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Well dear readers one would get the impression from this topic that it is totally doom and gloom in Pattaya these days with nothing but empty beer bars and mostly customer devoid GoGo's still charging expats170+ baht for a beer. As Bob Dylon once proclaimed "The times they are a-changing" and as we all know there are simply not enough expats to support all the bars and particularly the GoGo's in high rental locations and the cost of the girls wages. There is however one sector of the entertainment scene that is becoming a veritable growth area and that is in the "Gentlemens Club" area with new ones cropping up all over town. The term is a little misleading as maybe "Hostess Bars" is just as good a description. Now as they are all in closed, air-conditioned premises one is not going to be able to tell from the outside just how busy they may, or may not be, from a photograph of the outside. So purely on the grounds of market research last afternoon/night I joined the "usual suspects" for an extended tour of such establishments which judging by the state of my hangover today involved the consumption of prodigious amounts of alcohol the cost of which was naturally a bit higher than the average beer bar but much less than that being charged in GoGo's. I remember the names of the first three being Camel Toe, The Den and Babylon and in between there was another one behind the Lion Pub but I cannot remember the name. The hostesses do not generally seem to be of the "shy and reserved" variety. It was "Cowgirl" theme night in Babylon and I got roped in so to speak. Social distancing seemed to be at a premium and it was very busy. Be honest ..................................You would, wouldn't you! YEE HA ! ! I told her she was a very naughty lady. Apparently tonight is themed as "bikini bottom" or possibly "No bikini bottom" night but I am waiting for "Blow Job" Thursday to come round. After Babylon we moved onto L K Metro and had a few beers at 44 baht for any bottle in a beer bar and then went to see Ricky in Pandora.That was the only GoGo we visited and the most expensive venue for drinks by far. After that it was onto Soi Boomerang's Clubs by which time I was feeling no pain. In conclusion. It is very sad for the bars and many GoGo's which are falling by the wayside but if you know how and where to have a good time it is there to be enjoyed in and around Pattaya.

Some of these artists have some talent and some of them well not so much anyway I've always liked graffiti street art whatever you want to call it never fail to get a photo of it

So yesterday I planned on soi boomerang, but while starting my evening at scooters a light rain began to fall. I just stuck to LKM. Scooters had balloons up, which turned out to be for luke-warm sausage rolls later in the evening. I did a couple of circuits Scooters->Celona->Bachelors, rinse and repeat. Kevin, the boss at Celona, is apparently pretty pleased with the lady drinks I'm buying because I don't think I paid for any of my SMLs. It was Friday and there was an obvious increase in foot traffic on LKM and in the bars. I again had to share a table at Celona but everywhere I looked was packed. Except billabong, it's just too big to fill these days.. Still light rain today. I went to smokin' joes for lunch to discover they're only opening 16:00-21:00 Fri through Sun. The Grill next door (which is apparently also happy panda?) had a promotion for a 495Baht 250g waygu steak, but when I saw the blue cheese bacon burger on the menu I went for that. Quite good, not cheap. We'll see what tonight brings.

Another side note ...Beach gals family lives not far from Pak Bara .. on the sea ... great people ... I was a confirmed bachelor it seems like forever ... she won my heart ... no drama, never a harsh word ,, no lies or bullshit ... she is an honest gal with a great heart .... I met her on the beach in Koi Lipe with her younger sister and her older brother .... I thought she was absolutely beautiful ( but, young ... around 18 at the time ) .. so I walked up and started talking to her .... I guess that turned out ok .... A very good girl with a wild f**ker ... we have a beautiful daughter and have been together a long time ..... maybe now 16 - 17 years ... but, it was hard for me to take the leap of faith with her and get married .. about 10 years later ... she hung in there and never gave up ... very cool .. and I am 100% guilty of some wild shit She has put balance in my life ... she is beautiful ... So .. keep your eye out ..you may find something good

Bit of a knees up here tonight....... Devils Den site.....

Get to Pak Bara and take a boat to Koi Lipe .... there is a Walking Street there also .... and if you time you visit right you can stay at my house on the sea .... Then go to Langkawi ... for a couple of days .. no passport hassle Just about everyplace in the deep South on the Adaman Sea side of Thailand is beautiful ... plus, the people are a different species from BKK or Patts ..they always smile and would do anything to help you .. for sure!

