morpho

Chiang Mai is probably a good option for you budget-wise and if you don't need the beach and ocean to swim. The 700-Year Stadium Complex has a 50-meter pool with daily designated lap swim periods. Apartments and food are cheap. Easy to get around on a motorbike (or by songtheaw or tuk tuk). Forests, mountains, and rivers galore in every direction out of town. Thai language schools in town...AUA is one of the best ones IMO. If you do need some beach time occasionally, easy to fly direct to Phuket (and maybe Krabi) from here. Nightlife is marginal compared to Phuket and Samui....and air quality is bad typically in Feb-Apr.

Sometimes I really wonder how anything works well in this country...nobody takes responsibility for anything if it is wrong...it's always somebody else's fault (preferably a foreigner if possible).

Thai gov were in for Russia then the ruble crapped out. Next enters China which as we know is having troubles. Which authoritarian gov and its masses is going to be courted next.?

Personally I think they get...or maybe in this case, don't get...what they deserve. I first came to Thailand in 2002 so I admit I am a relative newcomer but in the "early days" I don't remember ever seeing any Chinese or Russian tourists (at least not large numbers). It was mostly non-Russian Europeans, Americans and Canadians, Japanese, Aussies, and a sprinkling of other nationalities. I remember the first time I saw Russian tourists was at Utapao when a charter plane from Russia had just arrived. And Chinese tourists stating coming fast and furious to Chiang Mai after a Chinese comedy movie was filmed here in 2013. Now it seems to me that the Thais have dropped everything to draw both in and subsequently became heavily relied upon their tourist baht (even though when you talk to many Thais they say they don't like dealing with either of them). And in doing so, they have somewhat neglected some of the nationalities that were constantly coming here long before the Russian/Chinese boom.

"Both parities are satisfied"!!!

Give me a break!!! She's the only one satisfied because she's basically off the hook! While the guy's wife has lost her husband and no amount of money can replace that!

No matter how long I live in Thailand, I will never understand this acceptance of being able to financially compensate for killing someone and only being marginally criminally prosecuted for it. It just boggles my mind!!

I'm just curious.

If Thailand is a Third World country or whatever is the correct classification, what is Cambodia???

BTW I assumed that you are non-Muslim but if I am incorrect and you are Muslim, you can enter the National Mosque any time.

I suggest the Petronas Twin Towers tour. Not cheap...about US$23...but the building is impressive and the views from the crossover bridge and the 86th floor observation deck are quite spectacular. The areas outside and shopping center center inside the building are nice too.

I stayed at Geo Hotel which is in a very good location with LRT Pasar Seni train station next door. From Geo, there is a the National Mosque and other attractions nearby. If you intend to visit the mosque, first check on non-prayer times when you can actually get in.

You can take the Ekspress train from the airport to KL Sentral station and catch another train to the Pasar Seni station (or a taxi at the metered taxi stand outside...get your ticket first inside KL Sentral) and then a short walk to Geo.

A lot of American bashing (some justified and much not) going on here just over a botched newspaper headline.

All I have to say is that 3 Americans (and a Brit I think) gave a "geography lesson" to a Morroccan on a train in France on its way to Belgium (in Europe I believe) yesterday while a bunch of French and other nationalities did absolutely nothing. I'm sure some of the chronic cynics on TV will find something to bash in that.

Unfortunately a large number of my compatriots have not followed the advice of one famous American.

As anyone who has worked or lived or even set foot in thailand for a short period of time will testify….thais have their own logic and you will give yourself an ulcer trying to figure their thinking out….best to just smile and walk on.

I agree wholeheartedly and in the past I did just smile and walk on. I still walk on but in the past year I am not smiling...just completely disgusted.

Theories are theories I will wait till they are caught.

Did anyone notice the man in the red shirt was sitting exactly in the spot where the yellow shirt man sat sown. He stood up as soon as the other man came as if to give him the seat. Then the red shirt and white shirt guys made a screen by standing in front of the yellow shirt. Hiding his removal of backpack from most people. After the backpack was off the red and white walked away. Looked to me very organized. Appears to be done by people with very good training May have been trained by someone with military background or in military.

