Butch

Nice lookers there Patna. No makeup either which is always a plus IMO.

what's the first one of? Odd how, when we're in Pattaya we seldom look up. I noticed that with my daughter, adults seem to stop looking up and around them when they reach a certain age. One of my unusual hobbies when I'm out there is to look for stuff in the bars which dates back to the 80's, or stuff that is just old. There was one on Beach Road near the bottom of Soi 8 if I recall that had a picture of a US warship signed by the Captain and officers dating from 1982.

Great review Evil, thanks for posting. I think that "pound for pound" as we say in the UK, PBG offers very good value indeed. A good balance of decent customer service, atmosphere, pricing and location.

Bloody hell Jacko I had no idea about this!. My Android phone always has "wireless networks" turned on, it is configured (by default I've since found out) to connect automatically to any open network. I've learned a lesson here, after some googling i went into my settings and changed all the mobile / wireless networks off unless I need them. Cheers for the info mate.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/07/26/us-apple-security-spying-idUKKBN0FV01D20140726 Wankers, aren't they?.

Ahhh....my and Mrs Butch's favourite breakfast, Scrambled eggs and smoked salmon. that's actually seen as being a bit decadent around these parts Evil. 107 bahts worth of decadence, I'll grant you.

Thanks Evil, you seem to be able to find little gems hidden away here and there. The food looks excellent , and kudos to your Camera as well, it takes good close up pics - although I appreciate a majority of the skill is in the hands of the operator :). I have actually cooked the "steamed fish in lime sauce" for Mrs Butch, but instead of using Sea Bass, I used Rainbow trout. It came out pretty well actually. Just over 1k baht for 6 people is as cheap as it gets, especially for the food on offer. nice one. Cheers Butch

The iphone pics are bloody good as well. much better than the ones my HTC one takes. I really do need to get myself a decent pocket digital camera. My last one, a Nikon Coolpix packed up within a fortnight, the lens cover stopped closing and the shop just refunded my money. I admit though, Nikons do take good pics but for some reason (probably user error) I could never get "action" shots to come out without blurring, and very often when I took a pic at nighttime or in low light it was way too dark.

Actually I find ladyboy's much better at customer service than regular girls. There's one at our local Starbucks in SM Southmall, Cavite ,who is actually running the gaff with a startling amount of professionalism. Same goes for the Yellow Cab Pizza co locally, despite being a cashier "she" takes on responsibilities and duties well beyond "her" remit and achieves them with impressive results. It's possible to do much worse.

Hi Evil Great pics and thanks for posting. Last time I went there was for an evening buffet where they had the buffet and free flow wine for 1500 baht pp. Very enjoyable and very much in the same line of Mantra and Benihanas. Speaking of which, have you tried the Mantra Sunday brunch?. I can't remember the exact price but I think it's about 2k baht per head, more of you want the wine option, however, the food is exceptional and there is so much choice. If ever you decide to venture there, make sure you arrive hungry. Highly recommended. Cheers Butch

Hi Firth Thanks for posting mate. I've been meaning to ask the type of camera you're using, is it a simple digital camera or a DSLR job?. If it's a digital camera then it takes bloody good snaps!. Looking at WS during the daytime often makes me think and wonder what time the transition takes place between being a deserted, silent street with closed doors to a party capital within a few hours. I've never sat and watched the transition occur, either there or on any of the Sois , for some reason it all happens when I'm having a shower and getting ready to go out in the evening or when I'm

Good effort . The attitudes of the girls can make or break a bar. Alcatraz for example might be a well laid out GoGo with stunning dancers, but when their attitudes stink and they ask for a drink within a minute of sitting down, it tells me never to step foot in there again. Just my humble opinion. Cheers Butch

