TrippRitter

Just been in touch with Aya Travel as I'm wanting to go to Pai tomorrow and they said there's no problem with the road. They use that route on a hourly basis.

I don't know how long you've been in Thailand, but you must be aware that what Thais tell you does not necessarily have a relationship to the truth as Westerners perceive it. One indication that the information might not be factual is if their lips are moving.

This. An hour and a half after the landslide I stopped about 10km from the slide at a road side stall and all the tourists were pissed off and had no idea why they had been waiting for over an hour. I assumed they knew what was going on and asked them if they had any info on the landslide. They had no idea what was going on, they were pissed off and rightfully so. I think the minivan drivers hated me for informing them of what was really going on. An hour later they turned around and headed back for CM.

Just been in touch with Aya Travel as I'm wanting to go to Pai tomorrow and they said there's no problem with the road. They use that route on a hourly basis.

I got to the landslide about 2 minutes before it started. That was at 1:30, here is a photo I took at 3:30pm on the 28th. At this point it was still active and moving.

Notice the downed tree where I was standing. I felt like a fool getting that close. I wouldn't be surprised if it grew much larger since the time I took that photo.

Actually, now that I think about it I bet someone cut that tree down to block the road from cars getting to close. Much more likely.

Just been in touch with Aya Travel as I'm wanting to go to Pai tomorrow and they said there's no problem with the road. They use that route on a hourly basis.

I got to the landslide about 2 minutes before it started. That was at 1:30, here is a photo I took at 3:30pm on the 28th. At this point it was still active and moving.

Notice the downed tree where I was standing. I felt like a fool getting that close. I wouldn't be surprised if it grew much larger since the time I took that photo.

Just been in touch with Aya Travel as I'm wanting to go to Pai tomorrow and they said there's no problem with the road. They use that route on a hourly basis.

I got to the landslide about 2 minutes before it started. That was at 1:30, here is a photo I took at 3:30pm on the 28th. At this point it was still active and moving.

Thanks Bobroper. I assume that you probably have to have a permit to exit Burma through Tachileik if you didn't enter Burma through Tachileik.

My visa expires in a few days and I was thinking of doing a border run to Mae Sai for a 15 day tourist entry stamp.

Just want to make sure this is possible to do from Mae Sai. I have found this statement on a few sites regarding exiting Tachileik and it has me worrying:

Also, will Thai immigration require proof of onward travel when letting me back in?

I am sure these questions have been asked before but since things change so often I want to make sure. Thanks in advance.

What floor do you live on? Bathroom window open?

Difficult for sewage gas to come in via the toilet unless the toilet has been installed incorrectly, it would have to come in through the pipe but there is or should be a water trap in the toilet,

In Thai construction there are often drains in the bathroom floors. These are the source of gas coming in from septic/waste tanks because they are not trapped installations. There is a very small often ineffective trap in the top of the drain but it must be filled with water all the time to have a chance of being effective.

Brilliant! You are correct, there is a drain behind the toilet that I didn't notice. I could see down into it about 6 inches until it bent and there wasn't any water in it. I filled it with water and put my plunger on top of it. Hopefully that will put an end to it. Thanks for your help!

Living short term in Riverside in a very nice unit however there is a horrible stench coming from the toilet. I believe that sewage gas is seeping into our bathroom via the toilet. The smell is absolutely horrible at times. Other times I can smell a mixture of sewage and laundery water (we don't have a washing machine.)At first I thought maybe it was coming from the plumbing closet in the bathroom but when I open it all I smell is a musty odor.It is unbearable at times, anybody else have this problem?

Al Jazeera isn't for everyone,. It isn't program after program of paid actors yelling, screaming and arguing over non-sense. I have more respect for the national enquirer than I do FOX news.

Everyone else having issues with Al Jazeera not having any sound? It has been cutting out for the past 3 or 4 days, about half the time there is no sound

Credit cards are not really a problem but the earing may be. WHat about the customs. It may be better for one of you to make a quick trip back.

