Viking7113

Some one has his rose colored  glasses on. ???????? Has he been in the  city in April - May?

  You may want to try Denchai Trading co on 11/2 Rattanakosin rd.  It is  beside the Mercedes Benz   dealership.   I had  a camera  repaired there.  It  was quick and relatively cheap. 

I just returned from a trip to Doi Angkhang near Fang in Chiang mai province. one of the big surprises for the trip was seeing some donkeys or mules in some of the villages.

Trip to Doi Angkhang

Doi Angkhang is the second highest mountain in Thailand. It is close to the small city of Fang and is about 150 km from Chiang Mai.Google maps claims the trip can be done in 2.5 to 3.5 hours. Its very optimistic to put it mildly. One should check their vehicle carefully before going on this trip as it not a place you want a brake failure. The roads up to Doi Angkhang are steep with many sharp turns. The route we drove was Highway 107. About 2 or 3 kilometers past the Chiang Dao caves turn left as the sign says. This route is probably the easier route up the hills. This route goes through rural Thailand. The small towns here are mainly Chinese and some may be descendents from the losing Nationalist forces in China which settled in northern Thailand. The scenery here is incredible. You may see corn crops growing up the sides of mountains. The final 50 kilometers are definitely uphill and it is steep to put it mildly. Many of the villages and farms cling to the side of the mountains. Some of the villages are poor to put it mildly. The village of Doi Angkhang is nestled in a valley amidst the mountains. Its simply awesome. There is a Royal Agricultural Station in the village. It is one of the highlights for the trip. There are flower gardens which includes orchids, roses and geraniums to name a few. There are lots of fruit and vegetables grown here from rhubarb, chives, brussel sprouts, peaches kiwi and apricots. I was shocked to see a huge catus garden here and a geodesic dome . We stayed at the very first resort as you drive in to the village. Its a modest 3 star place. It has a million dollar view and the lady provides some excellent food in their restaurant. The cabins are modest and basic and a bit overpriced at 1000 baht a night. You should check the rooms before you pay. The village gets very cool at night and its a bit chilly for Thais. I have heard via friends the village can be noisy at nights. On the drive you may have to pass a couple police or military checkpoints so be prepared. The drive down toward is very steep. There are really sharp curves and steep hills to deal with. I would only do this road in the day time.. You can park at the base and take a sontaew (truck taxi) which I would suggest on the Fang route. You have been warned!!! I would recommend this trip for the beauty and the fact that you are off the beaten path for tourists. It can be done as a day trip or you might enjoy at least one night stay. I have posted photos on my flicker account. There is a tent campng area too!

If you have a vehicle you may want to make a trip out to Lamphun. Drive south on the superhiway, drive past the second major turnoff in to town. (Currently under construction) Look for a yellow gas station ,( i forget the name Cosmos?) then turn on the first left down the road.. There are huge amount of furniture factories on the road- some build their furniture out the back end. They may deliver the furniture depends on location/ Be choosy and negotiate hard.

There is a lot to see in Lamphun. Thebig temple in Lamphun is Wat Haripunchai. Its interesting. there is a covered bridge over the river across from the temple. the bridge is used as a site for selling local goods. There is a local museum in downtown Lamphun-- interesting as the city dates back to 800 AD. Id definitely stop at the Elephant Conservation Center. there is a huge temple in lampang south of the city-- That Luang?--- Its very old and totally different from most temples. You can take a horse carriage ride around the surrounding town that i found very interesting.

I movesd to Thailand about ten year ago. I cant give any real recommendation about a company. My enquiries found that shipping was expensive. I used the post office to ship some books out. I was warned that customs and duties in Thailand was a real pain by some colleagues at work. You can usually buy most things cheaper here than shipping it out. hope this helps and welcome to thailand.

what are some options?

Ok I will admit that I am no expert. One option is a freeware program named "Miro"

It is open source and allows you to derownload video to your computer. I have been able to download a huge variety of videos from news to movie reviews etc. some will be podcasts while there are videocasts too. It has an option to use torrents but to be honest I have not used this option. It also has an option to download youtube video to watch. Its very flexible program. another option is to look at the documentaries that you can find here---http://www.howtogeek.com/118650/the-best-websites-for-watching-free-documentaries/ It will not replace every thing but its a start.

I live In Mae Tha. I would suggest taking the # 1 highway way via Nakon Sawan and Tak. Its a dual lane separated highway and relatively easy drive. Not much scenery though. The alternate route via Uttaradit and Den Chai is a lot more scenic but its crowded and you often get slowed down by slower drivers as parts are only two lanes. Some parts were under construction the last time I drove on it.You also drive through some very hilly countryside. Once you get stuck behind a truck, you get a lot of suicidal passing attempts.

