trainman34014

I will buy my wife the same amount of branded handbags that I have in the past.....NONE.

The only roundabout I've seen of any size hereabouts is close to the Royal Garden. I was riding in a Thai relatives car as a passenger to the gardens and when he approached the roundabout he didn't even look right for oncoming traffic, let alone give way to it. Later as we ate I tried to explain the proper rules concerning the use of roundabouts and his answer was 'they are stupid and we shouldn't have them, who wants to go all the way round to get off it again when it's quicker to turn'. He later said that he had never seen any instructions for using roundabouts and nobody knows about any rules. Upon returning to the family home we had a chat with a Policeman in the family and his response was 'What's a roundabout' !!

I have no desire whatsoever to own any kind of business in Thailand but if I did I would surely start up an accident repair workshop; it's got to be a job for life !

If you're after something like the Black&Decker workbench, they've got some in Homepro on 108.

The majority of Thai women I know can kill with one movement of their tongue at 20 meters !

Got them all around our area especially in the evenings when they are feeding on bugs around the nearby trees. They look the size of the House Martins that visit Britain in the summer, which come from Africa I believe.

Anyone who thinks the people in power care about Bangkok sinking is deluded. These people are already buying huge area's of land and property in other countries ready for 'the family' to abandon ship as soon as it looks like their feet are going to get wet. The poor souls left behind will be left to sink or swim whilst still being taught that they must 'know their place' in the greatest country on the planet.

What will be done.....lip service that's what, and that's all.

Been a weird few months weather wise. Winter came late and summer has come early. Global Warming? Who knows, but lets hope for plenty of rain starting early like in 2011 and flood that Hi So lot out down in Bangkok. LOL.

And the Hangdong Relief road that has been rumoured for years.

The 'Relief Road' is actually the dual carriageway extension of Canal Road and it is being constructed at it's Southern most end at the moment, but I would think it will be some time before the project is completed as progress seems incredibly slow.

Nope not that one, the one that went around Wang Tan (area) that raised its head about 6 (?) years ago.

Ah; bit before my time then !

And the Hangdong Relief road that has been rumoured for years.

The 'Relief Road' is actually the dual carriageway extension of Canal Road and it is being constructed at it's Southern most end at the moment, but I would think it will be some time before the project is completed as progress seems incredibly slow.

Went in today for 90 day report at 10.30 and out by 11am. Machine not working so queue at middle counter for 90 day number and just 5 in front of me so no real problems. However; a total of seven Farang tried to push in at 90 day counter without ticket just while I was waiting so heaven knows how many try to push in in a whole day. All it does is causes delays as the Sgt on the desk is constantly taking time to tell them and go and queue for a ticket. Now I know this is not entirely the punters fault as on occasions when I've been in the machine has been working and at other times there are no tickets issued at all and you can just walk up to the 90 day report counter and get served. Some consistency would help in the handling procedures but hey; TIT and I am always glad to be out in half an hour or less. Parking anywhere in the immediate area seems to have been getting a lot worse in the last year or so and today I was parked at Central Plaza as little other option apart from the Airport.

I've picked up stuff in Big C and got to the till where the computer priced the item higher than it was marked. The girl called a boss lady who went to check the price and when she came back she told the girl to give me the item for free. Boss lady then told my wife that it is company policy to do this if the customer complains of over charging when they reach the till. Seems the trick is that you've got to have your wits about you when you reach the checkout because once you have past it a different conclusion awaits !

Good news ..hope the biz class will be upgraded also . flat bed to all long flight would be fantastic .

On most of their B747-400 (long haul) They still have first class, up stairs, in the end, - where the "chairs" can be fitted as a bed. But the price is ridiculous. Compared to a business-class ticket on a B777, A380 or B787. Where you with "most" airlines, will get the comfort of a half-sized cubical unit, with fold away screen, and the ability to lay down and sleep.

I'm curious to see how "Norwegian Airlines" will do the interior of their B787 "Cheap flights to Bangkok" in the end of summer of 2013, from Oslo and Stockholm. The Buzz articles, when the news broke was, that it would be around 200€ one way - something I personally don't trust. But let's see....

Business-class, one way, short notice, on a B787, with one short stop-over for me, at around 1k € would be fantastic.

With the mess Boeing are in with the 787 you will be lucky if they are flying the type by 2015. Don't think they'll be starting at those prices with older more gas guzzling aircraft.

To us these names are bizarre but Thai's don't interpret English the way we do so to them these are trendy names. Seems to me if you have the money to be a developer you can call your development what you like. If other folks don't like the name then they don't have to live there but also seems to me that whatever the name they always sell them all in the end !

My Wifes old car which she had for 20 years in Chiang Mai only used two batteries in all that time. We now have a new car but I await what happens in the next couple of years or so. I do top up every month and have a battery checker as I like to do my own servicing in every way possible even though the new car is under warranty etc.

When leaving a car at home when traveling I always disconnect the battery. It's something I've always done wherever I've lived. With modern car builds this may not be required but old habits die hard.

This MUST be April 1st... First, Chalerm saying it's OK for the police to take money from shop owners and now this. Must be april fools day.

No; just another normal day in cloud cuckoo land !

They can tax all this crap into oblivion as far as I'm concerned as I don't drink any of it. I'll stick to my Vodka on the Rocks with a slice of Lime.

Don't ya all know that Vodka is made from Potatoes, Potatoes are vegetables and vegetables are good for you !

Bring back GINGER BEER someone please.

do you mean Schweppes dry ginger if it is then it is in Rimmping and Big c in chiang mai 14,and 12 baht per can

Remember the ginger beer we used to GROW in bottles -placed on the floor in the pantry-

Yes; and my Father blew the cupboard door off with it in the middle of the night !

A few girls have told me they are extremely rude to them in various work settings (hotel receptionists mostly). These girls were outwardly racist against Chinese people - one of them even would even make fun of how they talk a lot. I've seen similar feelings from them against Indian people.

One of the girls even said something that was so ridiculous I started laughing. "Why should these Chinese people visit my country if they can't even speak English."

Whats really funny is that China has the largest population of people that can speak English of any country in the world.

There are times when some Thais prove in spades that ignorance is bliss.

dont know where you get your information from,,but i would bet India has a far bigger English speaking population than China,,,,,and many of the chinese visiting Thailand CANNOT speak English and why should they

India does have a lot of English speakers but so does China these days as the kids are being taught it at school from 5 years old upwards. Whenever I visit China many people approach me to speak English and a lot of kids in particular are keen to converse to show their parents how clever they are. Learning English has never been taken seriously enough in Thailand in schools or by the population at large mainly because they are too busy believing that Thailand is the greatest nation on earth and needs nobody !

As far as the powers that be in Bangkok are concerned Chiang Mai is just a small backwater town somewhere up country where the native jungle bunnies cannot be trusted to do anything without some kind of parental control from the great center of the universe. Most of them have only heard of it because a certain well known fugitive who lives in Dubai came from here and his sister is now Prime Minister. Of course; we all know that their great power base is sinking and in 50 years will have vanished from the map, so as time passes Chiang Mai will the 'in' place to be, if only to keep their feet dry !

In my five and a half years experience of living here I have found most Thai's smile a lot. whereas Farang's scowl a lot. Most Thai people will talk to me, whereas most Farang's will not.

In the end it's about what you want from a host country and your general expectations. Live and let live.

500 Baht to each voter will solve the problem....full turnout !