Johpa

Burma - an entire nation of people suppressed under tyrannical rule.

Iraq ten years ago - an entire nation of people suppressed under tyrannical rule.

The latter merits a full scale invasion and total regime change by outside forces. The former gets a couple of soundbites each time they hold a rigged election. Welcome to the world.

Yes, well the Burmese generals make sure that the profits from the natural resources of Burma are sold and the profits enter the global banking system through Singapore, just like countless other tyrannical despots profit throughout the globe. Sadam threatened to sell his oil an a currency denominated other than in US$ and was thus worthy of being deposed via an invasion of imperial storm troopers.

There's another good Khao soi place near the amphur in Hang Dong, it's a bit of trek though if you don't live out that way.

Yes, very good clean place, always crowded at lunch with locals. Also a great little hole in the wall shop up in Mae Rim, just past the light on the left at the entrance to the small soi. And of course the long running shop up in Fang taking the soi to the left just before the market, shop is on the right. In other words, better bets for Thai food are now found outside the big city.

It's the same story every year.

What happens to all these blankets and winter clothing they dish out each year? Do people just throw them away every time winter finishes??!

The blankets are usually distributed to rather poor villages, often minority villages, where living conditions remain relatively primitive. These blankets are difficult to hand wash and don't take to well from a washing in the first place. As the blankets are not of a particularly high quality they just don't last many years.

I was once given far too much money at a remote branch of Bangkok Bank. Being honest I tried to note the error that was greatly in my favor and was rewarded by anger as the loss of face created was more important than the money. I learned my lesson that time.

The roads and driving will improve, but not in our lifetime I am afraid so just let them go past you and hold back. it is sad though, especially when it involves children.

The roads have improved tremendously within my modest lifetime, or at least within the past 30 years of my experiences within the Kingdom. And I think the driving has also improved a bit, just not as much as the roads have improved. But as long as the police and the country as a whole remain endemically corrupt, we will not see the necessary traffic enforcement needed to significantly reduce these types of tragic accidents

So Chiang Rai is the paradise of the cheap charlies.

Would that be in opposition to the city of Chiang Mai, paradise to the pretentious Peters, constantly stressed out where to save a few baat on their farang foods?

What i do hate to see is elephants chained to a stake. Elephants almost rival humans in intelegence and they are very communal. Chaining one to a stake is inhuman and cruel. My heart goes out to them standing there swinging their trunk back and forth in boredom.

A fully tusked male is much safer chained to a stake then allowed to forage free in the hills. Alas, when in the presence of tourists the elephants must be staked when not attended by the mahut.

There is no elegant solution to the elephant population. The human population in the region had grown, as has the expansion of agriculture in the highlands. And the demand for working elephants in the logging industry continues to decline. The two populations, human and elephant, are not naturally compatible. All the elephant camps provide sanctuary to their resident pachyderm population. All the major elephant camps, from Lampang to Mae Sa to Mae Tang and beyond now provide good care and share a common vision. And if it takes a few adolescent elephants blowing harmonicas or playing fake soccer or painting flowers to provide the revenue for the dozens of mature breeders to prosper then so be it. It is no more unnatural than moving logs.

Mae Sa also provides a lot of tourist wonga into greedy little human pockets. It'a a nice setting, but is more than a little contrived and extremely touristy.

I have known the owner for many years and yes, he has prospered from this successful business venture that has been around for decades now, but "greedy" is not an adjective I would use for one of the most generous Thai men I have ever met. The Mae Sa Elephant camp provides a heck of a lot of employment and job security to many, many people who would otherwise be living on the edge, including minorities and one other group that would be unemployable anywhere else in Thailand.

The headline gets it arse backwards. It is the social media boon that fuels political crises around the globe. Power is a function of population X organization. The Internet and "social media" allow even the lowest common denominators to organize and there are far more intellectual dumbos down at the bottom than there are enlightened individuals elsewhere. Both the United States and Thailand serve as poster children for this phenomena. Twitter represents the inevitable pre-apocalyptic outcome that not even Orwell foresaw. The Internet is the virus.

