.. Were they just unlucky to not find a Real Man?

It's called 'plastic' ?

So.. Global House et al?

I'm not buying it.

Reading between the lines I'm getting a sense of background. I bet there's a misunderstanding / communication issue going on between him and his 'tilac'.

For example: "Only half listening to his incessant ranting on The Thai government, Thai banking practices and Thailand in general, she thought the 150 baht charge would actually be the ATM opening a magic little door where 150 baht needed to be deposited." This didn't happen. Or, "... she thought that the 150 baht would actually be cut from the dispensed amount, as in withdrawing 5000 baht but receiving 4850"... This didn't happen either. So she proudly exclaimed "ATM, it not charge 150 baht!!". Bless her. And bless you too.

Next.

Is she pretty?

Grandma Cares is a non profit organization based in Chiang Mai with the purpose of supporting children of

Oh oh... be prepared for this topic to be closed down real soon... Itz againzt ze rules!

This house is right on the Soi, so it's probably the least desirable home in the compound which explains why they want to rent it.

Actually, no. Thais typically value road access; the closer to the road, and the bigger the road, the more valuable it is. (Rationale: With soi access you could start a little shop or restaurant or whatever, hence a higher price)

Other than that, I think the old town area is great, and really not overly noisy; for sure less noisy than the main roads outside of the old town.. Go for it!

"Miguel's California-Style 'Mexican' Food Restaurant, started by a guy from the East Coast, run by Canadians, staffed by Northern Thais, but delicious"

More importantly, the Lao themselves not only pronounce it as Lao, but even write it that way in Latin script; go there and they will stamp your passport "Lao P.D.R.".

The s is a bit of a mystery why the French put that in.

Thank you - thank you - thank you.

Finally some common sense: Even within a single language there is a wide range to pronounciations, and neither Thai nor English are exceptions to that.

And as for transliteration: there is NO STANDARD that works. Feel free to write any Thai word in any non-Thai alphabet in any way you want that sounds reasonable in whatever flavour of English (or other language) you may speak.

There you go, total freedom. Isn't it great!

Noobs.

I like the concept though.. " Just ask! "

I'm struggling with payments for insurance and my kids education at the moment, and I really need a car stereo, doesn't matter how old as long as it works.. This purchase gets deferred by the purchasing department (the Mrs.) for every single month since Songkran now.. I keep telling her "what good is car insurance if you can't even listen to music" but she will not listen to reason and thinks insurance is a must-have.

So if anyone is thinking of buying a new car audio thingy, I'm game for the old one!

> google maps telling me 12 hours?

> and about 7 hours to sukhotai?

If you pass Sukhothai then that means a detour.. Fastest route is just Bangkok - Nakhon Sawan - Kamphaeng Phet (also an interesting historical town) - Tak - Lampang - Chiang Mai.

Driving to Sukhothai from Bangkok will be something like 4-5 hours I guess.