sandmonster

I agree with Tony. ^^^ The rest here are my own thoughts.

The EU has restricted and the US is actually setting records for $ imports, including from Thailand. Thailand's biggest error lately is hitching its wagon to the wrong horses. China is going into recession as are some other countries. China also doesn't normally import expensive consumer goods but rather imports food and energy. China has the world's largest population, but the income per capita for the people is 1/2 what it is in Thailand and 1/10th of what it is in the West. The general makes noises about China but China can't support its own people well let alone the Thais.

Someone who spent his life in the army has no clue how to run an economy. He also has no clue how to manage people because in the military he was a dictator. Oh wait...

This is like watching a slow motion train wreck.

income per capita in China really that low ? I think you are you talking 15 years ago.... You didn't do your research. Even a quick wiki shows China has moved on.1/2 Thai , 1/10th world. lol

I presume you mean JJ Market ? If not, wheres JJ Mall ?

Am looking for a good selection of fake flowers/twigs, either plastic/silk or dried for decorative purposes. Seen a limited selection at Index and HomePro. Both seemed rather expensive too. Anyone know of any better places ?

"Respect ghost day" at the Gates of CM apparently. Local culture thing

Yes KSC is way more expensive than anything in CM especially for non-residents all year round. Just look at the website. In addition, KSC has a mandatory Ferry fee at HK$75 and you might just want that electric buggy if on the North Course for $HK65 as its too hilly for buggies or carrying. However, buggies are complimentary on the East & South courses if you don't fancy a nice walk. But these courses need to be walked to be fully appreciated, and the great views.. breathtaking especially on the East.

Then you can add the cost of about a dozen lost balls, maybe more on North if you don't know the course. If you have played KSC, u will know what I mean . Great courses though...

Beef with black bean sauce, Shrimp with Lobster sauce (same as Lobster Cantonese but made with shrimp,) Ma Pwo Tofu, Sweet and sour Pork or chicken... all of these are fast and easy to make, and the ingredients easily available here. 20-30 minutes prep time and 3-5 minutes cooking time. Just a wok and spatula needed. Easy to get good western-style Chinese food here.

Where did you find the black beans? I've been looking for years here and haven't found them. And just to forestall posters who volunteer that black beans are plentiful here...these are not the whole dried black beans. These beans are what remains of the soy bean after soy sauce is made.

I got my last large jar, or should I say urn from Makro I think. The authentic fermented beans come in pottery/clay urn, the lid just held on by a paper seal usually. Never seen them in glass jars..thats usually only pre-made black bean sauce. Easier to make your own...no E numbers needed

Despite working in China for four years, the BEST soft shell crabs I ever had were in New York. And I'm British. Work that one out.

I can't work it out. Is soft shell crab a well known china thing ? Despite living in HK for 9 years in the fishing town of Sai Kung, I never noticed much soft shell crab.

I would say HK has better seafood ( fresher, more variety and better prepared ) than the rest of China though for obvious reasons.

To answer my own question, i just found a review of this place, Hong Kong Lucky cafe, in this months Citylife. Its trip adviser reviews say it's a great place and one reviewer thinks its as good as the Chinese food he has had in Frisco. Has anyone tried it yet and is it worth the trip?

I went once out of curiosity to see if the BBQ meat was really up to HK standards. Because nothing in CM really is. This is what I found

2. All waitresses were mainland chinese, mandarin speakers. Spoke a bit of english and not much Thai

Can Chinese get WP's to work as waitresses here?

They obviousy can now and the chefs too. 100% mainland chinese with 10 words of english & Thai between them.

To answer my own question, i just found a review of this place, Hong Kong Lucky cafe, in this months Citylife. Its trip adviser reviews say it's a great place and one reviewer thinks its as good as the Chinese food he has had in Frisco. Has anyone tried it yet and is it worth the trip?

I went once out of curiosity to see if the BBQ meat was really up to HK standards. Because nothing in CM really is. This is what I found

1. Char Sui BBQ pork and Roast Duck way better than anything a Thai chinese can do in CM, but not as good as say an average London Chinatown place, or anywhere in HK. The char sui was very nice. Decent size portion, not your usual Thai kiddy size.