The tricks and novelties at the Mae Sa Camp provide food and medical care to a rather large population of elephants that would otherwise be in rather sad shape. The staged events at Mae Sa may not be to everyone's tastes, but it is the largest provider and care giver to pachyderms in the Kingdom. Apart from some internecine politics, most of the larger elephant camps share a common vision of providing and caring for the animals and share veterinarian knowledge gained over the past 20 years.

Why, oh why should Thai children learn Chinese first?

To better be able to help China?

The English language is more or less the world language, even in China this is recognised.

Knowing Chinese gives one the possibility to do things with China and Chinese

With English it is possible to do business with nearly the whole world.

Maybe it is because that by the time that they grow up China (the PRC) will have the largest and most important economy on the planet. Once upon a time French was the dominant language and one can still see historical traces of that bygone era in the international postal system. Today French is a minor language. The English language only became dominant with the colonial rule of Britannia and later the American Empire. Well the sun did set upon the British Empire and the sun is about to set far more precipitously upon the American Empire as my local yankee lemmings head for the cliff. And there is little doubt that within 20 years, or sooner, the Chinese Empire will be dominant. So why not teach them Chinese? Once the dollar (and other western currencies) drops back down to about 15 baat most of the neo-sahibs and other ex-pats won't be around to talk to. But the language issue is not the critical issue in Thai schools and as long as the government fears people who are capable of critical thought nothing will change as the ruling elite is quite happy with the local lemming mentality.

Needless to say I have been a friend of Mother Kong for decades. When I first arrived in Thailand it was the drink of choice of the upper classes with the rural folks content to drink now long forgotten libations more commonly referred to as lao khao with names like Silver Eagle and Golden Deer. Today, for some unfathomable reason, the upper classes prefer to drink rock gut blended scotches that I can't stomach. In one of the more upscale Thai eateries in Chiang Mai the proprietor had to send someone down the street to get me a bottle of Mae Khong, and years ago at some new age Chiang Mai disco they went across the street to buy me a bottle but then insisted that they pour it into an empty bottle of their cheap imported Scotch so as not to offend the imagined sensibilities of their other customers. I don't see too much difference between Mae Khong and Sang Som when mixed into some soda or coke. Either will do me fine.

Middle aged curmudgeon will be returning to his home in Chiang Mai for annual visit in November. I may be looking for riding partners as my family is putting pressure on me, not being as young as I once was but sometimes just as foolish, not to ride solo deep into the hills. I mostly do day trips centered around Samoeng on the dirt roads, but I am very open to other suggestions. I speak somewhat rusty yet very passable Thai, ride like a little old lady as I used up my nine lives on a motorcycle in Thailand 20 years ago. But I will ride just about anywhere as I learned to ride a motorcycle on these same dirt roads where I have certain skill sets that do not extend to the pavement where I have far fewer riding skills. I might be taking a few overnight trips. Most trips will be mid-week as I will try to be in town on the weekends to be with my daughter who is attending classes at a local university. Women riders also most welcome. I hope to be renting a D-Tracker as my ride. Personal references, although not under this online moniker, might possibly be found scattered throughout the greater Chiang Mai community.

You can try the Mae Sap "bat cave" west of Samoeng. The cave is small yet picturesque and the bats are guaranteed to generate a few squeals from kids and moms, although you may end up in the dog house for a day if mom gets too spooked. Bring your own flashlight (torch to you Commonwealth folks)although there are usually a few weak ones for rent at the cave entrance. Buy one of David's maps of the Samoeng loop for directions and then head to north Samoeng to the hotsprings afterwards to appease mom.

