exrockstar
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Posts posted by exrockstar
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We were lucky in the far north then. Today, I drove from Chiang Saen, through Mae Chan, Thoed Thai and up the unpaved section to Huay Mae Kham. Only saw a very light shower on the way back down.
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My wife got arrested last week and charged by the local Immigration office for not registering farangs staying in her hotel. She has to register them with said office, every day that they stay. She knew this law, but.... mai pen rai.... for 2 1/2 years, no questions asked.
It's easy for hotels in the city, an agent goes round all the hotels each day to get the forms, but a bit harder when you're out in the country. The local police were very sympathetic and tried their best to help, but to no avail. Wife had to go to court, up in front of the judge in handcuffs, 2000 Baht fine. I think she'll be sending the form in (several klms to the office) each day from now on!
If it were possible to teach her how to use a pc, she could e-mail them in ... Think I better go register with immigration when I get back.
So, whatever tightening up of laws is going on, it's not just affecting the farangs.
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Just put my 64 words in. Love the Kennedy quote.
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Thanks for the replies and info.
the Wild Animal Reservation and Protection Act of BE 2535 of ThailandAs the protection act mentioned in wikipedia is 17 years old, I would like to think there is a more up to date law or amendment.
I have written to WFFT and await an answer. They clearly do very good work, but I'm not sure how much they can help in the north here. I'll post an update when I get a reply.
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Thanks for the input.
Yes, Mick & Dowroong are great friends of ours and we support them in the Wetlands project. I have asked Dowroong the question, but she hasn't found anything yet. I've also asked some other friends in Mae Chan.
No I don't have evidence that the snake is being kept illegally. However, about a year and a half ago, I read an article in the Chiang Mai Mail about a raid on the elephant camp when they did have gibbons & fishing cats in cages there. The report said that someone at the camp was arrested over this. The founder of the WARF mentioned to me that some snakes are protected, but she did not know which. I'll have to try and find out which..... that's why I was after the address of the Project mentioned in my original post. It may be that you don't need a licence for one snake of a certain species. I dont want to stir things up unnecessarily, but would just like to get the facts...... always a difficult thing in this country. If it was legal, they wouldn't need to pay the local authorities.
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I have no problem with zoos. The operators are required to have a licence and they have to keep to certain standards to ensure the welfare of the animals. They provide an important service in education and many people enjoy them.
The issue here is an animal being kept, probably illegally, in an enclosure which is too small.
You wont see many wild animals in the jungle around Chiang Rai, most of them have been hunted out. The biggest mammals I have seen here in recent years, outside the national parks, were mongoose.
You know those lovely cuddly baby gibbons they have in the bars in Phuket or Pattaya. I guess the tourists dont realise the hunters have to kill the rest of the gibbon family to get the baby. Keeping baby gibbons is definately against the law and the police do have raids and arrest people for this every so often.
Oh and by the way, I have a wonderful life.
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Does anyone know anything about the Chiang Rai Wildlife Rescue & Breeding Project?
When I last went to the Ruam Mitr Elephant Camp, the shop just at the turn off from the road down to the river had a small cage with a large python inside. I believe it is illegal to keep wild animals in Thailand unless you have a licence, which is very hard to get. I was told some time ago that the above project rescues wild animals like gibbons. Apparently some snakes are protected, some are not. I would like to rescue this snake if possible, as it was being treated like some sort of toy, you know the idea, photos with the tourists. I find this offensive and wrong and it's probably illegal. I heard about this project from the lady who used to run the Wildlife Animal Rescue Foundation, based in Bangkok. I would like to get the contact details for this Project if it is in operation.
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I now have some new information about this boat. Below is a message from the operator;
"" Dear ****,
Thanks for your precious information and links concerning what people say about the Nagi of Mekong. I have to admit one fact that, the website is very old and needs updating.
Since we started the operation in 1998, we were the first and only one doing the "one day cruises with guaranteed departure from Houi Xai to Luang Prabang" but when the Chinese built dams across the river way up in Yannan, the river courses changed and water levels started to get less and less. This is one reason why we decided to stopped operating one day cruise and offer only the two days. People could be confused about we suspending the one day and probably thinks that we have stopped the whole business.
I promise to have my website updates with clear information about what we do today and pricing as well.
Best regards
adisak
""
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Thanks for clarifying that David. I was under the impression there were only slow boats or speed boats. I'll pass the info on to our guests.
PS. I'd still like to get some GT-Rider maps off you next time you're passing through Chiang Saen.
see you sometime.
