Horizondave

1 hour ago, Binlid said:

Just slicing up Bara Brith which I made for our patients afternoon cuppa,it is a traditional Welsh fruit loaf which is typically buttered.

Love a bit of Bara Brith, last eaten at my cousins in Merthyr a few weeks back.

5 hours ago, Abhishek Singh said:

Hi, My name is Abhishek from India. I am going first time Thailand Trip in March 2024. Please suggest me what to do and what no to do during trip. Also, My flight from Bangkok is at 10:30 am on 21st March 2024. Is there any bus or van from Pattaya at 6:00 in the morning? 

Welcome.

I think if you use the search facility you may find a lot of info for your needs. Have a look at topic headings as well or write a few specific questions and somebody should have an update for you.

Yes, North Pattaya bus station is suitable for the 6am service. The service from the bus station at Jomtien starts at 7 am.

I used the Jomtien service last time and took the 7am bus but my flight was midday. The station is near the corner of Thapraya and Thepprasit.

Home - Airport Pattaya Bus

I watched a lot of the shows mentioned above but the one I remember most was Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In. I watched this until it stopped in the early 70s; just watching Goldie Hawn was a good enough reason.

Nowadays it might not be so funny or relevant but back 50 years ago it was brilliant. Used to upset my dad which made me smile.

Brains SA. Wetherspoon Red Lion pub, Morriston near Swansea. Lovely.

Also had a pint of the Fire Island Buffalo. Spicy so not a session ale. Kept away from the 0ld Empire at 5.7%.

Just noticed the EVA flight hanging over Essex, due now at 2042, but that is 1 hour 22 mins late landing. In fact probably landing even later as 6 or 7 aircraft still to land ahead.

Probably a late departure for those flying out and Boydeste might be staying overnight London.

Edit. Finally landed 2052 (92 mins late).

Not a good advert for flying EVA.

Rhymney Scrum 5, a nice drop. Might try the Thunderbird next. Waiting for Porn to finish Zumba.

2 hours ago, KhunDon said:

Had a few Sunday Roasts there years ago. 
I wonder if the same guy has it? He was from Essex IIRC. Nice chap. 🤗

Had a breakfast there last trip and was not impressed, It was far removed from a proper English and was quite poor in presentation, quality and quantity. Wouldn't go back except, maybe for a beer, and watch the world go by..

2 hours ago, Stillearly said:

Chicken Fajitas in the RH 

I don't think I have ordered this for about 20 years , I'd forgotten how messy they are to eat ..

 

It took me a second to realise you were not meaning you were in the Rockhouse. Then again, they did have a good chef, pre Covid, who did cook up good food.

15 hours ago, KhunDon said:

Been in that restaurant over the sea more than once. 🤗

Especially nice when you get a table close to the sea; been a few times when busy and ended up close to the kitchen.

15 hours ago, lazarus said:

Italian Alps - Cortina / Dolomites

 

Those pictures remind me of a wonderful trip I did in 1967 through Italy.

My mum, brother and I took a coach trip from Victoria bus station to Manston airport, then flew on an Invicta Airways Viking to Ostend, where we again picked up a coach that took 2 days to travel to Lido De Jesolo, near Venice. The journey was on a non aircon bus which we slept on and only stopped to eat at various points on the way.

One place we stopped was Cortina D'Ampezzo which was so awesome for a 12 year old. We also stopped at Longarone, which was famous for a flood disaster, caused by the overflow of the Vajont dam by 50m cubic meters of water after a landslide.

The Dolomites are stunning and well worth a visit.

On 2/2/2024 at 7:06 AM, boydeste said:

Went to see The Bee Keeper yesterday in Central. 

If you like John Wick type movies, this will be a good watch methinks. 

 

Excellent movie, watched it on my HDPrime yesterday. Would have been special to watch on a big screen.

8 hours ago, Mrmango said:

Actualy one of my favorite Mexican dishes is BBQ baby goat.

 

Goat is very tasty, the traditional Philippine dish kaldereta (caldereta) can be cooked with goat. Used to make it often when in Sabang, Puerta Galera.  For a recipe just look up Kaldereta Kambing.

I have a few caldereta paste packets (Mama Sita) at home but usually use pork or beef in Wales when cooking. Best to make your own paste, if you can,  as the packet ones do have high salt content.

