californiabeachboy

When it comes to traffic in Thailand, size matters.

On my first visit to Chiang Mai a few months ago, I tried to cross the street on Changpuak road, about 500 meters North of the gate. The problem was, it was a pedestrian crossing, no cross vehicular traffic.

So of course every vehicle ignored the red light , because they knew that they were not going to be hit by another vehicle. At worst, they may hit a pedestrian, and they would not lose their life.

If you are going to walk in Thailand (as I like to do), I believe there are two things you need to remember:

1. You are at the bottom of the food chain. Approach every intersection with that thought in the front of your mind.

2. A red light to a driver in Thailand (Thai or farang), is only a "suggestion", not a rule. They are free to disregard it if they are bigger than you.

Good luck!

I am in a similar situation - living in the US, but wish to spend 6 months or so in Thailand.

After looking at the options, I decided to do the O-A here in the US. The main reason for me is that it delays the necessity to bring the 800,000 baht over to Thailand for a year or so - you still have to show you have the equivalent of 800,000 baht but you can leave it here in the US, at least for a while.

The main hassle for me is the medical certificate. If you go to the Thai Consulate website in your area and see it, it looks like something from the turn of the century (elephantiasis?). My doctor wants a TB test, syphillis test, and drug test to sign it, so it can be expensive, depending on your insurance.

I am in the middle of the process, but so far I am comfortable with choosing the O-A.

Good Luck.

The reality is that knowledge of the law does not cross borders very well, unlike some other professions.

Another option is to work as a contract attorney in the US for three months, then spend the next nine months living in Thailand, getting up in the morning, and doing what you want to do. I believe you would earn more in 3 months in the US as a lawyer than you would in one year in Thailand. And you don't have to worry about a work permit, etc.

A timely post for me, since I just returned from watching something here in town called "beach soccer" - same as soccer/football but on the sand, so the field (pitch?) was much smaller and the action quicker. And there were many Brazilian women wandering about.

As a warm weather Yank I could never get into hockey because I could never figure out where the small rubber disk (where did the word "puck" come from?) was until I saw one side collectively raise their arms, and I guess they had scored. But I must admit, the Stanley Cup finals can be addictive.

As mentioned above, the best sport to watch is NRL - I spent two years Down Under and wish I could watch it Up Here.

I think you need to delete everyone from your contacts list on the hotmail account. Otherwise they will keep sending spam to them.

Good luck!

Just to add another resource here, I recenlty read a book called "Worried Sick" by a doctor at the University of North Carolina (Nortin Hadler). His book has some information on the high cholesterol/statin argument. I have no connecdtion with him or the book, but I found it to be an interesting counter-argument to the "take a pill" solution.

Many say consenting adults can do what they want, but when it comes to sex toursim, there is not real consent by the woman. These women are often put in a postiion, either as a result of their own financial needs, pressure to earn money for the family, lack of alternatives. etc. to do these things. While it may be consenting at that particular moment, I don't believe it is real consent.

Some times but not always. How many of these girls are on the game because they like the money? They want the latest phone or new clothes or gamble?

I'm with the others on this one. Forced prostituion is horrible but otherwise, if you have two consenting adults, what they do is up to them and if money changes hands, so be it. Acceptance and tolerance is the Buddhist way, who are we to judge? It's not that long ago that financial security was an important criteria when looking for a husband, it's just a slightly different payment schedule

Yes, I agree that if it is consent freely given, it is up to them.

But what if the mother says to the pretty young daughter, you need to go to Bangkok and earn some money "for the future of the family". And she does it, is that consent?

If you are from San Francisco, one thing to consider as between CNX and Bkk is the weather. I am also from your area and find the heat and humidity in Bkk a killer. CMX, depending on the time of year and the time of day, can be much more walkable, so you can wander around and explore some of the off the beaten track, local Thai areas. I like Bkk, but it is probably the least walkable city I have spent time in.

I also looked at Hua Hin, and I liked it, but a bit small for me - I would compare it to Santa Cruz in your area in terms of size, layout, etc.

I have a Thai friend who is from Kon Kaen, now lives in Bkk, and is trying desperately to get back to live in Kon Kaen. I am sure she would be happy to tell you about her city so PM me if you are interested.

Good luck!

I do not live in Ari, but visit there often. Sweets Cafe, along Soi 1. Beautiful setting, expensive coffee, and small water ponds with fish, so relaxing I almost fell asleep, except for the caffeine.

I liked the fact that on the Los Angeles to Bangkok flight, the images they used were not interesting buildings, or animals, but cars stuck in traffic.

I am coming over to Thailand for three months, and I am not finding a serviced apartment in the area I want and the budget I want (Chiang Mai, around 20,000 bt a month), so I am looking at expanding my search to privately owned condos where I can get a three month lease (I know 6 months is the norm). I have a few questions about the process:

1. Do most private landlords deal in cash only? I will be opening a bank account when I get there (I will have a visa) but it may take a while. Do many landlords accept traveler's checks to pay the rent?

