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  1. We have a few ads at the moment like Agoda, Airbnb and IP Vanish which is a VPN Now we get a very small commission when you click and use any of the services with the following logo on a banner:- You will not get charged any extra and some of the Agoda deals in the link carry a decent discount. Thanks for your support 👍
    8 points
  2. So, it is now a little over 2 years since I retired and settled down in Bali. Time for a look abck on those 2 years and a SITREP ? Let’s split this in a few points : 11) Stopping your professional activity : Working is for most of us the thing where we spend a good part of our life on, being it time or energy. So, when suddenly you remove this from your life it is quite a change. Hence many people delay retirement, are afraid to be bored, and plenty other reasons. In fact, the adaptation is very easy, and you soon realize that even without you putting in 12h x 6d a week, the company continue to thrive and the world to spin. Yes, in the beginning I sometimes missed the intellectual or technical challenges, but that didn’t last long. One has to accept when it’s time to hand the wheel to the younger generation and sit back. 22) Moving from country : I understand this can be a bit stressing for some, especially if they never did it, but for me that was a very easy part. The country selection, well it happened to be Bali because I am with an Indo woman, it could have been anywhere near the sea in a sunny place. Of course, the administrative process (hassle) for the retirement visa in said country is to be considered with attention. It could turn into a stressing event every year and take away a lot of the enjoyment of “retirement under the sun”. 33) Staying with your partner 24/7 : For people having had a nomad professional lifestyle, this IS quite a challenge ! And even for people who had a more “regular” 8-17 job and every evening at home. I have known several couples who struggled seriously with this part, even in the West. It is a big difference seeing your companion every weekend, or even every evening and being 24/7 with her. In my case I apprehended it a bit, but as we still have our regular separations when the Miss is in Java and me here alone, I makes for nice breaks appreciated by both and it works. Here again a reasonable age difference probably helps as well ! 44) Adapting to your new financial status : Of course, switching from a full expat package to a regular pension, with your income divided by 3, and having to pay yourself for your lodging requires a bit of adaptation and change in habits. But if having a long-term partner, well you don’t hang out in bars every night anymore. And age helps you as well, even you don’t really like it. For those who come to places like Pattaya to finally ,at the end of one’s life, “live the dream” it could be more tricky. Plenty examples around that ended badly. Hence I can not repeat enough “prepare your retirement from very young !”. It must be horrible to realize that suddenly you are out there with 500 Euro/month to live on at 65 y old… 55) What to do with all this free time ? Yep, that is a good question. My answer is simple, we live like we would live a “normal live” in any country. Grocery shopping, buying bread, supermarket run now and then, restaurant, reading etc.. In my case I always loved reading, learning things about the world, so now I have again plenty time for it. But sure, depending on where you settle down, this will be an issue. There are things I would do in France that I can’t do here, but on the other hand there are things I do here I couldn’t do in France (like swimming pool every morning). Important is to impose oneself a certain daily discipline. From my experience in the past 2 years, having a partner helps also as you have a “normal couple” life. I appreciate when the Miss is away for 2 weeks, but longer than that it becomes a bit difficult and knowing myself living alone would be a tricky path. Conclusion : Till now no regret concerning retiring or the partner and country I choose. But I am not saying I found paradise, and I will stay here for life.
