graymatter

MLC................. Good luck. I had a 100% blocked artery in the left ventricle and ended up with three stents to fix the problem. The operation was interesting because I was awake the entire time. The action wasn't in my chest but in the groin area which was strange to me. You lie on the bench with about 6 medico's studying your tackle. No time for niceties, if things are in the way they just grab it and move it. You get more action than a hand job in Windmills Of course you don't think about this with a big screen over your chest with live action of our heart. The procedure is to insert a wire through the "Venous" in the groin and track it through the body to the heart. I gotta tell you that lying on the table while some guy has a wire connecting your balls to your heart is surreal. When they say please don't move you DONT move. They have another tube in the artery on the right hand side which feeds a dye into your blood to show up on the screen so you are pretty well pinned down. Of course the operation took over 8 hours and I had a serious urge to pee which i resisted but this sensation made me forget about what else was happening. Meanwhile the nurses putting in the dye moved my tackle one way and the ones doing the stent would move things the other way. Finally the operation was over and everyone was patting themselves on the back looking very relieved. They had told me that there would be no problems but i'm not sure that the looks on their faces reflected this. I think I'd rather not know. So after the operation I am wheeled back to the recovery room and they get a couple of large G clamps to affix me to the bed. Apparently once they open up the "Venous" arteries the hard part is stopping the blood from coming out. During the operation they use blood thinners to get the flow happening but this makes clotting difficult. I had a nurse either side applying pressure to the groin for about an hour and then the G clamps were applied. Did I mention the urge to Pee because it is now over 9 hours since the operation started and I was uncomfortable. It was a pity because the nurses were cute and I might have enjoyed the sensation. There were about 8 nurses in the recovery room and at one stage I had to admit that I needed a piss so one nurse rushed of to get me a bottle. I am still attached to the bed with G clamps so I can see a problem. I have relied on gravity to aid taking a pee all my life so using the bottle was going to be a problem.a pretty young thing help by putting the bottle over my dick and she left with a smile. A Lot of things went through my mind but the shape of the bottle the length of my dick and the position in the bed led me to the conclusion that piss was going to flow everywhere so I asked for more help. Unfortunately my hopes were dashed when a young Indian male nurse agreed to hold my dick and direct the flow into the bottle. I try not to relive this experience. This all happened three years ago and I am getting along well so I am grateful to all the staff at the Queen Elizabeth II medical centre in Perth. I just hope that the outcome is as good as mine or any one needing this heart surgery.

I stayed in D Apartments about 3 years ago.so They referred t it as the New Wing I assume there is an Old Wing as well. I paid about 1000 baht pr night over the Songkram week. We are not talking about 5 star accommodation but it was comfortable friendly and clean. I liked the pool but I wasn't doing laps. They were very accommodating with my visitors with no extra costs. Good value for money and an easy stroll to Made in Thailand complex if you want company

A few years ago I broke a front tooth and the quote in Australia was about $8000, Now I could have shopped around but I thought why not combine a trip to LOS, Armed with X rays an dental records I booked into my usual guest house in Soi Lengkee and I started visiting a few clinics. I must have dropped into about 12 places and realised that they all had the same pricing structure, It's no surprise that the dental clinics are big flash buildings but I was surprised that I couldn't see a dentist for a few days and very few of the reception staff spoke English. Tired and exhausted I headed back to my room and noticed small building with the sign Dr Hollywood out the front. It was just over the road from my guest house, I was lucky because the doc was in and his girls were very friendly. We went into the surgery and he sat me down while he looked at the Xrays. Dr Hollywood was very professional, spoke good English and explained everything very well, I booked in the next day and arrange to get an implant, Great service with almost no discomfort, Implants are two part things. First they put the screw in your jaw and then you have to go back a month later and get the tooth fitted.I only had two weeks off so I went home and went back 2 months later , Dr Hollywood charged me $600 for the first procedure an then another $600 when the crown was fitted, Worked out well for my budgeting. I got tickets to Thailand on budget flights which cost $400 return so the entire tooth repair cost me around $2000 with two holidays in LOS . Each time I visit LOS I drop in for a check up and a few small jobs, I am well ahead and the dental work pays for my holiday. I recently had an extraction in Perth and the cost was $160 for 10 minutes work. I was going to wait until my next trip but the tooth ache wouldn't wait, This is one door down from the Ned Kelly bar in Soi Lengkee, I have recommended him to several BMs on different forums and they all thank me. I would ring and make an appointment before you leave home so you can get in early and enjoy the rest of your trip.

