atlas2

As long as you're not being 'pendantic' Martin... We'll let you off. As is often the case we can turn to the ........... writings of the Bard. The earliest known citation of the phrase is from Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice, 1596: 'Bated' is simply a shortened form of 'abated', meaning 'to bring down, lower or depress'. 'Abated breath' makes perfect sense and that's where the phrase comes from. What should I say to you? Should I not say 'Hath a dog money? is it possible A cur can lend three thousand ducats?' Or Shall I bend low and in a bondman's key, With bated breath and whispering humbleness, Say this; 'Fair sir, you spit on me on Wednesday last; You spurn'd me such a day; another time You call'd me dog; and for these courtesies I'll lend you thus much moneys'?

Pattaya lies facing the Gulf of Thailand and is always under the influence of the sea. This being the reason, its weather differs from southern, northern and in-land Thailand. Pattaya weather does not undergo any sea change, as the average temperature remains 29°C (85°F). The Pattaya weather pattern follows three seasons the winters, the hot season and the rainy season. November - March Cool season. Winters in Pattaya, commence from November and last till March. Most of the tourists visit Pattaya during the cool season but temperatures run to 30°C (90°F) during the day and well above 20°C (68°F) at night. Climate is tropical and humid most of the time in this ‘Rivera of Thailand’. Tourists flock to Pattaya to enjoy the sunshine that remains throughout the year. April - June Hot & humid season. Summers in Pattaya, can be very unpleasant for those who are not used to the sticky humidity of the seaside cities. The temperature runs up to 40 degrees during the months from April to June. It is not the best time to visit Pattaya. July - October Rainy season. At the end of May, monsoon sets in Pattaya. Long hours of continuous downpour during which no one dares to brave the rain sometimes leave the streets flooded and this takes about an hour to recede. Rains during the June, August and September months, bring down the temperature but usually increases the humidity, which can become very uncomfortable for many. In general Pattaya has less extremes than other parts of Thailand. The climate described above won't suit everyone but it's about perfect for keeping me cheerful.

Good post Jacko As Einstien said: "It's all relative!"

I think the vast majority....(useful phrase that!), know the lines not to be crossed without them having to be carved in tablets of stone and brought down from lightning struck Mt. Pratamak, by a baleful Martin in his, 'shirt of many colours'. (Confused image but you get the drift). It is however, useful for our own safety to have pointed out to us the limits of 'political' comment and the level of salaciousness admissible here. But the rules of behavior we all already know. There's no excuse. The heat being generated here is only about our conduct towards each other isn't it?. And this is where we come unstuck again and again. We all get riled sometimes.......even mild-mannered, milquetoast, Pollyanna's like me! It's going to happen. But 'the vast majority' (I like this phrase), self-regulate and keep within the boundaries of decency. To 'win' it's not necessary to 'hurt'. We need rules to, 'allow' MM to punish the transgressors and them not shout, "It so unfair, told me nobody did" That is when Martin, armed with the authority of our agreed, 'thou shalt nots' needs to step in..... and verily he does. Amen

Yes when I've needed the help urgently the NHS came through.

Reasons to be cheerful Part II Feet up either side of the bath taps. Shoulders sunken under the suds. I tug on my scrotum and juggle my balls. Shit! Shit! SHIT! Six months before I'd sold my house and contents. Let the powers 'that be' know I was taking early retirement. I'd already transferred most of my clothes, books I was keeping and guitars to my condo in Thailand. My bags were practically packed, flights booked, some goodbyes already said, and in 3 weeks I'd succumb to Thailand's beckoning...... as if it were a soi six smile. I was so excited..! And now........ NOW I've found a hard lump on a testicle. In a moment all the beckoning smiles of the L.O.S vanished. I saw instead hospital waiting rooms and smiling doctors trying to break the news gently to keep my spirits up. I saw long weakening chemo treatments, and hair falling out...... Or worse a career singing in the 'Castrato Choir' I was so near and now the pleasures that I'd anticipated for years, and were so fucking close I could taste them were going to be snatched from me. So this is how Tantalus felt! I paid 400 pounds for an ultra-sound the next day at a private hospital. "Cough please sir....Thankyou. Do you see the change in colour on the monitor? That's blood." "Is that bad?" "Varicose veins sir, not a problem. Just keep an eye on them." You can only be bored with Pattaya if you're lazy. Whenever I'm..... 'lazy-bored' I juggle my nuts to remember how lucky I've been. That's another reason to be cheerful.......Though I understand if it's a reason you can't quite share.

