maipenrai

I went up for a sailplane ride in Palm Springs many years ago, was very enjoyable - the plane was equipped with a wing-tip camera and I have photos of myself in the cockpit but unfortunately not on this laptop.

Yes, and the public washrooms, although old and grungy, came in handy more than once too...

I guess I spoke too soon about Jomtien, some very loud thunder in the last few minutes and more rain...

I had an errand to do near the corner of Pattaya Klang and 2nd Rd the other day and noted that the dogleg arcade that used to run through the building on the corner is now gone; the 2nd Rd end had a little bar called the "GinTonic Bar" that I used to drop into often, and was one of the last where I was able to sneak beer with the owners after Covid shut all the bars down: Here's the 2nd Rd angle: And here's the Klang angle, showing the tin barrier and empty space behind where the arcade used to be:

Just about done here in Jomtien now...

Lovely old "fintail" Mercedes that we've seen here before; I owned a similar car many years ago, 1967 Mercedes 230:

Trip appears to be making more sense here than you are...

Oh, so that's who Toby Keith was - I'm not a country fan so never made the connection but this song and its video was a classic, very entertaining...TFP...

This wasn't a bad read - this fellow was something else, just plain batshit crazy:

I have to admit that the constant pollution I am seeing in Pattaya here now, and can recall seeing last year as well, gets me down as the area of Canada I live in has some of the cleanest air in the world; I'm looking out of a 17th story window here in Jomtien and I can barely make out the curve of the coastline for the haze hanging in the air.

Actually, I used to buy cheap folding rechargeable lights from the street vendors when I first ran across this problem but they never seemed to last that long so I finally went to the plug-in option - I leave it with a friend here when I go home or elsewhere so don't have to pack it in my luggage; I'll definitely look into this option for regional travel, though.

Oops, forgot this one - isn't it lovely when you get into a baht bus that has the windows in the front overhang so you can see where you are going and where you need to get off, instead of hanging your head out the side like a bloody dog?

This has more to do with hotels/guesthouses/condos than actually living in Thailand, although it may apply to your longer term rentals as well. My main complaint with any accommodation is poor lighting - I am a big reader and love to prop myself up in bed and read when I can't sleep or in the morning when I awake, and I have a real hard time with the poor or non-existent lighting around the bed areas in most venues. A few years ago I went up to Home Pro in the Big C on Pattaya Klang and bought a proper adjustable desk lamp and have been dragging it from place to place ever since. Today I moved from View Talay 6, where once again I needed this light, to a longer term rental in Jomtien; while I was waiting for my Grab ride outside of VT6 and fussing with my bags, I put my folded light down on the concrete retaining wall, thinking at the time that I hoped I didn't forget it there - well, guess what - the taxi came so quickly that I totally forgot to pick up my light. I dumped my stuff and got organized in Jomtien and then got the baht bus back downtown to meet up with the lads at Hemingway's, and figured I'd just go check and see if the light was still there, or if some kind soul had handed it in to security; well, lo and behold, up to the landing I walk and there is my light sitting exactly where I had left it, almost two hours later - will wonders never cease!! Here it is folded up beside the basically useless bedside light I found in the new condo: And here it is unfolded and ready to light up my reading for me:

Sorry to hear this, which is the total opposite of my check-in experience with EVA in Vancouver on my way to Thailand in mid-January - it was my first flight with EVA since before Covid and I wasn't sure what to expect so had my visa form and ongoing ticket ready to hand if requested. Luckily I arrived from my connecting flight only half an hour before EVA's counter opened so only had a few people in line in front of me, and the counter agent had me ready to go with both of my boarding passes (YVR and TPE) in less than five minutes - no questions about visas or return tickets or whatever, it couldn't have been smoother. It seems to me that this hassle about visas and ongoing/return tickets is an English or European thing because I've never been bothered about either in YVR.

Yes, mid-'70s Buick Regal...

I've always tipped the ladies well for good service, my previous comment was directed at servers in restaurants and bars...

Well, dumb ass me just couldn't stay home and behave myself so out I went - I walked all the way from Central Festival to Walking St, checked out the talent at the Coconut Bar on the way - got one LINE address for a sweet black girl from an exotic location whom I will be contacting later; stopped into the Beer Garden for a quick pint, and then continued onto Fahrenheit and met a totally charming little stunner whom I bought two drinks for - she told me her BF was 2500b, choke gasp - and price for ST was 4K although she said she'd do for me for 3K - sorry, darling - still beyond my interest or budget - but oh, what a gorgeous girl; from there, went to LePub to say hello to Phil - of course, ran into girls there whom I have known for years so it was more lady drinks, 555...then out to the baht bus, grabbed some street food and home - have a matinee organized for tomorrow afternoon so didn't bother looking for a girl tonight - feeling like a real holiday now after a somewhat rough start.

I seldom tip any more than 20b at any venue - call me cheap but that is what I am comfortable with and I don't recall any server calling me on it; after all, if I have already spent over 1000b on lady drinks, who are they to complain?

Good day today - went out for brekkie on Soi Buakhow and a couple of beer in Soi New Plaza, then back to the condo to pick up yesterday's laundry. Then it was off across 3rd Rd to Soi Bong Kot and Canterbury Tales to exchange some books - said hello to Dave there, always a pleasure and happy to see him still holding court. On the way back I just had to make a side trip to Babylon where I met two lovely girls and treated them to a couple of drinks; then back across 3rd to Amon's where I did the same silly thing...then off to Hemingway's for a daily special and home to veg out for a while...contemplating going out later for a prowl...

In my prime, I climbed tall wooden poles with climbing hooks, and also metal towers free-hand up to 400' and in the middle of winter sometimes - do I miss it, hell no...we never thought much about it at all until the safety rules got stringent and then our employers simply handed all of that work off to contractors, who in some cases were a lot worse safety-wise than we had ever been, lol...

I don't mind a mild nose job, much better than a silly boob job IMHO - reminds me of a member of a now-defunct board whose GF had a nose job because apparently it enabled her to perch her reading glasses more easily - and I couldn't really argue with that one.

Isn't it lovely when they give you a little dish for your used teabag, instead of having to put it into the saucer where it will drool all over the bottom of your cup - Tis Take Away, corner of Soi Buakhow and Soi New Plaza:

Yeah, I remember years ago a member of another board had personal cards printed up somewhere here in Pattaya but I don't remember where - I'll keep my eyes open on my rounds for some kind of graphic/print shop.

Oh, this is priceless - where can I get a supply?