One of the interesting sites I have found is the TED video site which has a great set of speeches. There is a local version TEDX Thapaegate on january 21 at Chiang Mai University ---- check out---http://www.tedxthapaegate.com/index.php for complete info

I live down the road from the doi Khun Tan Hotel and golf Course. I am not a golfer so I cant comment on the course..... It is way out in the sticks to put it mildly. It is seldom busy but they seem to get a fair number of golf tours. There is not a whole lot to do in the area unless you like watching rice grow....

I was out at the Royal Flora today. Its great but bring an umbrella/ hat or sunscreen. it gets hot out there due to all the cement. Lots of transport out there. The site was not that crowded as its a huge plot of land. I recommend bringing a very comfortable pair of shoes. Make sure you bring a fully charged camera/video recorder.

There are plenty of alternate places to exercise. Some of the hotels will sell monthly passes to their fitness clubs. My apartment building has opened a moderate sized fitness center. there is a swimming pool, sauna and about 20 machines ranging from stair walkers to stationary bikes. Its quite a deal at 500 baht per month. its brand new and the owners i have found to be decent people. Its called Pattara Sports Club, 2/4 Pattanachangpruek RD., T Changpruek Muang chiangmai----Phone number -- 053-231890-7... Its near the JJ market and a short walk to TESCO near the super highway.

I had a severe bout of the flu which seems to be going around. It was brutal --the hospital offered me a bed for 3 days but i took outpatient treatment. I was sick for nearly two weeks and would not give this one to my worst enemy. I would urge people to request the flu shot....

There is a fascinating temple--- I believe it is "That Luang" outside of Lampang. its about a 30minute drive to the south of the city. Its very unique as it has kept the old decor in the inner compound. It dates back 100's of years. there are horse carts to take a tour in the surrounding village. there is a museum at the temple too.. the area around the train station has interesting architecture. there is a INdra ceramic factory on the highway heading toward Densai where they have a huge showroom and good prices.

I would suggest you take a look at the Grand Napat Hotel in the Chang Pruek area. Its only about a ten minute walk to the Tesco on the SuperHighway. Its close to the JJ market area which has lots of restaurants. Its a student area and there are lots of cheap student rooms in the area. You could take a look at the Baan Srimongkol Mansion serviced apartments. at www.baansrimongkol.com I have seen the basic studio in the building and its a good looking place. You can get transport easily in this area as i live in the area.

There are a couple furniture stores on the super highway that may have sofas.. One is Bird which is across from the hospital at the major intersection. There is a store a bit past the Makro with signs in orange and blue-- sorry i forget the name. hope this helps..

You could try contacting the local photo clubs-- there at least two that i know of. One is aimed at foreigners or ex pats and the other is aimed at the Thai community

thank you so much every one. I saw the the film at the French cultural center years ago and i can thoroughly recommend it.

Is there a classic film club in Chiang Mai? I enjoy watching films especially the classics and foreign films. I was curious if there was something at the university etc. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

The freshmen CMU students visited our school today. One was wearing a sign that stated "HUMAN" I did not know there were any options? One poor girl had a sign stating "PSYCHO" -- yeah she will have a hard time getting a date for a while i think...

I have taken the green bus-the non air conditioned 3rd class (cattle class) bus. i nicknamed it rolling thunder and it left me with the mother of a head ache and an aching body...I would take the VIP bus.

I have a pretty good solution to the changing news channels on cable tv. I download my news off the internet via a free program called Miro. You can google it--- I get the programs I want. they have over 1500 news programs ranging from BBC--American--Australian--Canadian etc.. best of all its free. the program does a great job of managing the downloads and organizing them. Highlight of my week was an American announcer telling the windbag Rush Limbaugh to @#$%#$^& himself.... where I am from your license would yanked...

On Friday I chatted with a provider for the Thai Language and Culture course. they were willing to schedule the course in February in Udon Thani. i need to know if there is any interest in the course ASAP. It would cost 5000 baht and be about 20 hours in length. It would probably be on a weekend. If you are interested in taking the course send me a p.m. before Jan 28th with your contact info.

The fake degree industry is a real problem. Would you like to be operated on by a doctor or dentist with a fake degree? I read in the Post the other day about a business student in Thailand who passed himself off as a dentist. The best fake I have seen and still chuckle at is one from "The Sheffield United Bachelor of Arts" You would think he would have chose a premier league club!!!