californiabeachboy

Thanks. I have my homework for my next ramble through the amazing Thai food markets.

Thanks for the good info JT. The image of the Thai kale you posted looks nothing like the kale here in the US (see below). It is all the rage here in the US now - healthy with lots of flavor.

Anyone know how I pronounce Thai kale in Thai?? Trying to learn some Thai, starting with food! Will google bitter melon

Cheers.

Thanks for the info. I will look for the khana and phak bung.

i am heading back to Thailand for a visit again and I am determined to do more of my own cooking (I have reserved a serviced apartment with a basic kitchen).

Here in the US I like to cook kale, collard greens, etc - something stronger than spinach.

If I go to the fresh markets in Thailand, is there something that is similar? I have done some Internet surfing and not sure if kale is widely available there. Maybe what we call gai lan (Chinese broccoli)? Or anything else that you could boil a bit, with some onions or whatever, and make a flavorful healthy side dish?

I will be shopping mostly in Ari neighborhood in Bkk and tannin market in Chiang Mai.

Thanks.

It's about time.... This sort of thing should also be used to encourage ALL relatives of victims of road deaths to sue EVERY company that owns buses and trucks that are responsible for the deaths of other road users.

It has been long overdue that these maverick entities have got away with not only keeping poorly maintained lethal weapons on the roads, but also the wan****s that they employ to drive them.

This should serve to encourage others to follow suit. Because unless these tossers are hit HARD in the pocket, it will continue.

There should be an organization set up for relatives to turn to for assistance in suing the arse off these people. In the USA there are hundreds of law firms making a shit load of money from helping people get compensation on a 'no win, no fee' basis. I would love to see one set up for victims of Thai road accidents.

I drove for 25 years in the west, and I have never even come close to an accident, and in 3 years here, I have almost been wiped out 3 times, twice to a truck and once to a bus. They are a menace to the roads and need sorting out NOW!

I agree. Those of us in West love to complain about the legal system here in the West, sometimes justified, sometimes not.

But two things need to happen to reduce these tragedies - you need judges who can resist the tremendous pressure on them to gloss over it (money, job, etc.)

But I believe equally important, you need the relatives to realize that simply taking some quick money from the bus company and going away only makes the problem worse. Next time it could be them, their children or grandchildren.

That sounds incredible! I have been to Doi Inthanon near Chiang Mai, and it was the only time in my visits to Thailand when I have actually been cold - It really felt good!!!

Now I have another place to visit up North.

Try looking at Anunyaphum - it is a serviced apartment, South side of CMU. I didn't stay there as my trip to CM was cancelled but it looked good. Around 20,000 baht for a month as I recall.

As a non-Aussie, but who spent time in Australia and enjoys watching NRL, I want to comment on the dust-up with Gallen.

In any other sport (except maybe for boxing) he would have been gone gone gone, and I think that is right. American football or Euro soccer, gone.

I don't want to watch a drunk fighting in a bar at 2:00 AM, and that it what Gallen looked like to me.

I really admire the athletic ability of these guys - an incredible combination of strength and speed.

But if you are a professional athlete, act like one. Not like a drunk in a bar. I don't think it is about interstate rivalry, I think it is about being a top athlete

Just to add another dish, I recently cooked pla duc pad phet (river fish in a red curry sauce) here in the US. I am just learning to cook and it was very easy.

If you google pla duc pad phet (or pla doog ped ped) I think you can find the various recipes. All the ingredients are readily available in Asian (and some non-Asian) markets here in the US.

I like Trader Joe's but not for Thai food - they tone it down so much is is tasteless to me.

We are starting to see a lot of fish here called "swai" which I understand comes from the mekong delta and is a cousin to the catfish. That is what I used, but think you can use any white fish.

Have fun!

PS - sorry after posting I noticed this was an old thread, not trying to bump it up, but don't see a delete button, so will leave it up. Still have fun!

Not sure if you could call the typical Thai one authentic; unsurprisingly it's not very widely used other than with fried egg dishes or the fried battered mussels thing. In Vietnam, their variety (on which the Rooster Brand one is based) seems more widely used, also in noodle soups. And then in the US it's now really a thing, with people putting it on just about anything. (Classic: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/sriracha )

This is getting way too deep into the technicalities of sriracha sauce for a simple man like me, but I agree it has become all the rage here in California.

My local grocery chain is advertising it heavily, including to put it on.. ice cream!

Here is the link:

http://www.traderjoes.com/recipes/recipe.asp?rid=215

The possibilities are unlimited, given the right marketing.

On my first visit to CM I was looking for a place to stay for a couple of weeks, so I walk into a condo complex.

They did not have anything, but as I am walking out, a Western guy comes up to me and says "what are you looking for?"

I had heard about Hillside 4, so I said "where is Hillside 4"

And he says " I live there". Wow, what a lucky coincidence!!

So we walk out to the street and he is looking up and down, trying to figure out where Hillside 4 is. I am not a genius, but if he lives there but cannot figure out where it is, that might be a problem.

So he points me in a direction, then says that he lost his mobile phone and needs some help.

I give him 20 baht (for the directions, not the mobile phone).

About 30 minutes later I see him chatting with another lost Westerner.

I have mixed feelings about that - no dogs involved but he is of course a scammer, but on the other hand it turns out he was right so I got some benefit for my 20 baht. Maybe that is a win/win.

The problem with trying to do battle with the airlines on pricing is that, like herding cats, you think you have them, then you don't.

I have been flying Cathay Pacific from the US to Thailand for a few years now. I thought I could figure out how to get a good price. But they have changed the game. They now have premium economy.

