Sea-Hawks

...had the same problem when I first started out. Some suggestions: 1. Seeds - start by buying fresh seeds. Try to find varieties that grow best in your region 2. Plant the seedlings indoors to start. Can use jiffy peat pods or red keg cups filling with either potting mix or seed starter soil. Don't over water or under water 3. If you have a sunny window still, let your starters grow at least 2-5 sets of true leaves before taking outside. 4. Once ready to go outside, whether you plant in the ground, raised bed or larger pot, harden your plants gradually before leaving your plants outside full-time. Make sure you have the correct soil based on your re planting methods. *Make sure to also enough room. Tomato plants have a large root system, so if you plan to use pots, need at least a 5 gallon bucket in most cases. Also, tomatoes need a lot of water, but never over water or let the roots soak in water or else you will get root rot. I usually fertilize my tomatoes after they are at least 2 feet tall. One type before flowers and another kind after watering

....I’ve had the white stuff on leaves at my condo by the ocean as it was like a double dosage of humidity. And now have the brown kind on the pumpkin plants It can be a bit trickier here in Thailand due to high temperatures and high humidity

looks great! Unfortunately, my pumpkin plants picked up fungus on the leaves and I am now spraying the leaves with baking soda/water mix. I might order actual fungus liquid to have at hand next time. Thanks for sharing the picks. I think I almost enjoy plant garden pics about as much as pics of the birds, lol.

...btw, I saw on a later/newer post someone who reminded us of the egg carton trick. I think many of us did it that way in elementary school projects. It does work well and cheaper. Some recommendations on the egg carton/free method - - Taka a ball point pen and poke a hole at the bottom of each egg compartment - Use good starter/germination soil or at the very least use potting soil mix - use half an egg shell to hold your soil - use your ball point pen and poke a hole into bottom half of your egg shell (easy to do if you set your half egg shell with opening facing you, place the ball point inside while having a paper towel under your egg shell) - But, before you add soil to your half egg shell, sprinkle a pinch of used coffee grounds onto the bottom of your egg shell - Add soil, add 2-4 seeds per section/half egg shell. Prior, you soaked seeds for planting 12-24 hours (but no more than 36 hrs), water with a spoon, water but dont over soak. - after draining excess water from egg shell/egg carton, place in a warm location (thailand - under 75 degrees) and away from direct sunlight. - thin out seedlings and then eventually repot while hardening plants with gradual exposure to sunlight

....yes, most items are of great value, but very concerned as it seems a bit “too cheap”

...thanks for posting so many pictures. I am planning a side trip to CM later this winter. Found out that they fly directly in CM, so may do that and work my way down south to Pattaya with stops in UT & KK.

...I start off by buy new seeds. I usually buy the seeds that state “better/faster germination and disease bug resistant...not sure if its true, but wth. I buy proper soil. I use different kinds of fertilizer for my different kinds of veggies. Pretty much everything is available on Lazada or ask your local garden shop And anytime I don’t know something or have a question, i can easily find it on the web or youtube

