jsflynn603

Oops, this should have posted in Dave's photo thread...sorry about that.

Can anyone tell me why, though I can see some images, and thank you  poster's for those, often all I see is the words: "Thumbnails attached,"  but there is no link to click on.  

I'm using Firefox, and have allowed all permissions in NoScript.  Any ideas how to fix this anyone?

In the Chiang Mai forum someone had asked if it was safe to eat fish from the Ping River and so I wrote the following.  I thought it might be useful to those who come here to read about health issues in Thailand.

Thailand has one of the worst problems with Liver Flukes in the world, though you hear little about it.  Adventurous travelers in the North and North East of Thailand may come across the common dish known as Koi Pla, yet it is very wise to avoid this dish as most Thai who make it think that they know how to destroy the parasites in it, yet the fact is, that Thai research shows that they don't!


Liver fluke cercariae (a parasite whose live cycle  involves a certain snail and then fish (though, in a pinch---humans work  just fine) infest most waters around Chiang Mai.  The moat around Chiang Mai is  absolutely rife with liver fluke cercariae, so much so that if you were  to use a bucket to water lettuce that you were growing and then ate the  lettuce, there is no doubt that, in time, you would develop liver  flukes, which can cause serious disease and sometimes death.   Many villagers who live along the Ping river  routinely show cercariae in fecal testing.

In the North, a common fish delicacy is raw fish that is marinated in a  vinegar (Koi Pla) and which the local people believe that the marinating  kill any liver fluke cercariae.  Well, in fact, if the fish is cut  properly and marinated for two days in vinegar of appropriate acetic  acid content, they are right.  Unfortunately for them and for any  adventurous farang many locals believe that a few hours of marinating is  sufficient and sadly, it is not.

Outside of the cities, in rural villages (including villages on the Ping  river) the rate of infected population often exceed 16%, in the  Northeast there are areas where 70% of the entire population are  infected with liver flukes.

Though liver flukes generally do not kill you, and for some there are few if any symptoms, but for others the symptoms can be serious and they do put you at risk for certain malignant liver cancers.  Thailand is one of three countries in the world with the most cases of this often fatal cancer.

Cooked fish, cooked to 160 degrees is safe but if you are cooking, be careful to avoid  accidental, even very minor, water or fish contamination of food or  drink.  The cercariae are too tiny to see.

The life cycle goes from fish to human (or other carnivores).  Within the human the cercariae turn into meta-cercariae, which live in the liver and bile ducts and release eggs which are released via feces into water.  The eggs are eaten by many types of common snails, the eggs turn into cercariae and are released into river/ponds etc.  The cercariae are free swimming and they bore into the fins and flesh of many types of fish, and so the life-cycle goes round and round and "we" are integral to it.

It used to make me cringe a bit to see kids splashing around in SW corner of the moat.

Does anybody know where in CM to buy Razor brand (or decent knock-offs) in Chiang Mai?

For those who might not know Razor scooters are scooters that kids step on using one foot, and then push along using the other foot, they are not motorbikes.

Kids between 8-11 seem to love them--and then at a certain point, lose all interest....

Can anyone recommend a Thai speaking lawyer in Chiang Mai.  My fiancee need a simple Court document for sole custody of her child.  (Yes, I know there is form that can be done at the Amphur but a Court Order holds more weight in certain instances).  I am told that it is not difficult, and I will not deal with this lawyer so it's Thai to Thai.

Someone who is friendly and not too bloodthirsty (is that an oxymoron?) would be nice.  Please feel free to IM me.

Thanks

My fiancee needs a copy of her birth certificate.  She was born in the Doi Saket area of Chiang Mai, she does not know if it was at home or at hospital.  She did have one long ago but lost it so it should be at the government place where records are stored.

Would someone kindly post or send me a message here telling the name, address and phone number of the proper government agency?  Also, someone told me that government offices were closed all days this week--is this true?  Or will it be open tomorrow?

  Thanks