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Dining in Elgano Italian restaurant in Cardiff to celebrate our 16th Wedding Anniversary.

Might as well start a tr as don't think posting many pics in the what are you doing now thread is a good idea,will be mostly hua hin and any side trips,along the lines of the following pics,scenery,people,ect and anything else I find interesting.

My honest opinion is nicely fitted out I just don't understand how they'll separate from one bar to the next. We went in sat in the middle and a girl with a drink card from another bar not the bar we were sitting in front of rushed over to get our drink order. So it seems that all those tables in the middle it's a free-for-all for customers and for the bars to go get their customers. The problem is going to come from you'll have a bar that will have a group of very aggressive service girls and they'll be running up and down that place not mattering where their bar is located in the complex because they can take drink orders throughout. I can see this becoming a problem between the bars. The Winn bar had food catered in for the grand opening from a Chinese place here in town very nice but again here comes the problem the food is at their bar but you've got 200 people sitting in the middle of the place not sitting at any specific bar having drinks from all the other bars. Well I Can Only Imagine that some of those guys are going to take advantage and Wander Over and Avail themselves of the offerings despite not even drinking or having drinks from that particular bar. I think the customer prices are pretty much in line I think they're. Fair Lady drinks at 170 baht with the girls getting 70 of that as a commission. If you're sitting in the middle and say you order a drink from Caesar's Palace bar and a girl comes over to have a chat with you from Planet Hollywood Bar and you decide you'd like to buy her a drink now you have 2 bins. One of our group asked the girls if after getting the drink they could wander through the complex and have a look with their drink in their bin to which she replied no you have to settle your been here before you can walk through and look at the other places. I understand why they want you to do this because there is going to be without question some bins that are missing at the end of the night with people wandering through before settling up at the particular bar where they got the drink from It was considerably cooler in the complex than it was outside so the air conditioning was working as the owner said 880000 BTU's the electric bill is going to be absolutely massive. The music level I thought was just about right you could hold a conversation and hear what the others were saying this is when the DJ was there before the band started we left before the band got going so can't comment on that. The bar fine is 800. As another board member that we met there said this could very well work for the tourists but I don't think they're going to get a tremendous expat following or guys that have been coming for years and I could be wrong it would not be the first time. I wish them the best it takes a big set of balls to get into a venture like this

I think, during Covid, many expats stepped up to help Thais who were seriously affected by lack of food and shelter. The pictures of queues for food and water were more than evident at the time. A lot of money was raised. You wouldn't know it now that just a couple of years ago, Pattaya was almost a ghost town For tourists, like myself, I rarely get to meet Thais, not associated with the tourist industry, but its a lot different for those for expat farangs, many who put back, into the place which they have made their home. I reckon most of us are good farangs in the sense that we behave respectfully and peacefully toward the country and people we are visiting and I seldom see any colonial type attitudes these days. Pattaya and other tourist areas are a bubble, and do not represent Thailand as a whole. Those of us who have travelled around the country and spent any time in villages and typical 3towns will know that. But for some, they only the tourist side behave like they might in Benidorm or Ibiza. They come and go and often behave like animals. But in my opinion, they are few and far a very small minority. We should not forget that the main reason for Thais coming to work in places like Pattaya and leaving their homes and families is due to poverty and a chance of employment that they might not get elsewhere, particularly if poorly educated and unskilled. Indirectly, we are all helping toward the economy and the welfare of Thai families from places far and wide, while having fun and relaxation. Sure it may feel sometimes that we are walking wallets, but everything balances out. I am sure that for most bar girls, shagging Western tourists for money, would have been their first choice of employment if there were other opportunities, and there is pressure from their families and the needs of their children to send money home. Once part of the entertainment industry, its hard to leave, and there is not the kind of welfare systems that we enjoy in the West. As in the first post, it's easy to identify bad farangs but overlook the mostly good and unnoticed Thailand often penned as the land of smiles but I often see beyond the smile on girls faces, who playact night after night to please us, but are constantly thinking about their families back home and the worries they have and we don't see. We can just walk away at the end of holiday, but not so easy for them

I have been up this way for 4 months now and am very happy with my life, more so than any other village I have lived in here over the last 30 years! I eat mainly Isaan food which I love because M'Lady is a damned good cook, but I have to say that because she is a Geoff Capes lookalike in his prime and I don't fancy being on the wrong end of her right hook!!!! The local markets sell all the fresh veggie we need and, along with Tesco Lotus, all the fresh meat ....... except for Aussie beef and lamb. So I have just placed an order with expatfoods for delivery. Shipment costs for transportation, dry ice packaging and box - 399 baht. Sounds a lot but I have added cheese and 20 pies to my meat order !!! (who ate all the pies? you fat bastard you fat bastard!!!) I'll let you know how things progress ....