In case anyone is interested, Skytrax have just announced the 2014 Awards. Cathay came top. http://www.worldairlineawards.com/ for some reason the links for positions 21-100 don't seem to be working. Thai got a couple: Thai Airways Best Airline Staff Service in Asia Thai Airways Best Economy Class Airline Catering Eva came 7th for their Economy Cabin and Thai 10th. Air Asia / Air Asia X picked up a few awards: AirAsia World's Best Low-Cost Airline AirAsia Best Low-Cost Airline in Asia AirAsia X Best Low Cost Airline Premium Cabin AirAsia X Best Low Cost

Cheers guys, He's heading out in Sept for 18 nights. As suggested here I'll tell him to try the online methods, then email direct and see. A bit of a muck around, but perhaps it'll be best to whittle the choice down to just a couple or three and then go from there. I think if it's a case of a couple of hundred baht over the total price, then he will book via Agoda. On the subject of cheap rooms, we alweays use laterooms.com if ever we need to in the UK. Our best ever deal, the St James' Court Hotel at the Buckingham Gate in London for £79 on a friday night, down from a rate of £400 for

Sorry if this has been asked before. I'm asking on behalf of a friend going to Patts for the second time. As the title, he would prefer to use Agoda, but personally I've always emailed the hotels directly and booked that way. The rates are often within a few baht of each other, plus, if the place turns out to be not what you expected you can always leave after a few nights. Talking about Pattaya hotels here of course. He's looking around the higher end, LK's, Mikes etc.

...looks like you started early...

Love the architecture. Great pics Firth, cheers mate.

Love the history, great pics. Thanks Firth, I still need a good few hours to go thru the rest of your reports , along with a nice glass of bourbon. Relaxing and interesting reading. Cheers Butch

Awesome, running out of +1's for this. Brilliant report. Thanks for sharing the pics.

Nice pics, thanks for posting. Maybe one day I will be able to make one of these legendary curry nights I keep hearing about!.

Brown, I have also heard that mate, but according to their facebook page they did have back in June 2013. As with many things in the airline industry plans often change, perhaps this is something they had planned and have since decided against. I've since read that they plan to phase in the A380 in Oct 2014. We'll just have to wait and see. They're also now offering on board internet on the new 787's and A380 fleet. Not cheap though. EDIT got this announcement from July 2 2013 on the Thai facebook page (click on the blue links for info & replies): Thai Airways 2 July 2013 near L

Thanks again firth for an interesting photo shoot and insight into the Vietnam War and it's standing in Viet culture today. On a lighter note, regarding the Hanoi Hilton, I can now see where the Eastiny group get their inspiration from. A very interesting look into the war from the angle of the Viets and as an Englishman, to see some history from a conflict which we have not been privy to during our education or school years.

Great pics Firth. To be honest local knowledge and insight is often invaluable, especially when in cases like this, many are still young enough to remember what happened. I'd wager you are right about the wreckage. I'm no expert but a B 52 is a huge beast and for one would have no problem in accepting the notion that a majority is still beneath nearby dwellings. Perhaps some of our American friends can offer their opinions on the comparative scale offered here, can anyone offer some kind of comparison for a B52 to a 747 perhaps?. Given the area of wreckage, would it be fair to surmise wher

wow firth, great pics. I love military history and it's interesting to see the detritus remaining from the War. There's a lot of WW2 history in the Philippines but nothing is left "laying around" sadly. I like the old architecture in the first and second pic of the first post, and the way it's been overtaken by more modern buildings. It's something we often see in large Asian cities as the expansion very often doesn't mean demolition as it does in the west. Great stuff, very enjoyable and interesting. Cheers mate.

Yep, I saw that there are some issues with the baggage / systems etc, mainly teething problems. I think the Airport operator are keen to avoid the fiasco when T5 opened, however, saying that an IT problem the other day left passengers departing T5 without their baggage. Ironic, eh?. BTW I meant to mention and correct a couple of mistakes. If or when Thai replace the B747 or A340 with the A380 it's mentioned they intend to replace the Plane currently running on the TG916 outward and TG917 inward (to LHR) service which, I think, is the one which leaves LHR at 21:35 and arrives in BKK at 15:2