As has been pointed out, most U.S. based credit cards will hit you with a 3% fee for all foreign transactions, whether or not you are charged in the local currency or dollars. So, if the local merchant charges you in dollars at a rate well below the official rate, you get screwed twice. By the way, ...

The wife and I were in Bubba's Friday afternoon and had the BBQ pulled pork sandwiches with cole slaw. Outstanding, June! Bubba is also to be commended for his selection of Belgian beers. He has seven available, including the classics Duvel and Delirium Tremens. I had the De Graal at lunch and it wa...

From what I see in the last part of the article, it would seem that the Thai also fall victim to such scams. Is it somehow OK if it is a Farang doing the scamming?

I was here during the winter of '71-'72. There was a period of several days when the temps dropped below 10C/50F overnight. The coldest I remember was 5C/41F one morning. I had been here for over a year at that time, was no where close to being fat, and suffered right along with my Thai neighbors. A...

I spoke with Trevor Friday night and I think his heart is in the right place. He seems dedicated to upholding the high standards set by Steve and Mali.

What a fun way to convey a serious message! Can't wait to share with my friends.

Cliff,
Sorry to hear of your accident. Here's wishing you a speedy recovery. Do get a second opinion on the surgery option. Bill & Wan

My wife gets mistaken for quite a variety of nationalities. The first day we arrived in Alaska, a retired missionary mistook her for one of the local Native tribal members. Wanted to know which village she was from. Even the Natives sometime try to start up a conversation in their native tongue. Whe...

I just uploaded 26 photos from around Udon Thani to my Windows Live share. Here's the link: http://cid-c29de571ecd88224.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/Udon%20Thani,%20Thailand No login required. A bit too many to try to post here. I hope to have some others from around Thailand online in the next wee...

I was stationed at Ramasun from May '68 - Mar '69 and July '70 - Feb '74. USAF 202 (98C for you Army types). Another nickname for the place was 7th Recon Ranger Field Station. I think quite a few old Non Soong GIs will be heading back to Udon in the next few years.

The wife and I ate there earlier this week and were not impressed by the food or service. For starters, we were greated by a drunken Thai female who saw my camera and offered to let me take her picture for 1000 Baht. :roll: When I tried to order a Insalada mista, the waitress's eyed glazzed over. Fi...

My wife and I have eaten at Green Leaf on three occasions. Once for lunch and twice for dinner. We've had both Thai and Western food and all was excellent. The wait staff, which apears to be college students for the most part, are quite courteous and prompt. Even the rather strange indoor/outdoor re...

Wan and I dropped by the 1 November meeting and really enjoyed it. Got to put faces with names. Well, OK, had already seen LA's face on forum, so when we saw him, we knew we were in the right place. :lol: Got to meet Stan, Ron, Trubrit, LA, Saint, Ralph, Mortiboy and others whose names I can't recal...

Fortunately, I only require the services of an optometrist.

Thank you, Docta.

Well, I used to go to one in Udon. He had a small storefront shop and seemed quite competent. As that was back in the '70s, I dare say that he probably retired long ago. For an Ophthalmologist, I'm pretty sure one would have to travel to Bangkok.

Can anyone recommend a decent optometrist in Udon?

There's an excellent freeware photo application called Irfanview that I find very useful for resizing photos that I intend to e-mail to friends with less than high speed connections. It is easy to use, fast and the finished product looks great.

Bot also refers to a computer that has been compromised by a hacker :evil: (often referred to as a Bot Master) and can then be added to his Botnet. Such computers are used to send SPAM using SMTP (Simple Mail Transport Protocol) software that the hacker installs remotely. It is not unusual for a Bot...

Recently, on another site, I saw something that stated the foreign population of Udon Thani Province was 30,000. That includes all foreigners. I know that the Lao population is considerable (many farm workers) and years ago the Isan region was home to thousands of Vietnamese. Many proudly displayed ...