woodman2

in june I used the Airport link and BTS on arrival. I was travelling with a small carry on case. From the seat belt off sign to my room at the Majestic Suites close by Nana plaza was 65 minutes. The cost was less than 60 Baht. Other than a bit of a squeeze at Siam it was sweet. In the past it has taken me the same 65 minutes to get from the end of the Highway to the junction of Nana and Sukhumvit. It`s the train for me every time now.

I had laser removal done to lighten up before a cover up a few years back. The laser breaks up the pigment which the body naturally disposes of. Different colours react differently to the laser. Light coloured ink ie yellow reflect the laser light back so it takes longer to break down than black which absorbs more of the energy. Most tattoos are lined in black with a 1 or 3 point needle which put the ink in deeper than a 7 or 11 point used for blocking in. So a fine black line can take as many sessions to remove as a block of colour. Sessions is the key word. I had 10 sessions to fade my prison tattoo to a state where it could be covered up. As the previous poster said they never go away. Removing all the pigment leaves a scar. In normal light that scar can be seen. UV light and tanning make it more obvious. The laser itself is an expensive piece of kit and the operator needs to be trained. I am not sure I would trust it to a Thai. It is more a thing you would find a beautician using. Dark haired Asian women use the same tool to get rid of their unwanted facial hair. The guy that did me was a hairy arsed biker but he was real proud of passing the exam with a load of Sharon and Tracy type nail technicians. It doesnt hurt.There is a sharp click and it feels like getting twanged with an elastic band. After 50 or 60 times you dont feel it. The first session left me a mess of small blisters. Some of which merged together to form bigger blisters. My second session I blistered less. From then on not at all. I paid £20 a session each of which lasted about 30 minutes. Different lenses (diffusers...!!?) have to be changed during the session to be used on different depths of pigments. So its a bit of messing about. The work gets more intricate and skilled (Thai..?) the more the colour fades. What the Thai girls have done is acid put on them to burn the pigment and flesh away. A laser involves a bit more finesse.

http://www.scandibar.com/hotel/sandy/ also has them at 3,100.

How is Dave in Erics bar? He was ready to jack it in at Christmas.

Stoney was a top bloke but his service staff made the place special. I still keep in touch with Veena the waitress who wrote the book on drink mooching but did it with such panache that you never really minded. I spoke with her yesterday as it happens.

Not any more. There was a passenger service a few years back from Pattaya to Hua Hin.

I had a 5 hour stopover there once, arrived about 5-30 am with nothing at all open, when it did open there was 1 small cafeteria with ridiculous prices, 1 shop selling Toblerone, cuckoo clocks and Swiss army knives and 1 shop selling £5000 watches. The view of the mountains was spectacular. The only entertainment was to watch how close to those spectacular mountains the departing planes got. Never was I so glad to get out of an airport in my life. A few weeks later Swissair went bust, and I was very happy.

46 going on 26 getting off the plane 46 going on 86 getting back on! Remember you are only as old as the woman you feel

Must be pretty new they were still building it in April. Problem might be that it is smack opposite the lot being developed next to the AA Residence (see the thread BUILDING WORK ON SOI 13)

Looks like the AA Residence is sandwiched between 2 building sites, shame because there is hardly any traffic noise normally. Thanks for your input.

I will be staying at tha AA Residence (opposite the Sportsman) over Xmas/New Year. Does anybody know how the building work is going on the plot next door? When I stayed there in March they had just started building and the noise led me to change rooms, I fear I may not be able to do this at busy time. Will have to consider a change of hotel