atlas2

New to me.

Friend of mine falls asleep in the chair.... his soon to be ex girlfriend takes his thumb and presses it gently against the home button and sifts through his messages..... End of story.

'Familiarity breeds contempt'............ I've heard that said so often I'm fed-up with it! However, it's true. Today is Christmas Eve.......Any of us here still feel the same about it as we did when we were 7yrs old? If you want to recapture the magic of Christmas look through a child's eyes. Perhaps here it helps the old tired farts amongst us to look through the eyes of visiting friends.

A beer at my club is 220 baht.......And often its warm.....They bring a little ice-bucket but I've usually drunk it before it's proper chilled. Hmm must cut my toenails .......

No my good man.......Living in Naklua must be thirsty work! It means 'The salt fields'

Impressed: Im sure many of you will have visited a delicatessen counter, ordered an amount of cheese and watched in amazement, or at least respect as the owner weighs it in his mind takes a wire to the cheddar, slices off a lump, throws it on the scales and 'bam' exactly the weight you asked for........'Anything else sir?' Well I was at a money exchange in Pattaya early in my time here and the British 'wedge' I was handing over was equivalent to 43,000 baht. The guy showed me the amount on a little ticket, It agreed with what I'd worked it out beforehand so I nodded. He turns grabs a 100,000 of Thai sausage...Split it with his thumb.....pulled some out and counted to me first time exactly 43 one thousand baht notes. He could see I was impressed! I told him he was a dammed clever fellow.......or words to that effect and that I'd never seen anything like it in my life. I said, 'I supposed handling money all day gives you a feel of sorts.... but this was incredible.' He just shrugged and looked at me modestly as though it was nothing. I was impressed and a week or so later I was relating this story to the wife of a friend of mine who owns a restaurant. She said she could do it as well. I challenged her to prove it. In her bag was a crisp pile of 100 bt notes she'd just brought back from the bank. She split it with her thumb, flicked at it bit and then divided and dramatically counted out to me 43 one hundred baht notes. I thought 'Fuck me these Thais are clever with money! They can all do it......must be their Chinese blood!' After a while she let on to the poor incredulous 3rd world falang that new bank notes are sequentially numbered.

...........lovely........ I like story jokes.

Happy Thanksgiving Day......... Hope all the Yanks have a good time...........And enjoy their Turkey and pumpkin pie.

Sounds 'Gold Card'ish' A friend has one and he gets all sorts of discounts and has similar visa privileges to the ones you describe.

Actually I want a new basic phone........My old Nokia has been very useful.....Suppose they might still make the batteries. But thanks for the heads up.

Thanks.........

Good one.

This comes up every now and again.... And always gives me a laugh or two.

Actually i should have said something about the service....In the one opposite Outlet Mall they have a couple of senior overseers and lots of what seem like school age boys and girls on work experience. This means that they are really polite, attentive......and prompt. Though you can also sense a little nervousness at serving (let's face it) tricky falangs......This also means that they are polite, attentive and prompt.. So to sum up I find the staff to be........polite and attentive and prompt.

I go often to the branch next to outlet mall in Jomtien. Never had a bad meal there.

It might be a good idea to have a thread devoted to health issues, hospital experiences, comparison of health Insurance companies..... When I had BPPV......(vertigo from getting some muck loose in my semi-circular canals)...and later, 'plantar fasiitus' pain in arch of the foot... board members pm'd me with their own experiences and youtube got me through without costly hospital bills. For the BPPV I managed to drive myself to hospital thinking at the time it was just an inner ear infection from swimming every morning..... but thought it prudent to visit Pattaya International to check that it wasn't anything more serious. It was actually stupid of me to drive........ Which brings me to another point. 'Succumbing to abundance' means ironically that I live alone. Had MM been alone.......or if Bushcraft was alone now their health problems ....or for anyone else the dangers of slips and falls are greatly magnified. Some may remember Gonzo's excellent thread that resulted from a fall in the bathroom and just how his brilliant wife's support both at home and with the hospital care saved his life. Us.... 'like it better alone, can take care of myself, don't like to make a fuss......have to face up to the likelihood that we will meet a sticky end that may well have been avoided if we had the support of a devoted partner......(cheating murderous ones also shorten life expectancy.....My friend Ray killed in Hua Hin for example). OK that's a dramatic comparison but a wrong choice of partner can add to our dis'ease. It's a toss-up I suppose..... But I congratulate both MM and Bushcraft on their choice of partner.

Me too.

Ooops.......Sorry I read the title and thought this was the Hillary Clinton thread.

I'm really not playing devil's advocate.........And although I keep thinking of stopping when I pass it, I haven't been there for a long time....And.......and I rarely eat noodles...So couldn't judge on that dish. OK with that out of the way........Oh yes and I'll add as well that I don't expect too much for the prices there. But it was a place I would pop into often for a late breakfast of chicken and ginger, or kai jeow moo sap when I stayed in hotels locally. Now you're judgement is forcing me to return. I usually calibrate cheap Thai restaurants with a dish I know well like, 'Kow-kapok-gai, si ki-dow..Ki dow mi suk, gai sap'. Ordering's a bit of a mouthful...but a simply delicious one when it arrives. So out of a loyalty based only on past experience, (accepting my experience may have passed it's 'sell-by-date') and the many happy memories I'll stick up for good old Boat Bakery and say I like the place. .........Mind you, I liked school dinners. On a connected issue, I bumped into a husband and wife team that have lived here for yonks and review restaurants for one of the local rags. They could, and did give me chapter and verse on the best Italian, Indian, Greek, French, Lebanese etc but when it came to Thai food they were flummoxed. You touched on this yourself Evil. I rarely have a Thai meal that's anything like bad. We are lucky here.