Did you notice also that they said the yellow shirt pretended to take pic on his phone -- looked to me like he brought up the screen to select a number then he walked away hit dial and up she went.

Very well organised and well made bomb.

The Thais got put off purchasing chinese submarines a few weeks back, I would not put this past the CIA and if it was them no one will ever find them guilty and it will be all theory and blame.

It was definately aimed at Chinese if they had of blown up Nana and killed heaps of europeans and Thais there would be more hell to play.

A message not to get to cozy with china but just a theory that is plausible as the ones above.

If this was targeted at Chinese, then the perpetrators chose their target poorly. I live in Chiang Mai and Chinese tourists are everywhere in packs. There are busloads of them here who would be easy targets with minimal or no collateral damage to other ethnicities. Plus CCTV surveillance here is nothing compared to what it is in Bangkok. It seems to me that the perpetrators chose the shrine right smack in the middle of Bangkok for some reason other than to harm a particular group of people.

One thing does seem quite clear, whoever did it doesn't want to be found or identified since no one has taken any responsibility for this heinous act. Even those groups who could take responsibility are shying away from publicly saying so.

Well I'm not an expert on Uighar terrorism in China but I don't think they've carried out a bomb like this there so it's not logical they would do that in Thailand before China. But surely there could be a alliance network between Uighars and other groups ... the complexities are endless unless we actually discover which group(s) did this and why. The only "theory" I totally reject is a long wolf madman with no organization and no agenda. This was too big and too organized for that.

I just posted this in another thread but The Guardian says that China thinks it was aimed at Chinese tourists. LINK

Or the Chinese government did it so they could blame the Urghurs and get international support to crack down on them even further.

I'm on a retirement visa so can't help you with visa infer for your situation but I can provide you with contact information for the Thai visa agent who helps me every year. She is great and works independently. Just PM me if you would like her contact info.

I suggest that you do not stay past February. Air quality here is typically really bad starting in March (sometimes in February) and I and some others simply get out of town until at least May.

As for a place to live, I would suggest the Nimmanheimen area or Chiang Mai University area south of Suthep Road. Easy to get into city center on a rented motorbike (recommend KPD)...or in a tuk tuk or songthaew (from Nimmanheimen). Plenty of nice apartments in these areas that should be able to provide you a short-term lease. And plenty of good places to eat and cafes in these areas...and several quality hospitals nearby should the need arise.

Typical...anybody but a Thai did it.

I have no idea who is behind this and would think nobody else does either yet but that won't stop speculation and ill considered comments from officialdom and some posters too.

My concern is that officials sound off far too definitively at times with little or no evidence or justification and then when things start to unravel face kicks in leaving the choice between admitting getting it wrong and losing face or making the facts etc fit the desired result.

Clearly the most accurate and truest comment made in 11 pages of comments. The last paragraph sums up Thai government mentality in a nutshell.

I can't help but notice the similarities with the Boston Marathon bombers (especially with the youngest brother)...young man with long curly black hair carrying a small backpack with a bomb (pipe bomb design this time but pressure cooker design in Boston) and nonchalantly dropping it off in a crowd of people at a popular event/location (to kill and maim) and simply walking away from the scene.

I speak some Thai but apparently enough to make many Thais think I know a lot. Many conversations at the next table or elsewhere that I've been able to hear have been cut short (or turned to whispering) when the parties involved overheard me speak some Thai to others. I don't necessarily assume they were talking about me but they apparently were talking about something that they were not comfortable with being overheard. Many bargirls definitely are not comfortable with farangs who understand Thai.

I thought the only reason people went to these parties was to take drugs.

Thanks a lot for posting these pics. Look forward to seeing more.

I first started going to Vietnam in 2004 and have been there 9 times. The last 3 years I have been in Hanoi for Tet and then traveled around for 1-3 months by bus, train, and motorbike. It really is a fabulous country with beautiful countryside, great food, friendly people... I've made some great friends there. I'm going back in September for the Mid-Autumn Festival in Hanoi and then back for Tet next February.

I've been to many of the places in your pics. Seems like some places haven't changed much or at all since you were there in the 90's.