I usually fly budget airlines so my choices of seat selection is limited but i still hate a 5 hour flight on the A320 airbus unless I get an aisle seat. My concept here is to look for a single seat allocated next to a window and then choose the aisle. I reason that most people will avoid the middle seat so the odds of getting a vacant seat next to you increase are much better. I flew Thai air lines to london a few years ago and chose an aisle seat on the window side of an A340. This had 3 seats either side and 4 in the middle.and I was more than a little horrified when I realised that the three seats were going to be occupied by me and a very large german couple, I smiled at the cabin crew and in my best Thai i simply said "sah wah dee khrap!" and at down. It must have worked because when the doors were locked I was invited to move into a middle row with 4 seats. I admit I felt a little guilty because I got to fly from Bangkok to london stretched out on 4 seats. I managed to ignore the dirty looks from other passengers.

I doubt that I would past the "UNDOMESTICATED" requirement so its unlikely that I would need to be concerned about the manner in which miscreants are thrown out. I am only taking a guess but the xmas staff pictures might look ke this which would explain the no sex policy Might also need to google "unsullied"

don't they get pissed off when you draw on their tables?

I stayed in D Appartment hotel for two weeks over Songkram a few years ago. 348/17 M. 9 Soi Bukhao Chonburi 20150 I assume it is the same place. The hotel is in two parts and I chose the new building so you might get conflicting comments if you talk to an "old building" resident. The rooms were big and roomy. If my memory is accurate there were two beds in the room. A queen size and a Single. The rooms were clean and fresh with standard amenities. Fridge, safe TV ensuite bathroom tiled floors etc. There is a nice little pool on the top floor of the new building which was well maintained and never got very busy. Downstairs in the lobby they have tea and coffee facilities and a computer for internet access. The WIFI in my room (5th floor) worked well so it suited my needs. They have an office in the "Lobby" and I often left my keys there so I assume it was open 24 hours. I remember several girls who "stayed"over Songkran and I never had to pay a visitor fee. One girl would "Go Play Songran" in her bar and go back to my room in the evening to wait for me. (Many girls don't want to BF on Songran so this was a great relationship) Although this is unusual in a "hotel" to let them into my room I had told reception it was OK. I got the feeling that the hotel was run more like a family business than a Commercial enterprise and if felt very friendly. I guess when you see all the staff sitting in the fountain with water pistols your image of the place changes. (for the better) Price wise I can't complain. I was first told it was 1200 baht but negotiated down to 900 baht after agreeing to stay 2 weeks. I thought this was a good deal but it was over 3 years ago. I have always negotiated the prices in hotels and I think they like it. It might depend on the season though. The Made in Thailand complex is just down the lane and there are good eating places. I arranged home delivery from the Indian restaurant which was good food and relatively cheap. Good source of beer bar girls if you like that sort of thing. I recommend D-Apartments but in Thailand things change every few months so don't shoot me if it is not like I say.

Just read this on a Scoot website, .... If you are a Guest of Size who requires 2 seats, please make your booking via our Call Centre at least 3 days before departure. Failure to do so may result in you being denied transportation. Fares and fees for 2 guests apply. The question is what constitutes a "Guest of Size who requires 2 seats"....it is an Asian airline so they may not be catering for my 135 kg frame/

I made my post in good faith but things have changed a lot since I was there.I think the bar was called Rehab but the Gogo didn't do very well and shut soon after opening. It was a pity because the spent up big on video walls and a very good sound system. The bar obviously took on new names and was called "Lucky Star bar" at one time. Behind the Lucky Star bar you could walk up stairs to a complex with 20 or 30 bars I quite liked the concept of a 3 story complex of beer bars with comfy leather couches but it was too much for Pattaya and I never saw the bars fully open. One or two bars would suck all the patrons and the rest looked like a ghost town. When I look at the map R-Con seems to have joined with the beer bar complex and built a Tesco t he front so the reception is now in the middle of the building. Perhaps they may have sorted out the sewerage smell because they are still open. God knows what happened to the pool.

The pool is in the car park and the drinkers in the beer bar can watch you swimming up and down. This didn't worry me but when the place was brand new there was a story that the plumbing had problems with the vents so the sewerage smell would back up in the rooms. This was 2 years ago so. I assume that things have changed but just in case see if you can find someone with recent knowledge. My only reservation is that its a walk to LK metro and if the baht buses aren't running at night you have a fair walk to get home.

