just_Elaine

Thanks everyone! We haven't decided what to try yet. The talk to your neighbor suggestion isn't practical in our case. We live in a condo. Also, I think the problem is that trees were chopped down and another condo building was built across the street so the birds are looking for places to hang out. I'll let you know what we try and if it works.

I always book my appointment a month ahead to get my income letter. On Nov 10th there were enough open appointments Nov 26 and Dec 12. I just checked the web site and there are 39 open slots for the 2 available days in December. Jan 2 has 26. I am not sure yet they haven't mademore of January available yet. I believe you can reserve an appointment up to 60 days.

We needed papers notarized for sale of property in the states. The timing was unpredictable and we didn't think the buyers would wait 3 additional weeks for our papers to get notarized. If it is something that could be planned then sure get an appointment ahead of time. We just had no control of that timing so we took the alternative - Bangkok.

The problem with Rimping the olives as with many other non packaged products is they don't properly store and handle them. The deli counter is especially bad, the olives have a white film on top that is caused by someone putting their hands into the brine and the meat counter and scale has dried blood on them. For the price they are charging I expect better.

Agree - olives are not good in the deli and I think it is due to the way they are handled. We have a problem getting olives locally back home, but we can make a 3 hour drive to get very good olives. The place we buy them from gives us the brine as well and the olives with the brine keeps very well in the fridge for months.

Maybe it is just this time of year that there are problems getting in. 4 years ago around this time of year, we needed papers notarized and we ran into the same problem. We called, but they could not help us. We did call CM consulate and they couldn't help us. We flew into Bangkok to get it done.

We are having trouble with birds pooping all over the balcony. Does anyone have any experience and recommendations with solving this problem?

I found a writeup on the topic and they mentioned something called bird spikes. Is it possible to get bird spikes in Chiang Mai? If so, where? Are they really ugly?

I like finding out stuff like this. Thanks for the information!

My preference would have been a single payer system or national healthcare system because then maybe the focus would change from treating illnesses to keeping people healthy. However, there was no way that something like that would get passed through Congress. So we have the compromise which is being acted on again now. My views:

I think kids should be covered until they really have a chance to get out of school and get a job. Age 26 seems reasonable. Give the kids a chance!

I think that insurers that 'don't insure due to pre-existing condition', 'charge a lot due to pre-existing conditions', and/or 'don't insure old people' stinks. I think people should be able to get insured at a somewhat reasonable rate. (I had friends who several years ago mentioned that health insurance for them would be over a thousand dollars a month because one of them developed diabetes). Also, due to the pre-existing condition, it made it impossible for someone who had one to change insurers. Being able to change insurers is a good thing.

Sometimes when I look at my insurance claims, I get a bit angry and sad. For some of the services, the member negotiated rate is more than 50% less than the billed rate. So people who don't have insurance (so no negotiated rate) end up paying the billed rate. Most likely, those are the people who can least afford it. I feel this is not right. So I think that those people should get help to get insurance. Also, I think this would reduce emergency room visits.

I think people that can afford health insurance (based on a percentage of income) and who don't get health insurance now and then get it after the programs have started should have to pay higher premiums than people that were smart enough to get health insurance when the programs started. In other words, that person had a choice which affected the other people in the pool so they should have to pay a higher rate.

I think the elimination of the lifetime limit that a lot of healthcare policies had is terrific. Can you imagine being in the middle of treatment and having to stop it because your limit has been reached? I can't.

People say stuff about national healthcare systems having problems and I'm sure they do. However, if you find out that you are going to need some extensive treatment, wouldn't it be nice not to have to worry about how you are going to get treated even if you have to wait a little? A few people I know went back to their home country to get treatment from their national healthcare systems. It's nice to have a choice.

There was talk on some TV shows that younger adult people might not opt to get healthcare because they are healthy. I really don't get it. You could be playing sports and get hurt. You could get pregnant. You could be in an accident.... I may be missing something, but to me it's nuts.

Finally, I do not want to believe that employers cut their employee hours so that they don't have to provide healthcare for them. I think that there should be a list of these employers so people can boycott their businesses and employees of those firms - start looking for another job!