2. All waitresses were mainland chinese, mandarin speakers. Spoke a bit of english and not much Thai

3. All customers when I went were mainland chinese tourists, mandarin speakers. Very loud. No locals or ferang

4. The boss looks chinese Thai

5. All chefs are young mandarin speakers ( u can see open kitchen and hear them ). I suggest not cantonese hence food is like mainland chef cooking HK cuisine.

6. The prices are 20% more than similar cafe in HK. Maybe 3x price of Thai food places but comparable to upper end Thai chinese food

7. What really put me off was seeing them use frozen ARO catering for what looked like a Har Kau prawn dumplings.

8. The egg noodles were better than the eggy thick Thai variety, not really HK very thin al dente like. The wanton were not the usual thin Thai variety. More chunky and meaty but still lacks enough prawn like a proper HK wanton.

Nice try, and I would only go again for the roasts, but tbh, I'd rather pay 33% and have the Thai chinese version. The rest of the menu I didn't try but the chefs looked slow and inexperienced and the ARO catering suggests the rest of the menu wont be worth trying.

As I meat lover, I would recommend the Carvery At Kantary Hills on Wednesday evenings if you haven't been. Great value and quality.

They are a fair bit cheaper than Uniqlo in Europe but bit more expensive compared to their HK and China branches. Excellent modern Hi-tech materials is their USP. Good quality basics but not particularly cheap for Thailand but not that expensive either. I suggest you only ever buy items in the promotions which are almost weekly. Eventually the stuff u want will be on offer. I am sure they are still at Central Festival and Airport Plaza.

2015 is the year the chinese smartphones manufacturers have finally matched the Samsungs, LGs of this world at the very high end. They aren't quite ready to go global yet, but the assault on Asia has begun. I predict Samsung's mobile business will go the way of Nokia and Blackberry within 3-5 years.. Apple will be fine as its premium only and IOS.

She won't be disappointed buying Xiaomei, now No 3 in the world in volume sales...but Thailand is just about the worse place to buy a smartphone in SE Asia price wise.

http://chinese-smartphones.com/top-10-best-chinese-smartphone-brands/

If u are interested in Android smartphones, check out the new Elephone P7000. Crazy value for money on pre-order in HK at $159. Spec wise better than a Galaxy S5. Can order internationally from Singapore for bit more. Just google it.

Around the corner from the Green Palace Hotel, next to DayLi bar, is an open air chicken grilling shop. The smoke drifts out onto the road (fan assisted), the whole sizzling chicken, split in half, is skewered on two chopsticks and rested on the metal screen above the hot embers. Lovely and u can pick your own bird. Chopped up, served with papaya salad and sticky rice...yum. I don't find any added flavors, like herbs or garlic. Just the bar-b-qed bird. Open only for lunch and not on sunday (go to church). Fair price at 150 all in.

Not sure if that is what u want, but it's what i go for when the need for a chicken dinner comes my way.

Yup.....most definitely my favorite barbequed (over coal) chicken & somtam place in town. Name of the place is Wichian Gai Yang, Wichian being from a district area of Phetchabun Province from where the owner hails. For two of us - two servings of one-half chicken, two somtams, one sticky rice, one water, and one cola - the bill totals 240 baht. And both the chicken and somtam are really delicious.

Even though it's not a small place, it sometimes is difficult to find a table if you get there after about 12:20PM or so. Best to get there before noon. Chingmai's directions above are correct although, put another way, the place is on the north side of Soi 11, Nimman, about 150 yards due west of Sirimangkalajarn.

Edit: Since I brunch with friends on Sundays, I didn't know it was closed then; however, its regular day to be closed is Monday.

Great place, been there for 8 years that I know of.

I concur. My favourite kai yang in all of CM by miles. Great Tom Sap, Sup Nor Mai, Larb, som tam too.

I think the little succulent chickens are a breed from Wichian. Maybe the owners are too. There are a few Wichian Kai Yang places around CM but this one is my favourite by far.