Home for the next 2 and a half weeks except for a couple of short trips.

We've all seen them, maybe even met or had a chat with them, but this trip I saw nada, zero, none. (I'm not including the sadder cases of those who've psychosis induced issues due to alcoholic abuse or drug abuse over an extended period of time - these people have hopefully received the care they need). Last year I saw a bloke in Trench Town wearing a kilt, along with fishnet stockings , the following night he was in a multicoloured katftan. Introduced himself as "Steve" and was a great laugh and very nice guy indeed, very articulate and intelligent. This trip though, no one at all. I saw some vloggers (cunts) noteably that "vlogging a dead horse" twat who almost managed to get himself a good hiding from a bloke in Time Bar on LKM, but it was quickly de escalated. I even missed bm @Nightcrawler sporting his safari suit , cravat and cigarette holder. I noticed the pace of things is much faster now. Treetown seems to be very transient in its customer base, guys sit, have a beer then move on. Very little "intimacy" as well - not in the literal sense of the word , but perhaps the open design of the entire place doesn't lend itself to that, the girls don't seem to want to go beyond the normal interrogation routine, it's like they get a drink and then the conversation stalls. Not wanting all BM's to munch on a nostalgia sandwich, but this trip there were a handful of bars where I was made to feel welcome, and numerous bars where I was made to feel like just another faceless farang.

At the end of this morning's bike ride I'd thought I'd relax with a massage. There's an older lady at a massage shop on Klang that waves to me most mornings as I ride by, so as I was looking for a legit massage I thought I'd give her a try. I pull up and while locking up my bike I confirm her shop has a shower I can use to cool down a bit before the massage. She said yes, but then went on to explain something about the big boss of the shop going home for Songkran so we'll have to use a different room, but it's a very nice room with a good shower. She then proceeds to lead me down Klang. As we're walking I ask her how far and she says not far. So we trudge along about 25m, turn up an adjoining soi, go another 25m and make a another turn into an alley which I then cotton on to is the building where she has a room. She then puts her finger to her lips and motions me to follow her quietly up the stairs. So up, up, up we go until finally we end our ascent on the 6th floor. To her credit she wasn't even breathing hard and while I wasn't either, the climb after a bike ride in the hot sun meant I was seriously overheating. It was also at that point I realized there was a good chance her room was a fan only room. Sure enough, we get to the end of the hall, she unlocks her door and while it's a nice corner room with good breeze from the open windows, it lacks A/C. It was also obvious that my hoped for legit massage was not to be and that insead if I stayed I'd probably be treated to the sight of a naked great grandmother. Using my overheated state as an excuse, I explained politely to her that even with her promised very good shower, it will be impossible for me to cool down enough to enjoy a massage. I felt bad for her as she pleaded with me to not go as she has very few customers and very little money, but I quickly left after slipping 100B into her hand for her time.

Lieing on a sunbed on Tien beach,Koh Larn.perspiring profusely 😆

At 4am this morning the last of our Songkran houseguests left.. Hoooray !!! Initially we had M'lady's son, wife and grandson staying. We had a great time together! BBQs, beer, guitar twanging and singing at night. Brilliant! But they left and "The Whiteadders" moved in !! It was one of M'lady's many sisters with her bunch of fucking self righteous freaks!! Lady Whiteadder spent most of the day at their Mum's house across the road but her husband and three kids barricaded themselves into their rooms with the Aircon on full. They only came out when they could smell food!! Things got to me on Tuesday though. M'lady got up at 4am to cook food to take to the temple as the family representative, then returned to cook food for everybody else for showering her Mum. I get on well with her family and was happy to spend time there. Unfortunately later on tiredness and too many Leos put M'lady in a drunken coma....... That was when The Whiteadders started complaining that they were hungry but I refused to wake up M'lady (not that I could!) and asked them what they wanted to eat. I got everything out for them to cook for themselves. They looked at me as if I belonged in a Victorian Mental Institution! They cooked themselves Mama noodles instead..f**k em! Last night Lady Whiteadder started bollocking M'lady for drinking too much the night before.... That is when I reacted and put her straight ... and that is why they left this morning rather than stay over the weekend as planned!! Unfortunately I didn't have a turnip shaped like a willy to feed them with !!!

