kandahar

Still shaking every few minutes. Can't feel it but can hear my steel roof rattling

Just had a nice earthquake here. It was over before I could get mother and father out of the house. Lasted about 30 seconds and was steady throughout.

Will probably now take a break at VF's, as I have no idea where SOP PAO is, despite being there. I need to keep it simple unless I am following someone who knows the way. I am embarrassingly easy to get lost in the country side. Would be happy to follow in your wake on the way up, if I can keep up.

VF is not coming.

Can't think of anyone else who is coming from CR that you might tag along with. Sven is more or less on your way out of CR and I know you can keep up with him. Don't know if he is going or not.

Will be leaving CR tomorrow between 13:00 and 14:00. Will stop off for a refresher at jubby's place and then go on to CK to get a room for the night. If anyone wants to go along on the early trip, let me know.

Check with Home Mart in CR, if you can wait a bit for it to be ordered. They may stock it but I doubt that. They will usually order in what you ask if they have a supplier. Refractory brick should have a decent demand in this country, so, I think they will be able to get it. Two weeks seems the standard waiting time for things we have ordered from the CR store.

This time the shoe is on the other foot. Unless someone is wearing thongs.

Yes, it is, isn't it?

I know I have read something on here about Internet in Chiang Saen but cannot find it using the search feature.

Welcome to the CR forum, Yonok.

For me, meeting at your place and then proceeding is good. And the route you checked out last week when you bought the strawberries is good for me. I can tell you all, when we hit the southernmost portion of the ride, I'll start working my way back northeast and towards home. I suspect several of us will. Still enough to see even as we cross the mountain ranges on the way home. I won't be returning to CK after the ride.

From your place to the southernmost point isn't a big ride for you, as Ray says, but with that added to my leisurely ride home, it will be a full day for me. With all the visiting and picture taking, it will still be a full day for those who live in that area.

So, we have a route (CK south to Doi Pha Tang and then maybe a loop east and north for the return), a meeting place (Woralak's), a time (08:00), a date (24th).

Just need some good directions to Woralak's house and someone to throw in a rickety bridge for Ray and we're set..

Thanks for the bridge scenario you're all heart. As they say may all your chickens turn into Emu's (Ostriches) and kick your shit house down.

So if we are only doing the short Worzel surveyed journey do we need to leave Worzels at 0800?? Logistically speaking that means I need to leave at 0600 or so if I go via VF's and I was told he does not get up before 0830 - 0900 so I dont want to find out if he sleeps au natural or with a teddy bear etc.

Compassion please.

PS The strawberries have merit

yeah. 08:00 is pushing it hard for CR guys who don't go up the day before.

Emu's are not Ostriches. I have raised Emu's before. Nice birds. They don't kick. They can't kick behind themselves. If frightened, they can raise their foot above your head and rake your face off if you happen to be standing in front of them. Ostriches are much more moody. And they can kick. Maybe ostriches should be a part of that saying.

Checking the map for bridges right now. Will let you know.

Somehow, it figures that how VF sleeps would be of interest to you.

For me, meeting at your place and then proceeding is good. And the route you checked out last week when you bought the strawberries is good for me. I can tell you all, when we hit the southernmost portion of the ride, I'll start working my way back northeast and towards home. I suspect several of us will. Still enough to see even as we cross the mountain ranges on the way home. I won't be returning to CK after the ride.

From your place to the southernmost point isn't a big ride for you, as Ray says, but with that added to my leisurely ride home, it will be a full day for me. With all the visiting and picture taking, it will still be a full day for those who live in that area.

So, we have a route (CK south to Doi Pha Tang and then maybe a loop east and north for the return), a meeting place (Woralak's), a time (08:00), a date (24th).

Just need some good directions to Woralak's house and someone to throw in a rickety bridge for Ray and we're set..

Looks like woralak's place was decided for the meeting place in CK. Still need one for the guys who live in town and are going to meet up here for the trip over to CK.

