maipenrai

Same with me, doors always locked when I am in to stay; I can recall when I was a child in the '60s that we never bothered locking our doors in our small northern community, and even when I lived in the smaller and more northern Dawson City in the '80s it was common to leave one's dwelling unlocked but you won't find that today and I think the main reason why this has changed over the years is the prevalence of addictive drugs in today's society - too many crimes of opportunity happening to feed these habits.

I ran across this lovely old 1955 Series I on 2nd Rd the other day - I thought the old Brit inside it was the owner but it was actually the Asian fellow's machine, apparently he has several in Australia. This machine has been well done as it still has its original engine but has had a new aftermarket carburetor fitted, as well as being converted to 12V negative ground electrics. The capstan winch on the back is a nice touch, as well - it's the first I've actually seen and harkens back to the Land Rover's original intended purpose which was as a low-cost agricultural implement:

I ran across my share of nut jobs many years ago while doing service work for the phone company; I remember one instance when I was sent to repair a two-party line back in the '70s when everything was analogue and mechanical - the woman living on the premises had a kind of haunted look about her and watched me intently as I corrected the problem and then called my dispatcher to give me a call back so I could test the ring. A minute later when the call came, this woman clasped her hands together, raised her eyes to the ceiling and yelled out loudly, "Praise the Lord!" I looked at her and said, "What did the Lord have to do with it? I'm the guy who fixed it." whereupon her mouth gaped open and her eyes followed me out the door...

There haven't been for me; before I started taking it I had had attacks of gout in my big toe, the ball of my foot and by far the worse my left knee, which I believe may have led to permanent damage as I have had that knee diagnosed with osteoarthritis. Anyway, I'd get a doctor's opinion about it before taking it because you'll need a prescription in the west although it is readily and cheaply available at any pharmacy in Thailand. I should add that allopurinol is taken purely as a preventative measure - it won't alleviate any pain you are currently feeling from gout.

I used to buy Piroxicam for easing the pain of gout and it worked very well for me - you can get it at any pharmacy here in Thailand. Indomethacin is another gout pain reliever that didn't seem to work for me but does for others. Since I started taking allopurinol every day about twelve years ago, I haven't had a real gout attack since although I do have the occasional transient pain.

Good lord, what some people won't stoop to...

I can understand this, I've had the odd chili hit just walking past the street vendors; I remember one day in the Triangle Bar we had to move to different seats because a vendor was on the street below us and the fumes were just too much to handle, lol..

I used to enjoy having daytime drinks in the Triangle pre-covid - I'd go get some books next door at Canterbury Tales and then retire to the Triangle and watch the antics of Amon's massage girls across the soi. Sadly, these days the place is empty during the afternoon and there's little daytime action to watch from it, either.

Is it a figment of my imagination or do I actually see walkers in the one photo? I don't run for anything anymore other than the odd baht bus but I don't mind a good hike occasionally...

I just finished this one last week, fascinating reading:

Postscript - I just saw on Facebook this morning that Danny Kelly passed away on Dec. 30, may he RIP - he was in rough shape when I last met him about a year ago so I'm not really surprised but still a bit of a shock.

It was the first stop on our Dark Side bar crawl on Wednesday and I also was most impressed by the place - very comfy bar with lovely washroom and the girls were fine too - if I remember correctly LD's were only 120 as well; met the nicest girl of the crawl there and hope to go back on my own as well, I can recall walking to this place and back from Pattaya a few years ago and may try it again, although I'll get a taxi on the way back this time.

Gosh, wasn't aware we had so many current or ex-fashionistas on the board - being a colonial bumpkin from the boonies, I never gave much thought to fashion, I just wore clothes that suited my lifestyle - jeans, t-shirts, etc - I did have a nice old fringed buckskin leather jacket that my elder brother had bought from a starving hippy in Morocco for a few of my teenage ears until I outgrew it. Although I can recall back in 1967 when I was 11 years old and the "Mod" craze hit England - one of my friends had a whole set of these clothes bought for him by his parents and when I beseeched my own parents for an equivalent outfit, their howls of derision and scorn sent me scurrying away swiftly - can't say I blame them now, the stuff did look ridiculous and of course we couldn't afford stuff like that anyway.

Yeah, haven't been out yet but it looks pretty thick from my 7th floor vantage point....

Got a surprise today when I turned the corner off of 3rd Rd onto Pattaya Tai while walking to TukCom - the old Walkabout Bar on the adjacent corner has been replaced by a new motorbike dealer; that bar was one of my favourite pit stops when I would walk back and forth from Jomtien pre-covid. The Aussie owner, Danny, went on to open a much bigger venue on Beach Rd near Pattaya Klang - "Beach Club", I think - but that has now become a fancy restaurant.

I guess five months would be the maximum I've ever done without driving, but when I get home I just pick up where I left off, don't seem to miss a beat. I have no desire to drive anything while on vacation, I'd rather leave the driving to someone else which is another reason I like Pattaya so much.

Well, hot it ain't for a good portion of the year but it is a dry climate which probably helps...

That brings back fond memories of playing on the snow mounds they'd leave for pickup in the big parking lots on the way to and from school when we were small...

It's nice to be able to get up on a height of land so close to where you live - nothing like a nice view on a nice day.

I've been on one 100mg allopurinol tablet once a day for the last 13 years or so and have never had an attack of gout since - I do get the occasional transient pain in my extremities but this goes with my age anyway and has never caused me much alarm.

Just had my old version of this replaced the other day here in BKK for 150b, right on Sukhumvit near Soi 7 - photo page on one side, visa stamps on the other, laminated and wallet sized.

I've been a day late leaving twice over the years and have just explained at the airport that I made a mistake while booking - easy to do as I wasn't aware back then that your arrival day counts as the first day - and they just waved me through without charging me.

Amen, and it's not just the cold - it's the dark in deep winter as well if you are far enough north to really be affected by it, as I am...

Having a house sitter is not a "good idea", it is an absolute necessity in winter climates - not only for my own peace of mind but for insurance requirements as well. He's well accustomed to clearing snow with his and my gear and doesn't need snow shoes to do it, lol...

Landed in Suvarnabuhmi today on EVA from Taipei a little late at 10:50AM, airport looked fairly busy with lots of people heading for arrival and since I was carrying a 60 day E-visa I went on down to the far section of immigration and got through in no time with only about six or seven people ahead of me; my bag took a while to come through, not through any holdups but just from the sheer number of them on this fairly full flight; breezed past customs as usual and out to find the driver and I was on my way.