The earings are valued at around $400 dollars. The round trip ticket to LP along with the re-entry permit would be that much, not too mention the time and hassle. If they get stopped at customs thats fine, as long as they let me pay a tax to get them back I am fine with it. I decided to just have him ship it DHL. Wish me luck

My wife and I were mid-flight from Luangprabang to Chiang Mai when we realized we left 1 credit card, a debit card and diamond earing in our safe back at our hotel in Laos. We contacted the hotel and they confirmed that they had our possessions and would mail them to us in Chiang Mai.I have heard people say that you can sometimes mail items through the airport. Basically have the regular Laos Air flight from LP to CM act as courier. Does anybody know how this works and if it is possible? If so I would like to try and advise the hotel to do this instead of mailing us our items through normal mail service.

Have you tried rubbing alcohol? I had parasites from the beach and got rid of them by rubbing a mixture of garlic water and apple cider vinegar.

No I haven't. I tried a mixture of tea tree oil and water last night before I went to bed and it helped a whole lot. I think I will go get some rubbing alcohol today and do alcohol and tea tree oil. If that doesn't kill them I will resort to apple cider vinegar and garlic.

Thanks for your input.

Went to laos and while in Vientiane stayed in a hotel that had some sort of bed bugs. I managed to bring them back with me. The thing about them is they are to the naked eye completely invisible. I can see the hairs on my arms/legs/hands etc... move as these things bounce from hair to hair, however I can never see the actual bug. Every now and then they bite, but they aren't all that painful and they don't leave any marks. Not sure what these things are but I have to find someway to get rid of them.

Anybody remember the "offical" pentagon Jessica Lynch story? The one where her humvee was attacked, flipped over and she bravely defended herself unloading her M16 before using her knife to defend herself? She was shot, stabbed, raped and finally extracted from her captives in a daring rescue carried out by brave special forces? The effect of this story was a valuable spike of support for President Bush and the war effort.

Of course months later a less publicized story showed Lynch testifying before congress that the pentagon had made the whole story up. A fictional story created by Bush's pr propagandist Jim Wilkinson. Lynch said that in fact she offered no resistance at all. Her gun jammed and she crumpled to the grown crying and praying. She was never shot, stabbed or raped. She had a broken leg and other injuries which occurred when the humvee flipped. The "extraction" was nothing more than Jerry Bruckheimer theatrics and in real life the hospital she was in turned her over without any resistance.

Add the Lynch lie to the mountain of lies the Federal government has told over the decades and tell me how I am supposed to believe a dam_n thing they say?

About once every 2-3 months this happens to me. Has been going on for about 2 years. It is the same exact feeling I had during the big CM earthquake a month ago. I was on the 12th floor of a high rise and at first thought I was having one until I saw the lights shaking and realized it was an earthquake. It's almost like a mild hallucination. I have always shrugged it off as being a temporary glitch in my equilibrium/inner ear

I know it's crazy but I actually kind of enjoy them.

Does the Thai generic sodium bicardonate sold at the grocery stores contain aluminum? And why is aluminum bad? I've been buying the generic stuff for freshening my refrigerator and I doubt it really matters if it contains aluminum.

I believe there is a supposed link between Alzheimers and high amounts of aluminum zirconium in the brain. I don't know much about it, just something I hear amongst my alt medicine friends.

As yet I still have not seen any official or media reports regarding this incident.

A lot of ho har over something that was mentioned on facebook.

Does the OP or anyone here have any solid facts besides someone told me, as to the fate of these musicians. Such as names, nationalities and what these guys were doing in Thailand. Tourists, living here or what?

Otherwise it is pointless in assuming anything about anybody about something that may not be fact.

I am sure if there were any substance to this story, then it would be in the Thailand news clipping threads and not just mentioned on the Chiang Mai forum.

The OP has titled this thread, 5 more musicians jailed, but that is an incorrect discription until this has been confirmed.

David Oxon on a previous thread which he started, quoted that he heard from a reliable source that these guys had been arrested.

