yorta2

My memories are much the same, Bullfrog. I spent many years living in a town where fishing, timber working, and dairy farms dominated. At the age of fourteen, I used to get up in the mornings, summer or winter, and walk about a mile, up to the dairy. The cows came in automatically, at the milking time each morning and, I had to light up a boiler and, get the milking cups ready. From there-on, we milked the cows and separated the milk, where the cream went to the butter factory and, the skim milk went to the pigs. Even when it was a cold winner's day, I never wore shoes and, waited for one of the cows to shit on the concrete, while they were in the bails and, stood in it to warm my feet. The memories of the warmth and the smell are still with me and I don't regret a thing.

I was trying to get back to my house (roads closed) and I had to work my way through the bush, walking, and dodging barricades. I had been evacuated from my house due to bushfires and didn't know if the house was still there. Luckily it was - the fire was being controlled about 350 metres up the road. Not good memories, and the year got worse....

When we stayed down there, it was a chill-out time. we had already spent a busy 2 weeks in Thailand, and she (as lovely British) girl wanted a couple of nights just with me. She booked and paid for the resort and, I must say, I enjoyed it. We did catch their mini-bus into Pattaya twice - once day time and once night time. I think it was fairly expensive at about 400 baht (for the 2 of us), return, each trip, but they picked us up at the designated time, and maybe that was a fair price. I believe that buses are much more expensive there now, around 500 baht each. Sorry about the thread going off topic. The beach would be better with a makeover, but the resorts should pay for most of it IMHO.

I was among the first to stay at the Sun, Sea, Sand Resort at Na Jomtien, for 3 or 4 nights back in around 2006. The beach there was only a few metres wide, and the sea just as filthy as in Pattaya, but only a couple of hundred metres down the beach was (what I think is) the fishing village you saw. We had a beautiful seafood lunch there in the restaurant right on the beach. We remember not well. The resort has got bigger and a lot more costly. There was also some sort of elephant farm, or refuge between the resort and the main road. Russians owned it and there were nightly live bands there.

Rhino Tusk: Ah, Kassalong - I have had a few very talented girls there over the past few years,? I usually walk down Soi 6 from Soi 4 and directly into the front door.

So sad to know, after the last few rumours. I certainly will miss sitting outside at a table, under a light, with my Thai lady, catching some early evening breeze, cold beer in my hand, and enjoying a nice meal to kickstart the evening. The brightening lights on the harbour made those evenings quite romantic for us. I am a little melancholic about it all.?

Not sure what you are saying but, you do realise, that Thailand is also in the northern hemisphere, don't you?

Congratulations on 15 years, Mate. Wish I could be there.

Had to post this

I have often been confused as to why NZers call the stuff 'black Ice' anyway. From my time in Canada, it was called 'Clear Ice', and that makes sense. It might seem like black to the Kiwis (and to some extent, Australians), but ice is clear and the black tarmac surface underneath is visible. For that reason, it should not be a racial joke for you, but just a poorly named thing. ?

So sad that I can't be there. Good luck on the operation and in making a new go of the enterprise - you deserve to win!

I'm surprised the water doesn't look deeper - what with all the old tyres along the banks, pushing the water level higher. It was good to see much cleaner banks further into the photo progression. But, I did enjoy the tour.

Fantastic photos. Can hardly believe Sukhumvit Road can be that quiet as far as traffic goes, Even at 5am it is generally still insanely busy. I will now sit and dream about that Black Chilli Crab at such a price.