seesip

Anyone have any experiences with 3g modems--I currently use CAT for my dsl service. It's fine but I want to have a back up in case of an internet outtage. Would a 3g modem potentially still work if land lines were down for some reason? Or is it all coming from the same infrastructure? Thanks.

Looking for a moderately difficult day hike no too far from chiang mai. We'll have some kids with us--8-10 year olds. I did a hike at Doi Inthanon a few years ago and it was great, but can't remember the loop. Any resources / reviews / contact info would be a great help. Thanks.

From the Georgie & Lou website it looks like they are "partnered" with Pure Handknit and Neon Buddha. Are all 3 owned by the same person?

Looking for a smaller / women sized model, doesn't need to be high end. Hoping to find 2 of them. Thanks.

You are right. Australians like beets on burgers and I do too, even though I was sceptical before I had it. I am willing to give mango a try.

It was the first time I've had beets on a burger and it made sense once I realized they were pickled beets--similar to having pickles but more cripsy which is good and the color adds a nice touch.

Tried this place the other day and beef burger was great. More of a gourmet burger in the quality of ingredients and attention to detail. The beef is noticeably high quality--none of the gristly bits you usually get in local beef. The burger I got was just like the photos posted: well seasoned patty, very ripe and fresh tomato and lettuce, a thick slice of cheese, peppered bacon, pickled beet, big sesame bun with a nice bite to it. It's usually a good sign when a burger doesn't need extra ketchup or other condiments, and this one definitely didn't. Fries were soft inside with a nice crust. Very tasty mustard aioli for dipping. Would definitely recommend and will be back.

For those who found they had run out... I think this post has sent a higher number of people there recently so they were probably a bit off guard. I want to try the breakfast on Sat/Sun.

the floors on 2 of 3

Was the colors mixed in to the concrete? Or just spread on the surface and floated in?

As for doing the work I imagine any company that does stamped concrete could do a smooth finish.

Maybe if you asked the concrete companies they would know or know of some one who could help you find what you are looking for.

I''ll try and help out here seeing as the OP has lost interest ..

Many ways of doing this..

You can start with an existing concrete floor...grind and polish it with concrete grinders then stain with acid stain to whatever colour/colours and design you like.

You are only limited to what you want by your own immagination....

This way tho' you are a little limited texture wise by what ever the original concrete contained...ie probably smaller gravel in the mix ...but thats your choice, not a big issue.

[2] you can apply a skim coat over the old concrete with whatever colour and size/sizes of gravel in it, and then finish as normal.[grind and polish]

[3] you can start from scratch on bare ground and lay your new concrete consisting of what ever texture and colour you desire and finish as above.

[4] If you want to save a few baht, you can lay a new basic concrete floor and then add the skim coat as in #2 and finish as above.

This is a great way to customise your own floors and have something exactly as you want, not just what is available commercially.

PS..This is not limited to just floors...I did some beautiful benchtops, vanities, table tops also using the same methods.

The finished product needs to be sealed tho' as concrete is very porous and will stain easily if left unsealed.

As i posted earlier two main ways of doing so.[Take note OP]

One is a commercial sealer containing chemicals that are given off during the sealing process..not my choice at all.

The other is by using natural beeswax as has been used since Adam was a boy ..;..

Both do the job and as i said earlier it was my personal choice not to use man made chemicals because of the unpleasant smells and used beeswax method instead.

Hope this helps as you can get a great look, nothing too commercial looking as is often seen in some homes....

Thats helpful, thanks. I saw some youtube videos and it looks like there's polishers with a vacuum attachment, to minimize dust during the grinding process. Ever see any available in Chiang Mai? I'd like to get the work done, but we're living in the space and need to control dust as much as possible.

They look good. Who did them for you?

Looks like there's quite a few over at Lotus Kamtieng--anyone have any recommendations? I need some paving stones done, and maybe a small cement fish pond--nothing too complicated. Thanks.

Rimping carries "S Pure" brand chicken and pork which is a Betagro product. It appears to be organic, at least in part. They advertise no hormones, no antibiotics, etc but the labeling is all Thai and I can't read too good. Be interested to know more about this brand.

Picked up some of the brochures and wondering if anyone's had any experience with them. thanks.

On Friday or Saturday nights not suew which they set up food carts and what not along the street with the Muslim Temple. There are a few places open all the time that serve Muslim food.

The Street is the first left after coming of Tha Pha road onto the Night Bazaar.

OK, thanks for that.