2. If the landlord often rents to non-Thais, will the lease be in English as well as Thai? I have a Thai friend I can bring with me if necessary, but I would not sign something that doesn't have an exact translation into English

3. I think the big stumbling block will be the deposit. I am reluctant to give a two months deposit on a three month lease, simply because in a worst case scenario and the landlord wrongfully withholds the deposit, it increases my monthly cost by about 60%. I realize a tenant can do just as much damage in three months as six,but Is there anything I can do to convince the owner to accept maybe only one month deposit - i.e. let them inspect the place one a week, etc.? Or am I wasting my time.

4. Many of the places I see on the Internet are rented through an agency - is that more or less risky in terms of getting the deposit back?. I assume they forward the deposit to the owner, but I will probably have no info on the owner (other than a name). How do I protect myself if the agency says I left it in good condition, but when I ask them to return the deposit they say the owner refuses to return it. Should I get the owner to sign off on the condition of the apartment when I leave?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Cheers.

whatever happended before , its never good to use a child for personal vendetta specially after a louzy divorce ... not to mention that this little girl needs her mother as well .... I dont know all the details of the story and have no idea about their life but to fleed your country with your kid is never the best solution.

I think these people are farangs.......but in Thailand it is the norm for parents to abuse their children through a vendetta between the adults. Really annoys me because the child is not responsible for their parents' actions but they are the ones that usually suffer. I speak from experience with my ex Thai wife: she was treated like this as a child and off course treated pur child in the same way. He is now undergoing psychological counselling and is beginning to shape up, understand and so on.

I agree with these comments. I am sure he loved his child, but the bottom line is that when he took his child to a foreign country illegally, he was putting his interests ahead of those of the child. Once you abduct a child to a foreign country illegally you start a downward spiral for that child that is difficult (not impossible ) to stop. In my opinion, children need security - the belief that the people in their lives will be there, they have a home, etc. Put the kid first, then decide what to do.

No, nobody is evacuating.

The issue for me, as nikster pointed out eloquently in a previous post, is that it is not the smoke/smog/dust that is most bothersome.

It is that this is directly derived from mistaken and damaging human behavior.

I am from California USA originally, where we have earthquakes, forest fires and other misc. nature caused disasters on a regular basis.

Even the occasional tornado and mudslide...the latter almost took my life one time.

I understand the limitations of budget, etc. in addressing this problem in Thailand. I also understand that this is not something strictly due to indigenous people who are burning. I've read myriad articles on this topic, including an excellent series in Citylife by a Brit author who investigated the burning practices of rural folk around CM.

Yes, the various ethnic minorities do burn forest undergrowth, often to clear the forest floor to make it easier to hunt, collect mushrooms, etc. But largly they are (and have always been) good stewards of the forest resources.

In addition, there are many large (absentee) "land owners" who are illegally appropriating land, often in protected areas, and burning them off for commercial purposes. Anyone who reads the Thai press knows all about the "influential persons" who have through corruption grabbed national park land and built resorts, planted para rubber plantations, etc. Because often times these people are politicians, or wear a uniform of one kind or another, or come from a local politically powerful clan in a certain area....they have impunity to do these things. The penalties are laughable, but never mind that.....these people will never be charged or see the inside of a courtroom, ever. It's sort of like the US West in the 1850's, when the only law enforced was by the gun on your hip, and how many hired guns you had to back you up. My point here is that it's not just the hilltribe folks doing this burning, it is also powerful vested interests clearing land for illegal purposes. Including the neighboring countries.

Rant over, got my room air filter running, A-OK here.

It may be a rant, but it is a good one. I also grew up in California (Los Angeles), and the similarities are surprising. While one is due to burning, and the other cars, the root cause is the same - human behavior. And the key to changing that is not education, but good old fashion penalties - make the penalties for doing it so bad that it is not in their interest to do it.

Add me to the group that says there are plenty of good women on these sites. I have used TLL. and never had a problem with being fooled by "working girls". Maybe part of the reason is that I am interested in women in their early 40's, obviously a bit long in the tooth to be a bar girl, but the other reason is that I try not to go brain dead when I log in and start looking at the photos.

I look for someone who has a job besides "other", has some education, etc.

I also only offer to meet for a coffee on the first meeting. That tends filter out the hustlers.

I think there are many Thai women out there who are single, middle-aged (i.e. over 35 in Thai years) and with grown children or teenagers who don't want to hang out with their parents. The woman is just looking for some male companionship, maybe a little romance, and yes, maybe someone who can give them a sense of security, given the alternatives they face.

Thanks for the info. People often talk about extending the visa, but it sounds like it is the permission to stay that is being extended year over year, not the visa. As long as my last entry to Thailand during the validity of the visa is at a date when I want to be in Thailand in the future, I should be good to go.