Thanks for the recommendations. I was hoping to find a shop closer to my neighborhood but guess I can try avoiding the heat by traveling to Warorot/Kad Luang early before the temperatures really sizzle. I've been here over three years and still get dazed by the heat. And to think I complained about cold nights in January....

Theres quilting supplies shop/school on Sirimangkalajarn at the Huay Kaew end. Not sure if quilting uses the same threads as normal sewing, but they have lots of colours. Its in the row of shops beside the carpark at PT residence near Roastniyom coffee. Owner/Teacher speaks good english.

When I fancy Thai food that is different from standard central Thai or Issan fare, I go for Chiangmai style food. Theres the always packed one in Nimmen with the small BBQ at the front. I But be prepared to queue.. an hour is usual most evenings. Never had a bad meal there. However, recently been introduced by local born Lanna Thais to what many see as the best "chiangmai food" place in the area. Its called Huaeng Jai Young in San Kamphaeng. I can't argue with them. Nice traditional garden setting surrounded by an art gallery. Not ostentatious or expensive. Clean, friendly and well presented. Have tried lots of new stuff, all delicious. Its not very "Thai" in the usual 5 tastes sense. Not spicy at all but packed full of wonderful jungle herbs. Great foody place. Been a few times for lunch and usually quite full despite its out of the way location. Not a ferang or foreign tourist in sight when I've been, but quite a few Bangkok tourists.

Gets rave reviews by Thais in Wongnai website. Well worth a trip there.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g1380884-d3167917-Reviews-Huen_Jai_Yong-San_Kamphaeng.html

This ??

Yes and I think its only open for lunch. Around 11-3pm I recall. Having eaten in 4 or 5 great "chiangmai food" places around town, mostly at the BBQ outside one with queues in Nimen, and the a bit posh one which I'm told used to be a royal residence in Canal Road ?, and I personally rate this in SK above them all food wise.

The busy one in Nimen is Tong Tem Toh on Soi 13. Used to be better without the queues 2 or 3 years ago. Its still nice but I do detect a slight drop in standards in the last year or so.

When I fancy Thai food that is different from standard central Thai or Issan fare, I go for Chiangmai style food. Theres the always packed one in Nimmen with the small BBQ at the front. I But be prepared to queue.. an hour is usual most evenings. Never had a bad meal there. However, recently been introduced by local born Lanna Thais to what many see as the best "chiangmai food" place in the area. Its called Huaeng Jai Young in San Kamphaeng. I can't argue with them. Nice traditional garden setting surrounded by an art gallery. Not ostentatious or expensive. Clean, friendly and well presented. Have tried lots of new stuff, all delicious. Its not very "Thai" in the usual 5 tastes sense. Not spicy at all but packed full of wonderful jungle herbs. Great foody place. Been a few times for lunch and usually quite full despite its out of the way location. Not a ferang or foreign tourist in sight when I've been, but quite a few Bangkok tourists.

Gets rave reviews by Thais in Wongnai website. Well worth a trip there.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g1380884-d3167917-Reviews-Huen_Jai_Yong-San_Kamphaeng.html

This ??

Yes and I think its only open for lunch. Around 11-3pm I recall. Having eaten in 4 or 5 great "chiangmai food" places around town, mostly at the BBQ outside one with queues in Nimen, and the a bit posh one which I'm told used to be a royal residence in Canal Road ?, and I personally rate this in SK above them all food wise.

When I fancy Thai food that is different from standard central Thai or Issan fare, I go for Chiangmai style food. Theres the always packed one in Nimmen with the small BBQ at the front. I But be prepared to queue.. an hour is usual most evenings. Never had a bad meal there. However, recently been introduced by local born Lanna Thais to what many see as the best "chiangmai food" place in the area. Its called Huaeng Jai Young in San Kamphaeng. I can't argue with them. Nice traditional garden setting surrounded by an art gallery. Not ostentatious or expensive. Clean, friendly and well presented. Have tried lots of new stuff, all delicious. Its not very "Thai" in the usual 5 tastes sense. Not spicy at all but packed full of wonderful jungle herbs. Great foody place. Been a few times for lunch and usually quite full despite its out of the way location. Not a ferang or foreign tourist in sight when I've been, but quite a few Bangkok tourists.