There is a hill tribe demonstration village up the Mae Sa Valley highway just before the Mae Sa Elephant Camp. It is called Tong Luang or something like that, is up a soi on the left as you head west on the 1096. Look for some cell phone towers where the road straightens out a bit entering Maemae. Well maintained, yes there is an entrance fee, and yes a zoo from an outside perspective, but seen as an employment opportunity from those living and working there. The owner treats the people well, provides classes for the kids in the afternoon, and the people are free to leave. It is not uncommon to see "long neck" women in the markets in Mae Rim, but they normally wear scarfs around their neck rings so as not to attract too much unwanted attention. Tell the old Karen ladies in the first demo hut just inside the gate that Johpa sends greetings.

A heroin dealer escapes from police in Fang! Pray tell it is not true. How astounding. Utterly unbelievable to a good citizen like myself who has been traveling through Fang for decades. And it wasn't even Laota or one of his family associates. Alas, there maybe a new ring road and other new paved roads and new buildings in Amphoe Fang, but somethings never change up in the border foothills of the Mae Kok drainage region.

Right on;

This has been going on since as long as i can remmember and that goes back to the early 80's, so this is nothing new.

Funny, I've been around since the very early 1980s, remember when Nana Plaza was mostly tailor shops and the Landmark Hotel was but a hole in the ground, and I don't ever remember seeing kiddie porn being openly displayed, neither along Sukhumwit nor anywhere else in the Kingdom. Now never having inquired whether it was available or not I can't say whether or not it was available under the table, but I have never seen it openly displayed.

She was confirmed by the US Senate on Wednesday, September 29, 2010, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Kingdom of Thailand.....

Wikipedia biography:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kristie_Kenney

I daresay she has some detractors and critics that might give one pause if she had indeed plenipotentiary powers, which implies the ability to unilaterally sign off on treaties. I didn't think the US State Department gave such powers to ambassadors.

Leaving aside the whole issue of what's a person with a million baht in net-worth doing living in Thailand

Well they are doing exactly what the people with ten times or one hundred times that net worth are doing: enjoying cheap beer and cheap sex. The only differences are what size of home or condo they return to at night and whether they hire out short-time or long-time. It is the people with one hundred times that net worth that give me pause to wonder why they bother to live in Thailand.

The Army's only incentive is to try to gain the territories of the drug lords and militia to be able to take control of the distribution of the illegal substances in whatever form it may take.

The ruling military junta in Burma is simply contemplating removing their franchisees and taking over the various businesses directly. The Thai trading partners like Chavolit care not with whom they are in negotiations, nor would I imagine the similar trading partners in China up in Yunan. And the bankers in Bangkok and especially in Singapore are just happy to see the money from the sale of assets from within Burma sitting in their banks and not circulating within Burma developing and helping the peoples of Burma. Apart from the building of the new capital in Naypyidaw, little of the money earned from the sale of any resource legal or otherwise, has stayed inside the country. Until the world banking system puts pressure on the banks holding the treasury of Burma nothing will change. But that is not going to happen as the global banking system is happy to profit from any source.

I doubt you can get a diamond properly graded in Chiang Mai. Most stones these days are already graded, have a laser engraved serial number, and should come with a grading certificate and a guarantee by the seller that the grading is honest. In other words, why are you thinking of buying a diamond in Thailand?!?

I rarely go into towns. I usually hang out with my fellow middle aged buddies who hail from a variety of cultural groups up in the hills in places like this. All we need is a bottle of Mae Khong and a bottle of water and we are pretty darn happy campers.

You might want to check out the main market street in Chiang Dao, long one of my favorite smaller town markets for people watching during a quick meal. The bypass has relieved some of the truck and other traffic making the main street more pleasant.

If Thai companies don't take advantage of its strengthened baht by improving productivity and by hedging smartly and stop hoping for intervention.....

That is not what happens in Thailand. The strengthened baat will only serve as further motivation to take profits out of Thailand and invest elsewhere.

I find the road to Pai via Wat Chan to be far more scenic and relaxing than via the main highway, 1095. I find the never ending hairpin turns to become quite tiresome, and the traffic does not help. The road from Samoeng up to Wat Chan is paved except the last 40km, where it is well maintained gravel/dirt, or at least was before this current rainy season. The road from Wat Chan to Pai is now also paved.