mamborobert

My mistake....I thought this thread ran over from the "highest quality foreign foods in chiang mai" thread immediately below.

Jesus wept

I cannot believe that with the great variety of food available in CM "chew and spew" Maccas English Muffins warrants a rave. Its not Real, its not English, they don't even taste like a ******* muffin!

Think I'll go out and watch the grass grow now....will post an update for you all shortly.

"For us, appropriate aging, at this point, is to have less "lust," be less "driven" by the one-track-minded lizard between our male legs, have more peace of mind, a quieter mind, greater curiousity, less restlessness and desire to take risks Which does not imply being weak physically, being tired mentally, being diminished in vitality"

Orang37

Off topic I know but this (with slight modification) describes my ideals ...how can I say, ideally.

The less driven by lust would be my stumbling block but am nearly there...right now going through my St Augustine phase of "give me chastity and continence, but not yet".

And as for Chimera as a descriptor, there are worse titles with worse fates, Androgyne?

I saw my father live his last 30 years to your quote and he was never more happier, more at peace, more contemplative, and lived satiated. This too is the life I want, and perhaps through his fine example and reaching earlier.

Anyhow thanks for your thoughts...one for my fridge magnets where it shall hold an exhaulted place.

I over heard some bar owners talking of putting on extra sheep and moose.

And FREE Wellies for all Aussies

DK

Reminds me of the quip by Piggy Muldoon whilst Prime Minister of New Zealand when asked to comment about the movement of New Zealanders to Australia, he suggested that this was no bad thing as the movement "raised the average IQ of both countries".

Anyone know where I can buy milk?

You can buy milk in Thailand? My God, next thing you know you'll be able to get rice somewhere as well, then maybe Chang beer.

You forgot to tell us the price?

There is a wide range of properties in Intrachidchai....going from one floor jobs with a few bedrooms for maybe 1800 000 with small blocks of say 80 wah, to 2 floor jobs with pools that have gone for just under 10 000 000 on say just over 200 wah.

Its a big Moo bann with a wide variety.

Here is a little heads up from someone having worked for many years in the financial services industry and who stays updated on what's really happening.

Right now, the entire world is in a major transition and things are happening and will continue to happen for the foreseeable future at warp speed.

The bad news is what we are seeing with downward currency fluctuations in the US dollar (add the UK pound)is not a temporary anomaly. It is going to get a lot worse from where we are at. If anyone is depending on their US dollar assets or income in order to be able to live in Thailand, you could be in for a rude awakening and sooner than you think.

While deflation has been in the news as the current concern, what I see is the sounding of the alarm that the US is nearing a point where it can soon become a victim of hyperinflation. If this does happen the US dollar will collapse and with that, soon lose all value. Not 10, 20 or 30% drop from where it is at now. It loses all value and goes to zero - period.

That would mean anyone depending on and receiving US dollars every month via pension, social security or whatever will not have enough funds to live on. You would be better off to have a small Thai business that clears a little profit each month. Either that or have funds in currencies other than dollars/UK pounds or buy gold.

Of course, this is not a 100% prediction but it is high enough in my opinion to be of concern. Even without hyperinflation, the US dollar will continue to decline and I would not be surprised to see it at 25 baht per dollar or even 20 baht per dollar within the next year. And no - I am not wishing it at all as US dollars are what I get paid.

So is there and will there be an exodus from Thailand? Who knows, but in comparison I think things are going to get much worse in the US and UK. In any event, I would rather wait out the storm in the LOS. The fact there is definitely a major storm brewing shouldn't be in question. Just how big and how bad it will be is anyone's guess.

This post is just daft, the USA would start a world war (at any excuse) rather than let this happen.

If the end of the world were to come nobody would care about the exchange rate.

The idea that a war solves hyperinflation is the daft one. Did'nt work to well for the Weimar Republic for example

The underlying premise that the Uk and USA have not bottomed out yet, and make take years to even semi recover is more than sound.

The USD going to 20 baht is bad but tragically not inconceivable.....I bet no one thought the pound would drop 40% either. The USD has gone down 6% against the AUD in September alone, and Thailand as an export economy is nearly as well placed as Oz (hence the THB/AUD rate has not change much). The USD has gone from 40 to 30 baht in the last five years (25% drop) and is now less than one baht below when the GFC arose....with worse to come.

For years the dream for the AUD was to reach parity with the USD. Historically over 25 years its averaged mid 70's...its now at 96, expected to hit parity in early next year....and economists are now predicting an inconceivable 110 to the 100 USD by the end of 2011.

The truest statement is no ones knows how big and bad the storm will be...but there is general agreement that there is a storm coming (not just the bad weather of the last two years).

