SadieMBeagle

Got here late last night (Wednesday) and have been wandering aimlessly and pointlessly all day, my feet are killing me. I have moved into my little studio apartment I rented for one month so I could get a feel for everything etc. So the Chiang Mai Expats Club meets on last Sat, that would be this Sat cool. If my feet don't hurt too much I'll drop by. Thanks.

My god, man. You're in Thailand now! That means CHEAP FOOT MASSAGE!! Get yourself on down to the nearest massage parlor and get a 1-hour foot massage. Try to find a place that charges no more than 150 baht/per hour. If you must pay 200 baht/hour, make sure the ambiance is nice. Better yet, go to the Chiang Mai Reflexology Center on Rachadamnoen Road. It's amazing.

Welcome to Thailand

Jeez, Cuban. Who pissed in your cheerios?

OP, I think it's a great idea. In Chiang Mai there is a maid company that I thought would never work. It is owned and managed by a farang. Well, its business is through the roof! I think you can find a way to do this. Obviously, you'll have a few things to figure out. But what business doesn't?

I would use such a service, as long as the cost weren't too high. But there are thousands of people in BKK who make lots more money than me, for whom the cost wouldn't be an issue.

At any rate, I'd say your idea is worth some thought!

How long before it smells the same as Spicy 1.0?

My oasis of tranquility in the rice paddies outside Chiang Mai...

Alas, soon I'll be leaving it for Bangkok! Speaking of, I still am looking for a place that takes dogs. Anybody have any pointers? Thanks ladies!

Awesome, this reminds me of a similar article the Nation wrote when Abhisit became PM. Hooray for equal treatment!

Oh, wait

Meanwhile, rain has stopped and water levels are decreasing. This is being managed expertly so far. I always get upset at needless digs at Thai people as shown in posts by others, and also in your post quoted above.

FYI, I was up and down Canal Road a few times today and saw several guys crawling around the sluice/gate thingies (what are they called, anyway?), busily turning valve handles and whatnot. In other places, the gates were opened wide to let the water flow. I think they've got it under control. Wa-hoo!

Meanwhile, in San Pu Loei, no flooding in my village!! Perhaps this is because we are surrounded by kilometers of rice paddies, which are now fully submerged. Anyhoo...RealThaiDeal got me thinking...does this new rice-lake destroy the growing rice? There's always at least a little bit of water in those paddies. Is there such a thing as too much water in the paddies?

I had the same situation, but with a different brand - CIBA vision. The company phased out the contact lens I'd been using for many years and transitioned to one with a different name (a better version of my old standby). Long story short, I could not find this contact lens anywhere. I finally found an online store based in Bangkok. It took about six weeks, but they were able to import the contacts from India and get them to me. It was cheaper than when I bought them in the US, but probably not as cheap as buying them from a shop in Airport Plaza. However, for those of us with hard-to-fit eyes, we take what we can get!

The online company is TA-TO.com if you want to check them out.

How about a letter from the person you rent a house from, is that still required? (If you also have a work permit) ?

No letter from LL needed. My WP sufficed just fine. I had the WP, passport, various copies, pictures, yada yada, and went to the center in Hang Dong. The nice young woman at the info counter downstairs pointed me upstairs. The nice young woman at the info counter upstairs (who speaks excellent English) gathered all my paperwork, directed me to make more copies of certain pages (of course I hadn't done it correctly, but oh well). There is a photocopy dept. right on the second floor, and they charge reasonable prices. Once my paperwork was all set, info desk lady directed me to the next task.

.....(you can read all about that above from other posters).....

Anyway, no, don't bring pictures anymore. They charge another 100 baht and take the digital pictures there, and put them right on the license while you wait. Easy peasy.

There are also those tiny, cute little mini-trucks and mini-minivans...I think they are like those Phuket tuk tuks in the picture above, only they are usually white in color and (obviously) vans and trucks in one piece, not modded into tuk tuks like the vehicles in the pic. I saw them for sale brand new below Big C for 450,000....that's what I'd get! (Or a used truck like WTK said.)

And there was us, working our butts off searching for somewhere for you to go and you didn't want to 'leave your lovely home'.

You could have asked for an escort.

...or paid 500 THB for one on Loi Kroh!!!!!

Thanks...never occurred to me to do that. It's not that I'm afraid to go places alone, but it would be nice to be in a real crowd (like the Olde Bell had for the Royal Wedding, for example). I thought nobody wanted to watch, so I didn't bother. Ah well. Plus, only a select few know my super-secret identity, and I'd like to keep it that way...

[Did you watch it Sadie?

.......or maybe you're Japanese?

Konichiwa!

No, I suddenly realized how late that is, and how I didn't want to leave my lovely home that late at night...so in the end I just followed my Twitter feed. Probably for the best...one reason I don't like to follow professional sports is because it's just so heartbreaking after you invest emotions into your team, then they start losing! (Chiang Mai FC, anyone?)

Sounds like it was a good game, though.

It will be on one of the TRUE stations but they are currently changing channel numbers, again. Suggest you check Bangkok Post sports section on the day,its usually there.Thats the easy part finding a bar that will have it showing is another matter.Chok dee !

Thanks Sparkles! I will check the post and then plot my course

With this being a fairly 'dry' weekend for bars, someone might be desperate enough, but I think it's going to be a hard find.

Well, technically since it's after midnight, it's fair game (see what I did there?)