Cheers

I am a US citizen and will be applying for my first O-A (retirement) visa here in San Diego by mail from the US (LA Consulate), using the 800,000bt bank method. My plan is to spend about 6-8 months in Thailand (roughly September through February) and the rest of the time in Australia or the US. I have a couple of questions about the timing to apply for the O-A:

1. From reviewing the posts here it appears that the start date for the one year permission to stay is when you set foot in Thailand, not when you are granted the visa. So is there any reason not to apply for the visa several months in advance? I think it may start the "validity' but you still get one year from when you enter, right? Any other potential problems?. I would prefer to do it early, in case there are problems, the law changes etc. (and I guess you never know when you might get elephantiasis and fail the medical certificate.) If I plan to arrive on Oct. 1, is there any reason to wait to apply? (other than a problem with a visit as below)

2. I am trying to figure out when the extension date fixes for the O-A. According to the website of the LA Consulate they do not issue the single entry O-A, so I will be getting a multi-entry O-A. I was thinking of taking a short trip (two weeks) over to Thailand and back in June. If I already have my O-A, I believe my extension date will then be at a time in the future (June) when I do not want to be living in Thailand. But if I come back in October for my long stay, does that "reset" the extension date to one year from October? (and the same date every year thereafter). Just trying to avoid locking in an extension date for every future year when I don't plan on being in Thailand.

Thanks.

I have found Tripadvisor to be quite useful for hotels. As others have said, just use common sense. I only pay attention to those hotels that have many reviews - it tends to minimize the manipulation. If 10 people have said the pool is dirty, most likely the pool is dirty.

I enjoyed watching the video, but I think it confuses two different things. The headline talks about "sex tourism" but she ask the question in terms of finding "romance" or "love".

I know of two couples in Thailand where the man is considerably older than the woman, but from my observations there is real affection there, and it is not just about sex. I see nothing wrong with that (in fact as an old Western man I embrace it!).

But pure sex tourism (i.e. prostitution) is completely different. Many say consenting adults can do what they want, but when it comes to sex toursim, there is not real consent by the woman. These women are often put in a postiion, either as a result of their own financial needs, pressure to earn money for the family, lack of alternatives. etc. to do these things. While it may be consenting at that particular moment, I don't believe it is real consent.

I have flown on Cathay several times. For me there is no such thing as a comfortable airline seat, so the Cathay seats were not much different than other economy seats. I did like the fact that the person in front could not recline and force my knees into my chest. I found the service to be very good. I will fly them again.

I don't know why HK airport is considered one of the best. It is basically a shopping center with an airport attached. It will take you at least 20 minutes once you have passed security to get to your gate.

Thanks for the good info - will check these places out.

Thanks for the above advice. I have no intention of camping out in the jungle, so I will probably just take a pass on the malaria medicine. Cheers.

I am heading over to Chiang Mai in a couple of weeks for the first time (I have been to Thailand before) and I am looking for some suggestions as to a good place to have an early evening/happy hour drink, and also later on some live music.

As for the drink, I am looking for a place that has maybe a mix of tourists and locals, friendly place to sit and have a drink and maybe a chat with people from Chiang Mai or other parts of the world. My preferred area is Changpuak, Old Town, or West of Old Town - North or South of Huay Kaew road. In the old days we would call this a neighborhood bar.

My rule is if I walk into a bar alone I walk out alone so I am not looking for anything else, and I don't want to be pressured to buy a drink for anyone other than myself.

As for the live music, I like jazz, blues, and, as my young neighbor calls it, stone age rock and roll. I surfed the net a bit and saw a place called the Playhouse that has something called Jazzmatazz outdoors on Sunday evenings. Is that still going? Should I just walk over to the river and wander around?, as I am told there are several places with live music there (La Brasserie?).

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks.

A very timely thread for me, as I am sitting here in a mosquito-free environment getting ready for my trip over to Thailand, and just returned from the pharmacist to pick up my malaria pills (malarone).

My health care provider has a travel clinic, and as others have said here, they recommended malaria pills only if you are going into a rural area of Thailand. I got them because I might be going into some rural areas outside Chiang Mai (but the pills are not cheap by the way - 10 bucks a pill).

I just called the travel clinic again because I was wondering if the flooding in Bangkok and other areas has changed their recommendation with respect to malaria, and the travel nurse said no. The problem with the urban area flooding according to her is typhoid, not malaria.

And to answer the op's question about side effect, the pharmacist said soemtimes dizzyness, sometimes upset stomach so take them with food, and occasionally mouth sores. I jokingly asked her if I oould wait until I felt the little bugger bite me then down a few pills and she said it doesn't work that way, you need to start two days before you are in the infected area.

I am wondering if Pai and Mae Song Hon in Northern Thailand are considered rural areas? If not I will skip the malaria pills and go with the DEET and gin and tonics (not mixed together, althought now that I think about it that could be a million-dollar invention)

I am not a health care professional so just passing this on for what it is worth.

Unless you know how accurate this author has been in the past in predicting the outcomes of floods, this article is worthless. The "disaster" predictions are a great marketing tool, because every once in a while they become true.

I predict there will be another disaster/recession/flood/whatever. I will be back on here when it becomes true.

Thanks for the good advice and photos. I have been to Thailand several times and I have yet to find a place where I felt I could go for a bike ride and live to tell about it. I am hoping CM will do the trick.

Cheers.