I feel the sameway about rather feeling a stranger in a foreign land than a stranger in my own. As for the NHS, if not for the prompt and excellent emergency treatment I recieved in 1997 there would have been no point in ever coming to Thailand unless it was to look at Wats and elephants. That story is a little embarassing to put down here.

You hit the nail on the head. Marley' "Much happier..not stressed........smile all day" One reason I'm happy is that in 2010....'tax freedom day' for the UK was 30th May.....5 months of working solely for the Government. My income from savings & investments and pension is half what I was earning before I retired ......but I keep nearly all of it. No bills to speak of....It's all 'sweet money' Lovelyjubberly!

Important caveats: 1. I bought my condo and my car at 69 baht to the GBP. 2. How I spend 'my' time is likely different to how you spend yours. My expenses and yours will differ. OK With all the 'Doom and Gloom' on the board lately I'd thought I'd give myself a reality check! Am I just, 'a cock-eyed optimist' or 'Pollyanna as Tomcat says? Or did I get it mostly right when made the leap and retired out here in 2007? What follows is a comparison between Pattaya and England. I can't argue with those who say the Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and such-like are head and shoulders above Pattaya...... If that's your view, you can 'ave your two penneth after. Though this is obvious, it needs saying first.......... The PFP experience here beats, in terms of cost, quality, opportunity and selection the stale piss-flaps on offer from London's very own clock-watching Picadilly Commandos. That being said........: Also I pay no tax here other than VAT. Motoring: Cheaper fuel Cheaper service and repair costs Cheaper insurance Cheaper Road-Tax Cheaper + better car-wash. Cheaper fines for minor motoring discretions. Cars hold their value longer. Set against this: V. expensive import car prices. Entertainment: ..........'Generally' Beer cheaper. Restaurants much cheaper. Street eating unbelievably good quality and cheap. Thai food and Seafood excellent quality, and extremely good value. Year round there's a multitude of outdoor eating opportunities + Stunning vistas. Cinemas cheaper. However, wine comparable in price with UK restaurant prices and supermarket costs here higher. Sports: Golf: Green fees cheaper Caddies cheaper Buggies cheaper Bucket of balls in a driving range cheaper. Lessons cheaper. 95% of the year courses available for play. Against: Golf equipment slightly more expensive. Tennis........can play all year. Club membership cheaper. Sports opportunities and cheaper costs here: Squash Scuba Thai Boxing Jet-Ski Kite-Surfing Wind-Surfing Go-Karts.......... etc. +Gym membership at Royal Cliff and Fairtex half what I was paying in UK. Against this: No ski-slopes. Personal Grooming: Hair-cuts, cheaper+better Massage, cheaper+ better+available 24 hrs..........A phone-call can bring a sexy girl in 10 mins to my condo to massage my feet while I watch Wimbledon and sip Singha beer. Manicures....Body scrubs etc Never 'ad either one in England, which says it all. Minor Sports injuries, or just aches and pains dealt with quickly here without need for a 3 week wait for an appointment. Health: Good hospitals My yearly M.O.T (checkup)......'Essentials' + PSA' at Bangkok Pattaya, bought in December was 3500 baht. It would be twice that in UK. Expat emergency insurance relatively cheap. Against this though, The National Health service, in a crisis, trumps the lot. Condo: Relatively Cheap purchase price for its situation and amenities. Electricity cheaper Water cheaper Ground rent/facilities charge, cheap. Maid room cleaning cheap. Minor repairs, no charge just a tip Laundry cheap Travel Baht buses cheap Taxis still very cheap........ Swampy to Jomtien Service Very good personal Service here at Banks, Hospitals, Supermarkets, filling-stations etc is non-existent in the UK. For instance I was asked at 3 in the afternoon in Tescos South Pattaya, "when would you like your refrigerator delivered?" "As soon as you can!" "Would 4 O'clock be alright K. Atlas?" Food Markets: Mind boggling array of good quality and cheap vegetables and Fruit. Hotel/ Accommodation: For what I'm paying for 2 nights in June at a Holliday Inn an hour outside London, I could spend a week in almost any Hotel in Pattaya. Satellite TV....Cheaper Clothes.....DVDs .........CDs.......cheaper. That's enough for the the contrarians to argue over......For now anyway I'll add to this later. But let me just give a quick example of the start to my day here. I'm desperate to keep some fitness so..... I wake-up between 6 and 7 am.......Have a piss....Budgie-smugglers on and down to the pool. 40 lengths or 66 widths. Back up cup-of tea on my balcony and watch the news. Zero hassle. In the UK I would have to drive 20 or more mins through traffic to Amersham.....find a parking space put 2 pounds in the machine, back to the car, with the rain no doubt pissing down to display the parking ticket. Pay 5 pounds or so entry. Stick a pound in a locker. Swim (in lane). Change in a freezing cold changing room drive back through the school-run traffic......... I'm a lazy phucker and I know I simply wouldn't keep it up. My point is, I've asked myself the question... Are you worse or better off here atlas? Bloody stupid question's my answer.