    5 points
  3. @Thai Spice A great thread that I feel many on this forum can relate too. 👍 I’ve been lucky, as I retired young and had 20 years to get used to it, now that I’m 67. 😟 I married a very young Thai girl and moved to Thailand to be with her and I make no excuses for the fact, that from way back then, until now, my life has revolved around her and later our little son. I still keep in touch with my old employer, or rather, they keep in touch with me, even after I moved to Thailand and even now 20 years later, I still go out to lunch or dinner with several of them a few times a year, where they gently pick my brain. My social life, such as it is, seems to be divided into two parts. First, is things we have to do, like school runs and chasing around taking my son to his after school and weekend activities and secondly, holidays during his out of term time, which is usually Italy, Thailand, Australia, and other countries and also within the UK. That uses up virtually all of my time, with the exception of the odd night out at the pub with mates. The wife and son often go off to Thailand on their own, which gives me a bit of a break, but I still fill my time pottering about with my projects. Many days, my wife and I are like ships passing in the night, she’s out on the morning school run at 7.30am and they don’t come back most evenings until dinner time. So the only time during the week when we are all together as a family, is for a few hours in the evenings, but it works well for us. I was always busy doing things in Thailand with the wife and her family and since being back in the UK, I seem to fill what little free time I have doing “projects” which usually revolves around property. Spent the last two years overseeing the work on our new house here and many others over the time since we’ve been back in Europe. Luckily, finances aren’t something that we spend much time thinking about, as I’ve 3 good pensions and savings etc and that more than covers what we require for our lifestyle, plus the wife has money of her own as well, which helps. All in all, the transition from full time work to retirement has been an enjoyable experience, but it’s only been 20 years, so early days yet. 😉
    4 points
  4. total load of rubbish to fill a gap in a tv schedule. despite title i think only 20% BKK, mostly pats, and boring as fuck, could be any holiday place in the world, the dead beats are the same everywhere. no entertainment value, no informative content, just total wank.
    4 points
  5. My feet were a little sore whilst out and about and considered taking a Taxi. Then thought Neighhhh lad.
    3 points
  6. Moving from Country to Country ---- I have done that since I was out of school ... all over Europe, South America and Asia -- for over 25 years and I am still going strong ... it has been an adventure and would not change a thing ... except some of the crazed women I have been with -- or just maybe I made them crazy -- never mind though Staying with your partner 24/7 --- this has been easy for me -- the only women I have ever cared about is Beach gal ... she is so easy to be around ... but, I still take off to BKK a week or 10 days a every month .. she is cool with it ... no problems ever with her ... I think I would go crazy tied to a woman 24 * 7 * 365 .. no way .. I could never handle that ... I need to feel free and when ever I get the urge just get away ... this has nothing to do with Beach gal -- nothing .. she is a life time keeper for me ... I have been alone my entire life .. that feels normal to me .. never answering to anyone or caring for their feelings ... just living on my terms .. my way .. being free ... ( sounds selfish - I know ) -- in life I am not a man with a lot of words .. talk is cheap I have always thought ... so that is why I have always avoided anything serious .. to much drama, emotions and talk from all woman .... and it is a waste of time ( IMHO ) to wait and see when the going gets tough .. will they get tough also ? Most won't .... Don't know what compels me to being by myself and do whatever I want to do ... but, Beach Gal has made a significant change inside me .. and for the better ...
    3 points
  7. Watched it last night and why is it called busted in Bangkok. It's mainly about Pattaya.
    3 points
  8. The restaurant at the Gulf Siam Hotel on Pattaya North Road just west of the intersection with 3rd Road has an interesting sign, at least for steak lovers: Who can resist a ฿ 89 steak? I can't, but I was sure it wouldn't be anything like the pic. The restaurant itself carries a rather curious name, Gulf Sixty-Eighty, but is also known as the Gulf Cafe & Coffee Shop. Gulf Sixty-Eighty plays up the steak angle pretty heavily, but also pushes its breakfast buffet and cocktail promotion. Inside, it's quite comfortable and attractive. And a photo from the hotel's Web site: Gulf Sixty-Eighty even has a separate "Steak Menu," but it's not very long. I had the "beef steak with black pepper sauce" for ฿ 109. The ฿ 89 steak on the sign is a "chicken breast steak." Well, ToTo, I don't think we're in a Kansas City steakhouse anymore- or even Sizzler. That has to be the smallest piece of beef steak I've seen served that wasn't authentic Kobe. Of course, of course, I know you're not going to get 300 grams of USDA Prime or imported Australian beef for ฿ 109. If the mini-steak had been good, it still would have been value for money. Unfortunately, it was a locomotive steak- chew, chew. chew, chew. Tough and sinewy, without much flavor. The flavor it did have came from the seasoning used, not the meat itself. I asked for medium rare, but got medium. 