…back when I was “Beginning my Thai Garden” About 8 years ago, I bought my first condo in Thailand. It had a nice sunny deck, but since I spent no more than 3 consecutive months at any given time in Thailand, I didn’t have the opportunity to grow my own garden on my deck. A few years back, I had my first full-time job opportunity in Thailand and finally had the opportunity to have a garden on my deck. I definitely had no experience gardening or any idea how to set-up a garden, but down the road, I learned a lot fairly quickly Youtube Asked my cleaning lady & my secretary Trial and error Although there are pros and cons of a garden on a stand alone house vs a condo, as a newbie, setting-up my garden on my deck was the perfect size and task at hand. I think it was a good learning experience. I will probably buy a house someday in Thailand and I am confident that whether I have a full garden or simply use a raised flatbed garden, I won’t have too many issues. So, when I first started my garden, at my condo in Thailand, I was lucky that there were a number of free pots and a few plants and supplies on the back side of our condo building….stuff other people didn’t want anymore. I grabbed a few pots and kept the dirt that was already in the pots and brought them up to my condo. I then bought some seeds from a garden shop in town. (when you’re on 2nd road, heading away from walking street, towards Jomtien, when you reach the main intersection before going up the hill to Jomtien, there are 3 thai garden shops in the area. So, I bought some green onion, chives, tomato, basil, squash, chili/pepper, cilantro seeds. I took the seeds right out of the package and put them into the pots on my deck. (at that time, I didn’t know about pre-germination tricks) After a couple of weeks, I had about 10% of my pots with little sprouts coming up….the other 90% were not growing. I came home for lunch one day and ran into my cleaning lady and as we were talking out on the deck, she made the comment that most of my pots did not sprout. She told me that the dirt was not good. So, the next day, I went to one of the garden shops down the road and bought some soil in the white mesh bag. It was a mixture of dirt and it had some small coconut husks. (…being a new gardener, I had no idea about soil/dirt. I didn’t realize until later on that the dirt sitting in the old pots were super dried out and probably out of nutrients and also had poor drainage. I did not know that top soil/house garden soil was different from raised flower bed soil which was different from potting soil. I learned later on the different types of soil and also different stages of growing.) So, I replanted another set of seeds again and had a little bit more luck, but the dirt that comes in the white mesh baggies still wasn’t the greatest soil. One day while I was on a jogging around Big Buddha Hill, I came across a Thai guy selling bird pepper plants and few other kinds. I took a look at the plants and he asked me if I wanted to buy some plants. I told him yes, but I was a few blocks away from my condo. So, he told me to hop onto the flatbed portion of his vehicle and he would drive me back to my place. I ended up buying a few different kinds of pepper plants. It was nice to have plants that were well past the sprouting stage and ones that were already producing a few peppers. (I did learn later on… after the # peppers started to slow down, that my potted plants needed more nutrients in order to keep the high level of peppers that it had at the beginning.) The secretary at our office would occasionally come by my condo to drop off paperwork and supplies. During one of her stops, she commented on my garden. I told her I was having problems growing my seedlings. She suggested I soak my seeds overnight, approx. 12-24 hours, but no more than 36 hours. It helps with germination. (…these days I either soak or use a damp papertowel in a zip log bag) She also suggested that I start my seedlings inside in tiny peat pots. I had arrived into Thailand at the hottest time of year. Most of the types of veggies & herbs I was trying to grow, tended to germinate better at temperatures around 70-85 degrees….not the current 95-105 at the time. So, I got some jiffy peat pots and planted a new crop and kept the starters inside where it was a tad cooler. (btw, you can order jiffy peat starter pods on Lazada). My secretary told me that once my seedlings were big enough to transplant into larger pots, that I should use better soil, specific for potted plants. She said she will bring some to my condo next week. So, the following week, on the weekend, she shows up with actual potting soil. It looked a lot better than the types of soil I was using before and had better drainage and nutrients. She came over with 3 other thai people and they were out on my deck taking care of the soil, replanting the first set of seedlings into pots, setting up tiered stacked shelving to help with spacing and sunlight. She had fertilizer specific to the type of veggies I was trying to grow and told me how often I should add the fertilizer and when to top off nutrient rich soil onto my pots. My different kinds of peppers were doing very well. I was growing 3 different kinds of tomatoes – beef steak, smaller cherry like tomatoes and roma tomatoes. I made sure to use the tomato specific fertilizer to help grow and keep my tomato plants healthy. My oregano and mint were growing without issues, but my cilantro and basils weren’t being controlled properly. My cleaning lady showed me how to pinch back my cilantro so it doesn’t start flowering. She showed me how to cut back the basil plants to keep them more bushy and stop it from flowering. I was using the smaller tomatoes for my salads and for snacking. I used the bigger beef steak tomatoes for salads and sandwiches and used the roma tomatoes for making fresh salsas and marinara sauce. I used my cilantro for my salsas and my carne asada marinade. I used my basil for making sauces and for pesto recipes. I used my bird peppers for my thai dishes and the other peppers for my salsas and for my fire roasted recipes. As my squash and other leafy veggies were coming in, I noticed mold/fungus growing on the leaves. My cleaning lady grabbed some soap from the bathroom and added water and washed my big leafy plants. I was learning quite a bit on the fly…..With the help from the two ladies and some trial and error, things worked out alright by the end of my first year. I went from not knowing anything to learning the basics pretty quickly. I’m thinking about buying another property in Chiang Mai or Udon Thani. Once I do, I will probably use Lazada to buy fresh seeds (learned that the seeds I bought from the garden shops were probably old seeds that had been sitting around a long time.) I might buy my seeds back in the states from places that sell only fresh seeds and are known to germinate more easily and ones that are more resistant to diseased and bugs. I will buy my Jiffy peat pots on Lazada and start my indoor seedlings after I soak my seeds prior to planting. After seedlings are at the right height, I will transplant into larger pots using the proper soil. And in order to keep my tomato plants and other veggies happy, I will use the proper plant food for each type of vegetable. …ohh btw, so during one of my visits to the local garden shop, I was talking to the daughter of the father who runs/owns the shop. I told her that certain seeds were not growing for me…..She spoke thai to the father/owner and he took the seeds packets from my hand. I was regularly coming by to buy more pots, supplies and plants….and he told me that he’ll let me know when the seeds turn to plants and are ready to take home. So over the course of a few months, I was given back my seeds/that were now fully size plants. I only had to pay for the dirt/pot…he grew the seeds for me for free…maybe a bit cheating, but much easier to take care of just the plant. Moving Forward - It was a good learning experience growing from seeds, but a bit more hassle. I think anytime I can buy the plant I will do so. Regarding the proper equipment - soil, fertilizer etc… although it’s Thailand….these days with Lazada, very easy to get/buy all the items you need to have a successful garden. And with youtube, plenty of videos to help you grow a successful garden.

...so I noticed that Lazada is selling a commercial/restaurant grade stainless steel shelf for $100 USD. Anybody order from lazada a bunch of times??? and what are your thoughts on the quality of items once they arrive to u?