Monday 18 July at 01:45, USA plays Japan in the Women's FIFA World Cup final. I'm just wondering if any bars in town will be staying open late on Sunday night to show the game? (Is it even being aired in Thailand?) Any info is appreciated...thanks!

I would imagine residency would be preferable to c'ship, SBK.

To give up the US passport could prove costly if you had to return home or travel in the future.

I don't think there is a problem with dual citizenship anymore.

As you said. Actually I know several Thais who grew up in the USA and have dual Thailand/American citizenship - yes, as in two passports. Some now live in Thailand again, some live in the USA. Also, the children of Thai/American partnerships definitely get dual citizenship, so yes, I'd say there is not a problem with dual citizenship for Thai/USA partnerships! Sadly, I cannot speak to other nations, not having any knowledge outside the Thai/USA partnerships. But I think the UK is the same deal.

Two things come to mind...

1. Why does your girlfriend *have* to be Thai? You could meet a lovely expat female too...it happens.

2. I see where you are coming from and agree with the way you live your life; however, IMO if two people have their own friends, activities, and full lives, living together is perfectly fine, because the parties are sometimes doing things together, sometimes not. If you date someone with no life outside of you, well then, yeah. That would make me want to live in a different home too! (Actually I'd never date someone like that, but I digress.)

Then again, maybe you really really want to live by yourself. There are those occasional married couples who do maintain separate residences, though I've only encountered that back home. It definitely has to be something that both parties want to do.

That's all I have...

I can second that!! It makes me happy that I have a safe place to leave my dog when I'm traveling, especially when back in the US. Lucky Dogs is also great for dog training and consulting on animal diets, etc. Highly recommend!

Erratum:

"Extortion", even.

Oh, and leave the typo for the spelling nazis. They have to have something to complain about.

Godd*mmit!!!! Now I have nothing to say

There are several climbers in town, myself included. There is a big outdoor climbing scene in Chiang Mai, with a well-known and large crag located about 45 minutes from the city. At CMRCA (link already provided above), you can post your information on the board of climbers looking for partners. Also, going bouldering a couple of nights a week is a great way to meet other climbers and arrange partners in person.

Cheers!

A few of us EX-rock climbers in town also..... Sadie, where is this crag that is 45 minutes outside of town?

Crazy Horse Buttress, outside of Mae On (east of Chiang Mai) Per climbing.com, there are about 150 well-developed sport climbing routes, with more being added all the time. This is not southern Thailand rock climbing - this is sustainable development.

http://www.climbing....ess_chiang_mai/

There are several climbers in town, myself included. There is a big outdoor climbing scene in Chiang Mai, with a well-known and large crag located about 45 minutes from the city. At CMRCA (link already provided above), you can post your information on the board of climbers looking for partners. Also, going bouldering a couple of nights a week is a great way to meet other climbers and arrange partners in person.

Cheers!

do they speak french ?

I miss speaking my native language

its been 2 week that i only spoke broken english and very broken thai

Max, there are a few french-speaking bars and restaurants around. I know of one. I'll send it to you in PM. Lots of French expats at those places too.

...if only I didn't have to give my screen name away and reveal my true identity....

It's true I have yet to experience the Pun Pun. Honestly, it's because everyone always raves about things like meatloaf and spaghetti (maybe I made that last one up), and those aren't things I really travel out of my way to eat. But don't worry, I'll make it down there one of these days...it's not like I'm going anywhere!

ETA: Of course then I decided to not be such a curmudgeon and look up the menu for Pun Pun and see what they have. As luck would have it, the first thing I see is that Monday's special is spaghetti!! I admit it. I LOLed. (Please weekend, come soon...)

You take the yellow Songthaews that depart from Chiang Mai Gate (where Wua Lai road starts). There are different final destinations but they all go past the Sanpatong buffalo market. Alternatively you can take the blue mid-sized bus to Doi Tao.

Note that this market is on Saturdays.

And on the way back you can ride the bicycle. (Or stick it on top of the aforementioned vehicles.)

You have proven time and time again to be a wealth of knowledge and so helpful. Thank you so much.

In all seriousness, though...yes, when WTK takes time out from good-naturedly poking fun at the various eccentricities of TV posters, he is very helpful. Especially about buffalo markets (hence the name).

You take the yellow Songthaews that depart from Chiang Mai Gate (where Wua Lai road starts). There are different final destinations but they all go past the Sanpatong buffalo market. Alternatively you can take the blue mid-sized bus to Doi Tao.

Note that this market is on Saturdays.

And on the way back you can ride the bicycle. (Or stick it on top of the aforementioned vehicles.)

You have proven time and time again to be a wealth of knowledge and so helpful. Thank you so much.

In all seriousness, though...yes, when WTK takes time out from good-naturedly poking fun at the various eccentricities of TV posters, yes, he is very helpful. Especially about buffalo markets (hence the name).

I'm not Thai, so maybe I have no place in this discussion. But I agree with the posters who say Thais can tell if you're a traveler...by that I mean, now that I've been here 1.5 years, I dress more conservatively (and I wonder if I carry myself in a different way than I did back home - really no way to tell, unless I go back to the USA and someone comments on it, I guess), and I speak some Thai - especially when it comes to shopping and eating. I find that people will often discount the price they've offered me when they hear me speaking Thai, before I even ask for a discount.

So yes, I think it doesn't matter if you're Asian, Caucasian, or anybody else - if you're seen as a "foreigner," you'll be offered the higher price.