NaiGreg

Thanks for the replies so far, but we are not looking for a dentist.

I should mention that we have one recommendation from our childrens' regular dentist (who specializes in children)that we will evaluate, but due diligence requires more than one eval if possible. Hence the request for info from other parents.

My wife will post a request for info on the CM108 forum site. Should get some feedback there.

My 10 year old daughter may need some orthodontics and we are looking for recommendations from parents with good outcomes and experiences with their own children.

Can't find anything related in search. Chiang Mai area, of course.

Thanks in advance.

NG

Office area being warmed with 1 convection oven set on high with oven door ajar, and a 1200 W hair dryer blowing air over the oven. It works! Sorry kids, Dads not making pizza today.

Thanks for the replies!

Actually looking for 2 words. Dictionaries not helping.

1. poaching animals

2. smuggling/trade in animals/tusks, etc.

Thanks,

NG

So this penguin and a fox walk into a bar in Thailand and the penguin says "ภาษามนุษย์น่าเบื่อมาก!"

This thread is more hilarious than the penguin joke. People actually take the op seriously?

Big Smile dental clinic at the SW corner of the moat (just before the turn going South) has a children's clinic on Sundays. My kids have been going there for years. Great service.

Perfect Cleaners have 2 locations ...one right behind big c near to Jigsaw Condo at the bus station area and the one in Meechoke is still operational as I sent my stuff last week

U can send it to either place and arrange for a pick up at either shop

I believe there are the best around as my Thai friends who use dry cleaners for their suits and bags would normally use them

They have packed up and left Mee Chok. You may have to "pick up" your order at another location.

Looking for quality dry cleaning service. Many years ago there was a shop in the center of the old town somewhere that did a good job for me. Can't remember the name or place, though.

Then some years later, Perfect Dry Cleaners at Mee Chok was not too bad. I don't see them around anymore.

Any suggestions? Thanks!

NG

Does anyone know of a decent (objective, not bias) history book on Thailand, which goes into reasonable detail on all periods of Thai history, including some detail on how it all started (i.e Khmer empire etc etc.)?

Thanks

You might like A History of Thailand by Baker and Phongpaichit (Cambridge)

Although it covers all time periods, it really is more focused on the 19th and 20th centuries.

The topic should read "Why can't Thai people look ME in the eye?"

The OP presumes incorrectly that Thai people don't make eye contact ('sop taa') with normal people.

Electrical earth and ground mean the same thing and are relative, not absolute, references of electrical potential. Good grounding practices are not adhered to widely in Thailand but that does not necessarily mean you will be electrocuted anytime soon!

Random facts and suggestions about home electrical safety in Thailand:

1. Un-grounded washing machines are VERY dangerous; much more so than un-grounded inline water heaters. Why? Because unlike water heaters, you routinely touch internal metal surfaces of a washing machine (drum) which can be ‘hot’. For washing machines, do not trust the house wiring safety/ground - run a good ground wire directly from the appliance to a proper ground rod.
2. Shower water does not conduct electricity. This urban myth has been disproven conclusively (unless it is salt water and even then very little chance of being evenly mildly shocked). However, standing bath water IS a weak conductor of electricity.
3. PVC plumbing (widely used) is safer (high electrical resistance) than copper/metal plumbing when using un-grounded inline water heaters. (this actually requires some explanation)
4. Amateurish grounding/earthing can be more dangerous than NO grounding/earthing at all. Consider the case when metallic plumbing pipes have been mis-used for ground-earth (common) and you (the victim) grab the bath faucet handles during a fault.
5. Most of the stories of people being electrocuted in the shower are cases where (1) an unmaintained central water heater is used instead of individual wall-mounted units (think older hotels) and (2) cases where metallic feed or drain pipes have been mis-used as earth/ground and the victim is standing in drain water or touching metallic faucets, or (3) unfortunate lightning strikes.

-NG (B.Sci.EE/IEEE) Personally, my wall-mounted water heaters (new units) are not grounded and I feel quite safe (being aware of the existing two-wire runs, which I toned out, and the PVC water pipes used.)

Can anyone bring a small boat (a dinghy or pontoon boat for example) to launch at the Mae Ngat dam?