….will be heading to Patts for a couple of months later this winter. I'll try and break-up part of the trip by taking a few days up in UT & KK like I did last year. This year, I plan on adding/spending about 2-4 days in Chiang Mai. So, I would like to be in the central part of Chiang Mai. I was thinking about either staying at either: a. Raming Lodge b. Royal Lanna Hotel c. DusitD2 Hotel Has anybody stayed at any of the hotels listed above ? and are they GF? Also, if anybody can add their 2 cents worth in terms of CM or the daytime/nighttime activities, would be appreciated . thanks!

....ok, this is the last of the info I have on Udon Thani. I’m currently in bkk and then back to Pattaya, then P/I. Then I will leave from Pattaya over to Hua Hin.

Day #5 Udon Thani (Day #9 mini-trip report) Woke up and began to pre-pack my suitcases while talking with a few co-workers via skype. By the time I completed my conversations, my packing was about done….multi-tasking completed! Went downstairs and over to the right to pick-up my laundry. Came out washed, ironed and folded. Was dirt cheap, why would people bother even doing their own laundry ??? After returning to the room with my laundry….last minute work request came in which took only 45 min. to complete. I felt after doing a bit of work, I deserved a nice massage. I left the hotel and turned right and slowly began my walk through the soi. Of course, I was offered a massage at every shop I approached/passed. I saw a bird I liked so I asked her how much for a “ball & shaft massage only/1hr” She said #500 baht. I made sure to repeat back, #500 baht total price? And she stated yes, total price #500 baht for ball & shaft massage for 1 hour. I find it much easier and cheaper to ask for what I want up front. If you go get a massage and then want to add extras, not only will it cost more, but no guarantees extras are available. Much better to negotiate out front before going inside the shop. My girl gave me my request massage type for an hour and I laid back, listened to my music with my earphones and very much enjoyed the massage. After the massage I headed back towards the hotel, but past it to the Italian Restaurant – da Sofia. I found out that fresh hand made pasta wouldn’t be available until about 6pm today. I decided to order grilled veggies as my appetizer and spaghetti bolognese. The grilled veggies were great. The spaghetti was fine, but the noodles were just a tad dry. They should have put my noodles in a hot bath before servings….oh well. I spoke with my server about which dishes would have the fresh hand made pasta and she gave me the info. and decided that I would find a way in the evening to stop and try the pasta. After my lunch, headed over to Central Plaza to take care of some banking stuff. Interesting enough, I still didn’t need anymore money, so skipped taking out a withdrawal. I went up to the 3rd floor, all the way in the back to visit the Kasikorn Bank Branch. I needed to update my info. in order to access the phone app features. I grabbed a ticket number and within 2 min. I was seated in front of a cute Thai girl Banking Specialist. I told her that I could no longer access the app via my phone. She checked in the computer system and told me that my ATM card had expired and that I would need to pay #300 baht in order to obtain a new card (must be only #200 baht to renew atm w/active card annually). I paid the #300 baht and got my new ATM. Then, she looked into re-setting up the Phone App. So I could do transfers and payments via my mobile phone. She said I need to update my phone number. I was also told, when overseas, use “wifi” when wanting to access Kasikorn Application. So, she went ahead and updated acct to my new number. We went out to the front of the branch to one of the ATM machines and made sure to check that everything was completed and work correctly. I left Central Plaza and headed back to my hotel. I wasn’t planning on going out so early (still daylight outside), but got a message from my girl and she said she was already at work. So, I went downstairs and over to Fun Bar. My girl was standing out front and we spent a couple minutes talking before heading into the bar. Just as we grabbed a table, a falong driving a white pick-up truck smashed into about 4 motorbikes parked right in front of Fun Bar…..thank goodness my girl and I moved into the bar a few minutes earlier or we would have been smashed. This accident of course caused a bit of commotion for a while…… My girl and I got a drink and after that, I barfined her and we went over to Central Plaza. I suggested eating at Shabushi or Sukishi Charcoal Grill. My girl said they too expenses. She said S&P ok. We had a bite to eat over at S&P and I ordered both won ton shrimp soup & chicken w/cashew, while my girl ordered spring rolls. I asked her if she wanted anything else, but she said she only wanted the single order of #130 baht spring rolls. After dinner we headed back to my hotel room and spent a couple of hours fooling around. My girl tonight wanted to go listen to Issan music & drink at a place close by called Tawan Daeng Pub. We got dressed and headed over to Fun Bar for a drink. I ordered food from da Sofia – fresh hand made pasta with Gargonzola. As long as you order a drink from Fun Bar, you can order food from any of the restaurants nearby and have it delivered right to your table. A few minutes later my bowl of pasta arrived. And it was really yummy. Not only was the fresh made pasta a must, but of course gargonzola cheese is always tasty. After finishing up, I ordered a Grab car rider from my phone app and we headed out to UD Town to the Night Market. We walked around and I paid for a few items my girl wanted. She spent a little bit of time at one shop, but eventually left without wanting the items she spent a long time looking at. I asked her, you not want? She said she want, but price too high. I think she said one item was #150 baht and the other item was #250 baht. I said no problem, I can buy for her. She said no, price not good, come back next time or find somewhere else. We walked around a bit and she got a message from her friend, said she couldn’t make it out tonight. So, my girl said, let’s stay at the night market and listen to music here. So, we sat, ordered a couple of drinks and listened to the music. My girl was getting cold 25c. so After an hour, we headed back to Fun Bar for a couple of drinks before I called it a night. As we were waiting for our Grab Driver to arrive, I handed my girl #2,000 baht for the night….she genuinely was surprised that she got money – as I had already bought her a few cheap items earlier at the night market and took her out to dinner and bought drinks at her bar. Back in Pattaya, no matter how much money I give a girl, a lot of them will say “that it” or “not want to give me more”. Also, after giving a high amount before, a few of the girls will still even try and hit me up for a bit more for – motorbike taxi. There is one girl (a 9/ibar superstar) who’s been messaging me ever since she saw me on WS 2 weeks ago. She asked me why I not come see her. I don’t plan on ever seeing her again, so I replied via messenger to her – Last time I give you #10k and pay for whole party and you still say you want more than that….it make me not like you 1%. And then you ask me for motorbike money too…..”I don’t like this way”. I guess after years of the nonsense and the increased level of “stuck up B-tches” in Pattaya, I guess I’ve had my fill. Udon Thani – Had an amazing simple time here in Udon Thani the past 5 days. After the nonsense and hustle and bustle of Pattaya, while dealing with my superstar birds in Pattaya, it was definitely a nice break visiting both Khon Kaen and Udon Thani. Much more down to earth, much more relaxing and although a bit of work finding a girl I liked enough to bar fine, I very much enjoyed my time immensely more with Issan girls here than the girls I grab in Pattaya. No drama, no games, no hiso attitude or wanted stuff ever minute. It felt like the girls I hung out with were happy with the simple life, slower pace and were very easy going and didn’t ask or need very much. I still plan to visit Pattaya, but I think I will incorporate breaks – side trips up to Issan. D0E0CD99-66AF-4FED-B782-F3EF61506A5C.MOV