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Does anybody know if the ferryboat "Nagi of Mekong" is still operating?
Lanchang Easytrip travel agent in Chiang Khong say it stopped a couple of years ago. But there are some posts going on on the Thorntree forum that suggest that it is operating.... their website seems a bit out of date.
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You might want to rename your entries so they reflect their location at "Chiang Saen". Will make for easier searching on the side panel as well as make it possible to put them together alphabetically. Just a suggestion.Nice one Sven, this will become something very useful for all.
I just added a couple of placemarks around Chiang Saen. More to come later.
Yes, good idea. If I can ever get the internet here working for longer than an hour....
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Nice one Sven, this will become something very useful for all.
I just added a couple of placemarks around Chiang Saen. More to come later.
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I agree with CRgolfcoach. Khun Mor Ek, who has the shop next to Big C, on the highway, is excellent. We've been using him for about 5 years. Our neighbours too. He even comes out to Chiang Saen every now and again and will do house calls for us all.
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I have yet to find anywhere nice to stay or eat in Mae Sai.
Does anyone have recommendations for a good restaurant there?
It's a very busy border town and a quiet hotel may be hard to find.
Mekong river; Had some friends try the De River hotel, halfway between Chiang Saen and Golden Triangle. Looked a pretty good place but they had problems sleeping due to the karaoke on the other side of the river.
You could try Viang Yonok Hotel at Chiang Saen lake. We're a little over your price range.
We're in a quiet area, in a beautiful location next to the lake. We have swimming pool, a selection of bicycles and kayaks for trips on the lake, no rental charges.
22 x 5 star reviews on Tripadvisor and #1 hotel in Chiang Saen. Check us out on the web.
Reservations shouldn't be be a problem anywhere now the high season is over, but a phone call would make sure.
Ian Smith
Manager,
Viang Yonok Hotel,
Chiang Saen Lake.
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If you would consider a small detour via Chiang Saen and the Golden Triangle, you could try Viang Yonok Hotel at Chiang Saen lake.
We've had several couples come to stay from Chiang Mai who were on a visa run.
We're in a quiet area, in a beautiful location next to the lake. We have swimming pool, a selection of bicycles, including some kids sizes and kayaks for trips on the lake, no rental charges. We've also had many families come to stay and all the kids love it here because they can run around in our big garden. 22 x 5 star reviews on Tripadvisor and #1 hotel in Chiang Saen.
Check us out on the web.
Ian Smith
Manager,
Viang Yonok Hotel,
Chiang Saen Lake.
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You should have tried Viang Yonok hotel at Chiang Saen Lake. 4 klms from the town. Rated #1 in Chiang Saen on Tripadvisor.com
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well said all
lest we forget
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Chiang Rai is a great place to live. I've been in Chiang Saen about 5 years. There are quite a few guest houses around already.
Best way to find a good hotel anywhere in the world, check www tripadvisor dot com
Read what the guests say, then do a search on the hotel's name, get their website, then contact them directly.
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Thanks everyone for your help, been living in Samui the last 15 years but keen on moving up to Chiang Rai sooner or later, who knows maybe open a guest house of our own in Chiang saen where my wife comes from, any feed back on this idea ?
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Stayed at the ParkPlaza, Sukhumvit a couple ofweeks ago. Excellent, modern hotel at sensible price. Well rated on www.tripadvisor.com
WiFi had good speed.
Pattaya Tour Company Scam Uncovered By Angry Foreign Customers
in Thailand News
Posted
A sad story.
I used Lee Tour in Soi Post Office many times when I lived in Pattaya in the late 80's. I know Khun Sue well and her husband. Like many others, I stopped using agents when it became easy to buy flights online.
However, while outside the country earlier this year, I had a problem with my credit card and needed to buy some tickets to UK, so I called Lee Tour, as my old favourite agent and they booked the flights for me. When I got home, a week or so later, I wanted to upgrade one of the tickets. When checking the airline website I could see the booking but could make no changes. I called the airline, they advised the flights had not been paid for. I called Lee Tour and they asked if I could wait a week, before they paid. I had plenty of time before the flights, so I said OK. I guessed they had cash flow problems. Next time I looked the flights were paid for.
What Lee Tour have been doing is inexcusable. I can only think that their business was declining over the years due to the internet, that was why they moved out of Soi Post Office to Naklua, which although cheaper rent probably brought less customers. So, gradually they got more stretched for cash and resorted to delaying payments to airlines.
What a shame, good people that took a wrong turn in life trying to survive and it caught up with them.