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Showing content with the highest reputation on 09/20/2020 in all areas

  1. Just back from 15 nights in Turkey, a brilliant holiday, one of the best ever. To the point where we booked the hotel again for next year before we left. Even with the Covid restrictions (which i'm glad they had, was safe) it was a brilliant time at a great hotel at a great location. Private beach, splash park, aqua park on site, 5 pools, all inclusive, 24/7 open bars (for those who wanted) i had a few non alcoholic mojitos lol Passed my PADI Advanced diver cert on holiday, can now go 30metres, dive wrecks etc. Looking at what certification i'll do next. Love scuba diving ever since watching Jacques Cousteau as a child. And it's something i'd never had taken up if i hadn't got clean and sober, like so many other things. Wife and child really enjoyed the holiday as well, we all needed it. My wife Sa lost two close family members recently, and can't get home without loads of hassle, so needed it to unwind, just sit on the beach with our daughter and de-stress. First time i've been on holiday where i don't remember my 4 year old daughter saying she wanted to back to Caitlin's (her) house at some stage, usually when bored or out of her comfort zone, strange place, bed etc. She loved it as well. Home a week, been to the gym 4 times, helps me so much mentally and physically, plus to offset the excess consumed on holiday. Had been a little apprehensive before going, but brilliant time, so glad we went. Even ,looking at a cheeky 10 nights at same place over Oct Half Term next month. Still some great deals.
    6 points
  2. Yeah like alot of you, trying to look the other way on Covid, we've both been tested 2 times now, both negative, playing the common sense game. Not the sit around the house type, either of us. Wifey still does her once a month dinner gigs with her local Thai gal friend, they have a good outdoor Thai restaurant here locally, noticed her and her friend are "dressing it up" a bit lately with the black leather gigs. They told me they were going " clubbing" after dinner LOL! We go to the local parks for hikes etc, still go to dinner once a week out and about. Looking forward to a Winter/Snow trip to Tahoe again Feb 2021 probably, hopefully they have a ton of snow. Went to this city called " Solvang" for 3 days a few weeks ago, Danish community. My Gym opens today, the deal is you have to make an appt, you get 1 1/2 hours, 64 people total at one time. They clean for 30 minutes, then if there are not another 64 people waiting for the next 1 1/2 hour appt, you can do another time slot. No cardio, pool is not open, no basketball or lockers are available. Ok, I will try it out and see. @Krapow Really nice trip report, your wife is beautiful and your Daughter got her Moms looks.............thankfully LOL!
    4 points
  3. For an update, its been pissing down all day. On a hunch, I checked and the remaining working brain cells I have left put a folding umbrella in my bag. I headed down to beefeaters and they're still doing the Mexican buffet. They've lowered the price 50Baht. Its not great Mexican, but in Muang Rayong I either have to make it myself or drive over to Ban Chang if I want Mexican. On the way back I stopped in at Lucky beer bar. The only one open on Dianna in the day. Grim. The ladys there were a little hungry, but I helped out a bit. I was the only customer there and in Rockhouse when I stopped in after an ATM run. There's almost no day trade, but the nights on LK have been good. Its the last night for me tonight. I'll probably will stick to LKM in this weather. soi boomerang will have to wait for next trip.
    4 points
  4. Last night trade was down a bit in the open front bars. The gogos were well attended, though. I visited the three gogos on LKM I hadn't yet. Crystal, Queen, and Lady Love. Queen twice ('nuf said). As tonight will be my last night, I'm having an early onset of post-Pattaya blues. Which is ridiculous, because I live less than an hour from here. LOL.