If anyone is going up a day early, they can go along with me if they want to. Meet at the big PTT and coffee shop before the Big C, heading towards Chiang Mai. If anyone chooses that, let me know and I'll work with you on a leave time for the 23rd. But going over there on my own is no big deal.

Several routes over to CK but the wife and I found the 1174 to be a good choice for us. I haven't paid any attention to the route once we leave woralak's place. Will study that the night of the 23rd.

Looks like a bit of a later start from woralak's place so I'll get to sleep in a bit on that day. Probably need to nail down a start time for the trip from woralak's place.

woralak, there are a few folks interested in a guest house for the 23rd, at least. Is it possible to post some room rates here for us?

I suspect my wife won't be going along on this one. That is a long time to spend on the back seat of a motorcycle.

Looking forward to the ride. I hope it doesn't rain.

Still planning on going to CK the day before and getting settled early.

Kind of expecting to see Muammar Qaddafi posting in this thread before midnight tonight.

I am still willing to come up that way for a ride so if a couple of others say 'aye" we have a ride.If its raining like

today. Nope. I did Chiang Rai, Mae Sai and Chiang Kong in the truck today and it is now nicely & thickly camouflaged

in red and so glad I did not take the bike.

Lastly I would like to add that as was informally discussed last week by members of the undercommittee charged with

advising the steering committee these rides are not a race or a marathon. Just a bunch of farts getting together and

enjoying themselves and their machinery, hopefully with their partners, while getting to see the country we now live in.

We need this message to get across to the readers who read but never join in!

I'm game if we have a few others who don't mind a longer ride. It would probably be an overnighter for me but I need to get out of town for a night once in a while and CK has some decently priced rooms. I would probably make a break for home kind of early in the afternoon, regardless of whether the ride route had reached its full potential or not. But for folks whose butts are used to the cycle seat, it isn't that big of a deal for a day ride done in one day. I hear there is at least one scooter joining us soon for a ride also, if it is held on the right day of the week. Also heard of one fellow wanting to come along with his pickup truck. Sounds good to me.

One other note: It was mentioned that if it is held on the Monday after the Sunday potluck, some feel they can't really justify two back to back trips to town. So maybe someone has some other ideas on a day of the week that is better than Monday. But for me, any day is good,

So, do we have a ride coming together for this month? It is starting to look like a woralak outing is in the making. The route seems to be working itself out. But, can he make pancakes?

The problem is he's at the other end of the ride from you guys in town. Do you all meet in the middle ? .

Well, that would be up to the group, of course. But sooner or later, I would suspect that we would all be willing to meet the further out members for a ride in their neck of the woods. Not really fair to always have it in our vicinity. Either way, I'll be joining him in the future, sooner or later, for a ride in that area.

Is anyone out there VERY, VERY familiar with the ins and outs of motorcycle GPS units? The wife is looking to add a few models and needs some advice on what is what. If you're up to speed on these, please stop in and have a chat with her. Don't need to drag it out here on the thread. She much prefers to have it explained in person. I suspect there is a lunch in it as well.

So, do we have a ride coming together for this month? It is starting to look like a woralak outing is in the making. The route seems to be working itself out. But, can he make pancakes?

Nice pics, dude!

I just love these cop stories. If there isn't already a thread about that, there should be. Of course, if it weren't in the CR forum, I wouldn't read it anyway. I think the little CR forum is the only one worth following.

I've always found Don's satisfactory.

I think people expect too much of "small town" Western restaurants in countries like Thailand.

It must be hard work getting everything coordinated like staff, food quality, etc.

Yeah, that is a tough road to go down, with the staff thing and all.

I have had Don's breakfast recommended to me many times. Have yet to hear of anyone who has anything bad to say about his breakfast. And his buffets are getting good reviews as well.

Then I am told,that you are not allowed to ride a motorbike, lager then 400cc, on the Super-highway.

All motorcycles are prohibited, don't know where you came up with the 400c figure

A few people have told me about it-ask KD,he was one of them.

