Konini

Thanks for being the guinea pig. We're about to go to Rimping at Iron Bridge, I'll see what they have and if anything will try it and report back. Also have to go to Tesco later for the cheap voddy rocket fuel if it isn't too hot, so I'll see what they have.

_{It is just possible that if the router was supplied by the ISP, you would do well to replace it with a good wireless router and skip the cabling.}

_{Maybe they've improved over the last few years but the ones included with installation were a tad junky.}

I fully agree with this - after 6 months of constantly resetting the router, I ditched the Billion one that TOT installed and bought a 1,500 baht TP Link. It has been worth every cent I paid.

Not only health insurance missing, but a contingency amount for any unexpected accidents or health problems which would not be covered by insurance.

Thank you Brommers, I'll try that when they stop throwing water, hopefully tommorrow. It MAY be better than the motorbike one, but that's a backup. Mr K says we shouldn't bother, we rent furnished and we're buying our own custom made sofa and giving the owner their old one back, but I can't help myself and need to clean it. I've even thought of using that nifty steam cleaner you passed on to me, for which I'll be eternally gratefu, but think it might be a bit too much as the fabric is quite delicate.

In the past I've use this very successfully, probably the same thing (and the same as Sharktooth's)

Please share if you find something - yesterday I looked at our soon to be old sofa and thought I'd better clean it up a bit before the new one arrives and was wondering how I was going to do it. I thought about looking in Rimping or Central Foodhall for a can of spray on carpet/fabric cleaner but wasn't sure if that kind of thing would have made it here.

Hmmm...

Ive been there...Ate 64 tylenol once (teen) and put a blade to my wrist..(talk about painful!)

Been strapped down to hospital beds...etc....still battling the demons..anyhoo...

Off topic a bit, but good on you for sharing this. Many would be embarrassed or ashamed or any number of other things. That you shared your very personal experience in order to help is a very magnanimous thing to do. Good on you.

put a pair of towels on the sheets then if they are wet in the morning dry or replace them

Experience has taught me to put a big towel under the (tightly tucked in) sheets and it don't move about. Much easier to wash the sheets and a towel than having to deal with a wet mattress.

Does anyone know where I can get large rugs for the living room? I know that they have them in Index and Homepro (and the occasional man by the side of the road), but are there any other sources locally?

Thanks in advance.

My husband gives off more heat than a generator and sweats buckets at night. He always has (since he was 17 at least; he's 52 now). Even cold nights in England and Australia he sweated. He has to have a towel on his pillow but I still change his pillowcase a couple of times a week. The odd thing is that he insists he's cold. Whinges like a child when I take the quilt off the bed in springtime (we do need it in winter in Chiang Mai).

He's always been the same. I've never considered it could be an illness, it's just the way he is. I'm the opposite, I'm always hot and have a fan pointing at me. Maybe I should start asking Dr Google if we should be concerned.

If it's something that's just started, then I would definitely have it checked out by a doctor.

<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote'data-author="Konini" data-cid="9290173" data-time="1428639146"><p><p>I've noticed a place whilst going to Tesco on the Superhighway, going clockwise well after Central Festival and not far before Tesco. Sorry, my sense of direction is about as good as my giving of them. I don't know how to give a direct link from Google Maps, but the GPS 18.809850, 99.002640. Thanks , I suffer from this affliction too 555 , I always go by landmarks rather than street names etc .....

That link didn't work, but I tried this in a different browser and it seemed OK, although I'm logged into my google account so it may just be that.

There are many direction-challenged amongst us. I remember when the Western Ring Road opened in Melbourne 15 or more years ago that the traffic reports on the radio were saying congestion or accident at so-and-so heading eastbound/westbound. Only took a week or so for all the radio stations to have changed the wording to inbound/outbound or clockwise/anticlockwise and as of a couple of months ago they still do. (I just noticed that I said clockwise in my directions, that should have been anticlockwise.)