    4 points
  5. Be like @galenkia, start easy ...
    4 points
  6. He also said you don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.
    4 points
  7. As said... the Pullman has opened up after it was completely closed for awhile. The Kosa beer garden is still going and was open. ..... admittedly a little quieter at present but still had fair patronage at night. The bars ...except for Mybar had a fair crowd seeing it was week nights and overall things were close to being back to normal. cheers
    3 points
  8. 3 points
  9. I have been visiting a few places in Issan.... latest was a couple of nights at Udon Thani and Khon Khan. As Tommy said...some good deals on the hotels...especially midweek and happy to welcome you. I noticed that there seem to be a few mid week conferences going on in hotels for one or two days ...especially with some Govt departments... so the hotels are getting some good business. I was in Khon Khan Monday and Tuesday ..... stayed at the Kosa Hotel.... was about just over half full. The Pullman hotel reopened a few weeks back.... and on the Tuesday was fully booked out. cheers
    3 points
  10. Last month spent moving house from London to Neath in Wales. Best move I ever made; Porn and Kataleya are so happy here, we feel blessed. The change in our living standard, and for £270 less a month than London, is exponential, truly is. So much to do and see, must put some pics up....
    3 points
  11. Went to the beach today. Nice weather -- warm & clear. Walked a bit. Snapped a few photos. Watched the world go by... Made Wagyu tacos at home later. Washed them down with some local beer. Other than wearing a mask to be conscientious around strangers... life is about normal (for me at least).
    3 points
  12. Super girl closed permanently on WS. Owner asking 6M key money.
    3 points
  13. Never went to Vung Tau Gary Glitter's old hangout place so put me off a bit. I think Vietnam is an amazing country to explore and been all over. Might have stated before but Hue is one of the nicest cities on earth for me. Vitenamese food is so much nicer than Thai for me ........its Monsieur's Thai Spice French influence on la cuisine. Lovely fusion of French and Asian. Strong minded independent people the Vietnamese.
    3 points
  14. This is an old thread that has been resurrected But , I had a great time in Hoi An , just 10 minutes outside the city are loads of beach resorts , plus on the full moon each month they have lantern festivals , I did a cycling tour through the countryside a walking tour through the old city and a full day cooking course with Red Bridge ( all beers / wine included whilst cooking / eating ) - but with plenty of time to relax and chill by the pool or on the beach
    3 points
  15. 1st taste of the Lincolnshire sausages in my meat delivery. Very pleased with them. Usual veg and beans.
    3 points
  16. 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.
    3 points
  17. Friday’s like up. Happy weekend.
    3 points
  18. 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
    2 points
  19. Forgot about this thread,thanks for the bump. everything winding down here,I’ve started winter stuff,Will replant in the next couple of weeks.Had the first pumpkin last night.Was bloody delicious.
    2 points
  20. ...this season, I did succession planting. My 3rd and final set, I grew in either Grow-Bags or Air Pots. Using both these types of containers sped up the growth time along with making them grow extra big. I think the Air Pots/or similar did the best in making my tomato plants over 6 feet tall. I think I’ll buy more fake/knock off Air pots from Lazada when I can get back into Thailand.
    2 points
  21. Taking advantage of a nice day yesterday to do a little late season ridge riding:
    2 points
  22. I seem to spend most of my time nowadays banging my head on the desk when I read about the UK's latest C19 situation/remedy/testing farce/lockdowns/rules/laws/quarantines/etc/etc. How can they be so utterly inept? Ugh!
    2 points
  23. Today it is completely overcast, no sun. I'm happy to say that my double sized capacity solar panels are putting out less than 50 percent and still charging the batteries quite well as well as running everything. So called experts have told me that my systems are not efficient, BUT, they serve me well. Yes, I am wasting electricity but what is wasted cost nothing. I am able to use the extra power from full sun but I have to plug in an outlet and throw a double pole double throw switch to change from the grid to the battery bank. I'm not techie enough to make it automatic. That runs the refrigerator, some lights and a freezer. If I forget to change it back, my batteries would not last through the night. It's not worth the effort. I run eight surveillance cameras plus the router and WiFi from the battery bank 24/7. If using the grid, the power goes off (often) so do the cameras and recorders.
    2 points
  24. Oh dear,I guess that 50k now then.You must be the Wednesday wire.
    2 points
  25. I was going to pop into tonight, do you recon I'll be safe in an Everton shirt?....lol.....
    2 points
  26. Getting a tad jealous here, but i know you're only doing your duty as a conscientious ex pat helping out the Thai economy in these hard times!
