andycoll

I don't know if it was reported on here, but does anyone know when the Jack Tar bar in Soi 6 became the Baku Bar?

I used to eat kangaroo often until the supermarket put the word gourmet in front of it and upped the price accordingly.

There used to be a restaurant in Pattaya on 2nd road l think. It used to sell kangaroo and crocodile meat as well as other fare. Does anyone remember it and does it still exist?

About one hour.

Sitting in the Departures Lounge at Perth airport waiting to board my flight to BKK.

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Why did I go to that specific site? The simple answer would be that it was close to where I was in Danang. I find history fascinating, especially, but not only, military history. I have been to Khe San up by the old DMZ but it was a bit disappointing. On the other hand I went to the site of the Battle of The Little Big Horn where Custer and his men died and that was fascinating. Reading about things and seeing pictures and stuff is no replacement for actually seeing the landscape. Later on this year I will be in the US of A and will be hiring a car to visit Tombstone and other sites of the old west. I will also be visiting New Orleans and Las Vegas for fun. So if I can combine a bit of History as well just having fun and seeing new sites on my holidays I do.

Just started this.

And that is why you have women only gym's.

That looks very nice indeed. Thanks for sharing.

The actual area of the massacre spreads over a large area but as it was hot and I did not feel like walking through the fields in the sun I decided that enough was enough. So I went back out to the road and sheltered in the shade until the bus came along. I got off the bus a fair distance from my hotel in a vain attempt to find somewhere open to have some lunch but these small provincial cities pretty much close down for the midday siesta. In the end I had some two minutes noodles back in my room. Later in the early evening I went for a walk along the river promenade to where the restaurants and such open up in the cool of the evening and pigged out on a large chicken meal and a few beers, all ordered using the managers translation app on his phone. The next day the owner of my hotel gave me a lift to where I could catch a bus north to Hoi An, a two hour trip. If anybody thinks of going there I would suggest getting a room at one of the hotels by the main bridge as their is a lot more activity around there, also the bus to Son My passes there.

After spending time inside I headed outside to the site of the remains of the village.

Whilst holidaying in Vietnam last I decided to visit the site of the my lai massacre. The site is just out of the sleepy provincial town of Quang Ngai. As I was in Danang I caught the train there. Two and a half hours south for about 120,000 dong. At the station I took an xe om to my hotel, the Riverside Villa. Luckily I had memorized the location as the driver didn't have a clue, also English is not spoken by many people. The accommodation was okay but a bit isolated. On the upside the owner speaks English and drove me to the bus stop the next morning where I caught the number 3 bus. I told the conductor that I was going to Son My, the vietnamese name for the area, he must have understood me enough to only charge me 10,000 dong. Didn't stop to let me off there though. Luckily I saw it on the left as we went sailing by so I got off at the next stop and walked back. Paid the entrance fee and headed into the museum. A very moving experience seeing all the pictures and other exhibits. Here are a few.

Used the Vietnamese Governments website this time as Biggles suggested. Much cheaper than the ripoff Vietnamese Embassy in Australia.

If you do decide to stay at the Gold Ocean apartments let me know and I will explain how you access it as it is a bit tricky.

The price sounds right. What you have to understand is that it is not a hotel. The apartments sit on a couple of floors above the hotel so although they are all basically the same design the furnishings and upkeep can vary, pot luck really, read the reviews. My room was fine and if I could remember the number I would recommend it. It had a sea view but was not actually overlooking the beach as you can tell by the photo. Bedroom, living room, kitchenette, fullsize fridge, small balcony with washing machine and clothesline. I liked it but i'm easily pleased. As long as the fridge and tv worked I'm happy.

I visited Nha Trang last October and will be going back their late Jan. The beach is quite nice and clean. Yes there are a lot of Russians but their are other nationalities as well. The exchange rate is about One Baht equals 700 Dong. I stayed at the Gold Ocean Apartments which was okay for the price then but the prices they are asking now I wouldn't pay for what you get. However it is the area you should try to stay in. A deck chair costs around 80,000-90,000 dong but for that you get a towel and washing facilities to clean the sand and salt off you. They have toilets at the beach. Some are underground. A good spot for a late afternoon beer by the beach is a bar just north of the sailing club, a large Saigon Lager bottle was 20,000 Dong, and the toilet was only 30 metres away. The Sailing Club is expensive. Plenty of restaurants abound but not so many bars outside of hotels. There are a few sports bar although they are nothing like Pattaya and Bangkok sports bars. I watched a few of the Rugby World Cup games at the Cheers Sports bar, small but friendly, google it for location.

Just finished watching 'Rambo, Last Blood'. Glad it only went for 89 minutes.

This, a very weird book.

Good win to Australia. 2 nil up with one to go. The big question now is with all the fires burning around Sydney, will they have to cancel the test due to lack of visibility.

NZ all out for 148 halfway through the second session. Australia not enforcing the follow on.

Australia all out for 467. NZ 2-44 at stumps. OZ on top at the moment. Going to be hot one tomorrow out in the middle of the "G".

Was watching the Boxing Day test between Australia and New Zealand. A good days cricket, points go to Australia. On the news they showed the first drunk being ejected. A kiwi, before the game had even started. No sense of tradition, your supposed to wait until the last session before being ejected. Then its back to the Cricketers Arms or the Royal to wait for your mates whilst perving on the topless barmaids.

Well that explains the make up of the crowds on walking street and the clientele of the GoGo bars.

Secret Army by Barry Stone. The force made up of members of the British empire in 1918 to go and fight in the Caucuses for an ever changing variety of ultimately futile reasons. Interesting if a bit light on.