How Many Of You....

[Blinky Bill]

left the likes of phuket, pattaya, bangkok etc, and made home in chiangmai.

for me the reasons i want to leave phuket.

1] 7 yrs of living here and i'm still made to feel like a tourist[ which may very well not change anywhere in thailand, who knows.]

2] the basic infraststructure ie reliable water/ electric supply is shit. in patong living on a hill, if water levels drop in the resovoir, the water authorities just turn the pressure down, lie through there back teeth , saying water pipe broken [ all to save face] so the water wont go up the hill, so were buying trucks of lake water for 1000b a truck.with the explosion of building in phuket, which by the way is still going on, govt. is always playing catch up with these basic facilities, and in my opinion will never catch up.its an island for fuc_ks sake, build a dozen desalination plants and the water problem is resolved forever...theyve built one, and no one is really sure if its working.

3] costs, everything across the board is increasing, but service isn't improving.its so frustrating having to deal with thais, a printer i use here , ran out of ink, and eventually had to go to bangkok to supply him, printer..inks...= work, no ink = no work...i mean come on.

4] lack of international schools, truly theres only one here, and from what some people say , the kids are coming home with a real attitude, rather than a comprehensive schooling.

5] phuket itself is strewn with litter, the beaches are a disgrace, but it appears that there is no function to make sure they are kept clean, afterall people go to phuket for the sun , sea, and the other thing that begins with 's', which has escaped my mind.

tourists can go to lots of places in the world where beaces and oceans are spotless, it wont be long before that happens.

6] the attraction of phuket , unfortunately for phuket, attracts all the ' wrong ' types, not only from thailand but from europe , this has noticeably incresed over the years iv'e been hear, it seems as if the world story of phuket is, that the steets are littered with gold, similiar to dickensian days of the uk, where folk just have t go to london for fame and fortune, and unfortunately that's what phuket is all about, money, with a capital 'm', and if your a white man, your rich, having to send my wife into a establishment to get a thai price, is not what i'ts all about.

even the poxy zoo down here charges thais, 80b entry, and foreigners 400b, fortunately when i produce my thai driving liscence i get the thai price.

7] phuket could have one of the most stunning holiday resorts in the world, but with local govt. changing every 4 yrs or so, the incoming see it as their turn to make their bit, which of coure is going to be the death knell for this beautiful island.

8] and finally, although i'm sure there'll be other things ive forgotten, iv'e never really understood what 'island fever ' was, but i do now, if you dont get off this island every 4/5 months it sends you nuts.maybe i"ll never find any part of se asia, let alone thailand to be of my liking, but i do like the 'real' thais, whose warmth and generosity are second to none.

i'm not naive to think that chiangmai wont have similiar negatives, but the times i've been there , they dont seem to be as 'in ye face' as phuket. time will tell i guess, we'll give it a year, and take it from there.

my youngun is going to prem school [ albeit on a part scholarship i may add, due to his golfing talent, at the age of 4] which according to the general census, is one of the best schools in se asia.

ok guys thats it, agree/ diagree to your hearts content, one day i will find shangrila, is it near chaingrai?

Chiang Mai infrastructure is no different to the rest of Thailand.

Seems Thailand is not for you.

For my next 2 satangs worth, which is worth nothing but I don't care........Chiang Mai is like any other city or province in Thailand with the exception of the Province or Changwat of Phuket. All but Phuket have many roads with which to use to depart to another province, but to my dumb ignorant mind and by his own admission, it seems the OP suffers from island fever and through his suffering didn't realise that there is a bridge at the northern end of the island which would allow him to escape to the rest of the world.

Just as well many Chiang Mai expats aren't fish. Many would end up in Ian Forbes picture gallery.

It's the red that does it.

[doppa]

left the likes of phuket, pattaya, bangkok etc, and made home in chiangmai.

for me the reasons i want to leave phuket.

1] 7 yrs of living here and i'm still made to feel like a tourist[ which may very well not change anywhere in thailand, who knows.]

2] the basic infraststructure ie reliable water/ electric supply is shit. in patong living on a hill, if water levels drop in the resovoir, the water authorities just turn the pressure down, lie through there back teeth , saying water pipe broken [ all to save face] so the water wont go up the hill, so were buying trucks of lake water for 1000b a truck.with the explosion of building in phuket, which by the way is still going on, govt. is always playing catch up with these basic facilities, and in my opinion will never catch up.its an island for fuc_ks sake, build a dozen desalination plants and the water problem is resolved forever...theyve built one, and no one is really sure if its working.

3] costs, everything across the board is increasing, but service isn't improving.its so frustrating having to deal with thais, a printer i use here , ran out of ink, and eventually had to go to bangkok to supply him, printer..inks...= work, no ink = no work...i mean come on.

4] lack of international schools, truly theres only one here, and from what some people say , the kids are coming home with a real attitude, rather than a comprehensive schooling.

5] phuket itself is strewn with litter, the beaches are a disgrace, but it appears that there is no function to make sure they are kept clean, afterall people go to phuket for the sun , sea, and the other thing that begins with 's', which has escaped my mind.

tourists can go to lots of places in the world where beaces and oceans are spotless, it wont be long before that happens.

