Mick2

It depends what you are after, but if it is just a few snaps a phone camera could be just fine…… easy to use and probably always with you. I seldom carry a phone, and when I do it is a basic model without a camera, however do have two cameras. One is my first digital camera, an Olympus Tough TG310, which I picked up on sale for 3,500 baht. With a small sensor and basic optics the quality of the photos is probably not much better than what you can get from a half decent camera phone, but in the right situation the result can be quite pleasing. It is more adjustable for different conditions, but the big plus it its toughness. I can just put it in my pocket or a bag and take it anywhere, including in the sea, so i often carry it with me. To get better photos (some of which are used in newspaper reports) I needed better optics and a bigger sensor, but with that comes bulk, price, and fragility. I bit the bullet and bought a better camera. It takes a little more skill to use well, but the results are much better. However it is not something I can take everywhere. In the end it is a compromise. Make a choice based on you needs, use, expectations and budget. Having done that, getting a decent photo is about making the most of the equipment you have.

Back in the mid '70s I was passing the firs McDonald's to open in my home country, so I decided to give it a try. What a disappointment...... I've never been back to McDonald's anywhere. Then KFC opened up, and I tried that too...... sort of edible, comparatively expensive. I have been back the odd time when other options have not been available. It is several years since the last time, under duress from a TGF. She paid. That's about it for corporate fast food places for me. Thailand's street stalls offer better variety, value and taste.

I had The Butcher's Arms recommended to me by an Anglophile Thai girl I met in Bangkok. I never stayed there, but did drop in for a beer and a feed, and was not disappointed. I got the feeling it could be an OK place to stay. Maybe next time.... My last visit was a year and a half ago. The one before that was about 20 years earlier. I must make it less lime than that before my next visit or the Butcher's might not be there with the rate of change in Thailand.

I haven't seen Skyfall yet, but it sounds like it's a good one. Sometime next week for me. Daniel Craig is a great Bond, but was wasted in A Quantum of Solace A great name for a movie, and had some good ideas. However I found it disappointing, especially from a franchise that usually delivers.

I am not sure that Bligh and Christian could have saved The Bounty from the ravages of Sandy. That was some storm. A lot of ships did go down in the "good old days". I had a look around The Bounty a few years back. It was an impressive piece of work. Sad to see it gone.

There were accusations before he died, many years ago, but Jim fixed them. I used to call his show "Jim will fuck it".

They sell approaching a couple of million of those small things every year in Thailand for several good reasons. For one they are affordable for locals (and expats) ranging from about $US1,300 for basic models to $2,600 for quite flash looking automatic scooters. Big bikes cost 10 to 20 times as much because they are imported and attract a high level of import duty and so on. At better than 100 mpg, they are cheap to run. (My 15 year old 100, with over 200,000 km on the dial, does about 110 - 115 mpg) But if price and running cost alone is not the reason they are so popular. They are also very convenient, nip through traffic easily, and carry a heap of stuff..... or people! Thailand does have some great roads out of town, where big bikes can be enjoyed. Around town they are just a hassle.

Not controversial at all, and not too uncommon methinks. The tractor diver employed by a Thai friend married two women on the same day. They were friends, both liked him, and decided that was the easiest course of action. I have heard of a few similar instances. It can be done, and nobody would be bothered much, but finding a pair of girls who are compatible with each other as well as with you could be a bit of a mission.

Yes, they gave it a make over a few years back , and have kept it fairly spic and span since. Not that it was ever bad, from my point of view. It is easy to use for foreigners looking to travel by train; it always has been, but is better now. There are counters with English speaking officials. Rail is the way to go, if a line is going your way. A bit slower, but far more interesting than other forms of public transport in Thailand.

As he said himself he is of mixed origins, something he shares with many of his compatriots. Like many of them, being American is probably more important than paying homage to his ancestry.