cmsoulbrother

"nixtamalize"  A new word for me.  English?  To nixta, nixtamal, nixtamate??  Not even in the online dictionary.  Better look here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masa
 
Wonder how long it takes.

I had previously lived in Thailand from 2004 to 2011 and I looked for real corn meal or masa harina to make corn tortillas but it seemed impossible to find. Now I am back living in Chiang Mai and hoping to find some somewhere. I have found flour tortillas and imported Old Elpaso taco shells for 19 times the price of America but that won't do. Has anyone seen corn meal or masa harina in Chiang Mai?

Thanks fredob43. It looks like I'll need to pay a visit to my local stainless guy. 

Thanks Juehoe,  yeah,  that's what it might come down to I guess.  I'm just trying to be extra careful. 

I am hoping to build an indoor fireplace/Argentinian style wood fired grill and I am looking for double wall stainless chimney flue pipe. Has anyone found this (either the insulated or uninsulated double wall pipe) anywhere in Thailand? Has anyone had this made? Any information would be very appreciated! Thanks, John

Do you need Jalapeño or Tomatillo?

Hello,

excuse me cmsoulbrother, can I ask you what kind of restaurant you own?

Hi Rice555, Thanks again for the advice.

Hi Rice555, Thanks very much for your reply. I have looked through the masa threads here and they have been helpful.

I am a cook, but not much of a farmer. I was hoping to find someone already growing a masa-friendly variety that I could buy to supply my restaurants. If anyone is interested in selling a masa corn, please let me know and I'll be a regular buyer!

John

I was wondering if anyone out there has heard of anyone growing (and selling) white dent corn that's suitable for making corn tortillas? I have tried before with regular field maize and though it works, the taste is only OK. Any help or leads on this would be very appreciated. Thanks, John

Thanks for those that replied. I will keep looking. Cheers

Does anyone have a recommendation for a good vascular doctor for lower leg circulation issues?

Thanks

Mojo is a quite new shop in town for downhillers. They might have and if not know where.

https://www.facebook.com/MojoBikesthailand

http://mojobikes.co.th/

Thanks for this. I'll keep this in mind for next time, though I was actually able to find what I needed at the small helmet shop opposite Suriwong. That place is a treasure trove.

you can find a lot of protective gear at the helmet shop on the Si Don Chai Rd, opposite Suriwong book shop.

Good luck.

Thanks for the tip. I'll check this place out.

Cheers,

John

Is there a good store in Chiang Mai to pick up MTB protective gear, like knee and elbow pads, crash shorts etc.? Is there a store in CM that caters to downhill riders? Many thanks if anyone can point me in the right direction.

Thanks

Saw one in Sports World in Central Kad Suan Kaew...Think it's called that anyway, it's the big sports store that is not a part of central department store on the second floor.

It was a rubber one though...but beggars can't be choosers around here. My 9 year old son loves football...glad to hear of more interest - maybe soon we'll have enough kids playing to get a touch game going.

Hi,

I have done Petchburi to Mersing twice, bits and pieces of it more times. I ride a sort of modified MTB with rear panniers, nothing flash but reliable, over the whole day I average 18km/hr. Great cycling to be had in Thailand!

The predominant wind during the past few weeks (here in Chumphon) was from the southwest, 0-10 knots. However, I do remember July 1995 struggling into a northerly wind, doing BanSaphan to PrachuapKK. Otherwise, this/next month winds tend to be light, blowing in from the east.

A couple of tips: I must have done NakornSriThammarat/SuratThani at least 8 times. There has always been a strong wind from the south about halfway along that route. I could leave NST at 0600, be in Surat soon after midday, then push on to ChaiYa. If you push on, from NST to Songkhla (very pleasant 100 km along the coast), then SKLA to Narathiwat (no need to go to HatYai), halfway along you tend to run into a breeze from the south.

Narathiwat to TakPai used to be very pleasant, little used border crossing (by ferry) 5km south of NTWT but there are some concerns re. violence in the south. On east coast of Malaysia, roads used to be quiet (but narrow), not such affordable accommodation options as Thailand. Traffic becomes heavier going south of Mersing. Predominant wind from the east except during monsoon season (usually May). AA

Hi aarn,

Thanks a lot for your advice. From what you've described headwinds going down south don't sound like much of an issue, which is great to hear.

I am going to be cycling on a tandem and towing another child behind, so shoulderless roads are not so good for us. When you say the roads on the east coast of Malaysia are narrow, do you mean without a shoulder? Would they be scary as a three person 'tandem'? Have you also done the west coast of Malaysia? From what I have read the west coast is more developed and busier, do you know if is the cycling better or worse over there?

Thanks a lot!

John

I am thinking about a trip from somewhere around Hua Hin down into Malaysia maybe down as far as SIngapore - hugging the east coast all the way. I am having trouble finding out about winds during that month on that coast though and if i bring my family of novice bike tourers into weeks of straight headwinds this will probably be our last ever tour.

I realize this is kind of a large geographic area, but does anyone know which way the winds generally blow along that route during August?

Many thanks!

John

Thanks for everyone who helped out with comments. Picked up a KHS foldable tandem in Ubon a couple of weeks ago and with my trail a long bike behind it I think we're ready for touring...

Hey onion luke - do you know the name of that bike shop that had the tandem?

Mikecwm - getting one made is an option but I don't know much about this kind of stuff so I'd prefer to buy something already manufactured. May come down to this in the end though!....

I'd like to do some touring with my young son and I think the best way to do this might be to get us both on a tandem (he is 8), unfortunately, I can't find any tandems for sale in Thailand at all (except for one at probike which is too small for us). I am going back to Canada for a visit soon so I could try to get something over there to bring back with me but I am worried that I will get smacked down with a killer customs duty if I do.

We don't need anything to fancy, but it has to be decent enough to stand up to some touring. If anyone has any ideas on where to find a tandem around these parts I'd be very grateful to know about it. Many thanks,

Thanks for the suggestions - gives me a few new places to try.

I am looking to have a really good bowl of ramen noodles. Anyone know of a restaurant that does up a really outstanding ramen?

I bought pure sodium nitrite from a chemical supply store and diluted it to 6.75% in solution in water. Works well as a substitute for pink salt. The pure stuff is very dangerous which is why I didn't try mixing it with salt, as they would in pink salt.

Anyway, I've got enough pure nitrite to cure a bajllion pounds of meat - so if you want some and are comfortable diluting it yourself, then send me a pm.

Some friends of a friend are coming through CM for a visit and would like to do some trekking, either here, or probably anywhere in the north. I'd like to help them out with some 'insider' knowledge - but other than the typical 3 day tourist trek I went on a decade ago, replete with bamboo rafting and elephant riding, I know very little about the options available or what to tell them. Is it just a crap-shoot, or are some options better than others?

So, does anyone know of a good trekking company, or a private trekking guide they'd recommend, or even an off-the-beaten path trekking locale? Any tips would be greatly appreciated!