Well my form continues and we won the whole competition, beating some top guys along the way. Really pleased for my partner as she has never won a big comp before and she stayed on water all evening whilst I drank Beer Lao all night and she played very well when needed.

After watching a nice sunset behind the hills,we decided to eat at bann khun paw for a change as not to far,the music wad at a decent volume,busy as usual,still great value.

Keeping in mind that there is a huge difference in a cheap Charlie and a guy who is just living within his means.

A look under the partly-closed shutters of LV Beer Bar Complex this evening:

A friend's pre-teen daughter happens to like pearls. They often take beach vacations to look for them. One Christmas she told him she wanted a pearl necklace as a gift. He told her to go google and show him what types she preferred. Don't do that.

Golden Rock in Myanmar at sunset.

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.

Had to add more photos here due max file size

It's that time of year again left this morning got to Bangkok Bank at 8:30 just as they were opening by 8:40 I had my passbook updated letter showing my balance and now they need a 3-month letter showing activity in the past 3 months. In any event 10 minutes in 10 minutes out. Walked to Maneerat I walked in to a chorus of Hello Larry. They're a good group there they never forget me I'm sure it has nothing to do with the croissants I drop them by on occasion 😁. The place was mobbed as I expected it to be as they were just coming back from a week-long holiday. When Fon saw me she motioned me to the back and handled me right away no waiting which I didn't request or expect. I'm happy to wait my turn but she dealt with me right away. And then informed me I'd have to go down to immigration to get a photo taken she assured me there'd be no waiting and there wasn't the minute I got the immigration the photographer grabbed me took me in to the back office had me stand in front of desk 8 took my photo and I was gone less than 5 minutes. It's a pain in the ass going down there but if you got to do it you got to do it. She also told me not to expect it back before Thursday due to the amount of business they're handling at the moment. I really like it down there I've never had a single issue that they haven't been able to deal with they're always fast reliable and while I do think there are companies now that may do it a bit cheaper I just feel safe with them so until next year I'm okay. There are the guys that say why would you pay somebody to do it if you have the money in the bank you can do it yourself well I did do it myself a couple of times but the amount of time I had to wait down there it just wasn't worth it to me I'm one of those got more time than money guys but time is money so for the 8,000 Baht they charge ( using your own or 12500 if using their money) is in my opinion well worth it. Especially today it was an absolute madhouse down there Let me add that I got my exercise for the day I did all of this on foot including walking from the agent all the way down to the immigration but I did take a bolt back because I was beat long walk

I picked up her majesty late in the evening once from T3 Heathrow, after her flight home from Thailand and after putting her luggage into the car off the trolley, off we went along the M4 and then South on the M25 and joined the M3. After a few minutes on the M3 she reached around to the back seat to get her handbag and it wasn’t there. 😢f**k!!! It seems she’d left it on the handle of the trolley in the car park. f**k. SO, eventually turn off the M3 and get back on it going East and eventually after about 2 hours arrive back at T3 car park and we’re praying the trolley and handbag are still there. Of course they ain’t. PANIC as all her cards and passport + money are in it. She ran down to the security office and luckily someone had handed it in and left their name and address along with a phone number. Anyway, later, on the way home, she rang the number and spoke to the old lady to thank her. Then pretended to sleep for the next 3 hours so she didn’t have to listen to cuss her for her stupidity. 🤨 The next day, the wife arranged for a big food hamper and a case of wine delivered to her as a thank you and feckin paid with it on my card. 🤬 Women!!!

Off shortly to see an Iron Maiden tribute band at the Acoustic Lounge in Bracknell and meet my friends Ron and Rob who I haven’t seen for a fair while.

Lunch at the beach cafe and restaurant in cha am,chicken cashew is really good here.

After dropping ting tong at work decided to hit the beach and go for a swim,once I get pcx tomorrow hopefully, the routine of dropping her at work will change. A red flag was bobbing around in the water not far from where I was swimming,no idea why,maybe some rocks just underneath the surface,but been many times in this area its never been there before tit. Some pics taken around 8,30am.

A walk along the beach before the sun goes down,love this time of year when the tides way out. Trying out the camera phone,it's as good as the Sony point and shoot I've shot similar shots with ,actually think the zooms better !