I usually fly JetStar which is because they offer the cheapest fare on my routes. They also have newer airplanes which equates to safer conditions in my mind. Can't say that the service is better than anyone else but it is acceptable. I have a few choices in seat selection which includes paying $9 to choose a seat, $19 to choose an up front seat and $39 to sit in the exit row which have extra leg room. Unfortunately, the flight has a stop in Singapore so they charge a further $25 for extra leg room on the Singapore to BKK section which makes a total of $74 extra on a flight that might only cost $180. The budget conscious traveler is usually reluctant to invest the extra so these seats are often vacant. In the past, there was a rule which meant that the exit row seats (row 12 or 13) had to be occupied because these passengers needed to be instructed on opening the doors in case of an emergency so I would sit in the row 11 aisle seat and just before take off would be asked to move to comply with these rules. This worked on 9 out of 10 flights. One day the flight attendant changed the rules and just before take off decided to auction the seats, starting at $35 for the long flights and $20 for the short flights. This spoiled my plans so I came up with another option. I would select an aisle seat in a position that someone already had selected a window seat. It is rare that a lone traveler would choose to sit in a middle seat so my chances of a vacant middle seat were pretty good unless the plane was nearly full. Travelling at night time meant that the plane often had spare capacity, Just to be sure I would log on a few hours before departure and check my seat allocation and change positions if necessary. While talking about night flights you might notice that he last 2 rows on the plane get are blanked out in seat selection. These seats get used by the flight attendants for a 2 hour kip on the long flights. The point is that they usually only use the last row so there is a full 3 seat row available. I have managed to get one of these on 4 occasions by simply being very nice to the attendants and sitting in the aisle of the 3rd last row, I am a little naughty because I often "lean" into the aisle with my shoulders which blocks access for the flight attendants so they are encouraged to move me to make their job easier. You need to be very subtle to get away with this and smile while apologizing a lot. If all else fails I just spend the flight thinking about the massage waiting at the other end.

My Soi of choice is Soi Lengkee which is good because I stay in guest houses opposite the Ned Kelly bar, will stop in the Ned Kelly for an occasional beer and get my food from the street carts out side the Family Mart or from the small eatery next to Ned Kelly. The problem is that the road is wide enough to double as race tack and it seems that the idea is to start at the 3rd road end on a scooter and go as fast as you can until you hit the Soi Diana intersection. I don't know how many gears those scooters have but is seems mandatory to reach top gear well before "Le Private" making enough noise for any pedestrians to get out of the way. So what I hear you say? I learned years ago when I stayed in Soi 2 that you should never bar fine from the street you need to use to get back to your room. Soi Chayapoom is a great place to find a late night bed warmer without the worry of running the gauntlet of ex barfines. There is, of course the problem of getting out of the soi once you have bar fined from a few venues at each end. I started in the middle but after a week I needed to reevaluate .

I have "walked" down this road many times in a state where I could easily fall arse over tit. Now if the fix all the pot holes what excuse can I use?

Georges,,,,,,, Before coming to Pattaya you need to stand in front of a mirror and say "g'day mate" and "How ya goin', mate." You see that the police just don't like the French but of course they love Australians so you need to trick them into thinking that you come from the land down under. You might like to try throwing in a "ken Oath" or a "good onja" just to convince them. Just kidding George..I'm sure that the Thais have forgiven the French for the 1941 war.... apart from the Victory monument there is hardly a mention of it.

Its about respect. Whenever you add testosterone with alcohol you are likely to encounter some guys who can't handle things and they will be shown the error of their ways. Even then it takes a fair bit of provocation before the Thai security staff get involved. Best plan is to make sure that you are not the one who is out of control. I find that if you respect the girls, respect the mamasan, respect the other drinkers and respect the bar admin you won't go far wrong.

I'm not planning to run a commentary on the cricket but just to prove it was no fluke Australia has bowled India our a second time for 107 runs. This matched the 105 runs in the first innings and Australia registered an easy win. For the non cricket readers India is on top of the world rankings and Australia is second which made this an interesting fixture. The game of cricket can be influenced by the way the pitch is prepared and all teams struggle on wickets prepared on the sub continent. The hot humid weather combined with dry cracked pitches gives the Indians an advantage and this time it definitely back fired. The pitch developed cracks very early and this allowed the Australian spinners to take advantage. There are 4 more matches and I think the groundsmen at the next few grounds will be overwatering for the next few weeks to get some more even bounce in the wickets. I would love to say that's just not cricket but unfortunately it is.