nice! I’m down in BKK now for a few days

....thanks for the additional info. Was suppose to go to Tawan Daeng to listen to Issan music, but we ended up going to the outdoor shopping stalls and outdoor music attached. Will go next time I’m back in UT

Day # 4 Udon Thani (Day #8 mini-trip report) Got up later this morning today, 7am lol, and worked on the computer for just under an hour. Went downstairs and dropped off my laundry at the cleaners and then headed back to the massage shop right next door to Fun Bar. My girl was working so I got an hour oil HJ. Just closed my eyes and enjoyed an hour of relaxation. After the massage went next door to my hotel, @ Home at Udon Thani Hotel to the “Sport Bar & Restaurant”. Today is Mexican Food Wednesday. I order Fish Tacos, an Enchiladas and Chimichanga. The food looked great, but didn’t taste very good. The Fish Tacos looked great, but the coleslaw was sour tasting so I spit it out and didn’t eat anymore. One thing I’ve learned about Thailand, if something doesn’t taste right, best thing to do is spit it out and not eat anymore, helps cut down on getting a sick tummy. The Chicken Enchiladas were just ok, but the enchiladas sauce was so spicy I could only get through about half of it. The Chimichanga outer tortilla was a bit weird. It was not the usual tortilla shell and was an off brown in color and was a bit soggy like. Inside they didn’t use regular or Mexican rice, but some sort of black rice. Also, it was weird having American Cheese on top of the Chimichanga. First of all, I hate American cheese. As an American, I think American cheese is the worst invented cheese ever! I also made the mistake of ordering steak as my meat choice….and here in Thailand ordering beef steak is probably a no-no unless at a good falong run restaurant. The lunch meal was a poor choice…now I know, won’t do that again. After lunch, went back to the room for a quick power nap. After my nap, headed across the street from the Nutty Park Beer Bar Complex, over to “Good Day Cafe”. I ordered an ice coffee latte and the Pork Chop meal. The coffee was great. The meal, looked great, but wasn’t all too good. The pork chop was kinda fatty and I received the wrong gravy from what I asked for. Also, the mashed potato was awful. I think it was made a while ago and just microwaved hot. Another bad meal today…. Ohh for Two today …what a stinker. Left the restaurant and walked around the open markets and bought some socks and looked around. I ended up back at the Nutty Park Beer Complex, so decided to have a look, although a bit early. As I turned to the bend in the back section, I noticed the place was still dead. Most of the beer bars were still closed, but one bar had a cute girl sitting out front and asked me to come sit down. So, I sat down for a beverage at the Sky Blue Bar & Izakaya. My girl’s name was Beer and I bought her a drink. She had a whiskey coke and I had a coke light. She told me that the bar was owned by the older Thai girl working behind the bar. She was once married to a Japanese guy for a while, but he had passed away a few years ago. A very cute girl wearing a white top came in and sat at the counter to chat with the owner lady. Wow, she was super cute. My girl and I continued to chat about nothing for an hour while she gave me a hand and shoulder massage. She was super nice and friendly. To say my girl was well mannered and so nice is an understatement. She was so very sweet and nice. I enquired as to the bar fine. She said #300 baht and #1,200 for ST. I squared up the bill and we headed back to my hotel. She carried my bag with the socks in it while holding my hand. Once up in the room, we showered and made our way to the bed. She was very sweet and enjoyable. She stayed in bed for over 3 hours and finally after seeing that she was still in no hurry to leave, I said, “Oh, my friend wants me to meet me”. So, finally she got dressed and I walked her outside. She was great! I received a message from my girl from Fun Bar while I was busy with my afternoon ST barfine. She said she was at her bar and was waiting for me. So, I hurried up and headed over to Fun Bar. No Thai singer today….I was told he only works 3 or 4 days per week and today was one of his day’s off. I sat with my girl and we chatted about my life and bit about my travel plans. Once she heard I was heading over to Hua Hin next month, she said she would like to go with me and that I wouldn’t have to pay her anything …just pay the plane ticket to get from UT over to Pattaya. After a bit more hanging-out, paid the bar fine and we headed back to my hotel. We had another great session and now really starting to dig her way too much, lol. She showered and I walked her downstairs. Back up in my room, was thinking about doing some pre-packing, but was getting sleepy so I just got back into bed and dozed off thinking about what to do on my last day in Udon Thani tomorrow. Another relaxing, fun day here in Udon Thani. Very much enjoying the easiness of Udon Thani and the simple life.