Gets rave reviews by Thais in Wongnai website. Well worth a trip there.

My 3.5 year old Jazz is due its 60km full service soon. Was thinking whether I could save much by using an independent rather than Honda. I am out of warranty anyhow.

Can anyone recommend any good independents near San Sai who are competant ? Will they follow the check list as per the service book, and let you bring your own oil ? I noticed Honda only used pretty average stuff.

I have used Intermover . Packed carefully, crated if necessary, and shipped without problems. V Good personal service from Oil.

http://www.intermover-thailand.com/index.php

I can wholeheartedly recommend these guys

http://kitchencultures.com/index.htm

They used to have a showroom in nimen but no longer however they are still going strong, mainly targeted at the condo market here. Not cheap but the owner, project managers and fitters are all geared to a personal western level of service and quality. I had mine done by them and nothing was too much trouble. Everyone I came across in their company really cared and were proud of their work. Their fitters and granite craftsmen came from out of town, because the boss said you cant get that quality from local CM workmen, and hes originally from CM !

PM me and i would be happy to send u some of my pics of my finished kitchen. Better than anything I had in UK tbh.

cirrus is the Mastercard ATM network, Maestro is the POS online network for debit. Mastercard brand can be all devices and debit or credit, online or offline.

If the bank counter doesnt display the Maestro brand then they are simply not certified to accept that by Mastercard. It could simply be they don't have installed any electronic read authorisation terminals with pin pad. I honesty dont think the branch is trying to pull a fast one. if the maestro brand was displayed inside and they refused, thats another matter. But sorry to say, in this case they are 100% correct in not accepting.

i always prefer cards with Mastercard or VISA brands at least whether debit or credit. they are the most functional and work in all legacy devices and all modes. maestro and cirrus sub brands are meant to be always online authorised, often with PIN in some markets, and add more risk management but the trade off is less flexibility and acceptance.

Thanks for all the suggestions so far. i just remembered the price of Neurofen in Thailand is a shocker. So that will be added to the list. Or is there a local brand with the same active ingredients ?

What about various sauce mixes. They are crazy expensive in Thailand although herbs & spices are so cheap its easier to make your own ... except for fresh cream. Need to find a good alternative.

What non-perishable western foods would one stock up on that could bring over on a trip to UK ? Of the top of my head, I can think of Oxo cubes which are extortionate in Rimping. Trying to build a list .. any other suggestions ?

Without a written contract things could be a lot worse. At least the new owner is giving you some time. Your best bet is to try to negotiate with the new owner and come to a happy medium. Your biggest bargaining point here is you are a good renter. Something landlords want more than anything. It puts you in a good position Good luck

Thai landlords/ladies are the world's worse. It does not matter if there is a contract or not. Do not expect to ever get damage deposit back as they will always

find something

Thats what I always read in TV. So after 3.5 years renting with no issues, i had to leave and was prepared and resigned to accept TV ferang gospel. Called the Thai landlady 1 month before and simply asked if I could miss the last month payment and use one of the 2 months deposit. She said no problem. Come leaving day, I wasnt quite ready to leave and stayed an extra 5 days. She said no problem. finally vacated and she said she would check the place over the next few days and return my deposit into my account minus final electric charges. 4 days later i got the final month deposit back minus 150bt electricity which was about right. she didnt even charge me the extra 5 days I overstayed. So there you go... TV folklore isnt gospel as usual lol. For every ferang that had rental issues there must be multiples like me but dont shout it out. I guess you only complain if you have problems.

If you are into coffee tasting, try Fabb coffee on the canal road. They sell over 100 varieties from around the world. cups from 80-600bt. The most expensive bean I saw was Kopi Luwak Indonesia. A mere 32,000bt per kg. Jamaican Blue is a mere 13,200bt in comparison.