😒 The small portion of French fries was Pattaya standard. The mixed veggies and salad were good, very fresh and tasty. The one outstanding feature of the meal was the black pepper sauce, excellent taste, better than I've had in many much more expensive places. I just wish I'd had more of it to pour over mashed potatoes. On the whole, however, it's the steak that should have been the star and it wasn't. Tough and bland, it wasn't even a good character actor in a supporting role. I can't rate the meal as more than mediocre, possibly mediocre plus. Maybe if I had taken advantage of the cocktail promotion, the steak would have tasted better. 😀 😀 😀 Bottom line: I haven't given up entirely on Gulf Sixty-Eighty. I plan on trying a few of the other inexpensive dishes on its menu. It's a nice place to eat and the pepper sauce made me think they might have a decent chef who simply had poor quality beef with which to work. Maybe I would have been better off with the "mince beef streak with gravy sauce." Mincing or finely chopping beef has been a counter-measure against toughness for centuries. In the U.S., "Salisbury Steak," named for 19-century physician James H. Salisbury, has been part of Amerrican cuisine for nearly 150 years. Salisbury advocated a diet high in protein from lean meat and low on vegetables, fruits, starches and fats. He urged people to eat a patty of chopped beef three times a day and drink large amounts of water to flush out the system. So in Dr. Salisbury's memory, I might order the "mince beef steak." Or in direct defiance, I could have the spaghetti. 🤣 The service was friendly and attentive, but considering I was the only customer, that shouldn't be surprising. The pic below shows the set-up for the breakfast buffet. I have no idea what the quality is like, but ฿ 159 for an all-you-can-eat buffet isn't a bad price. Evil
    3 points
  9. Yea , I agree ..... my entire purpose in my adult life was banging great code .. and I loved it ... But, my purpose in life has changed since Ziggy was born ... now, it is to be the best father I can possibly be ...
    3 points
  10. Should of got Mad Joe to present it. 😀 Pattaya is full of degenerate parasitic filth.
    2 points
  11. It's a more than 50 y old technology invented by DAF (Holland) and called Variomatic in those days. Some also called it the"rubber band transmission" https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variomatic https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/DAF_600 I remember the screeching noice when they accelerated. Was never a great succes, but in those days it was handy for people that were to dumb to manage 3 pedals and a gearstick. I guess nowadays they added some software and computer chip ?
    2 points
  12. It's 10:30 on Thursday morning and I'm still in bed. Have the day off and am going to enjoy it to its fullest
    2 points
  13. 224-4 is not bad so long as Stokes & Pope can avoid doing what the previous batsmen did,ie get in & then get out.
    2 points
  14. And on Channel 5 .... 🙂
    2 points
  15. 2 points
  16. 2 points
  17. Well saw it last night and it was about as exciting as watching paint dry IMO
    2 points
  18. Good post TS , it's been 20 months for me and Its flown by ... I don't miss working , apart from the social interaction.. have enjoyed being able to watch the footy and cricket WC matches and the TDF in the afternoons , plus I was busy decorating and furnishing a new apartment and getting the snags sorted out , I am still in the process of selling my old home hopefully that completes at the end of this month ... 🤞 I don't get up at 06:30 any more , normally it's around 09:00 I go to the gym , pool and sauna a few times a week , particularly enjoyable when it is quiet during the daytime ..and when the weather improves I'll get my push bike out I meet up with my Dad for lunch a couple of times a week my main hobby is Family History ( Genealogy ) and I aim to spend more time on that and write up my research so I can share it with other family members Plus I want to travel more , not just Asia , there are loads of places I haven't seen in Europe that are on my bucket list
    2 points
  19. Just out shopping with the little one.. shouting at the peppa pig car ..
    2 points
  20. Old, I know, but they still strike a chord. Anybody have more of them?
    2 points
  21. The headlights of my 10yo Mazda 2 went yellow and blind over the years. Tried the toothpaste polishing, which left me with 2 limp arms and 2 blind headlights. There are some sprays on the market but I read that you could use Baygon cockroach spray as well. Tried this, the result lasted a day or so. When replacing a bulb I enquired about new complete sets of headlights and was quoted 6400 Baht for the pair. As alternativ they offered me to polish the plastic for 800 which would be good for 6 month or so. Thought they would come up with the toothpaste method, but they sanded them down first and then poured some of this restoration liquid into an evaporator (with some water added, I believe). After sanding I thought, now the lights will be beyond repair, but when vaping the stuff at a close distance, they turned magically clear. Looks like new. If this last for a while than this is a good /cheaper alternative for replacing the hole lights, as new lights would become blind after a few years again.
