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.........For christ sake lol wheres the Taxi Driver.....On the the flight over I had jokingly said to my wingman if the pick up aint there we're slightly in the shit here. First visit with no sim cards the only solution would have been go and buy a sim at airport buy some airtime and ring the Hotel...it was our intention to just use hotel wifi in general and ditch phones for nights out Alternatively I'd have to use roaming charges on UK phone or use my True Sim which was on roaming automatically......bollacks Waited about 20 minutes thinking maybe traffic for the driver and spot an Airport Police booth and a female officer returning. Thinking might as well ask her christ she couldnt have been more helpful so I get the booking print off out she gets out her mobile and calls the hotel. Passes phone to me but I cant understand a word the reception is babbling partly because area was noisy. Hand the phone back to Plod who speaks in tagalog. Reception now give mobile number to her of taxi driver who she now calls from the landline and all sorted.....he's stuck in traffic lol Anyway eventually he turns up and I thank the officer profusely now thinking do I give her a bung or will it be taken the wrong way lol....decide on caution and rethank her to which she responds we're here to serve you have a nice day......I beginning to like this place Taxi driver had been 4 hours from Angeles coming. Now for illustration distance from Angeles to Manila and Pattaya to Survanabhumbi are almost same distance at 100km give or take. The difference .....traffic Off we go and we've all seen shanty towns in Bangkok and elsewhere but this place is something else entirely...... Its like Beirut just desperation poverty begging and the simply biggest cacophony of air horns on lorries, car horns and motorbike hooters all competing for the same stretch of road all desperately avoiding collision. Have never seen anything like it simply unreal Kids playing football at the side of "roads" as lorries metres away thunder by.....people running across traffic in all directions narrowly avoiding vehicles Eventually after about 1 hour 45 minutes driver says (great English) here we go about to get on the highway and the mad sod accelerates to at least 100mph with my mate telling the bugger to slow down which he did......for 5 minutes. Theres no seat belts in minivan at all lol and am hunkered down across rear seats thinking its only a matter of time before we take an unscheduled air trip. Arrive outskirts of Angeles after about 2 hours 45 minutes all up and I resurface from the seats thinking how the hell did I get persuaded to come to this madhouse......Now Larry had answered elsewhere our query about Pacific Breeze hotel because someone else had recommended to us and Larry said he had stayed at PB about 50 times but had stopped because of dirty linen poor internet etc and a few other issues and instead was using Scorebirds Hotel literally about 50 metres away instead We stuck with Pacific Breeze however....Now firstly in general Hotels are more expensive in Angeles than Pattaya not excessively so but in general they are. I'll convert Peso into Baht from here on to give a direct comparision....PB have 6 types of rooms (apparently) and we had the Executive rooms which was only one above the standard rooms....It was fine for me and came to 1660 Baht (2700 Peso) We pull up outside hotel and theres two geezers in some sort of security uniform with what looked like pump action shotguns on a sling around their shoulders lol....(jump in anyone if you know what the shooters actually are as we saw them outside plenty of hotels) I'm thinking WTF have I come to here.....a 123 Baht tip to driver (200 Peso) which he was clearly more than happy with Get checked in reception staff lovely to say the least......Now the rooms are "ok" (and fine for me) but it is a 1660 Baht room at the end of the day. You decide. Get showered and here we go...... Angeles "Walking St" is literally 70 metres away and its time for action and its starts off in spectacular fashion at "Envy"....... To be continued.....

The man who invented “cut”, “copy” and “paste” Larry Tesler has died. RIP Chang Fai will be devastated.

I ignored it from day 1. Some dumb bureaucrat thought that one up ............. we have plenty of them in the UK too .......

Piri Piri pork steak tonight

A meal with a view. The Superstition Mountains just outside Apache Junction, Arizona. We visited some friends for 4 days last week. Weather was incredible and the views an hospital was even better.

Yes +1 can't stand a snotty egg.. Mine this morning and her indoors knows the score with cooking eggs.. 👍 😀

Today's lunch in the Irish Clock. Penang curry with rice. Pretty decent.

What were you driving? It's approximately 430 kilometers between Hat Yai and Phuket. Did you mean Krabi?

There are indeed, I just like a bit on the side as well 😎

Not so good at breakfast,but grating some cheddar cheese into baked beans so it melts makes them wonderfully tasty & creamy.

