Soi224

In our case, we are headed to about as rural a location with top rated schools as you could generally hope for. Not to say it doesn't have its own issues of course, everywhere does, but in general, it is really a very nice place. It's clean, sparsely populated, has satellite and is just over an hour from Dallas.

There are good schools in Texas??

In many cases, even exceptional. Try saying that about here, as much as I would like to

Soi224

Of the choices offered, voted Ribeye, though a nice big, thick filet or porterhouse on occasion is nice too.

i will be back in aged steak central soon too, our own stock, and will be digging in deep.

It's nice to hear from someone who is making an informed and realistic decision. It sounds like it's been well thought through and you see both the negative and the positive side of life here. Your not burning your bridges and thankfully not staying so long you have the need to go off a Pattaya Balcony.

Best of luck to you and the family.

Thanks for such a common sense reply. Actually in general most of the replies have been at least thoughtful. Clearly, there was no need to post, but since this is also a 'community of peers' for some reason I did.

As to other posts about Bangkok life. If it was here versus say, Los Angeles, I would never pick that over here. If that were the choice, I would stay here in a heartbeat. In our case, we are headed to about as rural a location with top rated schools as you could generally hope for. Not to say it doesn't have its own issues of course, everywhere does, but in general, it is really a very nice place. It's clean, sparsely populated, has satellite and is just over an hour from Dallas. We can get all the 'city life' we want or need, even the occasional trip to their Thai town, then escape back to peace and quiet afterwards.

I'll miss the day to day vibrancy of the city, but I see a lot of positives in having the kids learn the land and animal culture while still being close to good schools, something just not truly practical here. And being Texas, well there are still short, brown people everywhere with great cooking skills that will have me over 300lb for sure before it's all said and done.

On top of that, I found some great golf courses that are actually less expensive than here too, so I can at least indulge in a good round of 'FORE' without breaking the bank.

Soi224

After about 10 years, I have decided the time has come to find the exit door. Life here has changed in ways I don't really care for personally and there are family issues as well. With three children school age, I simply don't see providing for them here in a proper manner without robbing 7-11's on an almost daily basis, given the price of international schools here. We've had the kids in the private bilingual system and I'm simply not impressed in any way.

Then there is the extended wanke_r (uh, family) thing. I thought America was a Peyton Place until I moved here. God almighty himself, from day one, I have never been around as much of a negative gossipy group as Thais seem to be.

There were things here though that were truly cool, even inspiring in some ways, and I will always hold those close too. Simple country or poor people providing help with no expectations and a happy smile. Older people on buses who recognized even farang could be polite when I offered them my seat and their ultra-polite response and slight shock. The general lack of malice of almost all Thais in dealing with strangers and other than the odd taxi driver or Patpong vendor, the overall positive way of handling the interchange of commerce and life.

But other things, not least of which are recent politics and the seemingly continuing drive to ruin its image, have become too much. Also, listening to the missus go on about internal family politics makes even mine back in America suddenly seem kind and charitable by comparison on their worst day. The drive to demean, opine and in general, make each other in the family look like an ass unless they are driving a Mercedes on the farm has gotten to be too much for me.

I will miss the place and we will keep our house rather than sell it for the time being, but I honestly reckon in a year or two, that will go away as well, unless we just want to keep it for the kids when they grow up.

Best of luck to you all and happy hunting.

Soi224

After it had been written about on here many times, I finally tried Mos Burger when at Emporium the other day. Personally, I don't get it. Some strange 'meat sauce' on a cheeseburger. Ugh

For the few remaining days I have in Thailand, I think I will stick to Thai food and wait until I am back in the world for a real burger.

Well, the silly rail link also connects so far from downtown, its a bit sad. Living over on 71, its gotta be faster to hop a bus to the Prakhanong BTS station.

Going all the way to Phaya Thai to get back to Sukhumvit makes no sense except at rush hour or on a rainy day.

Sad to say, but a quick Google shows she is scamming you big time

Wat Pho General Course

Wat Pho Advanced Course

So far, we're only up to 20,500 baht if she takes both.

This place in Chiang Mai Thai Massage School of Chiang Mai does have a professional course for 37,000 baht.

I'm sure if you look around, you can find more expensive, but clearly, uh, RUN!!!!

