Mescalito

I just checked out of the RG after 2 weeks there and I'm back in Bangkok. The construction in front isn't anything to worry about. The only time you might have a problem would be after a a heavy rain, and that's pretty much done for the season. There is still a fair amount of dug up ground next to the road that could get pretty muddy after a storm, but even that's easily avoided. I've stayed at the RG on 8 of my 9 trips to Pattaya. Sometimes I'll walk into town (10 minutes) or hop a baht bus (5 minutes); it just depends on the weather and my mood.

Just a regular night at Catz can turn into a quite an epic, so I'm almost afraid of what could happen at this party! Next stop? The Betty Ford Center!

Yes, as part of the winning team I confess we did benefit greatly from the fine play of several non-Americans, the Thai ladies (Wi, Lat and Mod) in particular.

You can count on me being there! I'm in Taipei waiting for my connecting flight to BKK and will be getting into Pattaya about 3pm. Should be a fun evening.

Hey, Danny, considering the shellacking we've taken before at the hands of the Europeans I'll take any excuse I can get! I probably won't get any more strokes, but I'll at least have another excuse! And Sai got a "nose job"? You must be doing it wrong!

The countdown has begun and I'm raring to go! I may be forced to play from a wheelchair and/or pumped full of Flexaril, Vicodin and Ibuprofen having thrown my back out last Sunday (I'm still barely able to turn), but if that's what it takes then that's what I'll do! "Better living through medication" I always say!

Cosby gets a lot of flack from the so-called activists for having committed the unpardonable sin of being right. One of the greatest moments I ever saw on television was at the Emmy awards (no, not Emma awards!) a few years ago. During one segment of the show an actress/rap singer/whatever was walking through the audience talking about how far black performers had come when she walked up to Cosby in his seat and said something about how he and others experienced success early on. His reply was worthy of award itself. He said, "Yes, we spoke English." Sadly, the comment went right over her head.

I feel safer walking around Bangkok at night than I do in Los Angeles in the day time. Yes, I know that's not saying much, with over 20,000 known gang members in LA, but you get the point. Staying safe in Bangkok is simple: don't do something stupid, don't behave like an ass, and when in doubt, err on the side of caution. No different than any other major city in the world in that regard.

I was talking about this with my brother recently; he's a winemaker here in California. He thought grapes, whether wine or table, might be a good prospect. His view was that with the much rainier climate you could get two harvests a year instead of just one like you do here (and most other grape regions, for that matter).

Hmmmm. Isn't "Thai Driving School" an oxymoron? Like "plastic glasses", "Army Intelligence", etc. ?

When you book a driver with Mr Toom he'll give you his phone # in the e-mail confirming the pick-up. It's 1200 baht from BKK to Pattaya plus whatever you want to tip the driver. Koh Larn is a nice place to spend the day, and as sinbinjack said all that much better with a TG in tow. Better yet is a couple of couples. There's a great spot near the landing where you can relax on a beach chair while a family with that concession cooks up a fantastic lunch for you. Rent motorbikes and head over to Monkey Beach while you're there, and pack plenty of snacks (small bunches of bananas, nuts, etc.) that you can get near the main landing; you can get the monkeys to come down off the cliffs and take them from your hands. We spent a lot of time doing that on my trip in May and it was loads of fun. Keep in mind, though, that this isn't a petting zoo. These are wild animals in their native habitat and can get pretty nasty if provoked. Just take a look at some of their fangs and you'll get an idea of what kind of damage they can do. They're also very sneaky at times. When we were there feeding the monkeys, one of the larger males took advantage of our being distracted to make an end-run around us to where we had our bags sitting and he started going through all our belongings. If you snorkel, you might want to take your gear. The water at Monkey Beach looked pretty clear to me, although if anyone here has been in it they can give you a better idea of what it's like.

I've bought Jerry's CDs from this web site: CD Baby They ship pretty quickly, too.

Sorry to say that I'm going to miss out this time, Jerry. I get in to Pattaya November 2nd. And for those BM's who've never taken in one of Jerry's shows, by all means do so if you get then chance. Jerry's a great entertainer and it's always a lot of fun!

And we'll be seeing the pictures when?

I'm planning/hoping to do this within a year and a half. One thing you need to do before deciding is to talk with a tax accountant or tax attorney, one with international expertise, and find out exactly what your tax liabilities will be in both countries.

DAMN! DAMN! DAMN! Have a great birthday!

There's also an excellent outdoor Thai buffet/hot pot restaurant up the hill a bit; I can't remember exactly where but it's easy walking distance. There is a good internet cafe right next door (1 baht/minute) and a Thai massage center across the street in the same building as the mini-mart.

In Bangkok, I usually stay at the Grottino Residence, and as I recall they do have in-room safes. It's a 5 minute walk from Soi Cowboy, but the price might be a bit above the 1600 mark.

You know I'm in! Board Name: Mescalito Hdcp: 7 Shirt size: Large Nationality: USA

Walt Disney on mescaline.

Perhaps we should also try to make sure that these courses are also monkey-free zones, eh Steveo?

I'm really looking forward to this. The two events and the Chiang Mai trip will add up to a very good time, I'm sure. And BTW, have the courses for the Rideher Cup & Catz Open been decided yet? Not that it matters, I'm playing anyway, but just out of curiosity. See you in November!

Nine out of ten voices in my head are telling me to go home and clean my guns. Some days just weren't worth chewing through the leather straps in the morning.

These just keep getting better and better. Great stuff!

I know, I know; the category says "...in and around Pattaya.." but I couldn't think of any other place to post this. I've found some decent Thai restaurants in the Los Angeles area over the years, but none that really wowed me and made me feel like I was eating in Thailand. Let's face it: most of the more popular places tweak the recipes a bit for western tastes. There are some good places in the Thai Town/Melrose area, but those of us in the Long Beach/Orange County area are pretty much SOL. Until now. A new place opened up a few months ago that I went to for the first time last night and it was great. It's called Tom Yung Goong, and it's on Pacific Coast Highway about 2 blocks south of Cherry Avenue in Long Beach. True, that part of PCH isn't exactly the best neighborhood, but the restaurant itself is nicely laid-out and impeccably clean and neat. Best of all, the food is the closest I've found to what it's like in LOS. I spent some time -- OK, a lot of time -- talking with the 21 y.o. daughter of the family who owns it, as she's a hostess/waitress there. She told me that in order to make the dishes as authentic as possible they import many of their ingredients from Thailand. The food was great and, as you might expect, very inexpensive.