I found this educational..........Most of it I didn't know. The girl is cute but initially irritating......and the model ??? weird !! But it's very informative. Just thought I'd share.........I look around town and I'm reminded of dear Oscar......“Looking good and dressing well is a necessity. Having a purpose in life is not.”....at least partially true methinks.

Probably get a copy made here for between 5 and 8,000 baht....Decided to lose a bit of belly first. Then get some print-outs and plunge in. Got a month.

I thought I'd buy some Aussie dollars with baht today......I'm paying another visit to my sons graduation..... Seeing the baht drop fills me with joy pound wise but using baht to buy Aussie dollars before it falls further meant I lost about 7 dollars from yesterday's rate on XE. Still it's only money.

That picture I posted in the 'age now' thread must have stayed up longer than I thought...........

Thanks.... I'll keep trying.....

I'm thinking of buying my first tailored suit in nearly 50 years. I cared more about fashion/appearance in my teens I guess. I easily find clothes off the peg that....,,'fit like a glove' so I've never bothered with the bespoke route. I recently gave away to a security guy at my condo a load of clothes and my last suit....(kept my Tux)....And of course straightaway something has turned up for which it would I need a suit. A couple of days ago I started my 'due diligence'.......I began with all the 'tailor threads' (no pun), on here and on 'Thai Visa'....I asked around too. Lot's of recommendations but some of it conflicting........... "I tried them and they were rubbish'. In the end I settled on one of the ones mentioned here. Also as part of my homework I read-up on suits. I found the style, the colour and the material I want it made in. And to avoid seeming a complete beginner, ('It will ride up with wear sir"), I mugged-up on the jargon too........ I went along today having memorised the most important applicable info'. Lightweight, quality 100% wool/linen/cotton....or blend.....notched lapels...flat-front trousers...(no pleats)...low-rise waist....double vent.... no belt loops...... braided stitching on the shoulders.....slightly padded .....3 buttons but you only see two....and tight but forgiving round the chest and shoulders etc. Now none of this info' was really needed because the style I wanted was, 'An O'connor'. All I really expected was that it would only be necessary for me to mention the style, choose the colour, the material and then haggle over the price. Then it would be a case of telling them what side I dressed on and getting my inside leg fondled. My only question then would have been: 'Why should I pay a premium for a suit through you when any tailor I go to will go to the same outwork shops behind Tuk com?' I park right outside the shop. There's an assistant hovering by the door. He looks unsure as to whether he should approach me, or maybe he was gambling that I had parked there because it was his shop I was heading for. I smiled and offered my hand and went in. He was pleased...As far as whoever was waiting in the shop was concerned he could have dragged me by the throat off the pavement...he might get a rise!! Shelves of folded material cover the walls. Tailor's dummies with half completed armless and chalked jackets give a professional touch. This was Pattaya's Savile Row......No doubt about it! But with an unmistakable wafting of that buttery gee smell than sometimes emanates from South Asian bodies. (English joke warning.....) Hmm I thought....... I wonder if this blokes first name is Cecil...... Anyway, I was asked: 'What can we do for you today sir?' "Well" I said .....all homework done and beaming confidently ........"I'd like a suit made.......An O'Connor style." They looked at each other and showed me over to a section of shirts.....??? After a period where I admired the shirts and said what good quality they were and they got onto price......I said, "But really it's a suit I'm interested in. An O'Connor can you make one?" Again they nodded their heads in time and exchanged glances......This time I was taken to a suit hanging on the wall. 'Is that an O'Connor?' I asked dubiously. Fingering the jacket he says....."Yes sir ....it is most definitely a collar...... what type of collar you want?" Now I realised why I'd been looking at shirts for 5 mins.......So as not to be rude and to show-off my new knowledge I said: "Yes I like this collar I want notched lapels just like this........I thought all O' Connor suits were notched though?" They'd had three goes at this O'Connor thing and it wasn't getting through. To be fair I'd never heard of the style myself......Perhaps I was expecting too much........But this wasn't an over-the-counter sales assistant in Central. This was Pattaya's most experienced firm of quality tailors. From my study (for you reader, think of the Daniel Craig James Bond films), O'Connor style is all the rage these days. They are everywhere. I tried again digging myself deeper: "The James Bond films? You know? " "Ahh yes James Bond suits......" A glint of final understanding in his eyes......My spirits soared... He reached for his phone and showed me a picture of Rodger Moore in flares! "No O'Connor. It's a famous style of suit........ Tom Ford, (blank looks), he's a famous Tailor, sells bloody thousands of them"............Er...... I'll tell you what why don't you give me your card .........I'll print out some information and come back" Smiles handshakes and they were glad to see the back of me........Though I doubt if matey on the door will be getting that rise now!