All of my directions have to be relative to the moat, with Chan Puak, Tai Pae, Chiang Mai Gate and Suan Dock being 12, 3,6 and 9 o'clock respectively - it's a system that works so I'm not going to change it and I recommend it to anyone new to the city. For a lot of tourists it makes a lot of sense because they are looking at a map.

And for those who laugh, I can do complex calculus in my head and write half a dozen computer languages well enough to be paid 6 figures and another dozen or so passably. I just can't do directions. (Or languages, for some reason.) If you can do all of those things, you have my blessing to go ahead and call me dumb.

I've noticed a place whilst going to Tesco on the Superhighway, going clockwise well after Central Festival and not far before Tesco. Sorry, my sense of direction is about as good as my giving of them. I don't know how to give a direct link from Google Maps, but the GPS 18.809850, 99.002640. Maybe this will work. Hope this helps.

I was thinking of getting World Nomad travel insurance before I shipped out, do you know anything about that? If I remember correctly (have to check) one of the few things they don't cover is motorcycle accidents if you're not fully legal with everything.

I was wondering about using one inside the city and not on the highways. Like, just get a little vespa to get around the side roads and stuff for nearby areas - would that be a good idea?

We have World Nomads, OK for bikes and we're happy with them but your key words are FULLY LEGAL. To be fully legal here is to have an International Driver Licence used in combination with your home driver licence. If you haven't passed your motorbike test in your home country (or if the clerk who issues your International doesn't endorse it with motorbike - happened to us one year about a decade ago, fortunately we picked up on it and had it corrected before going to Indonesia where the law is the same) then you are not legal.

So many people will tell you the international driver licence isn't worth messing about with - you have to go in person to the issuing authority in your country, usually an auto-mobile association - and if you don't mind being fined by police if stopped then perhaps it isn't, but if you have an accident you will not be covered for anything as you are not complying with local laws. The fine print in insurance policies is very clear. Local laws also allow for one drink for the average person before driving.

Never seen it myself but I understand the most famous couple on the uk version; well their long term contract has been revoked because the guy decided he wanted to enter politics.

Something about a clash of interests!

Sounds like he is off to a million votes flyer already.

Almost - the most famous couple have a big posh bed and breakfast and always have a glass in their hands and a few inside them. The episode we watched yesterday saw them tip the couch backwards.

It's the couple with the dozy mother who cries at everything and seemingly crazy teenage son where the father is going to stand for UKIP - didn't see that one coming with some of the comments he's made (wink wink).

Try it out here (I use adblock and flashblock so I don't know if there are any ads)

do they eat beans on toast? And does this have anything to do with CM?

1. Possibly

2. It is to do with living in CM (or anywhere else). There are those amongst us who prefer our evening entertainment at home.

Some appreciated the post. My work is done.

Strange weather, seems to be very localized/localised. I was in CM yesterday and same thing occurred then.....strong winds but very little rain. And as said, CM could do with a decent downpour.

Very nice in Mae Rim now. You can just about see the greenery starting to come thru..... a couple of days and we might even have grass on the lawn again.

Another odd thing - at this time of year we get very strong winds/storms coming from the north, usually but not always followed by a good lashing of tropical rain. Both yesterday and today those winds have been from the south or west, not sure which but definitely not from the north as it blows straight onto our balcony and through the main bedroom windows. I was prepared and brought everything in and closed the windows but not really necessary.

I don't watch a lot of TV, let alone rave about it, but here's something I feel I should share.

Gogglebox is a program about people watching TV. Yup, couples, friends, family etc sitting around the box, just like we all do. Who would think that a program about people eating or having a drink and watching and occasionally shouting at the telly could be entertaining? It's been a ratings hit in UK and Aus because we are watching ourselves. .I caught an episode by accident when we were in Australia and was hooked. It's so incredibly funny, both of us were getting towards the stage of laughing until we had wet pants.

The UK one has been on for a couple of years, up to season 5, the Australian one just started in February. Available where all downloads live, if you get stuck send me a personal message and I'll see if I can help.

I have to say that the Australian one is much funnier than the UK one, but both are very, very entertaining.