I definitely agree withe you about not eating at western restaurants as much and expats out past the super highway are not going into town as much as they have a better and larger selection of venues outside of town to go to. Question why 4 to 6 hours at immigration? It has never taken me any longer than 1.5 hours but then again I get there at 7:30.

In the past it was usually around 2 hours.

Arrived at 7.45am only 12 people in front of me in total for 90 days,re entry etc I assumed. Fully expected to be 1st or 2nd in line for "retirement visa turned out 10 of the 12 in front were there for student visas and as I pointed out we are now lumped in with them so was actually number 11.Left just before 11.35am.

Our friends made the mistake of going at 9am and had a ridiculously long queue in front of them,left at 3.20pm.

On another note-I did hear that Chiang Mai immigration have been allocated 1 million baht to expand the premises to cope with the increasing numbers. That will not go very far!

Bit of a slap when they had apparently already taken over 90 million baht in various fees this year already.

Could it have been bad timing with a lot of students going there now with CMU et al threatening to cancel visas and advising students to leave in two days...so lots running round seeking extensions, changing education providers and doing border runs.

The business side has been done to death on various threads. I was more interested in your average run of the mill garden expat. The only reason I raised the question is that it seemed to me that there were a lot more vacant houses around, a lot more houses for sale, and ditto for condos....and quite a few of them seem to be empty of furniture as well.

Whether web surfing, walking round, or visiting other expats it just seems that every community seems to have more that the average number of Farang properties available.

The observations of jayjay0 about the mail and the expat club seem to tie into this a bit but i never really saw the interest in the mail or expat club anyway so I always thought they had a limited shelf life regardless of expat numbers when you have competition from various web services for the mail and the expat community is so broad that a club could become to "clubby" and just appeal to those who were already in it....we all have our own little social circles.

But I digress....does anyone else think there are more properties .available for sale or rent.

Leaving aside the whole issue of what's a person with a million baht in net-worth doing living in Thailand (or any foreign country) to begin with, I'm sure there are many in similar situations. We see it in Pattaya as well. However, they are certainly not going to have much of a warm welcome back in Blighty if they plan to return there. The economy pretty much sucks in most of Europe (ex-Germany and the Scandinavian countries), with 25-40 percent cuts in public sector employment rolls and reductions in "benefits" to boot.

Sounds like to me that many folks didn't do their planning too well or partied too hardy during their abbreviated stays in the LOS. Maybe best to head on over to Rooland as I read that blokes fresh out of high-school can make AU$ 100k per year working in the mining industry. [Tip to get there: Go to Philippines for 6 mos. and find a Filipina nursing graduate to marry and then apply for skilled migration visa to Aus. and piggy-back in as her husband.]

The Pinay nurse route won't work as they cannot get registration without doing a conversion course (hence most go to Oz via UK hospitals). Best bet if you want to avoid Blighty is a Pinoy Welder....we need these guys.....and having seen some girls from Manchester in sub zero temperatures a few years ago I can understand that why people explore other sides of their sexuality in order to escape them for Oz

I do take your point that you should not be here without the dollars...but a 40% drop would ruin a lot of peoples plans.......

Just a quick note to say thanks....this is a great find.

Best of all the announcers speak English as it was truly meant to be spoke by God.

I can understand every word....

I book with the airlines direct of the internet (Thai, Singapore and Airasia) and it is always cheaper.

Sometimes one is half the price of another just check around, even occasions with a night stay over.

I would check that when you are leaving (and returning) is not on a shoulder season (like the Easter/Anzac Day hols and School hols. You would be surprised how much the flight costs go down outside peak and shoulder just by changing a day or two...especially on Airasia

The airlines cannot simply stop flying when they do not have full flights as they are contractually bound to the Aussie govt for x flights per week when they make the initial bid for access to fly to Australia....so there are deals to be done

There have been countless post about businesses closing down, and the high baht rate.

Recently we have seen good businesses simply close for lack of a buyer, some businesses have halved their initial sale price and still no buyer, others looking to loss lead or look at some other promotions just to get people in the door. Board sponsors for example seem to me to be active seeking opinions and (quite rightfully) promoting their business.

You then have the extra flogs of a poor exchange rate for USD, Euro, Pound (with no clear sign of improvement against the baht, which in turn couple with Thai politics affects tourism (which is not a big money earner for Thailand per se but employs heaps)....and keeps a few expats financial....and don't get me started on the visa regime.

There are less students by all accounts and the current fracas with the Uni will not help that.

So business wise things are looking grim...but that is only a microcosm of the broader long term expat community.

It seems to me (from various web pages, forums and just cruising around) that there is also a lot more farang homes and condos on the market of late (as well as people selling all forms of brickabat) as well as cars and bikes. Am I right in this?

With nearly a 40 % more or less constant rate reduction in the pound (for example) over the last 5 years people who were not even close to the margin must be suffering.