Is it free? Any restrictions or registration required? (for example restrictions on motors or LOA)

Would any of the tour operators/taxi boats be offended (if you know what I mean)

I enjoy the occasional afternoon out at the reservoir with friends and family but it would be enhanced with a small boat experience to go along with it.

I'm an old sailor and just not a jet ski type. The kayaks are fun but limited. Too bad the winds are usually about zero knots.

The owner/manager Ray (Thai) is the former executive chef at Four Seasons (CM and several other locations.) He and his wife Nui run the (quite small) place and together they do the cooking and serving. The food is very good and prices more than reasonable. I hope they expand in the future.

Disclaimer: They are personal friends of mine. You can make up your own mind if a Four Seasons chef can cook.

-NaiGreg

The verdict is in on the Corbett Canyon (Chilean merlot) for 795 baht - - Very drinkable, surprisingly mellow. The box states that it will stay for 6 weeks.

I would like to try the Bota Box premium wine which is about twice the price.

Thanks for the suggestions.

Before I make the trip, just want to hear suggestions from those Rimping patrons who enjoy a drinkable cabernet or merlot. Money is not a big issue, but the quality and long shelf life of a boxed wine is.

(Its been about 5 years since I sampled anything around there) Thanks in advance for any good suggestions.

Thank you very much.

Anyone know a common Thai word for 'cubicle' as in office cubicle?

I found คอกทำงาน (work pen), but that does not sound right. Maybe a loanword works here?

ทรงพระเจริญ (Long Live the King!)

The Sad Life Of Thai Expat Jim Thompson

should read

The Sad Life Of American Expat Jim Thompson

Go and count how many trees missing in your neighbourhood overnight Greggy..........

Its usually 30 seconds anyway for your information....sometime 45.

I apologize for my inappropriate post, earlier. Bad humor and it was just plain wrong. I cannot delete it, unfortunately.

As for trees, my wife is an orchid gardener and prolific tree planter. Most of the Thai people I know have an healthy, if not uncanny, knowledge of the local flora, city-dwellers notwithstanding. Go to any big Thai bookstore and you will see a large selection of books about trees, plants and their care. Our housekeeper has a fourth-grade education but can identify any of a hundred species of trees and even tell you which insects favor which trees. She can also tell you which trees have spirits living in them. Valuable folk knowledge that has been lost in more developed nations.

Thailand also has an unusually large number of national parks which protect natural forests and the wildlife in them. The country is starting to do a good job in eliminating trafficking of forest animals (to China?) and has almost wiped out illegal logging.

Sorry to digress.

Time to join AA?

And good of you to spare the GF 2 minutes of boredom for once.

feelings about trees (not just the Bo tree) - Have you seen the trees in the roads that were NOT cut down? And, there's a reason Thai men piss in the grass instead of on trees in the forest.

That's hilarious....thanks for the giggle.

I'll give you some contacts re the care and attention Thai's lavish on their BIG trees in this country.......if you care to ruin your dream like state.

Sure, give me your contacts.

I'm sure you speak Thai, being an expert and all. So you've seen some of the Thai feature films about tree poaching and the exploitation of forest lands. Good stuff. In your opinion, when you see the wardens shooting the tree poachers do you think they were following instructions of the gov't or getting paid off by the logging companies. I'll give you the answer if your contacts can't provide the answer.

Thanks for waking me up from my dream state.

Hate to break the news....but it will never be 'your' Thailand and Thailand does NOT care about its trees..... absolutely not.....

Just the facts........nice pics though regardless.

You sound like an expert (Ha Ha Ha)

If you stay here a while and pay attention you will find that there are strong spiritual beliefs and feelings about trees (not just the Bo tree) - Have you seen the trees in the roads that were NOT cut down? And, there's a reason Thai men piss in the grass instead of on trees in the forest.

But you will NOT make it here for very long, Mr. "Not-here" (at least not in a meaningful way, you will head off to be an expert in another fourth-world dirty stinking country) - Just the facts.

Nice pics Mr. Forbes. Thank you for showing us your Thailand. It looks a lot like mine and I love it, too.

Good idea - thanks!

Simon

Any updates on this endeavor? I, too, am interested in procuring some books at a reasonable discount.

Thanks,

G