6] the attraction of phuket , unfortunately for phuket, attracts all the ' wrong ' types, not only from thailand but from europe , this has noticeably incresed over the years iv'e been hear, it seems as if the world story of phuket is, that the steets are littered with gold, similiar to dickensian days of the uk, where folk just have t go to london for fame and fortune, and unfortunately that's what phuket is all about, money, with a capital 'm', and if your a white man, your rich, having to send my wife into a establishment to get a thai price, is not what i'ts all about.

even the poxy zoo down here charges thais, 80b entry, and foreigners 400b, fortunately when i produce my thai driving liscence i get the thai price.

7] phuket could have one of the most stunning holiday resorts in the world, but with local govt. changing every 4 yrs or so, the incoming see it as their turn to make their bit, which of coure is going to be the death knell for this beautiful island.

8] and finally, although i'm sure there'll be other things ive forgotten, iv'e never really understood what 'island fever ' was, but i do now, if you dont get off this island every 4/5 months it sends you nuts.maybe i"ll never find any part of se asia, let alone thailand to be of my liking, but i do like the 'real' thais, whose warmth and generosity are second to none.

i'm not naive to think that chiangmai wont have similiar negatives, but the times i've been there , they dont seem to be as 'in ye face' as phuket. time will tell i guess, we'll give it a year, and take it from there.

my youngun is going to prem school [ albeit on a part scholarship i may add, due to his golfing talent, at the age of 4] which according to the general census, is one of the best schools in se asia.

ok guys thats it, agree/ diagree to your hearts content, one day i will find shangrila, is it near chaingrai?

Chiang Mai infrastructure is no different to the rest of Thailand.

Seems Thailand is not for you.

For my next 2 satangs worth, which is worth nothing but I don't care........Chiang Mai is like any other city or province in Thailand with the exception of the Province or Changwat of Phuket. All but Phuket have many roads with which to use to depart to another province, but to my dumb ignorant mind and by his own admission, it seems the OP suffers from island fever and through his suffering didn't realise that there is a bridge at the northern end of the island which would allow him to escape to the rest of the world.

Just as well many Chiang Mai expats aren't fish. Many would end up in Ian Forbes picture gallery.

It's the red that does it.

and often ive travelled over that bridge, to destinys which tell me , not all of thailand is the same as phuket, but unfortunately all roads lead back as well.

now, ian forbes gallery, is there a web site i can view, and have you got it.

[Blinky Bill]

Most of Ian's posts included pictures of himself and fish. If you check his profile here you can see his posts and the fish.

[getgoin]

4] lack of international schools, truly theres only one here, and from what some people say , the kids are coming home with a real attitude, rather than a comprehensive schooling.

This is a good reason to come to CM. Everything else is just the same.

[orang37]

... snip ... Just as well many Chiang Mai expats aren't fish.

Ahh, Khun Blinky, I knew it ! You have been exposed to the teachings of Ur-Orang to at least second-melon level !

It's the red that does it..

Indeed, it is the Red, the fever of oxygenated blood, the fire in flame (don fai) trees, the crimson oinkment of a sow's going-to-party lipschtick, the color of Mars ... oh yes, the Red !

I hoist a glass of nam tohu to your ineffable spirt.

~o:37;

[IanForbes]

As I've said many times, Chiang Mai kind of grows on you. The longer you are here the more you like it. It's not huge like Bangkok, but it's big enough to find just about everything you want. It's not "IN YOUR FACE" like Phuket and Pattaya, but there is all the nightlife to keep anyone happy if that is what you want. It's certainly MUCH cheaper (rent and food) than Phuket. Of course, Phuket IS an island and you CAN get away from the over priced beach area. What Chiang Mai DOESN'T have are the beaches. And if beaches are your "thing" then I'd probably move to the Pattaya - Jomptien area. I find the islands just too small and other Thai cities lack a lot of falong outlets that Chiang Mai offers.

[doppa]

As I've said many times, Chiang Mai kind of grows on you. The longer you are here the more you like it. It's not huge like Bangkok, but it's big enough to find just about everything you want. It's not "IN YOUR FACE" like Phuket and Pattaya, but there is all the nightlife to keep anyone happy if that is what you want. It's certainly MUCH cheaper (rent and food) than Phuket. Of course, Phuket IS an island and you CAN get away from the over priced beach area. What Chiang Mai DOESN'T have are the beaches. And if beaches are your "thing" then I'd probably move to the Pattaya - Jomptien area. I find the islands just too small and other Thai cities lack a lot of falong outlets that Chiang Mai offers.

well , beaches for me are pretty boting, but it is nice to dangle your what nots occasionally, having said that last time i was in the ocean, 5months ago, hills and greenery do it for me, as for nightlife, howay man, takes me a week to recover from 3 shandies nowadays, as for the women , gis a bag of crisps, now massages....

[joy2]

I understand how do you feel but everywhere in the world have been changing, and we should accept. But you can try to avoid the place, or things you don't like... I think you are very very lucky person because you can affort to stay there which beautiful sea. Maybe you can stay near the sea for about 6 months and enjoy staying in the mountain for 6 months. The area at Maerim is beautiful and has not destroy by.... ......yet. I hope to see you in Maerim..../choke dee