2 hours ago, boydeste said:

They are burning massively in Cambodia and the winds have brought the smog across Bkk, Pattaya and HH.

Unusual winds for this time of year I believe. 

Then I would see it as an unusual event and not something that would concern me when deciding to live long term in Thailand.

Go with the flow, enjoy your life and if something bothers you then just move on.  Pattaya itself bothered me and that is the reason I moved to Hua Hin. Perfect for me and I hope one day to lay my hat there again.

7 hours ago, Lemondropkid said:

I've lived in London, Leeds and Hull most of my live- on no day have I seen anything as bad as some recent days in HH

There seems to be a huge collective blindness or just plain stupidity in people behaviours. I've seen runners coming down the Petkasem Road in it. Doubt they have chest problems either(yet)

Never heard an expat here talk about the pollution. People seem to carry on oblivous to the sight and the smell of it.

But in the 3 months plus I've been here, generally it's been OK. I'm enjoying it here but am just seeing how I go really.

I've got nowhere near your depth of experience living in Thailand/Asia and don't have your long term connection with HH. I it's obviously your choice mate🙂

Love to know where the smog is coming from as they tend to have different weather systems to Pattaya. 

I was born in London, lived in London, went to school and worked in London and I was probably assaulted every day with the fumes from cars etc., yet it never was never something I thought about.

Carrying on oblivious to issues, some beyond our control, is just living for me. I lived in Pattaya for 10 years and Hua Hin for nearly 5 yet these posts are the first posts that are letting me know about smog etc.

From time to time I read about smog or air pollution in Bangkok or Chiang Mai, maybe even Pattaya but it has never been something I worry about. I read they are burning fires in Indonesia etc., yet next week there is something else to worry about.

Maybe I don't have the interest in air quality that some have. Same as I know my prostate is ok but I have no idea what my count is or my other levels etc. I just know my doctor has told me I am fine and carry on.

For me, the possibility of smog in Hua Hin has never been an issue and I would go back to Hua Hin tomorrow. If I then, suddenly experienced, a sudden understanding that smog has affected my home life, I might then do something about it.

Did 15 years in Thailand, 5 in Philippines and 2 in Malaysia and smog was never anything I remotely worried about.

Can't wait to get back to Thailand one day. I know many of my friends who would

15 hours ago, Lemondropkid said:

The air quality in recent weeks in HH has been pretty poor. Smog like haze in the air, I've been limiting the time spent outdoors some days.

Very unscientific of me but everytime there's a bad day in HH, I'll have a look at the readings for Krabi or Phukhet, and there are always better- every single time. Maybe somewhere on the Adanman Coast would be a better place to live long term?

Back on the central theme I'm  still much preferring things to the current UK winter  but Baz does make a good point about pollution being a negative.

 

 

I hear you but it would not stop me going to live in Hua Hin. Never was an issue when I lived there even though something may have changed since.

There are so many issues with living in the UK that smog in Hua Hin is not going to make me stop and think twice. People adapt, stay in, put a mask on or put up with it. I don't suffer chest problems and my mate is there presently and yet, has never mentioned smog. 

Like everywhere, you do your background checks, you add up the pros and cons and you make your decision. Not seen anything major that would see me choose a different location for living in Thailand.

6 hours ago, Bazle said:

I empathise with what you say, but consider the air pollution situation before jumping back to Thailand. It could trump all the plus points.

That would be a minor negative compared to the benefits of the humidity, the warmer air etc. I suffer from psoriasis and dry skin. The weather is very conducive to my better health, I was told long ago as a teenager that living in a warmer climate was good for me.

My choice of Hua Hin would also be a better option than perhaps Bangkok, Chiang Mai etc., never seen air pollution in Hua Hin as a problem. 

1 hour ago, Butch said:

The UK has changed exponentially in recent years, and not for the better. I'll be very careful @tommy dee not to get into political stuff on your topic mate, and start blaming the govt etc.