A couple of ranges that should be ( i do stress should be) in your general area are:

The River Club

2525 Charoenkrung Road Bangkorlaem Bangkok 10120

Telephone 02-689-2600

Sathu 20 Driving Range

1218/2 Sathupradit 20, Bangkho, Bangkorleam Bangkok 10120

Telephone 02-2122920-1

Amarin Driving Range

43/1169 Ramindra3 Anusavaree Bangkan Bangkok

Telephone 0-2973 6530-4

Dusit Driving Range

Nangleng, Pisanulok Rd., Dusit

Telephone 0-1353-6842

Places to actually play. You are relatively close to the expressway, so you might try heading out to:

Green Valley

Lakewood

Muang Kaew

Summit Windmill

or

Royal Golf

There are a lot of other nice places too, but I don't think you would be disappointed by these in general, though the closer to town, the more crowded is often the rule.

Also, there may be some nice courses and ranges out in Thonburi, but I know nothing of the area. However, being close to the river, you are very close to that area as well.

Have fun.

Soi224

Hi,

I had a look through your site and it is indeed a well designed, easy to navigate site. When you refer to the money back offer, how is that supposed to work? A customer books through you at your rate, then instead of using that green fee, they buy a regular green fee from the course, bring that receipt to you for refund and the difference?

I'm just curious as to make your validity stronger, it should be a simple, open process.

I would think you might want to put in caveats about special deals the courses run that might counter your offer, and I am not referring to 'lower end' courses either. Places like Green Valley, Lotus, Lam Lukka and Royal, if you call in, you can get member guest rates versus visitor rates.

I'm just curious is all, as I think you have a great model, but the variability of rates and information could create issues for you with local expatriates that know how to work the system for the best deals. Just as an example, I looked on your site for the rate at Royal Golf out by the airport, 1800 baht, which when you compare it to their site, looks like a great deal. However, a call to them just now got me 1,100 baht for tomorrow. It's this random way of doing business the Thais' have that seems like your worst issue.

Best of luck and I look forward to being able to support an expatriate business once the quirks are worked out.

Regards,

Soi224

Kuppa - Suk 16 for desserts

Gianni's - Soi Tonson for Italian

I just got back from doing the Thai nonstop to LAX and am now a convert for sure. Compared to other Thai flights, this one has great service, a smallish passenger total with a fairly large number of crew. I was very impressed have taken.by this service compared to other regional Thai flights I

Not arsing about with changing planes at Narita or Taipei makes it worth it for me. I will now be using them all the time for my trips back and forth from the states.

We did use the Premium Economy on the way back, but the Economy on the way over. Their Economy section was much better than expected, but definitely the Premium Economy is a better ride.

I have to give this ride a thumbs up for sure.

Well done Thai Airways.

Are you looking for something for credit or practical use? They are completely different as a proper university program is stretched out over several years.

I know of one short professionally oriented opportunity available here ran by a serious fellow.

Learn Film Asia

It is at least worth checking into.

Soi224

Thanks a lot for the replies and information. Very informative.

Soi224

I agree. In my opinion Neil's Tavern have the best steaks around. They only use meat imported from US and Australia.

Dunno know about Australia but cattle in the US are corn fed (not grass fed). And when they are fed an unnatural diet such as corn feed it usually leads to a more acidic rumen which leads to bacteria that are resistant to lower pH levels. In turn these animals must be routinely medicated with antibiotics to fight infection. In addition, american beef were banned in europe becuase they believe U. S. beef cattle are implanted with synthetic hormones in feedlots prior to slaughter. What's wrong with hormones in beef ? The risk of breast and other cancers only increases with hormones in meat. Sorry if I spoiled your appetite.

Corn unnatural? There are so many myths about the US beef industry, it is simply ludicrous.

Not to say there are not some issues, but blanket statements like this are silly.

Soi224

Hi Maizefarmer,

Thanks for the input. Not to worried about enough rainfall as we would setup irrigation, but tomatoes and watermelons are both highly sensitive to water, especially as they get into the later part of the growing cycles. Too much water/rainfall then ruins the meat and makes them mealy.