    1 point
  22. Pre nap --- Bit like a verbal contract. As Groucho Marx once said: 'Not worth the paper it's printed on'. Think about it ......
    1 point
  23. I posted some in the car porn thread.
    1 point
  24. 1 point
  25. Just finished Episode 1 of this. Shows many details of the case I never heard about
    1 point
  26. Thought yours looked good so tried my own version - vegetable and chickpea Jalfrezi
    1 point
  27. As requested by a BM for the thread to be closed. Now let's move on.
    1 point
  28. I didn't mind the original... Thought this was terrible though.
    1 point
  29. Agreed... It's on at 10pm at night here thankfully most people probably won't see it otherwise I'd have to listen to the usual bullshit .. It's like a shit version of the old Ibiza Uncovered series in the 90s.
    1 point
  30. The free cancellation policy is only for selected hotels who offer this though, same as on Agoda. I agree the price is often different but in my experience on Booking.com there are no hidden charges, i.e. the price you see is the price you pay while on Agoda taxes/fees are added after to come up with the actual price you'll be paying. I'll be staying in Bkk early February and will simply have a look on both to see which offers the best rate at that time. Booking directly with the hotel doesn't always give you the best rate in my experience. Once I was sitting at the reception desk of Phachara Suites in Bkk and the best rate they could offer me was higher than Booking.com's rate so they even recommended to book online.
    1 point
  31. Today I'm having a bit of a Thai music fix.... Singha too, just to make it feel more realistic 😉
    1 point
  32. 1 point
  33. Tyson Fury is masturbating seven times a day ahead of Deontay Wilder fight ..... 🙂 https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/boxing/tyson-fury-masturbating-seven-times-21279347
    1 point
  34. Dont have one. Wear what I like when I like.
    1 point
  35. Agreed hotels have different cancellation periods and I have booked hotels previously with later/earlier cancel periods. Too be honest I usually book direct with the hotel and just turn up, no credit card verification/holding deposit etc, just check in and pay at the end of the stay. The hotel in question even gives a 10% discount if paying cash at the end of the stay.
    1 point
  36. Filled my time in the UK with walking and cycling clubs as keeping fit is important. Also house improvements. Having a timetable, IE.. Getting up at the same time as when you were working, is important. Good thing about joining groups is you do meet people from all walks of life and form new friendships. Look forward to regular three month break in Thailand. As for a partner, hmm not sure I want this full time. Had a Thai GF visit UK for five months, and was relieved when she went home which surprised me.
    1 point
  37. It good to see you view in this matter and I think what you do with all this free time is the key to it all. I realised this when I was in Pattaya not for my self but for other where i was installing video tv boxes, I'd always get chatting to the buyer while i'd be installing the box and i'd find out they are board and spend too much time on the booze. Many i'd offer a after service and call back maybe a month a so down the line to find the spending all the time on the booze had stopped and they have spare money to do things. its amazing a little bit of tv and a few movies changed many of them.. I see many blow everything before time and go back home with nothing.. I've never once looked at you and thought your one of them as you keep your self busy all the time. 👍 One of the reasons i've not continued building the house in Udon as when its time to move there it was going to be my project. I think you need a purpose in life..
    1 point
  38. 1 baht .. serious ! Beach gal loves McDonalds ( I can't stand the fucking place ) but the ice cream was good
    1 point
  39. I'm sure there are some pervs out there that use toothpaste on them.
    1 point
  40. I have collected a few water hose nozzles over the years....... and no..... I'm not exactly sure why
    1 point
  41. Just watched this. Pretty good crime movie about a family caught in a shit storm from dealing oxy in a small rural town. Down to earth people trying to make ends meet until the bottom drops out. On Netflix starting yesterday. IMDb (Rated 6.6) ~ Crime thriller about three siblings in Appalachia getting by as local opioid dealers, trying not to get caught in the spiral of violence that comes with the territory.
    1 point
  42. Aldersbach Abbey, Passau, Bavaria. https://www.passauer-land.de/en/aldersbach-abbey/ And, of course, the beerhall.
    1 point
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