I arrived for a short visit yesterday, a Wednesday. Villa market was normal, other than the inside door is closed. I started my evening as normal at scooters bar on LK Metro. It was down to four girls working, only one of my regulars. She complained about how quiet it is, and the manager said maybe they were going to start closing on Mondays. By sundown it was noticeably busier and by 9pm it looked like a normal low season mid week on LK. I did a couple more open bars. Celero (I think that's the name) had a very good happy hour promotion and was jammed with girls and customers. Its about half way between Time and the Cave. I had to be seated with another guy as all tables were full. I was joined by a couple cuties including a gorgeous young thing who said she's a uni student. I expected there to be drink pressure from the girls, but there wasn't though they were grateful when one was offered. Then I started on gogos, four or five I think. The best that night was bachelors, but I often enjoy that one. A couple of them wanted to do the temperature/sign in, etc, but most weren't picky about it. All in, a good night. Tomorrow I'm visiting a friend on her birthday on soi Diamond during the day. So I'll look around that area a bit.

Just arrived in Phuket town on a bus from Chiang Rai 28 1/2 hours was the journey. There were two different buses a direct bus that would have done the trip in around 20 hours and the Intercity bus the one I chose that took the longer time because it went through every little town you could imagine dropping off people picking up people. You might think I took that one because it must be less expensive but in actuality it was the same price. I could have flown for about 1/2 the price I paid on the bus but I never would have gotten to see all the interesting little towns. After extensive train and bus travel I have gotten to like buses better here in Thailand. Only question is where do I go next

I hate football... edit .. no I don't yes Ido 🙂

Tonight's sunset...

Big time. Emphasis on big.

Just what was needed after 4 pints of London Pride playing snooker....

So I see I lost track of time yesterday. I said that I'd be going to diamond tomorrow, but actually it was that day. Started with lunch at Senor Taco on Buakow. In the nearly hour there, I didn't see a single meter taxi. I asked the waitress and she chartered a song taew to soi diamond for me. I spent about five hours with my friend at her beer bar center diamond on walking street, so most of the day was a blur. That area is always quiet during the day, but it just seemed depressed. Everything else around is closed. I was a walking street guy until I re-based to the LK area a few years ago, so it was sad to see. When she wrapped up her shift and was ready to stagger off home, I visited Le Pub for a bit. Sorry Phil, I was already three sheets to the wind when I got there. One of the bartenders from Secrets was pouring at Le Pub. I didn't stay for as long as I expected, and the bartender chased a taxi down for me to go face plant at the hotel for a bit. When I woke, prime burger for dinner, Celero - still packed, same cuties, stopped into Jibby's for a while. Again, LK seemed low season normal. I went up stairs in KINK and went back down as quickly as I could. I spent some time with the lookers downstairs then closed my night with the lovelies at bachelor. This evening I'll wander soi boomerang.

Wolff in at -5, let’s see how many he will be leading by when everyone’s done. I had to rewind his drive on 18, that was one of the luckiest bounces I’ve seen in a major. 4th hop, ball is going into the cabbage, and hops out 2 feet left to the first cut. Defies all logic. Then he makes birdie, if he’s in the hay, he probably makes 5 with the swales around that pin. Was good to see Rory move way up, should be in 3rd to last group, and hopefully apply some pressure tomorrow

Be like @galenkia, start easy ...

He also said you don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.

Jacket potato with tuna mayonnaise and mixed beans.

Ernie Els has got his third ace in the last six weeks .... 🙂

My neighbor across the street from me seems to be getting some "Orange" in their trees already. This Fall event usually does not take place here until mid-late October. Wonder if this means Fall/Winter is coming earlier this year? Wifey asked me last week if we could go to Tahoe again this Winter? I think she likes gambling LOL!

Like the one on the side of your house. 👍

Recovering from over indulgence in Abbot ale last night, drinking lots of tea and coffee.

I hate selfie sticks, but even I have to admit this is an impressive use of one. A very well done video by Barrow. Edited to add: The video appears to have lost some resolution when it's viewed through the embedded post. The video quality is much better if you click through to his FB page and watch it there.

Yea Bro .... how could I forget? ... I really like you .. a straight shooter .. no bullshit or games ... a super good man! ..... Deep inside of me ... I am fairly balanced .. I know good from bad ... right from wrong .... sometimes bad shit just happens ... and you know me ... I won't hesitate ... The Belfast Irish genes ... could be a curse or a blessing ... depends on how you walk through life .... and I think I have been fairly blessed ... considering all of the wild shit I have done .. lol Loads of love back to you Brother .. the best to you and your family ! Are you in Issan ?

