Siam Sam

Jude Law

Nicole Kidman (28 day rule)

I've read those both too and they're brilliant. Ellis is a very talented writer and American Psycho has to be one of the most violently graphic novels ever written. Absolutely horrific in places. I've got Glamorama in my collection but I'm yet to read it. I have just finished I am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe which was also very good. It wasn't as good as his first two novels but it was still a great read. I'm currently reading On the Road by Jack Kerouac yet again, that's several times now but I never tire of this masterpiece which is one of my favourite novels ever.

Well in that case you can guarantee I'll be in there the next time I'm in town although at this rate that could be fucking years away.

Not any more they don't. I definitely won't be going there again then as I'm not a fan of the food in Retox although it's one of the best places in town to watch sporting events. Not a bad breakfast but the orange juice they serve is awful and it's often difficult to get a table on your own out the front. I'll have to give that a try as black pudding is an essential part of an English breakfast in my opinion. I wish you could get bubble with English breakfasts in Pattaya, I'm yet to find a place that does it. Robin's Nest do a good breakfast but it's a l

Flew with BA once in 2014 and wasn't impressed at all so wouldn't fly with them again.

Good photos that I really appreciate as I have spent so much time in these areas over the years. Things are changing so quickly these days on Sukhumvit. A shame about Cheap Charlies but great to see it has reopened in On Nut near to where I often stay when I'm in Bangkok. I know On Nut very well and will be sure to pop in to their new location the next time I'm in Bangkok.

I was warned about the service there and I also think "Cabbages and Condoms" has to be one of the most inappropriate and off putting names for a restaurant but despite this our experience was a good one. We went there with another couple that rated the place and I was pleasantly surprised. We only ate Thai food and what we ate was good although the service wasn't great. This illustrates exactly what I'm saying about Trip Advisor - a restaurant that is considered a "top" restaurant can be disliked by just as many people that like it, yet it's all about the reviews it gets on the website. I am d

Years ago I stayed in a cheap hotel in Jomtien and did the same thing with some money and my passport, both of which sustained damage from something chewing at them which must have been rats. Fortunately these days I stay in places a little more upmarket.

The second night of my first trip I passed out on a Patpong bar girl with all of my valuables on display including my passport. She didn't take a thing, only the money that I'd agreed to pay her. I've come a long way since then and have still never been robbed, probably because I now take precautions like yourself. Generally speaking I'd say the better the hotel you stay in the less likely you are to get robbed. I always lock my valuables in the room safe and do my best to hide my laptop if I take it. If I do take a laptop I take an old one that I could live with losing. If I do have to leave

I've read Private Dancer twice and I've often wondered if Leather has written other books that are based in Thailand so I may well check out the ones that are although I don't think he is that great a writer. Since I last posted in this thread I read The Blade Artist by Irvine Welsh which means I've now read all of his novels. I then decided I should read his four works of short stories because I'm such a fan so I read Ecstasy again which I read back in the 90's but had forgotten all about. I'm going to read the other three soon. The Blade Artist is good but it isn't as good as his finest (Tra

I am a fan of Trip Advisor and I use this website to select hotels and restaurants all the time. I've written 170 reviews on their site too which makes me a top level contributor (level 6). One thing I have found with this site though over the years is that their site can sometimes be misleading and as Evil says, their ranking system is open to manipulation and has many flaws. Many times I have eaten in a so called "top" restaurant and it turns out to be a disappointment. Some restaurants or hotels seem to gather a huge following and feature high up on the list of the best when it seems totall

I concur with those that rate the Queen Vic on Soi 6 for an English breakfast as it's pretty good. I always used to like the Butcher's Arms on Soi Bhuakhao but that place has gone downhill over the years. When I was last in Pattaya and living there I tried so many different places for an English Breakfast and what became my favourite was the Irish Rovers on Soi Metro. At 129 baht the big breakfast has to be the best value around. You get two sausages, two bacon, two eggs, fried potatoes, black pudding or hash browns, beans, fried bread, toast, tea or coffee and orange juice. Their breakfasts a

Shantaram is absolutely brilliant. People question much of what happened in the novel and I am of the opinion that it is highly embellished in places but that is what makes it such a great novel. I haven't read a book as good as that since I read Atlas Shrugged about eighteen months ago. I've wanted to go to India for years and reading this has finally made me decide that it is a place I have to go to. No more trips to Thailand for a while - we're going to Iceland next and then I'm going to India. I recently read Ask the Dust by John Fante. It was very good and I highly recommend it. Last

The Great Escape

I haven't posted on the site for a while and in that time I've read some more books which were: My Uncle Oswald by Roald Dahl When I was a child Dahl was my favourite author and I had nearly all his children's books. Danny the Champion of the World is my favourite. I wish I'd kept the ones I had when I was young because I had to buy the ones I liked again. Until reading this book I'd never read any of his work aimed at adults. This was pretty good. It's a ribald tale of sex and adventure which was entertaining and, as with all his books, is testament to the wonderful imagination this m

Dr Warin on the Central Pattaya Road did some work for me that I was very pleased with. I made a thread about this earlier this year which is still near the top of the threads made in this section if you have a look. He's very good.

Cheers Martin I may well add a few of those to my reading list.