Evil Penevil

There are no flights any longer on any carrier that go directly (non-stop) to the U.S. from Thailand. Delta still flies into/out of BKK (from Narita) on its own metal and there are gate checks, which I never found much of a bother in any case. Over the past 10 years, I took UA flights between BKK and Narita at least 40 times and never once had to remove my shoes at the gate. Evil

I paid a return visit to Mum Aroi yesterday evening. The food was as good as ever, but this time round, the service proved to e slow, although not otherwise problematic. We had to wait a long time to place our initial order, but once it had been taken, the food came relatively quickly and without any misses. We had asked for and been given a seaside table, so I amused myself with taking pics of the sunset while waiting to order. I didn't mind the wait, but a certain young lady who had accompanied wasn't happy. She declared the wait staff at Pupen "take good care" of guests while the

That doesn't make sense. I can understand that the guards might not allow tourists back into Thailand, but why, if the tourist has a visa to Myanmar, wouldn't they allow him to leave? Evil

Great photos, thanks! I first saw the Changing of the Guards when I was 16 and the memory of it has remained vivid ever since. Evil

Sukishi bills itself a "charcoal grill and Japanese restaurant." Presumably the charcoal grill part is Korean and the rest of the menu Japanese inspired. It's located on the 5th floor of Central Festival Mall on 2nd Road. It's usually busy but not packed. Most of the guests are Thais and other Asians. There are several hotpot and other table-top cooking restaurants on the 5th and 6th floors of Central Festival and I consider it my favorite. I really like the way the charcoal grill cooks the food and Sukishi features excellent raw

I haven't noticed any changes or problems with the P-A site, nor have there been any posts on P-A about others experiencing similar difficulties to what you describe. Two suggestions: 1) Do you use only one browser? If so, try using another one to see if there's any difference. 2) Go down to the bottom of the page and find Change Theme in tiny letters on the left side of the page. Click on it to see if you can restore the font, etc. to its former appearance. You have to be logged in to do that. Evil

You "check in" your shoes and get a claim ticket for them. The shoes are kept on a shelf behind a manned counter. Yes, Julian Beever and several others (see posts #6 and #9). Evil

I ate there with two Thai ladies who knew the score, so no need for a tutorial. But I'm sure that if a customer didn't understand, the staff would be willing to explain, assuming a common language was shared. You order sets or individual trays of raw ingredients at fixed prices. It's not all you can eat for a fixed price, There are also prepared dishes, like our appetizers, that can be ordered, but I didn't pay much attention to that part of the menu. I'll have to go back and look. Evil

A few days ago, I had lunch at Bar B Q Plaza on the 5th floor of Central Festival Mall. I'd passed by it many times, but had never ventured inside. That's largely because the young lady with whom I dine out most often is fairly set in her ways. She has her favorite restaurants and is unwilling to visit new ones, but she agreed to give Bar B Q Plaza a try. Make no mistake- Bar B Q Plaza serves Japanese-influenced Thai food. Despite the name, it has nothing to do with U.S.-style barbecue. The food is cooked at the diners' tables on a combination grill and hotpot. The meat and

Yes, Julian Beever is certainly a well-known name in the 3D-art genre. You can see some of his works, as well as works by others, here. Evil

I had lunch at Sizzler a couple of days ago- not so much because I wanted to eat there, but because a certain young lady did. She loves the combination of the salad bar and steak. I didn't feel very hungry, so I ordered the teriyaki chopped beef, one of the lunch specials for 199 baht. It came with thick-cut potato wedges, a slice of Texas toast and a minuscule portion of cole slaw. The beef patty was quite small but tasted fine. Since the lunch specials give full access to the salad bar, there's no risk of going home hungry. The girls had the New

Art in Paradise is a 3D art gallery on Soi 1, about 100 meters in from 2nd Road. It is located on the east stretch of Soi 1 (on your right [edit in] as you ride the baht bus north on 2nd Road), not the section of Soi 1 that runs between Beach Road and 2nd Rd. The gallery bills itself as the "world's largest 3D art museum." I have no idea if that is true, but it is pretty big and has several hundred paintings and other displays on two floors. The paintings create optical illusions which result in some cool effects and photos. The gallery al