A lot has been since Covid, we have local councils who now spend a chunk of their budget on empty offices and paying self entitled individuals to work from home, right through to Teachers adding their own left wing agendas to school curriculum and poisoning the minds of the impressionable kids in their care. Add to this a politicised and overstrtetched Police force, no longer Policing by consent but policing by current trends and in many cases instead of applying the Law, allowing their own personal feelings and beliefs to cloud their judgement. We have the rise of endemic anti semitism , again, going unpunished when deliberate offences are done in front of serving police officers.

There are housing shortages, massive pressure on the NHS, lack of places in schools for children, the burden of social care, a skewed and easily exploited benefit system by the usual suspects, crumbling infrastructure and urban decay.

We also have Town centres taken over by money laundering operations such as Turkish Barbers, Candy Shops, Mobile phone repair shops and Nail Salons. Try finding a local Butcher, Habadashery, Hardware store or Bakery in any UK town Centre, and good luck with that.

theft and shoplifting are no longer considered important by the Police, whereas something said which causes emotional pain to another is dealt with via a public order offence.

we have Indians demanding reparations, we're always being told to be ashamed of our colonial past (oddly, always by those who have settled in the UK from said colonies and are happy to drain the UK and avail of its free public services) and having national pride is now deemed to be a"racist viewpoint" - all while conveniently forgetting that Great Britain was actually pivotal in ridding the World of a fascist regime in 1945.

It is , indeed, a bit of a shithole in some places.

 

 

It is because of all of the reasons above that I wish I was living again in Thailand.  Only reason to be in UK is for my daughter's education, but even that is starting to concern me and the wife, not sure the curriculum is everything I thought it was going to be.

Add to that the debacle that is NHS dentistry; only today my wife has received a letter telling her that her dental care is changing. It seems the dentist who last treated her is going private and contacting all her previous patients. Can't believe she is being told she is off the NHS list but trying to get through to them to find out what it is all about is almost impossible.

If only the lotto ticket would come up, I would be out of here. In Thailand, I felt comfortable, I felt it was my home. In the UK, I feel more of an outsider and I can't see it getting any better.

11 hours ago, Stillearly said:

Thai take off before EVA as usual, even though they have a later departure time 555

Last Sunday, my mate flew Thai. He landed at 5.08 am for a 6.15 am arrival. In fact I checked his flight arrivals for the previous week and everyday it landed before 6.15am.  I checked only to allay his fears of missing his 7.30 am bus to Hua Hin.

Seems Thai have a pretty good departure regime presently and therefore a good option for booking with them. He paid £717 through an agent for cattle class.

On the way back from London to Neath today we were heading on the M4 through Cardiff and saw the Manchester United Team Coaches (2) traveling on the other side having come from the airport slip road. Found out that they did fly into Cardiff from Manchester. Kataleya was very excited, they were being escorted by 3 police motorbike outriders.

Now if it had been Chelsea, I might have been excited as well lol.

On 1/27/2024 at 5:58 AM, karon steve said:

 

You mentioned ditching the air fryer, I would rather ditch the wife. The air fryer is totally 'Ronseal', does what it says on the box. The wife forgot that promise years ago lol

On 1/27/2024 at 2:48 AM, Glasseye said:

 

That surely is a happy man. I hope his good luck and fortune will continue. 

He is happy, his flight left only 10 minutes late and is expected to arrive in Bangkok over 30 mins early, plenty of time to catch his bus to Hua Hin at 7.30.

On 1/27/2024 at 2:31 AM, Glasseye said:

 

You are a good man. Love will contribute to many things in your life. But never expect it to be returned. It all comes from within.

As you have metioned, "I never signed up for this". One strength I have been able to hold onto and recognize within myself is that to do the same would eventually lead to hardship and heartbreak. I'm just not that strong anymore, and doing so would diminish my survivability rate. In other, words.... I've weighed out the benefit/cost of doing such a thing. No matter how I juggle the numbers it comes up not to be in my best interest.

Continute to do your best though. I just know I'm not "cut out" for it.

Everything I do is Ok as it it is for the benefit of my daughter's future. The wish would have been to be much younger, say in my 50s which would then give me many years back overseas to enjoy my later pension years in comfort doing what I want.

Probably will start to have longer stays overseas once my daughter gets the keys to the door with the wife home at night but that will still be about 4 to 5 years.

I think it is this wish to be overseas but unable to fulfil my desire, caught in limbo really but I have my health and that is a bonus.