Category — Uncategorized

Sure this is a travel blog and we should be ensuring you all is peachy-keen in Thailand but it just is not the case at the moment. Is any place in Thailand, less Bangkok, great to visit right now? It sure is. But I wouldn’t plan on taking in the whole Bangkok experience.

Follow the latest political developments from a foreigner’s perspective on Twitter @ http://www.twitter.com/jazzinchiangmai or @jazzinchiangmai

This article won’t change your life, nor will it even make an impression on you, but I figured I’d jot down some information on what it takes to move across Thailand and how much you can expect to pay.

• Call for an estimate at least a week before you intend to depart.
• The price range, for the minimum (4 cubic meters I believe?) is currently around 20,00o baht.
• Make sure to inquire about the lead times necessary.  For example, if you plan to move in to your new house in the 20th, they may need to come do the packing a week before as if your load is small because they wait for other small loads to fill the truck before it gets sent off.  Plan for it.
• Ensure you have the local direct phone number of the moving company, just in case.
• Make sure to make it VERY clear what is fragile.  ie. your brand spanking new iMac!  They will box it up old-school with wood so nothing can hurt it… That is of course, if the hammer banging the nails in doesn’t rattle it to smithereens.
• Know that most moving ‘insurance’ only covers obvious breakage.  So the innards of your electronics are probably not covered.  I like to video my computers with the current Bangkok Post home page and video of them going into the box just in case there’s an issue.  I have a feeling I’d be out of luck regardless, but it makes me feel better

Our move went smooth.  The packers were swift yet careful and everything arrived in tact and on the promised time.  Two of the best moving companies in Thailand that I’d recommend;

Hong Kong Transpack

Asian Tigers Transpo

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Blood-Needed-Finnish-Accident-Vict-t333371.html

PHUKET: The Phuket Regional Blood Center is calling for urgent donations of the rare blood type A- for a Finnish national currently in ICU at Bangkok Hospital Phuket.

The Finn, 31, is breathing with the help of a respirator and requires an emergency leg operation after having an accident on January 22.

He is also suffering from an abdominal blood clot.

Negative blood types, extremely rare among Thais, are more common among people of Caucasian descent.

Anyone with type A- blood is encouraged to call the blood center (081-413 4004 or 076-251178) from 8:30am Wednesday to arrange a donation.

I just wanted to take the time to announce the soft-launch of a very promising new site dedicated to the advancement of jazz music in The Kingdom of Thailand, Chiang Mai in particular called none other than Jazz In Chiang Mai.  This site is ran by yours truly and is just another extension of my love for my adopted country, Thailand, the Land Of Smiles.

I endeavor to have prominent figures from the Chiang Mai jazz scene contribute their knowledge, views and opinions on the beautifully semi-unscripted music known as jazz.

I played in a school jazz band in school as a child but have not touched an instrument since then.  While I may change that some day I will be on the sidelines merely as a lover of the genre.  What I can do is help advance the genre here in Thailand by using my own personal instrument of expression, the keyboard and the internet.   I’m hoping with a combination of my web marketing skills and contributions from esteemed jazz musicians and some tender loving care that the Jazz In Chiang Mai site will achieve its goal of spreading the musical love throughout the Kingdom if not the world.

With its spacious, foliage adorned grounds and slightly worn-down classrooms, there is nothing obviously off kilter about the Kampang Secondary School. The school is located in the north eastern part of Thailand known as Isaan that is typically populated by generations of traditional Thai rice farmers.  Every morning at 8am they all gather outside to sing the national anthem and watch the flag being raised. They then are allowed time to use the bathroom before heading off to their home room classes. Kampang is proud of its restrooms. Clean, and surrounded by blossoming tropical plants.  They have even won national awards for their pristine lavatories.

But there is something different about them too. Between the girls’ toilet and the boys’, there is one sign hanging with a half-man, half-woman figure in blue and red. This is the transsexual toilet, and outside, in front of the mirrors, some decidedly girly-looking teenage boys primp their hair and apply make-up.

‘Uncomfortable’

The headmaster, Sitisak Sumontha, estimates that in any given year between 10% and 20% of his boys consider themselves to be transgendered or ladyboys – boys who believe that they were born into bodies of men and were meant to be girls.

“They used to be teased every time they used the boys’ toilets,” he said, “so they started using the girls’ toilets instead. But that made the girls feel uneasy. It made these boys unhappy, and started to affect their school work.”

So the school offered to build the ladyboys their own bathroom, and they welcomed it. Triwate Phamanee is a lanky 13-year-old who is adamant that he will one day change his gender.  “We’re not boys,” he told me, “so we don’t want to use the boys’ toilet – we want them to know we are transsexuals.” Vichai Saengsakul, 15, agrees. “People need to know that being a ladyboy is not a joke,” he says, “it’s the way we want to live our lives. That’s why we’re grateful for what the school has done.”

Story Credit to BBC.com

We provide transportation in and around Bangkok, Thailand.  Below are some packages, feel free to contact us for custom quotes.

Airport Transfers:

From Bangkok (BKK) Suvarnabhumi Airport or Don Muang Airport (DMK) to Bangkok City, and vice versa:

$50 (or 1700 baht) – Standard late model car
$75 (or 3000 baht) – Late model BMW 5 series

We can provide a late model SUV taxi meter for a more cost efficient return to the airport for $35 or 1100 baht, serving metro Bangkok (Sukhumvit, Silom etc.)

CONTACT US for inquiries, custom quotes or to book your transportation.

We have late model SUV taxis available for transportation from Bangkok to Pattaya, Pattaya to Bangkok for $85 (3000 baht) one way.  The drivers speak English and are quality assured drivers we’ve worked with for years.

CONTACT US for inquiries or reservations.

This site will encompass all things related to travelling in Thailand.  We will give first hand reviews of hotels, resorts, limo and taxi transportation services and the like here.  If we’re giving a secondhand review, we’ll tell you so.

We once came to Thailand for our first time also, and since then (10 years ago) we’ve learned alot, met alot of really nice people in the hospitality industry all the way from 5 star resort CEO’s down to the humble taxi or tuk-tuk drivers in all of the popular tourist destinations and even further into to great unknown parts of this wonderful Kingdom.

Rest assured the information on this site is tried and true and if you have any questions which are not already covered here, feel free to post a comment or reach us via the contact page.

Happy holidaying from all of us at Thailand Travel Depot!