This healthcare issue is personal... I guess that's why so many people are chiming in.

That's also one of my favorite festivals only because the music is so diverse and the musicians are so good.

Really?! We'll have to try to make it there at least one night. Thanks.

Thanks!

Is it NAP 14th Le Carnaval from Dec 5 to 10th shown in the following web page?

http://www.chiangmailocator.com/chiang-mai-events

Is Tanin Market and Siri Wattana Market one and the same? Was there a name change? I just looked at a google map and could not find Tanin.

I've seen coconut at/near the local markets although I have not looked for it for a couple of years. We look for a place with lots of coconuts and a machine. Somehow, we manage to let them know what we want by pointing. I am in Chiang Mai and have seen it near Tanin market (off Chang Phruek Road at the end of Tanin Alley) and Ton Payom market(near intersection Canal Road and Suthep Road). However, check with others before going as I have not been to either in over a year.

Maybe contact Santi Music School? The website mentions rentals, but not specifically violins although they do teach violin there. You can google them or here is their contact information:

22/3 Sirimangkhalajarn Rd. Soi.5 (Near Kad Suan Kaew A.Muang, Chiang Mai 50200
Tel.053-224344,083-0411554

Has anyone found Shark brand Sriracha Sauce yet?

Thanks for posting this... I am so glad to hear this. I wish he would play earlier though. We'll make it a point to go see him when we are back in town.

We will be back in Chiang Mai soon and when we will be heading for Huen Muan Jai and Kaeng Ron Baan Suan. Both are Northern Thai food restaurants...

Here is a link to a sriracha taste off and how you can make your own (I haven't tried) that I thought might interest you: http://www.vietworldkitchen.com/blog/2009/07/sriracha-chile-hot-sauce-taste-off.html

It rocks... Gaeng hangley, larb, various mushroom type dishes, gaeng kea, northern pork salad (moo kham waan)....

Isn't the meat and vegetables on a stick a shish kebab?

Yes, that is what we call them too...

I have to admit I don't know when to use the word kebab so I call things based on the vendor's name. I have found the perpendicular rotating spit, that hellodolly described so well, used with various meats (chicken, lamb and beef) having product names gyros (USA), shwarma (Middle East and USA) and kebabs (Turkey). I usually like them although I've had a gyros or two that I have not been crazy about. I think it was the spice used. Anyway, it was a nice find and really hit the spot.

On the Saturday night before last, we passed a kebab cart in the night bazaar area, observed for a bit and then tried it. It said it was a doner kebab. I can't exactly remember what that is. The guy was Turkish and he was with a Thai woman... It was chicken and the wrapper was kind of like a tortilla instead of a pita. It was pretty tasty. 50 baht. Outside (on the street) of Burger King. I don't know when they are there or anything. We were there around 9pm. Anyway, hope someone finds this useful...

Yes, I frankly think all this development sucks. It's just too much at once. It is harder to find the charming Chaing Mai that I grew so fond of so many years ago. It's still here, but just harder to find! Ahhh. Progress, I guess.

Heya Elaine

Glad to hear u enjoyed it...I love lijiang as well for the remoteness of the mountains and I am site you enjoyed all the tea drinking sessions

Yunnan is very close to the hill tribes in SEA and are more tribal than Chinese in every way...

It's a beautiful remote area...did you get to the tiger gorge ? That's a hefty hike but the views were gorgeous

Yes. It felt like a big drop-off point. Kind of scary, but beautiful.

Nice thought... We really liked the Yunnan area. Food was delicious. We went to Kunming, Lijiang and up in the mountains. Some areas remind me of Vietnam. Anyway, Yunnan area has a better feel to it than Beijing and Shanghai. We like to travel on our own also.

You can do it yourself on the United site. For example, put CNX (then select Chiang Mai) and Han (then select Hanoi), pick a date, number of passengers and click on 'award travel'. The system will show you the availiable Star Alliance flights and how many miles and how amount of the passenger fees. You can select one-way and make a loop trip instead of having to do a return. United updated their system mid-year last year and I imagine they are now getting less calls.