They are trying to get us cheapo economy flyers to move up to premium, and they do that by taking out economy seats and putting in premium, and at the same time increasing the prices of the economy seats. They are also trying to "nudge" us into premium economy by making the difference between economy and premium economy smaller. A good way to increase prices without making it so obvious that they are increasing prices.

My philosophy is to book the ticket doing the best I can, then move on with my life. If you book the ticket, then keep checking it to see if you got a good deal, you will only suffer.

So I guess every time I enter under my visa, I get a new permission to stay, which kills the old permission to stay, which kills my old re-entry permit along with it.

I think I got it. Thanks for your help.

The reason I purchased a re-entry permit when I was there in December is to cover the period from the expiration of my visa (July, 2013) and the expiration of my permission to stay (November 25, 2013). I wasn't sure I would be back before July.

My understanding is that if I did not purchase the re-entry permit, and tried to come back in after the one year expiration of my visa (July), but during my permission to stay, my retirement visa/permssion to stay would no longer be good??

Please correct me if I am wrong about that

Thanks.

I obtained an multi-entry O-A visa (retirement) from my home country (US) in July of last year. I arrived in Thailand in November to activate the visa and stayed for about a month.

Before I left I purchased a re-entry permit (single) because I wasn't sure when I would be back to Thailand. It turns out I may come back in June for a short two week visit, so I don't need the permit, and I will get an extension to stay until June of 2014. My questions:

1. I read some of the prior posts and will make sure that I list my visa number on my arrival card. Is that enough to make sure the immigration agent at Swampy doesn't use my re-entry permit and notices I am still on my visa, or should I say something when I wall up to the booth to the effect of "please don't use my re-entry permit". Not sure how much they really go through the passport when you have two options.

2. Assuming I save it, when does it now expire? The expiration date on the re-entry permit is November 25, 2013, one year after I first used the visa. But since I have extended my permission to stay until June 2014, does that automatically extend the re-entry permit? I will be taking a second visit to Thailand later this year but it may not be before November 25th, and I prefer to not have to deal with getting another re-entry permit during my short stay in June.

Thanks for any advice.

I loved this one. We all want life to be really exciting, all the time. It's not.

The only guy in the world I would pay a boatload of money to see live (still).

I am told he is the King in New Jersey. Even the Republican Gov. of NJ loves him:

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/12/07/christie-gushes-about-bromance-with-springsteen-on-the-daily-show/

The real Hotel California is on California Street in San Francisco. This is an imposter!!!

I just read an article on the person named the "No 1 deadbeat dad" here in the US because he owed over 1 million USD in back child support (just search "robert sand and thailand" and you will see what I am talking about). I had no idea the article had anything to do with Thailand, but then it said that he had been living in Thailand for the last few years, and I thought, "that makes sense"

In my opinion, Thailand is the best place in the world for fugitives for two reasons:

1. It is not a bad place to live for a Westerner - inexpensive, good food, some English, and friendly people.

2. The legal system (police, prosecutors, judges) is somewhat "flexible".

What confirms my opinion is that he was never actually caught in Thailand. According to the news reports, he went to the Philippines, and then was caught.

Is there a better place in the world than Thailand if you are on the run? (of course, not that I have any personal experience).

Cheers.

I have flown Cathay Pacific to Thailand many times, and their basic economy fare provides for a USD 100 (or maybe $150) cancellation fee. I have used it once to change my itinerary. As I recall, they took a while to make the refund (something like 30 days), but in the end they credited my cc with the price paid less the $100 - no complaints. If you deal directly with the airlines for ticketing, I think you are in better shape when it comes to a refund.

Doesn't seem like the type of guy who would be a hotel safe box thief

- http://www.24-7press...-who-241539.php

But who knows?

Good find. At the bottom of the page:

"Stanford Who's Who disclaims any content contained in this press release."

From now on, I am disclaiming anything contained in my posts.

In each case I was the only one living there. In one, the host owned another condo in the same building and I believe lived upstairs, in another I never met the host but she had someone meet me in the lobby who lived in the building, and in the third the host used to live in the condo but had moved to the Bkk suburbs. I met her to look at the unit.

Another thing to think about is deposits. I have been told (I have no connection with Airbnb) that in many countries Airbnb provides insurance to the host against damage by the guest, but they do NOT do that for Thailand (wonder why?)

So you sometime sees a request for a deposit, but I believe it generally is held by Airbnb, which is ok with me (although none of my hosts asked for a deposit). But I did see a couple of cases where the host wanted a cash deposit on check in. I would never do that.

I think it is a good system and the number of places will increase, but they need to resolve the insurance/deposit issue with Thailand.

Ahhh, another opportunity for us to rant, so I will join in. I have returned to the US about 15 times in the last few years. Are the immigration/customs people friendly? - not particularly so, but after a 14 hour flight I am not looking for them to invite me over for dinner, I just want them to process my documents and get me on my way.

My one beef is the lines (queues for some of you). But that is not the fault of the line people. They have a tough job - they only get in trouble if they let someone through who should not have been let through, and they will never get rich doing it.

My problem is with the higher ups who set the budgets (nothing wrong with a two hour wait?) and the policies (everyone has to take off their belts) - that is not the fault of the line people.

So my personal philosphy is to get annoyed as I am standing in line, get it out of my system, and then treat the poor smuck who is only doing his/her job with a certain amount of respect. So far it has worked.

I just returned from a 5 week stay in Thailand and used Airbnb three times. All of them were in the Bangkok area.

For me it worked out great. The main advantage over a hotel room is that you can have some cooking facitlities. I rented a one bedroom condo each time.

My advice is to read the reviews carefully. And email the host with some questions just to get a feel for how responsive they are.

But keep in mind they are not a hotel - often times the host has a day job.. You cannot just walk down to the reception and ask questions.

I liked it, and I will use them again.