Before when you scrolled down you could see who was reading the thread and who had visited now I just see my name and zeros.

You don't get songs like this in South America........ Not better or worse, just nothing like 'this' anywhere, except America/USA. Great to hear them again after 50 Summers .......still sounding uniquely American. "It's paradise when I... lift up my antenna" OK he's no Bob Dylan and I always thought Mike Love was just too pervy but there's a place in my heart for their songs http://youtu.be/VAmk-Wk2pNA

If you ask someone in the UK........Or Australia, or New Zealand...........Or Russia,France,Italy blah blah where do Americans come from? They'll likely say America or the US........In both cases they mean, The US. Here's a 'Geograffy' lesson. It isn't completetly....... un-biased. Worth watiching.

Rooney replaced Paul Scholes as my favourite current player. I confess I watch Man U largely because of him. I like his footballing intelligence and 100% commitment. I want him to stay. Man Utd are a great club. If he leaves it will be for somewhere like PSG and I don't fancy following French football.

It looks like Fergie may sell Rooney this Summer.

I haven't stayed for over a year........But from 2001 to '07 I was spending a few days of every trip there. Some years I was managing 5 trips. I saw about 3 roaches in all that time. Obviously a number acceptable to me because I kept coming back. However, I read about roaches at the Penthouse dozens of times. Didn't put me off. I work out at the Royal Cliff....seen them there. Before it was Fairtex.....seen them there. I walked through The Dusit to get to the Thai Airways office. Saw one in a corridor there. The Penthouse is one of a kind. I've had a lot of fun in the rooms. Girls that don't freak out give of their best . I never figured out why but opinions tends to be polarized. I'm at the positive end. For me it's like 'The Brighton Pavilion', a tribute to one man's idiosyncratic view. A melange of the asiatic the exotic and the erotic. If Pattaya is the Disneyland of sex and fantasy then The Penthouse is HQ. If it were ever to close I'd be sad and Pattaya would have lost something unique. Cock-roaches however are not unique to any hotel you can get them anywhere.

yes good one.......When we tell the time in Thai, from 7pm till 11pm.......they use 'Tum'...Nung Tum, Song Tum etc.....The 'Tum' is the sound of a loud gong beating the time. After midnight it they used a smaller gong or maybe a triangle making the sound tee..So, 1 a.m is 'nung tee'! The Thais use onomatopoeia a lot. Though calling Pork 'Moo' I found very confusing.

Sorry Teelack 'Fakkhue'.......Does indeed 'sound like' "Fuck You' so we know what you're getting at and it's funny But as Fuck doesn't 'sound' like any sound connected with the act of sex it therefore isn't onomatopoeic to begin with.......whatever the context. Fakk and Fuck are homophones.....spelt differently but sound alike. 'Hue', 'You'..... and one you'll know well , (but not too well I hope) 'ewe' are homophones too. Onomatopoeic words sound like a...' sound'......Cat's meow.......Cow's Moo....Dog's 'Woof' A few months back I read Sherlock Holm's, 'The Case of the 5 Orange Pips'... In it, Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle states, rightly or wrongly, that the entomological origin for: "Klu Klux Klan' is onomatopoeic, in that the, 'Klu Klux' represented the sound of the cocking of a rifle. It would mislead people to say that words that, 'only' sound like other words are onomatopoeic. Words that sound like other words are called, 'Homophones' Anyway you got better to do than bother with this......You're on holiday! .......And have a trip report to right?.. err.... write!!

I had an unexpected, gap in my diary and consequently a 'free night' (which is necessary if you want to stink the condo and the bed out with curry), so I got myself a take-away from the Jomtien Market. Quite pleasant and I can thoroughly recommend it as a diuretic.

Excellent!

"On a mat a pee a' is what we sniggered at in mock Italian. Of course this funny thread isn't an example of 'onomatopoeia' Rather an example of a 'homophone' Still funny though.

Got me 'Bang to rights!'

Another 'Yep' award!

Yep!

My guardian Angel's called Evil.......... I like that.

Just noticed I got a red one for this post......Bit harsh!