So please enlighten us and tell the reliable source.

Another second hand account for what it's worth. I had a few drinks with a good friend last night. He plays at North every week. He told me he just got off the drums a few minutes before the police showed up. He said they arrested the owner, 4 musicians and closed down the club. One of the musicians was a tourist who had only been here for around a week. A shame.

Another thing about Mountain Front, their staff is amazing. We had an issue with our air con and within minutes maintenance was there working on it. We had a couple of other small issues in the beginning and all issues were addressed very quickly. They also gave us a few free rides into town when we first moved in and were without our scooter. The guy who runs the place is Indian and he pays close attention to detail. He also runs the Convention condo which is a bit cheaper but still quite nice. I believe they are also building a new condo next to the convention center being built off of canal, not sure what the name of it is off the top of my head.

<br />Mountain front is only 7 units per floor, and 7 floors, with yep, mountain views. Its also a new building, so you will not have issues like all the others that were mentioned.  Many of which I would consider 2 star buildings, old and falling apart.  JMO<br />

The flora, rimping, riverside are ok. I wouldn't call them swanky by any means. 2 star as Vibe stated. Mountain front is by far the most impressive place of all the condos I have seen. Every aspect of it is swanky. Rimping and riverside have some good units but the buildings overall seem ran down and in desperate need of renovation.

'yes I did take your advice and I didn't take her there again.'...And that indemnifies you from taking better care of her wherever you go, especially given her personality, and yours.

What do you know about my or her personality?? How is this comment helpful??

If anyone knows or anything please get in touch and keep an eye out for her! Thank you.

Ignore the trolls, it is hard since they make up the majority here, feeding them is a good way to see your thread spiral out of control and completely off topic.

Pretty dog, hope you find her. I will keep an eye out as I live in the area she was lost.

Got another update. Went to school tonight and was told that my paperwork probably won't be ready by the 9th, when my extension expires and my flight to Singapore leaves. My teacher said I can go to Singapore and come back in to Thailand on a 90 day tourist visa, when I get back my paperwork should be ready and I can make a run to Laos with my paperwork and get a new education visa.

Before taking her word for it I just wanted to double check and make sure this sounds legit. My other option is attempting to cancel my Singapore trip, quite certain that getting a refund from Air Asia won't be possible, who know maybe it would be possible. If I do that I will have an overstay penalty until my paperwork comes in of 500 baht a day and I suppose the risk of being arrested and deported if caught on an overstay? What to do...

I have 3bb premier in the Chang Kien area and it works great. Moving to a place in Hong Noi and was wondering if it is possible to transfer service to another house? I don't want to have to sign up with a new contract as I would like to keep my current contract so I can get my 2,000 baht deposit back. I am only 6 months into the 1 year required to get my deposit back.

Immigration is used to people extending on multi entry visas so it would not have caused an alarm there (you had the paperwork). Are you saying education extension of stay will be in six month blocks now?

I am just repeating what they told me. They said I would get a six month extension after they get me my paperwork. They also said that if I had left and tried to do a 90 day visa run on my current extension that I wouldn't have been able to use my 1 year multi-entry coming back in because it would have been invalid.

Just got back from the school. So back in November they forgot I had a multiple entry visa and thats why they sent me down the immigration route of extending my stay. Not really their fault, I should have double checked and been on top of the details myself. Also, they said that in November immigration should have said something to me when I showed up trying to get an extension on a 1 year multiple entry which they didn't.

The bad news is they said it typically takes 2 weeks to get the paperwork from the government, my visa expires on the 9th which is the same day as our trip to singapore. They said they will try and get it rushed through but I have my doubts that they can get it that quick. They told me that if they don't get it to me by the 9th I will have to pay 500 baht a day for overstaying my visa which scares the piss out of me. Also I will have to cancel my trip to singapore.

The good news is that once I get my paperwork I will get a 6 month extension from immigration and won't have to worry about visa runs or anything.