seesip

A friend from the U.S. asked about the potential for adopting a child in Thailand, who is a refugee from Burma. This person is familiar with plight of refugee children and also wants to adopt, so hoping there is a chance to make this work. Any experiences with adoption in Thailand, specifically with children that might not have official citizenship? I realize this is a tricky situation but hoping to get some feedback. Thanks.

Tried the steak house once about a year ago and it was decent but nothing amazing. The steak at Four Seasons was much better imho. Probably a better place for a birthday dinner too, in terms of aesthetics.

Hoping to go from Chiang Mai to Mandalay ideally, but if not then direct to Rangoon. Anyone know what flight routes are available, and/or any travel agents recommended? Thanks.

Last year I saw that part of the road not too far past Samoeng had a lot of work being done at the time--big equipment on the roadside in the process of widening and flattening out the surface.When I got to the end of the construction the original dirt road looked too challenging for a regular sedan. But just then a small vios-type car came ambling out no problem. Never tried it myself but also interested to know how far they've gotten.

Are student visas easier to qualify for than tourist visas?

A female friend recently applied for and was denied a tourist visa to the US. She's mid 20s, unmarried, no kids, recent college graduate (cooking/tourism). She has two sisters living in the US who are both married to Americans. She is considering re-applying for a US tourist visa (it's been a month since the last attempt), but my feeling is that due to her age, single status, and lack of substantial job experience, she's likely to get denied again. During her interview she never got past the first page of the application--i.e. wasn't asked about work details or school details, etc.

Last year she went to the UK on a university group trip to learn some western cooking, and teach the local students some Thai cooking. That was a 3-month tourist visa obtained through her university.

Looking for some input on what her best option might be. Her long term goal is to live and work here in Thailand--not looking to emigrate. Is she likely to get denied a US tourist visa as I suspect? Is it worth it to try again? Wouldn't a UK visa be more likely as she's been there before and returned as scheduled? She has some friends in the UK that would be willing to offer support/place to stay, etc. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Anyone know where WETV is on TrueTV? I'm looking at "Channel 7" but it's a singing/reality type show.

I usually stay at Laluna, the rooms and grounds are nice but the breakfast is average... skip it and eat in town. You should check out the white temple Wat Rong Khun and the black temple made by Thawan Duchanee, both are great for shooting photos.

well done

Op, don't listen to the rabble, CM is a horrible place to live: pollution can come any time and is worse than Hong Kong/Beijing/Delhi, it always floods - the Night Bazaar was under 15 feet of water last week - temperatures are sub-zero Dec-Jan DURING THE DAY, it takes 5 hours just to do a 90-day report, the seafood's always off and prohibitively expensive, all the locals are non-smiling Chinese, and the elephants shower everyone with rat-infested klong water during Songkran. Are you sure you'd want to trade peaceful HH for all that!

There's a couple of really good seafood restaurants in CM that fly up fresh fish from down south. One is called 'Phuket Seafood' and the prices are decent. Another is Similan. Question about HH how is the weather/water right now? Thinking of heading down for 3-4 days but not sure if it's worth it and also wondering if flooding is an issue. Thanks.

I've seen it occasionally at rimping and at the new makro in mae rim. usually rimping is good with the special orders, just ask the manager when they might have it in again.

081-8063993

many thanks.

This is the small camp ground near the Royal Project, past the Botanical Garden in Mae Rim. Lots of photos on the web but can't find the contact number. I want to make a reservation as they fill up easily. Anyone have the number? Thanks.

If you're coming from Mae Rim towards Chiang Mai, you turn left at the City Hall intersection (Salakan), and about 50 m. on the right side is a new tent business, not sure if they sell or rent or both but might be worth a look. Good luck.

Looking for a trustworthy mechanic, the car is a used Ford Escape SUV. Thanks for any recommendations.

> 1. Most trucks in town seem to be either Toyota or Isuzu. Any problems getting other brands serviced, i.e. Nissan?

Nope. Any of the major brands are just as easy and cheap to get serviced. You can count Chevolet in there too, as they're so similar (near identical) to the Isuzu truck. My definition of 'major brands' is "everything, except Tata".

> 2. Any recommendations for 2nd hand sources in town?

Check some of the web forums. Chiangmai2car.com and others.

> 3. Any experiences good/bad with the car auctions behind (formerly known as) Carrefour?

Not really, other than that you cannot take them for a test drive. So you better be real good at used-car-Zen, and not get unlucky. And they tend to make less effort at auctions to make them look nice, clean them up, etc.

Thanks--appreciated. Leaning towards a private party purchase and forgoing the used dealership/auction.

Found some good deals online, some through thaivisa classifieds. A few questions:

1. Most trucks in town seem to be either Toyota or Isuzu. Any problems getting other brands serviced, i.e. Nissan?

2. Any recommendations for 2nd hand sources in town?

3. Any experiences good/bad with the car auctions behind (formerly known as) Carrefour?

Appreciate any input! Thanks to all.

Thanks for the info. I ended up using Eco Pest which uses an organic mix that smells a bit like the organic mosquito repellant body spray you can buy around town. The ants all died in 2-3 days (today is day 3) along with some cockroaches too. Too early to tell long term effects but so far so good.

I have a pretty heavy ant population in a shophouse that needs to be dealt with. Anyone have any experiences with local services? Hoping to find something relatively non-toxic for humans. Thx.

These are trailers that hook onto a seat post so your kid can ride along behind you. Any idea where I can get one in Thailand or potentially order one? Thanks.

http://www.rei.com/product/774425/novara-afterburner-single-speed-trailer-bike

There's a big building under construction... looks like it could be a big box store and has the green colors of Tesco Lotus from what I can tell. It's on the Mae Rim/Mae Jo Road, just east of the bridge, on the south side of the street. Any word on what the location is?

I had a dental implant started in the U.S., with the final crown done here. Dr. Tongnard 053-277-405, he's over by the intersection of Suthep Rd. and Klong Cholapratan, not far from CMU. Really good job, has access to all the modern equipment/parts, etc.

Need to get a suitcase built to hold an imac and keyboard/2nd monitor, etc. Something along the lines of a camera bag with custom foam inserts. Anyone know of a place in town that might handle this kind of thing?

Google Lanna Boxing, they are out by Chiang Mai University and sell all kinds of boxing/muay thai equipment, including bags.

Any updates on availability?