I was looking at one condo as crash pad when in town originally on the market for 800 000 for almost a year and not selling...so I wait as I see the AUD is trending up. Last week the price went up to 950 000! after a very modest refit to try and sell the place (read install LCD and put new sheets on bed). Caught up with the owner for a beer (have known him for yeas) and basically he needs to sell as cannot afford to stay, but with the poor exchange rate he needs to up the price to come just to try and minimize his loss on the place. I know its crazy logic...but as the pound sinks lower the price or the property must come up, apparently he has a few friends in the complex with similar issues. They know its mad but they have nothing of value other than the property. some have already sold computers and cameras.

As mentioned earlier there seems to be (to me) a heap more farang properties for sale, and rentals available

So while threads have been going on about businesses packing up and leaving....are people going en masse as well?

Seems to me that the only growth area for long term expats in Chiang Mai is evangelical preachers !

... snip ... On the other hand, if I have to go to Airport Central Plaza, and pause for a moment, I'm generally put in awe in about one half of one second.

Sawasdee Khrup, Khun CMX,

Yes, when we go to Airport Plaza we have to avert our gaze because there are so many lovely women, of all ages, walking around, in the shops; if we didn't we'd be forced to hear the sounds of the Ghost of Testosterone Past clinking his chains and moaning piteously.

best, ~o:37;

Too true,

It is only natural that the brighter youth of today migrate to cities; that's because that is where the work is located. As Orang says, when I wander around Airport Plaza in Chiang Mai I'm blown away by all the bright, lovely young women with smiles on their faces and animated expressions. When I go to DTAC for my cel phone sim card there are 6 or 7 gorgeous young ladies willing to serve me with a smile. I have a Chiang Mai friend with a lovely Thai daughter who just turned 20 and is finishing university. All her friends are stunning and they are all planning on moving to wherever the jobs are. That usually means the cities like Bangkok. By contrast, I've spent some time in rural Thailand on fishing trips where we traveled by bamboo raft and stayed at small, Thai villages. I couldn't help but notice the lack of young women between the ages of 16 and 20. There were lots of young girls, ages 12 to about 15, but the older girls were not evident. I could only surmise that they had moved off the family's farm to seek work in the city.

Oh to be young again... sigh.

Having once watched (and sat in awe) one of your fishing expeditions on Loi Kroh I would humbly suggest that your age is not a problem. :jap:

I'd argue the point about my own criminality for quoting but take your point that to do so on the board may give rise to undue attention and that was never my intent...so the point is well taken and thanks Newbie001

A tragedy by any means.

There are some Thai web sites already covering this with photos (not for the squeamish).

http://www.cm108.com/bbb/35004.html

It does look like the Thai authorities did make some serious efforts and the site (before and after) and that must be recognised. I am not sure there would be many emergency response units that could dissuade anyone once they have put their thoughts into that level of action.

Some sincere very comments by Thais in condolence on web sites as well.

sorry folks...pipped by post from Tywais

I had a Lao at the Best Bar on Soi 1 next to Number 1 bar), might be worth trotting across the road and find out where they get it.

Sorry for the overlap post folks...have been trying to improve my Thai an hence have not kept p to date with news clipping posts.

So much local thai on thai stuff just does not get here...same news had a 17 year old shooting dead his gf after she dumped him

It would appear that another American farang has been caught by the local gendarmes showing undue interest in children.

My Thai is rather poor but does anyone know if William Bird is an expat or a tourist? I would seem that he is r

Poor form all round if accusations true.

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เมื่อเวลา 10.30 น. วันที่ 17 มิ.ย. พล.ต.ต.ปัญญา มาเม่น รอง ผบช.ก. แถลงข่าวการจับกุมตัว นายวิลเบิรท วิลลิศ ฮอลเล่ อายุ 72 ปี นักท่องเที่ยว สัญชาติอเมริกา หนังสือเดินทางหมายเลข 422045315 โดยเมื่อวันที่ 15 มิ.ย. ที่ผ่านมา เจ้าหน้าที่ตำรวจชุดจับกุมได้รับรายานจากสายว่ามีนายวิลเบิรท ซึ่งเข้ามาพักที่ ห้อง 105 เกสท์เฮ้าท์ ย่านถนนลอยเคราะห์ ซอย 2 ต.ช้างคลาน อ.เมืองเชียงใหม่ มักนำเด็กหญิงอายุประมาณ 10 ขวบ มาพบที่ห้องประจำ จึงได้ตรวจสอบเพิ่มเติมจนทราบว่าเด็กหญิงดังกล่าว คือ ด.ญ.ส้ม (นามสมมุติ) กำลังศึกษาอยู่ชั้น ป.4 ที่โรงเรียนแห่งหนึ่งกลางเมืองเชียงใหม่ จึงได้ติดต่อครูประจำชั้นให้สอบถามทราบว่าถูกนาย วิลเบิรทชักชวนมาที่ห้องและกระทำอนาจารแล้วหลายครั้ง จึงได้ขอหมายศาลเพื่อจับกุมในข้อหา กระทำความผิดฐาน กระทำอนาจารแก่เด็กอายุไม่เกินสิบห้าปี คุมตัวส่งพนักงานสอบสวน สภ.เมืองเชียงใหม่ ดำเนินคดี สำหรับ ดญ.ส้ม ทางเจ้าหน้าที่ได้ประสานเจ้าหน้าที่ประจำศูนย์ปฏิบัติการเพื่อป้องกันการกระทำความรุนแรงในครอบครัว ศูนย์ประสานงานเพื่อพิทักษ์สิทธิเด็กและสตรี เชียงใหม่ ได้รับตัว ดญ.ส้ม ไปไว้ในความดูแลเพื่อทำการเยียวยาฟื้นฟูสภาพจิตใจต่อไป