The bars of Pattaya may be suffering from a lack of customers, but that doesn't apply to the Food Park in the lower level of Central Festival Mall on 2nd Road. The place is crowded each and every day, mostly with Russians, Thais and other Asians. I took the pics below at about 2.30 p.m. on March 24. It wasn't (EDIT IN to add negative) prime time, but there were an awful lot of people eating there. The supermarket next to the Food Park was also doing a roaring trade, same-same with McDonalds, Burger King, KFC and the pharmacies. And the food at the Food Park? It rates a unenthusiastic "OK" fr

But she is from Brooklyn! I had it last night and it was delicious. Fresh shrimp, properly cooked pasta and good quality, finely diced ham added to the sauce for extra flavor. The garlic bread was a nice touch, especially with the fresh garlic on top. The main dish cost 190 baht plus 50 baht for my Diet Coke, 240 baht total. The discount gave me 19 baht off, which I left as a tip. Better looking tomato slices this time round. Yesterday I was in the Brooklyn Diner at about 10 p.m. There were eight other customers at the time and all o

Thank you! Starting to feel hungry now. Rvil

The bacon on the burger in the pic was most definitely cooked, but it wasn't American style "streaky" bacon. It was more the UK style of back bacon. Evil

It may depend on which service provider you're using. My building is on True and I haven't noticed any problems at all. Evil

Thank you! I'll go out and take more if it stops raining. I wouldn't want to get wet. Evil

I have a waterproof Pentax point-and-shoot; no need to cover it. I also have a rain sleeve for my Canon DSLR, but I'm very hesitant to put it to the test as some of the guys with the high-powered cannons aim for cameras, so I just used the Pentax. Evil

I took these pics this afternoon between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. on Soi 7 and then a stretch of Beach Road. I'm sorry some have blurry patches, but I was in the thick of things and my camera was constantly drenched. For those who enjoy Songkran in Pattaya, it's a reminder of the fun you're missing if you're not in town now. For those who dislike all the water throwing, it's reinforcement. It actually wasn't too bad this afternoon. Still plenty of the heavy duty water cannons around, but they were mostly used responsibly. Things were pretty mild compared to what I've seen in the past and

Very good pics! Evil

The Brooklyn Diner serves up pizza, burgers, pasta and other familiar Western fare, plus some Thai food. It's located on Soi BuaKhao across from the entrance to Soi LK Metro. It's not a large or fancy restaurant, but very clean and functional. Most importantly, the food is good. The pizza at Brooklyn Diner has earned a place among the best available in Pattaya. I opted for the 9" meat lovers' pizza and it was great - a thin, crispy crust and the right combination of sauce and toppings. Like Baby Bear's porridge in the story of Goldilocks, it was just right.

Tequila Reef gets mixed reviews, but whether it's luck or the hand of Buddha, I've only had good experiences there. It's important to keep in mind Tequila Reef is more than just a Tex Mex restaurant. It has a number of dishes on the menu that reflect several different regional cuisines (Cajun, Creole, southern barbecue) as well as standard U.S. favorites like hamburgers, hot dogs and Philly cheese steaks, plus a fairly extensive Thai menu. REAL Mexican food is different from Tex Mex. I doubt that any restaurant that served what's considered REAL food from central and southern Mexico would

The Soi BuKhao - LK Metro area is building up quite a variety of good places to eat at a reasonable price. Taco House is a recent addition in the Tex Mex category. Popular items (tacos, burritos, quesadillas, chili con carne, nachos, burgers, etc.) are served fast-food style, but are nevertheless tasty and inexpensive. Remember, Taco House serves Tex Mex, which isn't the same as Mexican food. Taco house is across the street from the Sawasdee Siam and sandwiched between a currency exchange and a pharmacy. The closet familiar landmark for many would be Pook's Bar. Behind- a cl