It was originally my intention to do an extensive trip report but I acknowledge many here have already been so will instead precis with a few photos included later..... Despite an extensive trip count to Thailand that would have the Inland Revenue eyes watering I have never been to Angeles City or indeed even the Philippines...an absolute virgin trip. My friend had been twice in the late 1990s with originally Brian Kelly and Nick Hurn with 25 odd others on 2 group tours with that "Thai Adventures" group (later became Asean Explorer) one trip to be known as the "Pinatubo Ashes" am sure some here will remember them pre the internet taking off. Wonder what happened to them.... He had wanted me to come back then but I had met a Thai girl and was lubbed up lol in 1998 and aborted and subsequently married her instead....... Always regretted not going and the 2 times he went he had really enjoyed it as a young 32 year old with some great memories and photos.....but roll forward to November 2019 and I said how about Angeles lol. He looked at me as if to say are you serious to which I said lets get it booked time for some action.....Game on Will tell the story warts and all for hopefully benefit of others who havent been previously....it was 22 years since my mate went. Times had changed clearly I had asked elsewhere about Hotels and Flights and Larry had responded elsewhere over the Hotels which will come to later.... The issue though on flights is an extensive roundabout route to get to Clark International close to AC or fly into Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila with the associated traffic... Cebu Pacific had great departure times from Bangkok but the return timings were not good so we booked one way on Cebu out for £81 and will mention Air Asia on return sector later back into Don Maung (right minger of an aircraft lol) Checked in at Survanabhumbi (didnt bother with online check in) and having already sussed supposedly that the aircraft was an A320 the seat allocation is clearly indicating a wide body instead...... Bit bizarre but in fact it was an A330 with an all economy configuration at nine abreast with the motor being about 40% full at best and In the all economy set up most have been 400 odd seats plus....Flight attendants had Denim skirts on lol most delightful...... We had paid for 20kg of checked bags and they included 7kg of cabin bags....we were nowhere near the limit but had decided not to purchase in advance onboard any food. It was absolutely dirt cheap anyway if you fancied a snack. Literally £2 or so so unless you're desperate for a meal booked in advance I'd not bother.....just grab something onboard Pushed back early with a 2 hour 45 flight time. As it was daytime great to see the islands as we're starting to get nearer to Manila.....both toilets were inoperative on centre section of aircraft and one out as well at the front.....good job motor was not full. I'm 6 foot 2 and leg room was fine (even if had been a full flight) so no sweat. No onboard entertainment but no surpise obviously Landing was heavy to say the least and we docked right at the far end of T3 and filtered off pretty quickly....as we were sat right beside the exit door we were off promptly thinking that immigration likely to be busy so we'll at least keep in front of all the people on this flight but there was no need..... As we walked along a Qatar widebody drew up on an airbridge.......approached immigration and theres literally no sod there....... Am not joking.......Mate went to front of one desk and myself to another and literally 60 seconds later we're on the carousel....I (and he) had been anticipating big queues but couldn't have been further from the truth in reality On each of the carousels they have CCTV of the baggage handlers lol. Lets just say clearly they dont give a shit as the tossers were lobbing the bags in specatacular fashion on to the rollers.....thank christ ours came off intact am sure others may not have... Came into T3 area and now its heaving.....girls am guessing waiting for their teeraks everywhere and I'm smiling at all and sundry in usual fashion and not only are they smiling back keenly but saying hello. I'm thinking shit we're only at the exchange booths and we're underway..... Unlike the arrivals exchange Cartel at Suvarnabhumbi the exchange rates at the airport at Manila are only marginally below what they were at Angeles as it turned out...... At T3 they were around 64.30 for Sterling and Interbank on the day we landed was 65.43 so very fair rate no question so we lobbed over a ton each just needing enough for first night and got 6430 Peso each back......the Hotel had pre booked a taxi for us at 3000 Peso to be charged to the hotel bill and they had given very clear instructions as to his location with our names on a board outside the entrance to the Burger King and clearly all was going swimmingly well..... The tosser aint there............................lol Shit.... To be continued......

I was watching a news program this afternoon Average prison sentences in the USA for : Rape --- 4.2 years ( I f******ing cannot believe ) Robbery -- 3.2 years Assault / Burglary 3.2 years Raping someone the average sentence if 4.2 years ? .. WTF is going on ?..... the F******KS should be locked up forever or be shot .... Man ... unreal ...

These are not my photos but were sent to me from a friend I thought some might enjoy seeing them. I used to hang out all the time in the Chicago Club but they really did a refit of it at least the outside anyway looks fantastic now

Might as well have been on parole with that happy horse shit. They need to clean out their think tank and stop dreaming up idiotic ideas and rules.

I'm not on Facebook but remember Cake ever so well. Took her and Jar back in the day ..... years later after Jar got her MA in political science...true ..... I bumped into her in that big massage place on Soi Honey. Sadly she did not remember me ...... one of the top ever Devil's Den girls ....... wonder why she didn't remember me ???

Getting ready to router a quarter round edge on 26 - 1x4x8 foot and 6 - 1x4x10 pine boards for window casing and baseboard on a remodel I'm doing up by Purgatory Ski Area.

Tonight at about 18.30 downtown Patts time........

LOL .. bless Beach gal ... but, she still cannot cook a good egg for me ... she is getting better after 10 or 11 years .. in truth .. which I tell her .. her eggs suck .. lol

The eggs look perfect ...

Was just looking at Google Maps, damn those first 10-15 miles is what can take 2+ hours, depending on where you leave from in Manila. But they have a new Skyway that, apparently, might be open this July. That would cut the travel time down drastically

That looks great for a frozen pizza ....