Actually, I know only of the freeway bans in BKK. What we refer to up here as the "superhighway" obviously has the normal amount of motorcycle traffic, of all sizes. That can be seen every day of the week. The only thing I know about the BKK ban has been gleaned from the ThaiVisa forum chatter. Haven't heard of any 400 cc limit on the highways.

I have heard about the bike prohibition on the BKK freeways. Dunno if that includes the superhighways up here.

During the English language presentation for the Thai driving license, the narrator mentions that smoking while driving is "discouraged" because it is "unsightly". No mention of it having a law prohibiting it. However, the Thai cop can do what he wants, even if it isn't a law. If it is a law, then that should be mentioned in the driving presentation, instead of saying it is "discouraged". The good thing is, I have never been harassed about it. I would be interested to know if it is indeed a law. But I'm not curious enough to go look it up.

Maybe I should clarify some things.

The burger was dry and boring. I left half of it. I don't leave half of a burger anywhere. Burgers are my favorite. Would be much better if it was half as thick, but wider and cooked quickly on the outside to seal in what juices it has. Nothing wrong with the portion. Just put together wrong and cooked too long.

The big nachos plate. Chips tasted ancient. Regular cheese melted on top and cold by the time it is served, leaving it one big glued-together chip aggregate to deal with. Nacho dishes have cheese "sauce" on them for a reason. In addition to the chips tasting old, they were, for the most part, small broken pieces of chips. Who wants to eat nachos when the chips are just bits? Should be sorted, whole chips. Bits and pieces go in the taco salads and chili Frito pies. Of course you don't have Fritos, so the chips work. As far as I can tell, you don't have the dishes that use up those bits and pieces so you use them where you shouldn't, to your loss. But kudos on the sides of sauces that were served, even if a guy can't find a chip big enough to make use of the sauce. The refried beans that are a part of that dish were good, too. Lots of opportunity and promise with that dish but it doesn't even begin to meet its potential. And it would be a small thing to make that happen. Not too many things better than eating a huge serving of nachos supreme with a few tall, cold, glasses of beer.

You know how the nachos are done back home. And I truly believe this next statement: If that dish was served to you in your home country, you wouldn't order it again. No way.

Scea is right. You can't please everyone. But I am not out there looking for above par food. I'm trying to find at least the average, western style food. I have eaten western style food most of my life. I know what is average.

Scea also mentioned that with some, there's more than food involved in the criticism. In some cases, that may be so. It isn't in my case. I wish you all the luck in the world. I wish I could find in your place the "taste of home". I would go often, if that were the case. With many critics, your reputation is only as good as your last meal. I'm not that way at all. I have tried your place several times.

Some time ago I went to your shop to buy tortilla chips. I bought three bags. They were to be a dish for the potluck. However, when I got them home and tasted them, I found them to be soft and stale. I looked at the expiration date and it told me that they were something like 6 months past their sell date. I drove back out there to get something done about it but of course, the place was locked up and nobody would come to the gate. I posted here about that. I didn't go back out there a third time. I just chocked that up to my experience and assigned a value to you as a business man. In my opinion, you EARNED that assigned value. However, that value doesn't figure into my critique of your food on the premises. I'm way too forgiving. You can keep the money for the chips. I've lost more to lesser men and will again.

Other than that, Don, I have nothing bad to say about you as a person. I met the fellow out there that you took care of so he could get his physical therapy here in CR. That act of kindness was one that impressed on me the type of man you are on a personal basis. We certainly need more like you on this earth in that respect.

As I said, I wish you all the luck in the world. I wish your place was my kind of place. That would be cool. I'm looking for that kind of place and if one comes to CR, it will do well, whether it is in a good location or not. But maybe, I'm one of those you can't please. I know what I like and I know what you're trying to make out there and they aren't the same things, though they could be. For others who aren't used to the same things that you and I are, then you probably do pretty well.

To answer the second to last line in your post, I don't know of ANY decent western food place in CR. I wish I did. I need a change now and then.