I'm sure we could look at some through to harvest in a more controlled environment, but I've never been happy with the result of either as these are both 'sun' plants, so to speak, that thrive under good conditions.

Thanks again for the input.

Soi224

Hi All,

In my previous life, before wander lust took over, I worked for my family's commercial farm operation in the States. We raised tomatoes, watermelons, peppers (the hot kind) and cattle.

Given the climate and water needs of tomatoes and watermelons, it seems like Isaan would probably not be the best alternative.

Where are these crops primarily grown in Thailand and when, as the seasons here resemble nothing of where I am from. Given the rainy season issues, I would generally assume field planting would start in perhaps October or November from the hothouses.

Am I so far off it is embarrassing? Does anyone here have experience with these crops on a commercial scale?

Thanks,

Soi224

I was sent this link by a friend. The writer makes some interesting arguements.

A quasi-marxist rant about a formerly quasi-capitalist country

I'd be interested to hear what more informed people here than I have to say.

Soi224

There are a lot of deals out there right now, mostly depending on your location.

Sports Days are always a bargain, but they get crowded.

Tues-Wed Lam Lukka Country Club is only 700 baht for the green fee. All the other usual fees apply as well of course. On Mondays for only 300 baht more, you can almost get the place to yourself.

Weekdays at Green Valley - Bang Na it is 1,000 baht until 9:00 am and I do believe it is the same deal at The Royal Lakrabang but you should call to confirm it.

I am sure there are also plenty of other deals all over the place.

Again, it really depends on your location.

Soi224

My wife officially has the bug now, so I wanted to get her a used starter set of clubs. Any ideas on shops that concentrate on used clubs? I seem to recall seeing something on Sukhumvit near 45 or so, but that's all that comes to mind for used at the moment.

Anybody with wider information would be appreciated.

Soi224

Has anybody made the non-stop flight to Los Angeles via Thai Airways. Was it just too long in the air?

How was the plane and service?

We are planning on going with our kids next month and usually fly EVA, but are thinking about the non-stop run instead to avoid the tedious plane change <deleted> in Taipei. Both airlines have Deluxe Economy, though I've no idea how it is on Thai Airways and on this particular run.

Any experiences would be appreciated.

Thanks,

David

Hi,

I'm sure some of you are already managers or owners of some of these establishments or know those who are perhaps.

We need to shoot a scene for a beer commercial in a pub, preferably English or Irish. Since the other scenes in our shoot are in Pattaya, I would like to use a local pub if possible too.

Any details or for that matter, recommendations, are appreciated.

You can PM me with information or for details.

Thanks,

Soi224

I have a low grade annoying as hel_l hum from the television. Is this a grounding issue? If so, how do I address it?

It is in our living room, on a wooden desk on a marble floor.

Any help would be appreciated.

Soi224

I've never had a driver, but my mates that have them generally tend to pay more in the 15,000 - 20,000 range. Perhaps that is because the company covers it, but they also have the cart around their kids all the time too. Precious cargo deserves the motivation for care that pay covers, but that's just me

Manhattan Tong Barbershop on Sukhumvit Soi 8. Old timers with an old time shop.

Soi224

Hi All,

I'm curious if anyone here has any knowledge of hardwood floors as I have some that are buckled I want to fix. I am wondering how practical it would be to inject new glue - something dam_n, dam_n strong - under the floors and putting them back flat with some super heavy weights and just leaving it there for a while so they could bond and 'hopefully' stay permanently fixed to the sub-flooring. I have some time free soon for this as the wife and kids will be in America, so that section of that room could be worked on and left to dry and bond without intruding on our lives.

I am assuming, no doubt wrongly, that this buckling happened because of expansion and they had not left enough room between the floor and the wall's edge. When the wood found it couldn't expand into the wall, it buckled. To be safe, I would be pulling off the baseboard and checking this. If that appears to be the case, I would also have that area shaved down and then some flexible material used as filler to allow for any more future expansion that might happen.

This buckling is pretty bad though, so am I just dreaming you reckon? Might it be more likely a case of having the cut that area out completely and replacing it. This is what I am hoping to avoid as it is so, so hard to get the new finish to match the rest of the finish in the room.

Any advice and thoughts are appreciated, whether it is what I want to hear or not.

Thanks,

Soi224