My biggest fear here while driving my motorbike...getting rear ended, especially at a changing yellow-to-red light or at a pedestrian crosswalk. During my 4 years living here I've lost count of the number of times that I've slowed down and stopped when a light was changing to red or when pedestrians were in a crosswalk (with the red light on to stop) only to have motorbikes and cars zip past me and run the red light. I've been lucky so far but worry my number may be up someday.

Looks like you were very lucky. Glad that you weren't injured.

It seems you don't yet understand the real road laws of Thailand yet. An amber light changing to red means go, not slow down. Pedestrian crossings mean very little in this country and most vehicles will never stop(especially bikes) unless they absolutely have to. You simply have to adapt and do as they do, or like you say, your number will be up someday.

I had a similar 'accident' to the OP recently, driving like a lunatic, a motorcycle scooter clipped me in the rear. Having a 'big' bike I barely noticed, he on the other hand lost control and went down. I'm sure he learnt a painful lesson that day.

I fully understand the "real road laws of Thailand" as you put it, but I still refuse to "simply adapt" to them regardless of what may happen by not doing it. It's a slippery slope once you start "simply adapting" and essentially driving badly, and the results likely to be far worse. My guess is that you're just as likely to be the one who slams into me or someone else as any Thai driver.

Why is it driving badly? It's just different driving to what you or I were brought up with. It's not bad driving here, it's just normal driving as everybody knows that everybody does it like this. No Thai/local pedestrian will cross the street at a pedestrian crossing just because the light says he can, he will wait until he is sure that everyone has stopped or is stopping until starting to walk across the road. Just like at every busy intersection no Thai/local will go just because his light is green, he will wait and look for any amber/red light jumpers to get across first before proceeding. This is all pretty normal stuff over here that every local knows about.

You can jump on your high horse if you wish, and refuse to comply but the next time someone rear ends you and sends you sprawling into the middle of an intersection, I'm sure the last thing you will be doing is shaking your fist screaming 'but I'm in the right'.

I don't wish you any ill will, I'm just saying what is normal and right for you is not the same here, so for your own safety ride carefully and be prepared. You said being rear ended was your biggest fear here, so try and adapt a little and lessen the chances of your biggest fear actually happening.

So if I follow your logic (which I actually find illogical), I just go with the flow and drive like the Thais do (i.e,, when in Rome...). So I go through the yellows and reds either at an intersection or crosswalk because it is the normal thing to do here. The pedestrians who are either entering or in the crosswalk are there at their own risk. Then next I can go ahead and pass a vehicle(s) in a no passing lane because that is pretty much normal here too for many drivers. And why don't I just drive down the wrong side of the road against the flow of traffic because I don't want to drive on the correct side to the next intersection to actually turn around (another typical driving practice in Thailand). Then next I can just zip right through a standing red light late at night when the police are not out. Again a normal practice in Thailand. It's like a domino effect to the point where you are essentially "driving badly" and doing all of the things that we all complain about Thai drivers doing.

I don't want you or anyone else to get injured either but the next time someone rear ends you and it's a delivery truck or minibus driver "driving badly" (and not just a small motorbike like before), then I will rest my case.

My biggest fear here while driving my motorbike...getting rear ended, especially at a changing yellow-to-red light or at a pedestrian crosswalk. During my 4 years living here I've lost count of the number of times that I've slowed down and stopped when a light was changing to red or when pedestrians were in a crosswalk (with the red light on to stop) only to have motorbikes and cars zip past me and run the red light. I've been lucky so far but worry my number may be up someday.

Looks like you were very lucky. Glad that you weren't injured.

It seems you don't yet understand the real road laws of Thailand yet. An amber light changing to red means go, not slow down. Pedestrian crossings mean very little in this country and most vehicles will never stop(especially bikes) unless they absolutely have to. You simply have to adapt and do as they do, or like you say, your number will be up someday.

I had a similar 'accident' to the OP recently, driving like a lunatic, a motorcycle scooter clipped me in the rear. Having a 'big' bike I barely noticed, he on the other hand lost control and went down. I'm sure he learnt a painful lesson that day.

I fully understand the "real road laws of Thailand" as you put it, but I still refuse to "simply adapt" to them regardless of what may happen by not doing it. It's a slippery slope once you start "simply adapting" and essentially driving badly, and the results likely to be far worse. My guess is that you're just as likely to be the one who slams into me or someone else as any Thai driver.

