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Golden Rock in Myanmar at sunset.

Going Central World to be a bit shopping later, they stock my kinda clothes 😁

A walk around tarragona and time to replenish stocks,can't help notice how cheap it is here,cappuccino and icing pastry 3,10 euros in one of the many small coffee shops in town,and 15 euros for the snacks,only 17 today a bit chilly.

IMO the best place to sit and listen to Billabong and Triangle bars' live bands is in Katesiree ........ .........

Sitting in the Sports bar in Udon Thani waiting for the footy (rugby league) to start.

Breakfast starter, bit of a mish mash of everything, dim sum, various cheeses, gyoza, smoked duck, and various sauces ... Only the starter, mind 😁

Dinner at the Brick House.

Last day in tarragona,sailing tomorrow lunchtime down to somewhere near malaga,made the most of it,20s today and a lot of people at beach out and about.

@thumper63 @lazarus Great pics guys, well done. Just doing some reminiscing from 2020 back home in "Man Jose" LOL! Springtime with my Roses in front of the house and of course a trip to The Rose Garden locally. Few other pics....and cause the gym was not open back then, I was forced to use dumb bells at home.....and wifey thought my impression of Boris Johnson was pretty good. The drive up Covid test was in full swing at that time too. Of course when she would go out with 2 of her other Thai friends locally here...she would dress like a bar girl. Bitch rarely dressed like this for me LOL!

Please dont turn this thread t a political one, thanks

My trip didn't work out as I hoped exercise wise , I only used the hotel gyms once on the trip and my step count only averaged 6,600 a day ... but I was fairly sensible on the booze front , I only had a few very daft nights out and I was mostly drinking vodka soda with a squeeze of lime .....1/3rd of the time I would only have a couple of small beers / glasses of wine and 1/3rd were booze free .. I had a few big meals out , but mostly tried to keep it healthy for breakfast and have one other meal a day the result was .. I lost 5lbs ( 2kgs ) on my two month trip .... not as much as I hoped , but still happy ... now to get back to a good routine at home with gym , Pilates and walking

Had a great time at this bar last night with Gordon and the Big Guy. The place was rocking and the musicians were spot on. I left at 2am while my mates were still singing an dancing. It was a great crowd.

Yes, I was rather shocked, but took an advance visit to Hua Hin immigration and posed that question. Was told no problem on a 30 day exempt visa. Being free was also a bonus. I had previously been told by an agent on Soi 94 that I needed a Non O visa and to have residence in Hua Hin. Immigration even advised me that staying in hotel for 9 days was also acceptable. I was a happy boy.

Booked a room at 8 hotel in Udon Thani for tonight. I haven’t had drink this trip so will have a few this afternoon watching the rugby league. Booked a room for 2 but not sure the missus will come.

There's just something special about a burger

I finally ran into Bell. She's my main massage girl for a bunch of years. I thought she had moved on.

Thanks for the current info. I'd much rather be over the road in air conditioned comfort, and not have to listen to the Billabong's awful house band. Joy of Patts, something for everyone's tastes.

I agree...I dislike the 2 drink thing too....I am not a big drinker and one drink at a time is what I like...

Wetherspoon, Neath, had a nice Porter on today, worth the walk into town. Supped 2 pints over a leisurely 3 hour stay. A lovely beer.

OK I'm home alone & still jet lagged but I can still cook,even after four pints of real ale....

Hitting the tunes now. I'm a happy man, even with all of the issues.

Just got home after meeting my mate Tom who I worked with at my last job. Not seen him for a while so we met up in Bracknell at Wagamama, was nice to catch up, seems the workplace has really gone downhill.

I bought 24 bottles,18 red 6 white from Sainsburys in the last 2 days....25% off ain't to be ignored!

Just been to Morrisons to buy 3 bottles of 19 Crimes Red for £18, not a bad deal.

Since there are sign boards advertising the 2 for 1 I see it as a marketing gimmick rather than a scam. But I do agree it pisses enough people off I wonder why the owners haven't caught on that it's a bad marketing gimmick. They also lose customers such as myself when I'm looking to have only one more drink before heading home or moving on to another venue. I don't know if they still do it, but at least at Billabong you could tell the staff you only want one drink and that's all you would pay for, although at a slightly higher per drink price than if you ordered the two drink special.

Also with Billabong the 2-1 only applies to House spirits, the House vodka is the worse I have tasted ... if you order Smirnoff then they charge 130 Baht per drink ... I can get the same in an air conditioned bar or GoGo 🤷‍♂️ I now avoid , unless friends want to meet there ... but I prefer Time Bar myself

Make sure you make a list what you're not going to do.

I'm getting ready to do absolutely nothing

lol Not having a car has added years to my life. Had to walk down Soi Bucky today. I don't think I have ever said so many curse words within twenty minutes in my life (and that is difficult to match, lol). What a friggen cesspool.

The first thing I did last night when I got home after 6 weeks away was make a list of what I have to do. Up at 0630 today-must be jet lagged-in Sainsburys at 7,groceries & 12 bottles of red,did a shedload of washing(or the machine did),sorted out a shedload of mail,ordered another 12 bottles of wine from Sainsburys online,went to see my mum in the care home just up the road & I'm just about to meet a mate in my local for my first real ale since leaving. I also ran both our cars & checked the tyres on them & drove over to mum's house to check it out. I need another fucking holiday!

A very sad stage to reach. Many of us will have been there, and will empathise with what you are going through. I just hope you have the Powers of Attorney in place.

Knocking off some of the "jobs" that mum has put on her list of things for me to do during my absence.... Changed the battery in a mantlepiece clock, got the garden hose out of the garage, booked an mot for her car, moved a small plant pot, rolled up a winter rug.....

and home .... 37 1/2 hours door to door ... although that did include a night in London because it was too late to get a flight home and the Sun is out , blues skies 😎 hoping for a good Spring and Summer 🙏

I remember posting on a different thread about how some lose weight in Thailand, but I put it on, even though apart from coffee cake, I don't really eat sweet stuff. I put it down to the many crazy crisp flavours, I love crisps. I mean fried squid eggs ffs, it's hardly Tudor pickled onion 😆 I just bought a small box/tube of spicy garlic prawn pringles.

Big girl now, stage 3 at swimming school, can swim really well. No armbands, even on horses 🤣

I rented a car in Zurich when my missus came out to visit,chose a manual Nissan Micra because that's what she had in the UK. Of course it was LHD & she couldn't change gear....I'd had a few pints so we ended up with her operating the clutch & me the shifter....great fun,in retrospect.

This little fellow joins us every morning for coffee.

Brilliant! Now that I am back in Isaan this is what I see every morning whilst having my 6am coffee.. There are so many changes in Isaan since I first moved here in '97 but scenes like this still remain, although the days of buffalo ploughing the fields have long gone I am proud of showing my sons "real Isaan" before the changes began..