Grimm

Nice shots...know that area well. You must have been suffering a little heat exhaustion after Soi 26, cause you only managed a shot of the Dentist's Parking at Thong Lor before you got to Ekkamai. Ekkamai is a fun street to walk too. Only goes up to Petchaburi Rd and changes quite a bit along the way. Thanks again..

Siam Sam, that has got to be the strangest argument to condone bad behaviour I've ever heard. They throw white guys off tall buildings, but hey, its not my country so I'll toss a few too. It's not just that these animals are drugged, but they are constantly being raided because the animals are illegally captured and traded. The animals have short lives which breeds a constant need for new stock. There is always a news story every year about them slipping a few dead cats out the back door for the people that like tigers so much they eat them. I always avoid these places.

Is there a groan button on here somewhere?

well today is Wan Chakri, to commemorate the founding of the current ruling family.

Great shots...brings back memories..I'll have to dig up a few from the 80s for comparison. Thanks

Here I was thinking this was the Trip Report section and that this would be the first sultry encounter with a Thai doctor in a clinic....oh well

Any time there are flights coming into Bangkok, the airport money exchangers are open and the rate is much better than what you get in the UK. There are some in the baggage claim area and just outside after you clear customs. Just make sure to get one 1000 baht note changed into ten 100 baht notes. You may need small change before you get to the hotel. Have a great trip.

My local is putting up a list of items they no longer carry due to floods...It's getting pretty long and includes food as well as beer.

Tesco did say they were going to close all stores nationally for the forseeable future while suppliers were unable to provide supplies. 7-11 is going to close 66 stores in Bangkok due to a lack of supplies. True coffee is unable to stock sandwiches and cakes cause their plant is underwater. Many of the major drinking water suppliers have plants located in flooded factory zones. In Bangkok the flood water is expected to get into the city's reservoirs. If I wasn't living here, I would avoid coming for a few weeks. While I don't think it is all 'DOOM' I do believe it will be quite a bit of 'GLOOM' for at least another week. Finally dawning on people that flooding affects more than just people in their homes. Just waiting for the power to go out, but at least I've got two tubs filled with water. The silver lining....the government has declared this a 5 day holiday.

The vaccine wouldn't be recommended for anyone on this board...cause if you are here you've probably already been exposed

If that list is your reason for not liking Farang women, I have to say you don't know Thai women very well :) Thai women come with: Emotional baggage Love nothing better than to spend money shopping Laziness, they can sit home all day infront of the boob tube watching the soaps Kids?? Obviously never been in a Thai home when the little hellions are on the loose Sex...most Thai women are not that aggressive sexually and more than a few would be happy for you to bang away while they watch tv Didn't even touch on the relatives and the fact that you will be second class in their eye The primary loyality is never you They are always comparing your support with what their gfs are getting from their boyfriends I could go on and on, so I think you are saying the difference between a gf and a short term rental is.......

Okay first -- What would inspire you to think this question was a trip report. Maybe you should wait until you've done Makha Bucha and then tell us about how your survived. Second -- it takes very little scanning through to see that the bars never know for sure what will be a wet or dry holiday until it happens. But you already answer your question by saying its closed. I think you will find that you might just need to stock the room fridge for that day, though I've never yet been in Patts when there wasn't booze being served somewhere legally or illegally. Don't fret your trip based on a 24 hour holiday.

Joe a little too much redbull this morning? I think there is a middle ground (sound Buddhist principle) on the where does the money go.... So there are 2 main ways that money gets spent at a funeral to make merit. The first way (as in all large family events, weddings, house blessings, funerals, etc.) is that people make money by giving donations directly to the family. This is designed to offset the families costs for hosting all the guests, expenses of getting the monks and gifts for the monks, the non-monk sanskrit wise holy guy that deals with the non-Buddhist spirit realm, the a/c coffin and cremation expenses, etc. A funeral, even to a poor family in a village can end up being a major expense. If the person that died is also the major beadwinner for the family then the money is also designed to help tied the family over until new money is coming in. Just like a wedding in the west, the giver doesn't ask for itemized bill for their donation but keeps the potential costs in mind when deciding how much to donate. By the way, there is usually another part of the funeral ceremony that is held 100 days after the cremation (which is what the BG is probably sending money back for 100 day ceremony is seen by some as more important than the actual funeral)...more expense. Now for family members the second way they make merit by offering a donation to the temple and the gifts to monks that come to chant at the funeral. As in the West, the wealthy might also build shrine or donate a building to the temple of the person's name on it. The monks keep what ever offerings are given to them. As Joe pointed out, offerings to the temple go to the temple fund and it is up to the temple how that money is spent. Many families also have one or two members that will go and mediate in the temple for a week to a month as a way of making merit. Very popular amongst the poor who have little money to give. I've yet to be at a funeral where non-family members make direct donations to a temple, that money is always channelled through the family. It's not the amount per se that registers the merit, but what the amount reflects on families income. If I donate a 1000baht that's not going to make much merit for me. If my som tum seller donates a 1000 baht that is going to make big merit for her.

Okay, one good restaurant (though I might be swayed due to the interactions with the bar girls next door)..I believe its called the Blue Parrot a tex mex place bottom of the street Misty's is on (pattayaland 3?). They even make a real margaritta. KISS is a nice place to go if you like to walk away from a restaurant still feeding millions in your gut! Used to be a little English place in the same complex that did okay breakfast...though I would kill for a place that can do a real cheese omelette.

There are no good restaurants in Pattaya Seriously, just came back from Phuket. The gogo's suck..the beer bars rock (okay only a couple of sois of them..the rest are as dead as Nakula in a rain storm) and the serious food options are without end. A very nice place to go if you like to eat. Pattaya restaurants are rated on how much water has been left on the plate between washing and serving the next customer. Don't go to Pattaya to eat.