I have lived in Chiangmai for 5 yrs and have never heard of this place

I would buy that if you'd been here five minutes, or perhaps you've spent the last half decade astral projecting.

I am a married man and don't have the need to frequent these establishments and I do my drinking at home or at a restuarant. I guess that is why I have never heard of it. I couldn't even tell you where to find a bargirl.

I am a married man as well......so can I play this fantasy game as well

What is a bargirl?

Take them down to Panthip plaza (2nd floor) they have heaps of adapters and if not may be able to ring around or point you elsewhere. Take them as easier to show rather than explain.

I generally tip people who I believe are poorly paid and do see the thanks and recognition. I don't haggle as much if I can see that a market trader is having a very slow day and I'm sure they appreciate it. This is dealing with people at the low end of the economy. The fact that the fat cats are still fat and mean isn't a reason for me to stop being generous to those in need. 

BTW, tourism accounts for 5 or 6 per cent of the Thai economy as a whole , but is obviously much higher in tourist towns, so Thailand isn't as dependent on tourism as some people believe. That is why the Thai baht is still realtively strong - the economy as a whole is doing well, with exports leading the way.

Ditto here on all counts only thing I would add is that the 6% contribution to the economy is not the issue. It is the disproportionate amount of people employed to get that 6 %. The Thai economy is not dependant on Tourism, the Thai labour market is very mush so, and therefore extended family networks as well. Tourism does not (as you have rightly pointed out) play a big part in the Thai economy but directly and indirectly it keeps a lot of people fed and housed There is a significant portion (much higher that 6 %) of people employe, housed and fed. What needs to happen is a reduction on dependance of tourism by your average Thai. The government must look at a much more sustainable and consistent tourism market or better ways to ensure the welfare of a great chunk of the populus.

Could not disagree with OP more.

What happens when (if) things get back to "normal". Revert to tipping and subsequent angry faces over tight farangs?

There are a lot of farang businesses doing it very tight now, but you do not see any rent reduction from Thai landowners. Same for expats on pension (with reduced exchange rate), there is a flood of places on the market but no overt signs of rent reductions. When there is a reduction Thais are looking at avery short lease to farangs to cover their bets when or if things improve. Its not only Chiang Mai that is suffering, and not only Thais.

Generosity (even of spirit) is a two way street and it seems all one way at the moment.

I don't think there will be any thanks or even recognition for your efforts (sadly) as all that will happen IMHO is reinforcement of the walking farang ATM mentality.

There is also the very real prospect that things will not improve, you have Thai election to look forward to and the world economy is by no means secure (and this was a problem for tourism numbers way before the red shirt fracas). The Op's solution is at best a short term fix for what may well be a long term problem. Whilst I sincerely believe that OP is well meaning, the Thai government needs to do something longer term to ensure less labour reliance on tourism for its own people.

Just so we are all clear here 16 Battalion RWAR is a RESERVIST unit that has been deployed overseas in a SUPPORT capacity as volunteers.

Saying they worked in any meaningful way or on par with any foreign or domestic regular force is putting shine on a turd.

They also do occasional boardings of Indonesian fishing vessels.....anything they do is as support only. Reservists getting injured or killed is not good pr.

He is quite simply a prat who is gilding the lilly.

They wear kilts for <deleted> sake!. They are joke even amongst reservists.

You can chill out.

This is a common myth.

Lavender as a sedative is associated with the Valerian root (name is similar but not related to Valium, and hence the myth).

Unlike Valium, Valerians are not habit forming or leave you with a hangover.

One is natural other os a pharmaceutical containing benzodiazepines. You should not in fact take lavender teas for example if you are on Valium, ask a chemist.