....no way I can go 10 weeks without Mexican food. If it’s not good, I have no problems leaving most of the food on the table ...lol and heading over to the Irish clock, Good Day’s Cafe or da Sofia.

....haven't been yet to the Irish Clock. Menu looks great, but so many good choices/places here in UT. You have so many Irish Pubs in Pattaya, I haven’t made it a priority to visit it. I was planning on visiting the Good Day Cafe and then realized it’s Mexican Wednesday @ the Sports Bar Restaurant & Bar. Btw, one of my favs in Paattaya - Taco Taco

Evening - Day #3 Udon Thani (Day #7 mini-trip report) – Late afternoon, was laying in bed, watching a little tv in the room, checking & replying to messages and didn’t really fall asleep at all, so didn’t get a power nap in before heading out tonight. First stop tonight – Nutty Park Beer Bars. As you pass the Corner Bar & Restaurant is Nutty Park. It is in the shape of an upside down L. The Beer Bars in the first section as you head straight back, hardly any girls at all in the beer bars and none worth stopping to look at. I turned the corner to the right. Way more girls and I noticed a scattering of some decent looking birds. Unfortunately, the girls I thought were cute, were all sitting with other customers, so I ended up leaving. Maybe tomorrow, I will go back, but maybe an hour earlier. I made my way back to the Day and Night Complex. About as busy as it was yesterday and yes, much better than my first day/Sunday. I could have stopped and sat with a few girls, but chose to see if Little Havana was better than my prior visits. I turned into the back corner left and noticed about 8 girls. Finally some girls working! I sat and ordered a drink and surveyed the scene. Maybe 2 girls who could pass for 7, a couple of 6’s…the rest of the girls were god awful. I left after my one drink. I headed for the Fun Bar, but just before reaching the Fun Bar, I was stopped by some massage girls next door to the Fun Bar. They had 1 young girl who was actually pretty cute. I got an hour massage from her with a HJ, not to shabby. After finishing-up, went next door to the Fun Bar and sat right up front. I ordered a drink and started to chat with a few of the girls. Same as my first visit, about a dozen girls. A couple 7’s, a couple of 6’s and few others who were in the 5/6 range. I stuck around for a while drinking and listening to the Thai singer who sang a lot of great 70’s and 80’s songs. The mamasan asked me why I’m not barfining any of her girls. I wrapped my arms around the waist of the girl who told me on the first night that she doesn’t go with customers and told the mamasan that my girl doesn’t want to go with me with a laugh. The mamasan proceeded to talk Thai with my girl for quite some time and then she said, ok girl go with you….I just laughed a bit. When the mamasan left, I told my girl she can have another drink and told her, it is ok, you don’t have to go with me. She just smiled and gave me a kiss on the cheek. About 11pm, my girl says to me “when we go back to your hotel ? “ I said, are you sure? It ok if you don’t want to go. She put her hand on my thigh and came close to me and said “I want go with you” So I checked bin – I think 2 drinks for me and 5 drinks for my girl…only came to #790 baht. My girl and I headed back to my hotel and I had a very memorable couple of hours. My girl was hugging me on the bed after we finished and she asked for my phone/messenger app. She added me on messenger and said she wanted to see me tomorrow. I had already put money under her purse…and when she pick-up the money I left for her, she said “this more than #1,000 baht”…..I said I enjoyed my time with you. She came right back over to me with hugs and kisses. I walked her downstairs and after seeing her depart into the night, I headed back upstairs to my room. It was a very good Day & Night! CBD20777-D7EC-4E45-B138-40686CBCE9CB.MOV 0354634D-A37D-4252-B40D-B3CDA98B20D7.MOV A8B3225D-84FD-4972-A346-EC285A99EB62.MOV