I was only there for 2 - 3 days ... I guess if you look around you can find ... but, I had no such luck ... guess I was only interested in getting a belly full of beer ... and said f**k it ... plus, I am pretty particular ... if not a great ass, long legs .. nice toes and lips ... then I just say no

The "protector" in a surge protector is a metal oxide varistor or MOV for short. They are normally "open circuit" but when an over voltage occurs they go "short circuit", going back to open circuit when the over voltage disappears. There are usually 3 MOVs in a surge protector. one between the active and neutral legs. one between the active and earth legs. one between the neutral and earth legs. If the wall outlet doesn't have an earth then a surge protector isn't going to do much good 'cause they dump the overload to earth. Sometimes the MOVs may be pairs connected in parallel to improve the overload handling capacity. MOVs lose a life each time they protect (although the exact number of lives is not known). When they fail they may go open circuit which is ok, just no protection. go short circuit, normally the circuit breaker/fuse will tell you something is wrong. go low resistance, not low enough to blow the fuse but low enough to cause excessive heat and set fire to the plastic case of the surge protected power board. Your modern day fridge/TV most likely has the same sensitive electronic components as you PC/phone. The MOVs in a domestic surge protected power board cost less than a $1 per MOV. https://zerosurge.com/truth-about-movs/

I'm seeing the opposite on LK. There are some great lookers in the open front bars, and they're friendly. There are plenty if slags to be sure but the ratio of younger fit types is better than it's been for quite a while.

Khun Joe definitely "beauty and the beast " there regards grayray

As you say FBWY its a great location with some spectacular views if your in the right condo. I remember visiting BM Billyboy RIP and he had a condo with a fantastic view. Hope your happy there SH, i would be 👍

There were several packs of beef mince in my meat delivery, so today I tried my hand at making a spag bol. Bacon, chorizo sausage, onions, mushrooms, beef mince all made up with a bought sauce on a bed of Spegetti. Turned out to be a big batch and superb. Had some fruit for afters.

Mazda CX3

Friday’s like up. Happy weekend.

Up she goes to smile for the camera.

Yea, I think so as well ... when I was there a couple weeks ago ... I think the 1st or 2nd September ... I was sitting at Prime Burger and there is a Bangkok Bank across the Soi .. I was shocked to see the number of farangs going into the place .. and it was a constant flow for about the 2 hours while Beach gal and I was eating our food and me drinking a couple of beers ( we sat outside ) The only place where I had to put on a mask was waking into 7/11 to buy some cigs ( on Walking Street ) ... none of the bars I was in didn't care .. they were all cool .. no problems

Found a nice brisket today, Montreal smoked meat style. Will fry some up like bacon and also make some sandwiches later on this week. Maybe I’m comparing apples to oranges, but I just calculated this 5.5 pound brisket, is exactly the same price as one pastrami sandwich @ Katz in Manhattan. I would never pay $24USD for a sandwich, just like I never go over 2K for LT

A bit off topic. The electric grid up here in the boonies absolutely sucks. It is down now and has been for a couple hours. I bought a small generator and that didn't work out very well. By the time I got it connected and running the power would come back on. Just too much hassle. I then tried the UPS units. They would only keep things going for a hour or so. Big ones are simply too expensive. That's when I got interested in solar power. I started out with one solar panel and one battery to run my computer. That proved to be just too small. I finally went for two panels and four AGM batteries. The system was very dependable and trouble free. I then built another bigger system, four panels and four golf cart batteries. My computer room is totally off grid as well as my router, printer, fans, lights and surveillance cameras. I have no idea whether the systems will ever pay for themselves but when the neighborhood is dark, I still have electricity 24/7. No worry about power surges or lightning strikes. This is something to consider if you have your own home and are bit handy.

Bit like myself! Welcome and regards, Delboy!

f**k me Joe you look balanced since we last sparred play fighting with Larry in Secrets one Sunday and drank all day and swapped stories. You look fantastic mate. Must be the Irish genes................. loads of love mate.

Did BKK to Phuket by bus in the early 90's . Never again. But to each his own.

This week has been good. Last night was great. The bar is never busy busy, but I had customers from open till close. Thanks to all who came.

I've got Macbook Pro,iPad,iPhone & iPod Classic whilst the missus has IPhone & iPad.We've been with Apple for quite a while & I have few complaints.This is more me being a computer neanderthal than anything else.If I ever get any problems the missus's mate's son works in an Apple store as a tech.

A few odments from yesterday.

I was going to say nice pics until I saw the scary characters in pink and black on their motorbike. That and the continuing show casing of lady-boys should see you have your posting rights suspended for a week lol

Not a car person and keep my vehicles for a long time. Brisbane, Australia my run about is a 1997 Kia Sportage. In Thailand I still use my Kawasaki Cheers 112cc scooter that I bought new in 2001. Never had a problem with it.