I AM reading this with a big smile as during my first trip to the PI in 07 I had very similar thoughts. Been back many times and have stayed in the Pacific Breeze a few times. I was there with Larry a couple of months ago and enjoyed my stay at Scorebirds too! Not being able to fly direct into Clarke is a proper pain and I tend to pick my flight times into Manilla to minimise trafic. Can't wait to see what you thought of the bar setup with the girls.

Happiness, Pandora, Boomerang, Luxor all in Soi 7 had the grand total of about 6 punters last night at 10.15pm Bear in mind as well Happiness had 20 odd Girls and 60 Baht beers. Something gives soon

Nice. I did Nogales when I stayed in Tucson, took me a few minutes to find the lady bars. Had lots of fun, but a couple of ST probably ran me what would have been 10k, and this was 2007! Not something I’d do again TBH, with all the cartel wars. I know the odds are slim of getting hurt, but why take the chance? I even heard that in TJ the cops will rob you themselves. But an all inclusive resort, I have to do that soon. Very good prices and safety is not an issue

Didn't want to cook so we pulled out a frozen pizza. Added more cheese, onions and meet ( not shown) to give it a helping hand.

mate the rooms are a lot better than some of the rooms I stayed in back in the 1980s, but then I was paying between 16-18aud a night for a room,and 200-400Peso LT for a lady. what ever has happen over the last 40years Angeles looks like it is still a shit dump. regards grayray

Bro ... I honestly don't know ... but, I will find out for you and send another message ... give me a week or so ... I will ask around .... I always see Thai's snorkeling in and around certain little islands ... and I have snorkeled a lot also ... I do see some dive boats now and then when I am out on the sea ...

Today - not owing anyone anything

Dead hopefully

On it.

Coming home from an early gym to find this in my kitchen. FFS ,I think we can afford a new kit sweetheart.

Coming along nicely matey. Before long,he will have hair on his nuts and thinking he is a rock star.(going through that ATM).🤣🤣🤣

If there's one nearby, use an ATM in a bank branch as it may be easier to retrieve a lost card from them.

Veggies should be inside surely?

Yes mate I just keep going and looking forward and don't look back, words from my cancer specialist which she said when ever things get on top think about you have a family and you need to fight for what you have and keep going looking forward and not behind you, which helps so much .. Sunday i was ready to turn of the lights and call it a day, i was all over the place no control of my body with cancer in my spine, liver and other lower organs, shacking convulsions, high blood pressure.. I really could go on and on mate with the list.. But here I am again back home now and with some new meds and everything seams to be ok for now again.

We did much the same, but in our case it didn't take any time. The next bill after setting it up came out of the account. One thing I found odd, PWA still charges a 10 baht commission even for direct debit.

Don't ever give up ... keep fighting even if you feel that you have no fight left ... f******ing fight ~! ( those are my asterisks - LOL ) I remember when I was in the "joint" ... I wanted to lay down and die on some days - just give up ... but, every morning I said to myself ... fight .... and fought I did ... there is always light in the dark tunnel ...

ChangFai had different goals with his posts on Secrets as opposed to Thai Visa and Addicts. He wanted to damage and disrupt Secrets as much as he could, whereas he sought to be accepted as a knowledgeable poster on TV and P-A. But he had a huge obstacle to overcome. Posters who remain totally anonymous to everyone, including the board's Admin and Mods, seldom gain much respect. It's hypocritical to seek a high profile on a forum but to remain behind a cloak of invisibility. That's often a sign of a destructive troll. When the Secrets finally tired of him and kicked him off in the board's final months, he began posting daily on P-A, mostly helpful and informative stuff. However, he never went the full copy-and-paste route he had used on Secrets as a counterbalance to his baiting and flaming. When his dark side emerged in full bloom on Addicts, the Mods had less tolerance for him. They weren't willing to cut him any slack. Unfortunately, it's not unusual on the Pattaya boards. I've gone up against several of the worst hobby trolls. Basically, they all have a bully's mentality. Disrupting a forum gives them a rather pathetic sense of power. Evil

Damn and I thought everyone did😲 For me the thought of burning a book is a really shocking thing. I read loads of the Flashman novels as a late teen. Picked one up about 3 years ago to re-read, found it crass and mildly racist. Guess I'd grown up. Gave it and a few others to charity shop. Have no objection to anyone else enjoying, just wasn't my taste anymore. These books should be preserved as they document society at a point a time, whether I agree with it or not, right now is irrelevant

I was never a huge Rod Stewart fan.... but this song (this version) kicks.

@thumper63 OK Terry, back at ya......just got back yesterday from a week in Lake Tahoe.....wifey loved it. Pics later this week when I get them re-sized. Snow mobiling anyone?

There were a couple on the front left side, looking from buckhou, but after a motorbike fire a couple of weeks ago they seem to have closed. I walked past a couple of nights ago and I think there was one open, back left corner.... at least, there were lights on there, but no music, no people.... Rumour has it that Baku group, fresh from their roaring success at Avenue Plaza, are negotiating to take over the whole complex. Work to start 3rd February, with the majority of big names having already signed up...