Massively gusting wind on the riverside a couple of hours ago, but no precipitation to go with it. Lots of unsecured stuff flying around at ground level, so let's all remember not to leave anything lying around.

Last year I bought a tower fan as they look so much better. I got a little squat one similar to the one in the picture free with it, and to be honest I haven't had it off since. The round bit in the middle swivels backwards and forwards and there's a button to move the air around instead of direct. It really is the best fan I've ever had.

The tower one looks great but is useless.

As a child I learnt that if it sounds too good to be true it more than likely is - not through any bad thing happening, just one of the things that was instilled into us as we grew up.

It's true though that murder in Europe doesn't attract such a high sentence, and I think in Victoria (Australia) 25 years is the norm as they don't have the life sentence (I could be wrong). Rapists certainly don't get that long in any country I'm aware of. It makes it all look rather silly really.

Semolina hate the muck since I was a school kid.

Sago even worse, once saw it being made way up in the jungle on the border Brunei/Sarawak, hate it as a kid and will die of starvation after watching a 'Balsa' like tree being ground up and the mess being stamped thought coir matting to give Sago.

Now Rice Pudding, Bought once in Rimping at extortionate price and Twice in Tops on the discount pile, very nice, wish I could cook.

john

It's so easy - all you need is rice, milk, a couple of drops of vanilla extract and a couple of slivers of butter. Microwave then add a bit of cream and sugar if it's not sweet enough for you (or sultana's if you like them). Cooking tapioca, sago and semolina is basically the same. Rice pudding is one of the easiest things you can make. Have a shot at it; you might surprise yourself (mine is better than Ambrosia).

The very mention of 'tapioca pudding' still brings back tastes and images of school dinners more than half a century ago. Ugh!!

I think I was the only person at our school who actually liked frogspawn. Readily available and very easy to make if you have a microwave.

Had a look at the range at Index. Prices go from 3,000 for a waist height bush and for a head height shrub, 6,000 plus. Quality was variable. I didn't fancy some of the pots they came in (didn't seem to be any way to remove the pots they came with) and the mulch looked quite fake in a lot of cases. I think it would be preferable if you could choose your own pots.

I bought pots a bit bigger (some a lot bigger) than the ones they came in, and broke one pot up to get it into a smaller one of my own choosing. The mulch does look fake, you need to grab a bag of real mulch or potting mix or even white pebbles to make it look real. The quality does vary, and you tend to get what you pay for most of the time, but some of the expensive ones aren't the best.

The best plan is don't be in too much of a hurry, wait until you find the perfect ones and look often. The stock turnover seems quite rapid in both Central and Homepro (less so in Baan And Beyond) and they rarely get the same ones in when they restock - if you see one you want grab it.

This is a joke right? FAKE plants Ina country where you can grow rocks!

They die if you go on holiday for a few weeks and they don't get watered.

That's actually a good sign - I'm not alone, indicating that there may be a problem similar to the last time - about 9 months ago I think. Hopefully it will be the same as last time and be resolved quickly.

There was a thread on the same topic in the Pattaya Forum a week or so ago, loads of people complaining about a sudden deterioration in service. I stuck it for a couple of weeks, the only explanation I got from ToT was that I should upgrade from the 10Mbps service I'd been getting to 15Mbps and I'd be OK. I changed over to 3BB 10 Mbps at the beginning of last week, same cost as ToT, a little guy came and ran a fibre optic cable into the house and I've not had a problem since.

That sounds like a nice little upsell if ever I heard one. This happened once before and lasted for about 2 weeks before righting itself, at that time a lot of other people were having the same issue. My comeback there would be for them to provide what they are charging me for! I doubt anyone should ever need 15mbps for domestic use - my husband and I can both stream different things from UK at the same time on 10mb while I'm downloading in the background. 3BBB may be a problem here as I'm in a high-rise. I'll just wait and see what happens, only had that one issue in over a year and it's not so important (just annoying. It really is a first world problem by any reckoning).