Day #3 Udon Thani (Day #7 mini-trip report) Before I get into my day/Trip Report, some “Side Notes” Side Notes: Got a call from Kosa Hotel in Khon Kaen. They said that I forgot to pick-up my deposit when I checked-out of the hotel and that if I provided my Thai bank acct info, they would send me my deposit back….sure was really nice of them to do that!!! And I will definitely book the Kosa Hotel next year too! I was getting a good vibe from the girls I passed by, talked to, smile @, etc, here in Udon Thani and in Khon Kaen. It felt like what Pattaya use to be like over 12 years ago. I decided today that I would say hi to every cute girl I saw as long she wasn’t with her boyfriend/husband etc…. I spent about 4 hours walking around town today. I probably said hi to over 100 girls. And every single girl, either said hi back or smiled back – either a small shy smile or big smile. Gotta luv these down to earth girls up here in Issan!!! Udon Thani Rail Station – Lots and lots of food stalls around the street where the Rail Station is located. Just past the Rail Station is the Outdoor Mall “UD Town Udon Thani” A nice little outdoor mall and they too have a number of food stalls scattered around. I’ve stopped a few times to snack on things along both areas and everything has been really tasty and cheap! BTW, across the street from the outdoor mall is “Bar’ista Brasserie. An outdoor restaurant with a live band every night. A lot of young local Thai gals frequent this place. While walking around town the past few days so far, lots of hidden gems around town. Good looking places to eat, nice places to have a drink, coffee, bubble tea etc….. lots of choices out and about. It is well worth walking around and noting all the places to go back to or visit. I’ve saved/highlighted a lot of places on my Google Maps acct. Mosquitos - I really didn’t have a mosquito problem when I was in Khon Kaen, but here in Udon Thani, the mosquito problem is way outta hand….anybody else up here in UT feel the same??? Thai Singer @ Fun Bar – Really enjoying the Thai guy singing at the Fun Bar at night. He doesn’t necessarily have the greatest voice, but has his own style and really digging his evening performances. Day #3 Udon Thani (Day #7 mini-trip report) Slept in a bit today. Super hungry so headed across the street over to the Brick House Restaurant and Bar. I ordered chicken with cashew, white rice. Ordered both mashed potatoes & skillet potatoes w/ both mushroom gravy and peppercorn gravy. The food was good and only cost #290 baht…..Mmmm, ordered quite a bit of food, how did it come out to less than 300 baht…what a great value. I’ll be back and try other dishes hopefully, although so many food options on my street and all over Udon Thani. I think I will go exploring around the city today. Too hot to run or bike, so will just walking around town and stop every so often for a cool beverage. Looks like I have over 150 messages from Pattaya girls on messenger, viber, line app along with all the ones I’ve already met on the dating sites…..I’ll get to them in a day or two prior to getting back to Pattaya, no point spending mindless time & energy on those birds now. I started my walk around Udon Thani by heading to the 7-11 to grab an umbrella to help keep the sun off me and keep me a bit cooler. Although Udon Thani is more north than Khon Kaen….it’s been much much hotter here in UT. Across the street from another section of Beer Bars is Nutty Park, which I will visit later tonight. Across the street from Nutty Park was a nice looking Coffee Shop/Restaurant called the Good Days Café. I will head over there tomorrow for either my breakfast or lunch. I have attached a bunch of pictures (via internet) from this place. As I stated above, by just walking around town, you will stumble upon a ton of great looking places to visit/return to…..so make sure to go exploring! I also included a variety of pictures from my walk today. Tong Garden is company that sells nuts and seeds snack at places like 7-11. I came across one of their shops, bottom “Basement” floor of the Central Plaza Mall. There prices were about ½ of what it costs at 7-11…..I guess no middle man costs. I plan on my last day in UT going back to Tong Garden and picking-up some snacks and gifts. Udon Thani Bus Terminal is located a block from the Central Plaza Mall. Easy to find and close to where most of you mongerers will be staying. Rin Rin Bubble Tea is located just past the UT Bus Terminal listed above. Wow! Only 19 baht for a bubble tea. Lots of places here in UT that are of good value. I can’t believe how little money I’ve spent so far in Khon Kaen and Udon Thani. After the bubble tea pictures….I have included some pictures from the Udon Thani quarterly Guide. This news guide is also available on-line: UdonThaniGuide.com