I did in fact take a look down there earlier but it was probably a bit too early for the street stalls, or like you say it could only be Fridays that they have them. I had a look in one of the 'Muslim' restaurants but could only see what looked like standard Thai dishes, which presumably is exactly what they were, but halal and with no pork - to previous posters, there are many Thai Muslims who look and act, errr, Thai amazingly....

I'll take another look down there next weekend.

About half way down that soi on the left if you're coming from the night bazaar / Chang klan, is a Thai Muslim restaurant. They have chicken rice etc on one side and on the other they have some great curries like goat and beef. I think they're technically Thai Muslim curries but resemble Burmese curries a lot. If you walk a bit past this place, across the soi is a roti stand. You can order a bunch and he'll bring them over so you can eat them with the curries. Really good eats.

Burmese, Cambodian and Lao workers may only be employed as unskilled labourers under the annually renewable MOUs between Thailand those countries.

How do they determine this--is it by the position they are getting hired for? For example only factory or cleaning positions, or something like that?

Would like to know how to find potential hires with specific skills, like computer skills for example. I've seen the office in Mae Rim which I believe is where you'd need to fill out all the paperwork. Not sure how you'd advertise for certain skills and what the current laws are regarding these kinds of hires. Thanks.

Most of them are on day pass which don't allow them to work. Whoever has work permit will stay and work at Mae Sai.

that makes sense, thanks. If they have a work permit are they entitled to similar benefits as Thais? Like minimum wage for example?

It looks like there are many Burmese making day trips to Mae Sai. Are there working visas for Burmese to work officially in Thai businesses, but who are just on day permits? How is this going to change with Asean?

Despite all the talk of business opportunities in Burma, the internet speeds there are lame. If you needed to get faster internet over the border... couldn't you theoretically rent an office on the Mae Sai side of the river... like right on the river. Then share your connection over wifi across the river to a nearby location in Burma? Or is that crazy talk?

Dropped my "my passport" western digital hard drive. It's making beeping noises which means I need to get some repairs done. Hoping to find a Western Digital repair service locally. Thanks.

I once bought a policy through AA Brokers, Chonburi that was a special group policy for TV members and it was a fantastic policy but they have not offered it for years now. Now I have Thai Health, my partner has AXA, and my child has Ayudhya Allianz. We bought them all direct. I have found BUPA to be over-priced. If you were older and had health issues they may be good. But at your age you don't need an expensive policy, only "major medical" coverage. And you don't need OP coverage, only IP.

Need a little clarification here: OP / IP coverage? Thanks.

What is your age?

45. My wife is 35. Plus we need coverage for two kids.

At your age, insurance is cheap in Thailand. You could try large companies like Thai Health, AXA, Ayudhya Allianz, etc. They all have fee schedules in English on their websites. You could get basic coverage for 5K THB p/a, spend 7K and get better coverage.

As far as the kids are concerned, when they are infants, insurance in Thailand is very expensive. As they get past say 5 years old it is cheap.

Also I recommend buying directly from the companies. If you approach a broker they will try and over-sell you on an International policy which you don't need in Thailand. If you travel abroad often, then it would be a good idea. If not, save your money.

That's good to know, thanks. Have you worked with a broker before? Or just dealt directly with the companies? Last time I dealt with BUPA I went over to the office on Super Highway near Jet Yod. It was a few years ago.

What is your age?

45. My wife is 35. Plus we need coverage for two kids.

I've purchased BUPA in the past when we've been back to the U.S. for a few months. Wondering what recommendations there are for long term plans that cover domestic private hospitals--for Thais and westerners.

The aquarium at SiamParagon is a good time. Kidzania opened recently, but I've never been. Funarium is a lot of fun, more for younger kids like 14 and under.

Thanks to all for the helpful info, greatly appreciated.

Once its installed and up, it's fairly decent. They outsource the install to a 3rd party company. The install techs are great with handling and installing fiber, but not very knowledgable about networking or computers. They were making basic mistakes like attempting to assign the same IP address to the Wifi AP and the fiber router. They didn't understand basic networking concepts like ping and arp caching. Eventually watching them struggle became too painful so I stepped in and took over for them.

Anyway, overall the service is fairly reliable, but I did suffer thru a 3-4 day outage once.

As with any internet connection in Thailand, you are still limited by the bandwith available at the international gateway (plus the additional lag of the ISP/ Govt proxies). The speeds advertised are domestic bandwith only.

That said, bittorrent speeds are really, really nice. My bittorrent client (Transmission on OSX), regularly reported download speeds of 4+M/s.

The only big drawback for me, was an almost 8,000 THB penalty for early cancellation.

-Mestizo

Good to know. Any idea what the international speeds would be like?