femi fan

Hopefully looking for a bit of info...

I have managed to create some time and money to get myself a month down in ko phangan starting very soon. My home is in chiang mai, but i frequently went to ko phangan in the 90s, it was my favourite place. I've been back a couple of times in recent years, so am aware of the main changes it's undergone.

My plan is to stay in or very near thongsala for a couple of nights while i go motorbiking around looking for a decent bungalow and beach to spend four weeks. I'm trying to keep to a budget of not much more than 500 baht a night for the bungalow. I know i should be fine for the four week stay, but any ideas for a place to stay in thongsala? Or, i recall taking pretty much the first left out of the town onto the road going up the west coast, and there being a couple of bungalow resorts somewhere nearby. I think they are probably walking distance. Would they fit my budget?

How much are motorbikes for a day or two? And a typical rate for two or three weeks?

Any recommendations for a bungalow resort at ao plaay laem? What's the beach like during low tide?

What's the police presence in kp these days in trying to enforce helmet wearing?

If anybody has any other info that might be good for me, please fire away! I'm kind of expecting the weather to be pretty good in june, i'm sure i can remember a few visits at this time of the year when the weather was great. Not quite rainy season?

I used to stay over the years at island view cabana on mae had, but was very disappointed at its 'progress' when i went there two christmases ago. So i'm now on the lookout for some other beach and bungalow to spend my money at.

Anybody know of any? Clearly looking for something cheaper than the golf course itself!

Greetings from chiang mai. It's that time of the year when we get cheaper golf here, and i'm wondering if any of you can let me know if you have any deals at santiburi (nothing mentioned on their website) and waterford. I've played the santiburi a couple of times and it's just a great course to be playing my golf on. I've also been graciously invited by some of yourselves to join in when playing at santiburi. I recall being told one time that you had a sports day, was it wednesday? Anyway, if so, what is the green fee, and what are the general fees at the moment? And how about waterford?

I'm basically wanting to plot a trip up there for a couple of days to get in some golf, and am hoping that some deals are on!

Always loved beer, but kept it within decent bounds. Mostly. I think! I used to think of myself as a fairly heavy beer drinker.

Anyhow, i reduced consumption for three years now, and in that time have mainly drunk beer at weekends, although there's been the odd extra days and weeks at old consumption levels. I have gone two or three weeks without a couple of times, and always felt good for it.

But this time i've gone two weeks without, and am aiming to get to the end of january when i shall reassess my beer drinking. My reason for this thread is that i'm not operating at my usual energy level, and have the odd niggles in back muscles. My question really is this:

what experiences do beer drinkers who are not alcoholics have in stopping drinking beer? Do they have a period of time where health suffers before getting better? Does it take more than two weeks to detox the alcohol from the system? How did you feel during the giving up? Did you return to beer?

Just wonder if a thread for beer drinkers who avoided alcoholism might be a decent place to share experiences in giving up beer, or reducing a consumption level that is more compatible with the ageing process!! I never even used to have to think about my body when drinking beer, it did me well. Not so now!

Love beer, but love a healthy feeling even more now that i'm an older model of human being!

I assume the water from water banks, from the big white plastic drums delivered to homes, bottles of aura or minere (for the mineral content) is not detrimental to our health, unlike drinking straight from the tap. But i remain in the dark with regard to what influence the plastic containers have on the quality of the water by the time we get to drink it.

I assume chiang mai tap water has chlorine, fluoride waste compounds, and other nasties added to it or that find their way into it by the time it comes out of our taps.

Considering how important water is to our health, this situation continues to nag away at me, and i'd really like to solve it. The obvious answer might be to get a filter system so that i can drink the water from my tap, and even another filter system so i can shower in clean water.

But what filter machine to get? Go into the shops, and it's all thai language, and all marketing, and all pushy pushy sales people who of course have the perfect system to give me perfect water. In addition they all look too big (the machines, not the salespeople) to install in my kitchen which is not mansion size, never mind in the bathroom. And then, do these shops sell the replacement filters?


I'm wondering if chiang mai posters have found their own solutions they'd like to share...

Have you found and installed a filtration system that you are confident filters out all the toxins, and that does not take up the space of half a kitchen?

Did it cost a minor fortune? Where did you buy it? Who installed it?

What gives you the confidence it does its job?

Or, have you found other non-filter alternatives to obtaining water you are confident is worthy of drinking and/or showering in?

Do we have our very own water filtration company in chiang mai?

Can anyone explain the basic science in easy language how we get rid of fluoride, chlorine, heavy metals, and so on?

No good now, but does anyone collect rainwater during the rainy season, and if so, any tips on how to make it drinkable?

Does anyone know of a company that supplies its reverse osmosis water in big glass containers, rather than half liter ones that cost too much as a default drinking water?

Any other comments on drinking water would be good to hear too.