Day #2 Udon Thani (Day #6 mini-trip report) Got-up fairly early this morning and did a bit of work on the computer. I have to head to Udon Thani International airport around 11am to pick-up my pre-scheduled rental car. I will be driving up to Nong Bua Lam Phu which is about a 90 minute drive. I left my hotel in UT and used Grab to get over to the UT Airport. Now, I’ve been to this airport a bunch of times over the past 10 years, but not in the last 4 years. It is a smaller, older looking airport. As I walked through the main terminal doors, I noticed that they have expanded the airport and now have a Terminal B. I also noticed that they now have a Burger King, Auntie Anne’s Pretzel, Zurich Bread Café, Café Amazon and more….Holy Shit! What happened here??? LOL. I notice that Lion air also has a strong presence here. Anybody know when this expansion/growth occurred? It was a pleasant surprise. I’ve waited/milled around at this airport before, with few eating choices and now the airport has way more and better options. I headed over to the Avis Thailand booth. I had pre-scheduled my rental car a couple months back. As I started to fill-out additional paperwork, the gal told me that the credit card I used to book on-line 2 months ago was not the one I handed her. I told her, same account but a new renewal card. I was told that they couldn’t process my paperwork without the original card. I again explained that the old card had expired and the credit card company sent me a new card and that the old card would’ve not worked anyways….no go! She asked me to redo another set of paperwork, that I would also be charged a higher rate. The price of the rental would be double the cost, along with insurance = #2,750 baht, which I would be returning before 8pm(same day rental)….wtf??? I walked away and headed over to another rental car booth. I stopped at the first rental car booth I came across – Chic Car Rent (Yellow Sign). I enquired as to the cost etc….A brand new Toyota would cost me #999 baht for the day and unlike Avis, they supplied insurance free of charge! I went ahead and started to fill-out the paperwork and within about 15 minutes for the entire process, they had my car waiting for me right outside the doors. I got in and started my drive over to Nong Bua Lam Phu. The car was nice, new, comfortable and had a bunch of plug-ins, so I could charge my phone while listening to my own music. I came across a Tesco Lotus Shopping Center and stopped to grab a few gifts. I picked-up a couple dozen donuts from Dunkin Donuts, bought some nice chocolates and grabbed myself a fountain soda for the road. I arrived in NBLP and completed my meet and greet and meeting. Things dragged on a bit and I didn’t hit the road back to Udon Thani until about 6pm. It was dark by then and I pulled into the UT airport around 7:30pm. I returned the car and was in a Grab Taxi, back to Soi Samphan Thamit. As I exit the car in front of my hotel @ around 8pm, I thought instead of wasting time going up to my room, I would just head over to the Day and Night Complex to see how Monday would be like….. As I approached the entrance to the D&N Complex, I saw a girl returning from the quicky mart across the street. She was cute enough, so I smiled and asked her where she was going. She said she was heading back to her bar: BP Fifty-Fifty. She asked if I wanted to sit down and have a drink at her bar….I said if she would sit and have a drink with me, then yes. She smiled and said yes, so we both headed into the D&N Complex over to her bar. I ordered an OJ and she had a whiskey soda. We chatted about a variety of things….nothing too important or serious. She told me she had worked at this bar for 4 months now, she use to work at a Lao Karaoki Bar for a couple of years. She was originally from Nong Khai, but that she was Thai. She is 29 years old and has a son who is 9 years old. She had a Thai boyfriend, but he ended up sleeping with another girl when she was pregnant so she left him. This girl had soft short hair and I’m a sucker for that type of look. As I sat with her, I looked around at the other bars. I noticed that there was an increase of about 50% more girls working today than yesterday. I also noticed that the bar directly across the way had 3 girls that looked like 7’s. Now, the bar I was at, other than my girl, maybe 1 other girl there was a 6…possibly a 7. The rest of girls at this bar were awful. Photo attached below were 3 girls from the bar who were eating soup….you’ll notice the middle girl and girl on the right are unattractive. You’ll notice the girl on the left is super fat….I’m not talking a little or a bit pumpui, but down right obese. I continued to look around and notice a few more barfinable girls around the Day and Night Complex…..ok, this is now more like it. I was pretty disappointed yesterday, but today was much, much better. Not a ton of choices, but doable. There wasn’t necessarily barfinable girls at each beer bar….but enough decent girls scattered around the complex. (btw…if your goal is to bar hop and sit with a cute girl at every bar….not gonna happen….also, IMHO since so few cuties around, I feel it is best to grab the first kinda cute/cute girl you see and see if enough chemistry/available and just complete the purchase. This is definitely not Pattaya/shooting fish in a barrel….just my two cents worth. I asked my girl how much bar fine. She stated it was now #300 baht as it was after 8pm. She said all the girls at her bar show-up for work at 2pmstart time and work till Midnight. She said that her bar would be closed tomorrow/Tuesday and that she would prefer to go only Short-time, but that she would be willing to go Long-time any other night. She said she wanted to go back to her home town to see mom and pick-up a few items. She had just moved into an apartment located 2 minutes away by foot with 2 other bar girls and she wanted to bring back clothes and other things…wanted to get an early start tomorrow so she could go and come back. She said short time was 1k and Long Time was 3k. I agreed to the short time. Side Note: I had arrived in Thailand a couple weeks back and spent 11 days in Pattaya. I was doing about 3-5 short times during the daytime/early evenings via, Badoo, Thai Friendly and Tinder. I was taking 1 girl from the gogo’s in the evening – with about 50% of them being long-time. I must say, I prefer the ST. I’m not too much into cuddling after the deed or when I want to sleep. I also prefer to sleep alone…I sleep much better without someone else in my bed. I also like to be on my own schedule and don’t want to have to be quiet in the morning if a gal is still sleeping in my bed. I’m seriously considering cutting out all Long Times moving forward. Got back to the room, showered and had a very passionate session for more than 3 hours. She was super wet and came more than 7x. She told me she didn’t want to come anymore….that she was exhausted and didn’t know how she would be able to stay awake back at her bar. I prayed that she wouldn’t ask to change from the ST that we agreed to LT, as I prefer to have my bed and room to myself….lol. So, as we chatted in bed and while she massaged me down below, she occasionally began to start to doze off in my bed, so I turned on the tv with the sound a bit loud and turned on all the lights. Eventually, she got-up to shower and head back to her bar!!! I did have an amazing session and she was definitely my kinda cute girl. I don’t have any real plans tomorrow during the daytime….and unfortunately it isn’t easy to set-up dates on-line as it is in Pattaya….so maybe some walking around UT and shopping. BTW, I’ll be willing to post how I set-up my on-line Short Times, the ins and outs, the numbers, success and failure rate etc…if you guys are interested ???...let me know….

