ProdigalSon

Why no mention of the Punna off Nimmanheimin?

That's what I was thinking too. Great location.

Again it all comes down to personal preference, but for me this is the ideal location. There are three access routes - Nimman, Huay Kaew and Canal Road - so there's always a 'quick' way out/in. It's within spitting distance of all that's on offer in and around Nimmanhaemin which is where all the money is in CM at the moment, so it's an ideal investment if that's what you're buying for (rental returns are around 12% p/a). The building management is excellent and the condo committee is well organized and keeps on top of everything.

As for the noise, well it's not half as bad as people make it out to be. I live on the side facing Doi Suthep and all the entertainment venues and the only time it's an issue is during the food festivals which happen three or four times a year and even then it's only until about 11pm.

You could try fitwhey.com which is based in Bangkok. They have a reasonable selection.

eBay is another possibility. I use it frequently for things I can't get in CM.

Try 7-11 Semper. They should have them.

As far as I'm aware, 6000 baht is a one-off payment for the decoder if it's bought by an entertainment venue. This gives you football all year round - not just Euro 2012, but also all the major European domestic leagues, too. Along with that, GMM will provide the venues with promotional merchandising for the 'big' games. The price for domestic use is around 3000 baht (again a one-off payment). Bye-bye UBC/True!!!

Who was it who beat Earl 'The Pearl' Strickland (American 9-ball hall of famer) in the Mosconi Cup 9-ball tournament on his first appearance in the tournament without even knowing the rules and playing with a snooker cue? What's his name again? Oh yes... Ronnie O'Sullivan.

A quick thanks to 1Gringo and Butterisbetter for bringing Dr. Phillip to my attention. I went to see him this afternoon as I have a lower back problem and I was very impressed with what he did.

Getting back to the OP and BlackArtemis, whenever I go to work out at PowerHouse (usually around 1pm) there is hardly anyone there and the squat rack is almost always free. They certainly don't mind you doing deadlifts either.

...to the Premier League tonight. With the exception of the Irish Pub, does anyone know of anywhere else in CM that will be showing both the Manchester games simultaneously?

There aren't any rowing machines at Powerhouse. There's a cable weight stack with a fixed seat where you can do seated rows, but it's not a proper rowing machine where the seat moves back & forth.

If you're looking to buy clubs in Chiang Mai then there are quite a few places to go - just remember that buying new set of irons here is roughly twice what you'd pay in the UK and even more than that compared with the US.

Places to look are the sports section in Central Airport Plaza, the two sports sections (on the same floor) in Kad Suan Kaew, Stardome golf course and also the string of golf shops opposite Lanna golf course.

If you want to go second hand, then check out the classified ads in Chiang Mai Citylife, the Baht and Sold website and, of course, here on Thai Visa.

Good luck!

I played at one of the more prestigious clubs in Chiang Mai today and on my way into the locker room for a shower, the attendant smiled and handed me a towel and locker key. As I left, I handed him back the key and he took it without even looking up and seemed to drop a folder he was holding angrily down on the desk. Was he expecting a tip or did I just give him the key back at the wrong time?

Haha! Indeed Winnie - it must be Taksin's own Death Star!

...looks stunning right now just above Doi Suthep. Anyone with a half-decent camera should get a shot. My iPhone just isn't up to the job.

On the road that joins Canal and Hang Dong roads, across from Pizza & Pasta, is a place called "Miracleland". Anyone driving along that road heading towards Big C may have noticed it on the left hand side, set back behind the buildings that line that side of the road. It seems to be a temple, but is mostly black in colour and quite ominous looking. I tried, unsuccessfully, to get a closer look at it yesterday, but couldn't find a way in and Googling it didn't bring anything up. Does anyone know anything about it?

Can anybody suggest a 'quiet' place in town to watch the game?

Cheers.

Yep - me too. 3BB is super slow at the moment.

I can't give a specific recommendation of a place to get it treated here, but can give a suggestion as to how to alleviate tennis elbow (not the same as golfer's elbow) if that is the one which you're suffering from. I used to play a lot of tennis and found that using a slighter thicker grip than usual helped significantly (I'm assuming you got it from playing tennis, though I know it's not the only cause!). Good luck!

Thanks to the OP for bringing this page to everyone's attention. As someone above already said, at least they're trying to do something about the situation.

To just focus on Thailand for a minute and leave our neighbors out of this discussion, what should be done? Well, for a start the burning is illegal and so anyone who breaks the law should take responsibility for their actions and be punished accordingly. A previous poster suggests education and alternatives as better solutions to the problem rather than threats, fines or jail time. While I agree with the positive side of this idea, I just don't think that it is a viable solution in itself. If we rely on education and suggestions of alternatives as the only ways of fixing the problem then we'll be breathing in this smoke for a good few years yet. People need to be punished as the law stipulates to set an example to others and to act as a deterrent. Every day when I'm sat at traffic lights and they finally change to green, 99% of the time there will still be traffic coming through the other side on red. Why? Are these drivers uneducated? Do they not know it's wrong or against the law? Of course not. They do it because they know they will get away with it and also that the people waiting won't dare beep their horns. Thousands die on the roads every year, not because of a lack of education, but because they know that they can get away with how they drive. If traffic light cameras were installed, police performed breath tests, the vehicle registration system were improved and people committing road traffic offenses were punished accordingly, then I'm sure the number of deaths would go down. This, to a certain extent, applies also to the burning situation. AS WELL AS educating people, the laws should be policed and enforced accordingly. Now I'm not naive to think this will happen over night, I just think that in addition to the effective use of education of alternative methods, the police should take a more active role in trying to catch the burners and punish them as the law stipulates (whatever it may be). How about making them sit in a smoke filled room for a few days to help them remember that the actions of a small, ignorant few are aversely affecting the lives of hundreds of thousands of people?

A few nights ago, I was out jogging at the 700-year stadium when I noticed that the area on the hillside at the back behind the reservoir was ablaze with dozens of fires. I jogged up to the security guard's hut to see if he'd done anything about it (these fires were only a couple of hundred meters or so away). HIs answers to the questions "Have you seen the fires?" and "Have you called the police?" were "Mai pen rai" and "No".

When will it improve? I'll keep dreaming...

You could try the sports department in Robinson at Airport Plaza. There's also a sports department in Central at Kad Suan Kaew and a large sports store (Supersports/Sports World?) on the same floor around the back. Not sure about prices.

Reason for edit: just found the answer to my own post.

Winnie - a quarter of a million pounds for a car that costs about eighty thousand back in Europe? Are they really that much here? I'm not going to buy one now!

Yep - as Subsailor said, both the Sansai "par 3" courses.

I was at StarDome one evening towards the end of last year on a public holiday and I couldn't play because there weren't any caddies available! Most of them were off for the day and the ones who were there were all out on the course. The first two holes were empty and there were about another three pairs of golfers ready and waiting to tee-off! Maybe there's some sort of caddies union which the courses are afraid of upsetting...

Brilliant - thanks. Will give them a call tomorrow!

Hoping one of you Phuket locals can help me. I was in Phuket recently and stopped in at a big outlet mall. It was right next to one of the main roads that runs through the middle of Phuket (sorry if this is a bit vague) and was a one-level mall with various stores including a large golf equipment outlet.

If this (bad) description rings any bells with anyone, could you tell its name?

Cheers.

Wow - that is a great deal! Thanks for passing this info on. What's the course like?