My latest trip (and apologies for not making the coffee meet up - I had a lot going on) started kind of well. my (comfortable and slept for a solid 9 hours) EVA flight arrived early, de planed and immigration was pretty clear. By way of some miracle my bags were among the first to come off (same happened on my return journey) and I was out, and into the Nams taxi by 16:30, so less than an hour after hitting the tarmac. I then LINE messaged my friend, (who had given the deposit for my room) immediately called me back. "got a problem with your room mate" "oh no, what's the score" "well, I went to the Hotel this morning to drop you off a few beers" (See, he's a good mate)" and they'd given your room away" "what the fucking hell are you on about?". "yeah, so I got an arse on and spoke to the manager, read him his horoscope and told him he's in breach of contract, so they've upgraded your room for the entire stay, oh and you've got breakfast thrown in as well". My mate managed to work a miracle, and it was a great start to a great trip. Upon arriving at the hotel the senor receptionist gave me a sheepish look and told me that my friend had been quite firm in his manner. For those of you who are wondering, it was Cerberus, the former owner of the Devils Den who sorted everything. In addition, I also got a free cocktail voucher. I was pretty tired, and believe it or not on my first night I fell asleep on the bed with a bag of crisps and a beer and woke up 10 hours later picking broken crisps out of my bumcrack. Fast forward a few days, and I was eating my breakfast when there was some commotion going on. The place (Page10 Soi 10) had only gone and caught fire. Worse still, my room was 3 floors above it. As panic was obviously starting to set in, they evacuated the hotel, however, as everyone was running out, I was running upstairs to grab my cash, cards, passport and phone charger (no idea why I grabbed the charger though), and despite the staff telling me otherwise, I was fucking having none of it. Last thing I needed was to be stranded with no money or cards and having to ponce drinks and sleep in abandoned bars. Luckily Pattaya's finest fire service managed to get their 48 year old fire tender to work and extinguish the fire. My room stunk of smoke, so I aired it all day, stayed at my friends for the night and returned the following day. By way of compensation we were given a cup of tea or coffee in the restaurant. I thought that was generous given the fact I could have been looking at losing all my clothes, my passport, airline tickets and the thick end of a few grand in readies. So, lesson learned and the moral of the story, if your hotel catches fire and you're lucky enough to be there at the time, grab everything and ignore any toxic smoke or instructions from the staff.

Finally I found my form, lost my 2nd match to a guy I gave a 3 start to 6 and the 8 as his extra money ball. It's double elimination, so I beat all of the guys on the loosers side until I got to play the same guy again. This time I was playing real well and beat him hill hill. In the final I slaughtered the guy 7 to 2, I had to give him a 2 start, so he didn't win a game. Very very satisfying to finally start to play to my potential. Unfortunately it has taken 5 months and I will be returning home soon to terrorise the fish! At least over the 5 months my flight has been paid for!

About to take off ,lhr to doha ,bkk Back 5 rows were empty, 3 seats to lie down on,happy days.

Braver than me, ambushing and emptying a few Thai Motorbike drivers 😂

Enjoyed some fantastic trail running over the Malvern Hills today, friggin love this place

Good summary by Larry. I thought the place had a good vibe going and have come around to thinking the place stands a good chance of being a success. I suspect they'll have a problem with drink and dash customers as it's going to be very hard for the staff to keep a watchful eye on all their customers. Made harder by the fact there is nothing to distinguish one bart's bin from another bar. Unfortunately it's the staff who will have to cover the drink cost when a customer walks away without paying. And as Larry pointed out, their electric bill is going to be massive. Even more so as surprisingly they don't have an air curtain at the entrance. Something unique to the beer garden are dB meters at the front and two bars in on each side. At around 90 dB you could still carry on a converstation without having to shout.

A BM here recommended the penang curry in Det5, so I went to try it today. It didn't dissapoint.

Chicken thighs with roast red pepper and Penang curry sauce.

I lived on Koh Lanta (Krabi) for three dry seasons ('06-'09) and would walk the beach (Long Beach) everyday. My gal at the time worked in a little resort with a beach bar & massage shop... Often felt like I was living in a dream. . . .

What a friggen great guy.