My biggest fear here while driving my motorbike...getting rear ended, especially at a changing yellow-to-red light or at a pedestrian crosswalk. During my 4 years living here I've lost count of the number of times that I've slowed down and stopped when a light was changing to red or when pedestrians were in a crosswalk (with the red light on to stop) only to have motorbikes and cars zip past me and run the red light. I've been lucky so far but worry my number may be up someday.

Looks like you were very lucky. Glad that you weren't injured.

Likes:

- sports coverage (not only football) including NFL and NHL and other sports like TDF and Giro, track and field, and winter sports (with the sound on when big sports events are being shown)

- WiFi

- obviously a wide selection of beers (a few Czech beers would be fantastic) but also decent mixed drinks

- non-smoking inside

- wide selection of good food (European, American, Thai, Aussie) at reasonable prices

- mostly classic American and British music played at a sound level where you can still have a decent conversation (and turned off when big sports events are on)

- available staff (i.e., staff that recognizes when you need something)

Dislikes:

- solicitors

- over-rowdy or loud patrons (especially ones that want to tell you their life story even though you don't want to hear it)

Solicitors. I don't like them either, just about all men in suits are crooks, but what's this got to do with watering holes?

me neither, I don't like bankers, lawyers, solicitors, CEO's, Politicians, teachers and many government officials. Hmmmmm ...... you are correct, most of them are cheats & crooks... hell even the UN secretary general Ban ki moon is a cheat & liar .... didn't want to list Israel as killing children because of pressure from others. But that's another story ........

so a good watering hole is having none of the above .....

FYI...there are other meanings to "solicitor" other than the one you refer to. From the Merriam-Webster dictionary online:

: a person whose job involves talking to many people and trying to persuade them to buy things, donate money, etc.

: a lawyer in Britain who assists people in legal matters and who can represent people in lower courts of law

: a chief law officer of a city, town, or government department

Obviously I was referring to the first definition.

Likes:

- sports coverage (not only football) including NFL and NHL and other sports like TDF and Giro, track and field, and winter sports (with the sound on when big sports events are being shown)

- WiFi

- obviously a wide selection of beers (a few Czech beers would be fantastic) but also decent mixed drinks

- non-smoking inside

- wide selection of good food (European, American, Thai, Aussie) at reasonable prices

- mostly classic American and British music played at a sound level where you can still have a decent conversation (and turned off when big sports events are on)

- available staff (i.e., staff that recognizes when you need something)

Dislikes:

- solicitors

- over-rowdy or loud patrons (especially ones that want to tell you their life story even though you don't want to hear it)

Story time....... I was once in a police station in Bkk with a very prominent lawyer. We were there because i'd had a fracas with a local, none of which was my doing, but of course being a "FARANG" it was my fault. The assembled gang of five uniformed potential beneficieries of my hard earned cash, were speculating that i would be doing six months hard time..... The lawyer had previously advised me not to say anything, but just to listen, he'd also asked me if i knew anything about Thai law ? I replied that i'd studied law and that i presumed that Thai law would be a variation of either British or European. His smile was all too revealing, no he said, Thai law is who you know, and how much money you've got......... He the proceeded to inform the assembled five that he'd never seen five buffalos all in one place at one time, this had the effect of grasping their attention, he then produced his telephone, made a call, and had a five minute conversation about next Sundays golf, and that drinks were on him. By this stage i thought that my man had lost the plot and we were going to end up in the nearest Klong courtesy of the BIB. The lawyer the passed his telephone to the more senior looking cop, whether he was a Colonel or a Field Marshall, ( I can never tell), but when he put the phone to his ear, he was in no doubt where he stood, namely up to his knees in DO DO. It was his boss on the other end of the line, and all of a sudden everything was crystal clear, and there had been a major mistake, and that i and my man were to be afforded all assistance in clearing up this mistake and were no longer to be bothered by the BIB.......... Big Wais all round, and an invite to the Field Marshalls daughters wedding......... The law in Thailand...............

Classic! I'd like the name and phone number of that lawyer...just in case I need him some day.