jacko

There has been a bit of fuss over a new sign which I believe is at the end of the motorway informing us to turn left for 'Pattaya Kiang'... I was always amused that entering same highway from the Railway Line Bypass Rd you are met with a plethora of large signs telling you the rules and regulations, speed limits etc, yet it comes to a dead end in 200m. But my favourite was the sign at a Soi Honey Inn MP 'Room For Rent, Free Wife'......(WIFI) It is an insight into Thai Psyche that they will spend good money on a large Thai/English sign and yet make a complete balls-up of the English side of it, errors that a simple dictionary could have prevented. It makes the place such 'fun'.

Easy day today..... ride to Jomtiem to sign some paperwork at my lawyers office. Was heading south up Sukhumvit on the bike and couldn't get across to the right to turn down soi Watboon. Bloody traffic. Stopped for a haircut on Soi Siam CC on the way back... the guy in the other chair was talking at near shouting level to the young barber who just chucked in the odd 'krap'.... to be polite. Then the guy stumped me by talking to me in pretty good English, although he was a bit nosey. Changed to the truck and went to buy beer. Watched UK election results coming in for a bit. Cooler and cloudy now..... I felt like I had been in a sauna when I arrived in Jomtiem earlier.

For the £, SCB TT rate is up to 51.25 this morning.... in the middle of election results which show Labour being dumped in Scotland in preference for SNP. The 33.3+ Baht/US$ is a trigger level for me as it is a number I always remember from years ago. As to the question above... you can look at how the rates move around during the days on the SCB site, , some days there are over a dozen updates. Rates seem to get kicked around by the releases of various economic results and data.

The market stalls along Beach Rd still happen for special events... they widened Beach Rd to 3 lanes to accommodate them. Bit of a nuisance really but actually popular with tourists. The new place, I think is called Night Market or Night Bazaar... there is also Made in Thailand on 2nd Rd. If you want market shopping personally I think the Soi Bua Khao market at the Tai end beats them, or the Weekend one on Threppasit, near the Sukhumvit end. Plenty of markets and shopping in Pattaya.... rumour has that is all there will be in a decade!

A possible shift our way.....? CNBC Thailand takes a hammer to the baht.

Mine arrive already peeled......... The durian I bought was very tasty, sweeter than the cheaper variety. But considering how much it cost not much flesh in it.

Monday is always a night in and cook at home for me. Never did rain after threatening all day and a hot sticky start. Trouble is with this weather I am always gagging for a cold one by 5pm and the first one doesn't touch the sides. Had to keep fishing the daft turtle out of the pool......... she is 'in season' I guess. Put the UK world championship snooker on my computer and watched that until bed-time.

Take your pick from here......

Liam Neeson

They were very big.....6-7 cm across. The name isn't on the sign, doesn't it just say 2 baht each? (Look la 2 baht) .

Did you think Mayweather deserved the decision.......? I didn't...... Hard to beat a USA opponent in Vegas!

Bugger, on it's way back down again!

Markets are a great insight into local culture. You see strange food items, regular people and it is an assault on the senses. Yes, mostly smelly and hot, sometimes dirty, nay often dirty, but one has to eat. This one is located in Rayong, just beyond the City. Approximately Km 230 on Sukhumvit, or 65 Km drive down Rt 36 from where it starts. Immediately after a main junction heading SE, on the left, and plenty of parking on playing fields and running track. There is a festival here each year and produce is brought from points further afield, and the hills of Chanthaburi and beyond. She can't wait to go shop. And this is what I came for, the khan-yeeow Durian, recognisable by its straight stalk and uniform round shape, unlike the bumpy mongkhot variety. At 180-240 baht/kilo more expensive. She has complained of the smell this morning, personally I cannot smell it so it needs a few more days yet. Nothing since breakfast so we need a snack. Three dishes, rice and water, 160 baht....... flies eat for free. Need some of these, whatever they are! Ah, the famous and delicious mangosteens, longan and rambutan. It is Saturday, a day late for the fish-fry. Smiling market girls happy to be photographed. Mai-suoy one complained when I showed her. I have no idea what this one is.... No thanks we just ate the upper bits! And lastly, as an aside, something seen on the slow drive back amidst the rather dangerous driving style from those normally stuck in Bangkok! Often derided as lazy, Thai workers not lacking in courage in my mind!

That is pretty good considering what we were looking at 2-3 weeks ago.

Around 25.5 THB/AUD For £ I saw 50.5 at TT last night,

The rate is expected to improve as the Thai central bank just cut interest rates. The Bank of Thailand's monetary policy committee members voted 5-2 Wednesday to cut the one-day repurchase rate, the bank's benchmark interest rate, by 0.25 percentage point to 1.5%. Source I don't know whether you caught the reaction to that ATLAS, or just missed it! My usual reference, SCB TT rate finished up at 50.05875 yesterday. (Edit: And is starting today at 50.3925 )

And that is what most T-shirts in Thailand mean!

Pretty standard to give all the passengers a bottle of water as a 'go to sleep and bother us no more' message on the overnight long-hauls I have been on lately.

Yeah I hope so. It was pretty hot when I was there, and the constant noise and traffic (and fumes) from Soi Buakhao detracted from my enjoyment.

I have used Massic Travel in the past. But the days of there being Airline Offices dotted around is past, This link suggests only Phuket and Bangkok have offices. I pretty much do everything on-line now,