Is that what the POMS were doing when they got bowled over 4-0 in the last India test series.? Cunning plan. I can’t wait to see how it will all turn out... Actually we can’t gloat too much... We got a hiding from South Africa last year after getting bowled over for 85 in Hobart....and I haven’t forgotten the 60 all out in Trent Bridge a few years ago.

Australia has a proud tradition of playing and winning sporting events but I don't post about all our successes. In the first test Played at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune (India) I wasn't expecting too much. Normally the Indians will prepare a pitch which will take more spin and with better spin bowlers they get a huge advantage, Of course in Australia we like hard bouncy wickets so our fast bowlers get the advantage so it's hard to be too critical. Of course both teams get to play on the same wicket so the pitch needs to be "playable" This morning I flicked on my PC to cricket info and was not surprised to see Australia restricted to 260 runs. I shook my head thinking that we needed at least 350 to be competitive, India was 3 wickets for 93 runs so it was obviously not all one way. I was actually reading the ball by ball description on the internet and couldn't believe what happened next. India completely collapsed to lose 7 wickets for 11 runs and be all out for 105. Sometimes the best laid plans can backfire.

alt="" src="https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/0b/12/fd/e7/lancaster.jpg"/> This photo of Aviation Heritage Museum is courtesy of TripAdvisor The Lancaster has been fully restored and is now in the Aviation Museum. I will pass on your story and I'm sure it will explain why it was so difficult to shift the stains they encountered during restoration.

Thanks guys. The information was very helpful. I think I have a plan which lets me get the operation in a Perth hospital for free. It helps to have friends in high places. I would have no hesitation using a Thai doctor but I liked the idea of recuperating in my own home.

Just checked the price again and it's gone up to $519 for the same times, Pity I was keen to book the tickets.

Thai airways have quoted the $712 for the same trip so the saving is $450 which is significant to me.

I don't think very many people would argue when I say that Perth is a beautiful city but it is also an expensive place to live. I have found that dental work is much cheaper in Thailand so I keep an eye on the airfares to see how it fits with my budget. At the moment Jet star is offering the following fares which are as cheap as I have ever seen. You might need to be flexible on the dates but these fares were from March 8th to March 14th. I just need to conform with my dentist and book the flights jet star.pdf

Has anyone had any knee surgery in Thailand? I have a Meniscal Tears in my right knee. Without getting too technical this occurs when the cartilage that sits on the top of the tibia comes adrift or breaks down. I can vouch for the pain that goes with this injury leaving it difficult to walk but also a constant pain when simply sitting or lying down. It seems that this is a fairly common injury and can be fixed using arthroscopic surgery (key hole). I have identified that Thailand does quite a few knee reconstructions which seems a much more complex operation at a cost of around 70,000 baht. Can anyone tell me if they have had any arthroscopic surgery and what were the costs.

Its been a few years but I stayed in the new section for a few weeks. I remember that it was in between a guest house and a hotel. I think I paid just under 800 baht for the room and remember that they were negotiable so don't necessarily take the first price they give you. It will depend on the season. The rooms were big and comfortable and the staff were friendly. Don't expect security if you bring a girl back but they don't have joiner fees either. The swimming pool is on the 8th floor of the new building so my choice was always this location. The location was pretty good with a baht bus going up and down soi Buakhao. This bus will take you to Walking Street although its only a short stroll down to Second Road. The best route takes you through the "Made in Thailand Complex" and I warn you that Its very easy to get caught up in this friendly place and spend a few days sampling its charms. Regardless of whether you are looking for a companion this place offers good food and cold beer. I like the fact that it is busy enough without the crowds of a Soi 7. https://youtu.be/ew2EwKTAoEo As I said I haven't stayed here for a few years but I think its still much the same. I found a guest house in Soi Lenkee that offered me a serviced room for 700 baht and prefer this area but D apartments is still pretty good. PS try ringing them direct 348/17 M. 9 Soi Bukhao Chonburi Call +66 38 720 828 I rang and told them my friend stayed there in New building and only paid 800 baht and they agreed straight away.