    2 points
  27. @tko good reading, thanks for doing the thread, great to 'touch base' for those of us who are not sure when he can do that again.
    2 points
  28. 2 points
  29. I have three solar systems that I have built. First, don't believe the wattage figures advertised. You will be fortunate to get about half of the wattage advertised for maybe 5 hours a day. Your installation will not even be close to their laboratory testing. Cloudy overcast and rainy days drastically cut production. For instance, my largest system has double the number of panels recommended. There are 4 250 watt panels The panels have a very long life and are now cheap enough to double up. Those 4 panels feed a 40 amp MPPT charge controller. Cheaper charge charge controllers are not very efficient. MPPT controllers convert the extra voltage into usable amps. It feeds 4 6 volt 225 ah golf cart batteries. They are connected to give 12 volts so the total amp hours is 450. They cost approximately 5,000 baht each. The batteries feed a 1,500 watt pure sine wave inverter. Decent quality components cost more and my inverter is also oversized. Running an inverter at near the capacity causes it to get fairly hot. My oversized inverter stays barely warm to the touch. With wiring and decent quality components you can add about another 10,000 baht to the cost. I should add that I didn't build my systems to save money. The electric grid here sucks. I wanted stable voltage and 24/7 electricity. I have no idea if I will ever get a payback but really don't care. I have a backup inverter and charge controller but the systems have been VERY reliable and they have not been needed over all these years. It is very important to never run the batteries below 12.1 volts. (fifty percent discharge). They need to be fully charged every day. I have seen guys fry an expensive battery bank by running the deep cycle batteries down too low. They may call them deep cycle batteries but that doesn't mean that you can abuse them or run the acid level below the plates. I like the idea of lithium batteries but the components are special and the batteries are sill priced too high. Keeping the deep cycle lead acid batteries serviced is a pain but they will last many years if taken care of.
    2 points
  30. 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
    2 points
  31. I only wish i could be there!
    2 points
  32. Just a few snaps around town this late afternoon, early evening. and again apologizes in advance to anyone getting upset about isolated people sitting in bars, sadly the new norm I just taken a knee....lol.....game on....
    2 points
  33. Yes, @Thai Spice has a similar 'gym', only his bar is actually called 'the gym' 😄 Local's were very happy to have us there, much needed cash methinks.
    1 point
  34. ^ Nice tomatoes...Afghan strain..? 😉 My Princess Flower -- aka Tiouchina -- is doing it's thing right now.
    1 point
  35. Similar situation here in Colorado. I found out what is worse than wearing a mask when working out at the gym ---------- wearing a wet mask. I lasted all of 15 minutes before my perspiration had my mask thoroughly wet to where breathing through it became intolerable.
    1 point
  36. Uriah Heep drummer Lee Kerslake aged 73 from cancer. Also played on Ozzy's first two solo albums. Diary Of A Madman is a brilliant album. RIP
    1 point
  37. Lunchtime snack Smoked ham, egg and lettuce baguette with mayonnaise
    1 point
  38. I know of a Super Girl on Soi Diamond that turned into Angel a gogo.... I wasn't aware that it was reborn on Walking Street. Where was it before its demise?
    1 point
  39. I am guessing that finally closes one chapture in your life and opens another. Enjoy your retirement.
    1 point
  40. Bad bogey from Bryson on 18, didn’t hit driver and still ended up in the rough. And everyone is forgetting the 3 footer he missed on 12, I thought it was a tap-in and had to use the PVR to see what happened. Wolff shot 30 on front 9, Casey had 30 on the back....Patrick Reed shot 43 on the back. Unreal, about 3 hours ago I would have bet on him to win this thing. Will be an exciting Sunday, go Rory
    1 point
  41. They don't mind , they won 555 lots of museums about the war , some of the pictures / exhibits are very moving
    1 point
  42. Tesco's had an offer on Abott ale in cans today, I am slowly working my way through the box.
    1 point
  43. I'm in. Any day suits me.
    1 point
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