Continue – 1st Evening Udon Thani (Day #5 mini-trip report) Sunday Night, made my way up and down Soi Samphan Thamit. I am staying right on this Soi, right in the middle of the action at the hotel: @Home at Udon Thani. I decided to go up and down the full length of the Soi before heading into the Day & Night Complex. The soi had about 2 dozen small beer bars along this road. Many of them had 2-4 girls working in the bar. Majority of them had girls that were a 5 or lower on a ten point scale. I don’t want to sugarcoat it and you deserve to really to hear the truth and nothing but the truth! Pretty much most of the beer bars on this strip….yes a couple dozen of them, but majority of them were quite useless. Let me put it in this way. If I was working on an oil rig for the past 6 months and only had 1 evening in UT while on transit to another oil rig the next day for another 6 month gig, majority of the beer bars on Soi Samphan Thamit were completely useless, unless I was willing to go with a someone 5 or lower. Majority of the BB on Soi Samphan Thamit had girls that were hideous. Preconceived notion/Expectations: So, in my earlier report about Khon Kaen, I knew going in, that KK wasn’t a mongering town and it could be slim pickings and I would need to adjust for that. Now, I’ve spent quite a bit of time and research on Udon Thani. There are a ton of videos and reports of the “Main/Only” true mongering spot up in Issan can only be found in UT. From all the research and videos I’ve seen and what transpired on this Soi were completely way different. I found out from chatting to a few of the girls and couple of the guys staying at my hotel – who regularly have visited UT, that it’s been fairly quiet this October in UT amongst this mongering spot. Now, I know it’s on a Sunday, but for heaven sake, this was not good. I decided I would now check out the Day & Night Complex. Two rows of beer bars, about 8-10 beer bars on either side. The 2nd beer bar on the left actually had more than 2 or 3 girls working, about 6 girls. I saw one girl who was a 7 and maybe another girl who could pass for a 6. I sat down and ordered a drink and bought the girl who I thought was a 7 a drink. After a bit, I enquired about barfines. This girl didn’t do LT and was only willing to do ST. She wanted #1,500 for ST. I told her I would get her later this week and that I wanted to look around. I stayed to the left side of the beer bars and continued my way around until I hit the end of the Day & Night complex. I continued to the back area and around to the left where Little Havana bar is. They only had 2 girls working the bar and they were not barfine quality. I didn’t even bothering to stop and have a drink. I did a U-Turn and now would check-out the right side of the Beer Bars in the D&N complex. About the third beer bar was a place called Ohh La La. This beer bar had 6 girls working along with the music blasting so loud I had no other choice but to put in ear plugs. I sat with a girl who was a 6/7. Spoke pretty poor English, had only worked in the bar for 1 month and was going to school at one of the University here in UT. Another girl was seated across from us and could possibly pass for 6 or 7. But, she was really young looking, had braces and way too skinny looking. Now, if these are my only good choices here in UT, then I will have to go back and grab her. I finished my drink and walked/looked at the rest of the beer bars on the right side….nothing worth stopping/looking @. I made my way back onto the street – Soi Saphan Thamit and stopped at Fun Bar. Fun bar had 11 girls working and a few girls who were barfinable. I selected one of the girls to talk to and found out she didn’t go with customers. A falong customer who was seated at the counter top whispered to me that he had already talked to my girl and was told earlier that she didn’t go with customers. He said that earlier in the evening, he met up with some friends across the street at the Brick House for dinner and watched as about half the girls working at the Fun Bar were dropped off for work by their Thai boyfriends including the girl I was now sitting down with. I stuck around for about an hour chit chatting with a few of the girls and decided to just call it a night. Tomorrow, I have a work meeting here in UT in the late morning and then have to head up to Nong Bua Lam Phu for another meeting in the afternoon. Very slim pickings here in UT along the Beer Bar nightlife area and pretty quiet overall. Although very few barfineable girls about, I think I can manage at least for a few nights while in UT, but if your goal was to come to UT for the nightlife….at the moment, don’t waste your time. BE6AF7A1-1ADA-4A1A-85F0-A204A4969DF4.MOV