Just had the haircut in Bangkok, first time I'd used this salon. Not as exciting as @Yessongs car story but even the little things can be fun here. Got a terrific cut from a lady certainty at least in her early 50s. The lad before me was an early 20 something good looking gym rat and she's all business with him. She's finishing up, shaving the back of my neck with a straight edged razor. She looks at me in the mirror and gives me the classic " You handsum man"😀, she pauses and then says "No very handsum!!" 100 baht tip secured! I know she's lying but walked out with a spring in my step🥳

Wee walk up both sides of hin lek fai this morning and some beasts i encountered,bailed at 9,30 as just getting to hot,least the drone is still working,tho can't see me using it much this trip

Ready for breakfast on a bright and cheerful day in Manila

To me it is more about the accuser than the accused. It is definitely popular amongst Farang business owners to bandy about accusations of cheap charlies not wanting to pay their exorbitant prices, whereas I look to see what I am getting for my money compared to other places and just stay away. So am I a cheap bastard?? All they want is your money (of course - they are in business!)! They aren't your mates, especially if you only see them 3 weeks a year but also if you see them 3 times a week but only in their place of business !!!! So in conclusion. I am the biggest cheap bastard I know...!!

Last night's Anniversary meal

Knocked up a sticky chicken and cashew nuts. Was lovely, but it is pretty heavy on the salt, so suggest using reduced salt soy sauce if needed. I love the taste of Hoisin sauce. Topped with spring onions, sesame seeds and chilli flakes.

Red-tailed Hawk today...

Chicken Kiev and freshly dug Jersey Royals 😍

Fucking lovely, all for 860 Baht! What it also includes is a coconut shake, plate of homemade (or at least not frozen banged in the deep fat fryer) spring rolls, and chips. So about £20 for the lot. Outrageous value!

Seafood for dinner again including Red Snapper, King Crab, Tiger prawns, salad and dips.

I've turned into a Leicester City fan. The owner of Leicester City, who is also the owner of King Power, and this hotel, after his father died in the horrific helicopter crash, Is coming to the hotel bar area to cheer on the team at 7.30pm Thai time. Loads of security, as you can imagine, but I've been told they will try to fit me in at the back if it's possible. I think told them I was a personal friend of @Derek Dangleberries and @john luke, and they took a sharp intake of breath, mumbled something about Leeds scum, and nearly had be arrested. Suffice to say my invite was rescinded due to top of the table drama. Can't help but think their 'Road back to the Premiership' slogans might be a tad premature. But anyway, i expect to see some pretty heavy security about the hotel lobby tonight. C'mon the Siamese Foxes!

About a year ago a neighbor replaced their aging 1000 L water tank and offered it to us for free. I agreed to take it off their hands as it would double the capacity of our rainwater collection system for my lady's garden. So after a year of procrastinating I finally got around to hooking it up to the existing system. Over the last two days I reworked the plumbing, added a new, stronger booster pump, and added an additional water faucet outside our security wall so she could more easily water her plants along the soi. With everything finally hooked up the moment of truth finally arrived to test out the system. I opened the valves, primed and turn on the pump and was heartened to hear water gurgling through the pipes and out the open faucets. Only issue I noticed right away was I had put a gasket on the pump on backwards so it was leaking at the point. That was an easy fix. Not so easy was the leak my lady pointed out a few minutes later. She pointed out the drip, drip, drip of water leaking out the bottom of the inlet port on the inherited tank. A reminder you get what you paid for. I'm thinking that's going to be bastard to try and fix as the bottom half of the inlet port has slightly separated from from the tank. Best I can do is try to plastic weld the broken seam. Now on order from Lazada are HDPE plastic strips I'll need for the repair. I already have the heat gun, so in a few days we'll find out just how good my welding skills are. Here's pics of the entire system. The business end is tank no. 1 that collects the runoff from a downspout. A good downpour will easily fill half the tank before the storm moves on. Water from tank no. 1 is gravity fed to the inherited, tank no. 2. Still on my to do list is to raise tank no. 1 up about 20 cm so the top of each tank is about equal in height. That way when tank no. 1 is full, tank no. 2 will also be full. BTW, the original plan was to position tank on. 2 at the back of the house next to tank no. 1. Unfortunately when the tank was dropped off I discovered it wouldn't fit through the opening to the back of the house, so the front of the house is where it ended up. Rather than have an unsightly big blue tank outside my front door, I wrapped it in green netting to reduce slightly the unsightly factor. The final piece to the watering system is a 450W booster pump that's connected via a T joint to the line to both tanks.

Devonshire again with Brian and Gordon. The tomato soup was a very pleasant surprise.